Something is wrong with Maren

About a month ago, Maren had an "episode". She basically lost muscle control and couldn't stand up no matter how many times she tried. She would get about halfway there and then fall straight backwards. She was also crawling very erratically. It just so happened that she'd had 5 shots that day, and we also found out through bloodwork that she was severely anemic. At the time I thought that her system was just completely overwhelmed and that was the reason for her dizzy spell. Well, it happened again last night. I scooped her up and took her to the ER right away. I showed the Dr a video of the episode, and he thought it was likely some type of seizure, though a very atypical one. So we followed up with her regular pediatrician's office today, and after seeing 4 doctors, they all agreed that there is something neurological going on. So she will be going in tomorrow for a brain MRI as well as an EEG.

To say I am nervous is an understatement. Seeing how perplexed and concerned the doctors were really bothered me. And even after everything I went through with Avery, I always felt so fortunate that her issues could be fixed. The thought of Maren having a lifelong seizure disorder is enough to make me want to break down. I am trying not to think the worst, but it is so hard. I just want my baby to be Ok.

School, summer, and the vacation that wasn't meant to be...

Boy have I been busy! I started school back in March and I am well on my way to becoming a nurse! Things have been crazy hectic because I am taking a full load, but after 10 years off, I am ready to get this over with! In a dream world, I will end up in a CRNA program, but I have a LONG way to go to make that a reality. But so far, so good!

Summer is going well so far. I decided to keep the twins in part time preschool over the summer so they can keep their routine (and so I can have a little time "to myself") so nothing new there. Avery is in summer school right now and once that ends in early July, the real fun will begin! She is scheduled for Mizzou volleyball camp, Mizzou basketball camp and art camp! She will also spend some time visiting grandparents at the end of summer, and she is super excited about that. Maren is growing and changing at a rapid pace. She is almost 14 months now, and still breast feeding like a champ! I never thought I would BF at all, much less past the year mark! No signs of stopping any time soon either. I want her to be a baby forever, so maybe this is one way for me to hold onto that...

D and I were supposed to be going on a dream Ireland vacation this month. He had a conference in Belfast and his expenses were covered, so I was tagging along. Well, apparently it wasn't meant to be. Our original flight was cancelled for no good reason as we were on our way to the airport, so they rescheduled us for the following day. After many hours sitting in the STL airport, boarding the plane a few times only to be kicked off again, and being told we would not make our connecting flight, we ended up surrendering and coming home. It was very disappointing, especially because our flight ended up taking off only 30 minutes after we left (and we would have easily made our connection because it was delayed too). D and I were both sick over it--literally. We moped around for days, feeling absolutely depressed over it. I'm still sad that it didn't work out, but after all of the headaches, I have to believe that I was just supposed to be home with my girls for some reason. Maybe something bad would have happened if we had gone, I don't know. It sucks that we lost so much money (around $10k, all said and done, thanks to a fancy non-refundable tour) but not much we can do about it now. The good news is we have decided we deserve a trip for our upcoming 5 year anniversary in November. We don't have a clue where we will go, but we are open to suggestions! What is your go to relaxation destination?

I have lots of ideas for blog posts, but little time to sit down and wrote them. I'm hoping to make some time to do it after I finish my mid-terms. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of my beautiful little ladies!