Turning 30

I have been having a bit of a rough time with the idea of turning 30 - which is now only 5 days away. I'm having a hard time even admitting that! Ha! Anyway, I've tried to spend some time reflecting on why the idea of turning 30 has been so difficult. I found the answer(s) were ones that I didn't really like and I don't really like how much those answers make me feel at times. For as long as I can remember one of my biggest dreams for my life was to be a Mommy. I grew up around kids, I babysat all the time and I loved every bit of it. Even on the rough days I learned something from them. Adria has been one of the greatest gifts in my life. I am very lucky to be her aunt and be able to see her every week and be a part of her life. She is the daughter of my brother and best friend and I cannot even begin to explain how special that is. Or how special it is that in 34 days they're having another baby and I get to be an aunt again!! I don't quite understand how I can love another baby like I love Adria but I'm told it will all fall in to place. Anyway, my point being...Kyle and I have been married for 6 years and we aren't any closer to having children than we were 6 years ago. About a year in to our marriage we were trying to start a family, but as luck would have it I have fertility issues. We tried for about 6 or 7 months and it was stressful and hard with all of the doctor appointments, drugs, tests, etc... It just turned out to not be the right time since Kyle got a job in Indy and I stayed in Rochester for another 6 months. Since then I can say with all sincerity that Kyle and I just aren't there. I never in my life dreamed that I would be turning 30 and not have started a family. I'm truly ok with not having kids because I know in my heart that it's not right yet. I hope with all my being that there is a right time. With turning 30 I feel like it's time to reassess where I am in life. Am I happy with my career? Could I be doing more? Should I be doing more? I'm not sure about the answer to that but I do know that I am thankful to have the opportunity to live another year. I could have easily died in the car wreck 2 years ago in July. Easily. I said then that I'm thankful God is doesn't done with me yet and that I still have a purpose to serve. With that in mind I'm going to try to look forward to turning 30 this upcoming week. It means one more year that I have to cherish my family, my friends, my coworkers, my puppies (when they're not eating roadkill) and my husband. One more year to live life to the fullest. One more year to continue to find myself and the road I'm supposed to follow. Alright 30 - let's do this! :)

I'm back!

A year later...

My neck is sooo much better! In the fall I had two permanent nerve blocks done which means they killed 10 nerves in my neck. It was an absolutely awful experience and I'm not sure you could convince me to ever let anyone do it to me again. Since I'm young the likelihood of those nerves growing back is oh 100% so hopefully they grow back nicely and don't cause pain when they're full functional again. I still have my days and my neck feels so weird where they did the procedure because I only have partial feeling back. I'm feeling brave enough to get my first massage since the wreck next week and I'm so super excited about it! More later!

Come on, man!

It might not come as a shock to anyone but I'm a big football fan and the title for this blog comes from my favorite Sunday pre-game show. Every week they do a segment they call "Come on, man" where they each talk about their favorite idiot move of the week either by a team, a play or a player. They show a clip and then say their piece and end it with "come on, man." It's always entertaining! So now that we've cleared that up. I just want to give a big fat COME ON, MAN to my body!
A little over a month ago I was doing GREAT! I was ready to be done with physical therapy and seeing the pain management doctor and just move on. Then Melissa, Adria and I went up to Rochester to spend a weekend with my mom and had a blast!! Until Tuesday that is. Melissa, Mom and I all ended up at our different doctors within a few hours of each other. I was first and lo and behold the excruciating pain in my throat, neck and head turned out to be strep throat. A week later I still didn't feel better and the headaches from the strep hadn't really gone away. The physical therapist started questioning whether the headaches were from the strep or if the first facet joint block was starting to wear off (miraculously it was exactly 3 months from the injection.) Blah blah blah it took near a month for me to fully recover and start feeling better - mind you that was even after 2 rounds of antibiotics. Headaches still there and neck pain getting more intense. THEN...THEN... last weekend I noticed my jaw was feeling kinda funny in a bad way. Like it was getting tight and opening my mouth wide or chewing much was a bit uncomfortable. By Monday I couldn't chew even if I wanted to the pain was so excruciating. I could hardly talk for more than 5 minutes or so without it going crazy. Didn't get better and thankfully I had an appointment with the pain guy Wednesday as well as my PT. What I learned is that it's VERY common for people (especially women) that have whiplash caused by an auto accident to have delayed TMJ (temporomandibular joint) pain or dysfunction. So this all goes back to the wreck again. Now they want me to see a TMJ specialist - keep in mind I'm the one who has already had her jaw broke and reset so having jaw joint pain is quite frankly freaking me out. AND because the headaches are back and are coming frequently again they want to do another facet joint block. Really at this point I don't care what they do and truly I couldn't care less about my head or neck I just want my jaw to quit hurting. I told my mom that I will take the headaches and the neck pain but I cannot live with the jaw pain again. She promptly told me that yes I could, and I would if I had to and would get through it. Now that that's settled! Anyway, I still can't chew or talk very much and it's very uncomfortable and annoying. Hopefully I can get in to see this fabulous TMJ specialist that everyone has brought up and hopefully she knows just what to do. Actually I pray that she knows what to do.
So to my jaw, my neck and my head - COME ON, MAN!!
P.S. I promise to update more!

Blood Bath

So I went in for my 2nd nerve block procedure today. A few weeks ago I had an occipital nerve block done on both sides of my head. Very simple procedure, sit down in the chair, Dr sat behind me sting here sting there and that's all folks. Except that I was inches from passing out. They had to help me walk to the table to lie down while the nurse went and got me some apple juice and cookies. Aren't I special? As it turns out I'm one of the lucky ones that has reactions to nerve blocks. Quite frankly after having a needle that size shoved up to your skull (literally) I have to wonder how a person doesn't have a reaction - but whatever. Because of my reaction to the easy one the 2nd one had to be done at the hospital with some sedation. And because the first one didn't really stop the daily headaches off to round 2 I went. Four facet joints were the target of today's nerve blocks - these little joints are part of the spine! Backing up, there has always been some pain around these joints when Dr. Ratzman pokes and prods and he said from the beginning that they could be part of the problem. So there we were at the hospital at the unholy hour of 7:30am on the day that Eli Lilly had 70 closed for beautification so traffic was FUN! Anyway the fabulous nurse comes to get me, makes my day by reading my weight in kg instead of pounds and on to the sedation part we go. So I'm answering the 500 questions that I swear to you I had already answered on the questionnaire that they gave me when I got there. Seriously, every single one of them. Not like I would have changed my answers between the waiting room and the procedure room. Whatever. So while I'm answering questions the other nurse is getting the IV ready so we can get on with this procedure. She gets it in my arm and all is seemingly well in the world, right? Wrong. She then grabs the tube leading to the saline solution that goes through my veins until we're ready for the big drugs and as she attaches it to my IV she goes oh well that's weird I think there's a leak. I turn to look at my arm and her and wouldn't you know it blood is dripping down both of our arms and then it just starts squirting out from the hole in the tube. My blood + saline solution + hole in IV tube = blood bath! They were like I've never seen this before - well of course you havent' because we've not met before. :)
I feel like there should probably be a warning label that comes with me! But maybe it could be really vague so as not to scare people something along the lines of expect the unexpected!

57 and counting

I have to tell you I'm a little bit over this headache. I started noticing it shortly after the accident and my doctor said it was from whiplash and just gave me a stronger muscle relaxer. The muscle relaxer just knocked me out for days so of course my head didn't hurt but it didn't really help with being able to work and function like a normal person. So I went back to the doctor for a different kind of muscle relaxer that helped some but didn't totally wipe me out. She also prescribed physical therapy - which I have been going to for 5 weeks now. However, the headaches are just getting worse... A few weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night wondering how my head hadn't exploded. I've had migraines before but it's a different kind of headache and pain. It starts at the base of my skull and goes up around my ears and behind my eyes and then just spreads everywhere. 2 weeks ago on Friday I went back to my doctor because I was pretty sure that my headaches were going to be the death of me if someone didn't make them stop. So she suggested that I go and see a headache specialist (did you know there were such things?) to get some trigger point injections. Part of the problem (I'm told) is because the muscles in my neck just will not relax - which is apparently common after a whiplash injury. Miraculously the headache guy was able to see me on Monday and he feels that the headaches are being caused not by the muscles, but by a nerve. I had to ask him why everyone keeps talking about my muscles being too tight if it's nerve related. Well apparently it's all one vicious cycle. Something is up with the nerve - it's inflamed or pinched or something and so the muscles all around the nerve stay tight in order to protect the nerve. The problem is the worst on the left side so he showed me all kinds of pictures of the nerves and muscles and what they're doing - it was a bit over my head, I'm not going to lie. Anyway. So the headache doctor sent me on to a "pain specialist" who will do 2 injections into my nerves. Awesome! Now the only thing standing between me and being pain free is the insurance company. Don't even get me started on them. Because I was working when I got hit everything has to go through my workman's comp insurance carrier and they have been less than stellar. The pain doctor won't schedule anything until I can get some questions answered by the insurance people - can't really do that when they don't answer their phone or return phone calls. I am ready to drive to Schaumburg, IL to start smacking some people around until they have a headache. FIFTY SEVEN DAYS with a headache is enough! I can't concentrate on anything. I will choose sleep over ANYTHING else you might offer me. I forget the most mundane things - including my phone number, my doctor's name, etc... The headache guy said that is normal so I will try to stop thinking I have Alzheimer's.

Die Another Day

That is the only title that would come to mind. I tried to think of something less dramatic but no luck. Two weeks ago July 2nd at 3:57pm I was driving on 91st St after leaving the office to go drop off a few applications at the Medicaid office. When I went through the intersection at 91st and College a man heading North on College ran a red light and I hit him - both of us going full speed. By that I mean it was not a case of him just trying to get through a yellow light and me just starting through the intersection. My light was never red, no one had stopped so I was going about 30mph and they think he was going even faster than that. I "t-boned" him on his driver side so I hit him straight on - as you can see from my car it was smashed all the way across.
Unfortunately I don't remember very much other than the actual impact which I definitely remember quite well. I THINK right after the impact I came to but I was more in the passenger side than the driver side and I knew my forehead was bleeding. A man came to the car to ask if I was ok and I wasn't really sure I could still talk much less believe that I was still alive. I think I shook my head at him and asked if I did something wrong. He told me that I didn't do anything wrong and that the other guy ran a red light. He also informed me that the guy took off running but reassured me that some other witnesses took off running after him (like I cared at that point). The EMTs arrived quickly and since my head and neck hurt pretty bad they put a brace on my neck and slid me onto a back board and into the ambulance I went. I remember feeling relieved when the fire truck got there and the firemen jumped out - firemen have been a part of my life since I was in middle school and I guess I just felt safer knowing they were there. I have absolutely no concept of time so I don't know how long I was in the ambulance before we went to the hospital but it seemed like forever and it was hot. One of the EMTs stayed with me the entire time and I don't remember his name or even what he looked like but I do know that I would not have stayed as calm as I did without him. He was constantly asking me if I was ok and telling me that I was going to be ok and nothing was major in comparison to what it could be. I think more than anything I was just scared. I had never been in an accident, been for a ride as the patient in an ambulance or in the ER. AND I couldn't talk to anyone that I knew to tell me that it would be ok. They radioed Kyle at metro and I knew he would be calling my family but I really needed someone or something familiar and I had no idea when that was going to be happening. So until then the EMT guy was my best friend. One of the things the EMT pointed out before they took me out of the car was that I had a big lump on my left leg and asked if it hurt. I couldn't feel it so whatever. When we got to the ER the first thing they wanted to do was x-ray that leg followed by a cat scan of the head. Both turned out fine. When the wheeled me back into my room after the x-ray my brother was sitting in the corner and I had no clue he was there. Needless to say he scared the crap out of me and I did not appreciate him ruining the good cry that I was sure would be happening when someone I knew finally got there. Kyle showed up shortly after that followed by my mom. What a night! We had to rush to Target to get my meds where they just stared at me and asked if I was ok. There has definitely been a lot of staring the last few weeks and I am so glad for the bruises on my face to finally be gone! My face bruised up wonderfully and led to 2 black eyes and lots of wonderful colors. Who needs makeup when you can have that naturally? My grandma even told me I looked like a raccoon...who doesn't want to hear that?
Anyway, my mom came down and stayed for the weekend which was a huge help because the soreness and stiffness I felt Friday night was nothing compared to how much I hurt Saturday and Sunday. I am healing slowly but surely. My head/neck has continued to hurt in the form of a headache for well over a week now. The doctors told me last week that it is because of whiplash so tomorrow I start physical therapy to help loosen up the muscles in my neck and shoulders in hopes of relieving the headache. The contusions on my left leg is what is going to be the long-term problem. I have seen 2 different doctors now and both have let me know that it will take 3-12 months to heal. The muscles and tissues underneath the skin have hardened and the lump where I hit Lord knows what on my left leg is about the size of my knee so I just look like I have 2 knees. It's rather awesome and really just painful. The swelling is probably the worst because it makes my knee so tight and it's really uncomfortable to bend and/or straighten my leg out. Just depends on the day. But I am fortunate to still be here able to tell you all about my accident so who am I to really complain much? It could have been so much worse and I thank God everyday that I am still here with my friends and family with only minor bumps and bruises. My accident was classified as a hit and run. The guy driving the silver SUV continued driving after I hit him - through the grass and into a church parking lot where he hit another car and then got out and took off running on foot. He had no license and no insurance and was not the actual owner of the car. The owner called 911 later that night and reported his vehicle stolen. The police already knew before going out to take his report that his vehicle was involved in a hit and run and when they confronted him he admitted that it was not stolen and he had let a friend borrow it. However, he does not have a license or insurance either. Go figure. Anyway, there is more for me to do here in this life and I will gladly pursue it... Thank you all for your continued encouragement and prayers - they mean so much to me!

Pictures!

Here are some pictures from the last few months! Hope you enjoy!!


Scary!

Kyle & I enjoying the sunrise on Anna Maria Island

Funniest night of our family spring break trip!

She loves me!

6 months old and getting quite close to crawling!

Stunna shades

No Pain No Gain

We did an hour of chariots, squats, lunges and step-ups. I went for the full bench seats today rather than just the first step of the risers for the step-ups. Wowzers. Jason said his goal was to make us wake up in pain on Saturday. Guess that means tomorrow probably won't be any easier! Fridays are usually games of some sort so it can't be too bad, right? :)

Had a great day in Rochester yesterday. Was a very welcome break from the grind at work - although I have to say that I'm enjoying work more these days. It's all about attitude and lately it seems to be pretty positive and a lot of fun. Anyway, I spent the day with my niece, Adria, and she is definitely a ham. She'll be 6 months old on Saturday and time is just flying! She is getting to be such a little person so full of personality and she just loves to laugh and smile. I love it!!

Happy Birthday To Me

We bought a house! Happened crazy fast but it was THE house and everything just fell right into place! It's bigger than our first house and it's very open - even has a sun room! The only negative is that it didn't already have a fenced in yard so we will be doing that ASAP for the doggies! It's in Avon - since most of you that read this are from Hanover, it's actually only a few miles from Brent's house but closer to 10th St!! He doesn't know it yet but someday when he returns my phone call I'll tell him! :) We close on April 30th (assuming everything goes fine with the inspections.) Our apartment complex is being a bit crappy but I think we'll be able to work it out...
So my birthday present is a new home!! Yay!!

1st round done!

I finished the first month of the transformation challenge this past Friday and am really starting to feel a change. When we had our first weigh in last week I had only lost a few lbs but 6 inches which is apparently pretty good since 2 were in my waist and 2 were in my hips. So I guess I'll take it! :) They changed my meal plan for the next 3 weeks so hopefully I'll see some bigger weight loss when we weigh in again. I had lost 6 lbs in the first week but I was also pretty sick so apparently that didn't really work in my favor. I didn't do a very good job of keeping this updated through the month so hopefully when we start again on the 22nd (MY BIRTHDAY) I'll remember to update more. Anyway, the biggest change hasn't been with my body but more mentally. Eating "clean" and starting out every day of the week with an hour long crazy hard workout has really changed everything. I have more energy! I can focus better at work and I'm proud of myself for how far I've come from the 1st day! It's amazing what having a little more pride in yourself can do!

Home Sweet Home

We got approved today for a home loan!! We have been dying to get out of the apartment life and the last few months it was just getting to be too much. So when we got back from Florida Kyle made an appointment with Ben Daulton at our bank in Rochester, filled out the application and here we are today with an approval. Took less than a week to do all that and now we can start looking for a home! A place to call home again; I've just never been able to make myself say that either of our apartments is really "home." I'm crazy excited though to actually get to be part of picking out a house this time!! When Kyle and I got together he had already bought the house in Rochester so I didn't have a say. Which is fine, it was great (sorta) :) But now I can decide what I like and what I want and don't want. Top priority though is a fenced in back yard. I'm so excited to be able to give that back to our puppies. They have handled being in an apartment just fine these last few years but it's not fair to them after they had a fenced in yard for the first several years of their lives! Anyway, we are so excited to start looking and find a place to call home! Next up is to find a realtor!

Day 1

Definitely wanted to die this morning. Definitely. It wasn't all that bad getting up at 5:00am, in large part because Kyle got up with me, but the workout was hellacious. I can't say that I wasn't expecting it to suck but I forgot how much the 1st day really really sucks. It was just a nightmare, I was almost laughing at myself the entire team thinking of all the shit I've been eating and the lack of motivation to do any type of physical activity since my last camp in November. This is what you get for eating shit and doing nothing Kira,. Pain. Jason says that it is great I'm in such bad shape because the results will be even more amazing, I'm not really feeling his enthusiasm just yet. They weighed, measured, poked, pinched and photographed me today for my starting point. Talk about being self conscious... Regardless of my whining today I know that the results will be well worth it in May when I am healthier and a lean mean fighting machine. Or something like that anyway. But for now my muscles are starting to tighten and I can feel the soreness creeping up so I'm headed to bed!

Slam Bam Transformation

starts tomorrow (2/15) and as much as I am mentally ready I am terrified of the ass kicking I will be getting. Especially this first week. Since I've not gone in 2 months it's going to be like starting over and by Wednesday I will be waddling and groaning with every step that I take. haha. Oh well it will be worth it in the end. I plan on trying to update as much as possible over the next 3.5 months while going through this boot camp challenge. There are 28 women and the 1st place prize is an all expenses paid cruise or trip for two. Sign me up. Anyway, stay tuned - get trim in 2010 starts now (well right after a few more of those sugar cookies). haha :)

It's a new day and a new year!

2009 was very much a year of ups and downs for us. Well I'm sure we're not the only ones who have had a roller coaster kind of year, but this is about me so I'll stick with my year! :o)
2009 was especially hard for me because of everything that happened to my mom. She dated and married a monster (sorry but there is no other way to put it) quickly divorced him and then tried to pick up the pieces and move on. It has not been easy no thanks to life in a small town where it seems people cannot find better things to do than gossip. Sometimes life is just cruel, I don't know any other way to say it. As if it wasn't enough when my step-dad died unexpectedly and she had to pick up the pieces and move on. No one should ever ever have to go through what she did and no family should ever have to go through what we have. Regardless, she is doing terrific these days and is beginning to find peace and happiness again! That is in no small thanks to my niece, Adria, who was born in September. She has brought a whole new meaning to the word joy! She is now 3 months old and is just getting bigger by the day! I so look forward to all of the fun times ahead with her! Here's a picture of her helping decorate the gingerbread house!

Kyle and I have some big plans for 2010 and hopefully by the end of the year we will be back to being homeowners again! Living in an apartment for 2 years since we moved to Indy has not been so horrible but we definitely miss the space we were used to for both us and the dogs. I feel awful about keeping them in an apartment for these last 2 years, I know they're fine with it, but it just doesn't seem fair. They deserve more space to run about and a fenced in backyard to play in! Hopefully we can give that back to them this year! We've toyed around with the idea of starting a family but we'll see, a big part of that will depend on the homeowner part! :)
We are taking a family vacation in early February this year down to sunny Bradenton, FL. Our Christmas gift from my parents was a week long vacation for all of us! So we'll be packing up and heading down to a condo with Kyle, Melissa, Adria and my mom! We'll get to spend time with my dad and step-mom as well as our grandparents that live down there! Dad hasn't seen Adria since she was born and our grandparents haven't got to meet her yet! Should be fun.

February is a big month for me! I signed up for the "Slam Bam Transformation Challenge" with the Indy Adventure Boot Camp team. They only took 28 people and I am so thankful that I will be part of it! It is a 14 week intense boot camp inspired transformation challenge! I have been doing boot camp with them on and off since August and it has been crazy painful and yet addictive! Anyway it's 14 weeks with them and in addition to the daily butt kickings they will also be doing a daily meal plan for all of us. We get all kinds of protein goodies and vitamins to make use of for the 14 weeks too. The grand prize is an all expenses paid for cruise for two!! I know that I can do this. The average weight loss is anywhere from 20-50 lbs and lots of inches and that should put me either at or so very close to my goal weight! It would mean the world to me if I could finally get there. It's taken me 2 years to get the first 50 off and I have somewhere between 40 and 50 to go but I know that this is my year to do it. I go to the camp in Fishers and our coach, Jason , is the hubby of Jessica and they run the whole boot camp thing. When they first posted that people could start signing up Jason was nearly begging our Fishers group to have people sign up and explained that in the past it has been mostly Carmel women (where Jessica coaches). There are 2 or 3 of us that signed up from Fishers and I think we are going to be his special projects - i.e. we'll be getting our butts kicked more so than usual. But that's ok, it's what I need and if it helps me get to my goal then bring it on!! I plan to blog about it daily when it starts so you can all keep up with me and encourage me (please!)
Anyway, I hope that 2010 brings all of you good health, happiness and lots of love!

Merry Christmas

We have been enjoying these last few weeks spending time with our families for the holidays! Here are a few family pictures we took before Christmas! Hope you all enjoyed a Merry Christmas and are as excited for the new year as I am!

Adria Grace

It has been two weeks since Adria was born and I think I can maybe write this now without crying! When I was home 2 weekends ago Melissa was pretty sure that she was going to be in labor sometime in the next 24 hours. Contractions were closer together and more painful - you know the drill. We got a call from my brother about midnight Sunday morning that they were in the hospital and we could come whenever we wanted. Mom and I got back out of bed (1 hour of sleep) got around and headed over. Melissa had already had the epidural and my brother was surprisingly happy to tell us that he had definitely passed out when they gave it to her. He has always been TERRIFIED of needles/shots and this is not the first time he has passed out because of one. We were all pretty entertained. Around 5:30 or 6 they decided it was time to move things along and started her on Pitocin. That sped things up and by 7:30ish the doctor was there and they had her start pushing. We were all sent to the family waiting room until we had a baby girl or a baby boy Jump. The anticipation was absolutely dreadful. We had been sitting in there for over a hour with no word about what was going on. Katie tried to ask at the nurses station but she got yelled at and when I went and asked Dr. Sanders they said everything was fine and they were just monitoring Melissa and the babies heart rate. As it turned out every time Melissa would try to push the baby's heart rate would sky rocket into the 170-180s range - which is not healthy. So they stopped the Pitocin and just had Melissa relax which made baby Jump relax so they decided to try again. But the same thing happened so Dr. Sanders decided to move forward with a C-section. This is where my day really began... We had known that the baby's heart rate was getting pretty high when she pushed but weren't overly concerned. My brother came in looking pretty somber and sat down to tell us that baby J's heart rate was getting too high when they push and so the doctor had decided to do a c-section. Kyle lost his composure at this point as he told us that he would not be able to go into the OR with her because of the hard time he has with needles - this was completely his choice and I think it was one of the hardest decisions he's had to make. Kyle asked Melissa's mom to be there with her when she went into surgery and he let us know that Melissa wasn't handling it very well either. He was worried about her, she was worried about the baby and scared about the c-section. It was eating him alive and I couldn't stand to see my little brother so anguished. I couldn't stop crying because he was crying so I had to leave for awhile until I could get it together. They wheeled her down shortly after 11 and came back for Kathy 10 minutes later. Sitting there waiting with Kyle was nothing short of torture - he did nothing but check his watch and fiddle with Melissa's hair ties. My brother is not much of an emotional person much less one to talk about his feelings but if there was ever any question about how much he loved and cared about her and the baby - question no more. Thankfully we didn't have very long to wait before they were bringing the baby up to the nursery. The nurses and Kathy were all grinning from ear to ear and immediately reassured Kyle that Melissa and the baby were fine. They asked us to guess if it was a boy or a girl - we had all been saying boy from the beginning but sure enough we were wrong. A little girl - they hadn't decided on a name yet so she was still baby Jump for awhile. :) But in that moment, when we got to see her for the first time and she was just looking around and curious about her new environment, I fell in love. It was one of most amazing moments in my life and I will never ever forget it. Then getting to see as they handed her to Kyle for the first time - I can only imagine how that must have felt for him since it was pretty overwhelming for me. It was even cute when she was screaming bloody murder. She is a whopper - 8 lbs 14.5 oz and 22 inches. (As of this last Thursday she is at an even 9lbs!) The whole day was amazing - when I finally got to hold her for the first time she was perfect and I already have dreams of all the great things we'll get to do as she gets older. I have some amazing Aunts in my life and I promised her then that I will always be there for her. I spent a lot of time with Melissa and Adria while they were in the hospital so my brother could get some rest - which I did not mind at all. Well until I had to change Adria's diaper one morning when she decided the minute I pulled the diaper out from under her was the perfect time to poop. Little stinker. But just to watch her sleep or to watch her watching everything is wonderful, it is probably my favorite thing to do now. I hope Kyle and Melissa don't get tired of me coming home whenever I can and stealing her from them to hold and love. :) She is a beautiful little girl and is the daughter of my best friend and my brother - there couldn't be anything more perfect. Who knew 4 years ago when we worked together that she would marry my brother and start a family? I never would have guessed but I could not be more happy about it! :)

I'm back!

I can't believe it's been over 3 months since I've posted anything. I have so much going on but for now am just going to share some pictures of the last 3 months!

This was at Michelle's baby shower! Last month she gave birth to Caleb!









Melissa's getting closer to her due date too (September 25th)!













Melissa and I hanging out with the cute lil Miss Hailey after watching the crazy Round Barn Festival Parade!













Less than a month to go til baby Kaden or Adrianna!


















This was at Princess Hailey's 1st birthday party... The question here is if the two in the background are laughing at me or with me?












It's hard to believe my little brother is going to be a dad in less than a month. He was giving it some practice here by holding Hailey (I'm pretty sure this is the first time he's ever held a baby - haha!)

Allergies Shmallergies

If you think anything like my husband then you might agree that there is no one else with as many random medical issues as me. Which after 27 years of being me, I just might agree. If you get Kyle started he will tell you that he's been working out a deal with the IU med center to sell me as research. Apparently he figures they can do a lot more worthwhile testing while my body is still functioning. I say they can wait until I die.
Anyway. I have had some serious breathing problems these last few weeks. I can breathe and everything but it always feels like it's not enough - like my lungs are getting enough oxygen. Which makes me yawn constantly, which makes my jaw hurt because really I don't think it likes opening that wide anymore. Since the breathing issues have started my left side jaw has popped/cracked twice from all the yawning. It is painful and freaks me out because I'm terrified I will do something to mess up all of the work the dentists, orthodontist and surgeon have done (it would be my luck - seriously). And everytime it does that the surgeon instructs me to go on a soft diet (no chewing) for 3-4 days... Which makes me think that this causes him concern too. After the first week of this breathing weirdness that came out of nowhere and was causing me to be on the verge of breakdowns when it was really bad, I called the doctor. Went to see her and she immediately had me do a breathing test and then sad me down with a breathing treatment for 20 minutes. Then sat me down to talk about asthma... I had been told 3 years ago that I could possibly be slightly asthmatic after a specialist did some allergy testing. They gave me a rescue inhaler and I think I might have used it once in the last 3 years. Well apparently it is possible that my body has added a symptom to my allergies - asthma... Yay and I have a brand new inhaler to use regularly! "Sucks to your asthmar, Piggy." So I was told to make an appointment with a specialist again (ASAP) so they can do some more allergy and pulmonary testing. Joy. So I call said specialist on Friday and made an appt. for June 2nd. After we made the appt. the lovely secretary at the office says to me, now you will have to stop taking any and all allergy meds 5 days prior to the appointment so we can do the testing. WHAT?!??!!? It seems I forgot about that part... So in 2 days I cannot take any allergy products whatsoever for FIVE DAYS during the worst part of the year for me. I am pretty sure that Kyle can stop his negotiations for a live body...
As if that's not bad enough the memories of the testing are returning... Lots and lots of needle pricks to the back - I was allergic to 42 of the 50 last time - severely allergic to over 75% of those 42. Now they want to do it again... Lord help you if you see me between Thursday and Tuesday this next week and a half. :)

Susan G Komen Race for the Cure

I recently accepted the challenge to raise funds to support the Komen Indianapolis Race for the Cure on April 18, 2009 in the fight against breast cancer. One in eight women will be stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime and the more we raise, the more the Indianapolis Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure can give back to fund vital breast cancer education, screening, and treatment programs in our own community and support the national search for a cure.

With one out of every eight women being diagnosed with breast cancer there is a good chance that the fight against it means something personal to you. I know it does for me and this past week recently it became even more personal. Saturday March 14th was my Grandma Jump's 83rd birthday and she called me that morning to tell me that they had found a spot in her breast and it is cancer. As I lay on my bed listening to one of the most amazing women I know, a woman who has always been there for me, always knows the right thing to say and has just been a guiding light; I tried not to cry because I wanted to be as strong as she was being, but it was really hard. She lives in Florida on the beautiful Amelia Island and all I wanted at that moment was to be there to give her a hug and make sure she knows how much I love her and that I will be with her in spirit to help her fight! But you know what this wonderful grandmother of mine said to me; "Kira I wanted you to hear it from me because I need you to know that I am not afraid of this and I am going to get through it. And if I don't, I'm not afraid of that either." I heard so much strength and determination in her voice that I am sure she will fight it with every fiber of her being and she will win! All she asked was for my prayers (she will gladly take yours too) she will of course always have those but I knew as soon as she said it that I was dedicating my participation in this race to her. When I walked last year, it was my first time participating in the race and I was blown away by all of the people as well as the power and energy that came from everyone rallying together to say "Hey breast cancer, one day we are going to win!" So this year I'm walking for you, Gramma, in hopes that my contribution will one day help find a cure! Please help me reach my goal so we can help find a cure and hope that no more moms, grandmas, daughters, sisters, friends or anyone for that matter will have to fight this disease!

Please join me in the fight by pledging in support of my participation in the Race or contributing generously to Komen Indianapolis. Your tax-deductible contribution will fund innovative outreach and awareness programs for medically underserved communities in 21 central Indiana counties, and national breast cancer research. It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause - you can make a donation online by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. If you would prefer, you can also send your tax-deductible contribution to to me directly. Whatever you can give will help! I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.
Thank you so much for your time and support in the fight against breast cancer! Every step counts!
Komen Indianapolis
1099 N. Meridian St.Suite 111
Indianapolis, IN 46204-1075
Phone: 317/638-CURE (2873)
Fax: 317/634-4980
Click here to visit my personal page.If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:http://race.komenindy.org/site/TR/Race/General?px=1313241&pg=personal&fr_id=1060&et=a8pXoW2_axYTbMURkNdImA..&s_tafId=15022 Click here to view the team page for MENTOR MarvelsIf the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:http://race.komenindy.org/site/TR/Race/General?team_id=26660&pg=team&fr_id=1060&et=Fh5lSBKzWKDX0Wpb9bhvMw

Only in my world...

So I woke up yesterday morning to my mouth feeling a little odd. So naturally I started opening and closing and talking to myself when sure enough my jaw cracked back in the left joint... WHAT?!! I thought this was all behind me, so at that point I figured that I was dreaming. Which is a common occurence for me to have extremely real-like dreams - so back to sleep I went. I continued to wake up every 20 or 30 minutes with an increasing amount of discomfort around the joint... So I decided to get up and go to the bathroom to make sure that it doesn't look weird or anything which of course it did not. But everytime I opened my mouth it popped or cracked in a very painful manner. So I sat by the phone until it was 8:00am to call the surgeon. The results - do not chew and talk as little as possible until Monday. Ice it as much as possible and take as much tylenol or ibuprofen as my stomach can handle over the weekend. AWESOME! haha. Something like this would only happen in my world - unexplainable symptoms for no good reason! So now I cannot chew or eat any of the Easter yummies that I'm sure my family will make! Boo Hiss! It already feels better today so I'm sure it's nothing, but still...
The doggies and I are making the trek to Rochester to spend the weekend with my mom, I'm excited but nervous at how they will handle a weekend in a different place. Should be fun either way! Plus I get to spend more time with my mom which is truly amazing because I have missed her soo darn much. I will not get in to details but as you might know she got married February 15th. After they got married it seemed like she was nonexistant or maybe I felt like I was non-existent to her anymore, either way it has been some of the hardest times emotionally for many reasons. Regardless, she left him last week due to some very horrible things and the last week and a half have been nothing but worry and chaos. Well I take that back it has been more than that. I went home last weekend as well and to see her laughing and being goofy again does more for my soul than I can even begin to explain. Just to be able to talk to her again about real life is a god-send. Anyway. I'm looking forward to spending the Easter weekend at home with the family! I hope you all have a terrific weekend celebrating Easter in whatever way you and yours choose to do so.
Oh if I may - please keep my gramma J in your thoughts! She had breast cancer surgery on Tuesday and while my dad says she is a trooper and doing well - I imagine it is not quite so easy.
Happy Easter!