Our Journey with Pectus Excavatum: The First Tests

Hi everyone,

 It's been a while since I've posted anything about Christian's Pectus. There really hasn't been anything to talk about until this week. Tuesday he went to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to start all of his tests. Y'all, let me first start off by telling you how amazing these people are who work at this hospital. They have so much love and patience for my child. My very talkative, goofy, nervous child. I've noticed that when he's nervous he won't admit it, but he will talk non stop about the most random, weird things. The nurses are so sweet and usually just laugh at him. But, he does have a tendency to talk a little too much during times that he needs to be still. We're still working on that part.

 So, back to Tuesday. We first started out with an EKG. It didn't take long to do and it was a pretty quick appointment. Next we were off to the Pulmonary Function Test. This was by far the hardest thing he had to do that day. He had to do a series of breathing tests. Both standing and sitting inside of a box. It almost looked like a phone booth. Remember those things? lol He did an amazing job!! After those tests were complete they told us to wait in the waiting room and to give him a snack while they got the exercise room ready. After about 15 minutes they came to get us. I was in there with him along with three nurses. The nurse who did his breathing exercises, the exercise nurse, and another nurse who was monitoring his blood pressure. Please forgive me for not remembering the technical terms of these sweet ladies. As you can imagine my brain was going a mile a minute at this point.

 He was hooked up to a machine which monitored his heart. Then they put a mask on him. He was making jokes about looking like Hannibal Lecter ( He really knows nothing about the movie...... LOL). He was also saying it felt like he was beginning the first stages of becoming a super hero. lol I'll post a picture below. After they had everything hooked up and made sure the computers were reading things correctly he got onto an exercise bike. He had to pedal the bike for as long as he could. Until he physically could not do it any more. It started off easy and as time went by the resistance on the pedals would increase as if he were pedaling up a steep hill. They wanted his heart rate to be at 170bpm before he stopped. Several times he would have to take in a deep breath and let it out. (The mask was hooked up to a machine as well to monitor his breathing through the exercise.) They would also check his blood pressure every few minutes. Just as his heart rate hit 170 he said he couldn't pedal any more. He was done. He did amazing!! I was so proud of my boy. Afterwards was the cool off stage. The resistance was gone from the pedals but he had to slowly pedal so his legs wouldn't cramp up. After two minutes of doing that they removed his mask and let him sit in a chair. They monitored his blood pressure until it was back to normal and he had a glass of water.

 After the tests was finished they removed the ace bandages they wrapped around him to keep all the wires in place. The nurse told me they throw them away and asked if I'd have any use for them. I said I didn't think so and Christian spoke up and said he would. LOL Seriously, I think this kid is a hoarder. I'm worried!!!! LOL He asked them to put it in a bio hazard bag. He's such a goober.

 We were finished with the PFT's so next we went to the allergy nurse. Thankfully it was right down the hallway. Actually, it was a shared waiting room so we didn't have to find our way through the hospital again. That's a huge relief. The allergy patches were pretty easy to apply. They put them on his forearm and told me he has to wear them for 48 hours. I will be removing that today at 2:30. I'll try to include a picture if I can remember to take one. 😉 Friday we go back to have the allergy test read as well as a Cardiac MRI. I'm not sure exactly what will happen with that, but I will be sure to update as soon as I can.

 Thank you to everyone who has read this blog post. I really hope that at some point I'll be able to offer advice and support for other families going through this journey. If you have any advice or tips for me please let me know!! I'd love to hear them. xxoo


                                                 Hooked up for Pulmonary Function Test!!

Allergy Patches

Our Journey with Pectus Excavatum

Hello Everyone,

   I know this blog is mainly about food and products I'm reviewing, but I've decided to change things up a bit. At least some of the time. I hope this will help someone as well as help me and my family through this new, unexpected journey. 

  My oldest son, Christian, was recently diagnosed with Pectus Excavatum. Basically what that means is his chest caves in. I took him to the Dr. for another issue and ended up with a referral to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to see a pediatric surgeon. You can imagine the shock we all went through learning this news. I always knew his chest was concave but I never really thought about it being a serious issue. I also didn't know how bad it had gotten. He's very shy about not having a shirt on in front of others so I never really see his chest. He went through a major growth spurt over the summer and stands nearly 6ft tall at just 13 years old! I believe that could be what has caused his pectus to get worse.

  I'm still very new to this. I really don't know much about what all is going to be taking place over the next several months with him. I don't know how they will correct this issue. I don't know if this is affecting his organs. So many " I don't knows" at the moment and it's making this Mama a little anxious. That's why I decided to start blogging about this. Hoping it will help ease our fears, help others who may be going through the same thing, and maybe introduce my family to others who have experienced this as well. Please feel free to reach out to me. I'll do the best I can to help you or if you wish to offer us some help that would be awesome!! 

  In February (2018) Christian will be going back to Children's Hospital for a Cardiac MRI, EKG, Pulmonary Function Test, and an Allergy Test. They are wanting to make sure all of his organs are growing and developing the way they should and aren't being pushed out of the way by his breast bone. They also want to make sure his lungs aren't being compressed. The allergy test is to make sure he's not sensitive to anything they may need to give him during surgery. It's amazing how brave this boy is. I know deep down he's probably nervous, but I talk to him about it often and he tells me he's not afraid. He just really hopes they knock him out if he has to have surgery!! hahahaha God love him. I assured him they would and he would be ok.

  Please check back often for more updates on my boy. I will be posting soon introducing you all to him. He's a pretty amazing kid!! Thanks to everyone who has read this. We would really appreciate the prayers 

Emily 

Cranberry Upside Down Sour Cream Cake

I cannot even believe it's already the Christmas season!! This year has went by so fast, and to be honest, I don't like it!! It means my boys are growing way too fast. But, I guess that's life and I'm truly thankful for the life God has blessed me with. I have an amazing family who I love to pieces!!

Last weekend we celebrated a late Thanksgiving with my paternal grandparents. My mom made a delicious meal and I brought the dessert. I was going to make a pumpkin roll but I just wasn't in the mood. So, I went on a hunt for a dessert using cranberries. I had a whole bag in my fridge and I was afraid they would go to waste. I came upon this recipe and let me tell you, it is the yummiest cake I've ever eaten!! I made another this weekend and I've already been asked to make one for Christmas!! 

Here is the recipe!! Enjoy!!

Revive Box from Influenster

I received this box for free to review from Influenster. If you do not know what Influenster is please check out my link. There should be a button to the right of this post!! It's super fun and I love trying out products I may not normally buy. This is the Revive Box. It came with a few different protein powders, a protein shake cup, shampoo and conditioner, some super yummy Snackwells cookies, and coffee. Let me start out with the coffee. It was amazing!! Great flavor and came in convenient pods to use with my k-cup machine. The only problem I had was it did not fit in my k-cup machine. The packaging claimed it would work in all k-cup machines but it did not do so well in mine. The pods would blow up sending coffee grounds everywhere. What a mess. I finally took the last one over to my dad to use in his Keurig and it worked perfectly!! The protein powders/shakes were in my opinion disgusting. I do not know much about them and this was the first time I ever tried them. I found they were way too sweet. So sweet I couldn't get past two or three sips without feeling sick. They all used Stevia and had that "fake sugar" taste and aftertaste. The cup was really good. It was a good size, easy to hold, and I'll probably use it for water. The Snackwells cookies were delicious!! I will be purchasing some of these for sure!! The Shea Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner were good. But, it's hard for me to give a good review when I can only use a sample size of a product. I need to be able to use it more than once to really know if I like it or not.

Back to School!! Homeschool Organization for Small Spaces.

I can't believe it's already that time of year again. Back to School!! I still get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I see school supplies hitting the store shelves. haha This marks our sixth year as a Homeschool Family. I'm so glad we made the switch from public school to homeschool. I feel it was the way God was leading and everything just falls into place. One thing I find so difficult is keeping everything organized. It always seems there are books, paper, crayons, and pencils scattered around the house. This year I've decided to try to keep things a lot tidier but make it look cute at the same time. I searched in every cabinet of my house in search of jars that I could use. I found a few pint jars, some decorative jars that I bought at Target during the Christmas season, as well as a milk bottle. I used chalkboard stickers and labeled each jar according to their contents. ** Tip: Use a white crayon or colored pencil to write on your chalkboard stickers. It doesn't smudge and gives the same effect!! **

I also have a dresser in my living room that I store all of their curriculum in. I love using a beautiful piece of furniture to store things. It's pleasing to the eye and also very functional. Especially for small homes that do not have a proper homeschool room.

I hope this post will help some of you guys out. Please let me know ways you organize your school room!! I'd love to hear your ideas!! xxoo, Emily

1,000 Subscriber Giveaway!!

I finally did it!! After five whole  years I have finally hit 1,000 Subscribers on my YouTube Channel. I am so excited about this achievement!! I am hosting a giveaway. The rules are pretty simple. You MUST be 18 years or older to enter. You MUST be one of my subscribers. To enter just fill out all the items below and you'll have a shot at winning an Amazon Giftcard!! This giveaway is open world world wide. Good luck and THANK YOU all from the bottom of my little ole' heart for all of your love and support!! The contest will start Saturday May 28, 2016 at Midnight and will end June 3, 2016!! 

xxoo,
Emily




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Influesnter Tastykake Minis Review

Hi everyone,

 I was recently chosen to review these awesome little snacks from Tastykake. They were sent to me from Influenster to test and review. These are my honest opinions and I'm not being paid to say these things. 

 These little cupcakes are so delicious. The cake is perfect and when you add the Peanut Butter Icing as well as the Peanut Butter Cream filling it makes a perfect marriage in your mouth!! I love that they used Reese's Peanut Butter. You get 8 packs of 3 cupcakes which is perfect. They are super rich and honestly the perfect size when you need something sweet. I would highly recommend buying these as soon as you see them in stores!! 

Eat Well,
Emily