Happy First Birthday!

We had a really fun day yesterday celebrating with Banyan his first birthday. A friend from Cake Creations by Christina made an amazing cake for Banyan to share with Panzer & his friend Liberty who is also in training. We decorated with some balloons and made the humans cupcakes as well to enjoy. Liberty arrived after school & Jeremy along with the other boys where super excited. We started off playing with the bubbles a good friend to Jeremy named Devon had given Banyan. Then it was cake time! Liberty enjoyed a lot of the cake as Banyan ate very nicely & Panzer had to be fed the cake-haha He wasn't sure he was allowed to eat it I think. Next was present time from Liberty & his mom. They gave him a great Jolly Ball in red- his favorite color! He also received a great birthday surprise in the mail from Loula & Bear " The Service Pups" & their boys. A great red ball to chew as well as a nice new book for Jeremy to read. Everyone was so nice to him on his special day.

Liberty's mom had plans for the evening so we let Liberty have a birthday sleep over & the boys played until bed time. Then they popped up bright and early to play some more. It was a great first birthday & we are so proud of Banyan. He is making great progress with his training. He deserved a fun afternoon off to play & celebrate. We are really blessed to have him in our lives.

 

This is Liberty with the new ball

 

Pounds Gained, Then Lost

Yesterday we had what was suppose to be a quick check-up for Jeremy with his Neurologist. Notice I said was suppose to be quick-haha Nothing is ever super fast at Madigan but yesterday seemed every place we had to go was backed up. Three and half hours later we where done. But not before Jeremy had to give up six viles of his blood. He did pretty well & Banyan was amazing!

Jeremy was so excited that his bandage matched Banyans! This was the first time Banyan had been around for a blood draw and he laid at Jeremy's feet with out moving for the whole time. I was very pleased. Next off to get vitals where Banyan pretty much let the nurse know he was not waiting in the doorway like she asked. He scooted right in under Jeremy's chair while her back was turned, then I swear he smiled at me! This is where the good & bad news starts. Height was great he grew 2 3/4 inches since October-YAY!! So we where optimistic about his weight. Nope, the whole 3 pounds he had gained where GONE! he had lost them  :0( All the hard work & weeks of stuffing him until I thought he'd explode gone just like that. Now we are back into what is causing this??

We are now booked with an endocrinologist in two weeks for more blood work & a look to see if his seizure medications are halting his growth. His doctor has researched the  effects of long term use of Tegrotal. It can cause thyroid issues.  In the mean time we have upped his dose of medication at night for appetite stimulant. I have tried and tried today to get him to eat. Sometimes he would others it was a huge battle of wills. He is also dehydrated, low vitamin D,B, & iron. Geez... so bring on more vitamins. Anyway hopefully we can get some weight on my young man. I call him little guy, but folks he will be twelve in October so he is really not so little anymore. Just small on the outside.  Pray that we can figure it all out & that no drastic measure need to be taken. Jeremy has been through a lot in his short life I really hope we don't have to take him on another journey that is evasive so he get's the nutrition his body needs. But I am fully prepared to take that step if we must.


 For now we are all excited to celebrate Banyan's birthday on Thursday. A friend is making him a cake for the dogs to eat. His friend Liberty is staying the night for a sleep over- yes he is just a dog folks. But he is a very loved & treasured dog who is changing Jeremy's world. Stay tuned for pictures!
 

Cute Puppies Go Vote Please

We entered Mr. Banyan in a contest on Facebook over at City Dog Country Dog. If you have a Facebook account please go look at all the pictures see how super cute they all are, then Please Vote for Banyan-LOL He has a chewing problem & we just found him finishing off a brand new flip-flop from Aeropostle we just purchased last week- naughty pup! The prize is a chew toy from Mr. Chewy's so that would be perfect! Plus it's his first birthday next week! What a great birthday present for him & mom! Help save our flip-flops & click "LIKE" under his picture. Thanks!

Being Bold

Ok so if you don't want to hear a few of the plain hard facts & truths of how this momma is feeling right now here is your WARNING: LEAVE THIS BLOG NOW!!


Taking a page from a great blogger over at My Camo Kids who decided to tell it like it is about her recent new deployment . I am right there with her at the moment only mine is the tail end of the deployment phase. Here goes hang on folks you may hear things you don't like but guess what ? It's the truth & the way I feel at the moment so deal with it please like grown - ups. Only leave comments that won't get you yelled at & possibly beat up by this tired Army wife & mom.


 First yes I know I should be excited that I am now mere weeks away from seeing my husband after ten long months- but NO that does not make it any easier now then it did when he left. As a matter of fact I'm even more exhausted & tired! Why you may ask because the four boys have now declared WAR on eachother- NON- STOP!! They apparently have used up all their good moods/ manners at school . When they arrive home they argue, fight, yell all night or day long! I'm tired of playing referee!


Second just because your husband is just starting a deployment does not mean my deployment experience is any less valid because my husband will be home . EXCUSE ME- he has been gone ten months while your husband was still home with you & your kids! Please get over yourself and realize we are all going through deployment hell together so shouldn't we all be supporting eachother not comparing who has it worse?


Third stop thinking you are coming to Homecoming with my family if I haven't asked you. This time is so emotional for my boys & me that we can barely make it through by ourselves let alone with others present. We always have one person who I take who is a friend of mine to take pictures. But she stays back quietly we never know she is there. She leaves in her own car & gives me the pictures later. Homecoming is special, private time filled with extreme emotions that unless you've been through it you can't possibly understand so please don't pretend you can. Don't expect because your a friend you get to come. Reintegration to me is THE HARDEST part of a deployment cycle. In our home we barely had Paul home for five months before orders dropped again- so we never really even bonded again before he left. We have a long hard road ahead. He has missed three consecutive birthdays of Jeremy's. his kids have grown, changed not only physically but emotionally- BACK OFF let us get to know each other again. This time would include the first few weeks he is home as well. Call say hello, leave a Welcome Home on Facebook- but please don't be offended if we aren't running to invite you over.


Fourth did I mention I'm exhausted! Maybe even more so then when this started- sleep what is sleep?? So if I act like I'm fine just know asking is a super loaded question so be prepared. You could possibly get the nice " I'm fine" or you could get the total break down in tears me. Emotions are running high- so suck it up & ask with caution then be prepared to accept you may not like what you hear.


Anyway that's my vent for the day- I'm hanging on to my rope for six more weeks. I am on what I call the steep downhill slope of the roller coaster ride from Hell!! We all go through phases this is my phase at the moment. This is my life & I'm Ok with it, but I'm SOOOOO ready for it to be OVER!

** Edit**
Thank you to all my close friends who have read this then chose to send me some outrageously funny emails. You've made me laugh so hard- for that I am grateful ** 

Happy Dancing Through the Post Office

I bet you never would have thought that anyone would be doing a Happy Dance in the post office?? Well this girl did today! We have lived in the same military town for the last three deployments so I know the employees at our local post office. A couple who always chat with me & ask about Paul are super great! I got one of those ladies today as I slung a heavy care package up on her scale. She smiled & asked what I packed this time for Paul? I smiled a huge smile & told her it has all the favorites he requested because it's HIS LAST CARE PACKAGE of this deployment!!

That's right folks we have finally made it through almost 10 months of this fourth deployment. We found out a couple weeks ago my husband's unit will be home one month early- so I only have to hold on to my sanity six more weeks! I can do this I CAN!! Six weeks is a heck of a lot shorter then when we started back on July 5, 2011! It takes his boxes about ten to fourteen days to arrive so I won't mail anymore. I hate that he is spending his big 40th Birthday over there but we can celebrate when he returns. Now is time to buckle down and get all those projects done I said I would finish ten months ago,oooppps. I can barely wrap my brain around the fact that we have almost done it, we have almost kicked this fourth deployment in the booty! I pray it is our last, but who knows what God & the Army have in store for our family. I just had to share with everyone. I hope you all who are just starting your journey can read this & realize eventually they come to an end. Just hang on tight with both hands & go along for the ride!

Spring Break Getaway

The boys & I had the chance to head off for a quick getaway to Newport, Oregon for the last few days of their Spring Break. I had so much fun even in the van on the drive. The boys laughed , fought, & played all the things siblings do but in the end we had FUN! Banyan did great for his first long car trip. He slept with out his kennel in the hotel & was fine. We had my best friend Sam & her gang with us which made it even more special. Here are some of my favorite pictures, I hope you enjoy. I am off to rest then tackle all the dirty laundry.

 

 

Last stop was Tillamook Cheese Factory- seems Banyan was just as interested as the boys.