Ch.. chh.. chh...chhanges

Look at the sweet little table I found at a garage sale for only $4. Well, he wanted $8, she said $5 when I requested the 4, and told me to, "just come back later and see if it's still here." So as I started to walk to the van with an, ok then attitude, he said, "$4 works for me!"

Isn't it cute? So I sanded it down, chucked the ugly knob (ka-nob), and am now in search for a very pretty colored glass, sparkley one. Oh, and I do not yet know what I am going to do with said table.

First I thought I'd just dry paint it a nice serene cream color; but no, that is just too predictable and boring. I think I want to try something a little more fun and flashy. A little more wild and cranky and unpredictable.

Did I mention that we are changing the kids' roomS around? As in ALL of their rooms! So here is how the move is to take place: Christina will be moving to Marisa's room; Marisa will be moving to Nicholas' room; and Nicholas will be moving to Christina's room. Naturally, all themes will be scratched for new, updated themes. Only one room will be painted - thankfully, the smallest of the three, which will be the most complicated and the most fun - Nicholas' room. He wants it in a camouflage theme. Can't wait. Well, actually, I can totally wait.

Christina and I did some shopping for her room yesterday - she is going with a retro black, hot pink and white/cream idea. Very pretty. Very Girly, and Very Christina.

Naturally, Cinderisa has yet to find her theme.

Marisa made her sister a birthday cake yesterday, and a birthday hat. I can't believe my little blondie is 12! She also took care of her brother while I took Christina out for a day of shopping, which is tradition on your birthday. We ran. all. day. long. And she was just as exhausted as I was. I couldn't believe my ears when she said to me, "Mom, no wonder you tell me you're too tired to go anywhere. I'll never ask you to take me out at night again!"

But I assured her that she definitely could. poor thing. We just wore each other out!

Marisa did an awesome job with Nicholas, Vanessa and Jasmine; not to mention, Frank wasn't feeling well. She made lunch, cleaned up after them and lunch, had them helping with cake; mowed the lawn, cleaned her room, Nick's room, kept order with three arguing little children. Then put together dinner because I collaped with a migraine when I got home and needed a 40 minute nap before everyone arrived for cake and ice cream.

So, why do we call her, Cinderisa?

Aren't my girls beautiful!? Ok, usually Marisa, well sometimes, Marisa does something with her hair - like she lately has this natural wave style going on, and it is sooooo pretty. I don't know WHAT this style is. But hey, that's ok, because if it's unattractive to the boys, too, great!

Almost forgot - I may throw my toothbrush away for good!! Why??? Because I just bought a Sonicare from my dentist and I absolutely LOVE it!! My mouth has never been so clean. Seriously, I love it! I recommend it. But put it in your mouth before you turn it on, because it is messy.

On the migraine front - things are weird again. Naturally. I should probably call my neuro (I'm saying to myself) actually I did see him a couple of weeks ago; but things are getting increasingly ummmm, odd.

The aura are changing, and my right side has been sort of losing it's grip and feeling; and then the migraine comes. I feel like a part of my brain has disappeared during all of it, and I can't distinguish up and down, right and left. If I'm standing in the bathroom while it's happening and I need to get to the bedroom, I become stuck (in my head) but my feet won't go forward. I can't really explain it any better than that.

I try to move them, I look like a horse prancing her feet, but it just won't walk forward. I can feel the movement going. Down the entire side of me is this weird sensation of electric nothingness. And my stomach - oh my stomach how it burns and hurts and churns. It has happened before all of this. Could the meds be losing their effects again? Oh, yeah, probably.

When the migraine comes after the silence, the cave-like, scoop of nothing that disappears from my brain; it comes on like a plane crash, or a bomb drop - searing itself in. Hot, hard, fast, loud, intense. Deeper and deeper, harder and harder it pulses. Like right now. It's crippling the way it shuts me down.

A Little FYI for Your PMS Migraine

Naratriptan Tolerable Long-Term for Menstrual Migraine Prophylaxis


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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jul 05 - Naratriptan twice daily is well tolerated when taken for 6 continuous days per month for up to 1 year for the prevention of menstruation-related migraine, results of a study indicate.
"For many of the approximately 18% of US women with migraine, menstruation is a predictable trigger of migraine attacks," note Dr. Jan Lewis Brandes, from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, and colleagues in the June issue of Headache.
While naratriptan is not approved for migraine prophylaxis, it has been shown to be significantly more effective than placebo for short-term prevention of menstrual migraine, they point out.
Dr. Brandes' group studied the tolerability of naratriptan 1 mg twice daily starting 3 days before the expected onset of menstrually related migraine and continuing for a total of 6 days. Women in the study had the option to use an additional 2.5-mg dose for breakthrough migraines.
A total of 457 women took at least one dose of naratriptan on study; 318 and 131 completed 6 and 12 months of treatment, respectively.
According to the investigators, the only adverse event occurring at an incidence of more than 2% during the 6-day treatment periods when 1-mg BID naratriptan was taken was ear, nose, and throat infection (3%) -- even when an additional 2.5-mg dose was taken.
There were no serious drug-related adverse events recorded and no patients experienced clinically relevant drug-related changes in electrocardiograms, vital signs, or clinical laboratory tests.
Furthermore, women reported that they did not have a migraine in roughly 50% of perimenstrual periods during which naratriptan prophylaxis was used. The efficacy of naratriptan for menstrual migraine prophylaxis did not wane over time in the 131 patients who remained in the study for the full 12 months.
"Results suggested that naratriptan reduced headache impact when used for up to 12 months for the short-term prevention of menstrually related migraine," Dr. Brandes and colleagues also report.

Ciao Ciao Zio

On Wednesday, our Zio left to go home to Italy. We miss him. We had a wonderful time getting to know him and love him. Teaching him interesting ways of our American heritage. Frank especially; they had a very unique bonding of their own, travelling to see Philip come in from Iraq.

He was able to visit Frank's brother in Maryland, so he did some travelling on the East coast, which is what he intended. He took hundreds, literally, of pictures. Visited the kids events, and recorded them. Went to wine country - he likes his wine. He loves hot sauce and barbecue and he absolutely loves Walmart. With an inate passion. He may miss that more than anything. He is 79 years old, and gets around like he's 59! He is so full of life. I miss him.

The next pictures will have snakes!!

When he first visited us, the kids brought the snakes out, and naturally he was frightened. Marisa talked him into petting them. He did. Well, last Tuesday when he was here, Philip decided to walk around with one on his neck, so...........

naturally, he wanted his picture taken with the snake on HIS neck. How cute is he!!! So when he did it, of course.........

Nonno had to get in on the action. How cute is he?? Now, Nonna doesn't like the snakes At ALL. She thinks they are disgusting and tells us so everytime she sees them. She doesn't want them near her, in any way, shape or form. You Understand Me!!

So.... when Philip did this, she was trying to get away, but he was pulling her back. Notice Hyrup, the snake moving toward her ear. Poor Nonna. I felt bad for her, while I was TAKING the picture. But it was too funny NOT to. It's not a smile on her face, believe me, it's total fear.

He loved Rocco, too. He called him, Rocky. We will miss our Zio Corrado. Philip, too. He is back on base, getting retrained for something, different.

Frank is now home and working his leg and body hard; trying to get it to work and bend. It's an amazing thing this new improved knee. It's amazing how fast he is healing. It amazes how hard he pushes himself to get better. You go, Frankie!

As for me, my little aura are playing like the game Centipede. That is what they look like now. And my balance has been playing "off" lately. A little hemi was thrown into the pool of migraine again for me on Friday. It's been a year since I had one of those. I woke again toda;y with the centipede-aura, and the right side is just a little;.....weird again for me. So, here we go.

Hoping everyone else better days

Deborah