My turn

Belle loves to wear hats and things on her head


Belle sports a pony tail most days now since her hair is getting so long.

Her new favorite trick. She does this often!

So it's my turn for dr. appointments. Luckily Belle doesn't have any until May - unless something comes up. Off and on for quite awhile I would get these dizzy spells. I also get very tired, to the point of nodding off and stuff. I was told a few years back that I suffer from basilar migraines and I often get a pressure in the back of my head - not a pain, but pressure. So anyway, it comes and goes so I usually just tough it out and then it goes away and I feel better. Finally last week it was pretty constant and unbearable, so I went in. I went in on Thursday and he did a bunch of blood work - all normal - mono, thyroid, diabetes, iron, liver, kidney... can't remember it all. So I went home. Friday I woke up exhausted as usual and the pressure was back in my head. I took a shower thinking it might perk me up. It didn't and I ended up closing the daycare, having my mom come to watch my kids and Jose took me back in. They did an MRI - it was normal. To explain how tired I truely am, I fell asleep on the way there and back, in the waiting room, in the dr. office and during the MRI! We talked about what our next step would be and decided on a sleep study to make sure I'm getting the right kind of sleep at night. I am almost always in bed at 9, if not then 9:30, and though I get up at 5:30, that would still be plenty of sleep for a normal adult my age. But for me, I still feel exhausted and nod off while I'm sitting still long enough. I haven't heard from the sleep study people, but they said by this week I should have a consult appointment scheduled. So until then, it's rest when I can and be cautious about driving. Most people around me believe this is all due to stress. Shannon was in a car accident on the 10th - she's ok, went in the ditch, avoided a tree, but messed up her back and neck pretty badly. She's in a lot of pain, and is doing physical therapy now. But she hasn't been to work since. I've been watching the 10 children alone, with a few hours of help from my dad around lunch time. So I'm now looking for a new helper with an ad in the paper and I've had some interviews for new children too. So people are thinking between that added stress and my normal stresses of my kids, etc that it's too much. The dr. discussed stress, migraines, mood disorders (like anxiety/depression), and narcolepsy (hence the sleep study) to look into. I do suffer from anxiety/depression and take medication for it and I do suffer from migraines, so those are good possibilities and hopefully I can get some good solid information on what's going on and a plan to make it better!

We took a trip to MOA a couple Saturdays ago and the kids went on a few rides - Belle's first time on a ride. They had a great time. Audri got to go to the American Girl store and was in awe of all the stuff they had. They even had a hair salon where you could get the dolls' ears pierced and hair styled. There was a cafe with special chairs for the dolls so you can eat together. We didn't partake in those activities but she got a new book about her doll and a brush designed for their hair - since Audri's doll's hair is a mess and needs some help.