Friday, May 25, 2012

Coming Soon...

The other day I was eFlipping {flipping the pages in an online catalog} through the newly released Fall 2012 Catalogs for C&T Publishing and Stash Books. Look what I found...


 
Page from C&T Publishing Fall 2012 Catalog


 MY BOOK! Stop. Go. Quilt. Sew!


Page from Stash Books Fall 2012 Catalog


AHHH! I am so excited!
Check out all the new releases coming soon from C&T Publishing and Stash Books here.
Which is your favorite new release coming out from Stash Books?

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Now available at Fat Quarter Shop...

Fat Quarter Shop

I am excited to share with you that my PDF patterns {as well as my printed versions} are now available for purchase through Fat Quarter Shop!


So go and check out my patterns and everything else they have in store!  While you are there, be sure to add one {or two} of my patterns in your cart ;)

They have lots of eye candy to browse through and purchase for your own stash. Plus, they ship same day so you will have it in your hands before you can say supercalafragalisticexpialadocious! {okay, maybe not that quick but close enough.}

If you are interested in purchasing my patterns at Wholesale, please contact me.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Roman Numeral 5

I know I am a bit late in posting these as Roman turned 5 months old on cinco de Mayo. Things have just been a wee bit crazy here in our household.


I am not sure how much Roman has gained in weight or height, but I do know he is definitely growing. This kid is a chunk!




He has started reaching for items in front of him and putting them in his mouth. The older kids better figure out how to put their toys and things away if they don't want them to get slobbered on.



This past month, Roman got his first ear infection. DARN IT! I was really hoping he would make it longer before catching anything. I am so nervous about giving him amoxicillin because Matthew is allergic to it, that I made the doctor prescribe him with a non-penicillin based antibiotic. He may be fine with it, however I did not want to find out when he is this little.



He can't quite sit up on his own yet, but he is getting better at it.



He even started getting up on his knees in crawling position... this kid just might be on the move soon!


Love everything about this kid! His little personality is starting to show. :)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

This week's adventures...

This week started off great!

SUNDAY... My wonderful family took me out to eat at Corner Bakery for a Mother's Day breakfast. Beautiful day with my favorite people.


We laughed, we played, it was the best day!



MONDAY... Paige woke up complaining about her throat hurting. No fever, little bit of medicine, good breakfast, send off to school. No biggie... right?  Matthew was not feeling very well because he had an ear infection that we got antibiotic for the prev. Saturday. Hubby was not feeling very well either and he went to the doc, got an antibiotic, picked up Paige from school at the normal pick-up time and came home. Hubby walks in with Paige and says... "she's wheezing" and gives me this look of apprehension. She was coughing non stop.

Okay, we can handle this... this is not our first horse and pony show... she is a veteran when it comes to her asthma problems and we have a plan. Shoot her up with a Xopenex inhaler treatment, all is well. 30 minutes later... More wheezing and coughing... more Xopenex. 30 minutes after that, Xopenex neb treatment. Again, 30 minutes later, another Xopenex neb treatment.

By now it is night time and she is not improving. Call into her pulmonologist, start oral steroids, and another treatment. WHAT THE HECK!? Her asthma has been doing great the last couple years... we have had her on daily meds (at the highest dosage for her too mind you) and we were finally getting her asthma under control. So what is going on? Why is she having these problems again? Why can't we get the rescue meds to work? Treatments continued throughout the night.

TUESDAY... We had been doing treatments every 2-4 hours throughout the night and her symptoms did not seem to be getting any better. Normally when we start a steroid, we start to see some improvements in her breathing within a couple of hours.  She continued to complain about her throat and her right ear. No School for her today. Then it hit me... maybe she has an ear infection. 9am - Call her pediatrician, make an appointment, more breathing treatments.  1:30pm - Doc checked her ears, little infection in one ear, checked her throat, little sinus drainage, checked her lungs, Wheezing and squeaking... her breathing is tight. Oxygen levels at this point were around 95. So, start antibiotic, double up on her steroid, more breathing treatments every 2 hours... you get the point. 10pm rolls around and she finally falls asleep.

Several years ago we invested in a stethoscope and pulse oximeter so we can be better informed as to what her O2 levels were and what her lungs sounded like. This would help us be better prepared to rush her to the ER if needed since she is a severe asthmatic and her breathing can get bad quick. Definitely worth the investment and helped us many many times in the past and recommend it to any parent with an asthmatic child to help them monitor their condition.

We checked her oxygen number and listened to her breathe. O2 was at 90... every breath she took squeaked in her lungs. You have got to be kidding me! Why is this happening??? . We decided we would just all go to the ER since Matthew was still wheezing himself and I was nursing Roman. Loaded up all the kids, grabbed all the meds, drinks, and headed 35 miles south to Children's Medical Center. We arrived at about 11:30pm.


WEDNESDAY... Children's gets Paige in an ER room pretty quickly and starts her on an Albutoral cocktail. A chest x-ray came back with no infections... good news.

The ER doc, not knowing Paige's asthma history, wanted to send her home after two treatments and  said.. "If it gets worse you could always come back". Uh, no! I am not comfortable leaving the hospital with her O2 levels staying at 91-92 when she is asleep and 93-94 when she is awake.  She was still wheezing, coughing and squeaking. I called her pulmonologist to get his opinion on the situation... "She needs to be monitored overnight, admit her and I will come see her in the morning" he says. 3am - they moved her to a room for the night, Richie stayed with her and I took the boys home so they could get some rest. Around 5am her O2 levels hit 88 while sleeping!  Another treatment later they eventually came back up.

The next morning, I got the boys ready, gave them their meds, and headed back to the hospital. When I got there, Paige was doing much better, holding an O2 level of 96-97 with treatments 4 hours apart. Her lungs were moving air much better and easier and the wheezing and squeaking was happening less than it was when we arrived. THANK YOU GOD!  Just before we were about to be released the Hospital, a cute little doll and drawing pad set came to her from the gift shop. Her pediatrician and staff and sent her a get well gift. That was the best part of her stay... she loves her new little doll and it helped make her stay a little more enjoyable.


TODAY... Paige is doing even better. Her and Matthew both stayed home from school again today since they both continued to have some wheezing and coughing. I am so thankful for the staff at Children's Medical Center for the smooth and friendly stay while at the hospital. All the nurses were very good with Paige and the doctor after she was admitted was very good in taking care of her needs. I am especially thankful for our Pediatrician and Pulmonologist that we have been blessed with and their attention to making sure she received the best of care. 

A little history...
Paige was diagnosed with asthma when she was 15 months old and has been taking asthma medications since she was 9 months old. She had RSV at 9 months old, Hospitalized with Pneumonia at 11 months old and had a severe asthma attack at 15 months old that caused her to be in ICU while they intubated and placed her on a ventilator. She has been through the thick of it and is such a strong little girl. Since then she has visited the hospital a handful of times for asthma attacks caused from weather changes and illness. When she was 4 years old, she had surgery for ear tubes and adenoid removal. This really made a huge improvement in her breathing. After they removed her adenoids, they found that they were blocking at least 50% of her airway. In the last couple years we have been able to keep her asthma controlled by daily medications and followup appointments with her Pulmonologist every 3-4 months to ensure that her asthma does not get out of control.

If there is anything that I can suggest to any other parent that has a child with asthma or asthmatic symptoms, is to find a well recommended Pediatric Pulmonologist in your area that you can trust with your child's well being when it comes to their Asthma action plan and knows and understands their medical history. We have dealt with several ER doctors and not all of them make the best decisions for your child. They only know what they see when you come through those ER doors and may not know their life history when it comes to their health. So speak up and tell them what you know. If you don't agree with what they are saying, let them know. Your pulmonologist or pediatrician can help you and the ER doctor make the right decision for your child when you are faced with an emergency situation. I cannot tell you how many times I have called on our pulmonologist (even at 2 am) for guidance and direction on what we needed to do in emergency situations with Paige. He is the first one we call when we are not sure if we should start a steroid, take her to the hospital, have her admitted, etc.

Being a parent of a child with asthma is stressful enough and sometimes when you are faced with a situation such as this it is hard to process the correct action to take.  This is your child and you want the best for them that is why it is so important to have someone you can trust to help you make those decisions and get them on a path so they do not have to struggle to breathe. As the child gets older it is easier for them to communicate with you and let you know if they need to go to the hospital. Paige was able to help confirm our decision of taking her to the hospital this week by letting us know that, yes, she wanted to go because she was having a difficult time breathing.

Anyway... I think I may have gotten a little carried away with this post in the length of it, however it is something that is very important to me and take seriously and I wanted to share our experience in hopes that it may help another parent with their child with asthma.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

NEW PATTERN: Superhero Capes

Introducing... new Superhero Capes pattern available in both Printed and PDF versions.


Fun personalized capes for your little superhero to wear when they need to save the day!  Eye mask pattern included for boys & girls. Fabric shown is A Stitch in Color by Malka Dubrawsky for Moda Fabrics.


Friday, May 11, 2012

Teacher Appreciation

This week was teacher appreciation week and I wanted to do something nice for the kids teachers. They have to put up with my kids all day {or Matthew half a day since he is Pre-K}. Paige actually is a very good kid at school. Matthew on the other hand... well, I am just thankful he has a great teacher. :) He means well, but he just has a listening problem at this age.

I did not have the time to make them something, so to Pinterest I went. There are so many great ideas and links on pinterest, but I decided to go with this free printable from... I think it is from eighteen25.


So, to all the wonderful teachers that put up with all our kids on a day to day basis... THANK YOU! 

Monday, May 7, 2012

MOM Reviews - Boppy Total Body Pillow

One of my favorite shower gifts I received was this Total Body Pillow by Boppy. I kept looking at them at the store while I was pregnant because I was having a lot of back pain when I would lay down in bed. Yet, I kept walking away from it because the price was a bit steep for what I was willing to pay on a pillow. Would it be worth the money? Would it be comfortable? How long would I really be able to use it? Is it soft?  You get point.


So the day came that I had to go in for a c-section, had our new baby boy, and in walks my mom with this Boppy Pillow. Thanks, mom!!! This is the best body pillow ever! They advertise this pillow for pregnant women, however it is great for anyone. My son is 5 months old and I still use it. Great for sleeping, feeding, lounging, propping up asthmatic kids in bed (yes I have used it for this and works great!), and so much more!
Picture from Boppy website to show sleeping position with pillow.

I definitely recommend this pillow for any MOM. You are worth it... treat yourself to a restful nights sleep.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

My Birthday Girl



My little girl turned 7 today! I can't believe how big she is getting.


We celebrated with a pizza party and sleepover Friday night. It was so much fun! A night full of decorating flip flops, playing telephone, making cootie catchers, sitting on balloons until they pop to get the special prize hidden inside, and so much more. The girls finally crashed at 2 am.


Happy Birthday to my sweet seven year old. Love you lots <3.

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