Thursday, September 18, 2008
Bad boys, Bad boys...
If anyone knows Mike, you know that on Saturday night at 8:00PM you will find him in front of the TV watching an episode of COPS. My dad has always teased him saying that the show COPS is what made him want to go into law enforcement (although Mike isn't lucky enough to have that much action EVERY night!). So you can imagine how excited Mike was when he learned that COPS would be coming to the city of Rancho Cucamonga to do some taping. When the Lieutenant pulled Mike into his office to tell him that he was going to be one of the deputies that the crew would be riding with, he was thrilled! Mike is known around the station to be a s%@& magnet so they were counting on him to get something 'good'. COPS is in its 21st season and they were able to catch their first bank robbery "story"...guess who the deputy was? Mike. Anyways this Saturday COPS will be airing one of Mike's "stories" and he is very excited to see the final cut. If you'd like to see it and you missed it on TV, you can view the whole episode here. There is also a site that gives previews into future shows; Mike said that he should have about four shows airing this season. Hope you enjoy...
Monday, September 15, 2008
Charity Softball Game
This Saturday, September 20th, the Rancho Cucamonga Police Department will be playing in a charity softball game against the Rancho Cucamonga Fire Department. Before I give more details, let me give some background to those who aren't familiar with our family.
In April 2005 Mike was hired by the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department and was assigned to one of the county's detention centers. After spending six months in the jails, he was given the opportunity to become a patrol deputy and gladly took the position. He was assigned to the Victorville station, which is about 35 miles away from our home, and continued to do well for himself. He enjoyed working with the other deputies and liked the pace the city offered; he often said that there was always something to do. After a couple of months on Mike being on patrol, we learned about Carlie's heart defect. Mike went to his Sergeant to give him a heads up on our situation and soon after Mike was pulled into the Lieutenant's office to discuss what was ahead for our family. They wanted to make sure that we were doing okay; being a part of law enforcement is really like having a second family. After Mike's meeting, the Lieutenant went to the Captain to explain our situation and the two of them decided that it would be best for our family if Mike were transferred down to the Rancho Cucamonga station where he would be closer to home (we live in Rancho Cucamonga) and the hospital. In February 2006 Mike began working at the new station and had a very warm welcome. A month later Carlie was born and many of the deputies, Sergeants, Lieutenant and other staff offered support to our family as we traveled down an unknown road. The station's chaplain even drove out to the hospital the day after Carlie was born to say a prayer with us. The station allowed Mike to come and go so that he could spend time at the hospital as needed. A couple of days after Carlie was finally able to come home, we were greeted by the station's Captain and a Sergeant; again they wanted to make sure that we were all doing well. Throughout Carlie's life, I have received calls from various Sergeants and deputies checking in to see how Carlie is progressing. The department has been a great source of support and we are very thankful for all that they have offered.
Now back to the softball game...A couple of months ago it was decided that the police and fire departments would play in a charity softball game against each other to benefit a local charity. After talking about it, they decided to choose the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, the very unit that treated and saved Carlie's life. We are once again thankful for the department's generosity in helping raise money for the unit as they are in need of a makeover.
If you are in the area, we'd love for you to come out (I'd love to meet other heart families!) and enjoy what I am sure will be a great game. We will be raffling off some prizes and Heather Froglear, from the local country station KFROG, will be joining us as she also has a daughter born with a CHD that was treated at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital PCICU. The game is Saturday, September 20 at the Rancho Cucamonga Epicenter located at 8408 Rochester Ave. The gates will open at 6:00 and the game starts at 7:00. We hope to see you there!!!
In April 2005 Mike was hired by the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department and was assigned to one of the county's detention centers. After spending six months in the jails, he was given the opportunity to become a patrol deputy and gladly took the position. He was assigned to the Victorville station, which is about 35 miles away from our home, and continued to do well for himself. He enjoyed working with the other deputies and liked the pace the city offered; he often said that there was always something to do. After a couple of months on Mike being on patrol, we learned about Carlie's heart defect. Mike went to his Sergeant to give him a heads up on our situation and soon after Mike was pulled into the Lieutenant's office to discuss what was ahead for our family. They wanted to make sure that we were doing okay; being a part of law enforcement is really like having a second family. After Mike's meeting, the Lieutenant went to the Captain to explain our situation and the two of them decided that it would be best for our family if Mike were transferred down to the Rancho Cucamonga station where he would be closer to home (we live in Rancho Cucamonga) and the hospital. In February 2006 Mike began working at the new station and had a very warm welcome. A month later Carlie was born and many of the deputies, Sergeants, Lieutenant and other staff offered support to our family as we traveled down an unknown road. The station's chaplain even drove out to the hospital the day after Carlie was born to say a prayer with us. The station allowed Mike to come and go so that he could spend time at the hospital as needed. A couple of days after Carlie was finally able to come home, we were greeted by the station's Captain and a Sergeant; again they wanted to make sure that we were all doing well. Throughout Carlie's life, I have received calls from various Sergeants and deputies checking in to see how Carlie is progressing. The department has been a great source of support and we are very thankful for all that they have offered.
Now back to the softball game...A couple of months ago it was decided that the police and fire departments would play in a charity softball game against each other to benefit a local charity. After talking about it, they decided to choose the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, the very unit that treated and saved Carlie's life. We are once again thankful for the department's generosity in helping raise money for the unit as they are in need of a makeover.
If you are in the area, we'd love for you to come out (I'd love to meet other heart families!) and enjoy what I am sure will be a great game. We will be raffling off some prizes and Heather Froglear, from the local country station KFROG, will be joining us as she also has a daughter born with a CHD that was treated at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital PCICU. The game is Saturday, September 20 at the Rancho Cucamonga Epicenter located at 8408 Rochester Ave. The gates will open at 6:00 and the game starts at 7:00. We hope to see you there!!!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
How to Look Good Naked
Tonight Lifetime will be doing a special about women with CHDs on the season finale of How to Look Good Naked. I learned about the show from an older CHD survivor that belongs to the same online support group that I belong to. The following is the post that she left the group:
I'm Jeni born with HLHS in 1985. I wanted to let you all know that I will be on TV tonight on the Lifetime show How to Look Good Naked. It's the season finale about women who have CHD and feeling self conscious about the scars on their chests. I had a blast filming it and being a part of this wonderful event. Hope you all can watch and enjoy it. Take care and God bless!
~Jeni Busta (23 yr old HLHS survivor)~
As a mother of a young daughter with a CHD, I am very curious to hear the stories of older survivors and to see how their CHD has affected their lives...thanks for checking in and I hope that you enjoy the show.
I'm Jeni born with HLHS in 1985. I wanted to let you all know that I will be on TV tonight on the Lifetime show How to Look Good Naked. It's the season finale about women who have CHD and feeling self conscious about the scars on their chests. I had a blast filming it and being a part of this wonderful event. Hope you all can watch and enjoy it. Take care and God bless!
~Jeni Busta (23 yr old HLHS survivor)~
As a mother of a young daughter with a CHD, I am very curious to hear the stories of older survivors and to see how their CHD has affected their lives...thanks for checking in and I hope that you enjoy the show.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Caiteyn's first day of Kindergarten
Today was Caiteyn's first day of Kindergarten and she was VERY excited! Mike and I walked her to her classroom and she was more than willing to just walk right in, I actually had to stop her so that I could get a kiss from her. When I picked her up and asked her how her day went, she said "good". She was very happy to find that one of the little girls from her dance class is in her Kindergarten class but sad that they don't sit at the same table (Caiteyn is convinced that she sits at the blue table because she has blue eyes). She also earned two gold tickets today, when she reaches ten she can pick something out of the treasure box...she's very excited about that!
I knew when the day came for her to start school I wouldn't have a problem getting her to go, she's been asking to go to school since she was two! She is a very outgoing little girl and loves to play with other kids. I just can't believe that my Baby Girl is in school now...didn't I just give birth to her?!?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Pictures with a Princess
Friday the girls and I headed out to Disneyland one last time before Caiteyn starts Kindergarten (not that we'll stop going now that she'll be in school!) and we had a good time. It was a little humid, but there was a little breeze which made it nice. We were able to ride a couple of rides that the girls had not been on, and ones that I haven't been on in years, which was nice. As we were getting off the Disneyland Railroad we saw a couple of Princesses at the front entrance. Caiteyn has been able to have her picture taken with all of them except Aurora and Jasmine. You can imagine how happy we were when we saw that Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip were out there as well. I was especially excited because I wanted Carlie to have her picture taken with them but when it was our turn to meet them, Carlie wanted nothing to do with them. Prince Phillip even stepped away thinking that she was afraid of him, but no luck. Carlie did however see Snow White and walked right up to her so I was able to get the girls' picture with her. We had a fun time...as always! Here are some pictures from the day...
Riding the Disneyland Railroad for the first time.
The three of us.
Finally a picture with Princess Aurora!
Carlie's first picture with a princess.
Carlie wouldn't stand next to Belle to have her picture taken with her, but she was willing to show Belle her princess shirt.
Lack of energy?
If you are a heart parent reading this right now, you probably have heard over and over again that your heart child will tire easily, he/she won't have a lot of energy, and so on. Well I would just like to let you all know that lack of energy has never been a problem for Carlie. When she was a newborn, she did sleep through the night (thanks to her continuous feeds!) but as far as naps went, I'd be lucky if she took two thirty minute naps a day. Now that she is almost 2 1/2, naps have become pretty uncommon, which is okay, but when she is going to bed late and getting up early (only about eight hours of sleep a night) you would think that she would need a nap...but not Carlie (proving yet again that my girls are complete opposites)! She is constantly on the go getting into anything and everything. If she does happen to take a nap, the minute that she hears Caiteyn playing with something, she wakes up to play with her; she may look like she just woke up, but she doesn't function like she just woke up. Here are a couple of videos that I took the other day of Carlie being her normal self. This is the kind of stuff that she does over and over again on a daily basis, lack of energy is not a problem for Carlie...
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Once Upon a Dream...
When Carlie was younger and Caiteyn and I would go into her room in the morning, we would always greet Carlie by saying "Good morning Sleeping Beauty" and as a result Sleeping Beauty sort of became her princess (after all Caiteyn's favorites are Ariel and Cinderella and letting her sister have one of those would be out of the question!). When it would come time to give Carlie a bath and get her dressed, I would often sing to her the songs from Sleeping Beauty until one day she started humming along with me. This past weekend I was able to capture her doing this and although the video is a little dark, I hope you enjoy it!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
Yesterday the dance studio that Caiteyn dances at had their annual dance recital. This was Caiteyn's second year to be a part of the recital; last year she loved it so much that she wouldn't stop asking when she gets to go back on stage. When the time came to decide if she was going to do it again, it was a no-brainer. Here are some pictures of Caiteyn and the other girls from her class. Although the girls didn't do a perfect routine, it was entertaining to watch four and five year olds dance and have fun.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Caiteyn, Mommy and Disneyland
A couple of weeks overdue I know, but we've been busy doing nothing! Caiteyn and I did make it out to Disneyland and it was really nice to be able to spend some alone time with her. We tried to avoid most of the heat and didn't arrive until about 2:00 which was perfect because as soon as we walked in, we were able to watch the parade (the same one that we've seen a thousand times!). After the parade was over we walked over to Space Mountain and she was fine until we actually walked inside the building; she started asking a lot of questions. I had to do some convincing because as soon as they strapped us in, she started crying. I knew that she was afraid of not knowing what was ahead more so than the actual ride. I just kept explaining to her what was about to happen and she calmed down. After we got off the ride I asked her if she wanted to go on it again, and she said, "I don't think so, it was a little too fast."
We then walked over to Matterhorn, which she had been talking about nonstop. We got on and she LOVED it, she wanted to ride it again right away. I told her that we should go on some other rides first and then we could come back to it. We then went over to Big Thunder and Pirates of the Caribbean. Every time that we visit Disneyland Caiteyn wants to walk through Tarzan's Treehouse, but with Carlie, it would be pretty difficult. So after Pirates we walked through the treehouse and got our stair workout for the day!
We went and had some dinner and it was really nice to be able to sit there just the two of us and hear Caiteyn talk about whatever was on her mind. Usually at dinner I'm trying to get the girls to eat, to sit down, to stop playing, pretty much everything else but carry on a conversation, so it was really fun to hear what she had to say.
After dinner we walked around and got on some other rides and then waited to watch Fantasmic. I hadn't seen Fantasmic since I was in high school and it was cool to see again. Right after Fantasmic was done the fireworks started, so we watched those for a while and then walked over towards Matterhorn. We rode it one last time and took this picture before it was about to take off.
As we were walking out, we stopped at one of the stores to get a sweet to share. I asked her what she wanted and she told me, "You can pick Momma because you took me on all the big rides today." We decided on a chocolate chip cookie, which was just as sweet as she is. We had a great time and she has already been asking me when we can go back just the two of us...
We then walked over to Matterhorn, which she had been talking about nonstop. We got on and she LOVED it, she wanted to ride it again right away. I told her that we should go on some other rides first and then we could come back to it. We then went over to Big Thunder and Pirates of the Caribbean. Every time that we visit Disneyland Caiteyn wants to walk through Tarzan's Treehouse, but with Carlie, it would be pretty difficult. So after Pirates we walked through the treehouse and got our stair workout for the day!
We went and had some dinner and it was really nice to be able to sit there just the two of us and hear Caiteyn talk about whatever was on her mind. Usually at dinner I'm trying to get the girls to eat, to sit down, to stop playing, pretty much everything else but carry on a conversation, so it was really fun to hear what she had to say.
After dinner we walked around and got on some other rides and then waited to watch Fantasmic. I hadn't seen Fantasmic since I was in high school and it was cool to see again. Right after Fantasmic was done the fireworks started, so we watched those for a while and then walked over towards Matterhorn. We rode it one last time and took this picture before it was about to take off.
As we were walking out, we stopped at one of the stores to get a sweet to share. I asked her what she wanted and she told me, "You can pick Momma because you took me on all the big rides today." We decided on a chocolate chip cookie, which was just as sweet as she is. We had a great time and she has already been asking me when we can go back just the two of us...
Monday, July 28, 2008
Carlie's cardiology check-up
Last Thursday Carlie had an echo and check-up with her cardiologist Dr. Mulla. Carlie saw Dr. Mulla back in May, but she hadn't had an echo since March, which is when she was diagnosed with her pleural effusion. I was anxious to hear how her heart has been performing especially since it has been six months since her Fontan. I'm happy to report that everything looked great! Carlie weighed in at 24 pounds and 33 1/2 inches tall and best of all the regurgitation of her mitral valve was mild. Dr. Mulla said that Carlie's heart is as perfect as it could be given her defects. She said several times that we are very blessed that Carlie has progressed the way she has because it was just two years ago that Dr. Mulla wasn't sure that Carlie's heart would be able to keep her alive. We are very thankful that Carlie and her heart are healthy. Everything looked so good that Carlie's next check-up isn't for another four months!
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