Vegas and 7 Years!

When Ella was just a few weeks old our friends told us about a concert going on in Vegas, poolside at the Hard Rock, and it was a band we really enjoyed called Pepper. Yosh was SO excited and said we “had” to go. I deep down started freaking out about leaving Ella, pumping enough milk and just being away. I told myself “it’s a long way off Erin, relax”. Well that didn’t work. But I diligently started pumping and freezing milk and praying that I’d be able to leave Mom with enough (which I did have enough) BUT left her with a canister of formula JUST IN CASE.

It just so happened that this concert also landed on our anniversary weekend…so it was even more reason to get away and enjoy some Mommy/Daddy time! I chuckled when I realized that we’d be spending our anniversary with the Browns…for the 3rd year in a row…I swear we should just marry them! lol

But it was us, The Browns and The Parkers. We decided to get a suite and adjoining room. It was beautiful! With an awesome view of one of the pools.

 

But let me rewind. Of course my hubs forgot his sunglasses at home…so we “had” to make a stop to buy more. And let me tell you the mall on the Vegas Strip is so freakin’ COOL! And 3 of the 4 of us got some new shades! (The one that didn’t get new shades wasn’t excited about us shopping either!)

 

 

 

But we got to the hotel and the party got started immediately!

It was a lot of fun…and we knew we had to get ready and still have more fun that evening! And I had to do lots of pumping and dumping…kinda depressing to pour that liquid gold down the drain!!


We got all dolled up and headed to a German restaurant (Josh’s request). But I was excited because Kyla and Megan were able to do the “sock bun” for me! lol Heeey!

The German place was cool. HUGE jugs of beer, chugging contests that Sean and Josh found out was for girls (haha)…and the waitress’ slapped people with these wooden paddles. Not exactly sure why BUT it was funny to watch!

From there we headed to our favorite spot…The Nine Fine Irishmen in the NYNY. Always a great time!

Day 2 at the pool was WAY more crazy than day one! We got a bed thingy…which had a $500 minimum (including food and beverages). It was 111 degrees outside so we spent most of the day in the water…people watching. It was NUTS! Music BLARING, Beach Balls FLYING around the place, Drunk people EVERYWHERE…oh man…

Was a great day at the pool…but we ate at Pink Taco, cleaned up and headed back to the pool area for the concert.

The boys really enjoyed the concert…I was over partying at that point but got to listen while lounging poolside (in clothes). It was nice! The guys wanted more…so we headed out to eat at 11:30pm while Megan and myself just watched the entertainment. lol Oyster shots…followed with some Patron shots…((Barf!!))

But the next morning we were up and ready for breakfast and the long drive home. Wasn’t too bad (Yosh did the driving!). Wasn’t the ideal way to spend our anniversary of being hungover and driving 4 hours home!. BUT hey…whatever works.

We feasted on a romantic getup of Taco Bell and McDonalds…haha but I DID get my lovely husband a cute ‘copper’ (year 7 is copper!) keychain. Says ‘love’ with 3 pennies attached..the year we were married, the year we had Owen and this year, the year we welcomed our Ella Bean!

Little bit different than how we spent it 7 years ago…

But coming home to our babies and the best Nana who stayed at our house all weekend with them was THE best gift ever! I missed them…so so much! And Mother had to make brownies, which I obviously HAD to eat (and add to my 5lbs gained in Vegas!)

Great weekend! Thanks for lots of fun friends!!

Coverage Denied!

I’ve been having such weird feelings lately…about my cancer. Of course I always have the fear deep down that it will come back…even with the 2 year cancer-free marker having come and gone. The farther away from that time in my life the better my odds are of it NEVER returning. I feel like it has a 0% chance of coming back but you just never know (yes the ever lasting pessimist)! I know I’ve been having these crazy thoughts lately since my whole ordeal with cancer has been brought up quite a bit lately. Every time I turn around it feels like I’m being dragged back to that time in my life.

Right before we got out of school for the summer we have open enrollment at the district office for our benefits. That is the time that we get the chance to enroll in elective disability insurances as well as pick our medical, dental, and vision packages.  I have paid into a short term disability since I started teaching in 2007; I knew that I would need it for maternity leave someday. I used my American Fidelity insurance twice; for the birth of Owen and my 6 months of treatment. It was an amazing policy and financially saved us! When I filed my paperwork right before Ella’s arrival I was very unhappy to find out American Fidelity had changed our policies without notifying us (“us” being  all district employees with this policy) AND it was done after our enrollment had closed (leaving us no other option to change!). I was PISSED…but to make a VERY VERY long story short…we got screwed out of a lot of money…did some MAJOR complaining to the district, our teachers union, the company…anyone that would listen! The only good that came from it was American Fidelity brought the original policy back this year. Which is a GREAT Thing for me. In all my fury I went researching other companies and policies. Yosh was accepted by a company with great benefits and low monthly premiums. I unfortunately got this letter after applying to the same company…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“…coverage is declined”.  Since I had to admit I had cancer they don’t want me. Talk about the ultimate rejection! 

Nice. huh. So because I had cancer some (okay a lot) of companies won’t insure me. That whole “pre-existing conditions clause” really effs you!! Thankfully I got into my disability insurance pre-cancer…and am now kinda stuck with it whether the policy sucks or not. And when looking into life insurance we have recently found out that the companies that WILL insure me want around $500 in monthly premiums for minimal coverage. Its kinda sad…okay its really sad! Walking around tables at open enrollment having to ask…”if my cancer comes back will this policy pay out” and “If I were to DIE from cancer, would this policy work, even if it’s a pre-existing condition?” Totally morbid and depressing but essential questions when searching for the best policy possible.

AND these damn post-baby hormones are a bitch and making my hair fall out…which again…reminds me of my early chemo days! Showering can be startling…so much damn hair falls out!  And this picture was just the beginning…sooo much more comes out these days! When does that stop happening?!?!?!?

 

 

And so on top of all that  insurance crap constantly reminding me, make me think of that time of my life and the effects on my future…Ella has officially turned the EXACT age (literally….4 months 8 days old!) that Owen was when I was diagnosed with Hodgkins. Its like life was so different back then and BAM…everything changed so quickly. So I feel like when people ask me…did Owen do this or that…I have no clue…my memory gets very foggy from about this time until he was  over a year old. Sad huh?!? I only have what little fuzzy memories I have, what I wrote down to go off and pictures we took. Its like we are heading into what feels like unchartered territory.

August 12, 2009 - This is the day that I got the phone call…we were on a mini vacation in Laughlin with great friends…and we got the phone call from the Thoracic Surgeon that the biopsy results had come back…this tumor in my chest…

Was in fact Hodgkins Lymphoma Nodular Sclerosis. The phone call was surreal. I didn’t cry…I think I was just in shock. The Doctor spelled it out…literally…he knew we were gonna hit google the second we hung up. Yosh and I sat there…looked at eachother…and knew my battle had began. I knew what was in store for me…I had to watch my mother battle breast cancer 5 years prior. But it was scary…very scary. To look into Owen’s little eyes and be terrified that I might not actually win this battle…what happens if I never saw him walk, go to school, graduate, get married…all these things ran through my head constantly!

We had gotten the news we were waiting for…hoping it wasn’t what we thought it was…but gosh darnit it WAS what we were dreading. So we sat there, made the phone calls to our families and decided it was as good of a day as any to hit the lake.

I was so glad we were surrounded by some of our best friends. Not just for me…but Yosh too! He needed support from his buddies as well!

So as we are preparing for Ella’s first river trip next week I think about Owen being this age…how THAT particular river trip went…and it was one of the days that I will never forget…ever.

I do have to continue to reassure myself…everything is fine. No cancer. We can handle Ella even if we don’t remember what we did the first time around…we have google and friends that will remind me when I’m doing something wrong! haha.

4 Months!

I can’t believe my little lady is now 4 months…I know I’m like a broken record and keep saying that every month but seriously…its just crazy. Today, while in line at Kaiser for her well-baby check-up there was a 6 day old in front of us…I swear it was only yesterday that Ella was that small (well she was technically never as small as that baby who weighed 6lbs at birth BUT you get the idea). Time is flying by…

I love her…and she is getting used to the million different poses for her monthly photo session too!  She’s my chubby little lady…and little is forsure! Shes 13lbs 2.4oz in the 27th% for weight and 24.25inches long in the 37th% for length. I swear she is a little fat girl! lol Oxymoron…yes.

‘Adore’ is an understatement of how Ella feels about her brother. Its so funny…he can get her to belly laugh at the drop of a hat. Today I had to run downstairs and switch a load of laundry (yes I’m back to doing my own laundry since I’ve given Nana the summer off! haha) I asked Owen to keep an eye on Ella…and I came back to her room like this…

He was so excited to show her how to work his castle and tell her WHERE she could buy him the Ogre for it! haha (See Ella “brought” him the dragon for this castle when she was born, so he keeps asking her to bring him the ogre too.)
No privacy…even when I’m trying to keep Ella in a quiet place to feed her. Distractions are the new thing nowadays…every time she hears Owens voice she stops eating and watches him! Kinda frustrating at times.

Her 4 month doctor appt was today…Daddy took Owen out to buy his first fishing pole for the river next week…and I got the fun job of bring her for shots.

 

I was taking selfies of us to keep my anxiety level down…why there seems to always be loud crazy kids in waiting rooms when I’m there is beyond me. And why exactly that makes me freak out is beyond me as well.

 

 

 

 

 

She did great…strong, healthy, no sign of her heart murmur, growing, and only cried after her shots. Poor baby! But she's awesome!!

So we’ll be starting baby foods, hopefully she starts rolling around here pretty soon!!! As of right now she’s…

…and HATES tummy time!! lol

And it seems as though both my children think eating their fist at 4 months is a good idea as well….?? And No…Owen started doing this 5 months before getting a single tooth! haha