The "Twilight" books!!!

Let me start out by saying, that I am in NO way a "sci-fi" fan. I didn't have any intentions of even picking up the "Twilight" book that I had heard so much about. But, my oldest sister bought it for me for Christmas, so I thought, "What the heck? I'll give it a try." I was not at all disappointed!

Right from the start, I fell in love with Edward...as do all readers, I'm sure! The chemistry between Edward and Bella was incredibly intense! I soon fell in love with each character, and finding the time to read was taking over my life! I couldn't wait to put my little man to bed (no offense) so I could grab my book and get lost in it! Andy always laughed at me because my eyes would light up and a big smile would spread across my face when I sat down with which ever book I was on!

I truly hated the 4th book ending last night. I just don't know what to do with myself now (a very likely reason for this post!) All of my sisters got into them at the same time as I did. We're all lost, and planning to get together and have a nice discussion about the books! We all went to see the movie when we finished the first book, and I know we'll go again when each of the other 3 movies come out. I guess I have that to live for. Ahhhh...only 10 more months until the second movie comes out!

The point of this post is simple. If you haven't read the "Twilight" books, listen up. Go to your nearest library or book store and get them...all 4! You won't be able to put them down, so get them all at the same time! You will NOT regret it.

Anyone who has read them...or has not...let me know what you think about them. Thanks for listening!!!

The results from my Doctor's appointment....

Andy and I went to St. Louis yesterday for yet another Doctor's appointment. After waiting for 3 hours, yet again....we finally met with my Rheumatologist! She told me that I do NOT have Lupus! We were very surprised. She said that they aren't sure why my first blood test was positive for Lupus. I might have to retake a blood test some where down the line to make sure, but we're thinking I don't have it! Great news for sure!

After reading the results to my blood tests, we talked about starting me on Enbrel shots. We decided to go ahead and start them, hoping that I will get a good head start on putting off any bone damage down the road! She showed me how to inject myself weekly, and sent me on my way.

Now I have to get a TB test done. If it's negative, then they will send my my Enbrel shots to start right away! I have to keep going every 2 weeks to get blood drawn to test my liver from the Methotrexate. Besides that, I don't have to return to St. Louis until April! So that's good news as well.

I also asked her about drinking while on Methotrexate. She said that she allows her patients 1 beer or glass on wine a week. Which is better then nothing! She said I could have maybe 2 if I wasn't going to drink any at all the next week. So at least I can have something!!! Well, that's all for now I guess. Thanks for listening!!!

What a HORRIBLE weekend!!!

Well, I guess having a great weekend last weekend meant that I had to have a horrible one this time around!!! I woke up around 2am Saturday morning with the flu. Yeah..I was up all night getting sick. No details needed! So all day Saturday, I laid around and watched Andy take care of Porter. I hated not being able to get up and hold and kiss on my little man. I knew I had to back off so he wouldn't get sick as well. Then Sunday Andy had to work. I felt better, so Porter's Aunt Trina came over to watch him so I could get some MUCH needed grocery shopping done! Every time I had a babysitter planned, something came up, so I thought I better do it while I can or we'll never eat again! Which wouldn't be such a bad thing, considering I lost 5 lbs by not eating all day Saturday while I was sick! I like food too much for that though! Let's hope that this week and weekend will be a whole lot better then this weekend was! And I pray that this bad flu going around won't get to any of you guys!!!!!

My baby's getting too big, too fast!!!

My little man, Porter, is growing up way too fast! He'll be 5 months on the 21st already! I was looking at his baby pictures today, and I can barely remember him being that small. It's sad how fast they grow up, but I know it'll just keep getting better!

He's trying so very hard to roll over! He can get all the way onto his side, but he can't seem to get past that one arm in the way...haha! He can sit up for a few seconds as well. He's leaned over pretty far, so I don't think this counts just yet..ha! He's always been big about standing up. He likes to jump around in his exercise saucer, or just stand up on your lap. He can't seem to be still for long, and his legs have always been very strong, so we wonder if he'll walk early like his daddy did. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that though...considering his daddy was only 7 months old when he started walking! Unreal, I know...but it's true!

He LOVES his cereals and veggies! Rice and oatmeal cereals, sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots are what he's had and loved so far. He's going to try green beans and peas this week, and then next week he can have some fruits. I know he'll love them too!

I'll make myself stop there...although I could go on and on about him!!! There's just nothing like having a baby. It changes your life so much, yet you wonder what it was like before them!

What a WONDERFUL weekend!!!!

This weekend was just the best weekend ever! To continue from my earlier post, Andy got me some pretty good birthday presents. I got the 4 book series of "Twilight", and if you haven't read these, please please do! Let me just say, I am NOT into vampires or anything sci-fi like that, but these books are the best I've ever read! There is such great romance and chemistry between the main characters, and even the whole vampire parts are quite good as well! I'm on the 3rd book now, and find myself not wanting to read it because I don't want it to end!!!! Just give them a try. You won't regret it! The movie is also very very good..but the books are better! OK, I also got a really nice dust buster...this is something else that everyone should own! And he also got me the newest "Scene It" game. It has the newer movie trivia on it. This is perfect for us because we are soooo into movies!

We went to the wedding at 2:00 that day, and brought mister Porter with us. He slept through most of it, and didn't get fussy until we were walking out....PERFECT! I was afraid to have that screaming baby you hear at weddings, and are secretly hoping that someone would just take them outside already! The wedding was very beautiful! Then we took Porter to Mama's, and went to get my BFF Kara and her hubby Nate. My sister-in-law Trina was also with us! We had a great time eating lots of good food, and drinking lots of good beer! We danced the night away until the wedding shut down at 11:00. We were no way NEAR done, so we all went to schindlers for some more beer and dancing! It was a great time for sure...maybe a little bit too fun, because I recall dancing on the pool table with the girls! Goodness!

Sunday I paid for my fun though! I had the worst headache in the world..and not feeling too great in the stomach area either! We laid around until noon and then went for some Chinese! That helped out a lot! All in all, it was a much needed weekend with the friends! I wish we could have more weekends like that.....but I could skip the day after!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Sooo...today I'm 26! It doesn't really bother me, but it seems a lot closer to 30 then 25 did! I think I will handle turning 30 alright, but maybe not..haha!

Today is going to be a pretty great birthday I think. Me, my husband, and our little man will spend most of the day at home..chillin. Andy made me my favorite breakfast, french toast, and then I'll open my presents and card before Porter takes his nap. Besides that, we'll just relax until a friend's wedding at 2:00pm. What a great way to celebrate you're birthday, as far as I'm concerned! I LOVE weddings and wedding dances! I can't wait to eat lots of great food and drink lots of great beer...and dance like no one's watching!!!! I LOVE to dance..even if I can't. Who cares, as long as you're having fun, right?

Well, I'm off to open some gifts! Tune in later to see what I got!

Touching base....

Once again, it's been awhile since I blogged. I just don't have time to get on here like I used to. It might have something to do with my little man I guess...haha! Let's see if I can catch you up on the life of Hannah.....

Christmas was wonderful! We got together with all our family and got way to much as always! Porter really enjoyed his first Christmas...as much as a 4 month old can I assume! He got lots of books, Baby Einstein dvds, and many wonderful toys!

New years was also very nice. We laid low this year and just got together with family both new years night and on new years day. It was nice to just eat lots of food and play games. No hang over this year, which was NOT missed at all!!!!!

Besides all the holiday fun, the only other new thing was my doctor's appointment in St. Louis on the 5th. If you haven't already read about my RA, you can look at an older blog that talks all about it. To continue on that subject, I will try to sum up what the Rheumatologist told us.

The Dr. asked me lots of questions and did a physical exam on me to see how my pain was and where it was located. She also looked at all my previous blood work, xrays, and bone density tests that I had taken in cape with my primary doctor. She then agreed that I did indeed have RA, but that I might also have another ANA disease, such as Lupus. We weren't too surprised in hearing this, because my dr. mentioned something about it before.

So today I have to go take more blood work that is specifically for ANA diseases, and then in 2 weeks I will return to StL to go over what they found. In the meantime, I will start my treatment for RA. I will continue to take my Mobic for the pain and swelling everyday, but in addition I will start taking a drug called Methotrexate. It's 4 pills that I will take once a week for the rest of my life. They also give this to cancer patients as a form of chemotherapy, so it might make me sick. I have to take folic acid along with it to restore what it takes from my body. I can not drink once I start this treatment. I take it like I can not even drink one glass of wine or even one little beer for the rest of my life! Apparently, Methotrexate affects your liver so you can't add any other problems by drinking. I will have to get labs done every month forever as well, to make sure my liver is doing ok.

When I go back in 2 weeks and she talks to me about my lab results, she will also start me on another drug called Enbrel. You may have seen the commercials about this on T.V. This is a shot that I will have to give myself every week, forever. Enbrel combined with the Methotrexate should help relieve my pains and hopefully slow down the disease process. Since we caught this early enough, it's possible that I could have no bone deformities and live a relatively normal life!

The biggest thing that bothered me was if I could have more children or not. The Rheumatologist said that we would just have to plan my pregnancies better. I will have to get off all of my meds at least 3 months before we start trying and then stay off until I am done breast feeding for the first few months or so. My pains might get worse after the baby is born like it did after Porter, but I can return to my meds and it should all be alright again. That was GREAT to hear!

I read up on Lupus, in case that's what I also have, and I don't really like some of the things I read. I won't get into them now, because I might not even have it. I know everything will be ok though. It could be so much worse, and I'm thankful that it isn't a life threatening disease!

I just wanted to share that with you. If anyone knows someone with RA, or even Lupus, please share your story with me. Maybe you can tell me what meds you/they are on, or how they are doing. It's amazing how many people actually have RA after I found out I have it! Thanks for listening!!!