Friday, December 30, 2011

The Breakdown

I love the day we climb into our attic & pull down all the tupperware bins that contain all of our Christmas goodies, but ironically enough I love when we creep closer to the new year & I have to pull the bins back down & pack away everything for the next year. I love seeing cleared off spaces & really love just how much easier the weekly task of dusting becomes again..lol.

This year I really hit up the thrift stores in hopes to finding storage containers for ornaments and such..and well, I DID! And I'm completely stoked about it. I can finally toss the numerous containers & have 1 bin to drag out each year {pom-poms quickly russling together}.

Lee is with his Dad till Sunday evening..and I honestly can't wait for him to get back. I miss the kid. You know I remember the first holiday I had to split with his father {he was 4yro} & it was terrible. I remember just the simple act of waking up without my little man in the house, just broke my heart. I remember inviting my girl friends over to spend the night with me or even I remember one year inviting my neighbors {single dad with his 3 sons} for a camp out in my living room just so I wasn't alone..lol. I have to wonder how in the world I would have ever survived as a single, childless young woman. I would have adopted way too many pets thats for sure..lol. But, now here we are Lee is 13yro. and I still find myself missing him like crazy. I've been blessed with such a great relationship with him & I only hope it continues to grow as he turns into a young man. These upcoming years really make me nervous. This is where Lee will more than likely be exposed to drugs, sex and major peer pressure. I just hope he shines through the pressures & sees that his life is worth way, way more than any of those things can provide. Lee & I have a very open relationship. I've always tried to keep communication open, honest and true for him. Now, don't get me wrong there are times where I have to drag the story out of him, but I just don't let him get away wih the rolled eyes that say, "mom, you just wouldn't understand". Sometimes I will just say it how I know they would say it. For example. I bluntly asked him if any of his friends have had sex. Yes, people our kids are being exposed to sexual behavior even at 11!!!! We can't put ourselves into a box & believe, "oh thats not happening at my kid's school". I have too many friends that are middle school & jr. high teachers and guess what...it is! So, back to the question. I immediately got the look of "how gross, mom. Even if they were I'm not going to tell you". And then he says, "gahh, mom..no..". Well, this answer doesn't end this discussion by far. So, I said. If they aren't having sex have they talked about having sex? "Oh, mommmmm,ok,ok, they say they can't wait to have sex & there are a few girls that they talk about". Now, I want to see what group of friends are we talking about here. Is half of football practice about girls?? {kind of saying it laughing", "no, the guys are pretty serious about football". Then of course I want to know about Cross Country. I bet the boys on your cross country team have a hard time watching their mouths at a run since its co-ed. "Nope, we're freaking exhausted and focused on the run". So, now I know its strickly kids in class that are making the comments. Which gives me a little more peace simply because these are boys he doesn't "hangs" out with a whole lot. I then just ask him, "are you curious about sex, Lee". And then I was shocked he really let it just pour out. "Mom, I look forward to falling in love with someone one day, but I really do want to be married first, then experience that with her." He has been LISTENING!! I don't live in a ignorant bubble and I'm sure he will waver in his choices, but I hope he comes back to the root of it all.
"Mom, I have dreams I first want to accomplish, I want to go to college, meet that person & then build a life for us". At this point I have that proud parent moment. My heart smiles. And I say to him, "Lee I want you to love yourself first & then at which you'll be able to love someone else beyond all bounderies. Its natural to be curious about sex, and God designed it to be a beautiful & great thing that all of us should share with our husband or wives."

Now, I will have to visit this blog once Lee turns 18yro. & we'll see how his journey in this world is going. The world is a very big & sometimes very scarey place. I just hope my babies make-it through & see the beauty it all has to offer.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Tis the season..

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love Christmas. I love the decorations, smells and the feeling of this very special holiday. We celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus Christ, but our children also enjoy the traditions of Santa Clause & I just love watching them get wrapped into the holiday spirit. Wes became all super dad on us & decided that this year he would put lights along the roof of the house. We went to hobby lobby, got the big bulb light strands, roof clips & off he went. Now, about 3hrs ago we went to plug them in and wa-lah..no light extravaganza..lol. Poor guy. Come to find out with this particular brand {GE} you can only attach 2 strands of lights to each other then at which they have to have their own power cord to plug in. So, with 13 strands of lights we are going to need 6 extension cords..fun:)

But, we have the tree up & decorated, mantle has my little snow village set-up & just over all little here & there knick-knacks are placed around the house. Loving it.

Now, just for some random family updates here we go...
Took Piper in for her second round of 4 month shots {shes currently going on 6monhts, we opted to do delayed immunizations}. The HiB injection really bugged her. Her little thigh has a little red knot & she did run a low grade temp yesterday, but today seems to be doing much better. Lee went in for his 2nd immunization of the Guardisil {HPV} vaccine & seems to be doing just fine. Lee will have allergy testing this coming Monday, 12/5/11 for foods & evironmental. Now, his prior blood work came back all normal, which ruled out all the scarey things, i.e. celiacs disease & even leukemia and such, so at least we know Lee is healthy. But, because of his lack of weight gain & some other issues Lee is having his Dr. truly feels like there is something going on with Lee's digestion, so 1st on the list to rule out is allergies. Since Peyton has such a strong history of food allergies he feels that this is the most logical step for us to look into. Poor kid, I really hope everything checks out & Lee is just a lean teenager. {I've posted a video vlog on YT of Lee's testing day} I did ask the Dr. since we do not eat lots of red meats & try to stick with lean meats & non processed foods could this be a reason, but since Lee's labs all reflected so well balanced he feels that Lee is truly getting everything he needs nutrition wise, just maybe increase carbohydrates, i.e. pasta. Carbs could help Lee gain more weight. If this entry is riddled with typos I'm apologizing now. I'm absolutely exhausted, but I really just wanted to get down a lot of things that are going on right now.

I have my pre-op lab work this coming Monday for my upcoming surgery, hysterectomy on 12/7/11. I went to my pre-op appointment with my OB/GYN & he said that hes going to try to keep both of my ovaries intact..to be continued

{continued on Dec. 16th 2011}
Holy cow I have neglected this blog entry..lol. So. lots have happened. Heres a quick run through. Lee had his testing done {check out my YT channel for updated vlogs} & the kid is allergic to so many things it threw me for a loop. I guess I will go through the actual list, rather than trying to remember it all & missing something...
{Weeds}, pretty much every single one but, his highest reaction was to Ragweed. {Grasses} same as weeds, all, but his highest reaction was to Yellow Dock, {Trees} highest reaction was to Mesquite, White Pine, Privet, American Sycamore & Candida {totally crazy question..I know, but is that marajana?..if so thats great..lol}, {Molds} highest reactions were to Aspergillus,Cephalosporium,Helminthlosporium,Hormodendrum,Penicillium,Grass Smut, & Grain Smut, {Household} his highest reactions were to dust mite, cockroaches, and cat dander, tobacco (I absolutely am thrilled that he is allergic to tobacco..lol), Soybean, Strawberries & Tomato. Now, what I considered to be a "high reaction" are level 5 or higher. So, these are things that he definitely needs to try an avoid. Now, granted we can't escape air, but we are going to try a different oral antihistamine {Xyzal} and see if this helps him. And of course it goes without saying to avoid the foods.



{to be continued..have to get these little goober faces ready for a Dr.'s appointment.}
{continued on 12/20/11}
So, I desperately need to wrap up this blog entry. We are going to try 1st an oral antihistamines to cover all the environmental allergens & just see how this goes. Overall hes doing much better & I truly hope it only continues. The true test will be that his headaches start to subside.
Now, as for me this is day 13 post hysterectomy for me & I'm feeling wonderful. The incisions more so feel like just surface bruises & there is absolutely no internal pain {other than if Piper gives me a good old 1-2 kick during diaper changes}. So, all is well with the Hall household.

{and now we can finally end this blog...wow}