Made by Mimi: Disney Princess dress-up aprons!

UPDATE: DUE TO DEMAND, MIMI IS NO LONGER TAKING ORDERS. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING PLACED ON A WAIT LIST, PLEASE SEND YOUR INFORMATION TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS LISTED BELOW. YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED, AND INVOICED, AS SOON AS YOU ARE MOVED OFF OF THE WAIT LIST. MIMI WILL OPEN ORDERING UP AGAIN AS SOON AS SHE IS CAUGHT UP!

A few months ago I posted a picture on FB and IG of the amazing princess aprons my oh so creative momma made for Kate's birthday. People went nuts! Like over 100 people asking how to order! I quickly told my mom she was a creative genius and needed to think about selling her one of a kind creations!

Well my friends, the time is NOW! Mimi (my mom) is in business! Pictures, details, pricing, and order instructions are below!

These aprons are so much fun for little girls! Kate isn't a big fan of dress up clothes right now because she says most of them are itchy. But these aprons? She is obsessed and wears them non-stop. In the past two weeks I've taken Ariel and Cinderella to the park!

Happy shopping ladies - these would be the perfect Christmas or birthday gift! Or a just for fun pressie! No matter what the occasion, I promise you your princess NEEDS a few, or all, of these precious dress up aprons!

With LOVE,

 

Amazing logo created by the talented That's So Cute Shop!

Hello blogland!

Yet again I win the title of world's worst blogger. My goodness it has been ages! Life is crazy these days.

*Will is still recovering and has run into a few complications. His kidneys are still very unhappy which has resulted in the return of IV fluids 12 hours a day. He has also been dealing with a cough/ cold that is apparently making its way through all of greater Houston. On top of all of that, he started vomiting yesterday and hasn't stopped. We are hoping that the vomiting is just a fluke and is not the beginning of graft verses host (a post BMT complication). Despite all of the vomiting, he still looked pretty dark cute at clinic today (in outfit #2 thanks to getting sick). He's also sporting some killer cyclosporine hair! Will's immune suppressant causes hair growth in odd places (eyebrows, forehead, back, etc) and his eyebrows just keep getting thicker and thicker! His ears are also super hairy!

*Kate is a hot mess. I think three is the hardest age so far. Terrible twos have NOTHING on threenagers. NOTHING. While we have incredibly sweet moments, we also have moments that make me want to pull my hair out and run away. My inlaws were in town this past weekend which was great but y'all. Grandparent detox is no joke. Those of you without kids might be curious what grandparent detox is.

Grandparent detox can be described as the period of meltdowns immediately following grandparents returning home. Excessive whining, due to no longer having two adults doting over you 24/7, breakdowns for no apparent reason, and abnormally high levels of violence are common side effects.

Photographic evidence:
 

*Alex, Kate, and I are all getting very excited about our trip to Minneapolis! I am a mix of excited and nervous over meeting Lance! I just don't know what to expect when we finally get to meet him. I mean what do you say to the person that saved your daughter's life? Ahhh!!! I will be documenting our trip and using #Katemeetshermatch on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for those of you that want to follow along! We fly out October 18!

*Kate had an amazing  Minnie Safari birthday party. And one of these days I will actually blog about it.


*The kids were feature in a news story again! Be the Match held a walk for the kids on the BMT floor the week before the Houston Be the One Run. Houston's abc13 was on the floor and covered the event! We were so excited to run into Christi Myer again and follow up regarding Kate and Will! Christi filmed our family last fall so it was wonderful to update the community! Here is the story!

Celebrating the gift of life | Video | abc13.com

*For those of you that follow me on Instagram and FaceBook you've already seen this! But, my mom made the most amazing birthday gift for Kate! She created these precious Disney Princess dress-up aprons (from scratch - she created the patterns as everything)! Mimi has decided to sell them and I am hoping to have a post up tomorrow or Monday with details. She has been working hard creating wonderful dress-up aprons for your princesses and is looking forward to selling her creations! Keep your eyes open for the Made by Mimi post so you can place your order!

For those of you not up on your Disney Princesses, we've got (from left to right) Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, Ariel, and Rapunzel! Tiana and Jasmine have also recently been added to the collection!


Hopefully y'all will hear from me very soon! I've got Made by Mini, Kate's party, and an awesome review/ giveaway that should be up within the next week!

Running on E

That's how I feel these days. Like there is no way I have enough in me to make it through another crazy day much less another week.

Things have been more hectic than normal over here. Will was readmitted to the hospital last week for two days due to a fever. Thankfully it was a quick stay. But it was time away from the house, away from my to-do list, and away from our normal routine. On top of his third hospitalization, we literally spent all day at the hospital Monday due to Will's kidney issues.

All of this, on top of normal every day life, has me running on fumes.

Y'all I am flat out exhausted.

My house is a wreck. My to do list is a mile long. I feel like I am failing at accomplishing anything other than barely making it through the day.

I know this is just a season of life. And that the days are long but the years are short. And in a few years I will look back on this challenging time and feel victorious about surviving.

But...

I'm tired.

I'm sick of this season.

I'm sick of the hospital.

I'm sick of being trapped in the house all day long.

I'm sick of not being able to do things as a family of four since Will can't go anywhere.

I'm sick of not being able to see my friends because they have kids in daycare/ preschool and could pass germs our way.

I'm sick of feeling like I'm not cut out to be the mom of two special needs kids.

I'm sick of feeling defeated.

I know we will make it out of this season of life stronger. I truly do know that.

But right now?

I just want to crawl into a hole and hibernate until our season of health arrives.

Day +84: Will Update

Focus on the cute face; not the bad lighting and crappy iPhone picture!

I can't believe we are just a little over two weeks away from the big Day +100 milestone!

Despite his recent hospitalization for a line infection, Will is doing remarkably well! He did have to have his central lines pulled and now has a PICC line in his left arm. He wasn't a huge fan of it at first but, over time, has learned to ignore it!

As far a recovery goes, Will is breezing through the transplant process with the exception of his kidneys. Chemo side effects hit the kidneys really hard around 3-4 months post transplant (which is right now) and Will's kidneys have let us know they aren't too happy about all of the toxic drugs we pumped through them in June.

The main issue right now is his erythropoietin (EPO) level. EPO is a hormone made by the kidneys that signals the bone marrow to make red blood cells. Will's level is basically non-existent which has caused him to still be dependent on red blood cell transfusions. This is a relatively common post-BMT issue and thankfully it is easy to treat! A synthetic hormone (called darbepoietin or darbe for short) can be given weekly to help boost the production of red blood cells. So, for now, Will is getting weekly darbe infusions as well as red blood transfusions as needed. Kate dealt with this issue post transplant as well and it took about 2-3 months of darbe before her kidneys remembered/ relearned the process of making EPO and maintaining a healthy red blood cell level.

Another area we are watching closely is Wills potassium. His potassium levels have been borderline high recently. High potassium is dangerous to the heart which is why it is watched so closely. But, high potassium is also another sign that Will's kidneys just aren't working as well as they were pre-transplant and proves that his kidneys aren't "filtering" as normal.

We are praying that his potassium levels don't get any higher as the treatment to lower his potassium levels is pretty intense. This is a semi common post transplant issue but I would love to avoid adding meds every 6 hours and re-starting fluids (and adding a specialized fluid called bi-carb).

In good news Will has been cleared for mask-free outside time! So he can now play in the back yard, on the porch, and go on walks in the neighborhood without his big mask on!

Despite these kidney setbacks, we are so amazed by Will's progress over the past 2.5 months! His energy levels are back to normal, he is hitting new milestones (learning new words daily), and truly thriving! Now we just hope and pray we can get through cold and flu season without any major setbacks!

As always, thank you for the continued thoughts and prayers for our sweet Will!