Whew!

I have never been so happy to be told to go back to work! Yesterday late afternoon I had an angiogram that was able to isolate the carotid artery where they suspected an abnormality. While I do have an abnormally strutured carotid artery, it is nothing that the doctors feel needs any treatment or further monitoring or anything that should cause me problems in the future. In terms of an explanation for the headache I had on Wednesday, they feel that it was a reaction to medication that constricted the blood vessels in my brain, but did not cause permanent damage. Thank you for your supportive wishes and thoughts!!!

Scary Stuff

I had hoped that by now I would be blogging about how there was no findings in my test results and I went to work today. Unfortunately, that was not to be. After the MRA of my brain yesterday, the radiologist found something in my blood vessels of my brain that concerned him and that he felt required further study. As a result, my doctor sent me to the ER yesterday to be evaluated by a neurologist and neurosurgeon. While they released me rather than admitting me (after I spent 7 hours in the ER), they both agreed that I needed an angiogram to clarify whether the findings from the MRA are something that requires further treatment. An angiogram is a test that requires sending a catheter from a vein in the groin area to explore other areas of the body, namely in my case, the brain. I am scheduled for this test at 3 p.m. today at Somerset Medical Center. Since I have to leave shortly, I figured I would blog first so those of you who read my blog from Wednesday wouldn't panic. I am hopeful that the abnormalities the MRA uncovered are nothing more than some congenital defect that requires no intervention, but I have to say that I am concerned. Hopefully this angiogram will bring answers and will confirm the least problematic possibility. I will blog more when I know more.

HeadACHE!

Snow days are definitely not as exciting when you are sick. Yesterday I finally bit the bullet and went to the doctor after being exhausted for at least a week and suffering from intermittent headaches that made me think I might have a sinus infection. Several blood tests, a urine sample and an x-ray later, the verdict was that I have clogged sinuses (one side is nearly completely clogged). So home I went with an antibiotic, a decongestant and a shot of cortisone in an area I generally reserve for exit only. This morning I woke up still feeling like I had been hit by a bus but hopeful that I was on the mend. And the icing was that I had a snow day and therefore didn't have to take a sick day. And then....the headache from H E double L! Literally the second worst headache I have ever had in my life (first being when my blood pressure was 200 over 104 the day before I had Eva). I was writhing around and crying in pain today and called the doctor to find out if what I was experiencing could be attributed to the clogged sinuses or not. I finally determined that I should take my mom up on her offer to drive me back there to be looked at again. My cousin (whose practice I go to) was thankfully there today and decided it could have been one of a few things. It might have been the shot of cortisone that I developed a reaction to or the combination of that and the Allegra D that I took today or, and hopefully not, it could be something more sinister. So tomorrow I have an appointment for an MRA (a sort of combination between a CAT scan and an MRI) that looks specifically at the blood vessels in my head to ensure that there are no anneurisms or any other scary thing. I am sure it will be fine, but it is better to be safe than sorry. I will update tomorrow when I know more.

Pee Pee in the Pottay!

Cue celebratory conga line - (while chanting) "Pee Pee in the Pottay, Pee Pee in the Pottay!" Whoo hoo! Eva has been wearing underwear since Saturday with very few accidents!! Exciting, but a bit nerve wracking. When she says, "I have to go pee pee," it is generally followed by one or more hustling parents getting the potty seat on and her pants pulled down! She generally can give adequate warning, but we don't like to take chances. And after having cleaned the living room carpet about a dozen times this week between food spills, drink spills - I can drink out of a big girl cup, whoops, maybe not, cat barf and kid pee, I tend to hustle when I hear the words "Pee pee." She is becoming quite the big girl, as she reminds us if we call her baby (or anyone else calls her baby). "I not a baby, I a big girl."

Terrible is Most Definitely Not Descriptive Enough

Why do they call this age the terrible two's? I am thinking horrific, repulsive, repugnant, supremely aggravating or perhaps more specifically, "tantrumrific" (my own invention) are more appropriate adjectives to describe this age or should I say "stage" since it seems like she is on one whenever we go anywhere. Oh yeah, we get stared at a lot lately.

But yet, whenever I tell people that I have a two year-old child they say (while smiling), "Oh, that is the best age." I am starting to think that they have either blocked this age out or that they are being paid by a cult of two year-olds to say that.

Perhaps I am jaded by the fact that we have not gotten through a day in the past week without at least one tantrum. And Eva tantrums the way that Olympic athletes train - for a long friggin time! This morning she had a 40 minute one. Remind me to offer the babysitter a raise!

Better Late than Never!

While I realize that I have not blogged in a ridiculously long time, I figured it is better late than never. So I have many updates to share.

Eva celebrated her 2nd Birthday on September 6th. I was so excited that her birthday actually fell on a Saturday this year so I decided to have a birthday party for her on her true birthday. I decided on a beach ball theme because she was all about the beach this past summer. And then, a bit of a hiccup. (Cue Monsoon weather). Tropical storm whoever bursts in to New Jersey on the same weekend as Eva's beach ball birthday (good alliteration, huh). And do I have a tent rented...um...NO! So I scramble to rent a tent (don't ask me how much more it cost me than the original canopy I had rented. I confirmed the table and chair orders as well and ensured that the tent would not blow away in case the 40 mile per hour winds that were predicted actually occurred! After about fifty conversations with my mother in a 24 hour period, I decided to go ahead with the party on the scheduled date. Bottom line: Two year old children (and their friends) don't mind getting wet - in fact they generally love running around soaking wet! Birthday parties in monsoons are conversation pieces. It should be the new trend! Mental note, though, don't count on weather warnings to dissuade people from coming to your birthday party so you might want to go with the largest tent possible since otherwise you, your guests and the food will be mighty cozy!

So after the Merry Monsoon party in early September, I began a season of frenetic meetings with senior students applying to colleges and a maniacal quest to write 40 letters of recommendation in a several week period. Oh, did I mention that these students were all new to me and I had never met them before? Yeah, that too!

In October I turned thirty (yikes) and celebrated with friends/family at Sun Tavern. It was a fun night (thank you Susan for organizing) but it is hard to believe that I have entered a new decade!

Just before Christmas, Matt turned thirty-two and was rewarded with word from his employer that he is being laid off as of May 1st. Horray for us! NOT.

Christmas was tons of fun this year with Eva loving every moment of it! She helped Nana and Papa decorate the tree. She put out cookies and milk for Santa and his reindeer (after tasting a few of the cookies)! And on Christmas Day she opened tons of presents - wanting to stop to play with each of them along the way. I found myself asking, "Who in the world designed these packages and why is it necessary for a package with a baby doll and various baby accoutrements to have better security than the Pentagon?" Seriously, I really don't get it!

New Years was celebrated with a bang (the sound of my head hitting the bed at 10:30 p.m.) - I have truly entered a whole new level of pathetic.

Presently we are focusing on job searching (for Matt), preschool open houses (for Eva) and a countdown to the next school break (for me). So now you are all caught up on the exciting adventures of the Cahill family. Stay tuned and I will try to post some pictures to go along with the stories above!