Finally, some Vitamin D!!

It's going to be b-e-a-utiful the next few days in the Cleveland area and I plan on taking full advantage of all this sunshine! It's going to be so nice to take Dominic out without bundling him up!!! I'll be sure to take pictures of our outdoor adventures! :)

A floral heart attack

See that little number up there? Well Lou found it on sale a few weeks ago and placed it in our master bath. It senses motion and then sprays a burst of floral spray into the air. It sounds like a hissing cat. So every night when I go into the bathroom and get ready for bed I get greeted by this "cat" and jump out of my skin. I know it's there-but every.single.time it catches me off guard. I'm pretty sure that this thing should come with a warning-or something. It's especially un-nerving when you wake up in the middle of the night, walk through the dark (because I wouldn't want to disturb Lou or our sleeping pups), tip toe through the bathroom, quietly creek open the door...and HISSSSSSSSS! Try falling back into a relaxing slumber with your heart going a mile a minute! haha!

That thing needs a bell on it or at maybe some catnip will help us be friends?

MS Walk Monday

We have currently raised $4,445!! We have re-set our goal for an ambitious $5000! We have a 12 days left until the walk-and I'd really like to meet our goal! Thanks again to everyone who has donated thus far! It is AWESOME! :)

If you'd like to help us reach our goal please go here:

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/OHAWalkEvents?team_id=173779&pg=team&fr_id=12300

Thanks again-and to our team, thank you for busting your rears to get donations! You are all amazing! :)

Yuck yuck yuck

Things NOT to give a toddler with "sick butt" <--as my husband likes to call it
*carrots
*cookies
*green beans
*milk
*chocolate (he stole a Hershey kiss while I was making cookies)
*Cheerios (he'll just throw them on the floor)
*cheese
*banana
*tater tots
*bologna
*bread
*peaches
*yogurt
*chicken nuggets

Yes, that's all the foods I have been desperately trying to give to Dominic while he has been sick. He has hardly eaten anything since Tuesday and anything else has come right out the other end. (sorry if TMI, but that's how it is). After speaking with a on call nurse tonight we are going to try some pedialyte tomorrow and hopes he gets some relief. Needless to say Lou & I have changed more diapers this past week than we had since he was born!! Good thing we both have strong stomachs! eek!!

I love sales!!

Hi, my name is Brooke and I'm a window-shopaholic. (Hi Brooke!) I take Dominic out to stores at least 4 times a week and just look around. I never really buy anything substantial unless it's something for Dominic. It has taken me 6 months to buy a new pair of jeans just because I can't decide and honestly, isn't jean shopping just the pits? Anywho--we have a King size bed had currently had bedding that we had bought from overstock.com and honestly, we got what we paid for it. It really didn't cover the entire bed and was mostly white-which if you know me at all, I can't even wear the color white because I tend to attract stains! :) So I've been searching and searching for new bedding-something "perfect" for our room..classy but pretty. King sized bedding is just so expensive and I did want quality but just couldn't justify spending $$$$ on it.

Last Friday I stopped in at Kohl's because they were having a big sale and I had a 15% off coupon (Don't we all? They send them 2x a week it seems!) Well as Dominic was munching on fruit loops in the cart and I was browsing around I came across some Vera Wang King Size bedding that I loved! It was 80% off and marked down from $390 to...wait for it...$78.00!!!!!!!!!! PLUS 15% off so I got it all for $66!! I was so excited to get something that is excellent quality for such a steal! I'm telling you-this is the softest, most luxurious bedding I've ever slept on! It is also the BIGGEST comforter I've ever seen! With two adults and two dogs in a bed, we struggle nightly with the blankets and this last week has been heaven!

This picture is not showing the bedskirt that came with it, but we are using our old-all white bedskirt underneath. Also, we are using our white monogrammed pillowcases and sheets. It looks so clean and pretty! I just love it! We are going to be re-painting and have done a TON of changes to our bedroom, and have SO many more coming up to our house in the next couple months that I will update soon! :)

MS Walk Update-a day late!

I'm happy to report that Dominic seems to be feeling much better today. His fever is gone and he didn't get sick at all today. We took him into the pediatrician and she told us that he most likely has a virus and it will just have to run its course. He really hasn't eaten much at all today *or last night* but I've been pumping him full of fluids so hopefully he'll be good as new soon! :)

If you weren't aware, March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month. As for our team update-Last week we had raised $3,080, and this week I am SO SO SO excited to share that to date, we have raised $4,295!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are currently in 3rd place for the team with the most donated money. Again, I am so blown away by the generosity of others!
Here is the breakdown so far of team members and donations:
Mary=$280
Brett=$675
Brooke=$525
Lou=$2,125
Steve=$100
Maggie=$325
Nick=$25
Becky=$240

I am so excited and grateful! Today we made another trip to the Mellen Center and I was once again reminded of who we are doing this for!! The National MS Society is so generous and comes to the aide of those who need it the most. The donations really do go to a MUCH NEEDED cause! :)

If you'd like to help our team meet even higher goals and make even more of a difference-please click the link below. EVERY little bit helps!!

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/OHAWalkEvents?team_id=173779&pg=team&fr_id=12300

Thank you so much for following our teams journey! The walk is April 10th and we still have lots of time left! :)

MS Walk Update will have to wait

Sorry, I'd love to take some time and post about our amazing process but Dominic has spiked his first real fever and is definitely feeling under the weather-after my first experience with little kid vomit (not spit up) this afternoon, I'm going to unwind. I'll update tomorrow! I mean-c'mon, look how miserable my little guy is!!! :(

Say Cheeeese!

Climbing up onto the table!

Look at those chompers!!
He's finally growing hair! Maybe he'll have a haircut by his 3rd birthday!

Hmmm, I think he might have Mommy's big smile!

Coloring
He likes to put blankets on his head and walk around-dangerous but fun!

The weather was nice enough to go out for a walk in our neighborhood.

He loved looking at the geese and water, a huge freighter came through while we were walking

Taking a little break from walking! :)

I am aware..

For those of you who have received a weird email from me lately-yes, I am aware that I have some sort of "bug" that goes through my contact list and emails everyone. I apologize and am trying to fix it but haven't been able to yet. I realllllly am trying to figure this problem out as I am also emailing filthy websites to my college professors, old coworkers and family. If you should get a suspicious email from me, please do not click the link. Don't worry, you are not receiving a virus from me, the worst that could happen is that it would send emails out to your contacts. Once again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience!!

I hope you all had a great (and safe) St Patrick's Day!! I'm hoping to post some pictures soon-I realize that I have done a HORRIBLE job lately keeping up with that!!

MS Walk Monday

This is going to be just a short post. We have a lot of good shows on tonight and I decided to wake up at 5:30 this morning to do Yoga so I'm extra sleepy tonight!

I'm so very excited that we once again, had to raise our team goal. We have now raised $3,080!!! Our new team goal is $3,500 and we have a little less than a month to reach it! We are currently in 4th place for money raised and Lou is in 3rd place for individually raised money-he has raised $1,285!!! I really feel like we are making a difference!!

Last week I was in our development's gym working out next to one of my neighbors. We somehow got on the subject of MS and she told me that she also had RRMS! She said that she was diagnosed ten years ago and had to stop taking her injections because the one she was on caused major flu like symptoms. She has a lesion on her brain the size of a note card and those injections made her feel so terrible that she could no longer stand the treatment. This is why we are raising money, so one day people living with MS won't have to inject themselves or feel flu like symptoms, welts, pain or any of the other side effects. It was just another reminder that this disease is far more common than many people realize. And another reminder that we need to do everything we can to help find a cure!

If you'd like to donate to our cause *any amount towards our goal is appreciated!* You can do so here:

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/OHAWalkEvents?team_id=173779&pg=team&fr_id=12300

Thank you! :)

Show Us Your Life:Charities

I really try to give to charity whenever I can. This winter I made sure that Dominic put change in the Salvation Army buckets every time we went to the grocery store (which is a lot). I want to teach him that giving back is important.

I would have to say that our family's charity is currently the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. This charity is close to our hearts as my mother and I both have been diagnosed with MS. This year we are once again participating in the Cleveland MS Walk and are raising money towards our goal! If you'd like to read more about my new journey with MS please read the prior posts, and if you'd like to donate to our team-you can head here!
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/OHAWalkEvents?team_id=173779&pg=team&fr_id=12300

I don't want to write too much as I will be posting a "MS Walk Monday" post on Monday! Please come back and take a look! :) Thanks for stopping by!

Some great news!!

I just wanted to pop in and share some great BIG news!! I've been checking the mail all week because I knew that there was a slight chance that I would get a letter telling me that I was accepted into the Rad Tech Clinical program for the fall. It seemed like every day this week I got a letter from the college--mostly advertisements about registering for summer classes or other activities going on.

Just an FYI, I've kicked my own butt to maintain a 4.0 GPA with hopes of jumping ahead of the two year wait list. I was so scared that I wouldn't get in and would have to find day care and a job in the fall. So basically I'd just be working to pay for the day care. It was stressing me out a bit.

Anywho-today Dominic & I went to play at the Metroparks, I checked the mail before we went and the mailman hadn't come yet (doesn't he know that I'm waiting on the mail!?). When we returned I had a nervous feeling in my belly and decided to check the mail again-I almost puked when I saw a letter from the college and could see through the envelope-"Admission Notification". I tore it open, screamed and clapped which caused Dominic to laugh & clap!

I GOT IN!!!! I will start my 22 month straight clinical program in the fall and Dominic will be able to go the college's daycare (SUPER CHEAP!). This also means that I FINALLY have a graduation time frame--Spring (May) of 2012! :) With everything that has been falling apart health wise right now, this was just what I needed! I'm so excited!!!! I actually miss school & studying! <---I'm sure I'll regret saying that next semester while chasing Dominic around and trying to study!

So I hear it's good for you..

Lately I've been trying a few new "healthy" things after doing some research online and in books. For the past month I have been drinking a cup of green tea every afternoon at 3 pm. This is usually the time that I am most in need of a second wind as Dominic has usually worn.me.out! I honestly can say that I can tell the difference. I used to drink a Diet Coke or grab a cup of coffee if I needed a pick me up but the Green tea is delicious, light, and just feels so much cleaner. I get the boost of energy I need to get through the last couple hours before Lou gets home and also have noticed that I've gotten a lot more out of my evening workout. Besides the awesome antioxidants, there are a bajillion positive attributes to drinking Green tea. Lou is a big time "pop" drinker and gave it up for Lent so I am trying to nudge him more towards drinking a bit more green tea and a little less pop.

Another new thing that I've tried in past few days is Yoga. I signed up to get a free DVD geared towards individuals with MS and received it last week. I did that program once and have been trying different ones through "On Demand" the last few days. And I am in love! I never tried it before because it was hard for me to understand how it was much of a workout. I was wrong. First, I loooove the stretch I feel. I had been cramping during my evening runs and since I've been doing Yoga, I've felt loose and strong. Second, I love the strength conditioning it involves-holding the positions really does work muscles that you can't work any other way. I've been waking up a bit earlier each morning to try and fit in an hour before Dominic wakes up. The one downside to yoga is there really isn't a 10 minute Yoga program. I saw that Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser has come out with a Yoga DVD and I can't wait to try that! I would love to hear of any other suggestions from you all!!

In no way did I purposely decide to take both these up at the same time and I'm not in any hurry to rush out and buy a Yoga mat & special pants. lol I'm just trying to do everything I can to be the best Brooke I can be!! :)

MS Walk Monday

Holy Moly!! I was so pumped last week that we had raised beyond our goal of $1000 and collected $1050....this week I am just flabbergasted! Our AMAZING team have raised...wait for it....$2,735!!!!!!!!!!! We still have a little more than a month to go and per request of the NMSS, raised our team goal to $3000. We are actually in 3rd place for the highest amount raised-I don't think we are going to catch up to first place who already has $8000, but this is honestly amazing. Nine people have been working to make such a difference and I am also so very touched by the generosity of others!!

As I injected Copaxone into my right thigh (the most ouchy of all places for me)tonight, Lou said to me "This is why we are doing this, so one day you won't have to do this." Although true, we are doing this for so much more than that. The ultimate goal of course is to find a cure for this MonSter of a disease, but other than that it is to help all those that we can. I will once again post this little tidbit to think about:

$25-provides a reacher from someone w/MS
$60-provides a shower chair with a back for one individual
$150-provides a cooling vest kit for an individual
$240-provides a day of respite care for a family affected by MS
$500-provides a manual wheelchair for one individual w/MS
$750-provides a portable ramp for one individual

Our little team of 9 can provide someone with any of these with our donations! But with a month to go-we aren't done yet! You can help us make a difference!! If you'd like to donate (any amount is appreciated) please click here:
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/OHAWalkEvents?team_id=173779&pg=team&fr_id=12300

Once again, thank you thank you thank you!! :)

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

I forgot to post and explain "my 3 words" from a while back! Dominic won the silly picture portion of the Morning Journal's Cutest Kid contest!!! We were so excited! This week our prizes arrived in the mail. Dominic won all of us:

*A two day, one night stay at Kalahari in a family suite with included admission into the water park! (There is also a spa, restaurants, animals, etc etc there!) Yay!

*A "spa package"<--I put this in quotes because I'm not sure a $17 haircut and blow dry count as a spa package. Luckily I have gift certificates to the same spa and they don't know what they are in for! haha!

*A Professional Photography session with Oliver Photography. We have to call the phone number to schedule and find out exactly what this entails. We are kinda thinking that the actual session fee will be waived but we are going to have to pay for a bunch of other stuff? I hope not, this was the prize I was most excited about!

I'm so proud of my little spaghetti Dominic!!

Random Iphone pictures!

Here are a few pictures that I've taken on my Iphone lately..enjoy! :)

Getting into trouble!

"Uh oh, what do I do now?!"
Standing on top of his play table-doing the polar opposite of what it should be used for!

Can you tell how enthused he was when I told him we were snowed in for the day?!

Our cutie patutie!! :)
TJ & Sadie snuggled all up!

I came in to check on Dominic and he had crawled up on the couch using his shape sorter as a step stool! Smarty pants!!

MS Walk Monday & Copaxone

I am so excited to say that with still more than a month to go, we have already exceeded our team goal and raised $1050!! Lou had some amazingly generous donations last week that put us over the top! We are currently in 4th place for money raised!! Thank you to everyone who has donated! If you'd like to donate or join our team you can go here:
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/OHAWalkEvents?team_id=173779&pg=team&fr_id=12300

Last Wednesday I began my daily Copaxone injections. A nurse came to our house and showed me how to inject manually and with the Autoject I was given. She also watched me inject for the first time-and it really didn't hurt at all! The injection itself isn't bad at all but there is some burning after for a few minutes. Feels like a bee sting is the best way I can describe it. So far I've injected in the backs of both arms, both hips, stomach and right thigh. I have to rotate sites daily and also try to not inject myself twice in the same spots. To help keep track I have a journal to mark where I inject daily.

Here is my little set up. Syringes, AutoInjector and my very own Sharps container for needles. The Copaxone actually stays in the refrigerator but I take them out in 5 day increments to get to room temperature.

Also, March 8-14th is MS Awareness Week! One step closer to a cure!