Merry Christmas and Happy 2014!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2014 from The Sielicki's!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving!  It started with Alli's kindergarten play on Tues.  We all went to see our little pilgrim.  On Wed., the girls and I had lunch with Chris and came home and made Thanksgiving turkey cookies.  We found out Lauren really likes M&Ms!
On Thurs., we drove to Columbia for some family time with Mimi and Papa and GiGi and Pappy.  Going with tradition, Mimi and Papa kept the girls Thurs. and Fri. night so I could get the house decorated.  The girls had a good time at EdVenture and seeing Santa, and of course they enjoyed their trips to McDonalds and Chick fil a.  As a special treat for Alli, I took her to see Disney on Ice: Princesses and Heroes.  She really enjoyed it...especially the $15 snow cone (it comes with a cup with a 2 year warranty-I'm such a sucker!).

Lauren's New Vest

We received some good news: Lauren's vest was approved by the insurance (although it is considered "out-of-network") and so were the RSV shots again this year.  The respiratory therapist came to our house about 2 weeks ago to train us on using the vest and to make sure it fit.  We tried it out while she was there, and she did a great job.  I think she was a little unsure at first, but has really gotten used to it.  As a matter of fact, at night she usually falls asleep with it on.  Instead of us patting her, the vest does it for us.  The hoses have a length of about 5 feet, so she can walk within a 5 foot radius of the machine instead of us holding her.  The only thing is it's hard to find 30 minutes every morning and night to do it.
Chris took her for her first of 5 RSV shots.  She'll get one every month during RSV season (Nov-March).  Poor thing is like a pin cushion!  She wasn't able to get her 15-month vaccines because she was on steroids at the time...so, in January, instead of getting just one vaccine plus the RSV, she'll get 4 plus the RSV...poor thing!
We have all gotten our flu shots...HAVE YOU?

Alli's Field Trip to Denver Downs

I had the pleasure of being a chaperone for Alli's class at the Denver Downs Corn Maze.  I had no idea there was more there than just the corn maze.  Funny thing-we never made it into the actual maze!  But, we kept busy for over 2 hrs!  We all had a good time!  I'm so glad I got to spend some time with Alli.  We were kind of wondering how she was doing adjusting to her new class, and I think she was doing pretty well.

Lauren's yearly CF check-up and Happy Halloween!

Lauren went to the pulmonologist for her yearly check-up.  It went as well as could be expected considering she had to have labs drawn (8 tubes), chest x-rays, lung culture, and a check-up.  Luckily, Chris went with me this year.  I'm not sure if I could have held her down for all of that by myself!  Her chest x-ray looked good.  She grew a new bug on her lung culture (Serratia) that they will be watching. Her vit. D was still low, so they are boosting the supplements.  While we were there we also discussed a vest for Lauren for chest PT instead of doing it by hand and her getting the RSV vaccine again this year.  They put all of those things in motion as well with the insurance company.

The girls had an awesome Halloween!  We went to downtown Clemson first, then headed over to the church for trunk-or-treat.  They both got a lot of loot! And, little did we know that daddy (aka willie from duck dynasty) would be there.  Alli was also thrilled to see some of her old pals from CEC and the Tiger.

Clemson Kickoff for a Cure a Success!

A huge thank you to all who turned out for the 1st annual Clemson Kickoff for a Cure.  It was a huge success.  We hope to tweak it a little for next year!  All of our food vendors were marvelous!  I so enjoyed getting to know you all over the months of planning.  A big thank you to: Cubcakes, Papa Johns, Chick fil a, Chipotle, Fuddruckers, Hooters, McAlister's Deli, and The Tip Top Cake Shop.  The silent auction also went well~Chris and I came home with a 55in plasma TV, Chipotle catering for 20, and a concealed weapons class!  Maybe we should have had a budget going in...  A huge thank you to Coach Dabo who did a video message, and most of all, a big thanks to Averie Wood who spoke as the Bid for the Cure speaker.  She is a Clemson student with CF who is a blessing for me to know and gives me hope for Lauren!

Clemson Kickoff for a Cure

The Upstate of South Carolina is hosting its first fundraising event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on Oct.5, 2013 at Littlejohn Coliseum.  It will be the ultimate tailgate experience!  Tickets are $55 ($32 is tax deductible).  Best Buy will be providing large screens and the sound system for watching the Clemson-Syracuse game, local restaurants will be providing tailgate foods (beer and wine are included), local vendors will be providing artwork, sports memorabilia, and other great items throughout the day for bid in a silent auction. There will also be some Clemson sports personalities present, an appearance by the Tiger Cub, and a video message from Dabo! 
Chris and I have been on planning committee and are really excited with how the event is shaping up.  We've also been pleasantly surprised with how many local area businesses (Chipotle, Grouchos, McAlister's, Cubcakes, Tip Top Cake Shop, Main Street Diner of Easley, Fuddruckers, and Hooters- to name a few) have stepped up for us.  We're also extremely excited that Clemson University is also stepping up.  Clemson has donated a stay at the Martin Inn and a golf package at the Walker Course for the auction, along with President Barker donating his own personal drawings, and of course Dabo graciously offering a video message to fans!
Our goal is to raise $35,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in just our first year.  We're well on our way...now, to sell tickets for the event!
For tickets, please purchase online at: http://sc.cff.org/clemsonkickoff
Go Tigers!!

Alli's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Let me start by saying we thought we were going to be in for it...
Even though we had been telling Alli she wouldn't be going to the same school for kindergarten with her preschool friends, her preschool decided to make a graph of which child was going where, and it finally sunk in. Her and one of her friends both realized after seeing it on paper they'd be all alone...I wouldn't suggest they ever do this again unless a few kids were going to each school.  The night after they did this graph was the "Meet the Teacher" night at the school and Alli informed us she wasn't going, and we literally had to drag her there.  The "Meet the Teacher" was chaotic, and I thought a few things could have been done a little better so it wasn't so overwhelming for the kindergarteners, but we made it through, and Alli met her new teachers: Mrs. Collins and Mrs. Thompson.  She was able to spend some time checking out the classroom and Mrs. Collin's bunny Clover.  She also was able to talk a bit with Mrs. Collins who was very nice and eased some of her fears. 
Monday, August 19th came, and Alli was ready for her first day of kindergarten...no tears from anyone!  We all took her to school and made sure she was comfortable before we left, and when I picked her up, she had a big smile on her face!  I can't believe my Alli is already in kindergarten!  She seems so grown up now.