Yowza!!

Well Gabby finally pooped!! After three and a half days, she finally let it all go and it wasn't pretty! She's gotta feel so much better now! I wonder if this will be her new norm. We've gone from 4-5 times a day, down to once a day and now once every 3 days?? Can't say I'd complain!

We go see Dr. Menzies tomorrow for her Special Kids Clinic which is basically just a very thorough check-up where she includes a dietitian, social worker and anyone else that she feels Gabby would benefit from seeing. I'm not sure who all we will be seeing. Update tomorrow!

Oh Buddy!!

I am so in for it!!! Gabby hasn't pooped since Sunday morning!! We're going on almost 60 hours of no poop. I thought for sure it would happen at school today, but nothing. What the heck?? I just hope when it does come, that it isn't at like 2:00 in the morning. Her bowels confuse me. I wish they would make up their mind already!!

Randomness

Geesh, it's been a while!! I've been busy the past few weeks. First my mom was visiting from Colorado then the day after she left, my in laws arrived! Lots going on!!

Well the school year is winding down and I swear we are as busy as ever! Even worse is that our summer is looking to be crazy too! Camps, summer school, vacations, visits from Casey and doctor appointments have already consumed most of the summer months! I have already purchased a pool pass for Rileigh and myself. This is the first year I've bought one. I was going to just get it for Ri since my wonderful neighbor, Carrie, said that she would take Ri to the pool with her anytime they were going. I decided to add myself because it really wasn't that much more and I'm hoping that it'll force me to go. I don't think I went once last year but that was due to the fact that I had no one to do respite for Gabby. I am so lucky to have an awesome respite person signed up for the summer already!!! Miss Rachel is an associate in Gabby's Functional Skills room and she was nice enough to agree to work with Gab's this summer (she's also doing respite for one of the other boys in her class too!)! I think this will be the first summer where I'll be 100% comfortable leaving her! Rachel is awesome~ so sweet and patient~ I couldn't have asked for anyone better!!

Speaking of Gabby, I think a poop update is waaaaayyyy overdue! I know you are all so anxious to hear if the poop issues are on going!! Well, I am so happy to report that there have been some significant improvements!! Since we have stopped giving her such big bolus tube feedings and she's actually eating more real foods, she has only been having one big blow out a day and it's usually first thing in the morning. I go in to get her out of bed saying "Good morning Stinky!" I have been super pleased with this! I no longer fear going out to eat or taking her out and about! She is going to see a GI specialist in June because there is some concern that she isn't digesting her food properly, but I don't think that's any huge deal, they would just need to give her some enzymes or something. Her seizures have been inconsistent as usual, but she has had a few seizure free days here and there, we are always thankful for those!!! Her ketogenic dietitian, Stella (at Children's Hospital in St. Paul), has been such a great help. She is so positive and encouraging, I don't know if I could have kept up with the diet if it hadn't been for her support!

One last bit of news~ Casey is getting his wisdom teeth out tomorrow. They have been bothering him for years causing headaches and tooth pain. They are so impacted that the dentist told him his jaw bone is going to be very fragile and there's a possibility that it may break. Ugh!! So please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. It sucks that I won't be there to help him, but he is going to stay with his Uncle Wally ,who lives in Seattle, for a few days while he recovers. I remember getting my wisdom teeth out. It was horrible, almost as bad as giving birth (in my opinion!!). Hopefully he'll be ok!

BOOBS!!

That got your attention, didn't it??? I posted on my Facebook status the other day that I was going shopping for a new over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder. A couple of my friends responded, saying to have fun. Have fun?? Were they being serious?? I had never considered that bra shopping may indeed be fun for some people. I am not one of those lucky fun bra shopping gals. In fact, I HATE it. One of the girls asked if I would be visiting Victoria's Secret. Well, one of Vicki's secrets is that she doesn't carry bras that can tame my monster melons!! I can't shop for the cute, sexy, push-up versions like most of the female population. Most department stores that I have visited only have two or three different brands that even carry a bra in my size so that cuts my selection way down. From there I usually have a choice between a regular bra or a minimizer which promises to drop your cup size by 1 1/2 inches. A minimizer does make you appear smaller, but lots of times you look smooshed too. I can pick between your basic black, white or beige. No fun colors, no funky patterns, nothing sexy about em!! The back usually consists of at least 3 rows of hooks, the shoulder straps are extra wide and even extra padded and you're lucky to get a pearl or a bow smack dab in the middle. Here's an idea, next time you're at your Grandma's house, raid her bra drawer and I'll bet my bras look pretty much like hers!! So no, bra shopping for me is not fun. I am so jealous of my smaller breasted friends that can find the joy in searching for new undergarments!! If I had the means, I would get a breast reduction in a heartbeat (I actually went for a consultation several years ago and that is a story in it's self!) but for now I'm stuck in the ugly bra club!! Anyone else out there wanna join me??

Mother's Day

My mom is actually in town for Mother's Day this year. It's been a long time since we've shared this holiday so it's been really nice. I made her a brunch this morning. I tried to find things that were low carb (for the most part) and everything turned out yummy! We had a crustless spinach and bacon quiche, fruit salad with homemade whipped cream, turkey bacon and not so carb friendly~ banana bread smeared with whipped cream cheese! MMMMM! The quiche was good but maybe a bit salty (and I'm a saltaholic!!). The recipe calls for cottage cheese which is salty and of course the bacon was salty. I used 2% cottage cheese and I'm wondering if I had used FF if it wouldn't have been so salty. It was good enough though that I would make it again.

After brunch I got to open my presents from Rileigh and Gabby. I love getting handmade gifts from them. Rileigh's brought tears to my eyes it was so sweet. Here is a picture~

Well I thought you'd be able to read this, but it's pretty difficult to see so I'll rewrite it (as she wrote it, spelling mistakes and all).

Dear Mom, I love you because....

*you love me

*you take care of me

*you give me huges when i'm feelin down

*you teach me things

*you give me what I need

*you treat me the way I want to be treated

*you take me to places I like to go

*you take care of me properly

*you always have time for me

*you let me snugel with you

*you let me have the best times ever

*you like me for who I am

*you get me cool stuff

*you are like my shelter

How sweet is that, especially the last one. She said she came up with them all and didn't ask the teacher for any help. Awwwww! I love my baby girl! Gabby's class made lilies out of their handprints and made little bouquets for us. They are adorable!! (Pic is at top)

My awesome husband got me a new Coach purse and wallet for Mother's Day which was a huge surprise. I wasn't expecting that at all but I'm lovin it!! :) He's so sweet! I feel kinda bad because his birthday is next week and all I got him was ShamWow!! He's been saying he wanted to try it out for a long time, so I gave in and spent the whole $19.99 on it. Here is a pic of my purse~

Nice huh??? I'm not the type of person who goes out and spends tons of money on clothes, purses and shoes, but I'm totally a sucker for Coach purses!! I just love how soft they are and how after you've used them for a few years they get even softer. They feel like butta!!! They are also made so well that they last forever! The other plus is that he got these at the Coach Outlet in Seattle, so they cost less than they would have at a regular Coach store, can't beat that!!

Hope all you Mom's have a great Mother's Day!!

Dumpster Diving in the 'Kee

Every spring Waukee has a large trash pick up day. This is honestly one of my most favorite days of the year! This Saturday is the pick up day and the fun has already begun!! By Thursday afternoon the "trash" has already started piling up on the curbs around town. People come from far and wide with their pick-up trucks and trailers hoping to find some treasures! We decided to go to the Ice Cream Shoppe on the Triangle (Waukee likes to be different, we don't have a town square, but we have a triangle instead!!) with some of the neighbors. Afterwards, Lindsay convinced me to go drive around a bit to see if we see any good stuff. I have NEVER been dumpster diving or picked up anything off of the curb before. I told Linds that I couldn't believe I was doing this, but I must admit I am so glad I listened to her!! Our first finds were two plastic patio tables. One looks like a small plant table, just big enough to put a potted plant on and the other is a taller round table which we have dubbed the "Margarita Table" because we have been needing a place to set our Margs on these nice spring nights!! Both are in perfectly good condition, just need some cleaning up. Our next big find was 5 plastic patio chairs. I already had two, but neighbor Carrie was always having to drag hers over or the kids would want to sit in em. So now we have plenty for all!! If anyone wants a Margarita~ my front deck is ready for ya!!!

Quick No Sugar Update

I've still been doing *pretty good* with the no sugar/carbs quest. Today was day 9 and I have lost 6 lbs. The only sweets I have had was a piece of angel food cake with strawberries and homemade whipped cream made with splenda and a couple of bites of a churro that Ri got at Costco (Ummmmm if you haven't had one of these you must try!! It took all I had to not snarf the whole thing down!!!) The carbs I haven't done as well, but still doing better than usual. I bought some Carb Balance whole wheat tortillas (fajita sized) to make breakfast burritos, I can't stand having eggs without toast so this was my compromise and it's goooood!! I have also left the croutons in my salads when I've eaten out and I bought some AE lite yogurt. Tonight I was baaaad though!! Went to Applebee's for dollar kids meals night~ I ordered a steak with sauteed mushrooms and onion but it also came with either mashed or baked potato. I couldn't stop myself and ordered the mashed and I ate every single stinkin last bite!!! I think we have to give in sometimes, right??? (Mine didn't come with the bread~ Thank goodness!!)

It's not nearly as hard as I thought it would be, especially the sweets. I think I will try to keep going for a while and see what happens!!

What Is It With Surgeons??

Seriously! Gabby had to get her g-tube button replaced today by the surgeon who put it in. I am not going to name any names so I will refer to him as Dr. B. I totally was not looking forward to going today because I was afraid he was going to "yell" at me~ again. I guess to be fair I shouldn't say he yelled at me, it's more like he made me feel completely inadequate and laid a huge guilt trip on me. The first incident happened several months ago. I had to take Gabs in to see him because she was having trouble with granulation tissue growing around her button. (Granulation tissue is just skin that starts growing up out of the hole where the button is placed.) This is something that Gabby has dealt with since we put the button in. When he saw the amount of tissue she had, he was very upset. He kept asking me how I was cleaning it and proceeded to tell me that I was doing it all wrong. He then basically preformed a small surgical procedure right there in his office, cutting off all of the tissue, which he said really should be done in an O.R. After he walked out of the office I started crying. I was mad that he had scolded me when I was doing what I thought I was supposed to be doing and horrified that I had to watch him do this procedure to my daughter when I totally wasn't expecting it. So now I'm sure you can understand why I didn't want to go back. Here is a picture of a Bard G-tube. The top part is on the outside of her body, the rest is inside her stomach. I flip the little flap open to insert her feeding tube.
I did get a bit of a guilt trip today for the amount of tissue she has growing. I tried to explain that I try to keep it under control. I have silver nitrate sticks at home that I'm supposed to use on it. Problem is that she hates it. It is very painful and she squirms and bangs her head and screams and cries so needless to say I can do a very good job. I explained this all to him to no avail. He just asked if I was "being aggressive enough with it"...... well obviously not. I'd like to see him try to do it with no nurse there to help him. It's hard when it's your own child that you are knowingly inflicting pain upon. Not an easy thing to do and I'm usually in tears by the time I'm done doing it to her.

The other issue I have noticed with surgeons (and not just Dr. B) is that they aren't very nice to their nurses. Very condescending and rude!!! Today he was talking to her like she was a child~ that had to have been embarrassing for the nurse to have him talk to her like that in front of a patient. After Dr. B left, the nurse told me not to worry about it. She said some kids just have issues with the granulation tissue. She also said that she has gotten used to his "scoldings" and just tries to brush it off. I wonder if all surgeons are like that??

Now Dr. B is a great surgeon and I think his intention is in the right place. He's concerned for his patients, but he could try to be a bit more understanding. I have had some appointments and meetings with him where he is just as nice as can be, but if he thinks you're not doing something right he sure isn't afraid to voice his opinion!!! I just hope that she doesn't need to go back to see him any time soon!!!

*Side note* Big prayers going out to my friend who is having some health problems that I just found out about. I am hoping with all my heart that it's not what we think it could be!

Still Going Strong

So today is Day 5 of my no sugar (sweets)/no carbs craze and so far I'm doing fine!!! I haven't had even a speck, lick, smidge, or taste of any sort of sweets! This is amazing considering Rileigh got 5 May Day baskets filled to the brim with goodies today!!

I have had just a few carbs, but I'm hoping that they won't count for much considering they aren't horrible carbs. I can hardly stand to eat eggs without toast, so I compromised and got the fajita sized, whole-wheat , carb smart tortillas. Oh yummy!!! So good and it totally makes up for not being able to have a couple of slices of toast!! I had Wendy's chili for dinner the other night, not really realizing that beans have carbs, but I figure that beans are so good for you that that must cancel out the bad stuff!! Right?

I went to lunch today at Los Tres Amigos and finding something carb-free on a mexican menu ain't easy! My friend suggested fajitas with no tortillas, so that's what I had and I can't say I really missed not having the tortilla. It was delish!

A couple of added bonuses:

*Around 2:00 every day I was getting soooo tired and would give anything for a nap. Since I've cut out most of the sugars and carbs, I'm not tired anymore!! I really feel pretty good!

*I have lost 4 pounds! (In 5 days!!) Wasn't why I started on this little journey, but it may keep me going!!!

Still not craving sweets, but I am still missing those carbs! I really, really, really wanted pizza for dinner, but instead I had deli sliced garlic peppered turkey, cottage cheese and carrots and cucumbers with light dressing for dipping.

Next week isn't going to be so easy~ I have to take Gabs to MN to see her Epilepsy doc on Monday. It may be a bit more difficult to eat good on the road! Then my mom is coming for Mother's Day weekend and I'm thinking about making Sunday Brunch. I'm gonna try my darndest to keep it up! I will post updates!!