Epicondylitis

I'm sure you are wondering what epicondylitis means... in simple terms it is tennis elbow. About two weeks ago my right arm began to hurt, but I didn't think much about it, thinking I pulled a muscle and the pain would magically disappear within a day or two. Unfortunately, my magic wand wasn't working properly since the pain progressively got worse and not better. Two days ago, I was in tears from the pain, I gave in and scheduled an appointment with the doctor. After waiting and waiting in the office I was finally given the diagnosis of epicondylitis or tennis elbow. The good news is that it isn't very serious and will eventually go away, but it possibly may be be quite sometime...not such good news. In the meantime, the doctor would like me to "rest" my right arm when I am able, use the left arm when possible and not to lift/carry Kyle. Thankfully, since Kyle is almost four I am not required to lift or carry him very often. The doctor believes this is what caused the epicondylitis. If the pain persists in the future I have the option to receive a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We will see what the future holds, but I am relieved to have an answer, even though I still have to live with the pain.

Vacation Plans

In just a few weeks, The Spence Family is headed to Wisconsin Dells. We are looking forward to a nice week long break full of fun and relaxation. Wisconsin Dells is a popular destination because of the many water parks in the area, but we aren't going for the waterpark adventure. We have already taken a mini vacation earlier in the summer to The Great Wolf Lodge Waterpark in Kansas City. There are so many other attractions to keep the three of us entertained that we probably won't even have time to visit a waterpark.

We will be staying at the Wilderness Hotel, a 600 acre resort, in a two bedroom condo overlooking Lake Delton. A few of the attractions we are planning to see and do are: the circus world museum, a deer park, wildlife park, theme/amusement park, and duck boat ride. Since we will be traveling during the off season we are hoping the area won't be overly crowded. The weather should be perfect, with day time temperatures averaging in the seventies and night temperatures averaging in the fifties and sixties. Since it is a little over seven hours from St. Louis we will be driving. We will be stopping along the way the first night, so we won't be overly tired once we arrive in Wisconsin Dells. We will, however, drive straight home.

I do feel somewhat guilty since Kyle will be absent from school for several days while we are on vacation. Unfortunately, with John's work schedule during the summer months, he wasn't able to take very much time off. Within the coming weeks, we will be busy preparing for our adventure and I promise to have a recap of our fun family vacation to Wisconsin Dells!

Kyle's Visitors

My parents came to St. Louis for a visit recently, mainly to visit Kyle. It was a nice way for Kyle to end his summer vacation before preschool started. They haven't seen Kyle since January so they were happy to have the opportunity to spend time with him and vice versa. Kyle is always excited to have the extra special attention from Ce Ce and Poppy...reading books, playing with toys, and playing chase. They were able to enjoy a little "cooler" weather than what they are accustom to in New Orleans. We enjoyed dinner on the deck one evening and a pleasant morning at a local park to let Kyle run and explore! Kyle sure hopes to be able to visit again soon with Ce Ce and Poppy!

Poppy and Kyle

Back To School

Today was Kyle's first day back to school....his second year of preschool through the local school district. Kyle is attending school in the same location as last year, although he does have a new teacher, new assistant, new therapists, and a new classroom. John and I were a little hesitant that so many things were changing, however change can be postive...a "fresh" set of eyes focusing on Kyle. We believe it will be a great year for Kyle...hopefully in many different developmental areas.

Yesterday, we atttended an open house to meet his new teacher and see his new surroundings. Kyle walked right in the classroom without any hestiation and began surveying the new room and playing with the toys. We were able to have a little one on one time with his teacher to discuss specific things about Kyle. It will take everyone involved a short while to get up to speed on where Kyle is developmentally, but I'm certain the transition will be very smooth. There are a couple of the same children in his class as last year, so it is nice for him to have some familar faces. Also, with only ten children in his class, he will have the opportunity for more one on one time with the teachers, therapists, and assistants to assist him in obtaining his yearly school goals. I have added several pictures of Kyle from his first day "Back To School"!

Off to school

Sporting his new personalized

firetruck backpack

Big Truck Day

A local business in the STL area...Kemp Auto Museum for you local readers...hosted a Big Truck Day. Of course, anything vehicle related Kyle must attend. Kyle had a ball, was so excited to see the tremendous trucks, and really didn't want to say good-bye when it was time to leave. Kyle loved climbing into the equipment pretending that he was driving...he feels so big and important! We saw an excavator, military truck, snow plow, tractor, cement truck, a Hummer, and several huge monster trucks! It was a fun, free, yet rather warm Kyle friendly way to spend a Sunday morning! Enjoy the pictures of our future truck driver!

Watch out...I'm coming through!

Truck driver in training

Let's get this tractor in gear and

get the show on the road

Show Us Your Life - Honeymoon

Today on Kelly's Korner is Show Us Your Life - Honeymoon. We had an absolutely fantastic honeymoon in St. Croix...The US Virgin Islands. We stayed at The Carambola Beach Resort with our room just steps away from the beautiful beach. The first day of our stay we planned our activities and excursions for the week. We saw plenty of great attractions on the island, had wonderful meals, and plenty of rest and relaxtion on the beach.

We toured the Cruzan Rum Factory, visited the Botanical Gardens, toured a plantation, watched Forth of July Fireworks, went horse back riding, went snorkeling (which I hated), had a wonderful private dinner on the beach and lived it up at the resort. We also took a Sea Plane ride to the island of St. Thomas...what a wonderful experience! While in St. Thomas we traveled by tram to Paradise Point. Paradise Point provides a beutiful view of the island. One of the main attractions in St. Thomas is the shopping which we did plenty of while on the island. One day we took a ferry ride to the island of St. John. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to spend on the island, but we were still very happy to have a small glimpse of this little slice of paradise.

We do have two funny stories which took place on our honeymoon. The majority of the locals on the island don't speak English very well so at times there was a bit of a communication gap. We had a cab ride scheduled to drive us to board the sea plane to St. Thomas. Obviously, there was a communication problem because the cab driver took us to the local hospital instead....LOL! Another funny story which took place was...One day I had a one hour massage scheduled. While I was being pampered, my husband took a cab ride to the local K-Mart to purchase Cruzan Rum for us to bring home. Everyone told us the rum was much less expensive at K-Mart than the rum factory. Obviously, not the most romantic activity we did on our honeymoon!

We have so many pictures from our honeymoon, however not many are scanned on the computer. Unfortunately, we didn't own a digital camera in 2003 so the picture quality isn't the best. These pictures are just a small glimpse into our fantastic honeymoon. We would LOVE to go back one day. Looking back through our album brought back so many great memories. Life certainly has changed since then...mostly for the better...Thanks to Kyle, our three year old son!

Dinner for Two on the Beach!

St. Thomas

Whim Plantation Carambola Beach Resort Paradise Point...St. Thomas

Relaxing at the resort

Dinner at The Waves in St. Croix

Another First For Kyle

It's always fun and exciting to capture your child's "firsts" or milestones...sitting up, crawling, walking, talking, first day of school, etc. Well, Sunday evening Kyle experienced another "first", but certainly not as exciting and enjoyable as previous ones...his very first trip to the Emergency Room! Unfortunately, you did read that correctly...the ER!

Thankfully, we had a good experience, as far as ER visits are concerned! We were in a room speaking with a nurse and doctor within five minutes of our arrival and we were there for less than two hours. The reason for the visit was an allergic reaction to peanuts. A couple of years ago we suspected Kyle may have a peanut allergy, but we haven't been brave enough to find out for sure. We have always steered clear of peanuts and nuts in general. Well, unfortunately, we finally got the answer to the mystery question. After eating a small amount of peanut butter, Kyle began developing a red rash on his body, vomiting, eye irritation, itching, a deep cough, and wheezing. After speaking with a nurse on the phone, we decided to bring Kyle to the ER to have him examined. His breathing was checked, heart rate, oxygen levels, and he was given a dose of Benadryl to help with the symptoms. The rash got a little worse before it got better, but once the medication kicked in things got better very quickly. We mainly sat and waited in the room so they could monitor his progress before we were discharged. Due to the fact that he was tired, hungry, thirsty, and not feeling well he was not in the best of moods, but we survived and came home to get a good nights sleep. Today, Kyle is perfectly fine as if nothing ever happened.

I did find a website which sells an assortment of "No Peanuts For Me" accessories, clothing, labels, etc. I'm thinking about ordering stickers for Kyle's school blue book and backpack. I also should do a little research to familiarize myself with the peanut allergy. There is always something new to learn when it comes to raising children!