A few of my fellow bloggers have helped out by making buttons for you to put on your blog to support Ezra. HTML code for them is in my sidebar. Here is the first one made by Rachael-
And here is the second one made by Nickie-
So you have 2 size options! Thank you so much ladies. I know there was at least one other person who made one, but my email inbox got out of control, and I couldn’t find it..email me if you read this.
Thanks again everyone for your support!
Amy and Erin over at Swag Studio have been so awesome to organize a bracelet campaign for little Ezra. You can buy a bracelet for $5 and the proceeds go towards Ezra’s fund. 
So many saints walk amongst us its mind blowing. Thanks to everyone for all of your support.
Please help spread the word!
Here is the link!
The response so far has been amazing, and I want to thank you all. In effort to keep a steady stream of donations coming in, I would like to offer ad space for sale on Manic Mother. (Thanks Trisha for the idea).
The traffic to my blog right now is unreal…. I only wish it were under other circumstances. Manic Mother is getting 1,000’s of hits a day. I have also gained many new readers (thank you).
Ad space for a 125 x 125 button is 20$ for one month, bigger ads can be placed also, please contact me for a quote.
All of the profits will go into Ezra’s trust fund, that we are having set up to help for the bumps we will inevitably face along the way.
I am going to offer 30 ad spaces for now, if there is a greater response I will add more.
Please contact me at manicmotherme@gmail.com, if you are interested, and we can go over the donation/ad space together. Please label your email “ad space”…my inbox is looking a little hairy right now.
Thank you!
My amazing husband is spending the night with our baby tonight, so I am taking some time to sterilize my house, and write an update.
First off, I can’t even begin to express my gratitude to all of you that have helped my family out. I am completely blown away by people’s compassion, your emails, donations, and comments bring tears to my eyes. Social media is amazing, and is going to help make everyone in my family’s life a little easier.
There are also great people in my community that are working together to help us out. Thank you, thank you , thank you. Please keep up all the great work. There are so many things that I need and want to help make Ezra’s life as normal as it can be.
That is what hurts the most….knowing that he is not going to have a normal childhood.
Here is some pictures of Ezra on his bittersweet birthday, nothing like a round of chemo for your 2nd birthday.
Isn’t he handsome? I am going to miss those curls, his hair should start falling out with in a week or so.
Playing play-doh and Little People.
Giggling, cancer can not slow this little man down.
Ezra has had three rounds already of chemo, the first was put into his spine, the second through his port, and the third he got via 2 shots to the thighs.
He has responded well so far to the chemo, his blood counts are on the up, and he even seems to feel better.
For part of his chemo he has to take steroids, which has not been so fun. They make him irritable, and wakeful…two things that are no fun with any toddler.
If all goes well, he should be coming home tomorrow. I am so scared of that, because now its up to us to keep him alive, and out of harms way.
I will update more soon, thanks again, so much everyone!
I don’t even know where to start this post…its going to be hard to write, as I am already choking back tears and haven’t finished the first sentence. I am taking some hours away from the hospital, to write this and to try to clear my head.
As many of you know my youngest son was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) 2 days ago, the day my world fell out from under me.
We took him to the Dr. the other day because he was bitten by either a spider or a tick. Shortly after we noticed the bites we saw he wasn’t feeling well, kind of lethargic, and not eating much, he also was limping in one leg. I assumed he was having a reaction from the bites.
They did an x-ray of his legs to make sure he hadn’t fractured anything as a precautionary measure. The x-ray showed he had some abnormalities in his bones.
We are in the grocery store and I get a call from his pediatrician, he tells me I need to take him to the ped. oncology tomorrow. That it could be cancer. My world is spinning now, we walk away from our filled grocery cart, and head back home. Panic starts to set in.
It still is not making any sense. Ezra has been a perfectly healthy baby. He shows none of the typical symptoms of ALL. Besides being pale (but we all are), and the limp that just showed up. He is healthy, or so I thought. How do you go from a limp to leukemia?
After seeing the pediatric oncologist we are still hopeful, since he also says he doesn’t see any of the symptoms. So they take some blood and we are on our way.
That night we get a call from him, and our told to take him to the ER. We rush our baby off in the middle of the night. At the ER my husband and I have to endure things no parent should ever have to see, I don’t think I can go into detail. Just imagine blood curdling screams from your baby, like nothing you have ever heard.
We are told later that night that it probably is leukemia. Still have to wait for final lab results though. Sure enough he has cancer. Holy shit, my baby has cancer.
He is doing good so far, he had surgery to place a port in his chest so they can administer the chemo, and that went well. He has had 2 rounds of chemo already, and is staying tough.
His spinal test came back negative, meaning the cancer had not yet spread to his spine and brain…we caught it really early.
Thank you spider.
The type of leukemia he has is the most treatable type, it has the highest remission and cure rate. Silver lining perhaps?
That doesn’t take away from the fact that he now faces 3 years of chemotherapy. 3 years.
Here is where we need your help.
We are by no means financially well off. I stay at home with the boys, and my husband works PT and goes to school FT. We live off of his little pay and student loans.
We also share a car.
We can’t afford a new one…or even a used one. I am going to be taking Ezra to the Dr. 2-3 times a week, there is no way we can share a car, with my husband having to go back and forward from school and work. Not to mention if he gets a fever I have to take him to the Dr. ASAP.
His insurance should cover all of his medical bills. Its just the other things we can’t afford.
We also need to make my home more suitable for Ezra, I need to have the plumbing, and ac serviced to make sure it is clean. Any bacteria infection can kill him. We just don’t have the funds to do so. Yes, my family is helping out some, but their means are limited as well. Not to mention much of their money will be spent flying down to help me (they live in MN).
I am a proud person, I do not like being a charity case. But given the current situation, I am swallowing my pride, and asking for any help you can give.
Even if its only a dollar, I would be thrilled.
If you don’t have a dollar (I know I don’t) , please help out by blogging about this, tweeting, stumbling, etc. I have seen how Mommy bloggers rally to help each other out in times of need, and I know you will all do the same for us.
I am putting a paypal button in this post for donations, and there will also be one up in my sidebar, which I know works. I don’t know if this one will work, its so confusing and my head hurts, but we need help ASAP so I am trying to muddle through this.
Please help in anyway you can, thanks so much, and keep the prayers and thoughts coming.
Taken 2 days prior to diagnosis!
I plan to write a ton more about this his experience, it helps me cope, and all the comments make me feel so loved.
To follow Ezra's story please visit here-
I wrote this post prior to Ezra’s diagnosis, and I still wanted to post it. It is such a bittersweet birthday. I have to have faith that there will be many more to come. Thanks for all the prayers, and thoughts.
My baby is 2 today, I am saddened I must say.
You see, I love this little boy, he has a special spot in my heart.
He reminds me that life is simple, and that joy can be found in the littlest things.
He is the glue that binds us all together.
I love his infectious smile and giggle,
I love his fierce love for Teddy.
I love his curls, his sparkly blue eyes, and his chubby little hands.
I love his high fives.
I love his monster face and roar.
I love how he follows his big brother like a lost puppy.
I love his eagerness, his tenacity, and his liveliness.
I love his stinky Teddy Bear smell, that only a mother could love.
I love how he twirls in circles, bobs his head to the music, and claps off beat.
I love his almost perfect circles he draws on everything, he is my Picasso.
I love how he burrows his head into my legs, and the fervor in which he holds tight.
I must admit, I have been holding on a little tighter, a little longer, trying to remember his smell, and his soft chubby skin. He is no longer my baby, but now, my little man.
Happy Birthday Ezra Kai!
I love you with all my heart and soul, and its ok with me if you want to slow down and be a baby just a tad longer.
My mom reminded me that I have not yet finished the saga.
After we saw little paw prints all over our new car, we set the trap that night and placed it right by our car. It started to rain so I pulled the trap up on our front porch. Obviously we didn’t catch a cat that night.
I had forgotten about putting out the trap the following evening. I was sitting watching tv in the evening, and I heard the trap go off. I am thinking it just went off on its own, since the tuna that was in there had been rained on, and was old. I peer outside and there is a nasty cat in the trap, the same one we saw on our car! Those cats are so up in our yard they are on my front porch! Ridiculous.
My husband and I both stare at each other….what should we do? Wait till the morning and call Animal Control? No…she will just go get it out, and it will scratch up our new cars hood, like they did our last car. So we scheme and decide to get rid of the cat..so we will never see it again. No, we didn’t kill it, I am not that crazy!
My husband packs the cat up in our car, and drives, and drives some more. He gets far enough away from our house and releases the cat, into the wild. Seeing as this cat is a feral cat that Crazy Cat Lady takes no ownership for, we have done no wrong, we just relocated it, and we have yet to see that cat again.
About 2 nights after this incident my husband went out with some friends for the evening, and they picked him up, so our car was still in the driveway, and Crazy Cat Lady apparently thought we were asleep. He came home about midnight to find Crazy Cat Lady all up in our yard. She was searching for our trap to steal again! We are not stupid enough to leave it out at night for her to steal once more. So, at this point I am just thinking she is down right nuts, she trespasses, she steals, and she doesn’t take responsibility for her actions. Then it gets even crazier, she leaves us this note.
Wow. So now she is threatening us as well. I really wanted to write her a note back, but I am trying to be the bigger person. If I were to write her a note here is how it would go.
Dear Crazy Cat Lady,
We are not staring at you, we are merely looking for the property you stole out of our yard.
I strongly urge you to keep what is yours (including yourself), in your yard.
I strongly urge you take responsibility for the animals you so dearly love, but do not claim as yours.
I strongly urge you quit stealing things from other peoples yards….. it is illegal.
I strongly urge you stop trespassing…….. it is illegal.
I strongly urge you to get your animals fixed, and quit contributing to the feral cat population.
I strongly urge you seek help for your hoarding disorder, it is affecting more people than just yourself.
I strongly urge you to put all your AIDS cats in your home, or more than one may mysteriously disappear.
Capiche? (you spelled it wrong Crazy Cat Lady)
Sincerely, Your Neighbors
We haven’t made any effort to catch any more cats, but if another one becomes a problem, you can be sure we will.
I thought I would share with you all some blogs I really enjoy reading, that aren’t your average mom blog, some of them aren’t even moms yet. Please go visit them, and leave them some comment love. These blogs are all worth adding to your reader, I promise!
Lisa from 5 Orange Potatoes, is always doing the neatest things 
with her 2 little girls. She has a ton of great nature projects to do with your kids. Like this toad house, and these terrariums!
Rhiannon from Pink Sugar Desserts is my newest favorite blog, she bakes and takes great pictures of her creations. I love great baking and great photos! Look at these beauties.
Veronica Lee from Of Mice and Ramen always finds the most amazing photos from the web, of all sorts of things, like these macro reflection photos. Her blog is always entertaining.
Celeste from Etsy it Up, features different Etsy artists, she always has a ton of great giveaways from Etsy shops, which are my favorite kind. I even won an apron from her. Did I mention this woman is a young entrepreneur? I admire her so much.
Nichole is an American writer, living in Paris with her family (I know I am green with envy too.) She blogs at Little Brown Pen, and takes the most amazing photos, reading her blog makes me feel like I am on a scenic tour of France. She also makes really cute printable stationary on Etsy.
I am not even sure how to describe this next blog. At Conversations With a Cupcake she bakes these mouth watering recipes, then takes beautiful pictures and makes them into little people, so to speak, and even writes a poem to go with the recipe. I have never seen anything like it, its very clever.
What are you waiting for? Go visit these awesome blogs!
My father-in-law may be the hardest person to shop for ever. He rarely has any ideas of presents he would like, and when he does give us an idea we all buy tons of the same item, because we are so thrilled he gave us an idea. This year for his birthday, I thought I would try to find something really original…where better to look than Etsy?
He does love to plant and care for indoor plants. So I thought he may really enjoy making his own terrarium. I know that they are easy to make, you just need to find all of the items to make one. I looked into purchasing all of the items separately, but by that point it was getting too expensive, and I would have had enough supplies to make like twenty of them.
So I looked on Etsy, where I have seen already made terrariums. I was hoping to find a kit to make your own, and I found Lady Farrah’s Etsy shop. Here is what I ordered.
Everything he needed to make his own, he just had to provide a container. She even included a monogram letter with your initial to put in your terrarium. There was also very well written instructions, on how to make and care for a terrarium.
They come in different sizes and range in price from 22-35 $, what a great inexpensive gift! And he loved it…I am secretly hoping he makes me one too.
She also sells already constructed terrariums like these.
Ashley was a joy to order from, she was very quick in response, and she shipped it out in perfect time for his birthday. I highly recommend Lady Farrah’s Etsy shop, it is such a unique great gift to give to just about anyone!
Yesterday we noticed a few red bites on Ezra’s legs, and thought nothing of it. He always gets really red from any sort of bug bite, he has sensitive skin.
Then this morning I noticed another new bite on his arm, and that one of his eyes was a little swollen. Still not thinking its a big deal, but as the day went by my husband noted his ankle was swollen and that we was limping a little. So we made an appt. to after hour peds.
I searched Ezra’s room before he left for his appt, and I found the spider under his crib, I killed it and put it in a bag. Here it is.
While they are on their way to after hours, I am consulting Dr. Google. I am pretty sure the spider is a brown recluse spider, a venomous spider! Freaking out now.
They see the Dr.s , they look at the spider, and are pretty sure it is also a brown recluse. Ezra has at least 4 bites on him!
The Dr.s said that these spider bites can vary in degree of severity, and can affect people differently. I was going to post a picture of what they can do to a person, but they are really gross. Here is a link if you are not faint of stomach. They can basically eat away your skin.
We are not 100% sure that it was a brown recluse, and may never know. We are not out of the woods yet, we have to monitor him tonight, and tomorrow. If he wakes up and his leg is worse we will have to take him back to the doctor. The bites can cause arthritic like symptoms in their joints, and he may need some medication incase the bites caused an infection. I will keep you all posted.
Ezra is still his happy little self, and no venomous spider will slow him down.
Today I am counting my blessings.
Thanks so much to everyone who entered! I have used random number generator to pick winners.
The first winner comes from comment number 91, from Brimful Curiosities.
The second winner comes from comment number 22, from Valerie2350.
Whoever responds first gets to pick which set of books they want.
Congrats!
Winners have 48 hours to respond.
Image courtesy Google Images
If you had to choose the best tv show made in your lifetime, which would you pick?
My Answer: I absolutely loved HBO’s Six Feet Under, it was a dark and funny satire. If you haven’t seen it, rent the DVD’s, its worth your time.
Your turn! Leave your answer in the comments, or link up and do “Thought Provoking Thursday” on your blog, use my question or one of your own. (Button is in my sidebar).
I have been doing a little Etsy shopping lately, and thought I would share with you all, some great shops I have come across. I am to the point with the kids, that I don’t need to carry around a huge bulky diaper bag anymore. I set out on a quest on Etsy to find a bag that was large enough to carry some diapers and wipes, but cute enough to be a purse. In my search I came across this bag at Bayan Hippo, I fell in love with it, and I had to have it. The pictures don’t do it justice, it is so beautiful and well made.
It has several little pockets to put my things in, and even has a clip to hook my keys to. I can even wash it if I need to, and I wouldn’t need to worry about it falling apart, since the sewing is impeccable. Did I mention these bags are very fairly priced? Here are some more examples of Bayan Hippo’s work.
She also makes these darling little girl dresses.
At the Bayan Hippo’s shop you could find for you and your childern products with the following common features,
-Handmade
-Easy, practical and lovely design
-Fun, stylish,
-Unique construction
-Multifunctional
-Colorful
-Made from eco friendly careful selected materials
What are you waiting for go shop at Bayan Hippo!
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