Kenna and Ben

A few weeks ago, I was able to hang out with my niece and nephew for a few hours. McKenna is almost 17 months and Benson is almost 6 months. They are growing up so quickly! Ben is really close to all-out crawling, and Kenna is adding to her vocabulary every day!
At first, neither wanted anything to do with me. It's probably because they haven't seen me in over a month. It's funny how even though we live relatively close, we don't get to see each other often. Life always seems to get in the way. So every time I do get to see them, I really try to take whole advantage of it. I really can't wait to have kids, but for some reason EW doesn't feel the need to start procreating. Hmm, I wonder if it's the lack funds or enjoying sleep too much? I'm guessing it's both!
Here are a couple of pictures I was able to snap before I left. Kenna wasn't that interested in looking at the camera, but Ben was willing!

Having fun together!

Thanks for letting me hang out with you both! One day soon I hope to add a cousin to the Witko clan. Hopefully you both won't be too old to have fun with them!

~Aunt Brina

1 year

I know I'm a bit late on this, but late is better than never!

September 4th was our 1 year anniversary. It really has been a whirl-wind year. We began by adjusting to married life and a new apartment. Then added a member to the family, our sweet Bandit Blu, and moved again. In that year I got a job and then quit (the same day they wanted to get rid of me anyway). It has been a year full of laughter and tears. They say the first year is the hardest, and I have to agree with that. My mom likes to say that all of our vows have been tested this year. For better or worse (we've seen some worse this year), for richer or poorer (yeah, we're pretty poor, paycheck to paycheck poor), in sickness and in health (we've had quite a few health issues this year, and mine are still on-going). Yes, we have had one hell of a year, and I hope to never go through one like it again, but the best part about the past year is having EW by my side. I really don't think I could have made it through this year without him. He was there every time things seemed to fall apart. Always reassuring me that it would get better.

Thank you EW for always being there for me, for trying so hard to make everything work out, and loving me even though I am crazy sometimes. I love you more than I did 365 days ago.

On Sunday, we started the day by going to an awesome church we have decided to start going to. It's just around the corner, so it's even better! When we got home, we took Bandit on a walk at a really nice park across the street. We came home, and just rested, until we left for dinner. We went to Maggiano's Little Italy, and had amazing food. They had gluten-free pasta. I was so excited I was able to have pasta! After dinner, we were able to get tickets for a screening of the movie WARRIOR, which doesn't come out till this Friday. The movie was great, and I recommend that everyone see it. I don't really like sports movies, but it's totally worth it! We came home and then had wedding cake. It tasted just as good as it did a year ago. It wasn't dry at all! I had a little, but I can only eat the icing, since the cake isn't gluten-free. The day was perfect. I couldn't ask for a better day or person to spend it with!

Our waitress helped us out!

  

 It tastes so good! I put the topper on to re-create the moment lol

Walk in Darien Park!

 It was a beautiful day, about the same as the year before :)

Just a boy and his dog :)

Thanks to everyone who helped us get through the past year!

~Brina

Gluten-Free...the way to be?

I've had stomach issues for....well, forever. I've tried over the counter stuff, even prescription meds. Still, I would sometimes end up with the worst stomach ache. I would literally end up crying my stomach hurt/cramped up so bad. I really believed that I would have to live the rest of my life being withing running distance to a restroom. That is until I talked to a friend of mine who has had some of the same issues. She went to several different doctors, and did her own research. She thought she had a gluten sensitivity. She went to a naturalistic doctor, who confirmed it. It's just a simple blood test. Some might think I'm talking about Celiac Disease, but that is a condition that a person can't eat gluten foods at all. A gluten senseitivity is your body reacts negatively to gluten, and it can be a range of how much gluten your body can take without having a reaction.
My friend thought I too might have a senseitivty to gluten, so I did some research and thought, why not? It really can't get any worse than what I'm dealing with now. So at the start of July, I went gluten-free. This means no food with any wheat product, flour, etc. that doesn't say gluten free. I had to hunt, but I have found some good gluten free food at the regular grocery stores. It is WAY more expensive, but I feel it is totally worth it!
Since the start, I have had no symptoms I had before. However, if I eat something that I shouldn't. I know it had gluten, because the symptoms return. For instance: EW and I went to the movies and not thinking I got pizza. WRONG! I had such a stomach ache that night, I couldn't sleep. I won't be making that mistake again.
Sometimes you may not know if it's gluten free or not, so I ask what it's made of, and go from there. I've done research, so I can about tell if the ingredients are ok or not. It's all about being informed.
I know that this will have to be a rest of my life deal, and yeah, that kinda sucks. But being able to go out with friends, not having to worry if my stomach is going to act up really is worth it!
Having a gluten senseitvity or celiac disease is not the only reason why someone would want to try a gluten free diet. Studies have shown it also works on people that have autism, add, adhd, irritable bowl syndome, thyriod problems, inflammatory diseases, and many others. I was amazed at how just changing one substance found in what you eat can have such an affect on your health.
My challenge to you is think about what you eat--It could be making you sick.

-Brina

Update on Fibrous Dysplasia

I thought I would do an update, since I haven't in awhile regarding my FD. I just went and saw the endocrinologist on Monday. She said that she can't really say if it's FD or not without a biopsy to confirm. I called the sinus specialist to see what we should do, and was able to get into to see him yesterday.

We discussed biopsy and waiting 6 months, then re-scanning to see if the mass has gotten bigger/changed. There are risks to both. If I get the biopsy, obviously it's surgery, and something could go wrong. They will be sticking a big needle up my nose, and going right pat my eye. So I could lose sight, or lose sense of smell. These are all the worst of the worst, but it's part of the risk. If I wait 6 months, the risk is that if it is cancer, it could spread. They have no reason to believe it's cancer, but no reason to believe it isn't either.

The sinus specialist doesn't believe it's FD, because it's really rare to have it only in that area. However, it's really rare to have cancer there also. It also could be a benign tumor. So really without a biopsy it's a crap-shoot. After weighing the options, I really don't care to wait 6 months. The unknown scares me more than the word cancer. I really don't want this looming over my head for the next 6 months, so I've decided to go ahead with the biopsy. It's scheduled for Sept. 15th. Let's hope I get some closure on this, and maybe some good news too :)

While I was at home, we got our family pictures taken by Heidi of Heidi Beth Photography. She is awesome, and worked so well with Bandit! She works out of Watseka and DeKalb, and if you pay her enough, she might even travel :) You really should check out some of her work on her FB page here. She's so talented!

-Brina