Kristi and Jacob are here visiting from Memphis this week. I am so thrilled to have them here. Jacob is such a cute little guy and makes up to strangers like his Grandma and Grandpa and cousins really fast. He calls me Grandma Beh-ty. They visit about 4 times a year and I always cry when they leave:)

Kristi found the big bubble maker in our garage this afternoon and Jacob and Rhebeca had a really good time with it. The nice thing is that even Jacob could make the great big bubbles. If you ever need a kids birthday gift this would be a great one. I think it was about $10 and they sure loved playing with it!!

Tyler wearing his "cool" shades!!

Jacob came to me with this big bandaid and told me he needed it for the sore on his nose. The sore was smaller than a pinhead but it was real to him. Rhebeca wanted to pretend to be his doctor and surgically put the bandaid on his nose. I told her to make sure he could still breath...but I had to make sure myself:)
Caden the harmonica player. I love how you can see his smiling eyes. And, Caden, sleeping so well!!

My first ever traffic ticket. I got this for not wearing my seatbelt. I almost always wear my seatbelt but drove right through a checkpoint last week. I don't know why but it scared me to death:( Silly me!

This is Jacob and Rhebeca. Rhebeca spent the night here last night. She's been begging to do that for some time and we decided it would be a good time to do it when Kristi and Jacob were here. Jacob is just crazy about Rhebeca and follows her around and does everything she does.

Below is my latest layout. I made this one for the design team. It is a picture of Wayne and I after a winter dinner banquet for the Crusaders. The Crusaders was a group of teens from all area schools that met once (or was it twice?) a month at the "Riley Women's Clubhouse" on Riley Road in Lakeville. Wayne and I loved it mostly because it was another time we could be together. The story behind this picture is that we both were leaving for vacation the next day and we were so sad that we wouldn't see each other for more than a week. Wayne was visiting relatives in Fort Meyers Florida and I was leaving for a cruise in the Caribbean with my cousins and aunts and uncles, etc. We both decided that night that we would get a notebook and write in it every day. We each tried to fill the whole notebook while we were gone...oh to be young and in love again!!

I go to see the neurologist today. I have had some blood work done and an MRI of my brain since I last saw him so it will be interesting to see what he knows..if anything. Right as I was typing that I remembered that I was supposed to bring the MRI report with me to this appointment. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now!

We took Tyler fishing yesterday afternoon with Tyler. This was one of my favorite pictures of the day with Tyler and Grandpa Wayne walking on the walking bridge downtown that goes over the yellow river. Tyler was so much fun to take fishing...he was SO excited and enthusiastic. It was surprising to see how much he all ready knows about fishing.

This is a picture of my leg wrapped up. As you can see, when my toes swell Wayne has to wrap my toes too. It really feels good because it takes almost all the swelling out. When wrapping my toes and my legs it takes Wayne about 15-20 minutes. Unfortunately it isn't something that will go away but will have to be done the rest of my life.

These pictures are of Tyler and Caden at the Swan Lake pool where we go to swim/exercise. The kids have learned to love the swimming and I enjoy the exercise because it is the only thing besides the wrapping that will take swelling out of my legs and feet.

Tyler had a spring concert at the end of his kindergarten year. It was a real step forward that Tyler would even go on stage with his class. When he was in preschool he wouldn't go on the stage at all but would hide behind the curtain. Tyler told his parents that he would sing in his head and we could see his head bobbing around like he really was doing that. He really felt good about himself afterwards!! Tyler is he boy to the right of the boy pointing.

I love this picture of Steve, Tyler and Caden. Sometimes a pictures just lines itself up and it's good to have a camera in your hand!

Alan has bringing Kaleb and Kael over occasionally. I have enjoyed getting to know them a little better with just the few of us at our house. Kaleb has made up to me where before he wouldn't have anything to do with me and it's been nice that he will let me hold him and play with him:)

Tyler is the oldest of our 5 grandsons. He is 6 and the others are 3, 2, 2, and almost 2 years old. We went swimming yesterday at Swan Lake and Tyler, Kael and Kaleb came along. Kael and Kaleb are brothers and Tyler is the their cousin. Usually Kael wants to play with Tyler and Tyler totally ignores him but yesterday in the pool they played together so nicely. I could tell the Kael was thrilled that his "big" cousin would pay attention to him. The thing that was so interesting to watch is that Kael was like a little parrot to Tyler. If Tylers eyes burned from the chlorine and he had to get out and wipe his eyes...then Kaels eyes burned and he had to wipe his eyes. I later told Tyler what a responsibility he had to live his life as an example for the little ones younger than him. I don't know if he got it or even wanted to get it:)

I went to the family doctor yesterday because the endocronologists office had called and said I needed to go to my primary care doctor because some of the levels of my last blood test came back abnormal. I went to him today and he thought it was really strange that they would order the test and then sent me back to him rather than taking care of it themselves since they ordered the test. He went ahead and ordered some bloodwork so he could see for himself what is going on.

Since the swelling in my legs has been better I have had a lot more energy. The therapist is on vacation this week and she massages the legs 2 times a week which helps keep the fluids moving. I can tell a significant difference when she does that and then we keep them wrapped. It's such a HOT time of year to have these heavy wraps on my legs and feet. If we're going to go somewhere I usually wait till we get home so I don't feel like I"m melting.

Need to get to sleep!!

Below is my latest layout. I stayed up till 3:00 am this morning working on it. While I worked on it I watched "Dream Girls"...great movie...especialy is you like music. There are a lot of songs/singing in the movie.

It has been an interesting week and one I hope doesn't happen for quite a while again. On Tuesday I was feeling pretty good and decided to run some errands. I was a little bit nauseated so didn't wear my seatbelt. As soon as I made a left hand turn by Dairy Queen I saw several police cars and then saw the sign "operation seatbelt". I thought...I've had it. After I passed them I kept trying to put my seatbelt on but it kept locking right in front of me and then I started to sweve and decided it was better to get a ticket for the seatbelt rather than for reckless driving. He came up to the car and said..Do you know why I pulled you over? I told him I had a pretty good idea. I shoed him my card for the implanted pump and told him that at times the seatbelt made me more nauseated but he said there were not excuses..he had to give me a ticket. My first ticket...ever:(

If that wasn't bad enough the next morning I sent Wayne to the bank to make a deposit for me. He called me from the bank and said that the lady said that the wrong account number was on the deposit slip. I got this sinking feeling because that was from my new checks that I had started using the week before. I had written 16 checks with the wrong account number on them. I had balanced my account the day before and wondered why there were so many outstanding checks...now I knew why...they were being sent back. What sinking feeling:(
I started to make a mental inventory and realized how much it would cost to pay overdraft charges on 16 checks..yickes!! There were 2 that had been sent through and the rest hadn't gone through. Wayne talked tp jos friend that works at the bank and he said that he would try to flag those that would come through from then on but there were quite a few that were probably sent back. Paying those charges is like taking money and throwing it in the trash can and just makes me sick.

I've had a decent week as far as pain goes but have woken up every morning with muscle spasms in my back down into my tailbone. It is strong enough to about knock me to the floor until the muscle relaxer starts to work.

I will post more later...need to go take that muscle relaxer:)

When there are big gaps in between my posting you can guess that I'm not feeling well. I have had a very hard time now for about 2-3 weeks. I really think it is the infection from the cellulitis dragging me down. I am beginning to get very discouraged. All I feel like doing is sleeping. Anything I do manage to get done is such a struggle...even including scrapbooking this time. Usually I am able to at least scrapbook. It helps to keep my spirits up.

I sometimes wished Kristi lived closer and I think she could help me a little bit. I feel so abandoned so much of the time. I don't blame anyone because they are busy with their lives. But, maybe she could pick me up and take me to the pool occasionally. The pool is the only thing that give me a little big of a lift. It takes down the swelling and give me a real boost physically.

I have included 2 layouts with this post. The one entitled "You Are So Beautiful" is one I did for the design team this week. We were supposed to do a layout using circles. The 2nd one (Roses from Daddy) I put on here is one I might have posted before but I entered it into an online scrapbook magazine yesterday and they are going to make me the featured layout on their page June 12th!! That was kind of exciting...an affirmation of my scrapbooking ability.

Mothers Day was special in that my family made me feel special...but...I didn't get to go to the dinner and was SO disappointed. I was just feeling too sick. Another thing is that I woke up with muscle spasms in my low back so had to take a muscle relaxer and that kind of knocked me out.

Here are the defintion and the syptoms of cellulitis...


Definition of CellulitisCellulitis is a diffuse, spreading skin infection.

Description of CellulitisCellulitis is a skin infection that sometimes accompanies damage to the skin, poor circulation, or diabetes. Streptococcal or staphylococcal bacteria enter the skin through a cut, puncture, ulcer, or sore, producing enzymes that break down the skin cells. Erysipelas is a superficial form of cellulitis.
Infants are particularly susceptible to buccal cellulitis, an infection of the skin on the cheek. The infection is characterized by skin discoloration and swelling and is more often misdiagnosed as a bruise. It is caused by any substance that may cause injury to the buccal mucosa, such as popsicles and ice cubes, and prolonged exposure of infants to low temperature. Other infections that are commonly mistaken as buccal cellulitis include erysipelas, severe impetigo, and insect bites.
Orbital cellulitis is a rare, acute infection of the eye socket. It affects primarily children, and the onset is rapid and severe. Bacteria enter the orbit of the eye, often from an infection in the sinuses, a boil on the eye or eyelid, or a foreign object. The soft tissue lining becomes infected. In most cases only one eye is affected. This is an acute and dangerous infection and may require hospitalization and antibiotic treatment.

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Causes and Risk Factors of CellulitisThe lower extremities are the most common site of infection. A skin abnormality (e.g., skin trauma, ulceration, tinea pedis, or dermatitis) often precedes the infection. Scars from saphenous vein removal for cardiac or vascular surgery are common sites for recurrent cellulitis, especially if tinea pedis is present. Frequently, however, no predisposing condition or site of entry is evident.
Streptococcus pyogenes is the most common cause of superficial cellulitis with diffuse spread of infection. Staphylococcus aureus occasionally produces a superficial cellulitis typically less extensive that of streptococcal origin and usually only in association with an open wound or cutaneous abscess. Cellulitis occurring after animal bites may be caused by other bacteria, especially Pasteurella multocida from dogs and cats.

Symptoms of CellulitisIn cellulitis, the skin becomes red and swollen and is both warm and painful to the touch and is sometimes accompanied by fever, malaise, chills, and headache.

I have tried to push myself this week but I just have NO energy at all. Then my mind plays games with itself...I begin to think I'm just lazy because I don't get anything done but reading this article makes me feel a little bit better. I keep hoping that tomorrow will be better.

I did manage to go with Rhebeca to her open house at her school. What a privilege that was. I could tell that all her teachers really like her. I'm not surprised because she's very likeable!!

Tyler went with us but wouldn't come in the room. He stood in the doorway. I think he enjoyed it overall though. He loved walkigng the halls and comparing it to his school. Kids always want to grow up and those of us who love them want them to stay just like they are:) Tyler kept telling everyone that in 9 days he would be ou of kindergarten...and in 1st grade:(
Now that's something this Grandma doesn't like to hear but even so it will happen!

I took a good picture of Tyler and Rhebeca in front of Webster school. I will have to post it later because right now my camera is in the car.

This is my Mother's Day gift from Tyler. He colored it on the wrapper from the inside of a fruit roll-up. He didn't have anything under it and used a sharpie pen and was wearing his cute new shorts and got pen marks on his new shorts. It meant a lot that he would do this for me.

I haven't felt well at all lthe last few days. I have the cellulitus back in my leg again and it makes me feel fluish and I have only felt like sleeping for the past 4-5 days. I have started on the antibiotic and just today am feeling a little better. Both the therapist and the doctor said NO shaving my legs till I'm sure the infection is gone. I'm sure it bothers me more than it does anybody else.

I"m too tired to write much more but wanted to get this picture on here tonight!

I thought that Kael and Kaleb looked so cute in thei matching shirts that I just HAD to get a few pictures of them. Do you know how hard it is to get a 1 year old and a 3 year old to both smile at the same time and put their arms around each other? ha ha!!! Anyway, the pics are still pretty cute! I had a big container of pretend food and that is what they are holding in their hands in the 2nd picture.

I haven't been able to figure out why I've been so fatigued the last 4-5 days. All I want to do is sleep and I just can't seem to fight it! Then today when I was looking at my leg I noticed the cellulitus is coming back. That is so disappointing since we've been so faithful to wrap my legs every morning and evening. I just don't understand it sometimes.

Went swimming with 3 of the grandkids today. It is so much fun to see them having sheer joy...and hearing their laughter. A ll three of them had a great tme and hearing their laughter brings me such joy! On the way home I loved hearing Tyler and Rhebeca talking to each other while having such a good time. Caden was in the seat in front of him and I could hear him practicing some of his words...some he wasn't supposed to day...Oh poopoo. He thinks it's pretty funny.

This is the first layout I have done for Isabella. This month for the Memory Zone we were supposed to do a layout with 5 or more pictures. It was a real challenge but I came up with this one and FIVE pictures!!

I have fallen asleep 4 times (make that 6 now ....ha ha!) trying to type this morning so will come back later when I can stay awake and type some things!

Isabella Amira Nigreiros (our last name)

I don't like to post the whole name of these little people!

I think she is just beautiful. She was sleeping so good here. She has just finished nursing and was a little fussy and I got to put her to sleep...what a wonderful feeling to feel that little body relax in my arms.

Since my last post I have seen the physical therapist and she has taught Wayne and my Mom how to wrap my legs. I couldn't believe the first time I took the wraps off how normal my ankles and feet looked. It worked!! And, the fear I had of the burning pain didn't happen. Dr. Stillson was right...if I can get rid of some of the swelling the burning pain would bet better too. I am having Wayne wrap my legs right before bed and leave them on till I have to go somewhere or till late morning. He didn't get it right the first time but I think he did a better job last night. I won't know till I take the wraps off. The funny thing is if he doesn't do it right there can be big lumps of edema where the wraps were put on wrong.

Friday we got to welcome a new granddaughter to the family. She is grandchild #7. I was just as excited about her as I was about the 1st. I waited at the hospital with Alan and he tried real hard to get me in to watch the c -section. They said no and I had mixed feelings about it. I wasn't sure I could handle it and come to find out they had a real hard time getting the baby out so I'm glad I was not in the room. They tried to suction her out by using the suction cup on her head and she came only so far and the suciton cup fell off so the doctor had to reach in there and really tug and pull to get her out. She is a beautiful healthy baby. What a blessing!!

I spent the afternoon with Rhebeca yesterday. I think she was feeling kind of left out and displaced at the same time. The timing couldn't be worse because they moved to Plymouth yesterday too. Talk about major stresses. She and I went to the pool and spent 1 1/2 hours swimming. We talked and talked about anything she wanted to talk about....it ended up being a lot of talking about American Idol...we both love that show. The pool wore her out so much that she came back to our house and laid in my hospital bed watching TV.

I feel so bad for Alan. He has had so much stress with having a new baby and trying to get them moved and having the major back problems on top of that. This morning he called me and has a migraine headache with nausea. It's not like he can just stop today either. He has to close on their house. Please pray along with me that he can make it through this day!!

Tyler at T-Ball 2006
This is the latest for the design team. I really struggled with this. I have found that when I don't feel well it is very hard to concentrate on scrapbooking. This is all I got accomplished this weekend! (except for a very messy scrapbook room).

I saw my general practitioner last Friday (April 20th) and came away pretty discouraged. He does not sugar coat things for me and I really don't want him to. He had finished reading the lengthy report from Mayo Clinic and was looking at it again when I came in the office. He just kept shaking his head....he said they've got quite a list of ailments for your here. He said you have such a messed up immune system and metabolism. I told him..I know! I said...I just don't understand how I landed where I am when I was so healthy during my life. Here I am sick all the time and taking so much medicine. I keept hinking ...just what could I cut out of the medicine and the answer always is...nothing. He agreed. He said the only way you're going to get that fluid out of your leg is to have therapy so Wayne can learn to wrap your legs and push the fluid up. I agreed to make it a priority to get in to therapy. I had been dragging my feet a little bit because I don't want my feet wrapped because of the nerve pain. He thijks that the nerve pain might even get better after getting some of the fluid removed. I have an appointment on Thursday, the 26th. There is only one therapist that is trained to do this in Plymouth. I am just glad I don't have to drive (or have someone drive me) to South Bend.

I went to the pool yesterday (Monday) and felt so much better afterwards. The nerve pain is almost completely gone when I get out of the pool. One of the rules of the pool is that no one can swim alone. Wayne was out of town today so I took Tyler with me. We stayed and played games in the pool for over an hour. Before we left he wanted to stay at my house and it took his Mom and me to get him in the car. Once while we were convincing him to go swimming I told him my feet hurt so bad and getting them in the water helps me so much...he said...Well, why don't you just put them in a bucket of water? I thought that was so funny...especially knowing the mechanics of why walking makes me better.

On the way home from the pool we were talkingabout all kinds of things. I said...your nana (Steve's mom) sure looks good since she lost weight. I know she's worked really hard at losing weight. He said yeah..she is sure shrinking. I think she's going to turn into a little kid again. I told Katie and she said she wondered what Tyler thought about her weight loss...now she knows!

Friday night I tried to start the Nutri System diet. My first meal was almond chicken. Sounds good, right? Well, it looked like someone threw up on my plate and tasted about like it too. I had to toss it. I haven't gotten back on it again because I've had so much nausea over the weekend. I don't know whny but I was so miserable all weekend. I am a little better today and might start trying the diet again tomorrow. There are just a few items I can see that I'll have to send back and exchange.

Jacob at 2 years old

This is one of the pictures Kristi took of Jacob when he was 2 years old. It is the latest entry for the design team!

At the park

My Mom stopped by on her way to the park yesterday and I decided to go with her. Caden and Kael were the ones with us. They had the best time. I love watching children playing and having fun. It was such a beautiful day yesterday and just enjoyable being outside.

Kael thought he could do these rings and I had my doubts. He ended up falling on his face but got right up to play again.....you wouldn't want to miss any park time after all.

Here's Kael doing a little climbing. You notice the boots? I asked why he had his boots on and my Mom said he came to her house that way. His Mommy was in the hospital and Daddy probably couldn't find his shoes. How funny! It didn't seem to slow Kael down one little bit.
Caden thought Kael was taking a little too long so he crawled through his legs to get going a little faster.
Here's Caden trying the bars with Grandma Marilyn's help.
When I took this picture I kept telling them to put their arms around each other. I think it is so sweet that Kael tried to do what I asked but didn't quite understand what I wanted.

I had one of the worst days I have had for a long time yesterday. My feet were swollen terribly and the nerve pain in my feet just wouldn't go away. I'm so glad to have woken up this morning and be feeling a little better. I have a dentist appointment this afternoon and I'm really nervous about it. I will be having conscious sedation and I haven't had that before...it will be quite interesting. I think once I've had it and know what to expect that I won't be quite as apprehensive about it.

Easter Egg Coloring with Rhebeca

When Rhebeca came here to color easter eggs she found the bag we had for her and had to try on the sunglasses. What a little model she is. She is a natural and knows just what to do. I wouldn't have thought of posing like she did.

Beca was really creative with her egg decorating. She even had an American Idol egg:) This is the 2nd year we have had the grandkids over to color eggs and I would like to make it a yearly thing. Wayne wasn't nearly enthusiastic about doing eggs as I was but I think in the end even Grandpa Wayne enjoyed the egg coloring.

There's always room for improvement in anything we do. Last year I put paper towel down to counter tops but this year we got smart and got smarter and covered the floor and the counter tops with a small tarp.

I have had a couple of really bad days. My back, neck and joint pain were just terrible for about 2-3 days. I woke up this morning and it's so much better. My feet are swollen almost double this morning and were burning until I took the medicine for the burning pain. I wonder sometimes how I got to this place...taking medicines I don't want to take and so much pain some days I want to just crawl in a hole. I guess the good days more than make up for the bad ones and I still love being around our kids and grandkids that it makes it worth it.

Well, I did it yesterday. I placed my first order with Nutri System. They send you the meals all ready to be heated up so there is no cooking required. My biggest concern is the amount of nausea I have that I think is from the pump and the medicine in it. It is a strong medicine and some days I just get very sick to my stomach. Those are the days I don't know if I can do this. I am also concerned because I'm VERY picky about my food. I decided to give it a try because I can send it back if it doesn't work out. I asked my doctor last week if there were any diet pills that he could prescribe...he said...Not for you! I figured that but wanted to ask anyway. I know a couple years ago I took a diet pill and ended up in the ER with my blood pressure through the roof...it's not worth that. I was so sick that night with vomiting and the worst headache.

Our doctor called and woke us up this morning to tell us that the radiologist didn't see a kidney stone in Wayne's x-ray. I told him that the tech that took the x-rays saw the kidney stone. He told me why there could be that difference and truthfully I don't remember why because I was so sleepy when I talked to him but said Wayne needs a CT scan to check things out for sure. There is definitely something wrong and has been for about 3 months. He has his CT scan on Friday the 20th of April.

I wished I would have remembered to tell the doctor while I had him on the phone that my cellulitus in my leg hadn't gone away with the antibiotics that he gave me so I called the office right back and left a message. The doctor called me back in the afternoon and told me he just doesn't know what to do at this point...he said he read the Mayo Clinic report and they didn't have any answers either. He said he would do some reading and call me in something that would hopefully help the cellulitus to go away once and for all!!

We got an exciting call this afternon...Eutemia called and talked to Kristi and then called her doctor and decided at that point to go to the hospital because she was having contractions. I've never gotten ready so quickly...washed my hair and took a shower and got to the hospital in record time. The nurse sent her home after about an hour!! Braxton hicks contractions...oh shoot!! I thought I'd be holding our newest granddaughter tonight. It should be soon...any day. Eutemia is so uncomfortable and just wants to get that baby out of her. I can't blame her...she is just all baby.

I had another design team meeting. I am really enjoying it so far and I am getting to know some of the other ladies a little better at every meeting.

Easter 2007

Kaleb didn't get to join in the easter egg hunt but he sure enjoyed the spoils of the hunt....the chocolate!!

The Easter Egg Hunt

My Mom...known to the kids as Grandma Marilyn


Wayne's Dad, known to the kids as Great-Grandpa Vic





Marylou, Tyler, Katie and MarilynWayne & Becky

I don't let too many pictures of me to be taken because of my added weight and I don't like how the picture looks but Rhebeca wanted to take one of Wayne and I and kept telling me how pretty I looked so I agreed to have this picture taken.

Tyler was just a little bit leery of the Easter Bunny when we first got to the restaurant but by the time we had our meal he was giving the bunny a high 5! How cute.

Kaleb has latched onto the Laa Laa that Beca loved as a baby.

Beca modeling the sunglasses she got in the easter basket we gave her. She looks pretty good in them!!

Rhebeca became the photographer for the afternoon and did a great job. This is her Great-Grandma MaryLou.

Kael is checking out his Easter basket from Grandma Becky and Grandpa Wayne.

It has been a tradition that when the family has a meal at a restaurant that Beca and I take a walk together while the adults finish their meal. The last couple of years Tyler has joined us and for the first time Kael joined us this year. Beca really didn't want her little brother (or is it bother?) along but I insisted that we wouldn't leave anyone out. We found this part of the restauant that was empty and the boys were racing and running and Rhebeca asked me if I wanted to see her dance...of course I did! She did a beautiful job and was so light on her feet!

Tyler enjoyed the strawberries that he dipped in chocolate. He informed us that there were a few strawberries in the bottom of the chocolate that he dropped!:)

Rhebeca modeling her Easter dress! She can wear anything and look good but this dress was a good choice for her for Easter.

Tyler greeted us with a big smile and excitement when we got to the restaurant. Sure makes a person feel good to get such a good welcome by a Grandson.