Hi guys,


Well it's almost the end of June and a bunch of things have happened lately. 


First, Nichole graduated High School a few weeks ago.  She's beyond happy to be done with High School and frankly, I am too.  It still amazes me that I have gotten my first child through all 12 years of school plus the fact she's an adult (in age alone mind you. LOL).  Right now she is enjoying babysitting the neighbor kids while she is looking for a job.

There she is, all grown up (sort of speak). She cannot wait to get on with her life (as she says, not me by any means).


While the above was happening, I was also trying to take care of my mom who has been in and out of the hospital about 6 times since January.  She had some heart issues that have been taken care of (hopefully for good) and she is also an insulin-dependent diabetic.  My dad was as well so I know what is in store for her. 


Other than that, not much has been going on. I've driving a ton lately just going back and forth to my mom's and I'm really thinking hard about moving closer to her. Homeschooling the boys has ended for the most part for the summer. Sam is partially enrolled in a normal school for the fall and he's excited about it. He will try once again to see if he can tolerate the regular school setting, if not, it's back to homeschooling him once again.


Gotta run..
Kelly

Weird turn of events..

So, a lot has been happening with me lately.  For instance:

- I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Had an allergic reaction to the RA medication first Rheumy doc put me on
- Did the huge "big peel" AGAIN
- Decided that I needed a 2nd opinion regarding the RA diagnosis
- Had oral thrush 4 times
- countless steroid shots and pills
- A bunch of labs and X-rays
- Gained a BUNCH of weight - that needs to come off  NOW!
- My hair started to fall out

So, with that being said.  I made the appointment for the 2nd opinion with a new Rheumy doctor at Froedert Hospital.  I'm so glad I did.  She said that I didn't have RA but I was hyper-sensitive because of what my skin was doing. Recommended seeing the "super-duper" Dermatologist there and once I'm off the steroids, if I have swelling, pain in the joints, etc. I'm to make an appointment with the new Rheumy and she will re-examine me at that time.  But she truly thinks that all the swelling and pain I've been in is due to my skin. Lovely....

Did I mention that Prednisone is a EVIL drug? While it's a good drug, it's EVIL!!  I totally gained a ton of weight with this stupid drug and now I have to get the weight off.  I feel out of sorts with my weight the way it is.  Now that I'm totally off the steroids, I feel better, I'm not eating every 2-3 hours, and not waking up every 2 hours all night long.  What a relief!!  I was getting so frickin' sick of this.  

We ( my family) have been through way too much since November 2010 and I'm so glad to see it slowly come to an end.  Things are starting to get back to normal (whatever that is) and I'm able to function again like a REAL human being.  What a concept!!

I've also noticed that while I'm getting better, Spring has sprung. My tulips are coming up and blooming, the grass is getting green, kids are playing outside, and the sun is out longer at night.  

See there is a bright side to things.  I wouldn't have believed you several months ago, but I do now!

Hugs
Kelly

Random happenings at home!

This is what typically happens on any given night in the Otto household.

Sam playing with the massive amount of Legos in the basement.

Birthday boy with his latest gift. An Xbox 360 gaming system.

Look!! Nichole is being a teenager!!

Here it is....

Almost the middle of August and nothing to show for it. As usual, I'm doing the umpteenth load of laundry, getting the kids registered for school (thank goodness that's done), have to finish school supply shopping, get the 2 boys haircuts, etc.

DH is still on furlough and has been for almost 3 months (if you add up all the days, that's what it amounts to). DH went on a job interview on Wednesday and got a call back for Monday for a second interview, hopefully something good will come of that (fingers crossed!). I wish it would either stay nice (70's and low humidity) or stay hot, this is playing havoc on my skin. Either making it really comfortable for me or incredibly painful (nothing that a good night's sleep and Advil won't cure). Started stitching again and should have a progress picture soon. It would be about a month's worth of stitching (not the world's fastest stitcher by far)

Otherwise, there is no news in my household, just the same old stuff. Hopefully I'll blog a bit more this month, I wish you and yours a safe rest of summer and into early fall.

Kelly

My life is somewhat back to normal.

WELL, It's been a few days since I last blogged anything so I decided to catch you up on things.

My son Sam learned how to ride a 2 wheeler (see previous blog entry) and is happy that he can do this now. My husband went on interviews and got a job offer which he took. He started last week Wednesday and they like him so much that he gets to go back next week. My kids are back from Door County, Wisconsin. They had the opportunity to spend about 5 days with my sister in law and brother in law at their tree farm. They had a blast but I'm glad they are home. We registered the kids for the new school year and I never seen so much money go flying out of my checkbook before but they need the stuff and they NEED to go back to school!!

I'm still stitching on Lizzie Kate's Summer from A Banner Year series and hope to get this done soon so I can start something that my daughter wants for her room. It's small so there isn't an excuse why I can't get this done. I'll post a picture when I actually start it but the colors are beautiful.