October 31, 2013

Review: Allied Shirts


2
This is what I sent in
The Donate Life walk is Saturday.  Every year I keep saying I am going to buy a cool shirt to wear for the walk and every year I kick myself in the butt for not doing it.  This year I was offered a free shirt in exchange for a review from Allied Shirts.  Talk about perfect timing.  Only one problem. I had no idea what to put on the shirt!  Yes, four years of thinking and I still had not one clue as to what I wanted to put on it. Then the night before I needed to order by I came up with this.  I'm not very creative, but whats done is done!  I can always order another when that perfect idea comes to mind.  I do have one design, but its more a general shirt.  Everyone I asked said it didn't describe my illness so I went with this one.  I think its pretty straight to the point.

What I love most about Allied Shirts is that the process is super quick and easy!  
  1. Pick a shirt.  They have many options.  Long sleeve, Short sleeve, Girly tees and even sweatshirts and hoodies.
  2. Next you design your shirt.  Add text or art, using theirs or your own.  Adding a name and number is not available just yet, but it is something I am looking forward too! They have size small up to 4X in some styles too!
  3. Get pricing and then order!
Three easy steps to a one of a kind shirt or hoodie.  I cant wait to find reasons to order more!  Next year I want to start fundraising again, putting together a team for the walk (in advance) and will be back here to order some team shirts.  Lets just hope that in the next year I can come up with something a little more creative!

This is my shirt.  Not sure how I feel about it now.  I figured if I was walking with a bunch of people who support the cause, they would get it.  But I always worry that my humor might not make sense to some.  So now I'm worried about wearing it with 500 people around me! Those are all personal issues.  I will still wear it though.  Its the truth!  There are 15,885 other people in the nation wanting one too!  


So what do you think?  Too much?  

shirt
This is what I received

Once I ordered, it only took a week to receive it in the mail.  I got home and quickly tried it on.  I got an XL that way if it shrinks any I'm safe.  And even though it looked like it was going to be to big, it actually fits quite nicely.  It is a little on the thin side, so I will most likely wear something under it.  When I do buy more I will choose the Hanes brand.  The design is smooth and nicely done.  The text is sharp.  I am going to be wearing this shirt quite often. Not just because I want people to know just how important Organ Donation is but because its very comfortable and light.    Prices are fair.  Quality is great.  Like I said, I can't wait to order more.  Are you in the market for a custom Tee Shirt!  Allied Shirts is the way to go!   

Allied Shirts Recommends: BuildASign.com and Printcopia

October 30, 2013

Happiness is ______ {Week 24} #happinessis

I missed last week, so I'm going to try not to overload y'all today.  Despite how tiring and frustrating the past two weeks have been, they have equally been filled with happiness.  That's one of the things I love about myself.  Did that sound conceited?  I hope not.  I love the fact that I can take all the crap that goes on in life and find a positive.  There is always hope.  The day I lose that...I'm done.  I refuse!  So on to the happy things.

Happiness is Soccer!  He doesn't sit still for long.  But I love hearing him scream "GO BUBBAS"  mostly because I love seeing his brother smile.

IMAG0951

Happiness is walking in to the imaging office and greeted by my tech who immediately asks how my boys are doing.  He and I have been doing this for the last 5 years.  He told me he was getting worried because its almost been a year.  He was relieved to know that the reason I haven't been back is because I am stable enough to move to once a year scans instead of twice or three times a year.  I'm always so nervous until I'm in the machine and I hear his voice come though the headphones reminding me to breath!  Good medical care, personal care, can make all the difference!

IMAG1014

Happiness is the breakfast with this little man.  Just about every morning we sit here and have fried egg sandwiches.  This day, we switched it up for scrambled and toast.  But starting the day off quiet and eating always makes for a smoother morning!

IMAG1068

Happiness is three very tired pups at the end of the day.  Its been crazy with a puppy in the house.  But I have never seen my boys sleep so much.  Its almost kinda nice.  David said to me the other night that 3 dogs is just right!  OH BOY!

IMAG1110

Happiness is handing over the kitchen to an 8 year old.   This boy made some awesome smiley face pepperoni pizzas. They tasted just as good as they looked.  He took his role very seriously!

IMG_1140

Happiness is having friends who are as passionate, well more passionate about saving dogs than I am.  My friend found Junior tied to a street pole on the side of the highway.  He had very bad demodex mange, his eyes were infected and he would have died there.  She is now fostering him.  I got to go over the other day and help give him a bath, and today I took pictures for her to share online to help find him a forever family! When she first got him, he was unsure about everything.  Today he was a whole different dog.  He is happy!

PhotoGrid_1383165185684

What brought you happiness this week?  Stop by Crazy Adventures in Parenting and see what happiness others are sharing!  


October 22, 2013

Homemade Apple Dog Treats

We go though dog treats like nothing around here.  There is usually always a jar of treats either on the counter or in the fridge.  All of the recipes I have tried had peanut butter in them, so I was super excited to try some without it.  You can find the original recipe HERE.


Apple Dog Treats

October 20, 2013

The ghost of pumpkins past.

Halloween is coming up up in just a few days and we still have no idea what we will be dressing up as.  The boys started out wanting to be Mario and Luigi, but now we are at zombie soldiers.  So who knows where we will end up.  I usually just paint my face.  Not sure what I will do this year either.  But what I love most about Halloween is not the dressing up, or the candy, believe it or not!  My favorite part is the pumpkins.  I love carving pumpkins.  And every year I try to challenge myself.  I'm not a pro by any means, but there is something so relaxing about cutting away at the pumpkin and then lighting it up and watching the design come to life.

Here are a few of our past pumpkins!  Cant wait to see what we come up with this year!

2008:  I only did one pumpkin this year.  I had just been diagnosed with Budd Chiari and G20210A.  I was pregnant, swollen and was pretty much running on auto pilot.  But I remember telling myself that I had to snap out of it because my baby was so excited to dress up and go trick or treating.  We only made it around the block but it was one of them best times with Anthony I've ever had. 

IMG_1777
2008

2009.  Kept it super easy this year.  No stencils just faces.  Most of our pumpkins were painted.  Much easier, more messier but so much fun!

IMG_3305
2009 Alexanders First Halloween

IMG_3349
The 3 stooges.

2010:  The first appearance of the scary clown.  This guy looked so cool.  I got so many compliments but I had to confess, its was just from a stencil.  One of these days I will make up my own cool creation.  For now, I will take all the help I can get!

IMG_7051
The whole bunch

IMG_7011
My all time favorite!

IMG_7018
The bat was cool too!!

2011:  OH man were my hands hurting by the time I got though with these.  I did all but 3 of these.  I wish I had a shot of them lit.  I know I do on my hard drive but its dead at the moment, so....

328203_10150906943135562_732391354_o
7 carved and 3 painted

2012:  The scary clown returns and I fell in love with instagram.  I really hope I have more pics on my hard drive of these pumpkins.  Its like the one holiday that I didn't over share photos of and so this is all I have right now.  Thank God for instagram :)



Who knows what I will be carving out this year.  I suppose I should but some pumpkins first, that might help.  I've been craving some pumpkin seeds too.  I love roasted pumpkin seeds.

Do y'all carve pumpkins for Halloween?  Are you the creative type or a classic Jack O Lantern type?  What other fun Halloween traditions do you have?


October 18, 2013

Friday Five: 5 questions I get asked about my liver disease.

When people find out that I have a liver disease and I am on the liver transplant list the questions start rolling in.  Here are a few of the more common ones that people ask.

How did you get it?  
My Budd Chiari Syndrome was most likely caused by a hereditary blood disorder that I did not know I had. It causes my blood to clot easily.  It just so happened that the clots formed in my liver. There is a chance that I have had Budd Chiari since before I was pregnant with Anthony.  My father was tested and he too had the blood disorder (Prothrombin Gene Mutation G20210A). My siblings have a 50% chance of having it.  As do my boys.

Can't your liver just heal itself?
Yes the liver is the one organ that can regenerate itself.  When someone donates a part of their liver to another person, it will regenerate given time to heal itself.  For me, there is no break from the damage being done.  Scar tissue is building up and my liver is not able to reverse that damage.  

Are you scared? 
Hell yeah!  Plain and simple.  Being told that I could go from feeling great to a coma in a matter of hours has put a fog of fear over me. Honestly, not a day goes by that I don't think about it.  Every sharp pain or cold has me worried.  But I do my best to push aside the fear and I choose to live each day the best I can.  In the beginning, I was more afraid.  Add a high risk pregnancy and 5 doctors, yeah, I was a hot mess.  When he was born healthy, I was less afraid.  Now, I am able to deal with the fear so much better.  I know more and am more in tune with my body.  I'm not as afraid now, but its always gonna be there.

What is the cure?  
The only "cure" for Budd Chiari Syndrome is a liver transplant.  For me a living donor is not an option.  So I will have to wait for a cadaver donor.

How long until you can have a transplant?  
I have been on the Transplant list for over three years now.  And I have been pretty stable so unless something happens my guess is that its going to be a while.  My doctors have told me that as my liver weakens my other organs will be stressed.  And that eventually one of them will start to fail as well.  There is no way to tell if it will be my heart or kidneys, but that is their guess.  My MELD score has been in the 16- 19 range for the last year. With the highest score being a 40 and  the huge shortage of registered organ donors, who knows how long it will be.

October 15, 2013

A late Menu Plan Monday: October 14th

You know those weeks where you just seem to be out of everything!  That is this week for me.  As well as the week that most of the bills are due.  Yeah.  Gotta love those weeks.  And so its another, simple and cheap.  By the way, when did Head and Shoulders get so expensive??  Dang!  Here is this weeks menu.


Monday:
We picked up a new foster puppy and subway on the way home.  So much for my idea of no take out during the week.

Tuesday:
Tacos.  Not sure if we will have practice or if it will get rained out again.  But either way tacos are super fast and easy.

Wednesday:
Chicken Patties, corn and mashed.  I don't know where David got this from but for the last 13 years this is always his answer when I ask for help with dinner ideas.  I prefer my patty in a bun, but to each their own!

Thursday:
Tuna Noodle casserole and salad. Hopefully the weather works with me on this one.  I love me some tuna casserole on a stormy day. 

Friday:
Spanish rice, chicken and beans.  This is becoming my littlest ones go to dinner.  The one thing I know he will ask for and also eat it all.   And we cant forget the lettuce (Salad) as he calls it.  

Saturday:
We will start the day off at the soccer field.  We have a birthday party at noon and the company picnic after that.  There will be no shortage of food 

Sunday:
Spaghetti.  Again.  Am I the only one who isn't a fan of spaghetti.  My guys would have this every day day if they could.  The boys will have a bowl of regular and then a bowl of noodles with butter and garlic after.  So cheap to make and there it never goes to waste.  If you cant beat them, join them!


What do you have planned for dinner this week?  Do you have any go to frugal dinners you could share with me?  I could use a few more to add to the rotation.  Anything to kick spaghetti out of the line up :)


No more Speech Therapy

Its official.  My baby is done with speech.  And next year he is going to be a full day Kindergartner! By the way, I had no idea that Kinder is not mandatory!  That seems so crazy to me.  Maybe because of how much I saw my oldest learn that year.  And because Kindergarten is just plain fun!

Anyways, last Friday was Lex's final day.  His teacher was sad to let him go, but happy that he had come so far. Just a year ago he was still struggling.  Not many people could understand him.  Two years ago, I could barely understand him.  Now, he uses words and sentences that my 8 year old doesn't even use.  He has come such a long way it makes me so proud.

IMAG0748

I watched as he walked down the hall and thought to myself, the next time he walks down them, he will be going for a whole day of school.  What on earth will I do with myself.  Who is going to watch cartoons with me?  Have breakfast and lunch with me?  Who's is gonna cuddle with me on rainy days?  When did my baby grow up?

IMAG0749

When I asked him what he will miss most about Speech he said his teacher because she was very happy for him all the time.  We have been blessed with amazing speech teachers.  And it shows in how far he has come.  They have helped him have confidence in what he says.  He used to shut down when someone asked him to repeat himself and now he just keep trying.  I hope that is something he always carries with him.  Something he continues to do in all aspects of life.  Nothing is going to hold this kid down.  Instead of focusing on the sadness that I feel about him growing I will think of all the amazing things he is going to do.  My sweet Alexander.  Big things are in this little guys future.  I just know it!

October 9, 2013

Happiness is ______ {Week 22} #happinessis

Happiness is happy endings. Yesterday I received an email from the lady who adopted Bruce Wayne the Dane. She sent photos of him and her 18 month old daughter. They are best friends. I was told he sleeps in bed with her and follows her everywhere she goes. I'm not going to lie. I cried. Mostly because I was so happy to have had him in our lives even if it were just for a few short weeks. He is one special dog. And knowing that he is right where he belongs makes my heart so happy.

Happiness is winning. On Saturday Anthony's team won their first win. On the way home I received an email that I had gotten free tickets to scorpions game that night. And the Scorpions won their game is well. Even if our favorite player was injured and didn't get to finish the game. I also won another Giveaway I entered online.  Should have gotten a lotto ticket too.

IMAG0599

Happiness is receiving a phone call from your friends speech teacher letting you know that he no longer needs to go to speech. Even though he won't be happy about not going to school I am glad he has caught up.

Happiness is a beautiful sunset at the end of yesterdays soccer practice.

IMAG0694

Happiness is having a voice to text option when your hands hurt too bad to type. I love technology.  I know this post is up way late, but I finally had time to sit down and add in the pics.  90% of this post was done though my voice to text because my hands we trembling so bad today and are super weak.  At least they stopped shaking. Because man that was driving me nuts!

What has brought you happiness this week?   Please stop by Crazy Adventures in Parenting and see whats making others happy!  And share your happiness with #happinessis.  Here is to another happy filled week!


October 1, 2013

Updated MELD score

IMG_20130930_101414.I have received others like it.  This letter.  It didn't matter though! When I saw it in between some other envelopes, my heart still stopped. Now that I look back, it is silly that I got so worried.  I tucked it into my purse and it took days before I could get the courage to open it.  I don't even know why I was so afraid.  It just looked scary.  And it was light.  Most letters I get from them are pages full of orders for my upcoming tests and appointments.  But one little page... I panicked.  Want to know what it was?  Orders for labs so that I could take it to the lab closer to home and would not have to go down to the Transplant Clinic.  Yup I was afraid of nothing!  Seriously.  What was I thinking?  Well actually I was worried they were going to tell me I was off the transplant list.  Or that there was something else wrong.  What can I say.  I'm a worrier.

So I got my labs done.  And the best part was, that I went ahead and had labs drawn for my other doctors as well.  No sense in getting poked again in a few days right!  After a few days of waiting, I got the call that I was waiting for.  No, not "the call"  But my nurses calling me back with results!  My MELD score is 19.

What does that mean for me?  Not much.  My levels are all pretty much the same.  They have all went up only slightly.  Now its more waiting.  I remember hating this part.  Feeling let down that my score wasn't going up. These days I am feeling even worse than I did back then but I have learned to be thankful for the health that I do have.  For me that means more time with my family and out of hospitals.  I am blessed to have made it this many years as healthy as I am. 5 years I have been fighting and I don't plan on stopping now.

We all know that sooner or later something has to give.  The pain is getting sharper and it lasts longer.  My fatigue is only getting worse.  And my mind is slowly slipping.  Yes, it makes me angry.  Yes, I have days where I just want to give up and get depressed.  Mostly I worry about how its going to affect my family. Eventually the day will come where I can't do the things I have managed to do this far.  I've had more bad days in the past few months that I had all year last year.  My feet swell while I am cooking dinner and I forget what I am doing.  My hands flap and cramp when I play cars with my son.  And I can't type with out taking many breaks.  Not just because of my hands but because my mind just wipes it self clean every few minutes and I have to re read what I am writing about.  I find myself  spending less and less time on the computer and my phone.  Crazy I know!  Even holding a book and trying to focus on what I am reading is exhausting.  I spend every minuet reminding myself where my boys are and what they are doing.  I constantly second guess myself and beat myself up over my mistakes.  But at the end of the day and more so with the start of every morning, I thank God for every day I am given here at home with my family!