Josh's school pics - Nov 2009

More pics of my sweet boy... I'd love to know how they got him to pose and hold it for these pictures!!!

I dont mean to sound conceited but Josh really is the best looking kid in his class!!!

The many faces of Josh

After being bribed with vanilla ice cream and sprinkles Josh cooperated so I could take some cute holiday photos of him for our second set of holiday cards:

Josh's Christmas pics

We took Josh to Portrait Innovations again this year for his Christmas pictures and he did fairly well, even with an outfit change. Of course being 2 years 9 months old he didn't exactly want to cooperate the whole time but we were able to get some good shots:

So the story of the football... we changed Josh into his Thomas the Train Christmas PJs thinking we could get some cute shots. In the room they had all kinds of props... candy canes, stuffed animals, a stuffed Santa, a basketball and this football. We tried to get him to hold a stuffed snowman - no go. We tried with the candy cane - no go. We tried with one of the fake presents from under the tree - none of the pics came out good. Of all the pics in his PJs this is the ONLY ONE where he was looking at the camera and smiling, go figure! It was also the best picture that was in the portrait orientation so we had to get it.

At least the football didn't say "Steelers" anywhere on it!!!

Oh, and on a side note, there was a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids ranging in age from 2-7) that were having their Christmas pictures taken right before us... ALL in Steelers jerseys. Scott and I laughed and laughed because it's SO typical of all the "yinzers" here in Pittsburgh. LMAO, is it time to move out of this city yet?

Thanksgiving 2009

I have to say that Thanksgiving is not one of my favorite holidays. I'm not a big fan of turkey but it is nice to have it once a year and to spend time with family. For the second year in a row we spent the holiday in St Clairsville with Scott's parents (one of the benefits of living close to them). I was only in charge of the sweet potato casserole (my fave) so it was a fairly relaxing day for me. The food was good and Josh and Kody behaved themselves for the most part.

Another reason for me not to like this time of year is that it is the anniversary of when my MS presented itself - it was a year ago on Black Friday that I woke up with numbness on my left side. Its hard for me to feel thankful with something like that in the forefront of my mind that makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry.

So I forced myself to think about what I am thankful for...

• I am thankful for Scott - I am blessed to have a husband who truly loves me, forgives my faults, takes care of me, Josh, Kody and the house. He picks up my slack around here when I simply dont have the energy to do anything and does it without complaint. He cooks, cleans better than I ever do and works very hard at his job to provide a good life for all of us. We have our ups and downs (as every couple does) but I can honestly say that I dont know what I would do without his love and support.

• I am thankful for Josh - I am blessed to have a healthy and happy little boy who makes me smile every day. I cant imagine my life without him and love watching him grow, learn and become a little man. He may drive me crazy at times but my favorite moments of every day involve holding, hugging and kissing him. My heart swells when I see him in the morning and when I see him after a day at the office. I'm glad he doesnt fight me too much yet when I just want to hold him in my arms.

• I am thankful for my family and friends - I am blessed to have such a great support system in my life. It's been a rough few months (to say the least) and the care and concern that everyone has expressed and keeps expressing for me means so much. I am learning who my true friends are and cherish you all.

• I am thankful for my job - I am blessed to work for one of the best companies and to have a job that I really enjoy. A year ago I was giving up this job because of our move and I am grateful that there was enough work to be done that they needed to hire me back. I feel like I work for a boss that has a good idea of my value and talents and love the autonomy of working remotely for him. I've seen what else is out there and it ain't pretty... my 5 months away from PSS taught me to appreciate the culture of the company and all that they do for their employees. I hope I dont ever have to leave again.

• Finally, I am thankful that I seem to have a milder form of MS. No one can tell me how the disease will progress or what to expect but my neurologist believes that with the help of the medication I can continue to live a somewhat normal life. The MS is slowing me down, that's for sure, but I hope all I will have to deal with are my current symptoms - fatigue, mild numbness in my left leg and slight occasional weakness in my right arm. I am thankful for my medication Rebif although I hate the injections and the side effects. If it does its job and slows down the progression of the disease, keeps me from relapsing and developing new symptoms then it's worth it. I look forward to trying the oral medication once it's approved by the FDA but if a shot 3 times a week is what I need to do to lead a normal life then it's what I will do.

Team Edward!!!

Ahhhhh, Edward Cullen how I love thee...

The second movie in the Twilight Saga, "New Moon", came out last Thursday night/Friday morning at 12:01am and as a true "TwiHard" I of course bought advance-sale tickets and went to see it (with my friends Jen and Julie). Actually we went for a double feature and went to see "Twilight" at 9pm since none of us had seen it in the movie theater previously. It was a loooooong night but well worth it! "New Moon" was SO GOOD, so much better than "Twilight", mainly because it stuck closer to the book.

It's rare that I actually get to go to the theater to see a movie so when I do watch a movie its usually at home and I'm able to watch the movie more than once. As long as a movie doesn't totally suck I'll watch it twice, to make sure I caught all of the story, etc. If I REALLY like a movie I'll watch it more than twice!

I've been waiting for "New Moon" to come out since I got hooked on the saga back in April and seeing it in the theater only allowed me to watch it once. Sooooo... Jen and I went and saw it again last night, this time at 9:10pm (a much more reasonable hour). Let me say that it was EVEN BETTER the second time! I knew what to expect and was able to sit back and take it all in and look for things I may have missed on Thursday night.

Now I'm no movie critic but here are my thoughts, good and bad, on "New Moon":

* * * SPOILER ALERT * * *

1. The cinematography was much better than in "Twilight" - the colors were much brighter. The other director (Catherine Hardwick) used some kind of filter that Chris Weitz did not and it made a huge difference.

2. The editing of the movie left much to be desired - there were very visible jumps during a scene where something was cut out and parts of scenes that were shown in the trailers were left out. The movie was only 2 hours 10 minutes long... I'm sure I'm not the only one that would've been okay if they left more in and made the movie a little bit longer. Hell, I sat through "Titanic" and that monstrosity was like 3 hours long!!!

3. The Cullens were creepier - skin was whiter and eyes were more "liquid gold". There were a couple scenes though where the makeup wasnt done so well and you could clearly see it on Edward's face.

4. The CGI for the wolves was outstanding! Not overdone and they matched how they were described in the book. Scary when they needed to be with more "human" type eyes to show emotion.

5. The Volturi were almost perfect - Aro and Marcus were dead on but I thought the actor who played Caius was too young for the role. Dakota Fanning did great as Jane - truly creepy.

6. Kudos to them for capturing Bella's heartache after Edward leaves her - I think it was well written, directed and acted.

7. I didn't like the scene at the movie theater between Jacob and Mike - it seemed to forced and contrived and didnt match anything in the book. I think they couldn've found a better way to lead into Jacob starting his transformation.

8. The scene in Volterra where Heidi is leading the unsuspecting humans to be slaughtered by the Volturi was incredibly disturbing for me. It haunted me when I read the book and in the movie there were children in the crowd of humans and that rocked me to my core. I think they could've left that out of the movie, just my opinion. When I saw the movie for the second time I closed my eyes and covered my ears until the scene was over. I'll do the same every time I watch the movie. The thought of anything bad happening to kids makes my stomach turn and makes me want to bawl my eyes out.

9. The ending was great! It definitely leaves you wanting for more and asking "is it June yet"? (That's when "Eclipse" comes out).

I'm still "Team Edward" and always will be. 'Nuff said!!!

Quick neuro update

I went to the neurologist for a check up today, first visit since my diagnosis 3 months ago. I had some bloodwork done 2 weeks ago and was anxious about the results. The good news is that my liver panel came back "good" so there are no concerns that the Rebif is causing my liver damage. This means that I can continue taking the medication. Since I'm not having any issues or new symptoms I don't have to go back for another 6 months :)

I did ask him the question I had in my previous blog, about whether or not moving back up North had anything to do with the MS presenting itself. His answer is what I expected - that the wheels were set into motion years ago (MS starts developing in a person's teen years) and that it was just coincidence that it presented itself after we had moved to Cleveland. So I guess I dont have to hate Cleveland for my MS, lol.

What If...

The "what ifs" and "what might have beens" of life always get me despite knowing better than to think like that. I just can't help but to wonder what life might be like right now if we had made different decisions...

The BIGGEST "what if" that's on my mind alot now is what if Scott didn't take the sales territory in Cleveland?
Where would we be right now?
Would the MS have presented itself if we didnt move back up North?
Would I still be with PSS?
How different would Josh be?
Would we be happy or sad about the path we're on?

I guess the main reason this is on my mind right now is rooted in the second question above - would the MS have presented itself if we didnt move back up North? This is a "Northern" disease and while the groundwork was laid while I was growing up in NY, I can't help but wonder if my move to Florida helped to keep the disease suppressed and the move to Cleveland (and the cold) allowed the disease to emerge? It's definitely a question I'm going to ask my neurologist at my appointment next week. Not sure if his answer will give me any closure on the issue but I need to ask.

And it's not like moving back down South will resolve the issue... on the contrary, heat is bad for people with MS as it increases the fatigue. That doesn't matter to me... my goal is still to have us move down to South Florida and be near Scott's family. I dont like the cold and snow and for as much time as I spend outside on a regular basis I dont see the heat being an issue for me.

Happy Halloween 2009!

Josh was finally old enough to go trick-or-treating this year and boy did he have fun! He chose his Scooby-Doo costume back in the beginning of September and it just so happened that we had Shaggy & Daphne costumes from a few years back so dressing up was a family affair this year. We were quite the hit of the neighborhood as we took Josh around to get his candy :) Josh had so much fun zig-zagging across the road to go from house to house to get his candy. We went to about 15 houses on our street and Josh was pooped (and excited to dig into his loot). Out of all the goodies he got the first thing he ate was a bag of Cheetos!

Nana & Papa came to visit and experience Halloween with Josh which allowed us to go out with our friends last night. The "Daphne" wig was a little much for me to wear for too long so I had gone out and bought a "sexy convict" costume to wear to the bar and was much more comfortable. We had intentions of going downtown but ended up at Bar Louie right down the street from our house with our friends Jen, Jerry, Julie & Shawn. Even though I was the designated driver for everyone (LOVE fitting everyone in the Pilot!) I still had a great time, lots of laughs and a few beers :)

My boy likes to "potty" all the time, "potty" all the time

Ok, the title is a lame rip-off of a song from the 80's... if you know the original then you're old like me :)

We have exciting news... Josh is well on his way to being potty trained!
When he was home sick last week it just kind of started happening. He's been using the potty with no real regularity for months now but he finally seemed ready. I quickly realized that he thinks of Pull-Ups as just another diaper and will just pee/poop in them so I put him in underwear and viola he started telling us he had to go. He did have a few accidents but that's to be expected.

This week when he went back to daycare we asked him if he wanted to wear underwear or diapers and he chose underwear. Of course we're filling his head with talk about how big boys like Jimmy (his 3 1/2 year old cousin) use the potty all the time and doesnt wear diapers. On Monday and Tuesday he had accidents and came home in his spare pants but he had no accidents on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday! The teachers even said how well he's doing. I'm not claiming victory quite yet but I think he's finally getting it. Even last night when he was in his pajamas and "night time" diaper he told us he had to pee and went into the bathroom to use the potty. We're still putting a diaper on him for naps at home and at night because I dont think he's there yet.

We are so so so proud of him! I was hoping to have him potty trained by the time he was 3 and here he is at 2 years and 8 months and doing so well at it. It's only been a week and I'm sure there are accidents in our future but we think it's great he's telling us he has to potty and going all the time. (It also doesnt hurt that he gets a piece of chocolate when he poops on the potty)

Fun fall weekend

Yesterday our HOA (homeowner's association) held their annual "Halloween Parade". For $3 we got a treat bag, ice cream cups and a pumpkin. To join in the fun Scott's co-worker Aaron and his family came over. Their son Brek is 8 days younger than Josh and it's a shame we haven't gotten together sooner for the boys to play. Here are some pics:

Today was a beautiful fall day here in PA, sunny and in the 50s. We thought about going to another fall festival but decided against it because the one I wanted to go to was an hour away and Josh was more than happy to just play outside in the yard. Scott pulled the VW out and tinkered with it and I took the opportunity to take some pictures of the fall foliage around our house:

According to the forecast this will be our last week of "warm" weather in the 50s. Go figure, the temps drop on Saturday (Halloween) and the highs are only in the 40s. I'm just hoping that it's not rainy, or God-forbid snowing! Nana & Papa are coming to visit next weekend and take Josh trick-or-treating with us which means we have babysitters for that night. We're supposed to be going out with the usual crew (Jen, Jerry, Julie, Shawn, Susan & Chris) but haven't picked out costumes yet. We want to do a "couples" thing but don't want to spend alot of money. We'll have to go to the Halloween store to look at the probably totally picked-over selection of costumes this week. Worse comes to worse we can always wrap ourselves in white sheets right?!?!?!?!

Josh's "Big Boy" bed

Just a couple pictures of Josh's room with the crib gone and the "big boy" bed made up.
We have a lot of decorating to do if we're going to be here for much longer (including painting over the pretty dragonflies on the walls of his room).



Josh thought it was funny to be put in "jail"... if only we could really lock him up in a cage for a little bit... just kidding... kind of :)

And baby makes 4...

STOP right there!!! I'm NOT pregnant, LOL. I do however have babies on the brain.

It seems like alot of my friends either already have 2 kids or have #2 on the way. It's pretty natural for parents to want a sibling for their first child. Josh is almost 2 years 8 months old and it seems like everyone has been asking me about having another one for 2 years and 7 months :) I don't know if Josh would do well with a brother or sister. When I ask him if he wants one of course he says "yes". I'm sure Grandma, Grandpa, Nana & Papa would LOVE another little one running around. Heck, the Bukowski's haven't had a little girl born into the family in decades! To be honest, I go back and forth about wanting another child. As for Scott, I don't think he wants another baby (much less another toddler). Josh has been VERY difficult lately and from what everyone keeps telling me he'll progress quickly from the "terrible twos" to the "trying threes". The memories of the colicky infant with reflux are still fairly fresh in our minds. Neither of us can imagine going through all of that again, especially if we have to deal with it while contending with a needy, rambunctious Josh.

There are a couple other reasons why we're not getting pregnant right now:
#1 - My MS medication. Rebif is a pretty harsh drug and on top of the not-so-pleasant side effects for me it can also cause problems with spontaneous abortion and possibly birth defects. From what I've read they recommend that I stop taking the medication for a few months before we even start trying to get pregnant.
#2 - The cost of daycare. We take Josh to full-time daycare at Kindercare here in Cranberry Twp and spend roughly $1,000 a month. I'm not sure how much it is for an infant but I'm 100% certain that it's more expensive than for a toddler. The thought of spending $2,000-$2,500 a month just for daycare makes my stomach turn and I am NOT cut out to be a stay at home mom. Scott doesn't make enough (yet) for us to be a single-income family but even if he did I WANT to work. I didn't go to school for 6 years and get my MBA just so I could sit home.
#3 - Space! We like the house we're renting right now and plan on staying here for awhile (hopefully our next move will be back to FL). Problem is that it is a 3 bedroom house which is perfect for us now but not workable if we had another baby. We need the third bedroom for our guest room/office. Scott uses the office every single day and we need the guest bed for when our parents come to visit.

As I said, I waver back and forth on the issue of having another child. Right now I'm firmly planted on the side of "no more kids" but it will surely change. We took down Josh's crib earlier today and stored it away in the basement. Everyone says that as soon as you get rid of all the saved baby stuff you get pregnant and I just don't want to take that chance!!!

Sleepless in Pittsburgh

Last night was one of the worst nights with Josh in a very long time.
Up until about a week ago he was pretty good about going to bed. We'd put him in his crib around 8-8:30 with his 2 blankets, "floppy" dog and other various stuffed animal friends and he'd go right to sleep on his own. Then last week it all changed... I think the night we had the high winds. Josh is afraid of loud noises outside when he's trying to go to sleep so rain storms, thunder and wind always keep him up. I can understand why he needed some soothing that night but since then he either fights going to bed and climbs out of his crib repeatedly or wakes up in the middle of the night.
Last night has been the worst so far. He kept climbing out of his crib, running into my room and laughing. After putting him back in his crib a few times I decided to try my mom's idea of putting a gate up in front of his door and forcing him to stay in his room. Her theory was that he would either climb into his big boy bed and go to sleep or fall asleep on the floor. Yeah, that didnt work at all. He just stood at the gate and screamed and cried. After going in there and putting him in the bed many many many times and spanking him at least once I finally rocked him for a bit to settle him down and he went to sleep in his bed at 10pm.
Then at 3:45am he woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep. Again we kept putting him back in his bed over and over again and he kept getting out and standing at the gate and crying. Scott finally got him to go to sleep around 5 or 5:30 by laying with him and rubbing his head.
We are exhausted today and at our wit's end. I don't know what to do with this kid! This can't continue on or else we'll all be very tired and very cranky every day.

How do I interpret that?

So I had a conference call meeting with my boss this afternoon and he makes this comment to me...
"We missed you at National Meeting this year but you were there with us in spirit..."

WTF? I WANTED TO GO TO THE MEETING! It was not my choice not to be there, it was HIS! How am I supposed to interpret that? Do I say something to him that I wanted to be there and am disappointed that I wasn't allowed to go? It's bad enough that I'm exiled all the way up here in Pittsburgh (I know - my own doing) but I miss the team feeling of the Marketing department and wish I could have celebrated with them. What to do, what to do?

"Pumpkinland"

Yesterday we took Josh to the Janosky Farms "Pumpkinland". They had the usual fall festival stuff: hayrides, petting zoo, pony rides, haunted house and pumpkin patch. Overall it was okay and we did get a very nice pumpkin (and bumped into our friends Chris, Susan, Lily and Lindsay). We may try to go to a different one in a couple weeks that we hear is nicer.

Now to figure out what to carve into this pumpkin...

Happy Birthday to Me!

Ah yes, another birthday has come and gone and I'm now 29+++ :)

It was a good birthday even though Scott was out of town until 6pm on Sunday. Mom & Dad were here visiting and helping out with Josh which allowed me to go out and party with the girls on Saturday night. Boy did we have fun at a piano bar and wow did I pay for it ALL DAY SUNDAY!!!

Here are a few pics from over the last week:

Family picture with the yummy cannoli cake from Florentine

Josh helping Grandma rake up leaves

Julie, Me & Susan @ Charlie Murdoch's (piano bar)

My birthday flowers from Cioci Joan and Scott

I promise...

... that this will not turn into a blog solely about my health and about MS. I greatly appreciate everyone's concern about how I'm doing and will keep everyone updated but honestly there is much more interesting stuff to talk about.

So first, the health update. I started on my medication (Rebif) last Thursday evening. We had a nurse come to the house that morning to show both Scott & I how to give the injections and to answer any questions that we had. She is a great resource and gave me some good news - I don't have to give up alcohol completely for the rest of my life! (I know, it seems like such a small concern in the grand scheme of things) The medication is rough on your liver and can cause problems so they encourage you not to drink and put more stress on the liver but an occasional drink here and there, especially on days that I don't take my med, isn't completely frowned upon. I'm on a very low dose of the med right now (8.8 mcg) and will gradually work my way up to the full dose (44 mcg). So far I've done 2 injections, one with just the syringe and one with the injector, and prefer the injector just like I thought I would. Something about having to put the needle in my skin and push down the plunger freaks me out. No crazy side-effects yet, just a little fatigue. Hopefully this means that I will tolerate the medicine well and get on with my life.

Now on to other news...

Last weekend Nana & Papa came and took Josh for the whole weekend so Scott & I could have some alone time. Go figure, we spent the whole weekend shopping!!! I'm super excited though because Josh has a totally new wardrobe for fall & winter. Now that we live up North, Jimmy's hand-me-downs aren't all season appropriate so Josh needed pretty much everything from top to bottom. We got him a ton of long-sleeved tees, sweatshirts, jeans and sweatpants and mostly all on sale! He also got 2 new pairs of sneakers at Stride Rite and lots and lots of new blanket-sleeper pajamas. It was nice to be able to go shopping and not feel rushed but we did miss him the entire weekend and talked about him constantly. And of course, as soon as he got home he turned the whole house upside down and had us on our toes again.

Josh wants to be Scooby-Doo for Halloween so we picked up a costume for him. As soon as he saw it he wanted to put it on and it's a good thing he did. It's sized 2T-4T but is pretty snug on him even though all he had on underneath was a diaper. It seems my boy has a long torso. So, I'll take it back and get the boys size 4-6 and will surely have to figure out what to do about the legs being too long. He's so excited about Halloween this year and I'll admit so am I. This is the first year that we're taking him trick-or-treating and Nana & Papa are going to come up to go with us. He's already carrying around a plastic pumpkin and practicing how to say "trick-or-treat". He's adorable!!!

This weekend is the PSS National Meeting in Dallas, TX. Scott leaves on Thursday afternoon and due to budget cuts I'm not going :( But the good news is that Grandma & Grandpa are coming to visit! They get in tomorrow around dinner time and will stay until Sunday morning. We have lots planned as long as the weather holds out... the zoo, a fall festival, more shopping. I'm excited too because they're bringing food from back home and a birthday cake for me!!! It should be a great family weekend (instead of one with my drunken co-workers)!

Long time no post...

It's hard to believe that it's been almost a month since I last blogged... I'm not even sure who still reads this since I'm pretty sure everyone (including Mom) is now on Facebook. I guess if you're reading this you should post a comment so I know that I'm not writing just to myself.

Anyway, it's been an eventful month to say the least. Shortly after I blogged the last time I was formally diagnosed with MS. Needless to say my life has been turned somewhat upside down. The disease affects everyone differently so there's nothing to read that will give me a good idea of how it will progress and what symptoms may affect me. What I do know is that I have one lesion on my spine (which is causing the numbness in the left leg), but what is more scary are the "cloudy areas" in my brain - many of them and some are quite large. It amazes me that there are so many "quiet" areas of the brain - we really dont use the majority of it! I was too stunned and hysterical at my last appointment to ask my neurologist anything about the brain lesions being close to "active" areas of my brain so I will definitely ask at my next appointment. For now I will be starting a drug called Rebif to slow down the progression of the disease. Yeah joy fun now I get to give myself injections three times a week, may have flu-like symptom side effects and I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to ever have alcohol again because of problems it can cause to liver function. I'm not a boozer by any stretch of the imagination (any more) but I dont see myself giving up alcohol for the rest of my life. There are also lots of other things I'm not supposed to do/eat/etc and I'm sure I'll blog about it as I learn more. I'm still going through the range of emotions and have recently just been in denial and trying not to think about it. I start the meds on Thursday so no more denial, time to face it head on. I hope that the meds slow down the progression of the disease so I dont have any more symptoms, that the side effects from the meds are very mild, and that this disease does not alter my life completely. In an ideal world I want this disease to cause me a minor inconvenience 3x a week when I have to do the shots.

I guess that's all for now. Please forgive me if my blogs are few and far between for awhile as I learn to cope and adjust to everything.

Lions & tigers & bears, oh my! (and giraffes & elephants & monkeys...)

Summer has FINALLY arrived in Pittsburgh and the weather is just how I like it... mid to upper 80s and sunny! This whole weekend was going to be nice so we decided to go to the zoo yesterday. We had gone once before and Josh had a really good time and we couldn't wait to take him back. We're planning on going there when everyone comes up from Florida at the beginning of next month so we decided to go ahead and get a family membership. As long as we go 2 more times (which we totally will do) it will have saved us money.

We were there from 10:30-3:30 and saw all the animals. Josh especially loved the African exhibit with the zebras, elephants and giraffes (Mommy loved the monkeys as usual even though the monkey house smells horrific). We had lunch there, rode the tram and the train and Josh rode on a kiddie jeep ride. He got a new hat and a package of plastic frogs that he LOVES and played with them in the bathtub last night - one of them even looks like the little green frogs that used to hang out on the walls of our front porch in Jacksonville.

Here are a few pictures of our fun day:

Health update

I went to see a neurologist last Thursday regarding my leg numbness. After listening to my story, hearing my symptoms and performing some simple tests he ordered an MRI of my thoracic (mid) back. I went for the MRI on Friday - an unpleasant experience not because I was stuck inside a tube (I'm not claustrophobic at all), but unpleasant because I had to sit with a catheter shoved up my left arm the entire time so they could inject contrast dye into it for the last 10 mintues of the scan. Why they couldn't just inject me at the end minus the catheter is beyond me.
I got a call from the doctor yesterday and now I have to go back for an MRI of my brain, yes my BRAIN. The MRI of my back showed abnormalities (probably lesions) on my spine and he needs to me have one of my brain to assist in his diagnosis.

Multiple Sclerosis

Everyone keeps telling me not to jump to conclusions and not to get upset yet but how can I not? I'm terrified! Even the nurse at the neurologist's office said that it's only a possibility at this time and not a diagnosis and that it may be something else. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers that it's something else. I go for my brain MRI this Friday morning.

Family photo shoot

Just a few pics from the photo shoot we did while in SoFla. We should get the CD with all the pics in the next few weeks.

South Florida vacation recap

We had an AMAZING time in South Florida with Scott's family last weekend! It was great to see Josh and Jimmy play (although there was a fair share of toddler bickering) and spend lots of time in the sun. The weather worked in our favor and after some rain on Thursday when we flew in, it cleared up and was hot and sunny the rest of the trip.

We did some shopping on Thursday at the Sawgrass Mill outlets (my fave) and then grabbed a bite to eat and hung out at the apartment that night (my in-laws' flight was delayed a few hours that evening so all other plans got thrown out the window). We set up a big tent in Jimmy's room and that's where the boys slept next to each other the entire time we were there.

On Friday we took the boys to Coconut Cove waterpark where Josh proceeded to cry hysterically and then take a nap on one of the lounge chairs in the shade. I guess all the kids and water features were a bit overwhelming for him. At least Scott & I got to go on a few waterslides.


On Saturday we went to the beach in the morning, made sandcastles and swam in the oh-so-warm ocean. We got there early enough that we were able to get some lounge chairs and an umbrella so we didn't get burned. I can't tell you the last time I was in the ocean and despite my fear of jellyfish and sharks I still had a good time swimming.

After lunch, naps and showers we went to Day's aunt Tia's house for a Cuban BBQ/pool party. The food was great (I tried and liked bacon wrapped dates) and we had fun swimming in the pool (Josh became a fish and loved jumping in the pool and going under water - a first for him).
Sunday was our last full day there and in the morning we went to the pool for some more water and sun. Unfortunately Josh slipped and fell and split his bottom lip open but recovered quickly. We had professional family photos taken that evening and you really can't see his boo-boo. After the photos Nana, Papa & Uncle Chris took the boys back to the apartment so us mommies and daddies could go out for some adult fun. Me, Scott, Day & Jon all went to Boston's on the Beach in Delray to see the band CrazyFingers, a Dead cover band. We all had a great time and I of course drank way too many martinis and ended up getting sick. Flying home on Monday hungover was definitely not fun but we made our flight without a problem.

Being down there with everyone made Scott & I realize that we truly want to move there permanently. We loved having all the family around and Day's family was so affectionate to Josh as well and treated us all like we were party of their family. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it works out for us and Scott is eventually able to take a sales territory in the West Palm area. With PSS anything is possible!