Baby, It's Cold Outside~

Although we nearly froze our important parts off, we ventured out with those crazy Ramirez' to go ice skating. Little did we know Jon has been holding out on the ice skating skills for years... apparently he used to be quite the ice skater (picturing Jon Heder in Blades of Glory). Well... it turns out he has some fierce competition with Miss Avalyn. For her first time she got out there and was fearless to say the least.

Not too shabby and you sure look good doing it...

I can do this.. really I can.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

So before I give you the latest Simard update, who can explain to me whether the 12 days of Christmas are the twelve days prior to Christmas day or is it twelve days beginning with Christmas day? Inquiring minds want to know. Jon thinks it is after, I say before.

Okay, on to the updates. First is Avalyn and Murphy's Law. So last week she gets her urine tested and we get the good news that we get to wait a whole month before she needs to be tested and we are all cheers, yeah... ! ... until two days later she is puking her crazy little guts out and they want her back in pronto. (figures?!) The good news is everything turned out fine and the peds office is kind enough to be as paranoid as her mother...= )! (As an aside, they were afraid that the kidneys could be the culprit of the vomiting, although as most would suspect she had the same stomach flu as everyone else.) So we are back to a month (yay...) Assuming Piper stays healthy!

So non--health related news. Get ready! Next month starts our first Girl Scout cookie adventure and we are expecting you to stuff your face with tag-a-longs and thin mints for a good cause! I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile she is having tons of fun with her troup and making new friends every day (lol, must get that from dad).

As for Piper..no walking but oh my goodness she is a character. Today she began doing the monkey walk (on her hands and feet, booty in the air). She is cutting a few molars right now and in spite of the random crankiness she still has time to make us crack up regularly. She is the Simards' daily reminder that life isn't so bad. She can even make Avalyn crack up.

As for Jon and I we are just trying to get ready for Christmas. We are filing a formal complaint against our HOA for giving the Halloween awards to 3 "other" houses (apparently they don't like to give it to the same house two years in a row..bummer!).

Well, that's all for now...

Merry Christmas to all! And to all a Good Night!

Good news!

Not much to report except Avalyn's scores are back down to normal and she now gets to test only monthly. Dr. said if she gets sick (cold or what not) then she will need to go in regardless of it's seriousness just to make sure kidneys are tolerating it. Otherwise, she should be good to go for a while. Don't be surprised if in a month the levels are back up though; that is expected.

SO YAY!!! I don't have to go to the pediatrician's office for a whole month!

OMG... there is less than three weeks to Christmas!

Well I finally got these two finals turned in only to realize in all the chaos I managed to turn 29 amidst some drunken debauchery ala Downtown Denver (okay no debauchery, just good times), and Piper has become a babbling wild woman, Avalyn thinks it is okay that she sit at school all day in soaking wet clothes, in 20 degree weather and WTH! there is less than three weeks until Christmas. Where have I been?

Aside from this I am going to be rendevue -ing as an independent consultant for The Body Shop at Home (in other words, call me so you can have a party or order some goodies for yourself).

Jon is doing well too. He is disappointed we haven't got the formal award for our Halloween House yet but he is still working diligently to place for Christmas as well. It is the funniest thing when people find out where I live they say... "OMG, you live in the Halloween House?!" Yes- that's us and despite our creepy exterior the inside is fairly normal (aside from the people in it anyway...) What can I say? There are some things Jon does very well and Halloween tops the list.

And Avalyn's News

The latest update is Avalyn's levels (as expected) are back down to trace, not surprisingly as this roller coaster never seems to end. I am going to put my money down that in two weeks they are back up...let's see.

Oh and the (obviously not aware of the situation) nurse informed me, "trace is normal, she could be wiping too hard." LMSBO (laughing my skinny butt off)! I gently told her this has been going on since September, I highly doubt it's because she is wiping too hard. (Not to mention the freak illness that accompanied the bad urine tests.) Oh well.. we can't all be good at words..= )

So again... 2 weeks is the next test. Meanwhile make sure to read below for Piper's birthday updates and check out the goonie pic of the whole family and make sure to have a ...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Piper's 1st Birthday

So she is officially one years old. (can I get an ahhh...?)

She enjoyed the festivities and cupcakes. She was full of loves and giggles for everyone that came.

Today was her one year check up at the pediatricians and yikes... five shots is torture. Not to mention she was over-tired so already screaming at everyone. Sometimes I agree that these vaccinations are excessive. But as for good news- she is 29 1/2 inches and 19 pounds, 3 ounces- so they are not concerned about her weight anymore (last time she was only in the 5th percentile for weight, she's 25th now). And development is all as it should be except I am supposed to let her color with crayons more...HAHAHAHHA!

Tomorrow is her one year portraits, so stay tuned for some adorable pictures...

...

~A Bunch of Goof Balls~ 11-22-2008

Here we go again...

The picture is to show off Avalyn's sewing skills.. calling all sweat shops.. cute little 6 year old available for work NOW....= )



Soooooo...We should be used to this by now huh?

Today was Avalyn's urine test and yes the blood and protein levels are back up AGAIN. Last week there was zero protein and only a minimal amount of blood, this week both levels were "moderate." She still seems ok other than a trace of the stomach flu and a sudden super emo-ness (she cried over a dead ladybug, tears and all). We assume this is just what her body is going to do but we are back to weekly tests.. so we'll see you next Tuesday again.

Meanwhile... Piper said 2 new things today. She said "get it" and "ducky." She was repeating me and I was pretty excited. She hasn't really said anything new since daddy and that was a couple months ago... still no sign of walking but she may have realized that she could stand if she wanted to, problem is she really doesn't want to. I probably won't have a chance to blog between now and Friday so here is my official...

Happy First Birthday Piper! We Love You!

It's November Already!!!

Piper says Hello Everybody...

Yes, it is true. November is upon us. In the Simard house that means Piper is turning one soon and Dawn (me) is turning 29 (no really, I am still younger than all of you). There is still no sign of walking on the Piper front but she has become as daddy refers to her a -"chuckle head." She is so giggly it is so much fun. She loves to get into things, kitchen cupboards and fridgerator magnets are her favorite.

Avalyn is also doing a little better. She tested borderline for mono so they believe that was playing a big part in hindering those darn kidneys. Last week she had no protein in her urine and just a small amount of blood. With that in mind we are going to wait an extra week before testing her again as it does not do any good to constantly test her when her results are always the same. She had a wonderful birthday party, lots of good friends there and she was very happy with all her gifts. Uncle Robert and Auntie Drea got her a jewelry box and a bracelet with her name on it which she took to school for show and tell this past Wednesday.

On a different note.. how about our next President? Jon and I are happy we finally won an election and are pleasantly waiting for Bush's departure. I even worked (lol.. for one hour) the campaign on Election Day. I had a great time being in the hustle-bustle of the die-hards.

Aside from that all is the same. We are bracing for winter and I am crossing my fingers it is a mild one. I am ready for spring again already...

Oh my Avalyn...

Well it's 9 p.m. and tonight 6 years ago I was getting ready for the ride of my life (a.k.a. child birth)... my baby is going to be 6 in the morning...eesh- we are getting old!

Enough about that though. Good news for her birthday. After fighting with the lady at the doctor's office (she was new and rude..nuff said) they called yesterday and let us know her blood came back in all normal levels. So what that means is that although her kidneys are being, well for lack of better word- dumb, they are not affecting any other systems in her body. In other words, there is really nothing to treat. It is not uncommon for this to go on for months or years without ever progressing (now they tell me) into kidney failure.

So... we will continue to do weekly urine tests until we have two clean weeks. Then it goes to monthly, and so on. I am not going to report each week so you can assume that no news means same or better.

Thank you times a million for everyone that has been diligently calling and asking questions, it means the world to know that y'all care so much about our baby, like we do. Now is time to celebrate though..... Happy Birthday to Avi!!!!

Oh and HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL OF YOU!!!

Avalyn Update

Well, I think I have this thing figured out. (hahahahaha).. So the good news is her blood pressure is normal. However, her urine still has blodd and protein in it but the levels are not increasing. They had a medical student who is studying HSP there today and she did a full overview on Avalyn, then the regular doctor did her once over as well. Dr. Bledsoe says she had a little boy a few years ago that went on this way (blood & protein in urine) for a year and a half and then one day it all went away and he was fine. They suspect that is what will happen with Avalyn. Meanwhile, they did a full blood panel today..CBC, Renal Panel, Mono test, etc. They are testing for a number of illnesses to see if there is anything that needs to be treated before kidney function will improve. They also mentioned that her lymphnodes are slightly swollen which could indicate an infection (blood will show).

So the bottom line is her kidneys appear to be functioning well enough that we do not need to go in to panic mode (lmao.. they tell me this now....) but they are going to continue monitoring her without treating anything if or until there are additional symptoms to treat (.i.e blood pressure, illness, infection, or if the blood shows something her blood pressure and urine did not.)

Halloween Comes Early

Friday night was the Simards' First Annual (lol) Halloween Party. The party had a great turn out, everyone was there. From Bin Laden to Sarah Palin, witches, angels, devils, priests, old ladies, and of course the blood-suckers that threw the party, everyone but Obama was equally represented.

Avalyn was excited to get dressed up and hang with some friends, Piper fell asleep about 15 minutes after the first guests arrived. I have a new recipe that was awwwwe some.. it's a pumpkin pie dip that is basically canned pumpkin, powdered sugar and cream cheese mixed together with some cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice... OMG.. good stuff with cookies.

Overall, it was a great party. I think it was the first time I have been able to let my hair down without freaking out about Piper. We were pleased that a bunch of our neighbors showed up and some guy that looked like Jon too (one of Jon's co-workers came dressed as Jon..hair style and all).

This is going to be a busy week. Tuesday afternoon is Avalyn's doctor's appointment, Wednesday she gets to trick or treat with her troop at the Brighton Care Center (Nursing Home), Friday is her birthday and Halloween (last year she had more fun giving out candy than trick or treating) and Saturday is her birthday party...fun, fun, fun. So for those that call me.. forgive me if I am a little dishoveled this week! Love you guys... thanks again to everyone that has been keeping tabs on Avalyn, I know it sounds terrible but it makes me feel better to know I am not the only one freaking out. BTW I finally got that call from the doctor's office; they advised me that they are taking direction from the specialists at Children's Hospital and that on Tuesday if her tests are abnormal she will be sent to CHOC (Colorado has a CHOC too) for further evaluation. Sounds scary but at least we know they are looking out. oxoxo

Avalyn Update

First, the funny part of the story.

So this morning as Avalyn is leaving for school we go in the bathroom for our weekly "urine collection" and of course.. she can't go. Finally, as she is almost late for school I get just enough. I put the lid on, put it in the "black bag" and Jon and I take her to school.

We come back from dropping her off and grab the pee only to find the lid wasn't screwed on so... it spilled all in the bag. Argh...

Good times...

So after school I took her over to the doctor to get it tested only to find.. yet again, her blood and protein levels are up. Her doctor wasn't available so as of right now we are scheduled to see the doctor next Tuesday (ahhhh... I don't think I can wait another week to find out what the heck is going on).

The doctor is supposed to call me before then to talk about what's next but I am still waiting.

Here We Go....

Well, well, well.. I have been threatening a blog site for some time and when I realized how easy (and free) it was I knew the time had come. This site will house a variety of blogs. Mostly, it is going to be for family photos and updates; however, for those that know me (or have seen my myspace) you know that I love to write my epiphany blogs as well. So.. there will be some of those every now and then.

So to begin with I'll give you the latest scoop on us crazy Simards.

First Jon... he has gone off the deep end but is the idol of neighbors and crossing guards alike. Our house looks like something out of a horror movie but I am certain it will grab us some gift cards when we take first place in the Halloween decorating contest yet again...

Aside from that he is still managing for Costco. He actually has a schedule I can live with these days and it's nice. It may have taken us almost 10 years but it seems we are finally establishing some sort of home life routine. OH crap.. We're growing up!!!

Next on the list is Avalyn. Avalyn turns 6 on Halloween and is jumping out of her skin with anticipation for her birthday and Halloween.

Avalyn just finished her first round of soccer and it seems she is hooked. Not to mention, she is really good. Must be those long legs of her's but she kicks some bootay at the defense. I can't wait for the warm weather and soccer time to return.

Avalyn seems to be at the end of this "freak illness" as I have resorted to calling it. For those that haven't heard the whole story, right before we left for California last month she came home from school complaining her legs hurt real bad and that she had mosquito bites all over. Turns out they weren't mosquito bites. We took her in the following day (the day before we were to leave for California) and (Thank God) they diagnosed her within ten minutes. She has what's called Henoch Schonlein Purpura. The condensed version of what that is goes like this: is a systemic vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels) ...
Typical symptoms include palpable purpura (small hemorrhages in the skin), joint pains and abdominal pain. Most cases are self-limiting and require no treatment apart from symptom control, but the disease may relapse in a third of the cases and cause irreversible kidney damage in about one in a hundred cases.[1] The exact cause of Henoch-Schönlein purpura is unknown, although it may occur after certain viral and bacterial infections, as well as an adverse drug reaction to some medications. (Wikipedia, 2008). "

HSP typically lasts 4 -6 weeks and we are rounding out week 6 and the rash seems to have disappeared. I should back track a minute and explain that Avalyn has had "kidney involvement" on this illness. Nothing major, but her urine tests have come back with blood in them and then it went away and then it came back with a vengance. It seems to have cleared again but she will continue to have her kidneys checked regularly for at least one year.

The current situation is that last week's test came back 100% clear (HOORAY) and she will be tested again tomorrow. If tomorrow's is clear than we get to wait a whole month (as opposed to the current weekly testing) before having them tested again.

Meanwhile, as Avalyn is great at.. this entire time she has been in fantastic spirits about the illness. In the beginning (while we were in California) she had the swelling and arthritis (another complication of HSP) bad and she still went on as if everything was peachy. She's a trooper, that's for sure.

She's also joined a Girl Scouts' Daisies Troop and loves it! Stay tuned for cookie sales in January!!!

On to little Miss Piper. Piper is about to hit 11 months and (thank goodness) is not walking yet. She is crawling, standing and is likely to walk any day. She's still the little sweetheart she's been since birth but I think she is starting to get the family sense of humor even. She only says a few words but babbles on full conversations with everyone. She's still a little runt... fitting into her 6-9 month clothes still which is hard when it's time to buy winter clothes but I have no clue what sizes to buy.

Not much else to report on Piper. She's cutting teeth like crazy and miserable when that's happening but otherwise she is a good baby. And when she's not being good, that smile and her cuddles make up for it.

And a little about me... I'm in my 4th block of classes through University of Phoenix and they are kicking my butt. I finally lost that 4.0 I've been braggin about thanks to (go figure) my tourism class. So at a 3.83 I'm scared in my current classes. I stink horribly at Environmental Science and Cultural Diversity is a little whacky too. But.. I'm getting there.

After school I am still madly addicted to Photoshop and digital scrapbooking. I am doing my best at this domestic life.. but I am sure I could be doing a lot more.

Well... stay tuned and I'll be getting pictures up soon.