New Blog

Just in case anyone wants to follow Mason's updates, I've created a new blog for him. I'll still be using this one for all the other normal family stuff, but I wanted a seperate place to kind of keep track of his whole process with fixing the ASD. The link to the new blog is www.my1in100.blogspot.com (sorry I couldn't get the link to work) I have a feeling I'll have quite a bit of downtime at the hospital while Mason is resting, so I'll be updating it to let everyone know how he's doing during recovery

Diagnosis of ASD

We got some unsettling news shortly after moving here and it has been quite a journey trying to figure out what the right answers are. Mason got sick right after our move (again!). He had a high fever for 6 straight days with no other symptoms. Mick had taken him to urgent care twice and they checked vitals, all which came back fine and sent us back on our way. I finally had Mick take him to the ER and demand some tests be done when his fever was still almost 104 on day 6. Oddly enough, it did turn out to just be some crazy virus, because his fever broke the next morning and he was fine, but the chest xray they did to check his lungs showed that the right side of his heart was slightly enlarged. This led to a follow up with a cardiologist which, after quite a few tests, led to the diagnosis of an Atrial Septal Defect.

An Atrial Septal Defect is a hole in the septum (the wall dividing the upper chambers of the heart) As a result, some oxygenated blood from the left atrium flows through the hole in the septum into the right atrium, where it mixes with oxygen-poor blood and increases the total amount of blood that flows toward the lungs. The increased blood flow to the lungs creates creates a swishing sound, known as a heart murmur. The increased blood flow to the right atrium is what caused the enlargement. If left untreated, a number of complications could arise over time. (stroke, damage to lungs, arrythmias, heart failure, etc.. none of which we want to happen)

Our first doctor at Akron Children's made the diagnosis, but didn't want to see Mason back for a year and wanted to wait until he was bigger to correct it, even though he told us there was absolutely no chance Mason's hole would close on it's own. I went home, did some reaseach, and couldn't for the life of me understand why he wanted to wait. From there, I researched hospitals, and found that Nationwide Children's in Columbus has the 5th best pediatric cardiology center in the country and contacted them for a 2nd opinion.

We got our 2nd opinion yesterday and thank goodness we did, because my momma's instinct was right. There is absolutely NO benefit to waiting to do a surgery like this and it is actually better to be done as early in life as possible (He told us the 1st doctor had written in his notes to wait until Mason was 8!!)

Now we are left with a huge decision, though. Do we want to do a trans catheter surgery or open heart? The quick and good sounding answer would be the trans catheter, right?! It's not as painful, he can go home the next day, no opening the chest and stopping the heart... But it's not that easy. Trans Catheter method has only been around 10-15 years, so while it's much less invasive to just go through a vein in his groin rather than cracking the chest open and stopping the heart, not one single doctor can guarantee that my child's heart will still be functioning properly with no issues 20-30 years from now. Not to mention there's also the idea of placing a foriegn object in his heart to close the hole. Surprisingly, he would actually be more restricted post-op with the trans-cath (because the body needs time to heal around and kind of embed into that device to keep it secure)

For these reasons, we are leaning towards open heart. It's so scary to think about them stopping his little heart and to think of how miserable those first couple days will be for him afterwards. I keep reminding myself that they do this on a daily basis. Open heart surgeries are performed everywhere daily and ASD is the most common out of the congenital heart defects. They will open his chest up, sew the hole shut, and then he is good to go... for the rest of his (hopefully very long and fulfilling) life.

I have been researching countless hours until my eyes crossed. Joining groups with moms of children with ASD. Hearing their experiences from beginning to post-op.(both trans cath and open heart) We always hear how resilient kids are and this is no different. Most moms have told me their children had open heart surgery and by the time they came home 4 days later, they were bouncing off the walls and the moms were trying everything to keep them calm. I can't imagine wanting to get up and play 4 days after having my chest cracked open, but kids are crazy little balls of energy! haha You can't keep them down for anything! We still aren't 100% on an answer. We have been praying for God to give us some guidance to make the right decision. I know that no matter which way we go, if anything happens to him, it's on our shoulders that we should have made the other decision. We ask friends and family for advice, but no one wants to give us any, because they don't want to tell us the wrong one either. I don't blame them. I wouldn't wish this decision on anyone. It's certainly not a fun one.

Don't get me wrong. I'm thankful Mason's diagnosis isn't anything more serious. I'm thankful it's a "common" defect that can be fixed. However, it is still my 4 year old's little ticker. and to hear a doctor so nonchalantly talk about death is not comforting "Oh we haven't had anyone die from either procedure in over a decade, so I'm sure he'll be fine" - good to know, Doc, but that's my baby we're talking about here..

I have some questions for the doctor at Nationwide we spoke with yesterday and I have some questions for the guys in the trans cath lab and once we feel we know all the info we need, we'll make our decision. The trans cath people cannot possibly give me the answers I need most, though, because they don't have them. What is his prognosis long-term?? They can't tell me that. They can only tell me it's done well in the 15 years it's been around... I don't think there's anything else they could tell me that can make me feel comfortable with that, but I just want to make sure that when we call the doctor with a decision and go to set an appointment, that I feel confident in the decision we've made and I just can't say that yet.

We've always joked that he was "lazy" because his friends would be running around and after 5 minutes, he'd have to come sit down. Now we know it's because he really couldn't play as hard, because his heart was always pumping extra hard to get it in the right places. and now we know why he was SO darn sick this past winter. He started preschool which exposed him to a lot more and he had a much harder time fighting it off because of his defect. All 4 of us would have the same sickness... the rest of us would be fine after a couple days, he'd still be fighting it after a week. Hopefully this next cold/flu season won't be as brutal on him, because his heart will be functioning normally and his immune system will be stronger. I'm so glad Mick took him to the ER that day and demanded tests. Who knows how long this would have been undiagnosed!

If you are reading this and have a minute to spare, please pray that we make the right decision and pray that my little guy comes out of this with no major issues. His little ticker still has a LOT Of ticking to do, so we need to do what's best for him!

New Beginnings

As usual, it's been awhile since I've posted, but in my defense, we've had a LOT going on. This has been a horrible cold and flu season for our family and the kids have just been hit with sickness after sickness after sickness resulting in quite a few ER trips and lots of being cooped up in the house. It was definitely not how we wanted to spend our last bit of time in California, but what can ya do? Hopefully by the time they start school, their immune systems will kick butt! lol We are down to less than a week left in SoCal and aside from a couple runny noses and coughs, we are healthy and hope to enjoy our last weekend here, before heading to Ohio for 3 years of recruiting duty.

My mom and aunt will arrive Tuesday and will spend a couple days getting Emmalyn warmed up to them, then Thursday they are taking the kids on a plane back to Ohio, so Mick and I can make the cross country drive by ourselves (with our original kids.. the dogs lol) I'm thankful for this chance to spend some QT with the husband, but I'm VERY nervous about being away from my babies that long. I've never been away from them more than a night... never away from Emma even for that long! I know they'll be taken care of and be just fine, although granny might need a glass of wine by the time we get there ;) I'm a basket case lately with everything going on. It's so bittersweet. I am completely thrilled that we will be closer to family and can spend much more time together, but I am just SO not ready to leave California and my friends (and weather) here! However, I'm excited to get there and finally see our new house in person.

Oh yea, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! Our very first home that is OURS! We've always rented until now, since we move so much in the military. However, aside from tiny 1100 sq ft apts, there were just no rental options in Ohio, so it didn't leave us much choice. We bought a house that we've only seen pictures of. My parents drove up and saw it for us and took some extra pictures and told us how nice it was and we went with it! It's gorgeous and I'm excited to get in it and paint and get a fence put up to keep the dogs and littles contained! It's got a pool, gazebo and shed in the back. It's got a fully finished basement and a 3 car garage. It's in a nice neighborhood near some of the best schools in the area! It's amazing and we are blessed :)

our house. it's a very, very, very fine house

Aside from buying a house and nursing sick kidlets back to health, we've also done quite a bit of celebrating! My wonderful husband and best friend planned me a 30th suprise birthday party!

all the ladies and littles :)

Then our little princess turned the big ONE!!!!

oh and she's walking now! ;)

Then our big boy turned 4!!

Then we celebrated the kids' birthdays together in one big candyland party with friends! :)

My friend Jen made them an AMAZING candyland birthday cake

and THEN My husband got promoted to CAPTAIN and celebrated his 33rd birthday! So proud of him and he's worked SO hard for this!

thank you Christina Canterbury for taking these pictures!

Like I said: we've had a LOT going on! =) Sicknesses and celebrations haha As sad as I am that our time in California is almost up, I'm looking forward to a new chapter and experiences back in my home state. I'm looking forward to taking the kids places I use to go as a child and sharing experiences with them. I'm looking forward to making memories with my family and watching my nephews and neices grow for the next few years. Mick's sister and her family got stationed in Maryland, so we're all back to the east coast and will be able to visit more. I am going to miss my friends here that have become family like crazy, but thank goodness for facebook, skype, facetime, etc, so we'll still be able to stay in touch and hopefully we'll be able to plan a once-a-year visit with them (at the very least)

(also, looking forward to 3 years deployment-free! field/training-free, etc! I might actually have him around long enough to get sick of him once in awhile ;) hehe)

Hopefully, I'll be able to update a bit during our cross country trip since it'll just be Mick and I. If you have a moment, please spare a few prayers for safe travels as my mom, aunt and kids fly to Ohio and then for Mick and I when we drive!

Here's to new beginnings! =)

Quick kiddo update..

The kids are growing like weeds and I can't even explain how much faster time flies when you have two children as opposed to one. It goes fast enough with one child, but throw another one into the mix.. it's like a whirlwind!
Mason is absolutely LOVING preschool. He loves his teacher, literally. He has his first crush. He told Ms Tamara that he loves her, she's his best friend and that he's going to marry her haha He made her cry, because he's just too sweet (although he also told me the next day in the car that he thinks she makes a lot of money and THAT'S why he wants to marry her...LOL!) This kid is such a ladies man already, Lord help me when he's a teenager ;) hehe Who will be able to resist that sweet smile, those dimples and those gorgeous big brown eyes?!

Mason is extra excited today, because we will be driving up to LA to the Nokia Theater to see the FRESH BEAT BAND in concert! He has been waiting for this day since we bought tickets in May. He knows all the songs by heart and thinks KiKi is pretty :) (see what I mean? Isn't it too early for crushes?! lol) I can't wait to see his face and sing and dance with him to some of the "freshest beats" around haha

The little miss is 8 months old!! When did that happen?!?! Just recently, in a two week span, she learned to crawl on all 4s (for awhile she did the "low crawl"), pull herself up to stand AND got 2 tiny toofers! She's been one busy little lady and she definitely keeps us on our toes! She's cute as a button and we absolutely LOVE her. Mason just gets so excited to play with her and always raves about how "cute" she is. He coos at her and says "pretty baby". It's just too sweet :)

These two kids fill my heart with so much love I don't even know what to do with it all! Time is absolutely flying and I hope I can keep up with the blog and update more often, but that's all I have time for right now. Time to get ready to rock out with the fresh beats ;)

Turkey day, baby Chloe and ORDERS!

Gobble Gobble!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We, unfortunately, had to cancel our plans with friends (family away from home) due to the little miss having croup, but we definitely still had something to be super thankful for this year - it was the first time Mick was home with us to celebrate in 4 years!!

For throwing an entire Thanksgiving meal together in a day, because we had only planned on having to make a side and a dessert, we did pretty darn good if I do say so myself! We had a turkey, cheesy hashbrowns, green bean casserole, stuffing, and apple caramel cookies. That's plenty of food for a family of 4.. one of which is super picky and another who isn't eating table foods yet, because she only has 2 tiny teeth haha! Needless to say, we got our bellies full with PLENTY of leftovers. We'll be eating leftovers for the next week and plenty of family memories were made. =)

IN OTHER NEWS:... On the 19th, my new baby neice, Chloe was born!

She is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and I cannot wait to get home and get my hands on her! The kids and I will be flying home next weekend for a couple weeks (Mick has to stay here and go to the field.. blah) and I CANNOT wait to see all my family and especially meet this precious baby girl. Chloe and Emmalyn are almost exactly 8 months apart... almost to the minute. Emma was born on March 19th at 10:59 am and and Chloe came Nov 19th at 11:21 am. I love how close in age they are and the fact that they'll probably be into the same things at the same time. Princesses and barbies.. haha can't wait!

vv isn't she beautiful?! vv

and lastly, WE HAVE ORDERS!!! We don't know exactly when yet, but we will be moving to/near Kent, OHIO this spring/summer!!!! Mick got OSO orders (officer recruiting) to Kent and I couldn't be more excited! We will finally be closer to family. The kids can grow up with and play with cousins. They will actually KNOW their family members and not be shy around them anymore because it's been 6+ months since they last saw them. I'm over-the-moon excited!!! When I first got married, I just wanted to "get away" and travel and move all around and experience new people and places, but once I had kids, that all changed. I realized how much I took my family for granted and how important they were in my life and the lives of my children. I'm so thankful that for the next 3 years, we'll only be a short 2ish hour drive away and I can see them whenever I want :) It's also great news for Mick's side of the family, because since we'll live so close to my family, we don't have to constantly divide our travel up between the two, which means we'll hopefully be able to travel to Florida more often to see his family! =)

P.s. - this news made my mom's entire YEAR! Santa came early for my family. Between Chloe being born and finding out about our move in the same week, I don't think they can even handle all the happiness and excitement! haha Even Mick is excited, because ever since he came to visit me for the first time when we were dating, he's always said he loves Ohio and wants to settle down there one day. So yay for everybody being happy!

Of course, I'm also feeling a little nervous and sad. I absolutely LOVE California and the friends I have here, so it's going to be hard to say goodbye. I keep reminding myself that a lot of my friends have already moved and the ones that are left are mostly in their last year or so as well, so we'd all be going seperate ways soon anyway, but the goodbyes just never get easier... definitely one of the hardest parts of military life. Thankfully, I know we'll still all keep in touch, and more than likely our paths will cross again at some point and that makes me smile. =)

So that is what has been happening in our "neck of the woods". Now we are gearing up for the holiday season and enjoying our time left in California! It's been a memorable 2 1/2 years so far and this place will be close to my heart forever. I've never been attached to a place in the military yet, but SoCal definitely made it's mark! We plan on making some awesome memories while we are here and are looking very forward to a new chapter in Ohio =) GO BUCKS!

This is Halloween, This is Halloween!

Hey all! I thought I'd do a little post of the kids' Halloween costumes this year. We had a lot of fun picking out and planning the costumes and pictures this year. This was the first year that we decided Mason was big enough to have his own say in a costume. Up until now, I have always decided what he would be (and I loved it!) but now he's a big boy and is capable of starting to make some of his own decisions, so this year we let him pick. He said he wanted to be a super hero. He really doesn't know the difference between Superman, Spiderman, Batman or any others at this point, so I just went with the most obvious.. Super Hero=Superman!

side note: every time he tells us something that surprises us and we ask him "how did you know that?!?" His answer is, "cuz I'm a super hero" hehe and he says it so nonchalant like, "duh, guys.. come on, you knew that" so a superhero was the best choice for a costume this year!

I had a few ideas in mind for pictures, but knew I was going to need some help. Mick was in the field, so I called my friend Christina and sure enough, with her help, we were able to get some super cute pictures of my very own Superman! I wanted to get pictures where it looked like he was flying, so we had Christina's husband throw Mason in the air like a hundred times (no joke.. poor guy lol) and Christina and I snapped pictures until one of us got the perfect picture. She got this one and it was the best!

She also took this one earlier in the day:

sometimes being a big brother is even better than being a super hero
and here are just a few others that I took of my Super Hero Mason:)

his face in this one CRACKS me up

After we managed to get all these pictures and I was ready to call it a day, Christina said, "wait a minute. Wouldn't be funny if we made it look like he was holding up a car.. like his cozy coupe?" and before I knew it, Cory was making it happen! He wrapped a bunch of fishing line around the car and hung it from a tree and we made Mason stand under it. HILARIOUS!! So full idea credit for this picture goes to Christina! This was the end result:

This year was extra exciting, because it was also Emmalyn's 1st Halloween! and for at least the next couple years, I get to decide what she's going to dress up as ;) haha I know when she's Mason's age, we'll probably be doing all the Disney princess costumes (which I'm SO excited for), but for now, I get to pick and I wanted to dress her up as something different than every other baby on the block would be. I got the idea off pinterest (of course) and decided to dress her up as a little Indian. Let me tell you, she was the CUTEST little indian I've ever seen! :)

I'm so glad I went with that costume, because she was definitely original and I made the tutu myself! The headband came from Lexi Couture I had contacted the owner telling her what I was looking for and told her I couldn't find anything like it on etsy and asked if she could make it. She did an AMAZING job. It was perfect! and since then, she had made it available on her etsy page and sold tons of them for Halloween, so it brought in some extra business for her as well! Double win! hehe

So that was our halloween this year. The kids had tons of fun (mostly Mason of course, since Emma is still too small to enjoy the best part: CANDY!) I love that Mason is big enough to really understand things and get excited about them now.. and he gets excited over EVERYTHING! He's so full of life! If only we could still see things the way kids do. :) I'm not sure what we'll come up with next year, but I can assure you there will be lots of pictures ;)

slacker.

I just noticed I haven't posted anything since May. Life has just been busy.. but in a good way :) Lots of updates since last time. We found out Mick got career designated, which means the Marine Corps can't boot us out in March and he will be picking up Captain by Jan/Feb!! (so proud!) Now it's just a wait to see where we will go next. He could be picked up for a deployment (we could have as little as a 7 day notice before he leaves.. and his name is at the top of the list) or we could just get to enjoy the rest of our SoCal stay until we move anytime between next spring/summer. He requested b billets all over Ohio, PA and VA, so hopefully we get something closer to home!

Emmalyn is almost 6 months old now.. where has the time gone?! She's the silliest, craziest, most beautiful, hyper little almost-6-month-old I know :) She loves her big brother, loves the doggies, LOVES swimming and bath time (such a water baby), HATES PEAS.. with every fiber of her being. She's a drama queen already. I joked about it all the time, but found it to be true when I discovered her pure hatred for peas.. she lets out this overly exaggerated ridiculous gagging sound at the very taste of them on her lips. It's so over-the-top dramatic that it's cute LOL I've created a monster already haha =)

and for our BIG BOY Mason, LOTS of happenings are in store! He will be starting his first "real" preschool next week! We've done mommy & me preschool for the past two years, but this will be his first drop-off kind of school. He's SO excited, and I'm dreading it. I'm excited for him, but I know I'm going to tear up when I drop him off and he runs off to his class without even looking back. I'm proud of him though. He's come such a long way. He use to be so shy and clingy and couldn't leave my side (not even long enough to let me go to the bathroom) He's a completely different boy now and while I'm so proud of him, a little part of me misses the little boy who always NEEDED his momma :( I know it's just all part of him growing up and it's just the first of MANY times I'll have to learn to "let go". It'll be great for him and I can't wait to hear how many stories he has for me after his first day! :) Also, his second session of soccer has ended and rather than sign him up for soccer again, we wanted to expose him to some different sports. We were going to do baseball since we found a place that teaches 3-5 year olds, but we missed sign ups, so we decided to try gymnastics. We took him to an open gym last week and he ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! He went crazy bouncing off the walls jumping from one thing to another. Our next step is to get his assessment done, so they can decide what class he needs to be in. Daddy says he can do gymnastics until he's 5.. just to build his coordination and strength.. maybe even 10.. as long as it's not his "main" sport.. then he has to do something more "manly" LOL Whatever works! I love my little boy and I just want him to be happy. Nothing beats seeing a smile on that kid's face!

As for myself, I'm just enjoying the kiddos, spending time with hubs and friends and trying my best to improve in photography. I've started "doing business" with an etsy company.. she sends me headbands and in return, I send her pictures of babies wearing them. Works out perfectly and I'm really excited about it! I've really been working hard to improve lately and have noticed a big change, but I don't think I'll ever stop trying to get better. I still have a long way to go, but I'm loving it! I think that's all the big updates for now ;) Hopefully it won't take me so long to update again!