We are officially ghetto!

As some of my readers may already know, Dave and my bed has been working on falling apart. All of the moving over the years has really played a toll on my bed and when we moved into this house it got a little worse. When we decided to paint the wall in my bedroom Dave and I decided that the bed would not last one more move and so we would paint around it. I know that is pretty ghetto, but no one has every really noticed so we were fine. It was not worth buying a whole new bed just to paint one wall.

I just mentioned to Dave yesterday that the bed seemed to be a little more creaky for the past week or so and that it was getting close to bitting it. Well tonight was the night!! I was sitting in bed working on my laptop, Dave climbed into bed and all of the sudden BAM the bed is a goner. All I could say was, "oh no my Christmas ornaments". (I store the glass ones under our bed, what a disaster) Thankfully no one was injured, including the ornaments.

So we are officially ghetto because I know have 3 2x4's wedged under my side of the bed to keep me off of the floor. Wonderful, I guess I am in the market for a new bed.



A sad farewell. We have been through some good times and some bad times, but you have always been there for me. I will never forget you. I can only hope that my next bed is as good as you are.

The First Visit to the Dentist

They say that if you tell your child about going to the dentist and what to expect then they will not be as nervous when they get there. Well it works, because I was incredibly impressed with Isabelle's first visit to the dentist. Although I told her that the dentist is so much fun, I was scared to death at how she would react. From the moment we walked in the door all she would say is, "I want to see the dentist", so I had to keep telling her to wait her turn.

When it was finally her turn the assistant took us back to the office, sat down Isabelle at a table and told her to practice brushing on Al Gator. She had so much fun brushing his teeth, then I explained that the dentist would brush hers in the chair, so she should brush Al's in the chair. She sat in the chair unphased and brushed Al's teeth. The hygentist came in was able to brush her teeth with a toothbrush and even used the electric polisher. The dentist and hygentist were incredibly impressed, both said that kids her age never get in the chair much less them look in their mouth and use the electric polisher.

My baby is a big girl now!

Mom-Mom from Way Up High

Aunt Missy (Dave's sister) came to town last weekend and so Isabelle and I decided to go and visit Mom-Mom from way up high with her. (We call her Mom-Mom from way up high because she is from Baltimore, this way Isabelle can keep all of her grandparents straight)

Mom-Mom was in such a great mood and was doing wonderful. Isabelle is usually a little hesitant at first to go play with her but once she warms up she does great. Mom-Mom opened a box of raisins for them and they both had snack. We all went out to the lobby and Isabelle and Mom-Mom sang rock a bye baby as they rocked in their chairs. I was very impressed with Mom-Mom she seemed to be in great spirits, she loved seeing Isabelle, and best of all she remembered who we all are. We definitely have to get out to see Mom-Mom more often, Isabelle loved it.

As we were leaving I told Isabelle that we had to take Mom-Mom back to her room, she ran up to Mom-Mom and told her, "go to your room". Mom-Mom got a real kick out of Isabelle ordering her around.




I think that Isabelle might be related to Gene Simmons, her and that tongue.

Some info I have pulled from the internet about Growth Hormones

GH= Growth Hormones

GH stimulation tests help to diagnose hypopituitarism. For a stimulation test, a sample of blood is drawn after you have fasted for 10-12 hours. Then, under close medical supervision, you are given an intravenous solution of insulin or arginine. Blood samples are then drawn at timed intervals, and GH levels are tested in each to see if your pituitary gland was stimulated by the insulin (or arginine) to produce expected levels of GH.

When is it ordered? GH stimulation testing is ordered when your child has symptoms of GHD, such as when:

• his growth rate slows down in early childhood and he is significantly shorter than others his age;
• TSH tests show that your child is not hypothyroid (low thyroid levels can also cause slowed growth);
• X-rays show delayed bone development;
• your doctor suspects that your child’s pituitary gland is under-active.

Visit to the Endocrinologist

Earlier this week we took Isabelle to the endocrinologist for her check up, it has been 6 months since Dr. Sheer last saw her. Dr. Sheer said that she was not going to sugar coat it, but Isabelle is doing "horrible" on her weight. Which we all know! We let Dr. Sheer know that Isabelle has been eating a lot more in the past 3 weeks that I have been home with her, which I think is because this is the first time in a long time that she hasn't been congested or had a runny nose. Dr. Sheer said that 3 weeks is really not enough time to see a big change but she would like to see her back in four months. She also implied that if it wouldn't have been for the life change (me becoming a SAHM) then she would have probably called for a special blood test. The test involves them giving a steroid to Isabelle trying to stimulate one of her gland to fire off a growth hormone to ensure it is working correctly. The test is 2-3 hours long with them taking her blood every 20-30 minutes, yuck! Luckily they are going to give her 4 more months to increase her weight before doing this.

We did however do a bone age test, which just involves them taking an x-ray of her hand to see if she is a late bloomer. The results came back that Isabelle has a bone age of 18 months, which means that she will develop about 8 months later than the average girl.

Hopefully we can get Isabelle to eat, eat, eat before her appointment on August 1sth, we will keep you posted.

Day 2- Wink Family Constuction

I almost forgot to mention one valuable lesson I learned that I want to share with everyone on Day 1 of construction. When the weather man calls for rain do not take pictures of people outside with the flash, it scares them into thinking its Lightning and sometimes you get yelled at.. LOL Sorry Pop Pop and Daddy!

Ok, so back to day 2.. At this point Daddy and Pop Pop are pretty sore, and I think they maybe getting tired of this darn swing set. The only thing keeping them going is Isabelle's sweet smile, thank goodness she's a cutie. Luckily all they have left is the bench seat under the swing, adding the slide, the roof, and hanging the swings.

Isabelle was pooped so she was taking a nap when they started but once she woke up she was surprised to see she finally has a SLIDE. YEAH!! She then opts for another mini cupcake, courtesy of Pop Pop and then gets back to supervising. Isabelle did not like the sound of the drill, it was to loud and scary so every time it was turned on she would yell, "Daddy, Quiet!!".

Construction is over, with the exception of some minor level adjustments and we now have the happiest toddler on the block! Thank you bunches Daddy and Pop Pop, your hard work really paid off.


Back on the job again.. The cake sure if good here!!


Dad you looked stressed, over worked and underpaid... Mom Mom!!


I finally have a swing, "Dad, Pop Pop, that wasn't so bad was it??"

Day 1 of the Swing Set!!

My house has been taken over by Wink Family Construction! First of all however made the directions for this thing has obviously never built it before. (Fair warning, do not even ask Dave Jr. or Sr. about the directions it could be some what of a sore subject...LOL) We started out by laying out all of the wood, labeling the wood and all of the hardware. We get everything labeled and realize that we are missing a ton of screws, nails, etc. Pop Pop volunteers to go to the store and pickup the screws. Just as he is checking out I find a bag of screws that someone, not naming any names (ISABELLE) has conveniently relocated for us.

Pop Pop finally gets back, with not only hardware but cake for Isabelle too (who says the girl isn't spoiled). So as Pop Pop and Daddy are building her swing she eats 4 mini cupcakes and bosses them around. Everyone helped out, Isabelle and Mommy supervised, Mom Mom supervised Isabelle, while Daddy and Pop Pop did all of the work =) Oh yeah I almost forgot Tootsie, she helped hold the patio down while everyone worked!

The day started to come to an end and Isabelle was getting a little anxious so she decided to help Dad out (see pictures below). As you can image she was a HUGE help! It started to get late so she climbed in the club house and looked at Daddy, with her papi in her mouth wondering if he would ever get done!!


This is only 1/2 of the mess


Who say's she is to little to help??I am pretty sure this is level


Tootsie holding the patio down for us. Way to pull your weight around the house Tots.

"I have a feeling I am NEVER going to be able to swing"??

If any of you are wondering why I dress my daughter so funny, it is because she decided that she did not want to take off her motorcylce shirt. Pop (my dad) bought her a Harley Davidson shirt in Mexico and she wears it to bed because it is to big for her, she wants to wear the darn thing all of the time now. Wearing a jacket over it was the best compromise I could come up with. I love the 2's!!