Let's Move Together...

We're very excited because this Saturday, June 4th, our family is going to participate in the 2011 Arthritis Walk! It's totally short notice, but if anyone who reads this and lives in Utah wants to walk with us, let me know. Of course this is a fundraising walk so there's also the option for people to donate if they wish. I'm not the type of person who would go an solicit donations from people personally (I don't want to be that person) but I did want to let people know that it is an option and if they chose to donate, I wanted to let them know how to do it. Visit this link to the Arthritis Walk-Salt Lake City. There you will find two main options-to 'sing up' or 'donate'. If you choose the sign up option, it walks you through the process of joining our team. If you choose the donation button, there are a few options. Choose the button that says 'donate to a team'. Then just scroll down to find the team called 'Mitchell Family' with Meghan Mitchell as the team captain. At this point, I'm not going to ask anyone individually for donations and I won't be offended if you don't, I just wanted to put it out there.

So why is this so important to us? Well, there are obvious reasons. The other reason is in regards to some sad numbers that I read about. While this walk is for everyone with all forms of arthritis, did you know that there are 300,000 children affected by the Juvenile forms of arthritis? But guess how much money the government spends on JA research.....$9.8 million. That may seem like a lot, but that only works out to $32 a child-that would cover one copay for us to visit the rheumatologist with $2 to spare. So obviously, every little bit helps. This is a disease that has no cure, but wouldn't it be cool if one came along?

A New Blog

I started a new blog for updates about Siobhan and the Arthritis. It's called 'A Stint in Juvy'. There's actually an update there right now. I may put the posts on both blogs. Just FYI.

More About Siobhan's Knee

Not sure why, but Siobhan's knee swelled up really bad yesterday and hasn't gone down. We got her blood work done and all her x-rays and they found out that both of her ankles are involved now. Between that, the swelling, the stiffness, the tears and pain, our pediatrician has decided that we need to a rheumatologist sooner rather than later. We going to see her pediatrician in a month and then see the rheumatologist, but Dr. Wirkus now wants us to see the specialist next week. Hopefully we'll have more answers as far as what we're dealing with and have a clear plan for treatment. Thanks everyone for the positive thoughts!

Kind of a bummer because Siobhan was going dance in her first Feis (Irish dance competition tomorrow). Unfortunately we had to pull her out. We're thinking of getting her into swimming.

Some New News-The Story of Siobhan's Knee Part 2

Remember this post from two year ago (almost exactly two years ago, ironically)? This has nothing to do with this new news, but it's worth reflecting on.

I notice about six weeks ago that Siobhan had some severe swelling in her left knee. Here we go again. Well, immediately-because that's the way I am-I began to worry. Carson kept telling me not to worry because she didn't really seem to be acting any different (even though her left knee is about twice the size of her right) but I wasn't able to put it aside. Joints don't swell no apparent reason. She didn't tell us if she got hurt or if she had done anything. She only complained that her left knee was hurting which is not the one that was swollen. But after a few weeks, I thought it would be a good idea to get it checked out.

We went to see Dr. Wirkus on Tuesday. He's awesome and we are so blessed to have him as our pediatrician. In this case, I really consider it a tender mercy. We talked about her family history and recent illnesses and then he did some movement and flexibility tests. At that point, he told use that she has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA or JIA) in both knees and her right ankle. As it turns out, our Dr. did a two year internship during med school at the arthritis clinic at Primary Children's Hospital so he really knew how to recognize it and the best course of action.

So we weren't really expecting that diagnosis, but on the spectrum of things that it could have been, I guess this is probably one of the better things that we could hear. We have a big to do list now so that we can find out the extent of the disease and how it will effect her. She is on a pretty powerful anti-inflammatory medication, we have to get X-Rays done, a bunch of blood work and we have to get her eyes checked for inflammation as this type of arthritis can cause her eyes to swell also.

That evening, Siobhan received a priesthood blessing and was told that this is something that will make her stronger and bring us together as a family. While this is not an ideal diagnosis, things could be a lot worse and I'm grateful for the comfort of the Spirit. She's going to be fine regardless! She's a strong little girl and she'll handle it all like she always does...with a big smile and a giggle.

Funny story...Siobhan doesn't totally understand what's going on, but she decided for the first time to use it as an excuse. While we were kneeling down to say family prayer, she was goofing around because she didn't want to settle down for bed. When we told her that she needed to get on her knees for family prayer she said, 'But I can't, remember I have 'arthitis'.....' This coming from the girls who had just been jumping on the bed and running in circles!

The Grand Canyon...in Siobhan's Mouth

Well, the tooth finally came out! It's been loose for like a month (maybe longer). We've all taken turns playing with it and every time Siobhan ever met someone new or saw someone that she hasn't seen in awhile or spoke to a complete stranger in the line at Costco, she had to tell them about her loose tooth. We've been anxiously awaiting it vacating the premises. So we all decided that tonight was the night. Carson played with the tooth for about an hour! It took that long because she kept getting nervous and pulling away. But she was insistent that it come out tonight. Carson was so excited to pull it out for her (why, I don't know) but ultimately, I got it out. We can't wait to see what the tooth fairy brings her! Oh the reason for the title of the post? As soon as it came out, all I could think about was 'holy cow! That is a huge gap! It's like the size of the Grand Canyon!!!!'

She's so proud of her first 'loosed' tooth!

Why My Kids Rock!-Mother's Day Pt. 1

A post about the people in my life who make this day a reason to celebrate.....

Siobhan

*Siobhan is silly little five year old who loves to play outside and scares the crap out of me on a daily basis with her tree climbing.
*She frequently wants to bring worms inside to keep as pets.
*The other morning, she said, 'I'm glad you're awake!' It was the best way to start the day. I even wrote it down so I wouldn't forget that she said it to me.
*I think Siobhan has found her calling in the culinary arts. She loves to help Carson cook. She loves to bake with me. Maybe we'll send her to cooking school.
*Siobhan pretty much sell you on any product that she see's a commercial for. The other day she came to me and said, 'Mommy, there's a bed that eliminates back pain. It's call the Sleep Number bed. You should get that.' She's done that with Swiffer, Cedar Pro Steamer, and Packit. She might watch too much TV. Or she has her mommy's memory.
*She wants to be a big girl so bad! I'm content to keep her little!
*Siobhan got a pair of black skinny jeans with embroidery on the back pockets....very grown up! This is how she styled herself.


Audrey

*Audrey has a beautiful smile but whenever you pull out a camera, she instantly goes into serious mode. I think it's a trait she got from my mom.
*Always the jumper, we decided to put her into Irish Step Dancing and wouldn't you know, she's really good at it!
*Audrey is such a girly girl so, true to form, I get a bouquet of flowers almost every day from back yard. They're usually dandelions.
*Would prefer to wear dresses which is great since she owns a million dresses and skirts but not so good for the millions of jeans she has.
*She's the method actor of the family. Pretty much all day every day she is in character and, in her mind, you are too. Right now, she's Repunzel from Tangled. Siobhan is Flynn, Ethan is Pascal, Will is Maximus (sometimes Will and Siobhan are flipped) and Carson and I are King and Queen. When she decides to be Buzz, Carson and I are Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. The thing about it is that we always have to refer to her appropriately and if you don't respond in kind, there are problems. The other night, she said the blessing at dinner and referred to everyone in her prayer by their Tangled characters. It was hilarious!

(In her fabulous hat while watching the royal wedding....another post to come)

Mr. Will

*I may have posted this before, but he loves toilet brushes, toilet plungers and brooms. Either he's trying to tell me to clean more or he's destined for a career in the janitorial services.
*He has the most piercing blue eyes!
*He decided that he wants to be potty trained. He pulled me over to the toilet and pointed and said please. I put him on there and he just went. I wasn't planning on potty training him for a few more months, but I guess we're doing it a little sooner. The boy can't really talk, but he sure can pee on the potty.
*The 'compliment' that I get from pretty much everyone is 'Will is so cute....he has soooo much energy.' I don't really know what to do with that.
*He's at that stage where he likes to put on everyone's shoes. Case in point, look at the pic below.
*There's a hilarious story about him going down for his nap, a problem with his diaper and boy parts and the word 'stuck'. Carson won't let me put it on the blog, so use your imagination.



Ethan

*Ummm, best.baby.ever!
*Ethan has been sleeping through the night since he was six weeks old. He seriously is such an angel!
*Sir Ethan is such a smiley guy!!!
*I don't have much to write about him because he's so young. But I'm so excited to get to know this little guy!

Easter Sunday

Forgive me for not writing much more than captions. But I know most of you show up for pictures anyway. Easter was fun, pretty standard. I made the girl's Easter dresses (out of vintage curtains and material from the thrift store) and boy's bowties. Everyone got fun Easter baskets filled with goodies. The girls each got some pants, Mr. Will got a toy from Dinosaur Train, Ethan got Cars, I got the book To The Rescue and Carson got a new belt. It was a fun day as always!

Carson and Ethan. Ethan didn't get a bowtie fore a few reasons. 1. I didn't have time. 2. He doesn't have a white button up shirt. 3. I figured a bowtie would bug a little guy that small. But he really doesn't need it. He could be a wearing a paper sack and still look adorable!

My initial instinct was to make my own patterns for the dresses. But instead I went with an online tutorial for Audrey's dress and a vintage pattern for Siobhan's. Yeah, that didn't work too well cause everything that I cut out was WAY too big. So I ended up having to make up my own patterns anyway. But I'm so pleased with how the turned out! Nobody had anything even remotely similar at church! I had a to do a lot of new techniques that I've never done before so it was a good learning experience!

It doesn't get any better than that does it?

Sometimes they really do love each other! (They've been fighting a lot lately!)

The boys! Aren't they so handsome! And yes, I did convince Carson to wear the bowtie willingly!

We can never get a good family picture and forget about me ever getting in one. We need to learn how to use the timer on the camera.

The girls...I got my skirt at DI! I love thrift stores!

Mr. Will...he's always got to be doing something!