Ro is me!

Having a Life-Threatening Illness has made Me Realize Stuff

2011-11-10T14:51:00.000-08:00

It's been 9 months since I was first admitted to the hospital for my illness. 9 long months. 9 long months filled with hospitalizations, loss of consciousness, doctor appointments, injections, transfusions, pills, MRIs, bloodwork, and a bone marrow biopsy. Despite all that drama, I've realized so much this year. 1. I am very, very loved. I didn't even realize how much others loved, cared for,

Tiny = Me?

2011-08-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

I have a pretty good relationship with my parents. They still call me baby, precious, and sweetheart, and we always say "I love you" before saying goodbye on the phone or in person. Despite having the good relationship, it's still hard for me to "get" that I am to them what Tiny is to me. The other day, we were hanging out in their living room. Tiny was playing on the floor with some blocks

Moon Face! Buffalo Hump!

2011-05-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

No, they're not "goons" from some 1950's mobster movie. They're side effects of one of the meds (Prednisone) I'm taking for my health drama. And? They suck. In March, I started on 80 mg/day of this devil drug. Before I knew it, I was transformed into this crazy looking beast that I was sad to look at every day in the mirror. Seriously. I wish this were the moon face I'm talking about. Not

To my Son, on Mothers Day

2011-05-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

In the words of "Uncle Jesse": "If every word I said could make you laugh, I'd talk forever... If the song I sing to you could fill your life with joy, I'd sing forever"Forever is a long time, but I'm certain that I'll love you that long, if not longer. You are the most amazing little boy I've known. You're smart, funny, charming, loving, affectionate, and so much more than I could ever dream

So, I don't have Tiger Blood.

2011-04-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

What's the opposite of tiger? Whatever that is, this February, I found out that that's the kind of blood I have. I noticed that something was up in January. My body started feeling weak. I noticed my heartrate becoming faster as the days went by. I became winded doing easy, everyday tasks (you know it's bad when you need to take a breather after turning over in bed. Ugh.). I became very pale. I

I kick butt.

2011-04-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

No, really. I do. When I last posted, I talked about dealing with some stuff, and I think I'm ready to talk about it now. I think I'm ready because I am coming out on the other side, and yes, kicking butt at it. See, this past August, I was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Crazy, right? I'd suspected for many years that I had PTSD, but I'd become so used to just "dealing with it"

Yep, I'm still alive...

2010-12-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a while. Almost 7 months, actually. Very much has happened, and to be quite honest, I don't really want to get into it. I will mention this, though. My blog's new look is something special to me and I wanted to share a bit about it. It really symbolizes what the past 7 months have been for me. At first glance, the tree may look like a cherry blossom, but it is not. It is a plum

Here kitty, kitty!

2010-05-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

Back in 2007, we adopted a cat from our local shelter. She was an adult cat, about 3 years old. Her previous owners had abandoned her when they moved. When I saw her at the shelter, she was very friendly. She required a special diet and she was also declawed. I thought she'd be a good fit for us because we weren't planning on letting our cat outdoors anyway and the special food wasn't that much

1, 2, Three Times a Toothie

2010-05-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

What's that I see protruding out of Tiny's gums? Ah, his third tooth is cutting through! It looks like I've got a little shark on my hands! He's still really sick, the poor baby. Sick and teething. Add that to the fact that I'm starting to feel sick, too, and it's pretty harsh living 'round these parts. On the bright side, I signed us up for Netflix for Wii, so now I'll finally get to watch all

Misery Loves Company

2010-05-17T06:29:00.000-07:00

Both of my guys are sick. The big one has a bad cold and the little one has a very bad cold. I'm not quite sure who got whom sick, but it's SO sad to see them both "crying tears from their nostrils" and having a hard time breathing. Tiny woke up a few times last night and it took me SO LONG to rock him back to sleep. He just kept groaning. It sounded like he was crying out, "Hoooooooooohhh...

Sweet

2010-05-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

I received some very sweet gifts yesterday for Mother's Day and I wanted to take some time to show you dem! My sister got me a bouquet of flowers! It was cute because when I walked in, I saw a lone rose sitting on a counter and thought, "That's odd." Later, when she gave me the bouquet, I figured out why it was there. I don't like roses, so she took it out of the bouquet before she gave it to

This Mother's Day, my tears are of joy.

2010-05-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

My husband and I were talking yesterday about how this Mother's Day and Father's Day will be different that the ones we've had. We were thinking and talking about the long and painful road that brought us to our Tiny and I brought up something that we hadn't spoken about since it happened. It was the Friday before Mother's Day and I was at work. One of my co-workers came to my desk and started

Babyproofing?!

2010-05-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

So, Tiny is crawling. Seriously crawling. This is scary for me because I've got two taaaaaaall CD towers and a TV stand thing with very pointy corners. My living room looks sorta like this: Please don't make fun of my furniture arranging skills (or lack thereof). As you can see, the room is SUPER awkward. I couldn't find a good place for things so the TV is in a weird place in relation to the

Tiny is CRAWLING!!!

2010-04-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe he is on the move already! Yesterday at Gymboree, he went from all fours to sitting for the first time AND semi-pulled to stand. Then, when we got home, we were playing on the rug and he kept going after my glasses. He's been rocking on all fours and trying to crawl for about 3 weeks now, so I put my glasses on the rug a few feet away from him and he CRAWLED to grab them! When

Sleep Training with Tiny and Ro

2010-04-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

I'd been going back and forth on the whole sleep training thing for about a month before I started. The Hubs and I had talked and talked about it, but we just couldn't do it.I'd been paying attention to his sleep habits. He would sleep about 11-12 hours a night without eating. He would wake at night, pretty much every hour on the hour, only for his pacifier. "He's ready" I would say to myself,

To the moon and back!

2010-04-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't go to the moon. I did however go and return from vacation!This is how it went down with Tiny:We left for Vegas on Tuesday and my parents had Tiny. On Wednesday, we brought my parents and Tiny to Vegas. They stayed in a nearby hotel. We hung out with them during their days there, but did our other scheduled stuff without them, too. On Friday, they left to go back home. And Sunday,

I should buy stock in hankies.

2010-04-14T06:59:00.000-07:00

I've always been a pretty emotional person. I've cried over a few commercials (yes, commercials). But now, I feel like I cry even MORE. (How is that possible?! It defies science!) Every time I hear about a baby being mistreated or mothers being separated from their children, I get misty eyed. Before, it would bother me, but not to the extent it does now. The other night, after Tiny woke up for

Being a New Mom is Isolating

2010-04-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

Maybe I was too exhausted or consumed in Tiny's cuteness to notice it, but you know what?Being a new mom is isolating.It seems like all of a sudden, your world revolves around this new little creature and s/he is pretty much all you think about. Every time s/he does something new, you are overjoyed and want to share it with the world. You stop having normal conversations. You don't go out as much

Sign me up! (Maybe.)

2010-04-06T07:22:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that most of you guys have seen this little sign hanging from the back windows of cars or as magnets stuck to the back by the trunk. I don't have one on my car, but I've been thinking of getting one for a while now. See, I've been in three major car accidents (2 rollovers + rear-ended by a delivery truck on the fwy). None of them were my fault, yet they all resulted in my car being

Some LOLs to celebrate April Fool's Day

2010-04-01T05:27:00.000-07:00

Oh man, this momma cat's face says it all. I've been there, girlfriend. I've SO been there. Happy April Fool's Day!

I'm getting nervous.

2010-03-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

Next month, the Hubs and I will be going on a week long vacation. Without Tiny. At first, I was all, "YES!" because he's still not STTN and momma needs her sleep. But now that we're getting closer to the event, I'm getting nervous. I know that it's good for my hubby and I to get away and that we're going to have a great time. And he'll be staying with my parents, so I know he'll be in good

Hi, Chair!

2010-03-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago, we went out with my parents and siblings to the Macaroni Grill. (If you haven't tried their Blackberry Mint Tea, you are SO missing out!) We'd been using those slings for the carseat, so we asked for one. We were the first in our party to arrive. When we were seated, we noticed the hostess had also put a high chair for our table. We placed the carseat with Tiny in it on the

BLOWOUT!

2010-03-22T05:16:00.000-07:00

I was one of those moms. You know, the ones who think it wouldn't happen to them. I mean, I'd made it six and a half months without a blowout, so SURELY I was doing something right in the diapering department, right?! Well, last night Tiny had his first blowout. And it was a glorious one. I was feeding him the last bottle of the night. He started getting squirmy and looked like he was

Good Week

2010-03-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

You know those weeks that are just good weeks? I had one :) On Monday, Tiny's 6 month appointment went well! His ear infection is gone! Yay! He's a healthy boy weighing 19lbs and 2oz and measuring 28in long. 75% for weight and 90% for length. He took his shots like a champ. The hubs went to the appointment with us, so he comforted Tiny after the pokes and he only cried for about 20 seconds. (

Proof that fruit will somehow kill and/or maim us all.

2010-03-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my sister sent me the following text: Dude, I totally just slapped myself with an orange wedge and I thought of you. There are 2 things I love about that text. 1.) She slapped herself with an orange wedge. 2.) She thought of me when it happened. Why would she think of me? Probably because I'm the only person she knows who would ever manage to slap herself with an orange wedge.