A Page In My Book.... (Main Blog)

So I thought I was do a 25 random things about me.... because I know there are some new people coming by my blog :)

THANKS FOR STOPPING BTW :D

Anyway .... here it goes...

25 Random (or not so) about Annissa...

1: I have lived the same place my whole life - with in a 30 mile radius anyway. Now I'm facing my first move outside of that safety circle! ::: bites nails :::

2: I am homeschooling my kids - I had homeschooled my oldest son for a few months when I got pregnant with Noah, and being told what I was, I ended up putting him back into public school, and I regret it. Now I've pulled him out, and Noah and we're going to give it a go!

3: I have been married twice.... first time ended in divorce after 10 years, and may the second one last forever - we met online... yep - online. Me in WI and him in NC ...

4: I read - a lot! Not as much as I use to but I love to read and am always carrying a book with me. It's a security blanket for me.

5: I have ALMOST every single book written by Nora Roberts (aka J.D. Robb) ... even a few autographed!! I looooooooooooove her books!!

6: I also write - poetry, short stories, novels. I have a few novels that I finished, I am working on the 2nd book to a series and have started a few others - I always said I wouldn't try to get the first book to the series published until the second one was done, well I am half way through it and scared to send the first one in! But I wrote it for me to begin with so even if it stays just my world, I guess that's okay - right?

7: I love taking photos :)

8: My "lucky" number is 13, and it pops up all the time in my life. My full (birth) name has 13 letters. My older two boys both have 13 letters in their first and middle names and that was COMPLETELY unplanned, I didn't realize that I had done that until after Noah was born... Calahan Joseph, Noah Alexander ... and then I had to make it a "thing" and we have Nathan Patrick and Kaedyn Phillip (Russell) ... all of them have 13 letters in their first and (1st) middle names. In addition to that, my husband ALSO has 13 letters in his first and middle name.

9: I love Halloween, it's my favorite holiday. Christmas is my 2nd favorite.

10: I loooooooooooooooooooooove Fall - it's my favorite season!! The beautiful colors and the holidays it leads to, I love the crisp autumn air and can't wait to take my kids to the pumpkin patchs and orchirds! Bon fires are the BEST on fall evenings!

11: I am a reality tv junkie! I seriously need RTA ... Big Brother, Amazing Race, Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef, America's Next Top Model, Survivor, Project Runway... if it's reality, there is a good chance I watch it! Why? I like watching how people react to things - it's good for a writer!

12: I also like a lot of other TV ... CSI, Bones, Ghost Whisperer, Medium, House... my favorite shows have been Gilmore Girls and X-Files... I get really attached to characters and get really mad when things don't go the way I think they should ... it's silly I know!!

13: My husband got me hooked on MMO games ... (I don't even know what "MMO" means!) ... I have played (and currently play) World of Warcraft, I have played Lord of the Rings Online ... that's it so far... I have about 20 different toons on 4 realms in WoW! I slowly level them up. Some I am really attached to. We play when we have time, and we play as a family (Dennis, our oldest son Calahan, and I all play WoW) ...

14: I hate driving! If I could avoid it, I would. I would much rather come along for the ride and read or take pictures, or do the jello head bobble and sleep.

15: My FAVORITE color is purple :) I love purple... especially Lilac or the dusky Lavender. I also love Dusky Rose and Sage and Burgundy...

16: I am a choco-holic :) I looooooooooooove me some chocolate!!

17: I am allergic to Apples ... to the point where my throat and mouth and lips all swell up after one bite. I am allergic to almost all fruits and some veggies. So I have to be very careful on what is in the food I eat - especially if someone else makes it. If I go to a Pot Luck or something, I am constantly asking "what is in this?" .. I'm sure it annoys people.

18: I wanted a lot of children ... a bakers dozen! However ... it didn't happen that way. I do have a bakers dozen of angles though. Every one of them have a name. My latest miscarriage was at almost 12 weeks, but the rest happened between 4.5 and 8 weeks.

19: I have always wanted a daughter ... when Calahan was in the womb - I swore up and down that he was a girl and if anyone suggested he wasn't, they would get the death glare followed by some witty snap of my tongue. Noah, Nathan & Kaedyn we knew via amnio's that they were all boys, and when I found out that Kaedyn was a boy, I cried for days. See, my husband got the big "V" the week before and Kaedyn was our last chance at a girl... so when the DR called and told me that it was a healthy baby boy I had tears of joy and sorrow. I was so thankful he was healthy (see below why) ... but I experienced the death of my daughter dream. I'd never have one. Everyone says "you'll have granddaughters and daughter-in-laws" ... and I realize this, but it isn't the same. I just wanted ONE PINK BABY ... oh well I guess.

20: I have 2 preemies. Noah was born 1lb 12oz 13 3/4 inches and Nathan was born 3lbs 4oz and 15 3/4 inches. We knew ahead of time that both of them had issues (hence the amnios) ... Noah has a rare genetic disorder called Mosaic Trisomy 16. He's had a lot of struggles, and still continues to but you wouldn't know there was anything "wrong" with him just looking at him. Nathan has a cyst in his brain (Dandy Walker), a cleft palate, hypothyriodism, migraines... both of them have hearing issues, weight issues (although Nathan is "Failure to Thrive") and sensory issues. In addition to them, Calahan has ADHD and a bleeding disorder. You can check out my other blog My Unique Flowers for other info on all of them.

21: I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome when I was 16. I was on a trip with my best friend from HS and I got strep but I wasn't going to say anything, had to be a bother... so I suffered in silence .. got home, it was so bad at that point it hurt to breath - went to the DR and it was definitely strep ... after that FINALLY cleared up I wasn't doing better so I ended up getting dragged back in and tested positive for mono ... then the symptoms never went away, I was constantly sleeping, sick to my stomach, constant sore throat, headaches from hell, my joints felt like someone was bashing them in, my muscles ached so bad, every movement hurt. I ended up only going to highschool during the mornings, and going home during the afternoons just to sleep and deal with how I was feeling. They wanted to put me on steroids but I was only 16 and refused. So I just suffered and at the time, they weren't even willing to treat the symptoms. I would have much rather been skipping school with my friends. After a couple years it started to ease up and I got use to the daily pain. I have remissions and relapses ... I'm currently going through a relaps and have been for several months. I'm back on my arthritis medication and muscle relaxer, and ibuprofen.

22: I was just diagnosed with high blood pressure too. Yay! I have had high blood pressure through all my pregnancies, but after Kaedyn was born - it never went away.

23: I broke the three middle toes on my right foot a couple months before I got sick, I was having a water fight with my cousins and they had spilled some water on a hard wood floor and I didn't know it, so I ended up slipping and went to catch myself, landing on the tops of my toes (my toes were curled) and ended up snapping my 3 middle toes.

24: I have a pen and candle collection... I can't seem to EVER have enough of them!

25: I want to have a big wedding with Dennis someday - our DREAM wedding. Every once in awhile I'll get on the "we're doing it on such and such a day" and start planning it - but then it quickly becomes evident that we won't have the money. :: sigh ::