It's Been Awhile...

Hi everyone. Or, at least, those of you who still read this blog. The blog that is never updated.

It has been pretty much exactly one year and 2 months since I posted last. Folks, I never meant to go that long without updating. The unfortunate truth is so. much. life. has. happened. So many day to day things plus so many big and hard things have happened that I just haven't blogged. I haven't blogged because I have been preoccupied. I haven't blogged because I have been tired. I have been sick. I have been hurt. I haven't blogged because some of the things that are on my mind are things that aren't "fun" or "exciting" and some of the things that have gone down are difficult. There have also been good things, things that have thankfully taken my attention from blogging because they were so amazing and fun. So, I will do my best to recap the last 14 months for you.

Here is our top 10 happenings (for better or worse)....

10. Emma started preschool

She is currently going full time, 5 days a week at a school by our house in Zachary. In short, her transition was (is) rough, she enjoys the social time and the activities but hates the moment of separation from me at drop off. Every. Single. Day. Continued prayers for her and the rest of us in this matter is greatly appreciated, as we feel this is the best thing for her development at this time.

9. I started graduate school

I am also currently going full time, working towards my Masters degree that will allow me to become a Nurse Practitioner. I am enrolled in Southeastern which is about an hour from the house, but the coursework is all online. I am hoping to finish in May of 2015 as a Family NP :)

8. We had a hurricane

In brief....trapped in the house with a then-2-year-old, three dogs, a cat, and watching all heck break loose outside your windows with no electricity and NOTHING you can do about it. No one in their right mind would sign up for that. Our air conditioner was fried in the storm and had to be replaced. Oh, and I was coming down with something, or so I thought, because two days after the storm....

7. I was hospitalized

Sheesh. Give a Momma a break. Or was this considered my break??? If it is, I demand a do-over. The day of the storm (see above) I felt odd. Achy. The day after I hurt all over and felt as if I was dying. Funnily enough, I actually was. That night I was sure I had the flu. During the night with fever around 103 F I was so incredibly miserable. The next morning I wound up in the ER as I felt worse than I have ever felt in my life. Admitted with diagnosis of sepsis. Culprit? Severe and rare drug reaction to a sulfa drug. Odds that I would have died? 40%. I'm convinced God has plans for me that are WAY bigger than I can imagine. Physical recovery time? Approximately 4 months.

6. We took a family vacation

WOO there is something exciting and exhausting about vacationing with a three-year-old. We spent Thanksgiving week at Navarre Beach, FL with my parents and had an absolute blast, however it is a unique brand of tiredness spending every waking minute on the go like that. The memories we made with each other are priceless and I will never, ever forget the joy on my girl's face when she played in the sand.

5. Preschool Syndrome

Emma has been so sick so frequently. She has had RSV, croup, the flu, ear infections, and most recently, pneumonia. My girl has fought and fought nasty crud and seen fevers up to 105.4 F at the highest. Weeklong to 10 day courses of all of these sicknesses. That, of course, does not lend itself to blogging. Or anything else for that matter. Thank heaven for spring.

4. We renovated the outside of our new house

Wet concrete, new plants, a preschooler, and three dogs that must be walked on leashes to potty. Fun. But the new courtyard looks amazing and we have spent so much time outside since it was completed. It only took a couple of months.

3. We had our identity stolen

And the individuals filed federal taxes with our information. Awesome! This required trips to the state police, the bank(s), the CPA, an attorney, and calls to the Federal Trade Commission, the IRS and the credit bureaus. Time consuming. Annoying. Thanks to the person who decided to steal our lives and use them as your own.

2. I took 2 trips

California!!!! This was an amazing trip to spend some time with my Ellen, her hubby and their new baby boy :)

Georgia!!!! The annual Created for Care retreat for adoptive mommas was once again wonderful and refreshing and much needed.

1. Javier took several trips

Let's do the tally: Germany, California, Florida, Germany (again)....and still to come: Texas, Mexico, Utah,  and California (again).

Ok, so those aren't NECESSARILY in the order they deserve, but can a girl get a break since there has been no activity since last March? LOL

I know you all can't imagine why I haven't had the time to update.

To prevent this post from becoming a snoozefest, here are some recent-ish pics for you!!! I promise to try and do better with blogging. :)

Progress and Setbacks...a Crossover Post

Originally posted on my food allergy education blog:

www.foodallergykid.com

I know Emma news needs to be posted here too!

Folks, nothing in life is free. You have to give a little to get a little, and some days it feels like you are just giving and giving and giving. Am I wrong? Someone once told me that it seemed as if life with a food allergic child was a series of steps, and from where that person stood, it seemed to them like I took one step forward and three steps backward. Today feels like one (or three) giant steps backward.

I have heard of children who have documented food allergies to specific foods all of a sudden having reactions to formerly "safe" foods. Foods they have eaten before with no problem and no reaction. This happened to us this weekend, on Friday and AGAIN on Saturday. A different food each time. Each food Tiny Princess has eaten before without incident. Both are foods she dearly loves. Beyond the heartache of knowing there are foods your child will never taste, beyond the pain of having your child watch another child eat something and ask what it is (and can she have some), is the hurt caused by taking a food out of your child's diet that she loves. A food she asks for by name. Then telling her that, no, she cannot have any of it.

Pineapple and then tomato. Tiny Princess ate a small bite of delicious pineapple and then her face and hands broke into hives. She came so close to getting her Epipen but it was limited to the skin. This time. The next day she ate some chicken and grilled vegetables plus some cherry tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are her absolute favorite. Before she even finished them she had hives around her mouth and chin. The nurse from our allergist's office called me back to tell me no pineapple and no tomato products and that the doctor would be in tomorrow morning and would call me to give me further instruction. And the good old backup-go to the Emergency Room if something happens.

So that is where we are. Steps backward right now. But I am determined to go forward again....just maybe after I have a good cry.

Finally Finished!!

ALL of Emma's adoption paperwork is finally complete! Our last step was to obtain her Certificate of Citizenship via immigration and we went for her "ceremony" and oath yesterday, March 8th!

It took 36 months...to the day...but we applied, went to classes, gathered every document about every part of our life, had home visits, got fingerprinted, waited, got matched, did another massive pile of paperwork and documents, applied for Emma to enter the US, waited, went to Korea, brought her home, had more home visits, went to court to formally adopt her, got her birth certificate, got her a passport,got her a social security number, and NOW got her citizenship!!!!!!!

That's kindof a big deal...right??

Wordless Wednesday!!

My Little Chatterbox

Boy oh boy, when they start talking.....it never stops!  It makes life easier sometimes, in the fact that we can actually communicate verbally with each other, and reach agreements...but I had no idea how much Emma would enjoy talking. It is a non-stop stream of audio from the minute she wakes up. She has been saying some really funny stuff, so here are a few for your enjoyment :)

 "Emma ALL DONE bed" -first words every morning 

 "Emma medicine time" -when it gets close to bedtime (allergy medicine)

 "Momma song A B" -when she wants me to sing the alphabet song 

 "Momma all done A B" -when she wants me to stop singing the alphabet song 

 "Daddy home. Daddy work." -in the mornings when she realizes Javier is at work 

 "Daddy rock. Momma drool." -please guess who taught her this one

 "Outside noise" -after she gives her best little girl screech, usually in public

 "Emma stinky stinky poopoo" -unfortunately after she goes poopoo not before

 We are doing great, no news to report. Sometimes no news is good news. Emma and I go to a parent-child class at The Little Gym every Tuesday, she loves it and does well interacting with the other kids. We are trying to broaden our socializing horizons and do more playgroups and meetups, since I can tell she gets bored some days at home. I have taken lots of pictures lately, I will have to do a picture post soon. She has changed so much! I can't believe next month will mark 2 years since we saw her referral picture.  How the time passes.

 Love to all! Emily

A Day in the Life....

Ok. I'm not a celebrity or anything, and I don't have throngs of people clamoring at my front gate to get a glimpse of me as I get my mail. No one stops me in the grocery parking lot to have pictures taken with me, and the only reason I get special treatment at the airport is because we have a "young child and need extra time". That said, I have had a few people ask what I do all day. If you are a stay-at-home parent and reading this post, save some time. You already know what I do all day. The same thing you do. So turn off whatever you are reading this on and go fold the clothes! You know that is what you SHOULD be doing ;) just like it is what I should be doing instead of blogging. Every day is different, but I will use "grocery day" as my best example. For all of the other days, just take grocery time out and insert something else, like "gymnastics class" or "random errands". Because the other 80% of the day is pretty much unchanged from one to the next. Here you go! 7:00 am - Mommy wakes up 7:00-8:00 am - coffee, do makeup and hair, get dressed for the day 8:00-8:30 am - feed dogs, take them out, wash any dishes from night before (don't judge) 8:30 am - get breakfast out and ready, get Emma up, change diaper 8:30-9:30 am - eat breakfast, clean dishes, diaper change, dress Emma, take dogs out again, load car 9:30 am - goal time to leave house to do daily agenda 10:00-12:00 noon - grocery time **I will point out that grocery time often takes 90 minutes, plus other errands beforehand combined with time after shopping is done to load groceries into the car. Everything I buy MUST be checked meticuously. All labels of ALL foods are read 3 times-forward, backward, and forward again-regardless of how many times I have purchased the item. It gets read another 3 times before I give any of the food to Emma. Every item. Every time. Three times in-store. 12:00-1:30 pm - diaper change, take dogs out, unload and put away groceries, cook lunch for Emma and I, eat lunch, and clean dishes 1:30-4:30 pm - Emma's diaper change and typical nap time and duration **1:30-2:30pm - Mommy's "mommy time" for coffee, a book, facebook, or a nap **2:30-4:30pm - house chores (laundry 3 times a week, cleaning house once a week, yard maintenance, etc) 4:30-5:00 pm - wake Emma up, diaper change, snack time 5:00-6:30 pm - Emma has free play and sometimes TV while Mommy cooks supper, usually another diaper change too 6:30-7:00 pm - Suppertime 7:00-8:00 pm - Emma's daily allergy meds, bath, skin cream, diaper change, and putting pajamas on 8:00 pm - Emma's bedtime 8:00-8:30 pm - clean up supper dishes, fold any remaining laundry, make list for the next day 8:30-9:00 pm - Mommy time (hello bubble bath!) 9:00-10:00 pm - Quality time with the hubby 10:00 pm - Mommy's bedtime Sometimes I think people think I lay on the couch and watch soaps and eat candy. In reality, a large percentage of my day is spent cooking (hello 3 meals and a snack) and cleaning up so I can cook again in a couple of hours. The added time of reading labels and stopping to look up or call packaging companies to verify food safety for Emma cuts in also, but it has to be done. There you have it. We deviate from it from time to time, and push certain things up or back. We skip steps on days that life throws a curveball. But for the most part we stick to the routine and Emma thrives on knowing what to expect and feeling in control. We both thrive on her 3-hour naps :) It's no Brad and Angie....and I'm pretty sure I won't see a People magazine article titled "the Royals divulge their schedule" but it's neat to see how much we really do accomplish in a day. Makes me tired just writing it...

Allergy Re-testing and update on us!

It's been awhile, faithful blog readers. In fact, so long, that we have had a birthday, Christmas, New Years, and an anniversary since I last posted! I wish I could say I will post more often, but I would hate to say it and then fail on the follow through. We took Emma for her check up and retesting at the allergy doctor today. I told Javier I am always so physically and mentally exhausted after a visit that I feel jetlagged as if we just got off a plane from Korea. Trying to listen, understand, ask all my questions, plus keep Emma from screaming and trying to hit, kick or bite the doctor or his medical assistant (obviously she loves them...) it is just at the threshold of what I can handle alone, which is why Javier tries hard to clear his schedule to come with us. Poor Emma gets poked with something sharp every.single.visit so it is no huge shocker that she starts crying the minute we walk in. Plus she is terrified of the medical assistant. After today, though, I don't think we will be seeing her anymore.... First off, we get called back to get Emma's height (34.5 in) and weight (30 lb exactly) and Emma is panicking. Screaming, crying, hyperventilating, and the MA (medical assistant) is screaming over her at Javier to stand Emma on the scale and tell her to stand up straight so we can get a height. Really? How would you best like us to do that!? We couldn't hear the lady, so after screaming 3 times at us she gave up and brought us to the thingy where you lay them down and measure length (same thing) and weight at the same time. Why, what a brilliant idea. Geez. Javier was furious at being yelled at so he let the lady have it. And, with all seriousness, she is one of the things Emma hates most about going there. She is more than a little rough and rude. We told the doc about it and he had the other doctor's MA come help out for the rest of our time there (2 more hours....) It was like night and day! Emma let the new MA hold her and take her to get a sticker! I have *never* seen my child go willingly with another person she has never met. Thank you to the doc for that one! I digress. We talked about how well we have been doing, and discussed reasons why we should torture Emma and ourselves with another round of skin testing. If she had outgrown anything, it would likely be the soy allergy, which would open up a whole new (easier) world of eating! We have not been able to use many things simply because of the soy oil or soy lecithin used as an emulsifier or a preservative. No soups unless i make them from scratch, no cooking spray, no salad dressing, no bread unless I make it from scatch. I don't want my child to eat candy and chips and junk food....I just want to be able to let her eat a salad with DRESSING on it, or a sandwich with BREAD. That's all. Not asking for thr moon here, people. Also, as she grows older, she has a high likelihood of growing into other allergies. My greatest fear for my children has always been a peanut allergy. So, we did the testing today. Holding Emma in just a diaper, trying to keep her sitting up, sitting still, withOUT touching her entire back where the test is brewing. After she had a strange lady poke 12 pokes on her back. It was super fun-tastic. Kill me now. Results? Ok how about the good news first. She was completely non-reactive (NEGATiVE) to soy!!! Not even a little bit positive! We received the doctor's blessing to begin introducing soy back into her diet, as long as her eczema stays under control (that is how her soy reactions manifest). She can have bread, and salad dressing, and soups! As long as they don't have milk or eggs......or peanuts.......yea you knew there was bad news next. Bad news? First, her dairy and egg reactions during the test were worse this time around, meaning that her reaction to ingesting either would likely be worse. Second, she had a very clear reaction to the peanut and also cashew tests. The peanut one was almost as severe as the milk one. So what does that mean for a child who has never eaten nuts? Based upon the size of the welt produced, and the fact that she actually broke out in hives on her face during the testing, the doctor warned that peanut ingestion could mean anaphylactic reaction even the very first time. I received instructions to clear the house of nuts and nut products. We already know she is anaphylactic to dairy, and wouldlikely be to eggs as well. So how does it feel to have your biggest parenting fear come true? I can't say that I didn't cry, because I did. I can't say I wasn't devastated, because I was. I am. But it's ok. I don't know the plan but God does, and He says clearly that He has plans to prosper me and not harm me, and that goes for Emma also. We will deal with it, one day at a time like we have already been doing. We WILL enjoy our bread and salad dressing! We WILL run from nuts like there is no tomorrow. And we WILL do our best to keep her safe and out of harm's way (and milk's way, and egg's way...and nut's way!) Wake up! Yes this turned into a sleeper post. Sorry. I'll try to wrap it up here shortly. Other than today's events, we have been doing very well. Emma is turning into quite the chatterbox as she learns new words and how to string them together! She turned 2 in October, and also thoroughly enjoyed Christmas with Santy and No-man. (Santa and snowman). Javier and I celebrated 7 years of wedded bliss ;) on January 1, 2012. I hope and pray we have many more years together. He was successful in completing his zoo medicine boards in October, and is now officially a diplomate in the American College of Zoological Medicine as well as the European College of Zoological Medicine. His girls are so proud of him! I am enjoying being home with Emma as a full-time Mom. The time is already passing too fast....but I am glad to have the early years just her and I. I will try to update more often, but I am certainly not making any promises since life tends to get in the way. Love to all and thanks for stopping by to read such a long post :) Emily