Poison Frickin' Ivy

Okay, so most of you know by now my struggles with Poison Ivy this last couple months... Well, in case you didn't know or were wondering... it's still not over!

It all began on September 6th at 10:20am when I took my daughter to the outdoor Outlet Mall here in Leesburg, VA. I was only planning on being there 30 min! I had a $10 off coupon for Carter's to get a dress for my daughter. An easy in and out! Well, on my way to the store we passed one of those machines the kids like to rid for quarters. Well I'd used up all my quarters the previous week for her and had none this time. So, to distract her, I gave her my keys to hold on to... I know, I know- that was my first mistake! Well, somewhere between the car and the Carter's store (only about 200 yards) Hailey lost my keys and I didn't notice. It wasn't until we got back to the car to leave that I realized they were gone! You can all probably relate to the "sinking gut" feeling and the tangible rise in blood pressure as you run through all the places you'd seen it last and realizing that you have NO CLUE where it is! Yea... that was me. I literally RAN back to the spot where I gave Hailey my keys and spent the next 5 hours searching up and down the walk ways between that spot and Carters.

There are three walkways at the mall and they are separated by manicured bushes, flowers, plants, and grass. I practically dug through all these plants in search for my keys. I never found them... we had to have our car towed and re-keyed ($300!!!.. ridiculous!) But I did come home with something unexpected! Poison Ivy. All over my arms and face. But wouldn't you know it- I am HIGHLY allergic to poison ivy! I always have been, and I avoid it like the plague! So I avoid touching anything green. But while I was at the mall there was a gardener there pruning and manicuring, so I felt comfortable sticking my arms in their bushes. Mistake #2. Never trust anything green!

less than 24 hours from the time I came into contact at the mall withe poison ivy

swollen eye

puss pocket

eye and forehead

so gross

puke.

I went to the doctor as soon as I could and they said it was the worst case of Poison Ivy they'd seen in a long time! My arms became a large bubbling sack of poison and puss. It was disgusting and extremely painful and itchy all at once. The doctor put me on Prednizone and the poison ivy cleared up in about a week and a half (thankfully), but not without some major scarring! As soon as the prednizone dose was over, I broke out into what I thought was Hives... turns out it's an acute dermatitis that is a systemic reaction to the poison ivy. Apparently poison ivy is a toxin that can sit in your system for quite some time. So they put me back on prednizone to clear up the rash. Well once again, as soon as the dose was over, the rash came back!

So this time they gave me a steroid shot and another dose of prednizone, but I reacted poorly to the shot and went into vasodilation and almost passed out in the office! It was horrible! It took me 2 hours to get back to normal and finally get out of the doctors office! And again, once the dose was over, the rash came back! So it was all for nothing. Now, here I am almost 2 months later- still covered in rash and scars and tired of being on Prednizone. I may have to just wait this out and let my body do it's work... thoughts?

Well I sent a complaint to the mall and they sent my claim on to the lawn care company who has since said that it's not their fault and they refuse my claim.... Not sure that's fair considering they allowed the poison ivy to grow- maybe not on purpose, but nonetheless. And I've spent over $500 in medical bills, prescriptions, and bandages and lotions/creams etc. And it's STILL not over! Shouldn't they be responsible for these costs they have cost me?

Do I pursue? I don't even know how to go on from here... or do we just drop it and cut our HUGE losses? Ugg. Meanwhile I am trying to live stress-free to allow my immune system to do it's job. Lots of napping and oatmeal bathing! :) We'll see how long I can keep it up before I have to go back to the doctors.

almost healed up

the scar

only half the medication i've had in the last 2 months

hard to see, but there is a rash on top of the scar- that was two days ago.

Surprise Trip to Utah!

My mother-in-law's birthday was last week and we decided to take a quick trip out there to surprise her for her! Ryan was able to find an awesome deal for $130/person round-trip tickets, non-stop, from BWI to Vegas. It was perfect! Since we live really close to Dulles Airport, Hailey see's the airplanes flying overhead all the time- so she was SUPER excited to be going on an airplane! 

Taking the shuttle from parking lot to airport- she was so excited to see the airplanes so close!

telling daddy about the airplanes!

In the airport headed to our Gate!

check out her reflection! haha

watching as we taxi to the runway

playing with the window shade

getting  sleepy on the plane- finally.

LOVELY angled shot of me trying to coax Hailey into the cocoon I had made for her

finally settling into her sleeping spot with mommy

Things are so much easier when she's sleeping! 

It was a late flight and so she was very tired, but wouldn't hold still long enough to fall asleep on the flight. So finally I had to lay down with her and hold her down until she fell asleep... it took less than 2 minutes. Haha. Poor baby! She slept the duration of the flight and the 2 hour drive from Vegas to Hurricane, Utah. Ryan's sister came and got us and we finally got back to their house around 1am. So we quietly snuck to our rooms and slept until morning. When we knew she was up, and Hailey was awake, we went upstairs and had Hailey go find Grandma for breakfast! She was SO surprised and happy to see us! It made it all worth it to see her so happy! And Hailey was loving all the attention from her Grandma and Grandpa! 

The first day we went to Confluence Park, which is a path through a little canyon to a little river/creek. We got pretty hot on the walk in so we shed our socks and shoes... and in Hailey's case, everything but her diaper, and got in the water! It was secluded, quiet, and the scenery was breathtaking. It was so nice to sit in the shade next to the running water and listen to Hailey, Daddy, and Grandpa playing in the water. I eventually got in too for a bit. But I mostly took lots of pictures! It was the perfect weather and day! 

Hailey, Grandpa and Daddy walking along the path to the creek

Daddy and Hailey- so cute!

she kept stopping to look at the ants on the ground! she said the dirt was dirty!

Annette, Dennis, and Ryan

Ryan and Hailey going to deep waters!

Grandpa splashing Hailey

Me and Hailey

this one is my favorite! hahah

cleaning the dirt...

Ryan and his Mommy!

Grandpa is helping Hailey clean the dirt and throw it back into the water!

exploring! She had so much fun!

For Annette's birthday we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then to an outdoor amphitheater play for Mary Poppins! It was excellent! And the way the amphitheater was set up in the back of a canyon was just amazing! Especially when they shot off fireworks and the whole canyon lit up! Or when they were flying Mary Poppins through the air and had a spotlight on her that hit the canyon wall behind her and looked like the moon with her shadow on it! It was an excellent production! 

Annette got to sit in the saddle while we sang Happy Birthday

The stage for Mary Poppins!

Trina (Annette's best friend), Annette, and Dennis waiting for the show to start!

Opening presents!

Brothers!!! And their even sitting the same way too! Haha

We spent one day in Utah up in Provo with some family and close friends that we hadn't seen in awhile. I got to see my sister who is a freshman at BYU and see her dorm and brought her along for dinner. We had lunch with the Nelsons, our favorite neighbors from Rexburg!!! We miss them so much! They used to watch Hailey for us while we finished school! Now they have an adorable baby girl of their own! It was so great to catch up. 

Cousins! Delilah is almost 3 and Hailey just turned 2.

playing the piano!

getting caught playing on the piano!

giving cousin Jonathan some love (he just turned 1 back in july)!

me and my sister, Sydney, happily reunited!

...it didn't last long! haha

At dinner we met up with some of Ryan's best friends from high school, Stephen and his wife and brand new daughter, Chris and his new wife, and Shane. It was great to see them all and to meet the new additions to the "family". We're hoping to put together a "reunion cruise" next spring, and get the WHOLE gang involved! We forgot how much we missed them all until we were all together. 

The last day of Utah we spent relaxing in Hurricane. My sister-in-laws, Ashley and Lynae, were able to come down too with their kids, Jonathan and Delilah. So Annette had ALL her kids and ALL her grandkids under one roof for a day! It was so fun! The kids got along great and enjoyed running around Grandma/pa's backyard and playing with Uncle Kyle while we sat on the porch chit-chatting. 

Ashley and her son Jonathan, Me and Hailey, and Lynae and her daughter Delilah. All the grandbabies together again!

How cute are these two sitting in the grass and talking about whatever they found interested?

feeding pears to the next door neighbors dog

he wasn't interested in their pear

picking pears from the tree out back

The fish statue was so fascinating!

Playing with Uncle Kyle out back!

The splash pad in Hurricane was most amusing!

They look like they're having the time of their lives!

Jonathan pretty much stood right there the whole time while the girls ran circles around him! Haha.

playing in the rocks

playing in the rocks and red dirt!

Of course, Annette, Ashley, and I had to sneak off to the quilt shop for an hour to check out whats new! I got myself two new projects to work on when I got home... not to mention the halloween quilt I haven't started yet either. I'd better get on that! haha. 

Our flight home left from Vegas at 11:40pm (red-eye flight). So Annette and Dennis took us down there and we had dinner and a tasty hole-in-the-wall Mexican place that was delicious! Then we walked around a bit and headed to the airport. Hailey dosed off on the plane quickly and slept the entire flight. It was a 5 hour flight going east, so by the time we were landing in Baltimore, the sun was up and it was 7am! So it felt like the shortest night EVER! And we were exhausted! So we drove straight to my mom's house so they could help with Hailey while we napped a bit! Phew! 

She was so exhausted from the traveling that she fell asleep reading a book on the car ride from the airport to my parent's house. 

Overall- it was a great trip and we have lots of great memories!