Twelve Days of Family Medical Emergencies - Part Two

When it rains, it pours. If you can believe it, the saga continues, even after Part One. If you haven't read Part One of this story, click here. Go ahead, read it, I'll wait.

On the morning of July 6th, I got home from my third visit to the ER. McKinley was already awake, sitting on the couch. She had been complaining of an upset tummy since the night before, and she had already vomited a couple of times. After a few hours of praying her upset tummy would get better on its own, it had already been about 8-10 hours of her not keeping anything down. Now, I feel it necessary to insert here, that I do not typically take myself or my children to the doctor, much less the hospital for every little ailment. But, given the recent events, I felt like she needed to go and be seen. Better safe than sorry, yes?

We got checked in around 6:30pm. The ER doctor asked all of the usual doctor questions, started an IV with fluids, gave her medication through her IV for nausea, and went off to order tests. The radiologist came in shortly after and wheeled her away for a x-ray. The results from the x-ray came back and a plan was developed. The doctor tried three different remedies before giving the unfortunate news, she needed to be admitted.

Her daddy came to visit. Talk about a sight for sore eyes. He was just what she needed to let her know it was all going to be okay. This was also before she was admitted...and we had no idea we'd be there for a few days. Notice the "throw up bucket' on her lap. Bless her heart, she couldn't keep anything down, not even with the anti-nausea medication.

To the sixth floor of Wolfson Children's Hospital we went. It was after midnight by now. McKinley's first nurse was so sweet. Her name was Amika. She got McKinley into her non-slip hospital socks, tucked her into bed, showed her how to work the TV remote and nurse call button, and even got me something to eat for dinner. In the ER, McKinley wasn't allowed anything to eat or drink. Now that she was admitted, she could pretty much have whatever she wanted. Amika made sure our first nights stay was comfortable. I mean, as comfortable as one can be in a hospital. After everything that we had endured in the ER we only wanted to sleep. Next step, wait until the morning doctors came in to work, and a new plan would be put into action. Thankfully, McKinley didn't have any more spells of vomiting, so she was able to get some sleep. And, I was also able to get some sleep.

The following morning a whole team of doctors came in. Like, eight of them, all at once. It was a bit overwhelming, actually. The lead doctor, I mean, I guess he was the lead, told us the plan, checked her belly sounds, and then told us he'd check back later. We actually never saw him again, LOL, but that's ok. His plan got my girl's belly working again. After many, MANY packets of Miralax, many mini bottles of Gatorade, a handful of stool softeners, a couple enemas, and goodness knows what else, her bowels began to move again. Who knew severe constipation could cause a hospital stay?

After three nights and four days in the hospital McKinley was ready to bust outta that joint! We couldn't wait to get our girl home and get back to enjoying our Summer vacation. Little did we know she wouldn't be the only person in our family to go to the hospital that week. Part three coming soon.

Did you know that constipation is common in children? The cause is usually a sudden change in diet, a child's already poor diet, not drinking enough water, too busy to stop and "go," and other reasons are among common reasons for constipation in children. I'm going to assume, in McKinley's case, it was a diet that consists of LOTS of bread (she LOVES bread) and playing too hard to stop and "go." These are my guesses, we'll never really know. What I do know now is, we will certainly take precautionary measures to ensure our children go everyday. Lots of water, exercise, and a daily probiotic.

*****

McKinley had many visitors. I can't thank each of these friends enough for visiting my girl. Their company lifted her spirits and gave her hope that everything would be a-okay. They brought gifts and sat and colored and played with her. Thank you, friends!

This sweet dog came in to visit her, too. This was on her first morning, so she wasn't feeling well at all. You can see it in her face. 

McKinley's 2nd grade teacher, Miss Ketner, stopped in to visit. Although she wasn't feeling real well, we decided to take a walk through the halls. I'm glad we did, we found the art and game room!

Our besties, Cheyenne, Tonya, and Hailey came to visit. Cheyenne was so sweet with McKinley. She helped her push her IV pole around the hallways. 

You can see she was beginning to feel better. Her daddy came to visit her after work one day, and they went down to the play room to get some painting in.

Once back in her room, Daddy did a little painting of his own. He painted his princess's toes. 

Grandma and Papa came to play, too. 

One of McKinley's best cheer friends came two times to see her. The first day Presli came McKinley was still really sick and not feeling well. You could tell that Presli was unsure of the situation, she was quiet and kept her distance. The next time she came, McKinley was feeling a LOT better and, well, these two were acting super silly!

Cheyenne also came twice. McKinley sure has some great friends!

Twelve Days of Family Medical Emergencies - Part One

(photo clearly doesn't depict our medical emergencies, but does show the fun time we were having prior to it all beginning.)

July 2, what started as the beginning of a good day, progressed horribly. I woke up at the beach, all of the kids and some of our friends were there. We were going to enjoy one last full day on the ocean shore and by the pool. Around 10:00am, though, things got bad. I was so nauseous, my body hurt so badly, I was freezing cold, huddled under a blanket that we joked just the night before would keep an Eskimo warm. My son offered to go find me some Pepto Bismol and Gatorade. It didn't work. I hated to have to be the ending point of our fun day, but there was no way I could endure heat and kids, conversation, much less putting on a smile. Home we went.

My husband thought I must've picked up a bug or gotten food poisoning. After all, we had been eating out for every meal, my body isn't used to that. I wanted to go to the hospital. He offered to take the kids to his parents, so I could rest. Hours went by, no relief from the vomiting or the pain was in sight. It felt like labor pain. If you've never experienced labor pain, it felt like knives in my belly and body aches from constant vomiting. I'm sure there's a better description for labor pain, but this was my experience. I had to go to the hospital. Now.

After getting checked in to the ER, and getting much appreciated medication to stop the vomiting and pain, I was wheeled off to Radiation, for a CT scan. And then whisked away for an ultrasound. (No babies, y'all! That factory is closed.) The culprit of all of my anguish? Ovarian cysts.

When the doctor came in to tell me what had been giving me all the trouble, he was cautiously optimistic, that it was an isolated issue and these things happen. "Ovarian cysts are common," he said.

So, I get home and crawl into bed. After all, I needed to let all of that pain medication wear off, and I prayed for no more vomiting. I was beginning to feel better. Until July 4th.

Y'all, on July 3rd, I felt semi-back-to-normal. And then, on July 4th, it came back with a vengeance. Back to the ER I went. Again, they gave me pain medicine via IV, something to stop the vomiting, and told me it was ovarian cysts. However, this time they added to my diagnosis, and I was told I also have fibroids. I was told to go home and make an appointment with my GYN, because the ER isn't equipped to help me. #soconfused

I prayed that THIS TIME I would go home, crawl into bed, wake up the next morning, and the pain all be gone. Well, it didn't happen that way. I rolled around, writhing in pain for the next two days. Even if I wanted to make an appointment for the GYN, I was too terribly sick to do so.

Can you even believe I can keep going? On July 6th, I went BACK to the ER. Same thing, pain meds, anti-nausea medication, ovarian cysts, make an appointment with the GYN. Maybe they gave me enough pain medication to last me, maybe my REAL ailment calmed down enough for me to deal with what was ahead. Because, on July 6th, after I got home from the ER for myself, I had to take McKinley.

To be continued...

Tony Award Winning KINKY BOOTS in Jacksonville, FL May 2-7

This post sponsored by FSCJ Artist Series in Jacksonville. Tickets were provided for my honest opinion. 

Ladies, gentlemen and those who have yet to make up your minds,

I went to see Kinky Boots the Musical tonight, and WOW! The lights, the songs, the costumes...it was breathtaking. I was captivated from the moment Charlie, the son in Price & Son's Shoes, come onto stage. And then there was little Simon, who took to the stage in his red high heels. You heard me correctly, HE was dancing around on stage in red high heels.

Fast forward a bunch of years, Charlie tries to run away from his shoemaker destiny. But, when his father passes away, he's forced back to the factory, to care for the workers that still need jobs. He was ready to throw in the towel, until he met Lola. She was tall, dressed in flashy clothing, and had a broken pair of high heels. Together Charlie and Lola will turn the shoe industry on its head; in the process, they'll change the hearts of many.

What happened to little Simon? Well, you'll have to go see Kinky Boots, and see for yourself.

Look for Kinky Boots in a city near you. This broadway production will have you laughing and crying, feeling feelings that are raw and real. After you've seen it, come tell me what you thought. I'd love to hear from you!

Jacksonville, Fla. – Kinky Boots, the smash-hit musical that brings together four-time Tony^® Award-winner Harvey Fierstein (Book) and Grammy^® Award-winning rock icon Cyndi Lauper (Tony Award-winner for Best Score for Kinky Boots), opens in Jacksonville for its premier run May 2-7, 2017 at the Times-Union Center.

Directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots has won every major Best Musical Award and is represented around the world with the Tony Award-winning Broadway company now in its fourth year, a North American First National Tour that launched in September 2014, a London production that opened in September 2015 (where it won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Musical) and an Australian production that opened in October 2016. Previous productions include an extended run in Toronto, two Korean productions and a Japanese language production. The Grammy Award-winning Original Broadway Cast Recording of Kinky Boots is available on Sony Masterworks Broadway.

Kinky Boots took home six 2013 Tony Awards, the most of any show in the season, including Best Musical, Best Score (Cyndi Lauper), Best Choreography (Jerry Mitchell), Best Orchestrations (Stephen Oremus) and Best Sound Design (John Shivers). The show also received the Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Broadway.com Awards for Best Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Album, along with many other accolades.

Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from a gentlemen’s shoe factory in Northampton to the glamorous catwalks of Milan. Charlie Price is struggling to live up to his father’s expectations and continue the family business of Price & Son. With the factory’s future hanging in the balance, help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola, a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos.

The creative team for Kinky Boots includes Tony^® Award nominee David Rockwell (Scenic Design), Tony^® Award-winner Gregg Barnes (Costume Design), Tony Award-winner Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Tony^® Award-winner John Shivers (Sound Design), Josh Marquette (Hair Design), Randy Houston Mercer (Make-up Design), Telsey + Company, Justin Huff, CSA (Casting), DB Bonds (Associate Director) and Rusty Mowery (Associate Choreographer). Kinky Boots features Musical Direction by Ryan Fielding Garrett, and Musical Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations by Tony and Grammy Award-winner Stephen Oremus.

Kinky Boots is produced on Broadway and on tour by Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig, James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, Independent Presenters Network, CJ E&M, Jayne Baron Sherman, Just for Laughs Theatricals/Judith Ann Abrams, Yasuhiro Kawana, Jane Bergere, Allan S. Gordon & Adam S. Gordon, Ken Davenport, Hunter Arnold, Lucy and Phil Suarez, Bryan Bantry, Ron Fierstein and Dorsey Regal, Jim Kierstead/Gregory Rae, BB Group/Christina Papagjika, Michael DeSantis/Patrick Baugh, Brian Smith/Tom and Connie Walsh, Warren Trepp and Jujamcyn Theaters.

www.kinkybootsthemusical.com

www.twitter.com/KinkyBootsBway

www.facebook.com/KinkyBootsBway

Kinky Boots Performance Schedule:

Tuesday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, May 5 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, May 6 at 2 p.m.

Saturday, May 6 at 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 7 at 7 p.m.

Tickets for Kinky Boots start at $38.50, plus applicable fees. Tickets can be purchased at our box office from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, by calling (904) 442-2929, or online 24/7 at www.fscjartistseries.org.

A beautiful, Jacksonville sunset to make the night even better! If you ever find yourself in Jacksonville, head downtown, to the Riverwalk. You'll not only see the skyline to our great city, you'll see sunsets that will take your breath away. 

Jacksonville Jaguars Training Camp

It seems only fitting to repurpose this post on Super Bowl Sunday! I love looking back through these old photos of my boy. I hope you'll enjoy them, as well. After all, Gus Bradley is no longer the head coach of the Jaguars. This is like real history stuff right here! :)

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that Jonah started playing football at a local park. What began as a way for him to get out and exercise a couple of times a week with friends turned into a passion for him. When he started in the Spring it was a training camp type thing. Once he decided he loved it, we signed him up for the full-fledged game practicing. Jonah eats, breaths and sleeps FOOTBALL!

A while back, I read on Twitter that the Jacksonville Jaguars opened up 13 practices to the public. All I needed to do was go online and sign up for the dates we wanted. We went to two.

A couple of weeks ago Jonah and I went to EverBank Field to experience the Jacksonville Jaguars first Training Camp of the 2014 NFL football season.

Before heading towards the stadium we stopped at WalMart for a football. Jonah was so excited to be able to get autographs from a bunch of the players. And boy, did he get a LOT of autographs!! {as a momma, I was super bummed for him when the ONE player he waited for wouldn't stop to sign a football card because his family was with him. Chad Henne, Jonah was super upset but, he looks forward to getting your autograph really soon!}

On the days that we went to the practices, the temperatures were in the 90's and the heat index was near or over 100 degrees. It was HOT! I have no idea how those football players practice in that heat. It was sure fun to see it all happen, though. Living in Jacksonville, in a city with an NFL football is so cool. Never before were we really football fans. We certainly weren't Jaguars fans. But, now having a football player, our family has a new appreciation for what's right in our backyard. We LOVE our Jaguars!!

{Here's a BUNCH of pictures from the first practice and of Jonah getting autographs. Enjoy!}

Is Disney's THE JUNGLE BOOK Too Scary For Little Ones?

When asked if I'd like to go screen Disney's newest live-action film, The Jungle Book, I jumped at the opportunity. I've loved Disney's The Jungle Book classic [the animated version] for as long as I can remember. There's just something about little Mowgli and his best bear pal, Baloo. The fun loving duo could conquer the jungle...together. With a little wise guidance from Bagheera, that is.

While the 1967, animated film was fun, with all the sing-along music and dancing, the 2016, live-action film is full of ACTION, not a lot of singing. From the moment the movie began, I was on the edge of my seat. Mowgli [played by new actor, Neel Sethi] is a sweet little boy who was, just as the original, raised by a family of wolves. When Shere Kahn visits Peace Rock during the dry season, he tells Akela, the leader wolf and Mowgli's wolf dad, that he wants Mowgli out of the jungle. Akela and Raksha decide now is the time for Mowgli to mosey on down to the man village. And, so begins his journey...

So, you're wondering if you should take your little ones? I took my Jett. He's a brand new 9 year old. There was a little boy behind us that was maybe 4 or 5. I honestly think it depends on your kid. Have you shown him scary-ish movies in the past? Jett LOVES animals and watches animal documentaries that show about the same amount of territorial violence that The Jungle Book shows. Are there a few scenes that have "jump at you" type action? Yes. But, my 9 year old wasn't afraid. And the little boy behind us didn't seem spooked either. I say, use your best judgement on whether or not it's okay to take your young children.

I wouldn't take small children who are easily spooked, or who are afraid of growling animals. There are some pretty intense scenes.

Overall, The Jungle Book is a phenomenally made movie. We loved it!

How To Draw Judy Hopps From Disney's ZOOTOPIA

Ask me what my favorite movie of 2016 has been so far. Go ahead, ask me. ZOOTOPIA!! Hands down, best movie of 2016!

I took my 8 year old, Jett, with me to see a pre-screening, and it was fabulous! The trailer, honestly, didn't have me too excited for this film. But, I'm glad I went against my instincts to go see it.

Zootopia is laugh out loud hilarious. It'll teach you that no matter how small you may be, BIG things can happen when you believe in yourself. Also, when told you can't do something, try harder. Seriously, you guys, so many life lessons rolled into one film. I LOVE IT!

FUN FACT: Artists were inspired by Mufasa from Disney’s classic film “The Lion King” when creating the look of Mayor Lionheart. I thought he resembled some lion we've seen before. 

Wanna draw that go-getter little bunny who has hopped her way into everyone's heart? Grab a pencil and some paper, and watch this video. Oooohhh, she's just so cute!

If you haven't gone to see Zootopia yet, what are you waiting for?? If you have gone to see it, what did you think? Awesome, right?!?!

Like ZOOTOPIA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyZootopia  

Follow ZOOTOPIA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DisneyZootopia   

Follow Disney Animation on Instagram: https://instagram.com/disneyanimation/

Visit Disney Animation on Tumblr: http://disneyanimation.tumblr.com/

Visit the official ZOOTOPIA website here: http://movies.disney.com/zootopia

  

A Sweet Pairing for Valentine's Day with Josh Cellars Wine and Ghirardelli Chocolate {#asweetpairing}

A special thank you to Ghirardelli & Josh Cellar wine for sponsoring this post.  All opinions are my own.

As a mom of five, I rarely get an free evening to spend with girlfriends. My nights are filled with cheer practice, football practice, dinner prep, and bedtime routines. You can imagine my excitement when my husband told me to have a Valentine's Day themed Girls Night In that featured chocolate, wine, crafts, and girlfriends. 

My first stop for party supplies is always Walmart. This trip I found numerous varieties of Ghirardelli  chocolates, both for dessert making, gifting/party treat gifting and just plain 'ol eating. I also found Josh Cellar Wines that would be great for sipping as we craft. 

Strawberries dipped in Ghirardelli Chocolate Melting Wafers and then sprinkled with heart shaped sprinkles only sound childish, they are divine from the first to last bite!

Fresh grapes and strawberries, and Ghirardelli chocolate drizzled cream puffs made for the perfect snacks while sipping wine. 

Well, I didn't get a completely kid-free evening, McKinley stayed home with me. She was excited for a night with "just the girls," too. She was a big help in teaching my guests how to make the no-sew pillow covers.

This was everyone's finished pillow cover. I'll be sharing how we made them in an upcoming post. Stay tuned.

We had such a great night...just the girls. I'll be sure to not let too much time go by before I have another girls night!

Please remember, have fun with your girlfriends, but drink responsibly.