MOMS

I'm so glad I said yes to joining MOMS with my church (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton)! Originally I was honestly thinking about saying NO because I have quite a lot going on, but how could I say NO to something that would ultimately make me a better mom to my children.

Today was the my first meeting and it was great! We started out by dropping our kids off in the nursery (score)! Then we went to our meeting room and mingled until it started. 

They opened up with a spiritual reflection, we prayed a decade of the rosary, then began our planned activity (Pinterest fall wreath). Fr. Ben hopped in to say how excited he is about this group! I love Fr. Ben!

Then after carefully completing my Pinterest inspired fall wreath (thanks to Kayle Landrigan, Courtney Freiburger, Angie Minnich, Julie Gabriel, & Angie Jurczak...yes it took that many people to help me), we played a fun getting to know you game. 

The ladies who run this MOMS group are incredible! 

So...if you are Catholic & looking for a way to get connected to other young families, please consider joining MOMS. It meets every other Tuesday from 9:00-11am.

God Bless

What's New with Me & New to You

After several years of considering joining Junior League, I've finally took the leap and am now in the New Member Cohort. The reason I really wanted to join Junior League was to make an impact in the community with philanthropy. I miss my Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity days of volunteerism and what a great organization to be a part of...they're established, have the volunteer opportunities right there, you just need to take part! It's also a great way to meet people if you are new to the area. I've been here for 10 years now, so I'm not necessarily on League to make friends, but there are some kind hearted gals there! Plus what got me was their new focus, elementary readiness! This is a definite need and holds close in my heart, as I have 2 kids (almost 6 & 4). Everything that JL does, is to better their mission.

One of the ways in which Junior League raises funds is with their New to You Sale! This is an excellent opportunity to shop name brand items at amazing prices!! Basically JL members have donated tons of their items they can part with to this sale. The date is 11/1 from 8-3 at the Fort Wayne National Guard Armory (130 West Cook Rd). 

So, what are you waiting for?! Bring

your friends and come shop this fantastic sale of quality products in all merchandise categories, so you are sure to find amazing deals! And don’t forget the bag sale which happens from  2:00 pm – 3:00 pm at the end of the sale. Shoppers can fill small bags for $5 and large bags for just $10!

You won't want to miss this event!!

Living It Up

Today was quite the busy day, but none-the-less, worth every minute. As normal, I got Olivia on the bus, Gabe his breathing treatment, and then headed out to run errands.

 Gabe wanted to pick out a craft for his play date with Sam (neighbor friend), so we went to JoAnn's and he picked out a Wilton Gingerbread Halloween House. It was on sale and I had a coupon, so why not. 

Then I dropped Gabe off at preschool and checked out the book fair at his school. I was happy to see Neysa Myers and get her recommendations on good books. I bought 5 books (2 for the kids for Halloween, 2 for Christmas, & 1 for Gabe's teacher). 

After the book fair fun, I went to Olivia's school to volunteer in her Kindergarten class. I wasn't sure what to expect (never volunteered there before) but Olivia was really excited that I was going to be helping out. Her teacher had me help her with some projects and I enjoyed helping out. On a side note, I'm really impressed with Covington so far! My decision to go public seems to be the right, so I hope.

After volunteering at school, I went to pick up Gabe from preschool. Then his friend, Sam came over to play. Gabe was really excited to have him create the Gingerbread Halloween House with him! The boys played really well together and I look forward to them playing more often!

Then Olivia's friends, Annika & Caitlin came over for a play date. They went 100 mph in all sorts of different activities. One minute we were making bracelets, then they were dressing up in princess attire, playing hopscotch, Barbie doll Dreamhouse, and then they were jumping on the trampoline. They are extremely well behaved girls and Olivia is lucky to have them as friends! 

After the play dates, it was bed time, so I let the kids see their surprise (aka, the Halloween books). They LOVED them!!

How awesome is it to make your kids day with something so simple as books?! I love our simple little life and wouldn't have it any other way! God bless each of you!!

Follow-up on Urology Issues

Well, I had my urologist appointment today...biopsy results came back negative for cancer! He said it was a urethral stricture, which is very uncommon in females. He said in 29 years of practice, he's had only 3 (me included) patients with a stricture. 

I had no idea what a stricture was, but Dr. Girod (my family doctor) guessed this from my initial appointment and I'm impressed that she was spot on! A stricture occurs when scarring narrows the urethra. I'm not sure when or how this scarring occurred, possibly during childbirth?? Anyhow, a stricture restricts the flow of urine from the bladder and can cause a variety of medical problems in the urinary tract, including inflammation or infection. I can't believe I put up with this for so long, but so glad to have some answers and am relieved that I had the procedure and am feeling 100% better!!

Thanks for all your support and prayers!!

Restless

Last night I couldn't get to sleep until 2am and tonight I'm still up. I think I'm extremely nervous about my pathology results from the biopsy. 

I shouldn't be because the doctor said he didn't think it looked like cancer, but it's the unknown that freaks me out. 

I called my urologist today to see if they got the results back yet and the nurse told me that it takes 7-10 business days to get results back and "that's why I have my appointment with the doctor on Monday."

I'm sure everything is fine, it just makes me nervous because the doctor told Dan that he should have my results back in 2-3 days. 

Deep happy thoughts...c'mon Mr. Sandman, I need to rest. Gnight friends!!

Found a Dentist!

For reasons not worth mentioning, we were in search of a new dentist. I received lots of positive feedback on Dr. Klinger, who goes to my church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. 

Back at the end of August, I popped into their office to check it out and I was impressed. It's extremely clean, inviting, the staff seemed friendly, and the dentist himself even waved to me and he had no idea who I was at the time. 

Since then, I researched other dentists, but Dr. Klinger stood out above the rest!

Today I had my first appointment with my new dentist and I was thoroughly impressed! They even let Gabe play with the train table while I had my appointment (they watched him)! I'd highly recommend Dr. Klinger if you are looking for a dentist in Fort Wayne!!

What's Going On with my Health

Ok friends, some of you may wonder what in the world is going on with some of my posts lately...well I do not like the attention, but I'll just give you the scoop, in case any of you ever think about not taking care of yourself either. 

Believe it or not, for the past 4 years I've been having terrible pain whenever I urinate. I've just dealt with it, thinking that it's normal and took care off family, who needs me more. Well then around a month ago the pain increased to the point of intolerable, so I decided to call my doctor and schedule an appointment. It felt worse than labor and delivery & I felt like I was peeing razor blades!! 

Originally the doc thought it might be a stricture, but she wasn't sure. At the appointment she had me take a pee test, to rule out a UTI (which would have been the longest UTI ever, but they have to do these things). 

A few days later her nurse calls me saying that there's blood in my urine and they want me to get a CT of the abdomen. 

I went to The Imaging Center on W. Jefferson and got that done. I was awaiting results...which I was told kidney stones and that I needed to go see a urologist named Dr. Rudolph. 

I went to this appointment by myself and let me tell you about it...mind blowing!! First of all, I went into the appointment and met his nurse, who asked me where I got my images taken. I told her at the Imaging Center. She then tells me that she needs to go check on them and leaves the room. She then comes back and says that "we have to do a procedure." So I'm freaking out thinking that they are going to have to zap my kidney stones right then and there. She comes back and says, "Sorry, we had to do a last min procedure on another patient!" WHEW!! 

Then I met the Dr. and he is a character. He has a sense of humor but when you are by yourself and nervous you don't know how to take him. He checked me out in there and decided to have me try an estrogen cream for 2 weeks to see if that might give me any relief. He also made sure to tell me not to have sex with my husband with it in, "or else he might get boobs, but he might like that sort of thing, bc I'm a guy and if I had boobs, I would love to sit around and play with my boobs all day." Uhm...I guess if your job is a urologist, you have to get past the day with some sense of humor???

So I tried the estrogen cream for 6 days and it did nothing but make my breasts even bigger (oh my)! Dan made me call the urologist and update them on the non-relief. The nurse called me back and said that the doc wanted to get me in for a Cytoscopy under sedation at the hospital. They wanted to take a look and see what was going on in there.

The surgery center scheduled me for 10/2. Then the nerves shot in. I haven't had surgery since my ear tubes and tonsils surgery when I was young. I don't even remember that far back. I checked on Parkview's MyChart, which is to be a great way to communicate with the office, to see if any additional info regarding my procedure had been added. Nothing...up until they stated that I was having a completely different procedure done, which freaked me out. I called them and they said that it was an error and assured me that I was having a Cytoscopy and NOT a retroperitoneal abdominal lymph node dissection, as stated in MyChart. 

I went into surgery on 10/2 and I'm so glad they sedated me because the dr. said that he couldn't even get his scope in me. He had to dialare with a wire guiding tool to get his scope in there. Ouch! 

Apparently I had a bunch of scar tissue somehow and my urethra was almost all closed off; therefore he removed the tissue and biopsied it. He didn't think it looked like cancer, so that's good. The lab results have been sent to pathology and won't get results for a few business days. I'm grateful that he removed the scar tissue though! The pictures truly show what he is talking about, but I'll spare you the details on those pics. 

After surgery, Dan spent the entire day taking care of me. He is incredible and even helped me with my catheter that I had to have for 24 hours. Nasty! 

I felt nauseous most of the day and threw up/dry heaved several times from the anesthia. Luckily, the dr got me some good pain meds for relief down there. 

Then today, I also took off of work because I was still in pain and needed another day to recover. I'm so glad I did because I spent most of the day feeling run down and needed to rest. 

The good news is that now that the catheter is out, I can actually pee like a normal person (the real normal without pain)! It only hurts afterwards from where the dr. took out the scar tissue. 

So here's to getting some relief and answers! Don't do what I did and neglect your health!! 

Peace~

Smart Soaps

There's smart phones, smart cars, and smart people but apparently now there's smart soap. I discovered this at Bath & Body Works about a month ago and LOVE them! They automatically dispense soap onto your hands, like in public restrooms, only you get good scents! These come with batteries and a free soap too! 

I originally bought one for my kitchen sink and it's actually saving me soap because it dispenses just the right amount of soap.

We went in to get refills because I had a coupon and you can't get these online yet, and ended up buying two more (one for my main floor bathroom and one for the kids bathroom). We still have 3 more to get before we finish out all areas, but this is a great start. 

Price point wise, they are a little pricey ($20 which includes soap and $8 if you want the soap alone, but I had a 40% off coupon, which saved me tons! 

If you want the coupon code for 40% off, copy this pic below amd show it to them on your SMART phone! 

Enjoy!!

CRHP at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Looking for a way to get connected in our huge parish??? Need some alone time with God to clear your mind???

Whether you are new to our parish or a long-time member, please consider going on a Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) weekend retreat! 

You won't regret it! I can't believe it has been 4.5 years since my first CRHP weekend!! It was what made St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish much smaller for me and introduced me to a faith-filled life with like-minded friends! 

Women's Weekend: 9/6 & 7

Men's Weekend: 9/20 & 21

This FREE weekend is PRICELESS!! Pick up a registration form in the gathering area or go to 

http://www.seasfw.org/103

Also, if you have any specific questions on CRHP, I'd be happy to answer any questions!!

God Bless you as you consider going on this life changing renewal weekend!!

This is a pic from our CRHP Team 37 reunion that we had a couple years ago. These ladies will always have a special place in my heart!!

Fort Wayne has Livie & Lucas!!

This just in from my personal shopper at Von Maur...they now carry Livie & Luca shoes for kids! Call 432-3244 and ask for Kids Shoes! They can order them in for you from another Von Maur store (free shipping). So excited!!

Also, check out the other cute shoe finds, and my after work retail therapy from today. I just window shopped though, but it was fun to browse! 

Btw, what handbag do you like best??

Thanks friends!!

Welcome New Snuggle Puppy

Since Winston passed away on 8/4, we have since researched and found a great local breeder, not to replace Winston but because dogs become part of your family and are therepeutic. 

We found Karla from KKCavaliers and set up a meeting. From the time we met her, we fell in love with her puppies and felt a sense of trust with her as a breeder. She was very knowledgeable and overall we were impressed with her happy heart, the cleanliness of her home, and how professional she was, yet at the same time she really listened. 

We were able to play with the 7 puppies and found one, Hunter that really called to us. We out a deposit down and waited for him to be 8 weeks old. 

Today we were able to go get him and welcome him into our home. Karla had a nice gift bag full of goodies for him/us, including his baby book (cd with images from the time he was born), a folder with detailed info, including stats on his "puppy firsts"...so amazing!

Karla really cares for her dogs and cried upon us leaving. She has a heart of gold and I'd highly recommend her for anyone looking for a local Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breeder!

Stay tuned for fun times with our new puppy. Maybe he will officially have a name soon! XOX

This is a pic of Karla of KK Cavaliers.

Jefferson Pointe's New Kids Play Area

Jefferson Pointe's new kids play room opened up this past Saturday and it's incredible! I took the kids there today after school and they had a blast. 

Everything is soft, even the floor, and I feel like it's a safe place for kids to play. Kids must not be over 42"...but there's room for them to play in the city scape area. 

Check it out! There's plenty of room to sit too, so you won't feel crowded. Jefferson Pointe really went all out with this addition!!

Your Party Princess

Today Olivia got the pleasure of going to her good friend, Brooke's 5th Birthday Party! We arrived at 1:00 p.m. for the royal event, sang Happy Birthday, had cupcakes, played in her basement, and then a special surprise guest arrived, the Snow Queen, Elsa! 

She greeted the birthday girl and dazzled all of the guests, adults included because we were all amazed at how engaging she is! Then she taught the girls a circle dance. 

Afterwards, the girls went upstairs to do an activity (color Frozen pictures) and Elsa ever so smoothly asked the birthday girl to come with her because she had a special surprise for her. It was perfect because Elsa really made the birthday girl, Brooke feel special with the individualized attention she gave her without making any of the other girls jealous. The other girls didn't even realize she was out of the room because they were all busy coloring. 

I snuck into the other room to see Elsa putting eyeshadows and glitter on the birthday girl. She was loving it! Then at the end, Elsa let her see herself in the mirror. Then she took pics with her. So sweet!

After the birthday girl, Elsa did this to the rest of the little girls, which they all adored!

Next we all went into the basement for a hide n seek snowball game, which I was super impressed because Olivia was still a little shy and Elsa took her back with her to count while the kids hid the snowball. This helped Olivia get more comfortable.

Then after the game, Elsa had a lesson on princess manners and she read them a book. 

This engaging party was one in the books that will never be forgotten! 

You can find out more about having a Disney princess come to your event by going to 

http://yourpartyprincess.com/

I've already got her in the books for Olivia's 6th Birthday in November! Can't wait!!

Olivia's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Today was Olivia's 1st day of Kindergarten. I wasn't quite sure how she'd do, as she's extremely shy and afraid of new situations. This past month I've been trying to get her prepared for her new school, taking her in for self-guided tours, talking about it, etc, and she did SO well today!! Upon drop off she was ready for me to leave and it was me not wanting to leave. 

I'm so proud of my kind hearted, intelligent daughter and am excited for this new chapter of her life! 

After drop off I had some girlfriends over to chit chat.  Check out (pic below)the cookies my friend, Wendi made!! 

Then Gabe and I went to the library, ran some errands, picked up Olivia, got her some back to school clothes, picked up dinner, and went back home. Bedtime so far has been right on time at 8! So grateful for that. Tomorrow will be a struggle, as I'm working, but life's too short, we shall persevere! 

Here are pics of our day...Peace!!

Winston's Legacy

The years Winston spent living with us, he filled our lives with happiness and joy. We loved everything about him, even his howling. 

It was very sad moment for us when we found him in his crate not breathing. We aren't sure why he passed away so early (only after 7.5 years), but apparently this was meant to happen. 

Winston, thank you for the happiness and joyful moments that you have given us! We will not forget you!

Every day has been extremely hard on us. Olivia cries everyday and so do Dan & I. Gabe just goes around telling people that his dog is dead. He's too young to really get it. 

I never thought I'd get another dog after Winston, but I truly love his breed and how much joy he brought to our lives. As much as he shed, I miss the constant vacuming I'd have to do. 

 It's been extremely painful and I don't want to have this pain again, but the pain is worth all the happy memories we had throughout the years. 

Winston truly eased my anxieties. There's something about a pet that is therapeutic. 

Therefore, as crazy as it sounds, we will be welcoming in a puppy Cavalier King Charles Spaniel from a local breeder on 8/27! 

We went to this breeders house today and had the kids play with all 7 puppies. There were 2 puppies that were called to is, Lucy & Hunter. Olivia loved Lucy, but Hunter stole our hearts! As much as we would love 2 dogs, 1 is enough, and decided on Hunter, a male. 

We can re-name him, and haven't came up with a name yet, but have 17 days to do so. 

So there's your little bit of crazy for today from the Minnich's! Until next time...

God Bless!

Amy

The pic above is of Winston. 

This pic is of our new puppy that we will be getting on 8/27!