3 more months

In a little over 3 months (on December 4th) I will be headed to my 2nd specialist, a Neuromuscular doctor, this time I'm sure we will get an answer. After 2 EMG's, and an MRI my neurologists have figured out that I have a Myopathy (neuromuscular disease) and one of the Neurologists I saw is leaning towards a form of Muscular Dystrophy, but there are quite a few different myopathy's and my issues fit into a couple of them. Its looking like the only way to tell for sure which it is, and if there are any treatments (highly unlikely) or ways to help slow the disease down and prolong what use of my legs that I have left, is to do a muscle biopsy. I'm a little freaked out by that but its looking to be the only thing that can tell, well at least the 'cheapest' thing (genetic testing could tell but its upwards of $16,000 for a full genetic panel to be done, and with so many diseases they couldn't really narrow it down too much). So my goal is to have a definitive diagnosis by my birthday in March.

Other then that I requested a B12 and Creatinine test to be ran. Both came back lower then the low cut off, but not quite to the deficient point. The range for the B12 is 900-245, mine is a 235. The Creatinine is 1- 0.5 mine is 0.44. I did however find out that I was supposed to have fasted before those tests, which I wasn't notified of by my neuro or the lab tech so I don't know how off the levels could be. I ended up getting a B12 shot and am taking a 2500mcg supplement a day, we're just hoping that the low Creatinine level is due to the low B12 level. They also did a test for anemia and that came back just fine (there is a B12 related anemia that can cause the issues that I have so they were ruling that out because that is deadly if left untreated).

Sorry for the slow posting on my blog. Earlier this year I started having hand problems (meaning my upper limbs are starting to become affected) and there are some days it hurts to even do my homework let alone post a blog post. I try to post at least once a month!

Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookies Review

In part of the summer Influenster's Mom VoxBox there was a Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookie for me or the kids to try. I decided to let the kiddo's give it a try.

I loved how the cookie was nice and soft when I opened the packaging. It seemed to be made of fresher ingredients. I decided to split the cookie in two and let the kids each have one side. I had to split it because the package only had one cookie in it. My daughter devoured it, my son...he saw there were raisin's in it and freaked out. K ended up eating her brother's half as well. I was bugged for days by her for another cookie so she must have loved it since that's how 3yr olds express love for food! (I WANT MORE COOKIE!) 
I didn't get a chance to personally try the cookie, but over all it seemed good and from a brand that I like and trust, it also smelled pretty yummy!

Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookies

Enjoy chewy, soft-baked cookies in a family-favorite flavor! With wholesome Quaker Oats and delicious raisins, you’ll never remember they came from our kitchen instead of yours.

-Made with Whole Grain Quaker Oats
-Individually packaged
-Provides a good source of fiber
-Contains 6 grams of total fat per serving

Where to Buy

You can find Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookies at most major retailers.

Suggested retail price: $2.69 for a box of 6 cookies

((I received this free of charge from Influenster in their VoxBox program for reviewing purposes, all opinions in this post are my own))

imPRESS Press On Manicure Review

I was able to try some imPRESS Press On Manicure nails as part of the Mom VoxBox from Influenster.

I'm not a fake nail person so I wasn't exactly excited for this in my box. I decided to give them a try for a big BBQ we were having, just to add a little flair.
Took about 20 minutes to get them all sized to my fingers and put on. They were pretty quick and easy to put on, though I did have a couple that were hard to peal off the backing on.
They stayed on wonderfully though a shoping trip with 2 young kids and while washing dishes, as well as throughout the party.

Its nice that they are a shorter length so they don't get in the way but my nail beds are quite long so the nails weren't any longer then my natural fingernail was. I would like to see some that are of a slightly longer size for those of us with longer nail beds.

Visit imPRESS and take a look around their site!

imPRESS Press-On Manicure

This changes everything!

Introducing imPress Press-On Manicure by Broadway Nails, the revolutionary way to apply polish! Featuring advanced nail technology, you can get a salon-perfect manicure in seconds – simply peel off, press on, and you're done. There's no drying, a killer shine and a manicure that lasts up to a week! And, imPress is so easy to remove, you can change it up to match your mood as often as you want. Check out all 36 colors and patterns, including trendy brights, classic darks and animal prints. With imPress, your nails will always be your best accessory.

Where to Buy

You can find imPress Manicure at CVS, Rite Aid, Duane Reade, KMart, Walgreens, Walmart and more. For a full list of online and in-store retailers, visit imPressManicure.com, where you can download an exclusive coupon and virtually try on all the colors and patterns!

Suggested retail price: $5.99 for colors and $7.99 for patterns

((All view's in this are my own. I was given this product free of charge for reviewing purposes from Influenster's VoxBox program))

A little MIA

I disapeared again! I have a good reason though, I started school on June 4th at our local community college so I had to get all prepared and ready for that. Things are going fairly smoothly for that. I'll be back with some product reviews from Influenster again here shortly, some "mom" products for you all so stay tuned!

Happy Birthday my baby girl!

3 years ago today my sweet, silly, goofy, smart baby girl was born. Super bittersweet. Shes no longer a toddler she's now a preschooler (gah, she'll be starting preschool in September! o.O)!! I can't believe how fast these last 3years have gone. She's a super huge goof ball, she loves to cuddle and read to us, she loves writing "O's", drawing stick people, she can identify 22/26 letters, she recognizes #'s 2, 3 & 5, and knows her basic colors except green and blue which she mixes up frequently. She's in love with her older brother and wants to be like him very much, so when he's at school she'll practice writing 'letters' (how she learned O's and stick people) to be like "Shay." She's obsessed with the color pink, and can be a huge Diva, sometimes telling us her name is Princess not Kieran. Lover that baby goofball Kiwi <3

Gone, its all gone

All my pictuers are gone. Stupidly, not knowing that it would screw things up, I deleted some picture files from my Samsung Galaxy S II phone...now I realize how stupid that was cause take a look around my blog posts all my photos are gone and cant' come back. All my pictures from blog reviews, personal things all of it are gone from the last 4+yrs that my blog's been around. I'm beyond upset that Google/Android doesn't have a notification in place stating that if you delete pictures they will delete from the blog too, I didn't even know it had synced my blog/Picasa pictures to my phone, I was just cleaning up photos cause I hate it being over crowded. Some of the pictures are gone for good, like I said all the review/giveaway photo's are gone I don't have any copies of them since my hard drive died last year, and some personal ones, as well, are gone again due to the hard drive failure.

Google, please make a notification when people go to delete thing off their phones like that. Or don't automatically sync Picasa albums with Android phones. Please.

Venus & Olay Razor Review

When I got my Love VoxBox from Influenster one of the items included was a new Venus & Olay Razor. I was super excited to try this because I normally use the cheap 2 blade razors to shave with. I was really excited to get to try this new razor out.


When I opened the razor the first thing that I noticed was that it has 2 good sized Olay Moisture bars on it, one on top and one on bottom. Seeing those had me a little worried that it would make it more cumbersome for me to shave since its already hard on me with my neuromuscular disease. I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that the bars have a little 'give' to them and move so that they can contour around your body. The handle had a nice soft grip on it so it doesn't slip out of your hand. I loved the fact that it has 5 blades in it, it ment it only took 1-2 passes on one spot to get all the hairs gone unlike my other razors that took 3-5 passes over one spot. The razor also came with a suctioned wall hanger so I can store the razor up out of reach from little exploring hands. I really liked how smoothly this razor shaved, and with the Olay Moisture bars on it, it eliminated the need for any shaving cream and left my skin feeling super smooth afterwords. I was able to go 3-4 days before my legs would get subbly again which was also an added bonus.

Venus & Olay Razor

For the first time ever, Gillette Venus, a global leader in female shaving, and Olay, a global leader in skincare, are coming together to deliver a gold standard in shaving with the new Gillette Venus & Olay razor. Venus’ best shaving technology works with Olay Moisture Bars, offering women best-of-both-worlds shaving and skin expertise. Olay Moisture Bars help lock-in moisture to your skin for less dryness, and with every smoothing stroke, Venus’ five blades shave you close.

Product Details

• Venus’ five-bladed razors shave you close and adjust to women’s curves for a smooth and comfortable shave, even over tricky shaving areas like knees and ankles.
• Olay Moisture Bars contain skin-enhancing elements found in Olay products: Petrolatum helps lock in skin’s moisture for less dryness and Glycerin helps offer that goddess glow! Just wet the razor to release a light lather – no separate shave cream required.
• As with most Venus razors, new Venus & Olay also features a rounded, pivoting head designed for women’s curves, and a soft-grip ergonomic handle for confident control, even in wet and soapy environment

Where to Buy

A refillable Venus & Olay with one replacement cartridge sells for approximately $8.99-$10.99. Packages of three replacement cartridges are available for about $14.99 - $19.49.

Venus & Olay will be available starting March 15, 2012 at food, drug, convenience and mass merchandise stores throughout the United States.

Check out more about the Venus & Olay razor.

You can visit Venus & Olay Razor on their site, Facebook or Twitter.
You can also visit Influenster on their site, Facebook or Twitter.

((This review is my own. I was given a product to try from the sponsor, but all thoughts in this post are my own an no others))