BUSY BUSY BUSY

SOOOO... we had a baby, and then.......

We suddenly got SO busy.... 

We live for chaos of some sort in this house. I tell people it keeps me young and always keeps things exciting. July has come (and almost gone) and we have been so "normal" that I hadn't updated caringbridge or my personal blog. 

Braxton's last clinic appointment went very well, and today he had another one month check and he is at 6 MONTHS post chemo. Oh!!! it's so exciting to be counting UP now instead of down to the last treatment :) 

We are not taking any moment for granted. 

On the 4th of July we met up with some friends and although it was raining we went to the Dayton Air Force museum and finished out the rainy night at Joe's Crab Shack on the river... it turned out to be a really fun time. We laughed and ate good food and made memories. 

After the 4th we have been traveling far and wide. We went to Gatlinburg, TN for a week with Nana and Papaw and had the best time. Braxton loves his one on one with them, but it made it super exciting that Aunt Stef came too and brought 2 of Braxton's favorite people, Charlee and Garrett. The cabin was always bustling with ninja moves, and noise, noise everywhere until the wee hours of the night.  Thanks so much Papaw and Nana for the trip.

At the Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge

Cabby loves his Nana

Cabby and Nelleigh Belle... those 2 are a hoot together

With the best papaw EVER!!!

Then after Gatlingburg, we were home for 2 days and then we went to Tulsa, OK for 5 days for PEAK (a youth church event with young people from all over the country) we felt that at his age it's important for Braxton to see all the people that love and serve Jesus just like he does. Needless to say that Alex, at 6 weeks old, is WELL traveled now. 

Love my family

This past weekend we went to a youth meeting that is about an hour away in Noblesville for 3 days. The kids had a blast getting to see all there little friends that, for the most part, they only see a few times a year. 

This week, we are all SOOOO excited (probably me more than anyone) Gammy and Aunt Ginny and Liam are coming!!!! Braxton's 6th birthday is this weekend and they are coming to celebrate with us. I may just kidnap them and keep them from leaving. 

Braxton has also been to the urologist this month. We are trying to get his night time bed wetting under control. So we are trying some new things, working with his fluid intake and the things he drinks and we are going to try the alarm. Hopefully we will see some results in the coming weeks. 

So this weekend we are going to have a Ninjago LEGO party at the splash park and have a SMALL sleepover and just have FUN!!! Because being a cancer SURVIVOR, deserves to have a SUPER FUN BIRTHDAY.  

I have been very thankful this week, a little teary but over all thankful. I am so blessed that we get to celebrate another year with Braxton. We are super thankful that he is a SURVIVOR and I will never, ever take that for granted. God has been so good to us. 

AND then on Monday next week..... BRAXTON STARTS KINDERGARTEN!!!!! We have been school shopping and he has his book bag and lunch box and today he was able to get a few of his booster shots (he was NOT happy about this). 

So, the Adkins family is trucking along, enjoying the rest of the summer and all the fun things that we have planned. Again and as always thank you for all the prayers and thoughts. 

My Midnight Me Time

Midnight seems to be the only time any more that I have time to SIT and be alone. I wish it was a great time to have a cup of coffee but I'll settle for a little chamomile tea instead. 

Lately my "me time" is spent cleaning and trying to find a comfortable spot. But typically I try to catch up on my favorite blogs and throw in a blog of my own. I find myself talking to God and praying a lot more these days. I am trying to prepare myself for the little bundle of joy that is soon to greet us. 

This pregnancy has been about the most difficult one by far. While I have tried so very hard not to complain because I know that there are so many women that would love the chance to be pregnant but can't get that way. But I've been pregnant a total of 7 times and well I do believe that I'm tired.  

With each pregnancy the curve of my spine gets a little worse resulting in a little more pain than the last one. Walking is hard, breathing is extremely difficult most of the time and sleeping well that is something of the past. 

I truly can't wait to meet this little guy (who still has no name). I'm sure that "baby Omega" is going to bring so many wonderful and exciting new things to our crazy little family. 

I think the older 2 are going to be thrilled with the new baby but I think that my Cabby is going to have some serious issues. I believe that when a new baby is getting ready to come into the mix without even saying anything the other siblings know and some take the "excitement" a little better than others. 

I think that Cabby knows and he's having a little bit of a time saying "so long" to being the baby.

This boy truly cracks me up though. 

In other Adkins news, Braxton has said "so long" to preschool. It's a little bittersweet. I feel like suddenly my baby isn't such a baby anymore and I just don't know that I'm ready to send him off to Kindergarten all day by himself. He's a pistol most days, sassy and extremely independent but what do I do. He had to grow up before he was supposed to and now he's this big person trapped in this cute, pudgy little (almost) 6 year old body.

We had a fun morning at his preschool graduation picnic where he got to say goodbye to his teachers and play with his friends, most of whom will be at his school in the fall. I don't think he truly understands that preschool is no more and that now it's time for the big leagues. 

I want to finish this post with a quick plug for my friends over at Twinkle Belle. 

My sister in law and her sister in law have started this cutesy little girls shop and Zoe got to be in there photo shoot Monday. It was {crazy} but so much fun... 12 little girls all frilled up with their adorable "twinkling" accessories on. Sure to make any little girl feel like a princess. 

I'm pentecostal and we are known for BIG HAIR!!! It makes us.... us. Well, until our girls are able to have the big hair we give them big bows.... big beautiful bows. 

So if you need something to make your little lady shine check out this shop I'm sure that you will love there stuff. And I do believe that eventually they are hoping to start selling a few clothing items as well. I CAN'T WAIT!!! Zoe loves Aunt Stefs work and I'm sure you will as well. 

So that's my me time.... now "me" is going to attempt to hear from Mr. Sandman :)

Night Y'all

Happy Birthday Princess Zoe!

With all the hustle and bustle I am a day behind. 

Yesterday, my sweet Zoe Isabella turned 3. She came at time when we needed to smile a little more. My "shadow baby" because that really is where she stayed. She was never fussy or gave us any trouble. It's like God told her to take it easy on us while we got Braxton better and then later she could make up for it... and boy, has... she.... ever!! She is a true diva. Being raised in the north with a sassy southern attitude that only I could appreciate. She keeps us on our toes and in her eccentric, spunky ways keeps us laughing all the time. She's daddy's little girl and she KNOWS without a doubt that she is the ONLY princess in this castle. 

Some days it's so hard to believe that I have one getting ready for Kindergarten in the fall and one that will be going to preschool. I wonder where the time has gone.

We celebrate birthday's very serious in this house. It's always an all day (and in Zoe's case, all month) occasion. She woke up to a room filled with balloons that the "birthday fairy" dropped off the night before. Then in true Adkins family style, she had cupcakes {with candles} for breakfast. She received lots of phone calls and was sang happy birthday by a lot of people and that made the princesses day for sure. She loves all this singled out attention. 

Then, after we dropped Braxton off at school at noon, we met her friend Skylar for "coffee shakes" at Starbucks. She truly is my mini me and I love it. She felt so big with her White Chocolate Mocha and a giant cookie. 

She is just so sassy and such a diva and she keeps me laughing just about all the time. At one point in the day I wasn't doing something fast enough and she looked at me with her hand on her head and her little legs crossed and said "mommy, I DON'T have time for this"... ugh, the teenage years are sure to be a blast with this little one. 

Her birthday will be celebrated in style, well at least that of a 3 year old, with Mr. Chuck E Cheese, a zebra print and some princess sparkle on Saturday. 

I love my little Diva I wouldn't trade her for the world.

We have had quite a bit of excitement in this house aside from the birthday celebrations, on Monday Braxton went in for his 2nd post chemo/cancer free check up and he is doing PHENOMENAL .. he has come so very far. It looks like he will be having his port taken out at the end of the month or the beginning of April. Woo Hoo!!! One step closer to "normal". 

While Braxton was at the doctor in Cincinnati Caleb decided that things were a little too boring around here so while I was getting ready to leave the house, Caleb decided that was an optimal time to show off his mad climbing skills at 13 months old and slipped, hence busting open his lip both inside and out. 

I consider myself a somewhat "seasoned" mother and a busted lip doesn't bother me typically. Usually it's a Popsicle treatment and lots of pressure on the lip,  but there was just a little too much blood for me and upon further inspection, I realized that he bit through his lip. Soooo after dropping Zoe off with my dear friend to the ER we went. 

The end result was 2 hours in the ER, semiconscious sedation, and extremely woozy baby boy and 3 stitches to his bottom lip.... oh the joys that the Adkins house is always coming up with. That's one for the baby book.  {Zoe was the same age, when she busted her eye open requiring stitches}.  Since his stictches escapade, it seems to have been a right of passage into the "rotten" toddler phase of life. Leading to temper tantrums, attitude and a new found independence. 

While he still has that sweet Cabby demeanor, at any moment he can become a monster, ready and willing to attack whoever is in his way.

The huge lip hasn't stopped his eating or getting his paci. He is very determined. 

My children definitely keep me on my toes to say the least. 

My mom and sister and sweet nephew are on the way now and excited is just not the word to describe how I feel. I miss them everyday and I can't wait to see them . 

This weekend we are going to "party it up" .... 

{I went to the doctor this morning to check on baby boy, he is doing great... I'm 26 weeks today... only 14 to go}

Going full force at Mach 3

I realize that I have not posted since September...why??? Well lets just say October has been interesting.... the events go as follow...

At the beginning of October or maybe a little bit before I noticed that Zoe had been walking with a limp. I didn't think too much about it because she had gotten the flu shot earlier that first week and I (being the optimistic mother that I am) chalked it to all up to said shot.

About 2 weeks passed (yes, I said 2 weeks) and she is still limping, I (being the optimistic mother that I am) figure it is maybe a growth spurt that has caused her to, now, "toe walk" a bit. My suspicion is confirmed when my father in law comes in to watch my kids while the hubs and I go on an annual marriage retreat. Upon returning said limp is only worse and my FIL now recommends that I take her to the pediatrician and have it checked out because he believed she would only need a little physical therapy. By that Sunday, the "limp" is awful so I begin to think the worst and FINALLY take her to have x rays. After the ER doc states that it is NOT broken for a brief moment I relax... his next words are "it could possibly be something neurological". Oh Geez... something with the brain or nerves... FABULOUS!!!!

The next morning we head to the pediatrician, where in a brief moment of deja vu, I have my 2 year old in my lab and the doctor puzzled not knowing what is going on. Blood work and then a referral to the "big hospital".

{Needless to say that was a very worried, tearful, praying ride home}

After waiting all day I finally get a call from the office and they tell me that her blood work was fine (insert HUGE sigh of relief)

Long story short, we head to Cincy and the big wigs find a small fracture in the cuboid bone in her foot, evidently this is a very common fracture in toddlers, especially overly active toddlers ( a massive understatement for my Zoe). So my little princess is now in a pink and "farkle" (sparkle) and glow in the dark cast until the 29th.

Oh that's not the end of the story, because anyone that knows my crazy family knows that we don't just do things half way... The following day I get a call from the hem/onc clinic for Brac. His IGG level was too low and because he didn't get his IVIG therapy during his monthly clinic visit, back to Cincy we went. While there we learned that his hemoglobin had dropped and that now he needed a transfusion. OH JOYS!!!! So what was supposed to be a 5 hour day turned into an 8 hour day.

Cause there just isn't a whole lot do here but sleep.

A midst all the chaos  thus far we did manage to squeeze in a trip to the Children's museum, my sister in law and myself plus 6 kids always a fun time. Brac enjoyed the day with his best buddy/cousin, Charlee. So all that chaos was very much worth it. 

2 days of normal passed and then while playing with his dad, Brac fell, catching his toes on the seat of his kiddy picnic table. Oh my, surely I can't have 2 kids with a broken foot. So I insisted that he wait a through the night. The next morning he still couldn't put weight on it so he too was in the urgent care getting x rays. I was sure it was something else. I mean, seriously, what are the chances that I would have 2 kids in casts?? Evidently very good.  

Yes!! Broken!!!  In 2 stinkin' places. Supposedly this is due in large part to the prolonged steroid use and it making his bones a bit brittle.  So, because of his history I was referred to CCMC, where I sat in a waiting room for 2 1/2 hours only to hear the same thing and to be told to call Ortho to follow up and have a hard cast put on. That is where we are headed today in fact. 

Oh the story doesn't stop there. I thought that Caleb had missed the boat, but how dare I doubt the world of chance. He had his 9 month check up and to look at my sweet calm baby you would think he was perfectly fine, but on the contrary, after taking a peek in his little ears, they are infected. His first ear infection!! And he got a double whammy. 

9 months ~ 20lbs and 28 inches long.... my baby is getting big

So the excitement just continues in the Adkins home. I am running ragged getting things situated for Brac's big party and we are embracing life with our accident prone crew. 

I will say that I am a little nervous that things have been happening in 2's. I mean,  this would make any WOMAN nervous. ;)

It's a two cups of coffee and a piece of cake kind of morning....

This is a chemo week for Brac (well every week is a chemo week, but this was the time of the month for clinic)... he's tired and so mean and I know that his body has just had enough.

I am referring fights and getting into tiffs with him over silly things. This morning he insisted on keeping my pillow on his bed. Little things like this make him melt down. He doesn't want to share ANYTHING and he is all together grumpy. I know that it's the meds but where do you draw a line? How far is he allowed to go?

It's hard to be mad for even a moment. I know that he must be miserable. I don't know first hand what he's going through, so it's hard for me to say I know that you hurt...I understand. Because, while I am sure that he is miserable. I know that I don't truly get it.

As for me, it's physically and mentally taxing on me. I don't want to be selfish, but some days being the mom of a child with Cancer can take a toll on your psyche...

I have to make sure that he gets all of his meds every night and make sure that he doesn't have foods and drinks that he can't have. And then when he pitches a fit because the one thing that he really wanted was the one thing that he couldn't have, I suddenly become the bad guy.....the only bad guy.

I deal with screaming and temper tantrums as a result of the steroids, not including the fits from my 2 year old who thinks she is grown all of a sudden.  And then when I get them squared away Caleb starts screaming. Some days I don't know how these ladies with 5 and 6 kids manage to stay sane. I guess some women are made to be stay at home moms and others are not. It's a 124/7 job and I never seem to get a break. To ask for one is like pulling teeth. My other half acts like it's the easiest job on the planet and that he could do it with his hands tied behind his back... funny thing is I never see him taking all three kids to Walmart with him... (hmmm, very interesting). Don't get me wrong. I LOVE being mama to these 3, I love their hugs and kisses and the "I love you mommy"s that I hear daily are wonderful and priceless. Even Brac telling me that I make the best microwave popcorn makes my heart melt. But some days I just need a little break from the chaos, the moment.

So while I sit here with my second cup of coffee for the day (one that has been warmed up 2 times already) I am left to my day dreams of me in a hammock ALONE some where warm... sipping on something other than coffee. So that's my vent session for the day.

Because I know that I would just bore my friends with this and my husband just doesn't get it anyway, so maybe whoever stumbles across my lonely little blog will have a little sympathy for this over worked and severely under payed mama. :)

Happy Birthday to Zoe

2 years ago at 3:45am God so graciously blessed me with this amazing little girl that we would call Zoe Isabella.

She's spunky and oh so sassy. She makes me laugh at just the right moment. She was the ray of sunshine that we needed when Braxton was his sickest.  Braxton was diagnosed in November and Zoe was born in March. She was just a week old and spent her first week in this world with him in the hospital. She ate cereal for the first time with him in the hospital. I always said that she was his "therapy".

Now 2 years later they fight like only brother and sister can do. She can hold her own that's for sure.

At 15 months old she had tubes placed in her ears, and a week later she experienced her first Tornado and then while escaping that storm she hit her head and had to get 6 stitches in her eyebrow.

She is fearless, and unstoppable. That's what I think I love the most about her.

She will play with planes, trains and cars, build with blocks and then put her babies to bed. She loves horses. She's so nurturing with a constant "matter, mom??" until she knows that everything is OK.

She's sassy! Her favorite phrase right now is "hush ya mouph" and "ya hear me". I just love her. She is fantastic.

She has a very healthy appetite. She loves fruits and veggies.  She just recently started to feel out and plump up a little.

I looked forward to the years that we grow as mother and daughter and become best friends. I hope that as she grows up and we celebrate birthday after birthday, she looks to me as her example. I hope that she knows that she can come to me for anything, and talk to me about everything.

I love my little Zozie Belle. She makes me smile. She makes me wonder. She makes me thank God all the more.

Saturday the 10th we threw her a birthday party. She had so much fun. She loved opening all her presents and I think her favorite part was CAKE!!! {well of course, she is MY daughter}

Papaw and Nana came in and boy, were they bearing gifts. I am so thankful for wonderful in laws. They truly are the best grandparents ever. They have 6 grandchildren now and anytime that they come into town they bring gifts for all of them and they make sure to spend time with each of them. Thanks Papaw and Nana. Zoe loves her cozy coupe, the picnic table, the bubble blower, the pretty dresses and her teeter totter. :)

Eron and I got her an outfit and her first PowerWheels toy. I think she was happy. She kept telling the boys it was hers.

Happy Birthday to my baby girl, I hope you know that you are so loved, by so many. I look forward to the years ahead. Watching you grow, blossoming into a young girl and then into a beautiful young woman. I look forward to watching her grow in God and I look forward to watching as Jesus works on her heart.

I love my sweet baby girl.