Recapping November

Wow! Didn't realize it's been so long since I blogged. Where the heck did November and December go? In an attempt to remember what we've been doing the past 2 months, I'm gonna do a really long rambling post with mostly Iphone pictures since that's what I use the most to capture memories these days. Bad habit I know, but it's handy. My Nikon is too heavy to lug around on a daily basis. So here we go-

The girls had a lot of fun dressing up and trick or treating. Natalee was a Lalaloopsy girl and got so many comments about her costume, specifically her wig. Some adults thought she was Raggedy Ann or Pippi Longstocking, but the kids news right away who she was. Haylee was a cute zebra. We went around our neighborhood like usual but the girls were ready to go home within 30 minutes. I was like "are you kidding? Don't you want candy?" But Haylee actually wanted to go home to pass out candy.

That night Haylee got her last dose of antibiotic she was on to get rid of her PANDAS symptoms.

Nov 4th I met with Haylee's pediatrician Dr. A to go over everything that happened and fill her in on what the Psychologist said and what we do now. She was very nice about everything, basically admitted she herself doesn't know much about PANDAS since that's something a Neurologist has to diagnose but said she gets info about it from a Neurologist at Phx Children's next door. She said she wanted to check Haylee's Aso Titer again in a few weeks to make sure her levels dropped. If Haylee starts behaving with the same sudden OCD behavior again she will put her on antibiotics right away and we'll need to make an appointment to see a Neurologists. I have been researching Neurologist in Arizona and found a Dr. Alarcio who seems to be a PANDAS expert and she's right here in Mesa. She's currently on medical leave but I'm trying to make an appointment to see her even though she has a 2-3 month wait for new patients. More on that later...

Haylee has been going to Girl Scouts twice a month and loves it. She marched in the Veteran's Day Parade which was an awesome experience for her.

They also toured the fire station and got pink fireman hats.

I have never been to fire station myself so I thought it was cool to see their living quarters inside. I didn't realize they work 48 hours straight so they all have living quarters and a full kitchen etc. Cookie sales start the end of this month and we're working on reserving booths and selling selling selling!

Josh has been golfing most Saturday mornings. He is truly addicted. Its rare when I get the mail and there isn't a package inside with a new golf gadget. Josh takes his hobbies very seriously :)

My Mom and I went to see Menopause at The Palms, which use to be Broadway Palms. The food was delicious and the show was hilarious. There were a few parts I just laughed out loud! I love going there and seeing shows. While we were there, the girls were at my neighbors house getting the groove on. She teaches zumba classes and the girls loved it. They can't wait to go back!

Natalee went to the dentist

and to the ENT specialist to follow up on the fluid in her ear. Thank God the antihistamine worked and there was no fluid whatsoever and her ear looked perfect. Oh and her throat looked great too! Yeah for a break from constant strep and ear infections for Natalee!

Natalee was invited to 2 parties in November for little girls in her preschool class. I was a little hesitant at first since she's only 3 1/2 but she had a blast. She went to Lily's Monsters University party and Azrielle's Princess party. I'm glad she has little school friends!

The day before Thanksgiving Haylee had her blood taken to test her Aso Titer. Once again she did amazing, didn't even flinch. She said her flu shot hurt worse. Sadly the results are showing her numbers are 290 which are almost double the 150 normal number. I'm not entirely sure what that means but since she's not having any radical behavior I'm trying not to worry. This is why I'm making her an appointment with Dr. Alarcio but it'll be a few months before we get in. Better to be safe than sorry. I honestly think that by Gods grace Haylee was one of the very few lucky ones who was put on an antibiotic fast enough and it hopefully cured the problem so she won't exhibit the crazy OCD when she comes in contact with strep again. We were very fortunate to be referred to a psychologist who was aware of PANDAS and said to have her tested right away. Most kids go months and even years before they hear about PANDAS and by then it's almost to late. I am eternally thankful for the blessing of a complete recovery and for all the prayers on Haylee's behalf.

Thanksgiving Day we went out to eat with my Mom and Dustin and then my Mom kept the girls so Josh and I could get our Black Friday shopping on!!! We started at Walmart where we lined up about an hour before the sale started. Josh and I were at separate areas in the store and it was a little intense when 6pm hit. We got everything we went after and more! Sam came and joined in on the fun too. After Walmart we went to Kohl's and Target getting what we went after at both of those stores too. I think we got home around 11pm and crashed so I could get up and go with my Mom the next morning for round 2! I am so glad Josh loves the thrill of Black Friday shopping. He was bummed he didn't get anything fun but we sure got some great deals on stuff for the girls.

On Sunday my Mom hosted our Thanksgiving dinner.

We ate, we laughed and we played a couple games. The food was yummy, Dustin's prayer was totally unexpected and everyone had a good time.

And these are random pictures from November-

(Natalee doing her homework)

(Natalee loves when I paint her nails)

(This is what happens when Josh is home with the girls)

(Haylee loves her little Kona)

(I asked Natalee to circle a few things she'd like for Christmas)

(As long as it's HER toys she chews up we're ok)

(Silly girl sitting on the stairs)

 (My 3 Princesses)

(Girls love game night, especially Old Maid)

 (Loves her lobster)

 (I just love this dinosaur Natalee made at school)

 (Haylee says he's her boyfriend)

 (Natalee loved playing with Sabrina)

 (I love everything Natalee makes at school)

I sure love my goofy girls!

Happy New Year {2014}

I just realized I haven't blogged since Oct. 28th! Oops. I'll do a round up for November and December soon but I wanted to wrap up the year and post the top 5 memorable moments of 2013.

They're not all happy moments, but when I think about all of 2013 these are the 5 things that come to mind.

1. In January after returning home from Vegas I went to bend down and get a package out of the mail box and totally killed my back. It was obviously weak and would have happened sooner or later, but I spent the better part of 2013 trying different things to get relief. For 3 months I went to AFC Chiropractic and after about 6 weeks my back pain was gone. Well shortly after began the sciatic pain down my leg and that is what I dealt with all year. In April I found out I have a 8mm herniated disc. I was then referred to another chiropractor to receive spinal decompression treatments and tried massage therapy as well. After no change, I went to see a spine surgeon who referred me to Arizona Back Pain Institute for injections (if that didn't work he recommended surgery). Well before the ABPI will do injections they wanted me to take oral steroids, do more PT, and try an inversion table. He also ordered a CT scan of my legs because he noticed my knees were off. I tried all of that and still no improvement and I went back to have him look over my CT results. He noticed my left leg is 9mm shorter than my right and told me to get a heel lift. I would have never believed after spending close to $4000 and dealing with pain for 10 months a simple $5 heel lift would be the answer to my problems. Seriously. I've been wearing them about 2 months now and about 95% of the time I am pain free. Some days when I haven't been wearing them enough I feel a little pain but nothing like before. I can't believe it was a simple heel lift that fixed it all.

2. In May, Josh and I celebrated 10 years of marriage by going on our first cruise to the Caribbean. We went to Cozumel, Belize, Isla Roatan and Grand Cayman. We had such a wonderful time but the highlight was definitely zip lining. What a thrill! I am so thankful to be married to my best friend. Josh is such a hard worker and so patient with me. It's crazy to think we've been married 10 years, have 2 sweet little girls and have been blessed tremendously along our journey. I can't wait for the next 10 years!

3. For my 30th Birthday Josh surprised me with a trip to Vegas. He even pretended to go to work like normal but when he heard me wake up he came upstairs and said "pack your bags, your Mom is coming to watch the girls and we're leaving for Vegas." I was so shocked. I can't believe he pulled it off, I don't think anyone has ever surprised me like that. We had a wonderful time.

4. While in Maui Haylee started acting strange. I thought maybe it was dehydration, lack of sleep or just being off her routine and out of school. She started to get worse while on October break and I was referred to a psychologist who mentioned her symptoms sounded like PANDAS and to have her tested right away. Thankfully her doctor agreed to order the blood work right away. As expected her levels were elevated and she was given antibiotics right away. She was one of the very few, lucky ones who completely recovered and that is thanks to Dr. Allen and Dr. Beth and getting Haylee on antibiotics quickly. It was seriously the craziest thing I have ever seen. It was a very depressing, difficult time for all of us but thankfully after 3 1/2 weeks she was back to her normal self. Although her levels are still higher than normal, her sudden, extreme OCD behavior has never returned. I owe it all to the healing from our Heavenly Father and the many prayers said on Haylee's behalf. She will be seeing a Neurologist soon to discuss her elevated aso titer levels but we're hopeful it's nothing serious.

5. In September we welcomed Kona into our family. Of course she came at a horrible time (right in the middle of all the chaos with Haylee) and being a puppy she was anything but a good girl so it was rough at first. She's gotten so much better and we really love having her in our home. She is such a sweet, beautiful girl and she reminds us of our sweet little Jackson. We know he sent her to us and not a day goes by we don't think of Jackson and miss him.

2013 was a good year despite health problems for Haylee and I. Josh has a wonderful job, I'm able to work from home and use my income for traveling (and medical bills) and the girls are doing great in school and growing up fast. We got a new car this year (well 2 actually), we traveled quite a bit and were able to make so many memories with the girls!  Here's hoping 2014 is even better and we're all in great health!