Gettin' Ready

I really haven't posted in over a month and I truly apologize for that. I know that I sounded a bit morbid during my last post. However, the stress had truly gotten to me - just call me Urban Meyer without the salary (poor guy, I can feel his pain). Anyway, there is possibly a light at the end of the tunnel and we are all running towards it.

Dear daughter was transferred from Shands UF to Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jax the week before Christmas. Shands UF has been wonderful to us and their team has worked very diligently. However, they just needed us to get some other opinions and come up with another plan. So, we came to Wolfson because it is close to our home and has 1 of 3 federally funded hemophilia centers in the state of Florida.

We received some new ideas, good wound care and even tried an experimental med instead of Humate-P for daily infusion (unfortunately, it did not work). But all of the docs at Wolfson agreed that the daughter needs to go to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and see the best. The best hematologists, geneticists and orthopods. So...it is being set up. Wow! It is all happening so quickly, it's hard to wrap my head around it.

We have an appointment on the 5th with ortho, but we are trying to push it back a week as there are no non-stop flights until the following week. She needs a nonstop because she has to take infusion before she leaves and after she gets there. Whoa, if we get stuck somewhere because of weather, etc.... Gotta go with the nonstop. Also, while we get along famously, don't think it would be a good idea for ex-husband, current husband, myself and daughter to all drive up together for 12 hours.

I'm worried about how to tell my principal that I may need to take some time, when I don't know if I will yet. This is one appointment - how many more will there be? Will she be admitted at some point? These are all unknowns and I don't want to rush into a FMLA unless I have to.

We feel blessed that everything has happened so quickly. It's scary, but calming at the same time. Will keep you updated. Any advice on Baltimore or Johns Hopkins would be greatly appreciated!

Happy New Year!!!

Hope your 2009 was well and that your 2010 will be full of blessings, joy and love! Here's to the future, ladies!

What Happens When??

What happens when you feel that you have no more left to give? Today I feel that way. Today was a tough day at school. I work with a lot of students and they have varying needs. I never know what needs will come into my office or what kind of stress I will take home with me.

Then, my sweet daughter, called me this afternoon to say that she had been put into the hospital again. Her knee had another bleed and they are going to start her on a new med, but she will have to stay in the hospital in case she has a reaction. The last time this happened, she had, literally, hives upon hives. So, down to Gainesville I went after work and now I'm back home again.

What happens when you feel like you have no more left to give, because now is one of those times? I'm going to just pray that God will continue to give me strength because I definitely cannot do this on my own. I'm glad that hubby will be back from Philly tomorrow night. I need his quiet strength now.

Go Gators!!

To all the Gator-Haters out there (you know who you are UGA fans), last night was a victory well won!! All I can say is, "It's Great to Be a Florida Gator"

At Last!!!

This post has been a long time coming. First, I know that I haven't posted since August - sorry... The opening of school seemed to go on forever and every day has been busier than the next. There have been times that I've actually wanted to walk out the door and this is my 20th year in education!! I'm at a challenging school and I loooove what I do, but we are in "intervene" status because of our school grade. I voluntarily transferred a year ago, from an "A" school to this one, because I really wanted to do the work that I do on a larger scale. Well, I got my wish! Everyone, at our school, truly deserves kudos and atta-boys and girls for all of their hard work and determination everyday.

The other reaon why this post has been so long is because our daughter finally, and I mean finally, had what we hope is her last surgery. She had the allograft on her knee a week ago. We've been waiting for all the other surgeries, infections, etc., to heal as well as her platelets to be right from all the infusions she took all summer. Everything was lined up right with God, the stars, moon and heavens and she went into surgery a little over a week ago. Yes, the pic below looks yucky but it looks good to us! She is healing and we are so grateful that she is doing well and may only need infusions to help her heal at this point.



So, we are thankful, blessed, determined to look forward and continue to have courage!! Rock on!

First Week Back

The first week back at school... I'm exhausted and the students haven't even arrived yet. We had meetings the first two days at the Hyatt and then for two days at our school. Friday was spent scheduling and today was orientation. Maybe it's getting up every morning - and starting a routine again. I'm going to start running before work, next week. That's my big de-stressor and keeps me balanced. I know it's early, but Florida is too darn hot to run in the afternoon. Besides, by the time I drag my rear-end home I'm too tired. I just want a nap, myself.

First week's over - another week of pre-planning and then the kiddos arrive!

May Not Be At the Islands - but Try This Drink!

We thought that we could cook out this aft. However, Jax weather decided otherwise. But... we are making some yummy rum punch. It's a recipe that we picked up from some friends of ours. Here ya go - try it and let me know what you think!

Rum Punch
Serves 4-6

8 oz spiced rum
1 liter ginger ale
20 oz pineapple juice
16 oz fruit punch
2 oz Grand Marnier
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
slice of lemon, for garnish

Combine ingredients in a large pitcher and stir.
Serve, over ice, in a tall glass.



Enjoy!

Starting to get a teeny, bit ready

I started thinking about the new school year today. Although I've been working part-time doing some odds and ends, I officially start back on August 10th (a week earlier than many other schools in this district), because I work at a school that is considered a "turnaround" school. It is one that has made a grade of F, as measured by the FCAT, or whose school performance has dropped dramatically in one or more targeted areas during the previous year. Mine is also an inner city school.

I love my job - and actually decided to transfer to this school from a very high-performing school. I believe in the vision of our principal and that our students have real needs. I spend long hours and weekends with my fellow teachers and the students in order to create a culture of family and learning. I truly believe that they are the ones who will be able to rise above many of the obstacles that their parents and grandparents have been unable to and that we are there to help them, guide them and teach them through this process.

I am humbled, everyday, when I walk through the doors of my school.

Is it hard work? You betcha! Do I have days that I wonder if I was in my right mind to make the transfer? Many evenings, when I miss time with my family and friends. But I am constantly reminded of this particular Bible verse:

Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

It just reaffirms me, everyday.

New Beds for Puppies!!

We think our doxies are the sweetest puppies in the world!



But they definitely need a new bed. They've been sleeping at the foot of our bed, on an old comforter, for weeks. Actually since I washed their bed cover in hot water and it shrunk. I mean terribly - so that it wouldn't fit on their big, shared pillow anymore :( Sorry sweeties.

So, I looked around and decided to order them each a bed from Chilly Dog! They look so comfy.



And dachshunds are known for burrowing, so these should be perfect! We ordered two - navy and dark brown. I'll post some pics of our little ones and their new beds when they arrive!

Comments on Latisse??

I'm going to start using Latisse next week. Any thoughts? My lashes are o.k., nothing fab and several of my friends have used Latisse with good results. I'm a little iffy about the application process, but I'm usually a guinea pig for anything. I've done IPL on a couple of sun spots and laser on a spider vein on my face. However, I've drawn the line, so far, at Botox and Juvaderm/Restylene, etc. I don't know - I've seen good and BAD results with those things... I think that I'll stick to the Latisse.

Here's a Great Giveaway!

Ready for a great giveaway? Go to My Blonde Reality and sign up for her giveaway to celebrate 300 followers. Shasta is giving away:







I use Elastiderm already and LOVE it!! It's fab for ladies 40 and over (not that I'm giving away my age...Ever...)

Got Some Med News

So, I've told everyone about my daughter's struggle with her blood disorder and Ehlers-Danlos. We went to Nemours on Friday to see a geneticist in an effort to put some of the pieces of the puzzle together. We found out the following:

1. She doesn't have classic Ehlers-Danlos, but does have an undefined connective tissue disorder
2. She needs to be evaluated by a cardiologist, an opthalmologist and an infectious disease specialist to see if this disorder has targeted other areas of her body (other than her knees)
3. She will continue to have bleeds in her knee until she is able to have the allograft, which will stabilize the sublaxation.
4. As a result of these bleeds, she will need to be hospitalized in order to receive DDAVP and Factor VIII so that the tissue will absorb the blood. She will receive 4 infusions - one every 12 hours; probably every 2 weeks, until she has the allograft.
5. Lastly, she cannot have the allograft until the necrotic tissue that she has, on top of her knee, heals. It is kind of yucky, so I won't post a pic. However, the docs are considering a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to speed up healing.

So, this is our life right now. We thank God, everyday, that she is still so upbeat and in good spirits. She never complains or whines about her condition. She is full of faith for God and continues to encourage us. Please continue to pray for her as we push forward on this journey.

Great Fourth!

We had a great fourth of July weekend. Hubs and I spent most of the fourth at St. Augustine beach with some friends. That evening, our neighborhood had a block party and lit our own fireworks. Two of our neighbors had gotten together and bought some BIG daddy fireworks - our finale actually summoned a police officer who told us to finish it up... We had about 20 families and lots of good food.

On Sunday, we visited with my hub's daughter, her husband and our grandson. Isn't he adorable now? They live at Jax Beach, and we took him on the beach for a few minutes. He cooed when we put his feet in the water! The simple pleasures in life. Hope your fourth was wonderful and truly made you appreciate our freedoms here in the U.S., as it did all of us!

I'm a Winner - Thanks!

I received an e-mail from Melissa Morris, whose blog is fabulous if you don't read it. She is a NY socialite and her blog is full of travel tips, escapades with her dog, Monty, renovation of her house and even great cocktails to try, and she is so sweet and down-to-earth. Are you really from the South, Mel?

See what I won??

Sounds like a great beach read! Can't wait to get it - thanks, Mel!

Farah, we will miss you

I am stunned by the news of Farah Fawcett's passing today. It's hard to imagine her really gone, when I grew up with Charlie's Angels. She was the epitome of a "cool chick" and I have to admit that I had feathered and layered hair like her while in high school. She will always remain beautiful, in my heart, and I will always remember my high school days when I see one of those early pics. Farah, you will be missed!

No More Hospital!!!

We brought her home on Tuesday! No more hospital! Yay! And we have an appointment in Jax at Mayo next week, so no more traveling to Shands/G'ville!! Truly an answer to prayers!!!!

Sorry to Say, Still Not Good News...

We are still driving to Shands/Gainesville. My daughter hasn't been released from the hospital yet and, as of yesterday, more tests were being run. Her hemaglobin has been steadily decreasing and, if it continues to do so, she may need a blood transfusion. She has lost quite a bit of weight (she's about 5'6" and now probably weighs about 105 lbs) and we are starting to get a little worried.

We are starting to look at some other options, such as have a second opinion when she is released or even transferring her to another facility.

Please continue to pray for this young lady who has been through so much. She not only needs prayers for healing, but also for her emotional well-being. We appreciate it so much!

Hopefully, the next post will be about fun things we are all doing this summer!!

Back on that G'ville trek again!!

We are back on the road between Jacksonville and Gainesville again! My daughter was put back in the hospital on Monday because her knee swelled up like a grapefruit. A decision was made to do a clean-out last night and a lot of old blood from an internal bleed was found.

She is much better now, but the ortho docs are consulting again with hematology and genetics because of her EDS. We are just so thankful that the surgery was successful and pray that she will heal rapidly. She will need an allograft on this knee too, but cannot have it until the source and cause of the bleeding is found. However, she is a trooper. Except for the pain, she rarely complains and went into the OR telling me not to worry. She reaffirms my faith, everyday!

Lazy Weekend

Although I'm working 4 hours a day during the summer, the time passes by quicker when students aren't there. It's a much more relaxed atmosphere. Plus, I can wear my flip-flops!

This has been a lazy weekend though. I love those, don't you?

On Saturday, we did some yard work and went to visit my husband's daughter's wonderful baby boy - our grandson... My how he's grown!!!



Then on Sunday, we went to church (love to go to the 8:00 service) and then to our favorite breakfast spot. It's right in our neighborhood and serves the most yummy eggs benedict, cinnamon raisin french toast and granola pancakes!



Finally, we went to the beach! Like I've said before, it's easy to get to and relaxing to spend a few hours relaxing there.

Definitely a lazy weekend!!

Tried to go to the beach today

This morning we got up and started to get our stuff ready to go to the beach. We live about 20 minutes away, so we always have a couple of bags ready and our little beach cart.

We ate breakfast, went to the gym for a quick work-out and then thought that it was gettin' mighty cloudy so we'd wait a bit. Good thing we did...





Another rainy day in Jax! Aren't we the "Sunshine State"?

Oh well, there's always tomorrow. This is good snoozin' weather.

DONE!!!

Yay!

School's out for summer!! All the kiddos went home today. We can finally relax and start to unwind for summer. There are 2 post-planning days next week, but that about wraps it up.

Kind of...

We had a shock at our school a few days ago, because our fabulous principal has been moved. So, we are wondering what to expect next year. However, this is part of the business of education.

Also, I'll be working some hours in June scheduling students for next year. However, it's a more relaxed atmosphere and a shorter day. So...school really is out for summer!

Need to "De-stress"...

It's time to get ride of some stress. Between my daughter's illness, work (this is the craaaazzzzy time of year), my mother (whom I love dearly, but she is coming to visit - more on that later), and just generally life... I try to run or walk, to de-stress but need something extra. My husband bought me a gift certificate to the Ponte Vedra Inn and Spa and i will use it this summer. If you haven't been there - I'll give you all the details in another post! It's fabulous and truly self-indulgent. However for just an in-between stress reliever, I go to a local accupuncturist. OK, I was a little skeptical to begin with. However, it is wonderful! I fall asleep on the table and don't even know where I am when I wake up! I can't even feel the teeny-tiny needles and I mean, they are tiny. Then afterwards, she gives me a mini-massage and fixes me some super-yummy destressing tea and I'm on my way. She is not only an acupuncturist, but a Chinese medical herbalist and I've been given tea for sore throats, allergies, even to help me sleep! Our neighbor used every fertility remedy imaginable, and this acupuncturist helped her get pregnant in just a few months. I'm not saying that it works for everyone, but I definitely feel less stressed after 60 minutes.

Forgot to Tell You - We Need Prayers Again...

I forgot to explain why I've been away several days away... My sweet daughter has been back in Shands/Gainesville. They've finally diagnosed her with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. This is the 5th time that she has been hospitalized since October and the 4th time that she has had surgery. We've been burning up the miles between here and Gainesville. Shands is an excellent research hospital and the docs there have been conferring with Ohio State University which is the leading research center for EDS. She will need another surgery this summer to help make her left knee less unstable. One of the main problems that EDS causes is joint instability and sublaxations. She could suffer trauma to a joint at any time and her knees seem to be bearing the brunt of the trauma. She was a soccer player before, so this has been particularly hard on her. Please continue to pray for her!

Memorial Day Thank You

Our family will be spending some time with my father-in-law tomorrow as he is a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. He flew P-3's (submarine hunters) for the Navy and we are so proud of the job he did defending our country! He is a retired officer and a proud 89 year old veteran. He never allows us to forget the men and women who have given their lives fighting for our country's freedom. No matter what position you may take on the war, we are currently in, or wars we may become involved in, there are always men and women who defend our freedom everyday - both home and abroad. A big thanks to them and a special memorial to those who have given their lives for the special freedoms that we have in this country!

Tomorrow we will also have our yearly neighborhood block party - so I hope the weather holds. We've been under a "tropical wave". Today, we had a fair amount of sunshine and I actually got to wear my sunglasses for at least an hour. Hooray!

And So it Continues...With No End in Sight...

More Rain... Jacksonville is slowly becoming flooded. Our street isn't as bad as this picture depicts, but I. Am. Sick. Of. Rain. Period. Our poor little doxies don't like the rain either and they will run out, do their business quickly and run, like fire, back into the house.

I actually tried to pull my hair up into the semblance of a ponytail today. I have a chin-length bob... it looks more like a pony "dot". And a frizzy one at that. How much longer is this rain going to last, does anyone know? Some of the students at our school walk up to a mile and a half to get there and I feel the most bad for them. They are litle ones and many don't have raincoats or umbrellas. It breaks my heart to see them at dismissal. I hope this rain doesn't last much longer....

Too Rainy and Chilly for this FL Gal!

We get rain in Florida; lots of it in the summer. You know, high humidity, equals rain. However, we usually don't get nor'easters in May... It is CHILLY today! The high was in the '60s. I know, that's warm to some people in the north, but if you live in North Florida, it's COLD. I'm used to weather that is 20 degrees warmer. Even my doxies were shivering and standing by the back door whining to come in this aft. They didn't even run to the front door when I asked them if they wanted to "go for a walk." Instead, they just peered out under their cover. That's an idea... Under the covers and watching DWTS tonight!

Good News!!

Very good news! As of Tuesday, we are no longer seeing the pediatric floor at Shand's Hospital in Gainesville. Our daughter was released - Praise God - although there may be some additional surgery at a later date. Although she is not a little one, they still put her on the peds floor this time. She has alternated between the peds floor and adult ortho floor each time she has been hospitalized. We feel very blessed and thank so many people for their prayers and thoughtfulness during this stressful time! (The ceiling tiles, that children painted, are beautiful though). Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the doctors, nurses and wonderful hospital personnel who helped us at Shands!

Please Pray....

The second reason why I've been gone so long is because I've been shuttling back and forth to Gainesville... My daughter has been at Shands Hospital following knee surgery. She had some complications and has been there for almost two weeks. I don't want to go into everything, but I can tell you that it's been exhausting and I'm running on empty right now. She is expected to make a full recovery, but it's been slow progress and she developed an infection at one point. We have been so thankful for the outpouring of thoughts and prayers from so many friends and family!

Been Gone Too Long

I know that I'm new at getting back to this, and I'm sorry... I have a reason though. Actually several reasons! First of all, my husband's daughter had a baby!!! So we've been a little busy making sure that this "little man" has had enough love

We are doing renovations on our house; did I mention that it is old? It was built right after the depression, so we aren't talkin' new here. We bought it a couple of years ago and debated whether to buy a new house or to go with an older one, in one of the more historic sections of Jax. My hubby is a tad bit older than I, so he "persuaded" me to go with the older - it didn't take much persuasion. It's just a small bungalow, and it needs a lot of work, but I love it. We've painted the interior, had a new roof, new plumbing, new wiring, and are now renovating the bath. Yes, there is only one... and it's challenging. In addition to the challenges of the bathroom, there is the challenges of the closets. Did people have clothes back in the '30's? B/c the closets are SMALL... TINY SMALL... I mean, that I'm keeping different seasonal clothes at my mothers!

We still need to renovate the kitchen (totally), refinish the hardwood floors and rebuild the old garage. I guess you could call it a money pit, but I'd still rather have it than a brand new house. It's on a tree-lined street, a couple of blocks from the river in a very quiet neighborhood. I'll post pics as the renovation continues....

Where to Start?

O.K., so I've read many of your blogs and decided that I needed to get back to blogging. I mean, it isn't fair to read others and not have one of my own, right?

Anyway, this is a great week, because for me - it's spring break! Yes, I'm an educator. Time to relax and recharge the batteries for the last 9 weeks. Also time to do some spring cleaning and, of course, some shopping!!! The weather has been fabulous and Mr. ST and I went on a bike ride this aft. I felt bad for all the empty driveways this a.m. when our neighbors when to work! Well, not that bad... Hope you are having a good one!