Crazy...Lazy....Hazy

Ok, wow, what a LAZY lump I've been!!!

I've not posted a single thing since January.  Shame on me!!!

In my defense, I have had a few medical issues with migraines and my eyes being sensitive to light, so I've not been on the computer much at all these past six months.

Let's jump into that for a moment shall we?  Ok, so, Christmas I started getting migraines about once or twice a week, and it would be triggered by the faintest glint of light in the direction of my eyes.  (Stinks for driving on sunny days, I'll tell ya that.)  I also had crazy ringing in my ears.  So I went to the ENT first, thinking I had an ear infection.  Nope, not that.  I was told my ears were fine, and there might be a problem with my eyes.  Since the light from the computer and TV hurt I took to reading, and my family swore that this was the cause of the headaches.  (Not so says the ophthalmologist)  It turns out I have excess spinal fluid putting pressure on my optic nerves, which is why I was feeling the pressure behind my eyes and the headaches in my eyebrows.  That makes for a non-sociable and sadly dysfunctional mama.  I was grumpy and took to the bed a lot to soothe the headaches and irritable temper.

Through several tests (MRIs freak me out!) and a spinal tap (got a spinal headache three days after that procedure and had to go to the hospital to have a blood patch-not fun), the pressure has been lowered, and several eye exams and neurologists visits, I have been diagnosed with a condition called Pseudo Tumor.  Basically I'm not eliminating all of the spinal fluid I'm making causing me to have the symptoms of a brain tumor, but there's nothing there.

The spinal tap hurt like a horse kicked me in the back!!  Whew!  It was a tough one.

Gag, right?! (Not a fun May)

(The MRI did find a tiny Rathke's Cleft Cyst, less than 1/4 of an inch around, that will need to be monitored the rest of my life, but it was actually something I was born with.  I've lived with that tiny cyst in my head my entire life, symptom free.)

My condition, Pseudo Tumor, is controlled (right now) with diuretics.  Which means I take several "fluid pills" a day.  Since the first draining of the excess spinal fluid, and the beginning of the meds, I feel significantly better, and can actually tolerate being on the computer for longer than 5 minutes, and actually enjoy watching TV with my kids.   (Not that I let my kids watch a lot of TV, but let's face it, when you don't feel good, a movie that will occupy little minds for more than 10 minutes at a time is a blessing.)

So it has been a crazy, lazy, and sometimes hazy half a year for us.

I am making more of an effort to be involved and get things going, but I will gladly admit, I've slowed down on the birthday parties for the kids.  This is the summer of the laid back birthday party.  And, it has made this recovery, though small, a lot easier to bear.

So for now, on with life.  God's grace will be sufficient for the rest ;)

We are potty training our youngest, making plans to sew new outfits for our cute Kindergartener (our second), finally going to organize the house (yeah right), and hopefully start some new home projects.  I will of course be making my notes to the teacher, and some other cute things, but as you can see, this year is a lot slower than the past years.  (Not that I ever posted much anyway.)

If there is something you've seen at one of the parties or on Instagram or Facebook and want a tutorial for it, please feel free to comment, and I'll try to get it going for ya.

Have a great rest of the summer and I'll hopefully keep you posted more. (whomever you are that reads this. LOL!)

I will post more about the kids' parties the next post.  Cheerio!

Making This Year Count!!

Happy New Year y'all!!  I am not one to make many New Years resolutions, but I have resolved to make a few this year.

First:  Spend more actual time with my kids.  I tend to get focused on the house and my duties as mom and wife.  I've got dishes & laundry, dirty floors & dusty blinds.  I love having a clean house, but it rarely stays that way for more than five minutes.  I forget that they are my reason for doing everything else.  They need a clean floor to play on.  They need food in their bellies.  They need clean clothes to wear.  But, they also need to know that mama, being the clean and crazy lady that she is, will stop to tie that doll's bow for the hundredth time.  Or put that slipper on Rapunzel over and over again.  I'll move the couch so they can reach the Legos that slid under there (and then I'll go get the broom and sweep all those dust bunnies and crumbs I missed!!).  I need to sit down on the couch and watch a movie, even though the crumbs on the couch need to be vacuumed up, and I've got a load of laundry to fold and it's getting more wrinkled by the minute.  They are why God made me a mama (and wife-thanks honey for being such a big help with the kids and understanding my crazy brain more than I give you credit for).  They need me and I need them, and those little breaks, more than I realize.  And, it's in those little moments, when I get a hug and a kiss from out of no where, and the little voice telling me "You're the best mom ever." that I remember they are my reason for being this crazy lady.  If I focus on them, then the rest of my resolutions are basically ways I can do that and make more time for them.

Second:  Get organized and keep it that way.  This is where working for Thirty-one Gifts will come in handy.  Lots of totes and baskets to get closets, playroom, laundry room, etc. organized.  This will not all be done in a short time, and I plan to use those moments in my blog.


Third:  Utilize my time and make my Thirty-One Gifts and Sweet Salutations Cake businesses actually make money for us.  In this time and economy we need a little more than my husband's one income can provide.  This will help with the little things like, paying off some bills, and hopefully pay for Soccer and Dance fees, and going out to dinner.  Mama needs a break some nights.  ;)

Fourth:  Blog more.  I have not been as frequent a blogger as I would like to be.  Honestly, I'm busy with four little kids and learning to navigate all that come with being a mom and wife.  But, I've had an idea.  Even if it's mundane, I'm going to post something at least twice a month.  I like to know that I'm contributing something, even if it's just for me.

Fifth:  Exercise!!  Get a membership somewhere and go workout with my friends.  I need to make sure I'm around long enough to see all my sweet babies have their babies, and I won't do that by sitting on the couch all day drinking Coke.  (like I get to sit down!)

I'm putting all this out there so I can be accountable, even if it's just to this blog.  I'm setting these goals so I can look at them and attempt to attain them.

So, here's to a new year and the resolutions we make whether we keep them or not.

What are your resolutions?


Next up:  Tea Party time!!  Little miss had a birthday at the beginning of this month and she wants a girls only tea party.  I'm going to show you how to make some adorable fascinators (The little hats/headpieces that sit on the side of your head when you wanna wear something fancy.  Thanks Pinterest!), and make a small budget make a big impact.