My Precious Little Girl

I wish I had a picture to show you so you could see for yourself just how adorable my precious little niece is! My brother was going to take a picture of the two of us yesterday, but the lighting was bad and we were trying to let her sleep, and the only other pictures I have of her are old.

I should back up and explain briefly that little Alex is my niece by choice and love, not by blood. Her Daddy (John) and I have been best friends for a decade, and we decided a long time ago that we might as well be brother and sister, because we're close enough :)

So why am I talking about my precious niece this morning? I spent most of yesterday at the hospital with little Alex, John, and Becca (her Mommy). Alex was running a high fever, not eating, not drinking, and really lethargic. So night before last they took her into ER, and the hospital admitted her to get her re-hydrated and run a bunch of tests.

When I got to see her, yesterday, she was already doing some better. She still looked so sick though! It was heart breaking. She was pale, barely eating, and you could tell she was miserable. Her poor Mommy and Daddy were exhausted too. I put a mask on and held her for awhile to give Mommy a break. The two of us sat and talked for a long time, and that was good for both of us.

They ran a million tests on Alex, the poor thing, they even did a spinal tap! They told me that when she came out from under the anethesia she put her hand in front of her and said "whoa," like she was totally tripping. The good news is that all the tests came back negative, so "all" she had was a really nasty virus. They pumped her full of antibiotics anyway, just to be careful, and sent everyone home so baby and parents could rest.

It's so hard seeing someone so small and tiny looking so miserable! And John, Becca, and I have all agreed that we've spent way too much time in hospitals lately. First Becca's Mom went into the hospital, then my Granny got sick, then her Mom died, then my Granny died, then John's Dad was hospitalized for a night, and now little Alex! We're all very ready for it to be done. Of course, having said that, Becca is having twins in May, so no matter what they will be back there before too long! At least that's happier circumstances :)

Fun Times :)

It's been a fun week! Why? Well I actually seem to be getting better! Woohoo! It's certainly taken long enough. I've taken enough pills, seen enough doctors, tried enough things, you'd think I'd be getting better by now! LOL One of these days I should take a picture of my box of pills just to scare all of you :P

Anway, the deciding factor for solving my migraines seems to be taking nitrates out of my diet. What are nitrates? It's a food additive that's added to processed meats to help preserve them and enhance flavor. So many lunch meats, sausages, and things like that are now off limits. I can still eat things like hamburger, baked chicken, fish... So I'm not completely out of options. And there IS one store in the area where I can find lunch meats without nitrates :) So it's a bit inconvienant (especially because I have blood sugar issues) but it's not too bad. Especially because cutting them out of my diet got me off the couch and enjoying life again!

So what have I done? I got to go to my "niece's" birthday party! She's one year old :) Man how time flys. It feels like it was just yesterday when John was calling to tell me Becca was going into the hospital, and then the call that she was actually hear! My little Alexandra Rose :) This isn't a great pic - but you have John, Me, Becca, and baby Alex :)

And yes, I was knitting at the party. So what? My food was done, baby was eating, and it was something to do with my hands! It amused John to no end :P


LOVE this pic :) John was showing Alex pictures of herself and she was giddy with excitement!


The other fun thing I've been doing this week is going for walks! I've been wanting to start exercising but not had the health to do it. Now that I'm not stuck on my back, and breathing usually, I can start doing that slowly! So I'm starting by just regular old walking. It's not high stress, so it's a good starting point. I saw this earlier in the week and it amused me :)


Have a great weekend!