Green Bay Area Mom

Pain. Tear inducing, not wanting to even play with her friends anymore pain. It started on the night of her school dance. I really just thought she was sore from running around with her friends all evening—doing the hokey pokey and chicken dance and everything else that comes with an elementary school dance. I gave her some ibuprofen and tried not to silently freak out that it was mid-January and she was having leg pain—AGAIN, for the 5th year in a row. If I really think about it, she was having minor pain all month leading up to this point, but there was no swelling. That all changed. 

Lily was diagnosed at age 4. You’ve read our story through diagnosis. Fast forward over the next few years, and we find Lily in 3rd grade. She has now dealt with having JIA for 4...

When I left you last, Lily had just began methotrexate, and was having a rough time. Luckily for us, she was one of the fortunate ones that was able to somewhat adapt to the meds. After a while, the sickness with each dose stopped. Saturdays were still days of extreme tiredness post shot, but as long as we administered the shot in the morning, she wouldn’t get physically ill.

Close your eyes. Imagine you are laying down, breathing in beautiful aromas that put your mind and soul at peace. Then the magic of a hand & arm massage adds to the bliss. Sounds like an escape from the every day, right? This is what you will experience when you have a facial at Hope Della Skincare in Bellevue.  For busy moms the relaxation component probably ranks at the top for reasons to get a facial, but it also has great benefits for your skin. Facials cleanse, exfoliate, and increase blood flow to give you that glow! Before the relaxation kicks into high gear, Hope Dalebroux, owner, first takes stock of your current skin conditions and care regimens, so she can tailor the treatment to fit your needs. 

Fall 2011. It has now been 6 months since Lily’s first knee injection, and about 8 months since we found her initial swollen knee. We were once again facing Lily going back in for more steroid injections. Her right knee, left knee and the top of her right foot all had fluid sitting on the joints.

When I ended the blog last time, I found myself sitting in the office of a pediatric rheumatologist with my 4 year old daughter, whose knee was the size of a softball, wondering how in the world we ended up here. We had been through knee aspirations at the surgery center, specialists, testing, etc., with no answers yet. Did kids really get arthritis? Or--was it something worse?

We call it “Not your Grandma’s Chicken Salad” since we’re replacing the often-used mayo with savory avocado.

Making it through those first couple years made Steve and I feel like we were superheroes. It was winter 2011, and our twins, Lily and Aubrey, had just turned 4 years old at the end of January. One night, as I was drying Lily off from her bath, I noticed that her knee was bulging. I had her stand up, back away from me, and as I sat there, 5 months pregnant with our 3rd child, I stared at my daughter’s knee, which was the size of a softball.

Ah, February. The month of love and hearts and chocolate and roses and … Whew! With all that plugged into one month, it’s easy to understand why February also is American Heart Month. To help celebrate, our team of Mealtime Mentors has rounded up some of our all-time favorite heart healthy recipes.

At Festival Foods, we want to help you make small changes that lead to healthy habits that lead to a better, healthier life. And we want to do it in a way that is approachable, friendly and manageable.