Normal today!!!!!

I feel normal again!!!!! Anyone who knows me from Benlysta Buddies on Facebook has already heard my speech, "SO I feel NORMAL for the first time in 5 years! Thanks to Benlysta (and maybe a change in my eating and exercise habits) I do not just feel good, or okay, or not hurting too bad, but NORMAL. I have not said this in years. I just got finished running in the yard with my 3 and 5 year old and then we played softball and I watched them play in the mud. Happy day today!!! (I have just finished my one year Benlysta anniversary for those of you just starting, the ride gets better the longer you're on)!!"
I have gone all day long and am not hurting a bit. I am not tired. I am energetic. I feel like I did before I had Lupus!!! This is huge for me...five years or bad days huge!

So here is SOME of what I've done today.... I started out the morning by getting both of the kids up and dressed and dropping Ella McCray off at preschool, then Tip and I couponed at Kroger, Walgreen's, Wal-Mart, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree. Then we went to the park and played for an hour and a half with our friends!

Then we headed to pick up Ella McCray from school at noon. We headed home and then I made lunch while the kids played in the back yard and proceeded to put them down for naps. During their naps I caught up on my couponing on the computer and did some laundry and some dishes. I also started a project for Cliff and I (no details, in case he reads this). When the kids woke up, I took them outside and we ran in the back yard and played softball. Then they ended up climbing trees and naked in the mud puddles at the edge of the garden....I took pictures!

 

 

So here's a great site that has some more fun mud ideas, other then just jumping and slashing!

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud: Great Ideas for Playing in the Mud

 

 

 

These were the only ones appropriate to post...due to naked bottoms. Then I bathed the kids and worked on super. We ended up eating outside since it's finally so beautiful today. After super, I served desert and started another two loads of laundry! Makes me tired just listing it out!!! And I'm still not exhausted or effected from the sun!!!!!!! Hello life, I'm back...full speed ahead, finally!!!!!!!

While we are at activities and talking about all I have been able to do....the other night, Cliff blew up the air mattress and the kids flipped off the sofa onto it...yes, this is probably great parenting at work....but they love it and it turned into an impromptu family fun night!

 

Big weekend

Okay, so life has been crazy lately. I don't seem to have a minute to myself to post anything. But I'm grateful to feel well enough to be able to keep up with my kids. My lupus has been good lately. And by good I mean that I've felt pretty good. I've been able to sit in the sun for ball games and skip naps and clean the house or try to get stuff done. I'm so thankful for my Benlysta!! Speaking of, we left yesterday for Ga so that I can get my treatment (It's been one year!) and participate in The Lupus Walk tomorrow in Atlanta!

I'm going to try to rest tomorrow morn once I'm usually wiped out after my treatments and Cliff is here to help me with the kids:)

Catch up

So I've been so busy the past couple if days...here is a quick recap of the last 5 days...just recapping them makes me exhausted (and yes, a butterfly rash has been spotted this week:()

It was warm enough to get the "pool" out for the kids...yes, this looks a little country!

Fun in the sun

Our cousins even came by for a bit of water fun;)

Jumping beans

Every year, Cliff catches wood bees (the ones with yellow dots on their heads and they DO NOT sting)and ties dental floss to them and the kids will "fly" them around the yard. They love this...and yes, this is past country, this might be redneck fun!

Ella McCray and I curled up on the front porch swing with a blanket after naps and watched it rain.

 

YES, THIS IS A BUTTERFLY RASH....this happened last spring. I'm starting to think that it is from finally getting out of the house after winter and being in the sun for the first time in a while. Photosensitivity stinks. I have even kept sunscreen on and haven't been exposed for a long period of time.

Ella McCray had her first softball game. She cried on the way and didn't want to play because she might mess up, but once she got a hit and a run, she was happy!!

Tip and Mary Denton helped cheer the girls on while eating popcorn.

 

Prayer after the game. This is one reason I love where we live. It is in a rural southern farming community and God is still the center of everything.

On Saturday morning, we had the Go Lucy Go Race. I took the kids this year without Cliff (he stayed at home and cooked all morning for our craw fish boil and Lupus Fundraiser later on today). I did it though. I pushed these two in a stroller for three miles in under 52 minutes!!! I am proud of myself. I was the LAST person to cross the finish line last year....so I was determined to finish well this year and I was in the middle so a couple hundred people came in after me!!

Me and my friend Jen (she is who introduced Cliff and me over 15 years ago in college)

Ready for the race!

Ella McCray and her teacher Mrs. Charlie

Ella McCray and Tip with Andi Catherine, our assistant at school

Tip was ready to finish being pushed through the race so that he could make it back to the kids area and get his face painted and jump in the bouncy houses!

Dinosaur

Tip and Jack, Lucy's little brother and our friend

Ella McCray was very proud of her butterfly

 

Ella McCray and our friend Faith

When we got home from the race Daddy was working on some gumbo and craw fish....and NO I did not take one picture at the party;( I was too busy. But it went wonderfully. We had over 50 people, sold 71 shirts, and made almost $2,000 to donate to The Lupus Foundation of GA for the walk next Saturday!!

We also found out the next morning that Tip is allergic to shellfish. When he got up in the morning his eyes were almost swollen shut;( Poor baby. He won't be having anymore gumbo or craw fish next year;( Thank goodness for Benadryl.

And today is Earth day, so we went to Wal-Mart and got herbs to make an herb garden. Cliff also tilled up the garden and let the kids help him plant.

And lastly, we used recycled products/trash to paint bird feeders for the yard!

 

 

See what I mean, that was a lot. It's no wonder I have had two butterfly rash sightings this week. The first one stayed for a day and now I developed one after the race on Saturday and its still here! But I'm also subbing at the preschool today and tomorrow for the principal. But I still feel pretty good. The race made me comment on what a difference a year can make. Last year I was limping and had trouble breathing and it was all I could do to finish the race, this year I did it alone and did better then half the people there. That's thanks to Benlysta!!!!

Best picture ever!!!

 

Here was the last thing I saw before bath time! I walked around the corner, I thought my husband had been playing with kids on the side of the house...it turns out Cliff had gone around the house to do something else and these two took the oppertunity to get undressed and in the mud while they were alone. I'll have to say, it made me laugh and smile. This will probably be a lifetime favorite picture of them together, undies and all!!

 

 

I'm also getting ready for the Crawfish Boil and Lupus Fundraiser we are having Saturday...here is a sign I made today after dragging an old piece of the barn down.

A Day Full of Boys

I had the pleasure of spending today with Tip and one of our friends Jack. These two boys never stopped moving and we had a blast. Their energy is a reminder to me that I'm doing pretty good. I'm keeping up and easily! This is a Godsend since last year (or the previous five for that matter) I have barely been able to function, much less keep up. I feel good! And I am thankful to God and my Dr, Dr. Gary Meyerson for putting me on Benlysta. Oh, I almost forgot that I had to have a tetanus shot today, with these two in tow, because I stepped on an old rusty nail out in the barn while looking for our pregnant cat that has run away;( Breaks my heart, but I'm sure she is finding a safe spot to have her kittens.

 

 

Life is good and today we've spent the entire day outside, other then naps:) Here's the view from where I'm sitting....

Pretty great if you ask me. Our last sermon at church was about being grateful for what you are given instead of upset about what you do not have...I choose not to be upset about the health situation I have, instead I choose to be grateful for these two precious lives!

Springtime!!!

Ok, so it finally feels like springtime!!! I have a feeling I'm going to be wearing my monogrammed hat a lot...sometimes taking a shower and drying your hair just takes too much time and energy (or too many spoons:). I also have to say that I got a pair of jeans on today that I haven't been able to wear in years:) I might have been stuffed in them today, but they zipped!! I'm anxious to see what the scales say when I go for my next infusion...I lost five pounds last month, so maybe we hit 10?! On another note, I stepped on a rusty old nail on in the barn today, so guess who gets to get a tetanus shot tomorrow? If I had a normal immune system I probably wouldn't worry with it, but better safe than sorry.

I also took they kids to play today and then we had ball practice again...overall, it was a great day.