Turned Creative

**Please pardon the run-on sentences - I'm still shaken up** Some of you may have noticed on Facebook Friday that I had recently been traumatized. I was being quite literal. I had a stomach bug and worked from home Friday. I had some down time over lunch so I decided that I would surprise J and straighten up the house...something I rarely, if ever, do. We had gone camping not too long ago, and some of our gear and blankets were still in the foyer. I was tired of looking at it, so I put it away. Two other blankets we have folded for decore' had been tossed into this basket/container by Jason a few days ago. Each time I walked by it, I'd eye it - annoyed that the blankets were not folded, but just tossed in. I decided to fold them. I pulled the white  Ofelia blanket out and noticed this an odd/bad smell. I smelled it over and over trying to place the smell. I had no idea what it might be. The other half still smelled like detergent. I figured the smell was my imaginatio...

It's been a while since I've looked for new articles on congenital hypothyroidism. Cadence has a routine visit with her endocinologist later today. It prompted me to do some digging. I didn't find much new information - one you know the basics, really all there is to read are new research studies. Reading it brought back a lot of memories from when Cady was a baby. People seem to know a lot about adult onset hypothyroidism, but not much about congenital hypothyroidism. So...here are some fun facts: In a nutshell, neonatal hypothyroidism is decreased thyroid hormone production in a newborn. In rare cases, no thyroid hormone is produced at all. That’s the case with Cadence. Her thyroid is missing. In newborns, symptoms usually include a puffy face and a thick, protruding tongue ( Cady had this, which made it hard for her to eat - we had a heck of a time finding the right kind of bottle). Other symptoms are brittle hair, a low hairline, jaundice, lack of appetite, cho...

We spent most of Saturday on the lake. Despite the obscene amount of sunscreen we slathered on ourselves -  JP, Kevin, Amber and I got burned. We were a bit more protective of the girls, spraying them every hour. With the exception of a hint of red on their faces, they look like bronzed goddesses. I’ll have to think twice before letting everyone stay in the sun so long. This was Cady’s first time on a boat. She was mesmerized. J is convinced that since he now has a truck, we need to procure a boat for ourselves. I think maybe the sun is starting to get to him.   Cadence was entranced with the waves. It took Paige a while to get her sea legs. And when she finally did, Grandpa P let her (pretend) to drive the boat for a while. If you look closely, you can see his hand on the lower right side of the wheel. Cadence fell asleep by the time we docked for the day. She was completely wiped out.

We’re back, and I’m happy we’re back Grandma and Grandpa P stopped by Thursday night to pick the girls up for a night of camping in their camper. They had fun. Friday morning J and I met them at the campground, pitched our tent, then headed inside the camper where it wasn’t 90 degrees with 90% humidity. Shortly after, boredom set in and we went to the alcove nearby to let the girls fish. Cadence caught one right away (before I had the chance to get the camera out ;) Paige is of the “anything you can do, I can do better’ mindset and caught a few more right away. The first few swallowed the hook. After I put my camera away, P caught a catfish. The alcove was full of very young (easy to catch) fishies. Much to Paige’s surprise, she caught a foot long catfish. It was too heavy for her to reel in, so JP helped her. I think he’s pretty proud of her. While Cadence was fishing, Paige beckoned me to show off the toad she found. Speaking of toads…their cousins the bull frogs k...

Paige being all goddess-like in her dress. This is the same area in the Warehouse District This was actually the most calm Paige had been all day. We just needed to give her something to do to keep busy (picking flowers) This was taken in the walkway on the Arch grounds Pink Parasol (Arch grounds again)

I’m waiting to get permission from the other Mom’s to post their kiddoes online, but here are the ones I got of Cadence over the weekend… Cadence missed her nap and was a little pouty . This was taken in a green patch on the Landing Then she got really pouty and pretended to cry (in front of Subway on the Landing) Then toward the end of the day we went to the spot where Emily usually takes her seniors (the scary warehouse district)…this cupcake E used a few weeks ago is still there Then Cady ran away to check out the guys on their motorcycles

After a handful of rain-outs, Paige has another tee-ball game. She’s been starting out at 3rd base, moves to SS, then to left field. I missed her batting. I was distracted by Cadence and other parents talking :) Paige LOVES running. Loves it. She gets this maniacal look on her face when she runs. She puts everything she has into it. We need to work on her form though – sometimes she runs like Phoebe. This is the guy that made me mad at the second practice. I saw a softer side to him yesterday. Paige is talking to him about the ribbon on her sleeve. It had come untied and she’s asking if he can tie it, or if she can go sit by me so that I can tie it.  I don’t know what he said to her, but she smiled and he tapped on her helmet. Made me smile too. He doesn’t seem to be the beast I thought he was a few weeks ago.   She’s tugging on the ribbon – trying desperately not to be distracted by it. We don’t give her meds during the summer.   It was Cadence’s nap time. I...