Anyway, there have obviously been a lot of changes in our family over the last few months, and we are looking at even more coming our way. The most exciting change happened two days ago, when 4 1/2 year old Emma lost her first tooth! She was so scared and worried about it, that she wouldn't let anybody pull it, and she wouldn't pull it, so it finally got so loose, that it just fell out when she was talking! As you can see in the picture, she was obviously a little freaked out at first, but then she got very excited about the Tooth Fairy. That afternoon, I looked on Pinterest to find cute stuff to do for the Tooth Fairy, and found an adorable printable letter from the Tooth Fairy, and a receipt for the tooth, and the idea to put glitter glue (or glitter hairspray, but I didn't have any of that) on a dollar. She was so cute that next morning! She stapled her receipt to her paper, just like they do at the doctor's office (can you tell she comes to a lot of my mom's appointments with us?), and even showed it to the dog!
Then she asked me to Google how the Tooth Fairy gets in her room. Did you know that the Tooth Fairy has her own website? It has the story of how she became the Tooth Fairy, and the answers to just about any question a kid could have about it. http://toothfairyland.com/
Another change is that a couple weeks ago, I had morning sickness, was exhausted, the whole shebang - felt as pregnant as could be...turned out to just be a raging case of PMS (sorry, TMI), but during that time, I found out that my husband is definitely okay with having another baby. This is very big, and great news! I have wanted another baby for a long time now, but until recently, he has not been on board with that idea. However, since my mom moved into our baby room, we have no space (unless it was a girl, and then she could just bunk with the other two, but since that is not guaranteed, we need a bigger house). Hence, the house hunting. I'm actively trying now, paying more attention to what my body tells me, so here's hoping! I don't get pregnant easily, so a prayer or two would be nice, too.
Also, we finally finished getting my mom's condo ready to show yesterday, even vacuumed! It wasn't as stressful and upsetting as I thought it would be, so that's good. I think it's because I know that Mark is okay with another baby anyway, and we're looking for a bigger house (he finally got over his temper-tantrum, and we've all found one in Brownsburg that we like). I think most of my being upset was that I felt like it was my mom or another baby, and I had chosen my mom, so the baby thing was gone forever. Now, we have a plan, and it'll be okay, still having another one.
One last (not as happy) change, is that they don't think my mom has MS anymore. They think it's a genetic disorder (one of two, actually) - either Tay Sachs or Niemann-Pick. Both are found most commonly in Ashkenazi Jewish people, and both of my mom's parents were Ashkenazi Jews. When I was pregnant, they tested me to see if I am a carrier for Tay Sachs, and I am. My dad (we're pretty sure) was descended from Western Europeans (England, France), so I could only have become a carrier for Tay Sachs from my mom's side. 1 in 27 Ashkenazi Jews are at least carriers. I don't know the stats for Niemann-Pick offhand, but it also runs in higher numbers in the Ashkenazi Jewish population. Both diseases are very rare for adults to get, but it is possible. Neither one has a prevention or treatment. Niemann-Pick is a death sentence, Tay Sachs is bad too, but doesn't have an expiration date. She had a blood test on Friday to check for these things, and we haven't heard back yet. She keeps asking me if she's positive, and that's what she has, if I'll get tested too. I've decided that unless and until there is some kind of prevention, or treatment for it, I don't want to know. I don't want to spend my next 30 years or so, knowing I have it, and wondering when it will strike. I would rather live my life without that added stress and fear.
As awful and scary, as both of these new possibilities are, they both fit what's been happening very well...they both start with a psychotic break, or extreme depression (depressive break, I think it's called), and then go on to mimic MS. At the beginning of this nightmare, my mom attempted suicide. Her grandfather, interestingly enough, committed suicide at 62 (her age), but was loving and sweet, and fine before that. We wonder now, if he had one of those diseases too, and if he had survived his attempt, if he would have gone on to have similar symptoms to her. We don't know much about her dad's side, as most of them were killed in concentration camps. Her mom's side got out a generation before that, and so they had time to scatter - there's a branch of red-headed Romm's in Israel, a branch of Rom's in Russia still (I think), and then the Rome's in the US.
Anyway, like I said, a lot of changes. Prayers are always welcome.
Dana
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