Meningococcal Meningitis-Elijah Hospitalized

I just wanted to let everyone know that Elijah (14) is doing better after our recent scare with a VERY SERIOUS bacteria-Meningococcal Meningitis.

We have no idea how he got it. He returned from staying the weekend at his friends house and was perfectly fine. He went to bed and then woke up at 4:30 a.m. with a severe headache on the crown portion of his head. He took three Advil and came back into my room at 5:15 asking if he could lay down with me because his head was killing him.

I thought it was really strange because he never asks to lay down with me (that stopped when he turned into a teenager). The headache continued to get worse with the pain continuing throughout his whole head, behind his eyes and then his neck and upper back. He began to get nausea's and his hands started to twitch. He never had a fever though.

I kept waiting for the Advil to work but finally called his Pediatrician and rushed him to the ER. By this time he had to have his head completely covered because the light was bothering him. They got him back, did a CT Scan which showed up negative. They decided to do a Lumbar Tap (spinal tap) to see if there was anything else going on. They found a bacteria and immediately rushed him into isolation and called to have the ambulance take him to Children's Hospital because time was of the essence!

I wanted to cry...but kept a strong face for Elijah. He was really upset and realized how severe it was when everyone was coming in with masks, gloves and protective garments. He was highly contagious and the bacteria was not only his spinal fluid but also surrounding the outer covering of his brain. He could have died within two hours.

We have been at the hospital since Monday (I have been with him the whole time) and he will finally be released on Saturday. The Orange County Infectious Disease doctor has been checking him daily. It seems his case is somewhat of a mystery. The initial bacteria did not grow out on the culture as expected and tests were negative for a viral infection. They treated him for the original bacteria findings with antibiotics all day and night for the past 5 days. They hope that this worked. But if he shows any of the same symptoms after coming home, he will need to go immediately back to the hospital for a two week treatment for a different type of bacterial meningitis. We are praying that this will work!!

Thank you all for your prayers!!! It has been a very scary time and I'm just so grateful to have so many caring and wonderful people in our lives!

Holiday Weekend

Yay...it's a long weekend! I have all these GREAT ideas about fun adventures to take my family on ....spur of the moment trips are my favorite. Now the sad part of my life~my stupid bank account tells me I can never go anywhere!!!

My sister Stacy called me and said they're going up to Grass Valley (Northern CA). She said, "Wanna come?" "Duh, YEAH!" was my first thought. Then my stupid bank acct. popped into my mind..."No I can't!" was my reply. Then I sat at work thinking of all the fun they were going to have while I'm stuck at home...aargh.

Now my weekend consists of cleaning house (to get ready for Jullien's graduation party) and absolutely no trips.

I hate my bank account...I want my sisters!!!

Who Won American Idol-5/20/09

It was a great night on American Idol...there were some big stars who came out to sing with the top 13 contestants (Lionel Ritchie, Cyndie Lauper, Kiss, Queen, Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas, Queen Latifah, Rod Stewart...just to name a few). American Idol just gets bigger and bigger each year. This years finale brought in 100 Million votes...is that CRAZY...100 MILLION!

I made a prediction yesterday that the new American Idol would be Kris Allen...A N D...your new American Idol is.....................

K R I S A L L E N!

He seemed to be just as shocked as the crowd and judges. He told Adam that he should have won, right after Ryan asked him how he felt. I guess he never thought that he could beat Adam's voice. He seemed tongue tied and speechless. It will obviously take time to sink in.

I don't think Adam has anything to worry about...just like past AI losers. Often times they do better than the actual winner.

American Idol-Who Wins-Who Goes-5/19/09

Here is how my scorecard read for tonight's American Idol final sing off.

Round 1: TIE:

(both songs were amazing and they each performed exceptionally well)

Round 2: ADAM LAMBERT:

(Adam showcased his "instrument" which is the only appropriate way to describe the sound coming out of his mouth! Kris also sounded good but very average and "bubble gummy")

Round 3: KRIS ALLEN:

(Between the two, Kris's take on the song was more believable and catchy. Adam seemed uncomfortable and unsure...probably because the song was BAD).

Yes, I know...this puts us back at square one. Now, if you ask me who I think should win...hands down ADAM.

Now, ask me who probably will win...KRIS! I think Kris will pull off the upset. Everyone is expecting Adam to take it, but I think Kris will get his usual loyal fans and also pick up some Danny Gokey fans.

So there you have it American Idol Fans...stay tuned tomorrow!

Jullien Modeling Calvin Klein

Tomorrow concludes Jullien's whirlwind New York trip since signing with top modeling agency Red Model Management. He had a great time...several very important "go sees" (Steven Klein, Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch) to name a few.

Check out his CALVIN KLEIN SPECIAL pictures by Bell Soto with casting and styling by John Tan. It's very weird to see my son in high fashion!! Here's his You Tube (kind of new to the whole thing...see!) or here on Homme Star.

A few other sites:
New Face Alert
The Fashionisto
Models.com

Teenagers,Graduation and Flab

I said goodbye to Jullien this morning as he heads off to New York meet with his agent at Red Model Mgmt and for several photo shoots and a fitting with Calvin Klein to possibly walk in his show or Prada's (see him on Models.com). He's been driving me crazy lately...when he gets nervous, he doesn't sleep and he gets edgy. We've been going at it all week, TEENAGERS! I was a little worried about letting him go, he missed school all last week because he was sick. So he has tons of work to make up, and now he is missing Friday-Wednesday. Graduation is on June 11th and it's coming down to the wire. He needs to keep his grades up!

Josh is doing a LOT better...he should be getting his license back at the end of this month. I'm SO happy about this because adding one more person to my daily "bus" schedule has been killing me. He also filled out all of his financial aid papers to start Cosmetology school. For those of you who just thought, "Oh he must be gay," he's not, but his cousin makes TONS of money as a hairstylist so he's all about the BIG BUCKS!LOL! He's working downtown at a punk clothing store and is happy to be getting his life back in order, me too! Thanks for ALL YOUR PRAYERS FOR HIM!

Elijah is doing great in school and track. He placed 2nd by 1/10th of a second in the 400M and 3rd in the 200M at the Orange County track meet, that's without practicing. He's a teenager now and that means he's LAZY! But he has been killing everyone in his school track meets. I told him he needs to practice before the So. CA Championships...but he still says, "OK MOM, LATER!"

Natascha & Dillon are working all the time at the church so we don't get to see them as much as we'd like. They came over for Mother's Day and brought me a card and beautiful flowers.

Adam is working hard trying to earn a starting spot on Edison's JV Football team. He is a GREAT wide receiver...soft hands, but he's a little short so he has to overcome the "football stereotype."

As for me, I've got 3 1/2 weeks to get this flabby body in shape. All the family is coming in from out of town for the graduation and they are going to want to go to the beach...YIKES! I've got some major work to do. I'm definitely a last minute person, I've been planning on working out hard for the last two months...but it takes that final hour stress to push me into action.

Now I just need to find a way to squeeze in gym time. Wish me luck...it will take a miracle!

American Idol-Who Went Home 5/13/09

CLICK HERE FOR 5/19/09 Prediction

I was very surprised at the final result. Kris Allen is good but I honestly think Danny Gokey has a better voice (yes anonymous I did listen to only the songs and not the judges). Kris was off key a few times on both of his songs...but I really liked his second song even with the bum notes.

Danny however brought me to tears with his second song! I'm sad to see Danny go home, but several other past Idols have had amazing careers without winning. I can't wait to see what he does in the future.

Adam Lambert will be hard to beat next week...but Kris seems to be pulling off a lot of upsets this season. I will be interesting to say the least!

American Idol-Who Goes Home 5-13-09

Let me start by saying that I am not one of those ladies who cries easily. However, tonight after listening to Danny Gokey sing, "You Are So Beautiful," by Joe Cocker. It was very weird but I started tearing up. I just kept picturing him singing to his wife who passed away. His voice was amazing, so full of emotion and passion.

Kris Allen did great on his second song, "Heartless," by Kayne West. It was a completely original version of the song. I enjoyed it and agreed with the judges that it put him back in the competition. His first song however was very karaoke (yikes...I sound like the judges!)

Adam Lambert sang, "One" by U2. We all know Adam can sing...but I didn't like this version very much...he seemed to be screaming too much and at one point even stuck out his tongue. I wish he had kept it slow throughout the song. I did enjoy his second song, "Crying," by Aerosmith. I'm sure Steven Tyler would have been proud of Adam's performance...maybe they'll do a duet!

So who goes home? This is a very tough decision for me tonight because they all had great second performances...but I think Kris Allen should go home. I know Kris has a huge fan base, but if it is a SINGING competition, Danny and Adam have stronger voices.

Let me know how you feel?

Off To New York

I wish I could say I'm traveling...but my 17 year old son gets to go see New York before I do! I'm jealous...I'm old and never go anywhere, LOL!

Jullien received an exclusive offer to walk for either Prada or Calvin Klein in Milan in June. Now this is what I learned (not having any clue how the whole industry thing works). He received an "option," this means that they like his look in the pics they've seen of him, but he needs to meet with them to try on their clothes (see if they fit his body type), see his walk (this should be interesting since he has no clue what to do), and see if they like his personality (that's the easy part...he has a great sense of humor and he's very friendly).

He also received an offer to shoot with the #1 men's Fashion magazine, Numero Homme, this Saturday in New York. We are waiting for the final confirmation. In the meantime, we booked a flight for him to fly out this Friday and return next Wednesday. He's REALLY nervous! He's never really gone anywhere on his own and now he has to fly, switch planes both ways, and stay alone in New York!

Oh yeah, he also was able to meet with celebrity photographer, Cliff Watts on Mother's Day. He took about seven pictures of him and told him he was very photogenic and natural in front of the camera. He also gave him a really good talk about the industry and what to be aware of.

I have to admit, when I sent his pictures in to try and get him a few jobs to make some extra money, I had no idea that it would move so quickly.

I hope everyone had a GREAT Mother's Day!

P.S. Stop by and leave a message about Jullien at Models.com. The more comments he receives the more offers he may get!

Things Are Happening Fast

Jullien is featured today on MODELS.COM as "Of The Minute" RED HOT! new face. How crazy is that, we signed with Red Model Management (scroll down link to see write up) 2 days ago and he's already out there, very weird!

He also will meet with famed Celebrity photographer CLIFF WATTS (who has shot Angelina Jolie, Miley Cyress, Jessica Alba, Beyonce Knowles, Scarlett Johanson, Halle Berry, Kate Hudson, as well as several famous models), on Sunday and maybe take a few pics. Jullien's agent is very excited about this opportunity, he said that Cliff NEVER usually does test shoots...so this is an amazing opportunity!

Is this the craziest thing ever? I never expected things to take off like this. I'm so excited for him, not bad for a 17 year olds first job, huh?

American Idol-Who Went Home 5/6/09

CLICK HERE for 5/19/09 Prediction

Click Here for 5/13/09 Prediction

Can you believe Adam Lambert went home tonight........JUST KIDDING! Now that I have your attention, I have to admit that my prediction last night was completely off...I hate being wrong!

Kris Allen stayed and Allison Iraheta went home. Allison doesn't have the best personality, but her voice is definitely better than Kris', so I have to say I was very surprised. After all, this is a SINGING competition. They could have worked on her public speaking, personality and style. They always coach, mold and shape the winners and turn them into Hollywood stars.

Next week the final three visit their home towns and unless Kris pulls out a major miracle performance, he should go. I'm pretty sure that Danny Gokey will not try to sing anymore high notes after this weeks disaster...so he should do well. Nothing needs to be said about Adam Lambert...he'll be safe.

I don't want to be wrong two weeks in a row...I had such a great streak going. See you all next week!

American Idol-Who Goes Home 5/6/09

CLICK HERE for 5/19/09 Prediction

CLICK HERE for 5/13/09 Prediction

WHAT? How did they show the sneak preview of the final two with four people still left?

Tonights performance was a rock theme, with Slash formerly of Guns N Roses, presently from Velvet Revolver. He took the contestants to a famous club, "The Roxy" on the Sunset Strip to practice, helping them to get a feel of the whole "real rock" scene.

I don't know if he gave a lot of advice to everyone, because I think he should have told Danny Gokey to change his song...the high notes were difficult to listen to. I hate saying that because I'm a Gokey fan, but I yigh yigh, it was BAD! He will not go home though.

I thought Allison Iraheta's song was good. The judges didn't like it, but I have to disagree. People might not like the fact that she was disagreeing and even corrected Simon regarding the choices she had for a song. She will probably be in the bottom two, but will not go home.

So that leaves Adam Lambert and Kris Allen. Adam was absolutely unbelievable with his version of Led Zeppelin's song, "Whole Lotta Love (click to see original version)." It was PERFECT, he didn't seem to be screaming as much either (Slash actually gave him good advice to stay in his lower register).

Kris Allen seemed to be awkward and uncomfortable performing his rock song. He also was weak in his duet performance with Danny. Kris Allen will be going home tonight.

As far as your sneak preview of the final two...ADAM & ALLISON! They sang as though they've been on stage together forever. It will be a great final!

What do you think?

Crazy Weekend Recap-Swine Flu Too?

My husband and I planned on having a whole weekend to ourselves and spent Friday night in a hotel (most couples stayed the entire weekend) to attend a great marriage conference called "A Weekend To Remember" (EVERY married couple should attend this!)

Of course with our crazy schedule, there is no such thing as an entire weekend to ourselves. Jullien had his Senior Prom (had to see them off and take tons of pics and will post later), Elijah had his Orange County Track Meet Championship Race on Sunday (another blog to write and post pics) and Anthony got really sick on Sunday. This is the worst flu he's ever had. I keep telling him it's the Swine Flu...but he says, "Stop trying to freak me out!" I've been joking...but now I'm really starting to wonder (do you think the NON-STOP media coverage has anything to do with my fear?!?)

I'm still working on signing Jullien's modeling contract, I'm being VERY careful. It's kind of scary because I want to make sure that I understand every area of the contract. This is taking longer than expected. I also went and applied for his Passport. I had to fill out all of Josh's FAFSA paperwork for school. Send out pictures to the show, "It's Me or The Dog," who came to tape and interview us for their show. Picked up Jullien's Senior pictures and trying to order the announcements (yes...I'm always the procrastinator). Tomorrow it's a conference call with the owner of Red Model Management to discuss all of my concerns/questions. Elijah has a CIBACS interview at 3:30 and Josh needs to turn in his FAFSA paperwork to his school.

OKAY...is anyone as tired as I am after reading my RIDICULOUS schedule!