A Story About Emma

Everyone who has read my blog for any amount of time knows how much we love our furbabies, Emma and Fishy. However, what some of you may not know is that our sweet Emma has epilepsy.

This is a common health problem that most Dachshunds are predisposed to and let me tell you it is one of the scariest things you could every experience. Emma's dad, Scoop, had them once he hit about 3 or 4 years old and it was terrifying for me because I had no idea what to do, the only upside is that they have no idea what is going on.

Once Emma hit the same age she started having them as well. I remember the first seizure she had, we were sitting on the couch but she stood up and instantly fell over with her paws curled under and shaking. I scooped her up and held her like a baby, talked to her, and hoped it wouldn't last long. It lasted for maybe a minute, I took her to the vet and was instantly told they couldn't do anything for her. Seeing this little 10 pound dog having no control over anything was heartbreaking.

After I moved to NC with Kyle, her seizures became more frequent and lasted longer. I had told Kyle about the seizures but he didn't realize the severity until I found him on the bathroom floor holding her one night sobbing because he didn't know how to help her.

We finally found a vet that would put her on medication to regulate the enzymes in her liver. She has been on that medication for 6 years and while it hasn't eliminated the seizures (she had one last night), it stops them from happening as frequently. She has blood draws to check her liver every 6 months and it is something that we take very seriously. She will be on medication for the rest of her life but her health and welfare is the most important thing. 

It's so important to take care of your pets and help them live long and happy lives. I have seen too many people lately letting their pets go months and years without vaccinations and proper care, it makes me angry!

So I guess what I am trying to say is take care of your pets, they deserve it!

Flashback Friday

A year ago we found out we were moving to Lousiana, we have loved our adventure here so far! It's crazy to think that in another year we will find out where we are headed next. I love this crazy Army life! 

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

In Our Neck Of The Woods

How is it already a week away from July?! This is crazy pants! We do however have had a lot going on and will continue to be busy.

*We celebrated our 7th anniversary over the weekend and it was awesome! Kyle was able to come in from the field early so we could go to dinner. We are not high class restaurant people for special occasions so Texas Roadhouse was the perfect place. We ate too much and just enjoyed each others company.

*I am in week 4 of my last class and it's going great. I am really enjoying it and can't wait to finish my degree on a high note.

*My sister finally talked me into watching Game of Thrones and I'm hooked! I'm halfway through Season 2 already and I hate that I waited so long to watch it. I guess I will have to listen to her from now on haha.

*We are running a 4 miler on the 4th of July and I can't wait! It's down in Lake Charles and it will be a perfect way to start off our 2 weeks of block leave.

*Lonestar and Trace Adkins are playing here on post for 4th of July. Two more acts that we have never seen live, it's going to be fun.

*We have everything ready to go for our trips to Houston and Orlando, it will be nice to have uninterrupted time with Kyle and just have a good time with family as well.

*Until we go on block leave I will enjoy this view as much as possible.

*We canceled our cable provider and went back to Directv, I didn't realize how much I would miss channels like SPIKE or MTV. I like trashy TV on occasion. ;)

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

We Have A Plan

Last week Kyle had a very important appointment in San Antonio. He met with a male fertility specialist and he came out of that appointment with some amazing information. The doctor was awesome and listened to everything and didn't brush anything off.

 He had bloodwork for genetic testing as well as a few other examinations done. One of the main things we found out is that it is very possible that he has a chromosomal abnormality called Y Chromosome Microdeletion. Based on information from my genetic testing and what his doctor thinks, all of the pregnancies and miscarriages that we have had would have resulted in little boys. That was hard to hear again, since I had been told that at my genetics appointment. If he does have this abnormality (which we will find out for certain in 4 weeks) we will likely only carry girls to term. 

There are a few other things that we can do to help our chances of conceiving, Kyle can be put on clomid (yes the same stuff women take), but the upside for him taking it is that he can take it for the rest of his life without it causing a problem for him. For women, they can only take it so many times in their lifetime before it weakens their reproductive organs.

I am sure a lot of you are thinking that this information is TMI but to be honest this information should be out in the open. Kyle and I were talking about it last night, our journey and our story can potentially help others who are afraid to ask questions and who are afraid to ask for testing to be done. Kyle is finally to the point where is okay talking about this freely and he should be, I'm happy that he is comfortable enough in his own skin to talk about it. It's a real thing that more people than you think are experiencing.

While this news to some would be devastating, we are actually hopeful. We are happy that we now have a direction to go. We have options to try before moving onto IVF (If we do end up going with IVF doctors can test for genetic abnormalities). All we have ever wanted was doctors to listen to us and do more testing. So the plan is to wait and see what the genetics test say and then move onto Clomid for Kyle.

We are so relieved to have a plan finally after 6 years and a way to move forward for the time being. I am excited and hopeful to see what the future hold!

Back To Normal (For Now)

I am finally home from Florida after spending a few days there, I took our niece and nephew back home on Sunday and decided to stay a few days to hang out with my sister.

We had such a great week with the kids, it was so fun to hang out with them, goof off around the house, spend time at the pool and playground. Last Friday was our big fun day since Kyle was home early from work we went miniature golfing and bowling, then ended the night with treats from Sonic. 

It was such a great week and we hope that they will want to come back again next year. :)

A few days to recoup in Florida was nice, it's always fun hanging out with my sister. She is pretty rad.

We have a few weeks to relax and get ready for our trip in July. Houston and Orlando are going to be pretty awesome, I can't wait! Kyle hasn't had much time off since starting this job in November, so it is definitely going to be good for him.

This weekend will be pretty low key for the most part, Sunday is Father's Day as well as our 7th wedding anniversary. It's going to be a great day! :)

I hope you all have an awesome weekend.

Wordless Wednesday

This is what happens when you are watching 8 kids and they rebel haha!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

The Journey Continues

Most of you know that back in April I finally had my genetic testing done. It was pretty extensive testing as it was expanded to test more in depth into the chromosomes as well as for the Cystic Fibrosis gene (I have two cousins that have CF, and one passed away 2 years ago). The results were back weeks ago but I didn't get them until last Friday.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, throughout this infertility journey it has been one frustrating thing after another. Much to my surprise my results came back completely normal, and I do not have the CF gene (which has nothing to do with infertility, but I wanted to be tested just to be sure). Now that we have that out of the way we wait for Kyle's results. He has a follow up appointment this week in San Antonio and we will hopefully have his results soon after that. 

His results are the last piece to the puzzle, once we have those results we can really focus on our next step and figure out what direction we are going. Our feelings throughout all of this have not changed, there is nothing that we want more than to have a child. After having our niece and nephew this last week it made that even more clear, our goal in life is to be parents and to be the best parents that we can be. 

We won't give up.

Anniversary Gifts...The Bane of My Existence.

In a little over a week we will celebrating our 7 year anniversary....it's amazing to me how fast time has flown by. 

With that being said I am still at a loss as to what to get Kyle. I have been given some pretty amazing ideas from the fellow bloggers and friends but I'm still torn. Do you I go the traditional route or do I come up with something creative or practical? Let me say that Kyle is one of the most difficult people to shop for, not in the sense that he is picky but more so that he has everything he wants. 

I am really close to ordering this....it's functional and something that I know he would love. Plus he loves any chance he gets to rep his Alma Mater. 

I've also thought about getting him all of the seasons of Breaking Bad. He loved that show and I know he would load them all onto his computer and watch them over and over again. 

Thankfully I still have a little bit of time to decide (10 days to be exact but who is counting lol). It might come down to him just picking out what he wants haha.

Any help you can throw my direction would be grand!

Happy Thursday!

It Feels Like Summer!

It is finally feeling like summer here in Central Louisiana and it's amazing. One of the best things about the warm weather (and living on post) is that our neighborhood center pool is finally open. It's walking distance from the house and it's rarely ever busy.

Kyle and I have been doing our best to take advantage of it and spend as much time as we can there.

It's nice to take an hour or so to just relax and not think about anything. I have to say that this is the one thing I missed the most about not living on post at Bliss, being able to readily access a pool is so nice. Plus it's nice to not be so pasty white haha, my tan is already coming along nicely so I am not complaining one bit. 

It's going to be a great Summer!

What do you look forward to most about Summer?

A Week Of Fun!

I'm back from my quick trip to Florida! I got to see this sweet girl in her play and get her awards.

We played at the beach for a day!

And then we made the trek back to Louisiana! Kyle and I love having them spend a week with us during the summer. It's good for us, them, and my sister (she deserves some time to herself).

We are looking forward to a great week!

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Let's Do It Again!

In honor of National Running Day yesterday the Rock 'n' Roll series was offering a significant discount on certain races. As soon as I saw this I knew I needed to go ahead and register for the New Orleans Marathon!

February 28, 2016 is going to be awesome and I think it will be a perfect race for my 2nd marathon. It actually takes place almost 2 years to the day after my 1st.

It's official!

 I am bummed though that Kyle won't be able to run it with me because he will be finishing up a rotation that day. Boo! However, I know he will be cheering me on from afar and my sister might come up to cheer me on. 

After experiencing New Orleans this past weekend I knew that running through this city would be absolutely incredible. I have 268 days to get in tip top running shape and get my time to where I want it to be.

I am pumped and have a few races in between to use as training runs so I should be just fine.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Adventures in New Orleans

We are back from our trip to New Orleans! We got there Saturday afternoon, checked into our hotel and made our way to the French Quarter. It started to rain so we ducked into a daiquiri bar and enjoyed the scenery and the people watching, oh and the daiquiris lol.

Once the rain let up we continued walking and it is definitely an interesting place. I have to say it reminded me of Vegas only with crazier people (however they don't bother anyone they just keep to themselves).

We walked along the Mississippi River, grabbed some dinner and met up with a tour guide for a history tour. It was amazing to learn about all the quirks and eccentricities of this city especially regarding Voodoo (which really isn't what people think it is). After the tour was over we grabbed some more drinks and headed back to the hotel.

I took these photos during the tour in front of the St. Louis Cathedral, we saw a military wedding second-line parade and it was awesome! The bottom right picture you can see the huge group of people in the parade. :)

Saturday morning we were up bright and early to grab breakfast at Cafe Du Monde. It was well worth the wait in line to enjoy these amazing beignets! It was so fun to sit in this cafe that has so much history, I mean the city of New Orleans has so much history, it's really remarkable.

I picked up that awesome Forest Gump shirt too, I thought it was only fitting haha.

After breakfast we headed over to the WWII Museum, if you have never been definitely put it on your bucket list because it is absolutely extraordinary! It has 3 separate buildings full of exhibits, a final submarine mission experience as well as a 45 minute movie called "Beyond All Boundaries". It took us almost 5 hours to go through and it was worth every second.

Afterwards we got caught in a downpour and basically ran back to the hotel to dry off haha. Once the rain stopped we ventured out again to walk Bourbon street and enjoy the scenery. We were supposed to have dinner at one of Emeril's restaurant but after a disappointing experience we left before we even got our meals. 

Once we left we went to Harrah's for a little gambling and even came out on top which is rare, haha. Another trip to Cafe Du Monde happened and then we found an awesome piano bar/lounge called Pat O'Briens and spent the rest of the night there, we sang and danced until well after 1am. It was awesome!

Yesterday morning we slept in a bit, grabbed breakfast at the hotel and checked out the Aquarium of the Americas before we headed home.

It was such a wonderful trip! We definitely enjoyed ourselves and didn't care about anything else going on around us. We haven't have a whole lot of time together lately so it was nice to just be together.

I can't wait to go back in September with my sister! 

Hope you all had a great weekend.