Barbed Wire Pad Punk Reunion Party & More

I've been waiting for a weekend that we don't have anything to do. Since moving into our new place we haven't had a free moment to just kick back & relax in it.

On Friday night I had a birthday dinner for Elijah (15). His actual birthday was on April 3rd, our move in day. I also wasn't able to do my annual birthday pics & tribute story to him, because we had no internet. I'll post this later also...can't break tradition.


Saturday we had a birthday party for my nephew, Tristan (3). I got some really cute pics, also to be posted later.

Sunday we had my hubby's punk "Barbed Wire Pad" reunion party. The Barbed Wire Pad was a place all the punkers used to hang out at in the 80's. So my hubby was excited to get to see all his old friends.

I was pleasantly surprised because all the girls were really nice. I usually end up hanging out with the guys at these kinds of things (i'm not much of a gossip person & get really bored with girl conversation). Not to mention girls can sometimes be really catty if they don't know you.

My hubby was really crazy back in the day. Most of everyone's stories/memories revolved around him. He fell off a balcony landing on his head. At another party he accidentally pushed a girl off a balcony while pretending to push her.

The saying then became, "It's not a party until Anthony throws someone off a balcony." In his defense he said, "She jumped!"

Anthony throwing a keg off the balcony...

They were both okay after stitches & casting of the arm.

Then there were the stories of him in vehicles. He was hanging his head out of a car & the hood flew up & hit him in the face...knocking him out.

One night he was pretty drunk & wouldn't put his seat belt on. They were in an open, topless jeep when he fell out. A truck behind them ran him over with the front & back tires. Everyone thought he was dead. His arm was almost completely ripped off & hanging from his shoulder by a few tendons.

He was in the hospital for quite a while after that one, but they were able to repair his arm.

I always thought some of the stories were a little exaggerated, but everyone confirmed they were right on.

As you can see, my husband eventually decided that he wasn't the best drinker & thought that if he wanted to stay alive he better stop.

So after about five hours, everyone safely left the party, no accidents, falls, or trips to the hospital, aging has its advantages!

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!

Ryan Seacrest Stopped By...WOO HOO!

Today I've designated as movie day...it also will help give back to CHOC Hospital (Childrens Hospital, Orange County).

I know ALL of you have heard of Ryan Seacrest (American Idol host) and his radio show KIIS FM...well they visited CHOC Hospital to try and cheer up the kids who are VERY sick. Our son's team mate and friend is there and they paid him a visit (stop by his blog) http://LukeGane.Blogspot.com. Luke has a video message he posted for all his friends and family...a MUST SEE, here is the direct link http://lukegane.blogspot.com/2008/09/video-message-from-luke.html.

KIIS shot a video on Saturday and it's on this link
http://www.kiisfm.com/pages/lollipoplive08/?_show It's the Viral Video. Just click on the photo and you will catch a few quick shots of Luke getting down...it's a fun video.

Check out the entire site. Make sure to watch the video because if they get at least 100,000 hits, the Anaheim Ducks will donate $10k to CHOC.

TODAY IS YOUR DAY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Just watch a video and send it to your friends and family. I told you it's EASY to reach out and help others!!!

And you thought it was going to be just another boring, ordinary day...WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES!