tears-n-tantrums

Long time no post ... boy has life changed!

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 05:42:00 +0000

Its been a very long time since I last posted here on the blog. Things in my life have changed drastically since then and I felt it was time to start blogging again.

One thing about blogging that I'm never sure of is .... how much of my "dirty laundry" do I talk about. Do I write about things in general or can I be somewhat detailed, and if I am detailed will it come back to bite me in the butt?

So I'm going with a general talk. So earlier this year my husband of 11 years decided to have an affair. Consiquently I have filed for divorce and now things are getting ugly even after going before a judge. It seems that some people refuse to acknowledge a judges orders.

This has been hard on my son who is now 6. I try to maintain a stable home for him and keep him out of all the divorce talks however, his father doesn't do that so much.

So now I am preparing for my next journey with Nate. I want to get him away from all the madness that is life now and move cross country to a family friendly town where he and I can reconnect as mother and child. I will be finishing up my nursing degree as well and I know in my heart that this is something that will be great for he and I both.

Now the journey of saving and earning enough money begins. I had the money saved but its all went to pay for attorney fees so I'm starting from scratch. If anyone has suggestions on extra things to do to make some extra cash (legit things) please feel free to let me know.

I promise that I will start blogging again daily and get back into the swing of things again.

How distasteful can one be?

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:44:00 +0000

This just disturbs me greatly. Our soldiers go to Iraq and other foreign countries fighting for us and when one dies people run out to slander them in any way they can.

What does this accomplish? Are their hurtful words not meant to hurt the one that died ... HELLO! Instead their hurtful words hurt the family that is left behind.

My friends buddy died this past Friday and an "anonymous" person has taken to slandering this man. I don't care if he had a bad past, life, bankruptcy, whatever ... don't chose now to do your hurtful actions.

Ok sorry off my soap box now.

Should .... Could

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:16:00 +0000

Please forgive me, life is crazy right now. I've gotta get thoughts out there if only for myself.

Sometimes things that are, are things that should not be.
Sometiems things that should be are things that we don't know how to get.
Sometimes we don't know how to changes the things that are, to be the things that should be.
Sometimes we could make things right.
Sometimes we have to get lost so that we can be found.

Again sorry I'm sure this makes no sense.

Beginnings

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:36:00 +0000

Well it's been along time since my last blog ... April I think. Things have been crazy. I finished classes last week and now have a short summer break before starting back up. I didn't pass one of my classes which has thrown a HUGE wrench in my plans. If I continue on my current course I'll be behind by at least 6 months. I've been thinking about doing a Surgical Tech program over the LPN as I fell in love with the OR when I did a rotation there.

I'm going this week to pick up an application for that program and see what happens from there. I got a membership to the gym yesterday and have went both yesterday and today. I got on the elliptical machine yesterday and I must say it kicked my butt. My thighs are so sore you'd think I ran a marathon. Today I was smarter and stuck to the treadmill and ab machines. I'm determined to lose this extra weight and not be so self conscious in my scrubs. I'm so excited to watch Biggest Loser tonight too ... I'm really cheering for Mike to win. He's done so well and it just amazes me how much he's lost in such a short time.

School and the never ending schedule.

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:48:00 +0000

Gah! I didn't realize that it had been so long since my last post. I've been working like crazy with nursing clinicals and trying to keep my grades up. Things have been challenging and eventful.

I've been having clinicals at the hospital and this past week was very sad to see my patient. She was an elderly woman who had a large ulcer on her leg that has become gangrenous. Her family has elected to have comfort care and not pursue surgery, antibiotics or any other treatment measures. They are strictly keeping her comfortable until the infection does her in. Seeing cases like this makes it hard sometimes.

There have been some events going on with Kate (Wayne's marrow recipient) that I'll mention later.

Hope all of you are doing well. We are expecting some April snow tonight (in Ga of all places) so that will be fun to see.

Happy Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:53:00 +0000

It was five years ago today that I was in the hospital waiting for my son to arrive. Since then he has grown into a bright and energetic little man. While there have been trials along the way I wouldn't change anything.

Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

Salt Dough Ornaments

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:30:00 +0000

This is a handy recipe to use with your children to make homemade ornaments for your tree, or even ornaments to give as gifts! This is super fast because there is no need to bake them, simply put them in the microwave.

You'll need:

4 cups of flour
1 cup of salt
1 1/2 cups of hot water
holiday cookie cutters
decorations, glitter, paint, beads, etc.

Knead the dough and roll it out to cut out shapes with cookie cutters (just like if you were making sugar cookies). Place them on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for about 2 minutes. Paint and decorate as desired.

Early Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals for you!

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:44:00 +0000

Ok so I'm in a festive mood this week with the Thanksgiving holiday and with seeing all the Christmas decorations that are going up. So I'm going to offer early holiday deals for this weeks Black Friday and next weeks Cyber Monday.

All orders placed at Ballyhoo Creations between tonight and 8am on Tuesday, December 2nd will recieve a 25% discount. There are alot of new holiday designs this year and if you want something that you don't see, I offer custom designs at NO additional cost! All designs can be modified to fit your style as well.

Crazy life of Clinicals

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:19:00 +0000

Well I haven't posted an a while because I have been so busy with clinicals. We have been working at a local nursing home and I have to say that my mother and father will never go to a nursing home.

I've never been a fan of nursing homes because the quality of care is normally not what I would want for my loved one. I know that some families have no other option and nursing homes are a saving grace for them.

My patient this past week was a lady in her 60's. She's been at the facility for almost one year. She was able to walk and such when she arrived and now she is completely bed-bound and extremely rigid. She no longer talks and has to have total care for all of her daily functions.

Tomorrow morning I'll be at a new nursing home. We met our patients this past Friday and my new patient is in worse condition. She is not eating and her weight is down to 86 lbs. She is unconscious all the time and also required total care for all daily functions.

I must say that tomorrow at 3pm can not get her fast enough. Tuesday we have an orientation at the local hospital and then we get a long break for the Thanksgiving holiday.

They're here .........

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:48:00 +0000

All new Christmas/Hanukkah/Holiday designs are now available at Ballyhoo Creations. In the excitement of the new site design I'm also going to offer a 20% discount to any orders placed before November 21st. Just let me know that you saw my blog.

Foleys, NG's and Enema's

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 00:20:00 +0000

Sounds exciting huh ... lol.

Today was my third set of check-off's for nursing school. We had to pass proficiencies for the enema's, NG tubes, and foley's (with sterile technique). I was very nervous as we have only had hands on practice for ONE day.

We also had our first dress rehearsal wearing our uniforms. I must say that who ever thought it was a good idea to have students wear WHITE uniforms is silly. Just one betadine swab and those pants are trash!

Almost every one in our class passed check-off's .... I passed as well.

I've also gotten a new site designer for Ballyhoo Creations and will be debuting the new design this coming week. Be sure to check back as I'm going to offer a special discount to the blog readers! There will be a lot of new designs especially Christmas/Hanukkah designs!

Have a great evening!!

They're trying to kill me ....

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:27:00 +0000

So I just finished my first nursing class. Proudly I passed with a B so I am very happy. We started our second skills class this week. Yesterday we managed to have two vocabulary quizzes, and two exams for the same class ..... oh and it was all within a 3 hour class!

Today I we had the unit exam which I proudly made a 98 on. We start doing clinicals next month and I'm ready. I've been looking into LPN to RN bridge programs so that I can start planning for my next move.

Hope everyone is doing well and that this economy isn't getting the best of ya!

Christmas designs coming soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:17:00 +0000

I am working feverishly to get all of the new holiday designs completed and up on the website. There are some holiday cards shown on the site right now but I am hoping to have the new designs added very very soon.

I'd love to create a custom holiday card for you. I do take pre-orders as well if you might be interested in that.

Check out Ballyhoo Creations and see if we have a design that you like (custom work is available at no extra charge).

Top droppers from Entrecard

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:53:00 +0000

I don't always get to post a comment on their blogs but I do try to visit each and every blog that drops their card. Here are the current top droppers:

Dropper and # of drops

Sage and Savvy 31

Get a Grip, Mom! 27

The Wise (*Young*) Mommy 26

Tara's View of the World 24

Havoc & Mayhem 21

An Island Life 21

Simply Shiny Artisan Handmade Jewelry 17

An Island Review 15

Cheaper Than Therapy 14

Jiggety Jigg 12

New Holiday Designs Coming Soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:46:00 +0000

We'll I've been busy working on new holiday designs at Ballyhoo Creations and a whole new website design as well. Everything is almost done and ready to launch. Here are a few of the new designs that I'll be offering for the 2008 season as well as those from years past.

First Day of Pre-K

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:59:00 +0000

Today is the beginning of school for Nate. His school has three different Pre-K rooms with three different start times. I've never been one to be an early riser so it was no shock when karma hit and we got the 7:30am class. It's probably for the best though as my nursing classes will start at 8am and later they will begin at 6am.

Cucumber Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:50:00 +0000

2 large cucumbers, peeled and in thin to medium slices
1 package of cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 bottle of Zesty Italian Salad Dressing

Wash and peel the cucumber and slice in thin to medium slices put in a large bowl. Wash and slice the tomatoes in halves and put on top of cucumbers. Peel and half and onion then cut into thin slices, place on top of other items in bowl.

You can then stir the bowl with either a large wooden spoon or your hands and mix everything together. After you do that pour the entire bottle of dressing on top of the cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before eating.

Apologies

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:43:00 +0000

I just got word that Sitemeter decieded to stop working in IE. For anyone that may have tried to access the site and got an error code I apologize. I have removed the sitemeter code and everything is working now.

Crying for a man I didn't know

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:58:00 +0000

So many months ago I wrote a post about Randy Pausch. He has become know world round for his 'Last Lecture'. Sadly he died last week. A man who in the face of death chose to live in the now and not worry about what will come, even though he knew that it was coming. He chose to run and play with his children, to spend time with family, and to talk to people like you and me. His words inspired many to examine their lives, he helped parents and children talk, and helped others who are sick to move past the feeling of dread and continue to live their lives.

It's hard to think that we can cry for someone that we have never met, but we do. Every once in a while someone comes along and touches us. I think that Randy Pausch touched millions even though he never had the intentions of doing such, and I think that he may have made the world a better place for it.

I pray for his wife and their three small children and that they may find some peace in a time of horrible pain.

Tax Free School Shopping List

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:30:00 +0000

If you're like me you want to save as much money as you can. Paying $4 a gallon for gas is really taking a toll on my pocket book and now I have to buy school supplies for not only me but also my son who is going to pre-k. Here is a list of states that have tax free weekends coming up.

Alabama - Aug 1st to 3rd

Clothing under $100
School supplies under $50
Books under $30
Computers/computer equipment under $750

Connecticut - Aug 17th to 23rd

Clothing under $300
Shoes under $300

Florida is not having a tax free weekend this year like it has in the past. It was not approved this year.

Georgia - July 31st to Aug 3rd

Clothing under $100
Computers/computer equipment under $1500
School supplies under $20

Note: Georgia has also scheduled a separate tax free week for the purchase of energy efficient appliances (priced under $1500) for October 2-5, 2008.

Iowa - Aug 1st and 2nd

Clothing under $100
Shoes under $100

Maryland will have tax free weekends again in 2010.

Missouri - Aug 1st and 2nd

Clothing under $100
School supplies under $50
Computer software under $350
Computers/computer equipment under $3,500

Note: Some cities and counties in Missouri elect not to participate.

New Mexico - Aug 1st to 3rd

All clothing and shoes under $100
School supplies under $15
Computers under $1,000
Computer equipment under $500

North Carolina - Aug 1st to 3rd

Clothing, footwear, and school supplies under $100
Sports and recreation equipment under $50
Computers under $3,500
Computer equipment under $250

Oklahoma - Aug 1st to 3rd

Clothes and shoes under $100

South Carolina - Aug 1st to 3rd

Clothing
Accessories
Footwear
School supplies
Computers
Computer equipment

Tennessee - Aug 1st to 3rd

Clothing under $100
School supplies under $100
Computers under $1500

Texas - Aug 15th to 17th

Clothing and footwear under $100
*Includes layaway items

Virginia - Aug 1st to 3rd

Clothing and footwear under $100
School supplies under $20

Note: October 10-13, 2008 Qualifying Energy Star products purchased for noncommercial home or personal use $2,500 per item will be tax free as well.

Washington D.C. - Aug 2nd to 10th

Clothing under $100
Accessories under $100
Shoes under $100
School supplies under $100

* includes layaway items

Clinical Trials for Crohn's Disease

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:34:00 +0000

There are many clinical trials that are currently being conducted for Crohn's Disease. In these clinical trials you are NOT required to have health insurance either. You receive medical care required for the trial which may include testing like lab work, CT scans, colonoscopy, EKG or other test. Here is a list with links to some trials that are recruiting.

Clinical Trial in Nashville

Stem Cell Trial in Nashville

Clinical Trial in Atlanta

Another Trial in Atlanta

I'm in no way endorsing any of these trials, I am only trying to bring the information to you. If you do a Google search for Crohn's Clinical Trials you will get a huge variety of trials. There are trials available in almost every state including Canada.

Help end hunger!

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:25:00 +0000

So while reading a friends myspace blog I read about this site called Free Rice. This website is free for everyone and there is no software to download. You go play a vocabulary game and for every word you get right a donation of 20 grains of rice is given. The more you play, the more rice is given to hungry people.

I sat and played for about 20 minutes and had already gotten to over 6500 grains of rice. So if you have some free time sit down and test your vocabulary skills and see how much rice you can donate!!

Active Crohn's Disease and Pregnancy

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:16:00 +0000

Active Crohn's Disease during pregnancy can be managed with proper health care. I personally would recommend all women with Crohn's to see the care of a Perinatologist. These doctors specialized solely in the care and health of your unborn baby. While your GI would never wish any harm to your baby, their job is to care for your digestive system and OB's are very broad in their treatments.

When seeing a Peri be prepared for more doctors visits. This is not a bad thing though because it will allow you to see your baby more often and also provide close medical care of your baby. Most doctors will tell you that active Crohn's will stay active during your pregnancy and inactive Crohn's will stay inactive during pregnancy. This can be true but do not live by it, our health and bodies are very tricky things and your health can change at a moments notice.

Crohn's Disease especially active Crohn's can increase your chances of pre-term birth. I personally delivered 4 weeks early. I was lucky and my son had no complications aside from normal jaundice.

As soon as you find out you are pregnant you need to contact your OB/Gyn and your GI doctor. Many common medications taken to treat Crohn's Disease is not safe for use during pregnancy. One that is especially dangerous is methotrexate. Methotrexate (Category X) and thalidomide (Category X) are two immunosuppressive drugs that should not be used during pregnancy as they do have an effect on an unborn child. Methotrexate can cause abortion and skeletal abnormalities, and it should be discontinued three months prior to conception, if possible. Thalidomide is well known for causing limb defects as well as other major organ complications in a fetus. Use is only permitted with rigorous birth control and frequent pregnancy testing.

Imuran and 6-MP (Category D) do cross the placenta and can be detected in cord blood. However, they might be recommended with caution during pregnancy by some physicians to combat a serious flare-up. These drugs do not increase the risk of birth defects.

So it is very important to contact your doctors as soon as you find out that you are pregnant.

Surgery, Christmas, Tantrums and Croup oh my!

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:40:00 +0000

Ah it's been crazy here. I'm not sure where in the rule book it says that your child must start running a fever of 104 AFTER 6pm when all doctors offices are closed, but it happens every time!

We took a nice family trip to Nashville the last weekend in June and had a great time. After being home for 2 days Nate developed a really high fever. I treated with Tylenol and Motrin around the clock for 3 days. When he wasn't getting better I decided to take him to the doctor. Well turns out that he's getting the croup. Who gets the croup in July?!?!

So he started steroids and let me tell ya .... it's been so much fun that I can't contain myself (insert sarcasm!).

I'm having surgery tomorrow to replace my port a cath. This will be my 3rd replacement in about 5 years. Hopefully this one will last me another two years.

This month is the beginning of Christmas designing time at my business Ballyhoo Creations. You always have to try and stay one step ahead of your competition but it never happens lol. That's OK though.

I've kept Nate at home for the last two weeks and while it's been fun I can tell that it's time for him to head back to school. For some reason after being home for a few days he becomes super bossy and ornery, nothing a few days at school can't fix.

So it's almost midnight and I have to be at the hospital early tomorrow. Depending on how I feel I'll try to upload some of the photos that we took in Nashville tomorrow.

Have a great one!!

Crohn's Disease and the wipeout

noreply@blogger.com (Tonya) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:12:00 +0000

First I want to apologize to those of you who read my blog. I've been very lax as of late about posting regularly. It's been due to a combination of going to school and a serious flare of my Crohn's Disease.

This past week things have felt like a downward spiral and I'm not sure what has set it off. Last Friday (Friday the 13th of course) I was on my way for my latest infusion in the clinical trial. Well as we are trying to back out of the driveway ..... nothing! The car would not move, so needless to say our car is in the shop as I type this getting a new transmission. Friday when that happened everything seemed to hit me all at once with me not feeling well, Wayne's knee injury, my uncle being sick, and now the car not working that I had a full blown panic attack and was unable to breathe. I have to say that that is a VERY scary thing to experience.

Wayne was finally able to get me calmed down and we borrowed a car to get to the hospital. Of course my blood pressure was sky high. I told the nurse that that was probably going to be my last infusion in the trial. I don't feel like I should waste medication that may be able to actually help someone else .. kwim? She said that she totally understood and that she agreed with my thinking as well. So next month I'll be talking to my GI about what steps to take next.

I'm waiting (on needles) to find out if I have been accepted into the nursing program. They will be sending out letters at the end of June, first of July so that is killing me too!

I've began a completely new redesign of my site Ballyhoo Creations as well. I'm really liking the new design and hope to have it completed soon. I've spoken with Kailani over at An Island Life about having a giveaway so I may try to line the two up to go with each other!

OK enough rambling for now. Hope you all are doing well and are staying cool or dry, depending on where you're at.