11/2/2011

We were finnaly able to get Liam's feeds up to 4ml's per hour. He seems to be handling them well. He has no signs on respitory distress or high heart rate. Sometime early next week or as early as friday he will be going to have a CT scan. Because he is a baby and moves alot they will have to put him under and intubate him. I know its a test he really needs done but I am worried that this time around they won't be bale to excubate him or when they do him lung will colapse. It's always a fear. After his CT and he starts bottle feeding some we might get to take him home for awhile depending on what the CT shows. We will be back within a month for a follow up with the surgeons. There will also be follow ups with a pulmanalogist, geneticist, ocupational therapist and more. The surgeon told us today her reccomendation is to let Liam heal and rest up from this last surgery before we do another. She won't do his diaphragm until he's completly healed up unless absolutely neccessary. I'm praying we can have him home with us on thanksgiving and christams instead of spending it in the hospital. Pastor Mark came up and fellowshiped with us today. He read us Psalms 141 and prayed for Liam and our family. Spiritually I had been trying to hold on strong but knew I was weak. It did wonders for me to be able to listen to as well as talk about the blessing's God has given us. We haven't been to church in way too long yet our Pastor and our church are supporting us, praying for us. I feel guilty for having strayed away. I feel worse that my daughter hasnt been to church since she was too young to remember. Hopefully, God willing, Liam will be well enough that we can start going back to church. Now its comming up on RSV season and we have to be even more careful than before. There are so many unknown and uncertainties ahead of us.

11/1/2011

We keep getting hit with new issues left and right with Liam's health. Yesterday he had blisters on his face. It turned out to be contact dermititus. They put some cream on it and it was almost gone by morning. Yesterday we had to lower his feeds from 24ml's per hour to 16ml's per hour because he wasn't tolerating the feeds. His heart rate and respitory rate were too high all night long the night before. We had put him back on oxygen that night and it didn't take care of the problem so yesterday morning we lowered the feeds and within hours his heart rate and respitory rate went back to normal. We started mylacon drops and tylanol to help with gas and pain. This morning the specialist came in and gave us more news. They said the radiologist looked at Liam's xray and it appears his left lung (repair side) was stretched out during his repair surgery. Thats not good. It's also the reason his left lung appears twice the size of his right lung when his left lung was his underdeveloped lung. I had asked that question many times since seeing his xrays here at Childrens. Now theyre trying to get ahold of Liam's xrays and CT from USCSF so they don't have to do another one. Theyre hoping the CT and xrays will help explain why and how this happened. Just when I think things are looking up, things go down hill. I'm really struggling with this whole situation. I know God only chooses strong parents for these babies, but the blow is still harsh. They say the first year is full of hard times. Struggles and hospital stays. Then after the first year things are supposed to be more "normal". We're only 3 1/2 months into this. If I'm struggling this much, I can only imagine how Liam feels. It's so hard being here at a hospital 24-7. So very depressing. I won't leave Liam alone for more than I absolutely have too. I feel like I have to be here with him. Going home for a day or two just isn't an option in my book. Home feels so empty without him there. It's hard having two kids when one is in the hospital. It's harder to choose who to be with knowing that the other one will be alone. I know Lanie is not alone but I know she needs me. She doesn't get near enough of my attention as she deserves. No matter what I do it feels like I can't win for trying. ......
The pulmanologist came in and she basically wanted to know if we planned to follow up with them or UCSF. I told her if we could follow up with them we will. She said ok because they were having issues with UCSF wanting to release Liam's medical records even though I signed the paperwork so she wanted to order a CT scan but refuse to do so if were just going to be following up with UCSF. Waiting for her to come back now to let me know. She wanted to know what the plan was for Liams high right side so I told her the plan was it had to be repaired. I also told her that Dr Jones said she could repaire it here at Children's. so our plan was to do it here. I just pray we can start having good news soon.

10/29/2011

Liam is healing from his surgery. There were no complications. His lung did partially colapse yesterday but has since start re-inflating. He hasn't needed morphone since the night after surgery and has only been needing 1 dose of tylanol every 12-14 hours so far. I am very proud of him for being such a strong little boy. He was moved out of PICU today. Liam has slept most the day away again but he needs to to heal. He has only woken up to cry when his diaper was dirty or he felt hungry. Crying for food is an improvement already. It was like music to my ears. He hadn't been crying fo food lately because it hurt his belly everytime he ate. They're slowly weaning him off the oxygen/ We need to completly wean him off oxygen, get full feeds going and learn how to care for the Gtube as well as put one in ourselves before he will be released. We're looking at 5 days min unless they really try to rush him out. We refuse to let them rush him out the door though. I want to know that when we take Liam home that we will be staying home for while before we have to see another hospital again. .

10/26/2011

Liam is going in for surgery tomarrow around 1pm. He is getting a G-tube and a Nessen Fundoplication. Hopefully this will fix the problem and Liam will be able to hold down his foods. He got his first dose of Biotin tonight for his Biotinidase Deficiency and will continue to get it until we get the results back from his test. Theyre going to intubate Liam for surgery. Im not sure how Im going to react seeing a breathing tube in my son again. Too many memories of UCSF ICN. If they have problems excubating Liam then he will have to have it for a few days. It can also take up to 4 hours if there isnt any complications in surgery. If theres not a lot of scar tissue they will be able to do surgery laproscopically. Thats what Im hoping for. Praying little Liam is strong enough to survive this. Hes a fighter, even if he is weaker right now. All I want is for my baby boy to be good. I want him fixed. I want to take him home and enjoy the holidays without having to be in a hospital. Im trying really hard not to worry. I have no idea what Im going to do with myself for 4 hours while Liam is in surgery. I know right out of surgery I wont be able to hold him and that going to be hard. Im trying to keep myself from sleeping in the rocking chair all night with Liam in my arms. He needs a really good nights sleep so he can be strong. Were not exactly sure how much longer were going to be here. We know at least a week. I miss my cats, my house, my couch and my bed. You would think that this would get easier over time but its not. It seems to get worse with every taste of having my son home. I pray to God that we wont have to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas in the hospital. I know things could always be worse. Please pray for Liam.

10/24/2011

Ok we were misinformed it wasnt cystic fibrosis that Liam was positive for at birth like we were lead to believe. His retest for it was neg :) What Liam had at birth was called Biotinidase deficiency. Its very rare. Only 1 of every 110,000 births.Biotinidase deficiency is an inherited metabolic disorder of biotin (vitamin B) recycling that leads to multiple carboxylase deficiencies. The mos...t common early symptoms include seizure activity of various types (myoclonic, grand mal, and focal or infantile spasms) and hypotonia. Other early symptoms include breathing problems (tachypnea, hyperventilation, stridor, apnea), skin rashes and alopecia. Later developmental delays, speech problems, ataxia, and vision and hearing problems may occur. Less frequent findings include feeding difficulties, vomiting/diarrhea, fungal infections, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. This disorder is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. As an autosomal recessive disorder, the parents of a child with biotinidase deficiency are unaffected, healthy carriers of the condition and have one normal gene and one abnormal gene. With each pregnancy, carrier parents have a 25 percent chance of having a child with two copies of the abnormal gene, which results in biotinidase deficiency. Carrier parents have a 50 percent chance of having a child who is an unaffected carrier and a 25 percent chance of having an unaffected, non-carrier child. These risks hold true for each pregnancy. All siblings of infants diagnosed with biotinidase deficiency should be tested. Biotinidase is an essential enzyme that liberates biotin from proteins in foods for utilization by the body. It also enables the body to recycle biotin, which is necessary for proper functioning of carboxylase enzymes. Without biotinidase to release free biotin, the ability of the body to alter fats and to metabolize proteins and carbohydrates is impaired. Complications including metabolic acidosis, coma and death can occur unless supplements of biotin are provided.

The good news is that this is something that can be treated with meds. Yes if he is still positive then he will have to take them for the rest of his life. We will have to have Lanie tested for it because they say all simblings need to be tested because if one kid has it its possible another has it as well. He will also have to see a geneticist regularly. I feel better with this diagnosis than with cystic fibrosis. No Im not happy but it is what it is. Ive done some research and Im sure theres more to it than what I've read online. Childrens hospital is waiting on paperwork they need from UCSF before they can re-test Liam. Apparently we are about 2 days over due in retesting Liam but they didn't know about it and we didn't either. The doctor found all this out when he finnaly got ahold of the results of Liam newborn screaning test. Theyre going to talk to the surgeons and hopefully this test wont delay Liams surgery. Were hoping to keep things on track.

On a good note, Liam had some visitors tonight. His Tia, Uncle, Cousins, and Auntie Jolene came to visit It was a great visit and I got some pretty cool pics :)

10/23/2011

Just talked to the surgeon. They want to run some test before they do surgery. Another ECO of his heart, blood work, re-test for cystic fibrosis since he was positive at birth and a few studies on his lungs and airway. They said they'll try to do it microscopically but if theres too much scartissue theyll have to open him up. They might have to re-intubate him and she said it could be hard to excabate him so he might stay on it for awhile. Itll be hard to see but they have to do what they have to do. They just want all the ducks in a row and have no suprises like hyper tention or anything else. :( They said they might have to put off the surgery for 2 weeks if he is still sick. The first time I got to see my son he was intubated. It was the image that poped into my head when the surgeon mentioned it as a possibility. I felt like we were taking atleast 3 steps back just with his respitory problems. If it came down to intubating Liam and having him crash suddenly during surgery its an obvious choice. Situations like this just don't help my PTSD. I know I need to be strong for Liam and for Lanie and for Justin so I have to keep it together. I know eventually we will get to the point that this will all just seem like it was a nightmare. It feels like a dream that we even had him home, like it didn't even happen. We were blessed that we got to take him home though. We are blessed to have every day we have with him. Liam is a fighter and he will fight to the very end. The statistics for people with cystic fibrosis suck. They're life expactantcy is 30-40 years and 95% of males with cystic fibrosis are infertile. Then again there's no telling how long a CDH baby will live. Theres no reason to think they can't live a long happy life but there are too many unknowns. Again Liam is a fighter and it doesn't matter what he has. He won't give up and neither will we. We will love him his entire life and hopefully, if God willing he will outlive us. I am happy we have answers. I am happy we have a "solution". With the world of technology these days theres no reason to think the worst. I know that we're going to celebrate everyday and every smile. We're going to make sure he lives as normal as a life he can and that he is happy and painless. I know I will continue to tell his story in hopes that it helps someone else and get out awareness. Being a mother of a baby with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia has changed everything for me. It's not an easy road. It's a long, hard, dark road we have ahead of us but Liam's smile gives me the light I need to see the end.

10/22/2011

I find myself completely pissed off. We just found out from Liams specialist doctor at Childrens Hospital that in her conversation with UCSF Pedi-Surg that UCSF said they thought he needed a Gtube that they were going to talk to us about it on our next CDH clinic in November. Basically they werent going to give us a heads-up; they were just going to ambush us. The doctors I thought I had an open communication and good relationship with and were supposed to trust. I feel like that trust has been broken. We told them several times before they released Liam the last time to do whatever they had to do to fix Liam so we didnt have to put him through this again. They just went ahead and released him already suspecting that he needed a Gtube. What makes it worse is that if they would have just kept Liam 2 more days then this would have already been done. We wouldnt have wasted 10 days at Childrens trying to figure out what was wrong. With a critically ill infant you dont have time. Liam was already way under weight and length that he is failure to thrive. Liam doesnt have any weight he can loose. I feel like Liam is a guinea pig for UCSF that they just want him for research and instead of doing whatever they had to to make him better theyre experimenting instead of jumping straight to the problem solver. Keep in mind I absolutely love UCSF. They know what their doing, they know his case. My problem is with the communication. All Ive asked over and over again was that they keep us updated and they do whatever they have to fix him. So maybe Im not mad but more disappointed. We also found out today that Liam needs a fundoplication. They take the top of the stomach and wrap it around the esophagus to keep him from being able to reflux his food. Theyre going to do this the same time they do the Gtube procedure that way they only have to put him out once and only recover once. I know its whats best for him. I know he needs it. Ive done the research and talked to the doctors. The mommy in me just wants to cuddle him close and cry with him. The analytical part of me wants to hand him over and say fix him. Its a good thing he can have the best of both because not only do I get to cuddle him and love him but I get to make them fix him.

About fundoplication:
In a fundoplication, the gastric fundus (upper part) of the stomach is wrapped, or plicated, around the lower end of the esophagus and stitched in place, reinforcing the closing function of the lower esophageal sphincter. The esophageal hiatus is also narrowed down by sutures to prevent or treat concurrent hiatal hernia, in which the fundus slides up through the enlarged esophageal hiatus of the diaphragm.
In a Nissen fundoplication, also called a complete fundoplication, the fundus is wrapped all the way 360 degrees around the esophagus. In contrast, surgery for achalasia is generally accompanied by either a Dor or Toupet partial fundoplication, which is less likely than a Nissen wrap to aggravate the dysphagia that characterizes achalasia. In a Dor (anterior) fundoplication, the fundus is laid over the top of the esophagus; while in a Toupet (posterior) fundoplication, the fundus is wrapped around the back of the esophagus.
The procedure is now routinely performed laparoscopically. When used to alleviate gastroesophageal reflux symptoms in patients with delayed gastric emptying, it is frequently combined with modification of the pylorus via pyloromyotomy or pyloroplasty.

The mortality rate is less than 1% which is the best odds Liam has encountered in his life. I am still very scared because I know how fast things can go wrong. I am trusting in God that he will be right there with Liam every step of the way and keep things on track. I am still requesting prayers for Liam. I am a firm believer that prayer works and there is never too much prayer. Please find it in your hearts to just send up a little prayer for Liam.

10/21/2011

Childrens's Hospital doctors consulted with UCSF Surgeons and they decided Liam needs a Gtube. A Gtube has the same concept as an ngtube. it goes straight to the stomach. The difference is it is surgically inserted through the abdomen wall into the stomach. The reason were doing this and not sticking with the ngtube is because with the ngtube there is a chance of his tube migrating up and slipping back down and going into the lungs. That would be very bad because then his feedings go into the lungs drowning him. He needs to be on continuos feeds 20 hours out of 24 hours in the day because of his gastritous and reflux. Its alot safer and allows us to give him the callories and volume he needs to grow. Please pray for Liam he will be having surgery sometime next week. We thank you all for your prayers and support.
************
Dear Santa,
Its been a rough year and I feel Ive been good. Everything seems to be breaking around me. My truck, my dryer and my son (to some extent) are just a few examples. I feel Ive handled it all very well so I should be rewarded. Santa this year for Christmas I just want something that works. If I could choose one thing to work I would without a doubt or second thought choose my son. I will gladly forfeit all future Christmas, birthday, mothers day, anniversary and any other gifts for the rest of my life for this one gift. Being said, I feel that such a selfless act should not go without reward and feel I should be able to choose that reward. I choose my son. I dont need any fancy wrapping, no bows, or streamers. No bling or glitter. I dont even need it to be under the tree when I wake up Christmas morning. So please Santa, just this once, grant me my wish.
-Liams Mommy

P.S.
If I promise to be good every year would you find a cure and answers to CDH?

10/20/2011

1am I just read this ariticle about a mother who is loosing her son to Tay-Sa chs disease amd it brought to light so many things. I realized that with Liam I am trying to make the best of every day I have with him because I have seen that with CDH kids you never know what the future holds. I am thankful that there still is a future involved with Liam that he doesn't have a death sentance like Ronan from the article. Because of Liam's uncertain future I realize that I parent him differently than I do my perfectly healthy 3 year old. I find myself more tolerant and easy going with Liam and more stern with Lanie. I realize now that noticing what I am doing that this is not fair for either child. Lanie will end up resenting Liam for us being easier on him and for spending so much time away from him since his birth. Liam will end up hating his sister for resenting him and therefor being mean to him. It's something that needs to be addressed and changed. No more can Lanie loose her parents just because Liam is sick and admitted into the hospital again. I need to be more patient with her and understanding. As hard as this is on my it must be ten times harder on her. If something should happen to Liam. God forbide, I want Lanie to have been able to spend as much time as she could with Liam. I want our family to spend time as a family and make as many memories as we can. We have witnessed how quickly the health of a CDH baby can go downhill so quickly so we don't take for grantit how well he is doing now because things can always be worse. Still when thinking of Liam there is still a future, there is hope. So he won't be able to play football or be a boxer, the great thing is life will still go on. He might not even be able to be a race car driver but he can still enjoy the sport. The wonderful thing is Liam has a fighting chance. We have spent alot of time in hospitals and undergone many procedures but we still have him. We can still hold him and tell him how much we love him. Children are blessing sent from God. Liam just happens to have to work harder than most. But still things could be worse. I encourage all to read this article called "Notes from a Dragon Mom". It'll make you rethink your perspective. If you think you have it bad just remember there is always someone else out there that has it worse. You should be thankful for what you have not regretful for what you don't have. I see this moms point of view and to an extent do the same things. I am always defending my child. When someone refuses to see that Liam is different I pound it into their heads that he is and that I almost lost him before I ever got to hold him. When I see pregnant women out there smoking or drinking or doing drugs is makes me angry to no end. They don't understand what that does to a child. They take for grantit that children are born healthy and happy that you don't have to do anything differently for it to be so. I did everything right during my pregnancy. Took what I was supposed to , stay away from what was harmful and still my son was born with a defect that almost killed him. Read this article. Maybe cry alittle, I know I cried for this family, then prayed for them. Then hug your children close and tell them everyday how much you love them. Even if your mad at them, if their in trouble, it doesn't matter. When your done yelling at them don't forget to tell them you love them. Stop taking for grantit today because you never know about tomarrow. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/opinion/sunday/notes-from-a-dragon-mom.html?_r=2

10/20/11 9pm
We had a meeting with the doctors this morning. I'm sick and tired of fighting for my son to get the care he deserves. I'm tired of the doctors not doing anything until they are forced too.I'm at my wits end. Unfortunately Justin hasn't reached the point I'm at. One minute he thinks he needs to be transfered to UCSF the next he's fine with the way things are going here. All the doctors are doing is passifing us and they can tell its working on him so they keep doing it. It's the only reason we got them to do more. The doctor tried to tell us today that we asked for things to be done slowly with Liam. I just staired at him because not once did we say they were moving too fast or pushing too hard. Every step of the way weve told them their not doing enough. He tried to pass the blame onto us. They tried to discharge Liam while he was still vommiting and now they want to blame us because we have a grievance against them. Not only am I fighting the doctors Im fighting Justin and somewhere someone has to give. I wish I had all the answers, have tried to get all the answers but they just aren't there. I feel lost and confussed. I want to scream at the doctors to just fix Liam. How hard can it be to just fix him? They went from thinking it had nothing to do with CDH to thinking it could be linked to his high floppy right side diaphragm. I just don't know. I'm loosing sleep over this. I can't sleep, I'm never hungry, Im terminally pissed off. I have so much pent up anger and all it's going to take is one of these doctors or nurses popping off at the mouth with some stupid comment for me to blow up. I know things will get better but right now it feels like we're stuck in a hole. Life will never be the same again. I knew having another child would change everything I just never exoected things would change so drastically. I pray every night for guidance and answers but have yet to find any.

10/19/2011

It's been a hard struggle this time around. It seems we're doing more fighting with the hospital than Liam is getting care. Their just trying to treat him like a normal kid and pretend he doesn't have CDH. It's B.S.. They just keep shouving food down him, putting him in pain. He spends all night during his continuos feeds fussy and cranky. I spend that time holding him and comforting him. He vommited again tonight. We were only half through his feed when he lost it. It looked like old curddled milk, even the PCT comitted that it looked wrong. That was arpund 4:30pm. His doctors here at Childrens never came in to talk to us. We can't get any doctor to sit down and talk to us to brainstorm or come up with a game plan. They wanted to discharge us today but we refused to let them after he vommited last night. We told them that we weren't taking him home until he was on full feeds and held them down for 24 hours. Suddenly after that converstation they were forcing 70mls down him when he was only taking 60mls before. They're trying to rush us out and not fix the problem that Liam has. I've been arguing with Justin over what I think is best for his health care. We're trying to do everything we can to do whats in the best interest for Liam and sometimes that means comprimissing. I aggreed to let Valley Childrens try to fix Liam. Now were trying to figure out what our next move is. We've talked to the charge nurse, on call doctor and a social worker tonight about our concerns and it seems were wasting our breathe. I pray tomarrow will yeild more answers and a solution. Liam is in God's hands and I pray that God leads us to make the decisions that are right for him. To think this all started because Liam cought a cold while at UCSF. I think thats why it's been a hard decision to make on wether or not to take him back there. Please keep Liam in your prayers.

10/18/2011

9:00pm We were on our way out the door but Liam threw up his 7pm feed. He was doing so well. His feedings were up to 60mls and we were starting the night time continuos feeds. We were all so excited about going home. Now we have to wait and find out if we still get too. His cough is alot better and he seems to be doing better. All except this one incident.Still praying because it's in God's hands.

10/17/2011

Liam had his upper GI today. It was pretty neat to watch. It was just like the foral test only they make you drink this contrast stuff that allows them to see it travel through the body. Liam's stomach is flipped but it's "normal" for CDH kids. He does not have malrotated bowels but dows have reflux or what they kept called gurd. You could actually watch as the contract splashed up into the esophagus. I wish I would have recorded it. Valley Childrens will keep him for a few more days to get him eating normally again then release him. We think we will be out of here on wensday. They already uped his dose of Reglan to maximun dosage and theres no much else they can do for him. We just have pray that he will be ok. Last night was very long. We went and picked up Buggie around 8pm, didn't het back to the hospital until midnight then everytime Liam would finnaly fall asleep a nurse or pct would come in and mess with him and walk out. I didn't get to fall asleep until around 5:45am when Justin woke up and took over. I slept until 9am then took a 2 hour nap this afternoon. I hope its not as bad tonight. It'll probably be worse since that ditzy nurse is back tonight.

10/16/2011

It's been a long day, last night was a long night. I'm tired and just want to go home. I miss my daughter. It's not fair for her that whenever we have to take Liam to the hospital she looses both her parents. I'm sick of hospitals. The four of us should be able to always stay together. I know this won't be Liam's last stay in a hospital but I pray it will be for atleast a year. Liam is hanging in there. He still only being fed 1 oz every 2 hours but is holding it down. I'm assuming taking him off the iron drops helped but its not the cure. He has an upper GI tomarrow. I'm hoping for the best and best would be an answer and then being able to go home. The worst would be that they have no idea whats going on with him. This hospital is so boring. It's nothing like UCSF where there is always something to do. Here you're in the middle of nowhere with nothing to occupy your mind.

10/15/2011

11:30am The doctor came in this morning and we talked to him about Liam's meds and what happened last night with the nurse. He agreed that it was not at the nurses discretion and that he will be talking to her supervisor because that cannot go without consequence. We also talked to him about the fact that they were doubling the dose of Reglan. He said the GI doctor suggested doing so in hopes that it would help move things along. I explaned how I had been under the impression that Liams Reglan was already maxed out. He said it wasn't that this dose of .08mls is the max. We explained how we thought we DCed everything and were confussed at to why all of a sudden that wasn't the case. No one has been talking to us, explaining the plan or anything. We're sitting here in the dark. That was the problem we are having with them and why we feel they're not doing everything they could be. So now we have a sort of plan. Were giving Liam his meds and going to start to slowly feed him. Last night he only got a dose of Ranitidine and it instantly hurt his stomach. This morning he got Ranitidine, Iron and Vit D and it took about 5 min for it to start hurting. Thats a good sign that things are getting better but also that the problem is not his stomach but intestines.We're praying everything goes fine on monday with his upper GI and maybe get some answers. These nurses and doctors act like we have no clue whats going on and that we're just two dumb parents. They forget that we've been doing this since his birth and we were trained very well by UCSF on our sons condition. Childrens Hospital does not like to actually fill you in on the plan with your child. They're used to the kind of parents that just hand over their kids, say fix them and don't care how or whatt the problem was. so they're taken back by our need to know approach.
1:52pm The pediatric doctor came in and talked to us about his plan for Liam. It's the same as everyone elses but he actually was willing to talk to us about everything. We are starting feeds with 1oz of pedialyte every 2 hours for today and if we feel comfortable that he's doing good with that we can advance him to 1oz formula every 2 hours. He also DCed the Iron because he said Iron drops are very heavy and hard on the gut and he thinks it will help Liam not to on them. I have been trying to get him off the Iron for a month now saying I thought it was too much on him . The doctor did check Liams hemogloban before making the decision so it was an educated decision. I am very happy with this doctor and how he is handleing the situation.
2:15pm Just gave Liam his first feeding of 1oz pedialyte. He didn't cry at all. I never thought that I would be so happy over the smallest things before Liam. Now we just wait to see if he can hold it down. Sending up a prayer that he does.
7:00pm Liam has had 3 feedings now of 1oz pedialyte. He's held now every bit of it and hasn't been too fussy. We're thinking of trying 1oz of formula next to see how that goes. This is all so nerve racking and stressful. Memories of what I've seen Liam go through threaten to flood my mind and overwhealm me. Everytime I close my eyes I cant help but see images of Liam in ICN flash through my mind.It's the same concept as when a war vetran comes home, post tramatic stress syndrom. I know some people think it couldn't be that bad but you don't know how bad it is unless you go through it yourself. The sounds of monitors beeping might as well be granades going off. My heart starts beating really fast and I start sweating and the images start spilling out of the dark closet I tried to lock them away in. I guess the best way to deal with this issue would be to face it head on. Talk about it and hopefully learn to accept. I hate hospitals. I hate the smell, the lights, the beeping monitors. I hate that I feel trapped when I'm at a hospital. Thats probably all I can handle for now. They say you have to take it in baby steps. I know other parents that are going through this very thing after having a child in the hospital and someone needs to make a group for parents with PTSD after having a hospitalized child.

10/14/2011

All test results and cultures are in NO viruses flu rsv or phemonia. If their is a blockage they dont see it. Getting another xray today to see if he reherniated. Please pray. Liam hasnt eaten in days and is on IV fluid just for dehydration, no calleries. Liam is loosing weight cant afford to be doing so. He sleeps most of the day and night because he has no energy. We dont know whats going to happen.
12:30 pm The doctors here at childrens has decided to do an Upper GI. Hopefully that will yeild some answers as to what is going on with Liam. They're also talking of starting TPN because their not wanting him to loose too much weight. Liam is still cranky and in pain. The doctors here decided to treat this like it has nothing to do with CDH until the see otherwise. Im not too sure how I feel about that. I understand that this could have nothing to do with CDH but I also know other CDH babies that are having similar symptons. Unfortunately there have yet to be answers for those babies. Im tired and Im crabby. I havent gotten much sleep since sunday night. I'm not giving up and I refuse to let anyone else give up on Liam. There are more test they want to run if this test shows nothing. I just pray to God that we can get passed this hurddle. I know that there will be more hurddles to come but we can only jump over one at a time.
2:10pm It's been 5 days since Liam has been able to hold food down. Childrens only has him on IV fluid (saline) for dehydration. They don't want to put him on lipids or TPN until after the do the upper GI. If he doesn't get the upper GI until monday that will be 8 days with nothing. He's already lost almost a pound. He weighted 4.48kg this morning, 8lbs 13oz. When we brought him in he was 9lbs 5oz I believe. A different doctor came in to talk to us that will be following Liam through the weekend and next week. He said he won't let Liam's weight loss get critical. What he thinks is critical and what I think is critical is on different ends of the spectrum.
7:00pm Been doing research all afternoon and talking to other parents with cherubs. It sounds like there are a few possibilities. He could have a bowel obstruction, reherniated or malrotated bowels. Yes childrens is saying its not an obstruction but I don't believe them because they keep saying "everything looks good but his anatomy is so jumbled up that we really don't know". I have posted his xray from today on a few sites asking anyone to take a look and let me know if it looks like their kids. I've also emailed the xray to several doctors and surgeons and am waiting their response. I'm uncomfortable at this hospital and don't really trust their diagnosis. I think it all boils down to the fact that they don't answer question affectively, they say "I don't know" alot and theyre going to let my son go 8 days without any callories or nutrition. Im having to make a huge decision on weather or not to have him transfered.
10:25pm Severely irritated. The night nurse came in to give Liam Ranitidine. I told her that I was told we DCed all meds as of last night. She told me and I quote "Oh no it's at the nurse's discretion". I just stared at her. You don't put a nurse in charge of deciding weather or not a baby needs meds. The doctors needs to make that decision then its up to the parents to agree and disagree.Then she proceded to tell me that starting tomarrow they will be starting the Reglan and doubling the dose to .8ml's 3 times a day. That is sooooo not happening in my book. It was my understanding when we were in UCSF that Liam already had the max dose for his size and thats .4ml's. I refuse to let them overdose myy child on meds because their too stupid to ask UCSF for help. I let her give Liam a dose of Ranitidine this evening just to see if his tummy was still hurting. That will be the last dose until we figure out what's wrong with him.Justin and I don't see eye to eye on everything but we deffinately agree about his meds, Why would you put meds that prevent reflux into a babies stomach that one isnt eating anything and two water even hurts him. We have a list of questions we want answered as soon as the doctor comes to see us tomarrow.

Score for cdh awareness! On sons of anarchy they mentioned cdh !! Tara was asked how the surgery went and she mentioned it was a cdh!

Exciting News

Today Liam got weighed and his weighed was 5lbs 9.5 oz but that was with all his tubes and lines so its the best guess to his actual weight. He will also be taken off the pressure machine and the tube taken outof his mouth either today or tomarrow. Once his chest tube gets taken out for drainage then ill be able to hold him. He is also handleing his feedings very well and its exciting. I pray to God he will be able to come home soon. the power of prayer works so please add us to your prayer list. We're also still waiting on CCS to kick in to pay for a hotel so I dont have to sleep at the hospital anymore.

Born With CDH

On july 14th I went to the hospital in labor and and my son was born at 10:59 pm. They had to force him to take him first breathe but couldnt breathe after that. They rushed him out of the opperating room and into nicu to work on him. My DH and I had no idea what was going on. In the recouvery room the nurses and doctors kept asking me a ton of questions and thought maybe his lungs were just filled with fluid so they incubated him and took xrays. Turned out his issue wasnt that simple. He was born 5lbs 7oz and 18.5" and with a birth defect called Congenital Diaphramatic Hernia, aka CHD. I wasnt allowed to hold my baby or even see him until he was 6 hours old, right before they medi-vacced him to UCSF childrens hospital. I was stuck at kaweah delta recouvering from the c-section and couldnt get to him until 2 days later. Not only was my son born with CDH but when they opened my up to preform the csection they found that my scar from the previous csection was open. I had been complaining to the doctor that I was in massive pain but nothing was ever done. So I sat there for two days at kaweah delta healing and crying and getting one bad news call after another from UCSF doctors. KD rushed me out as soon as they could so that I could get to Liam in sanfrancisco. I rushed home, threw together whatever clothes I could grab and took off to UCSF on july 16th where ive been ever since. My son had to be put on ECMO which he is now off as well as a breathing machine and several others. Liam under went his repair surgery July 21, also my bday and the surgery went very well. It was the best bday gift ive ever recieved. Now he is being weaned from his breathing tube as well as the morphine. As soon as his chest tube stopped draining he can have it removed and when that happens I will finnaly be able to hold him. Its been a very difficult journey and its hard to watch my son go through all these issues. CDH is a dissorder where the diaphram didnt close so there is a whole between the abdomen and chest cavity. The organs and stomach end up going into the chest cavity pushing the heart over and causing pressure on the lung making it almost impossible to breathe as well as not allowing the lungs to develop. Its very serious and thanks to so many prayers being sent up for my son his condition wasnt as severe as the first thought it to be. Please keep little Liam in your prayers and thoughts. He needs everyone he can get. While ive been here ive met another family who has a DD born july 4th with the same condition and not doing as well as Liam is and I would appriciate it if you would keep little Maddie in your prayers as well. I never thought that this would happen to my son nor did I know this condition was out there. They dont know what causes this but are researching it. I want answers, what causes it? Can it be passed on? Could my DD even pass it on even though she doesnt have it? is it genetic? was it something I did? So when I was approached about a 2 different case studies that would hopefully one day give us answers I jumped on it. No one should have to watch their child go thorugh this and if theres a way to prevent it then Ill do whatever I can to help. All I want is to hold my baby boy and rock him. It could be months before we can bring him home and even though he gets stronger everyday that passes, everyday that passes is another weighed of emotions sitting on my shoulders. I finnaly got to change his diaper today for the first time and almost cried. He's finnaly of the paralytic and their letting him move around and it means so much just the little things are huge right now.

[img]http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll252/tinkflies83/Photo07221503_1.jpg[/img]


*07/22/11 Day after surgery fist day he had his eyes open..9days old

www.votecdh.org
www.savethecherubs.org

Please pray for our little boy born yestetday who is fighting for his life. Every prayer makes a difference

UNSTOPABLES

I was confused when I opened up my mail box today to find this black box sitting there waiting for me. Truth be told I didn't want to touch it because at first it didn't look like a normal package but more like a bomb. Thank heavens it wasn't. It was actually a free full sized sample of the new Downy UNSTOPABLES. With it being really hot outside today you could actually smell the scent through all the packaging. Let me tell you it's a really really good smell. I just can't wait to use it. All the new Downy UNSTOPABLES are is a scent booster that you add into your washer. The packaging states that the fresh scent last for 30 days, so you have 30 days of your closet or dresser smelling awesome or even your bedding. I always loved how fresh sheets smelled but the scent never lasted but maybe a few days max. I'm excited to be able to try this. What actually came in the mail today as a free sample is a full sized 13.2 oz container of the Downy UNSTOPABLES, the fresh scent, and a pair of new black socks with their label on them. It was a pretty awesome find. I got all this free for being a part of VocalPoint.com So if you would like to score your self a free sample head on over and join VocalPoint http://www.vocalpoint.com Once you join you can request a sample. Just remember samples are very limited so hurry on over to http://www.vocalpoint.com/UNSTOPABLES

Argeneau Vampire's By Lynsay Sands

I started reading this book series as part of a Goodreads.com challenge. I needed both an author I've never read before and a series that I have never read before. I found the Argeneau Vampire series after some research and started reading the books. I was captivated from the first book, A Quick Bite, where Margarite Argeneau seeks out the help of a phycologist to help her daughter with a problem. Unfortunately Margarite's way of getting his help is to control his mind to have him crawl into the trunk of her sports car after work one day then take him back to her home where she ties him up on her daughters bed. The whole situation was comical, and the added touch of him being there to help Margarite's daughter Lissiana with her himophilia and Lissiana being a vampire. It's a great book and at points I couldn't hold my laughter in. Thankfully I was at home reading and not in public and only got dirty looks from my husband. The whole series is great. Each book has its own story line and even continues the story of each character from previous books so you never loose track of what's going on with the family. Some books are more serious than others but theres always something that Sands added in the book that made me laugh. When you get to book 10 your also starting a new series. Book 10 for the Argeneau series is book 1 for the Rogue Hunter series. The books are the same quality it's just they start moving onto characters that aren't in the immediate Argeneau family but are associated with them in some way. I would give the Argeneau Vampire series a 4.5 out of 5 stars for sure. If your curios about this series and would like to check it out for yourself, here's the book list.

Argeneau Vampire Series by Lynsay Sands

1. A Quick Bite
2. Love Bites
3. Single White Vampire
4. Tall Dark and Hungry
5. A Bite To Remember
6. Bite Me If You Can
7. The Accidental Vampire
8. Vampires Are Forever
9. Vampire Interrupted
10. The Rogue Hunter (Rogue Hunter #1, Arg #10)
11. The Immortal Hunter (Rogue Hunter #2, Arg #11)
12.The Renegade Hunter(Rogue Hunter #3, Arg #12)
12.5. Bitten By Cupid (Arg #12.5)
13. Born To Bite
14. Hungry For You

Playtex Baby

Playtex can help you love every moment even more. When you sign up, you'll receive special e-newsletters — catered to your baby’s age — filled with exclusive features, helpful tips and special offers. Complete the form below to sign up. Sign Up Here

Baby Freebies, Coupons and more...

Here's some great deals on baby products! Freebies, coupons and more...

Parents Choice Formula is giving away free samples of their product. Just go to http://www.parentschoice.com and sign up. You'll get a full day's worth of formula sent to you in the mail.

NUK has some online coupons you can print: Save $5 on a breast pump, Save $1 on a bottle or pacifier, Save $1.50 on learner cups

NUK mommy shower giveaway sweepstakes.

Someones Views On Mother's Day

There are some people out that that believe Mother's Day and coincidental Father's Day is stupid and that there's no reason to celebrate. I for one think that's a crappy view. As a mom I seem to be on duty 24-7. I'm taking care of my daughter every day without a break. I make sure she's fed properly and bathed and put to bed. I work with her on her preschool curriculum to get her ready for preschool. I keep her mind occupied by doing arts and crafts with her, taking her swimming, watching cartoons, reading books and more. I make sure she gets the medicine she needs daily for her allergies. When she's sick I cuddle her and sing to her to help her feel better. I as the mom get her dressed in her pj's and read her a good night book and say our nightly prayer. When she wakes up crying in the middle of the night, I'm the one that gets up with her and rocks her back to sleep. It seems my job is never done. I never ask for them to say thank you because it's just something I do. However, that one day a year I feel I should be shown some gratitude. I should be told thank you that one day a year. More than told, I should be shown. Now some peoples views that Mother's Day is a waste is based off of money. How much a gift or a card or whatever will cost. They think that the cost of something isn't worth the joy that something brings to the mothers day. Something so simple can make a moms year. It reminds us that even though we don't hear it daily that our families really are thankful for all we do. There are things that don't even really cost money that can be done. You can pick flowers from the yard, make the mother breakfast. Instead of buying a card, make one or have the children make one. If there aren't any small children then go to the dollar store and buy a 50 cent card. Make a picnic lunch and go to the park or just have a picnic in the yard. For heavens sakes, look at the mom and say "Happy Mothers Day" at the very least. For me that's enough. What you don't want to do however is pretend that its just another day and when its brought to your attention that it is Mothers Day don't turn into a jerk and say things like 'its stupid'. You also don't want to tell the mother that they should be at home doing laundry or dishes instead of them enjoying their day. Take some advice from a mom that has had 3 consecutive horrid Mothers Days. These are thing you don't want to do unless you want it to come back and bite you. After 3 horrid Mothers Days, this year I decided to take the day into my own hands. I made a picnic lunch for my 3 year old daughter and I then just the two of us took off to the park. I finally refused to sit at home and sulk and be mad and it was the best decision I ever made. I ended up having a great day with my daughter and other family members. I got a great picture taken of my daughter and me. I didn't even worry about anyone else or stress out in the least. Sometimes you just have to take life by the reins and do it yourself. I always say 'you reap what you sew'.

Mother's Gift Ideas

These free craft ideas were found at FavCrafts

Monogram Plate for Mom : What I like about this is that you can find cheap glass plates just about anywhere including the dollar store. You can use any kind of design. The thing that will cost the most is the ceramic paint needed for this.

Photo Plate : This is a neat idea but its purely decorative so if you decide to give this as a gift it would be good to include a stand for it.

Adorable Mom Flowers : I absolutely love this craft idea! You can actually make it to match home decor. Even make them say whatever you wanted.

Flower Bouquet Box : Great for those who love to garden

Flower Pot For Mother's Day : Great kids project

Flower Card For Mom : Great for a kids project

9 Mother's Day Gifts From Daughter : These items can be modified to be for Grandma or Aunts or Just Friends.
1.Mom Flower Pot
2.Photo Book Mark
3.Faux Stone Candle Piece
4.Heart Vouchers and Wrap
5.Sleep Mask
6.Blue Danube Lariat
7.Amber Bracelet
8.Chalk Board Mug
9.Floral Frame

7 Mother's Day Gift Ideas Includes coupon book, flower center piece and pretty in pink bracelet

9 Mother's Day Decorations

And last but not least by all means 30 FREE Crafts for Mom

FaveCrafts is full of ideas for every occasion. This was only a sample of the cool stuff they have posted on their site.

This Weeks Freebies & Coupons

Walmart Freebies:
Root Awakening By John Frieda
Garnier Frictis Pure Clean
Revita Lens acutec Multi-purpose dissinfecting solution for contacts

Walmart Coupons:
Cotonelle Ultra: get a free ultra simple decor guide
Friskies Dry Cat Food: Save $1.00 on any 16lb bag any variety
Glad 2-n-1 Bag
Hartz Ultraguard
International Delight Creamers
Kellogs
Macaroni Grill Frozen Entrees: Save $1.50
Maxwell House Coffees
Milka Chocolate Collection
MiraLax
Nature Made Vitamins
Purina Cat Chow Brand Cat Food: Save $2.00 of a 16lb bag
Purina Kit and Caboodle Brand Dry Cat Food: Save $1.00 on a 16lb bag
RITZ Multigrain Crackerfuls
T.G.I.Fridays Entrees for one
Zegerid OTC

Walmart Instant Online Savings:
Febreze Air Effects Hawaiann Aloha 2pk $4.97
Febreze Candle Hawiann Aloha $5.97
Febreze Home Collection Soy Blend Candle Green Tea Citrus 6oz $9.97
Febreze Air Effects Refresher Lavander, Vanila and Comfort 19.4oz $4.97
Febreze Home Collection Flameless Luminary Refills,Green Tea Citrus, 2 ct $4.97

Target.com is doing this neat thing called Mobile Cupons. Get exclusive offers up to five times a month via text message on your web-enabled phone. Your first coupon will arrive 1-2 weeks after sign up. Click Here To Sign Up for FREE
This week on the Target website their offering cupons that will save you up to $150
Targets Sample Spot is now offering GoodNites Underware

Kmart.com Free Samples
Zantec 150
Lanacane Anti-Chaffing Gel
Prilosec OTC
Purex with Zout
Shout Color Catcher
Miracle Whip
Dove Hair Care
Carefree Pads


Quality Health is offering Free samples when you sign up for their email newsletter

Save $15 at CVS.com

Save $15 on a purchase of $60 with FREE shipping. Head on over to CVS.com to claim your savings. Offer only valid online and expires 05/01/2011 CLICK HERE

Save $15 At CVS.com

Shop for your mother's day gifts online at CVS.com and save $15 on a purchase of $60 or more plus free shipping! Offer is only Available online and expires 05.01.2011 so hurry over to claim your savings!!

Click Here

Ripped off at Recycling Center

My husband went to turn in his cans and bottles at the recycling center in the R&N parking lot in Exeter CA. He always double checks the scales. They emptied the cans into their bags to weight and the scale showed 6.7 lbs. When he went to collect the money the paperwork said 3.4 lbs. He argued with the lady and she of course disagreed so he told her that they cant even go back and reweigh them because she already emptied them. Just beware when you go to a recycling center, ex specially a small one to watch the scales carefully and ask them not to put away your stuff until you've been paid. Avoid the Exeter recycling center in the R&N parking lot as much as possible because they do cheat you out of your money. Money that you just might be depending on for gas or groceries or other bills.

Mother's Day Necklace Giveaway

Forty Toes Photography is giving away A mothers necklace for Estylo Jewelry. It's just for mom's and she will be drawing the winner on Mother's day so hurry on over to enter! Click To Go To Forty Toes Photography's Blog

25.5 Weeks

Our "little bean" is growing so quickly. 25 1/2 weeks down, 14.5 weeks left until we meet the little man. He's so active right now. My daughter was very active in the womb but my son in by far more active. Almost always moving, kicking and stretching. He knows my voice and even my daughters voice. It's the strangest thing but I swear he has already started to develop relationships with those who pay attention to him. My sister in law Jen for instance. If she touches my belly he just goes nuts moving around and kicking for her. It's actually quiet painful at times. Now it's gotten so bad that when I'm around her he starts up after the first sentence she says. It's crazy. All his growing and moving has been causing alot of pain for me but it's almost over and I won't get to experience this miracle again seeing as how this WILL be my last pregnancy. I'm no where near the size I was with my daughter, I'm half the size now that I was with her at this same stage. I defiantly don't want to be huge but it was a concern for me. Apparently I'm just carrying him differently and the doctor isn't at all concerned. It's strange, this kid likes to really stretch out to the point you can see his feet at times just poke out.

It's all a journey that I didn't realize I missed until I got to go through it again. Of course I say now that I can't wait for it to be over but I know that after some time I will miss it. I'm just trying to take each day as they come and trying to enjoy them as much as possible.

Unemployment & Seasonal Jobs

I worked as a tax preparer during tax season and had hopes that I would get unemployment from doing so. Actually was specifically told that I would because it was a seasonal job. In December 2010 I attended one paid meeting and earned $27. Then I started work in January 1st through April 18Th. After my last day I applied for unemployment knowing that yes according to EDD I was eligible. Today I get this notice in the mail and according to EDD and their "quarterly" crap their doing I'm getting jack. Not one dollar, not one penny. And why you ask?? Because they went off wages I made in March 2010, June 2010, September 2010 and December 2010. I've been a stay at home mom since March of 2008 shortly after my daughter was born, so I have no wages to report....except $27 in December for a paid meeting and $7.41 in June 2010 from a settlement I received from Home Depot. I just don't understand how they can just push aside all the money I made January 2011 through April 18 2011 and say I don't deserve a damn penny. Now if I wait until July or September and refile I might actually get something because then they'd have to go off the wages I made. So annoyed and P.O.ed right now. It just isn't right how they screw people. We've become dependant off the money I was making and now we don't even get a portion of it.

Quilted Bags with Style Book Giveaway

In my search for sewing patterns I came across this great site All Free Sewing. They have lots of free patterns and ideas. They also have Giveaways. Their newest giveaway is for Quilted Bags with Style Book Giveaway. Its Free to join and Free to enter!!! If you love sewing head on over and enter!

The Closing of a Season

I can't believe tax season is comming to an end with only three days left. It's been long and tiring. I have to say that I actually can't wait for a break but that I will truely miss it. It'll be weird going from being a working mom to a stay at home mom again...Much like it was when I started work after being off for so long. I didn't expect time to fly by so quickly and I guess truthfully I never thought of what I would do when it was over. I know I'll be returning nect year to be a tax preparer but I'm also setting my sights on becomming a CPA. I know it'll be hard but I like a challenge. Thank You Taxpayers for making it possible for me to go back to work and actually enjoy it. :)

How Will The Government Shutdown Will Impact Your Tax Return

We're getting alot of questions about the government shutdown and how it will impact your tax return/refund. Alot of people have missconceptions and I hope this will help to clear up some "un-answered questions" you might have:

Q: Can I still file my tax return?A: Yes, you can continue to file your tax return during the shutdown.

Q: Can I still file electronically or do I have to send in a paper return?A: Yes, you can still file electronically. In fact, filing your return electronically is the safest, most secure, and most accurate way to file a tax return! All tax returns that are e-filed will continue to be processed and acknowledged by the IRS. Paper returns will be received but not processed and could be delayed.

Q: Will I still get my refund?A: If you filed your return electronically and requested a direct deposit, there will be no delay. However, if you filed a paper return, both your return and your refund will not be processed until the shutdown is over.

Q: Do I still have to file my return by April 18th or has the deadline been extended?A: Yes, you still will have to file your tax return by April 18th. And, if you file electronically there will be no delay in processing. But, please remember that filing an extension extends the time to file, but not the time to pay. If you believe that you're going to owe, pay as much as possible with an extension to reduce or avoid interest and penalties when you do file your return.

Q: What if I owe money?A: If you have a balance due, these payments are being processed and you are expected to pay that balance on or before the April 18th deadline in order to avoid penalties.

Q: Do I still need to pay my estimated tax payment?A: Yes, these payments are being processed and you will need to pay them before their due date in order to avoid penalties.

Inspirational True Story

Today I talked with an older man. He was unbelievable nice and open. He told me how just about a year ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only 3 months to live. This man was a truck driver who went in for his mandatory physical and that was how he found out. He was sent to a specialist in the area and they found several large spots on his lungs. The doctor decided that they needed to try somehting that was newly developed and only been testing for 6 months. It's kind of like kimo but genetic. He explained to me that it's a new kind of kimo that actually goes straight to the cancer to kill it off. Unlike the kimo we're all used to that they shoot into your body and pray it lands in the correct area to kill off the cancer. Just a few weeks ago, after only 2 sessions of this new genetic-kimo, this man went back to his specialist for his check-up and found that the spots were dead. When he went back a second time the doctor walked into the office grabbed the mans hand and shook it. The doctor continued to shake his hand as he congradualted the man letting him know that not only was the cancer spots dead but they have dissapeared. He was declared cancer free. It's amazing the breakthroughs that are happening. Just a month ago I was depressed because here my husband just lost his aunt to cancer, then my aunt had to be tested for cancer and then we found out my husbands buddies son was diagnosed with cancer. I was angry and mad that we havent found a way to fight the cancer more effectively or found a cure. It seems everyday we're getting closer. This man agreed to recieve experimental treatment and becouse his bravery he is now cancer free. It's amazing. I felt his story should be told, that we should all take it in and know that even when life seems to be dark and glum that there is light. There is good and there is hope. When a doctor looks at you and says "you have cancer" and only have so long to live means you should fight harder. Don't give up. Doctors don't know everything. They can estimate but its never a sure thing. Miracles happen everyday. Sometimes you just have to take a chance. Follow your heart.

Kids Activities

I've been on the search for kids activities that will help keep my daughter busy during the day. Being six months prego and needing to stay off my feet is hard when you have to run after an active three year old. I also needed some activities that would teach her. It's important to me that she learned as well as stayed out of trouble. Here are a few thing that I have come across:

Alphabet Coloring Pages: They have multiple things for each letter like A: Ant Apple Ambulance Acorn Artichoke or just A
http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/mabcposter.html


Alphabet Games:
http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/games.htm

Alphabet Tracer Pages:
http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/tracer_pages.htm

I found a ton of activities and printables on the NickJR website such as:
Kai-lan Play store printable pack that teached money
Rubys House shape teacher
Max and Rubys Easter coloring page
Max and Rubys Color Pack
Bubble Guppies Color Pack
The site is so jam packed with activities and printables that a child will always have something new to do.


http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/free_printables.htm:
Design a stamp
Printable awards and certificates
Birthday Printables
Paper Dolls
Animal Masks
And More

Busy Bee Kids Printables
Lots of Easter Activities


So far my daughters favorite site is Nick JR because of all the activities with her favorite cartoon characters.

Time Flies

It's amazing how quickly time flies. It's already been ten years since I graduated High School, almost six years since I married my husband, three years since my daughter was born and now six months into my pregnancy. I swear it doesn't feel like any of that amount of time has passed. It feels like I'm barely four months pregnant not six. It's hard to believe we're on the last leg and that our little boy will be here soon. So much that needs to be done and it feels like there's not enough time. I know everything works out for the best but that doesn't help the anxiety level. It's been three years since I've taken care of a newborn and it feels like starting from new. Almost like all the information about newborns has just flown out of my head and now I need to re-learn it all again. My biggest issues are that the pain and "issues" with the pregnancy has set in. Already I'm going through what the doctor thinks might be contractions. The biggest thing they want me to do is rest. Believe me I have been resting but theres only so much "being lazy" I can handle. Especially with a three year old to run after. There's so much that has to do done to get ready to bring a newborn home. Shopping, baby shower, set the room up and so on. It's seems three months is adequate but time does fly and before I know it I won't have any time left.

Beutiful Rays of Sunshine

Tonight's sunset was absolutly beautiful. After a long day at work and comming home to a sick kid you can tend to overlook the beautiful things in life. Being able to look out my front door at this just brightened my day/night.


Today I offer no tax tips, no freebies, but only my thoughts. Everyday when the sun rises you have a chance to start over. To do things differently or to just live. The best peice of advice I ever got was to do what feels right, to do what makes you happy. Your life is ultimately up to you. The way you live it is your choice, no one elses. You might as well do what makes you happy, what makes you feel good, what you feel is right. Everyone's going to offer advice and tell you what they feel is right, but whats right for someone else might not be right for you. And remember just because someone dissagrees with you doesn't make you or them right or wrong. We all have freewill, which means we're not always going to get along.

Free Digi-Scrapbooking Goodies

I don't know about you but I love to scrapbook. What I love more than scrapbooking is digi-scrapping. You can do so much more with digi-scrapping than you can just scrapbooking. The possibilities are endless. A perk to digi-scrapping is if you dont find the right embelishment you can make it yourself. For those of you who are looking to get into degi-scrapping but would like to try it out without investing any money, your in luck. Scrapbook Flair offers not only many FREE designer collection of embelishments and paper but they also offer a FREE digi-scrapping program. I started out using this program and got really good. I actually eventually outgrew the program. Thats good news. It means I learned all the basic and was ready to create my own stuff. Luckily there are other programs out there. When I was ready to move on from Scrapbook Flair I searched all over the internet until I stumbled upon a program that I swear by and recommend to everyone. I found Paint.Net. It's alot like photoshot and does the same stuff. The plus to this program is that it is ALOT cheaper. By cheaper I'm talking FREE! I use Paint.net for digi-scrapping and all my photo editing needs. Another awesome point to Paint.Net is that there are tutorials all over the internet to teach you new tricks. All you do is google Paint.Net Tutorial. Happy Scrapping!

You Could Win $10,000

You could win $10,000 just by going to My http://www.jacksonhewitt.com/Introducing-MyTaxManager/ and creating a free account. There are daily prizes and one grand prize of $10,000. My Tax Manager gives you free tips on current and new tax laws and many other helpful tax tips. You can also save all your tax documents throughout the year making it easier to file your taxes when the time comes. It's free, its's easy and you could get a big reward.

Tax Tip

Tax season is comming to a close quickly with only 19 days left to file. In the mad rush to find a preparer make sure they are CTECH certified because that is California Law. Also pay attention to the question they are asking you. I've heard of some places asking you extensive questions about your different bank accounts and their balances. They tell you they ask these questions to figure out how much your interest income is. If you have interest income from your bank, your baml will send you a 1099-int. There is no reason why your preparer needs to know how many bank accounts you have and what their balances are. The only questions they should be asking you is if you have authority over a foreign bank account or trust. If your getting your refund deposited into your account than they will need to know your institutions name, routing number and account number, but never should they need to know the balance in your account. I had a customer inform me that she went to a notary last year to have her taxes done and the lady asked her all kind of questions about her accounts and how much she had in them. Also make sure all of your questions are answered. If you want to e-file make sure you ask them if e-filing is available at the location you are using. This also happened to a customer. She asked if they would e-file their taxes and the preperer said yes but after her taxes were prepared and she had paid the fees the preparer handed her her forms and said all she had to do now was mail them in. So do make sure that the preparer is listening to your questions and taking them seriously. Also this is the last year to claim energy star improvements on your home as well as claiming the special credit for new vehicles (cars, trucks, motorcycles, motorhomes, boats) purchased between feb 2009 and before Jan 1 2010. Good Luck and happy, painless tax season to you all.

The Importance of Providing Accurate Tax Info

Make sure when you file your taxes that you provide ALL your information to your preparer. If you do not then it could result in an IRS audit and you could end up oweing the IRS money. Bringing all your paperwork to your preparer is very important. If your recieving social security, or some kind of retirement like a 401k or have interest income from a savings account it is important to bring the proper paperwork because those items are taxable. I know what your thinking..."But my social security income or 401k has already been taxed when I paid in the money". I hear that alot from taxpayers. Truth is only a portion of your social security is non-taxable. Same goes for unemployment benefits. For unemployment benefits anything you recieved over $2500 is taxable. Not to mention any about of money made over $500 has to be claimed. For instance, I had a taxpayer come in who had done their 2009 taxes and recieved a refund. They filed their return without using retirement paperwork because they hadnt recieved it in the mail and were in a hurry to file. Now, a year later they recieved a letter in the mail from IRS stating that they now owe the IRS money because the IRS refunded them more money than they were actually entitled too. They now have to pay back almost $2000 because they didnt provide all the correct information to their preparer. When you are recieving things such as retirement money they payer of said funds has to send in paperwork to the IRS on the money they paid you. Not reporting these wages is a bad idea. Your tax preparer cannot be held responsable for entering in false or incomplete data when you do not provide the correct and full data to them. Always provide complete and accurate information. And remember the IRS can audit you up to 3 years from the year you file your taxes. Just because they didnt catch the mishap immediately doesnt mean you got away with anything.

Helpful Tax Tips From A Tax Professional

Tax season is almost up, the dealine to file is April 18th and quickly approaching. There are alot of things that many people don't know about filing taxes or deductions. Every profession has different deductions, but here are a few examples:

Construction Workers
Uniforms (cannot be able to be worn as street cloathes)
Speacialized headgear (IE Hardhats)
Safety Boots (IE Steel toed boots)
Rain Gear
Gloves
Safety Glasses
Coveralls
Cloathing repair
Union Dues
Liability insurance
License fees
Legal and professional fees
Memberships
Publications
Job Seeeking expenses
Cost of meals and lodging while away from home
Mileage
Cell Phone
Fax
Pager
Internet
Voicemail
Travel Cards
2nd phone line in home
Small Tools
Power Tools
Compressors
Generators
Camera
Storage
Ladders
Portable Lights
Fans/Heaters
Vacume Cleaners
Tool bags/boxes
First Aide Kits
Repair to Tools


Truck Driver
Uniforms
Speacialized underware
safety or black ice boots
rain gear
safety gloves
safety glasses
coveralls
alterations
clothing repair, sewing kit
union dues, trade ass. fees
business inssurance, security bonds
licenses, permits
legal/professional fees
magazines/publications
safety training
annual DOT physical
lap desk/laptop/pc
pens/pencils/paper
stapler/staples/hole punch
log book and accessories
money orders/wire charges
camera/film/degital supplies
calculator, supplies
copy fees
truck/trailer storage
towing/parking
truck interest
truck funigation/wash
lumpers
truck/trailer license
gas/lube/oil/parts/service
Cell/long distance
voice mail/fax
CB, antenna, rapairs
power cords, boosters
satelite tracking service
travel cards
airfreshners, dissenfectants
hand cleaner, soap, detergent
alarm clock, travel iron
pillows, sheets, towels
TV, vcr, refrigerator, radio
bunk heater, fan
map atlas
flashlight, batetries
key, locks, security kits
cleaners, wd40
vacume, broom, dustpan
bug spray, flu swatter
trash bags, paper towels
curtains, window screens
seat covers, shift grip, floor mats
salt for ice, de-icer
load locks, cables, tie downs
hammer, crowbar, other tools
buffer and supplies
duct tape, sand
shelving
storage containers
first aide kits
back supports
fire extenguishers/flaires
seat cushions

Day Care Professional
Advertising
Books, magazines
business cards
bank charges
child proofing
client gifts
food, snacks
Insurance: Bonds
Insurance: Business
Insurance: Liability
payroll wages
payroll wages-your child
payroll taxes
office expense
professional fees: legal, tax prep
rapairs, replacements
Supply: art, cleaning, party
Telephone: cell, business, pager
tickets, fees, field trips
toys
video rental/purchase
car seats
cribs
high chairs
riding equipment
swings/slides
sand box, sand
playstation, xbox, nintendo, video game system
computer equipment
dishwasher
dryer
fencing
fridge
TV
vcr/dvd player
washer,dryer
total mileage of vehicle
total daycare mileage
lease vehicle cost
interest on vehicle
insurance on vehicle
license plates for vehicle
converstions
total sq feet of home
business sq feet
business hours
home mortgage interest
propert taxes
hazard insurance
rents
cleaning service
maintence and repairs
utilities: cable, electric, gas, sewer, water, trash
pool service, gardener
telephone: home



Please keep in mind these are only example of what you can deduct and some of them are only partially deductable. Like your cell phone. If you only use it part time for business and part for personal you can only deduct the portion that is used for business. Same goes for your home (IE utilities, morgage, rent). These helpful tips were brought to you by a tax professional. If you need a good tax place, check into Jackson Hewitt. Every one of their employees goes through extensive training and is CTECH certified and registered with the IRS. Not all places follow the tax laws when it comes to hiring certified tax professional but Jackson Hewitt does. They're also up to date on all the current tax laws. Remember you need a tax preparer that will not only file your taxes but do it correctly. Deadline to file your taxes are April 18th!!

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Being a working mom juggling home work and being prego really takes a toll on ones body. Im 17 weeks and all i want to do is sleep

Being a Mom

Its hard to belive that 3 years ago I was pacing the livingroom waiting for by daugher to be born. Now shes three and nothing like she was when she was born. She hardly even looks like her baby pictures. In three years she has changed so much and I am so proud of her. My beautiful baby girl is now a potty trained big girl who has no problem voicing her opinions. She picks out her own cloathes and tells you if she doesnt like something. She can pack her own "diaper bag" and tell you when shes ready to go. She askes when she wants something instead of crying. She can count to 10 and sing the alphabet song. She recognizes letters and numbers and knows that the red light means stop. When you try to keep her from understanding by saying "My mother" she understands your talking about her grandmother. Its amazing how smart she is. There isn't a day that goes by that I am not amazed by her abilities and brilliance. The best part of being a mother is knowing that she learned it all from me......or her daddy lol. I miss her being the small baby that she once was but wouldn't trade the world to go back to that. Watching her say excuse me in the store instead of push herself through I know I did something right. Being a mother has been the greatest joy in my life.

The miracles of honey and cinnamon

A fellow mom got this sent to her by a friend and she kindly posted it on the South Valley Mommies site that I am a member of. From personal experience I know that honey really does work to give you energy.

Cinnamon and Honey

Honey is the only food on the planet that will not spoil or rot. It will do what some call turning to sugar. In reality honey is always honey. However, when left in a cool dark place for a long time it will do what I rather call"crystallizing." When this happens I loosen the lid, boil some water, and sit the honey container in the hotwater, turn off the heat and let it liquefy.
It is then as good as it ever was. Never boil honey or put it in a microwave. To do so will kill the enzymes in the honey.
Cinnamon and Honey
Bet the drug companies won't like this one getting around. Facts on Honey and Cinnamon: It is found that a mixture of honey and Cinnamon cures most diseases.
Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also accept honey as a 'Ram Ban' (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.

Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right
dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients. Weekly World News, a magazine in Canada, in its issue dated 17 January 1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western scientists:

>>HEART DISEASES:
>>Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also, those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept milesaway from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada , various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.

>>ARTHRITIS:
>>Arthritis patients may take daily, morning and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

>>BLADDER INFECTIONS:
>>Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.

>>CHOLESTEROL:
>>Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient, was found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

>>COLDS:
>>Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.

>>UPSET STOMACH:
>>Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.

>>GAS:
>>According to the studies done in India and Japan , it is revealed that if Honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

>>IMMUNE SYSTEM:
>>Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of Honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacterial and viral diseases.

>>INDIGESTION:
>>Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

>>INFLUENZA:
>>A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a Natural 'Ingredient' which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

>>LONGEVITY:
>>Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder, and three cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans also increase and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old.

>>PIMPLES:
>>Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water.
If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.

>>SKIN INFECTIONS:
>>Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.

>>WEIGHT LOSS:
>>Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach, and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person.
Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.

>>CANCER:
>>Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.

>>FATIGUE:
>>Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.

>>BAD BREATH:
>>People of South America , first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.

>>HEARING LOSS:
>>Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restores hearing. Remember when we were kids? We had toast with real butter and cinnamon sprinkled on it!