Desert Zen

Another Digi LO!

2011-01-24T07:46:00.000-08:00

Here is my second Digi LO! I used a template on this one from Lollipop Press DT member Erin Ostgulen. You can get it here. I used some more digi freebies from previous downloads over the past few months. I have a new kit from LP that I can hardly wait to use today! You can see it here in the store tab under the Beach Boy line, can't wait to play with the papers on this one!!!!!!!!

DJ's mom was moved from the rehab location back to Del Webb last night. They cant get a good blood pressure reading on her and her liver isn't functioning right. These are both known problems with his mom, and not a surprise to us that she's having these problems. However they are very serious problems and if not regulated quickly they are life threatening. So we are sleeping with all the phones kept on waiting for them to ring these days. Keep the prayers coming, I know they can help both DJ and his mom. Thanks for the support and for every prayer and kind thought!

First digi LO :)

2011-01-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

I have been participating in a blog hop this week from Lollipop Press and got really inspired to try some digi scrapping. I don't have any temples so I just used my limited knowledge of photoshop and some freebies I've collected over the past few months. I really like how it turned out!

In other news we got a call on the way to my birthday breakfast that DJ's mom had fallen and broken her hip in three places. DJ has been trying to spend as much time with her in the hospital as he can. She's pretty out of it and some of the things she says are affecting him, even though he says he's ok. She's been talking about how everything is her fault and how proud she is of Caden. DJ's very fearful that she's giving up and will not fight to get better. So any extra prayers you have for her recovery and DJ's well being would be very much appreciated. His faith is struggling these days and he's trying very hard to just fake it right now, but again I can tell it's thin these days. So kind words, calls and texts would be great for him in this time. Thanks :)

OhJohnny - be still my heart

2010-12-16T09:18:00.001-08:00

'Pirates of the Caribbean 4' Teaser Trailer @ Yahoo! Video

New Photo Shoot Up - Flores family

2010-12-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

This is my third year taking this lovely families photos. I took Neveah's photo's the first time when she was six months old. Now she's a grown up little kid of almost 4!!!!! Holy Cow. And Destiny is starting to resemble a teenager more in every photo I take of her. I love this family, just truly good hearted solid people. Go check them out over on my photography blog.

New photo shoot up!

2010-11-11T15:35:00.000-08:00

Head over to my photo blog to sneak a peek at these beautiful people. But beware......these are a surprise so under no circumstances can you say a word to this beauty's father. Promise? Pinky swear? Now the secret hand shake......alright you'er in. Enjoy! And let me know if you like them :)

The rest of the scrappy goods

2010-10-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Ok here are the rest of this past 6 months or so of scrappy pages. Please forgive the horrible photos but it's late and I don't want to mess with them any more, lol. And as always most have some element of a lift, either a concept or an embellishment idea.

This is my most recent and I am proud to say an original :)

Also an original :)

I scrapped this whole page solely for the quote "If I hadn't become a mom I would have had a quieter life, but who wants quiet."

Totally want to frame this one! Caden's blessing day.

This one should read Live out Loud but I realized after the photo was taken that the L on Live was missing...doh.

So now I've caught you all up with the scrappy business over here. I've got the bug bad so I'm sure I'll have more to share soon!

Scrappy update

2010-10-18T01:45:00.000-07:00

I realized it's been forever since I posted my scrappy adventures, so here you go. These are the last 6+ months of scrappy goodness. I have about 6 more to photograph then I'll be caught up with my recent work :)

See through :)

This one hangs in my office.

I have this one on display in the family room (my favorite of all time)

I included a flip up page and put the bears birth certificate underneath.

Nothing too exciting and all of them have lifted elements, but I do love looking at them and really that's what it's all about!

MacDonald's Ranch & Pumpkin Farm

2010-10-12T01:05:00.000-07:00

This Saturday we went out to the MacDonald Ranch and Pumpkin Patch with the family. We had a run drive out there (Jomax & Scottsdale about 5 miles north of the 101) with Caden fluctuating between screaming and throwing his snack cup at us. The terrible two's are here in full force. But we got there super fast since we let my dad drive and he's with Scottsdale PD and this farm is in his district so he knew right were to go. I'd have got us so lost we'd still be there.

I thought we'd try and grab a family photo first while the little man was in a good mood. Hahahahahaha...we appear to have entered that lovely phase where we can't get a nice family photo to save our lives.

Ya this one with have to do for this year, sigh.

Caden has never seen horses before and he was fascinated with these two while we waited for the hayride out to the start. As a part of the $7/person entry fee you get a about 10 minute ride to the pumpkin picking area. It's actually a lot of fun.

There was not a chance of me holding my kiddo since Nana was around.

Caden LOVED this hayride! Oh my gosh he stalked and squealed the whole way through.

And he kept sniffing the air. Maybe we should let him out of the house more often, lol.

Once we got to the pumpkin picking area he was not too sure he wanted to let Papa put him down.

We tried so hard to get a nice photo of Caden on the cute hay bale.

He was so not having a good time sitting there. So we gave up and just went and had fun.

I picked this "pumpkin patch" to take Caden to for the main reason that there are not acres of pumpkins to pick from. They set up a bunch of hay bale stations and you can go "pick" your pumpkins. I thought Caden would be able to access the pumpkins easier and we'd have less running to do in the desert after him. All in all the experience was just what we had been hoping for, plus the pumpkins were really great quality and we ended up with 4 for $21.

Caden was not shy at all about picking out his pumpkins.

"I'll take this one Nana."

"And this one."

He wasn't even worried about the size of pumpkin to kid ratio, he tried to take home every single pumpkin.

There's our haul ready to go back to the ranch with us.

The ranch is actually very pretty though I can't imagine the place in say August.

"Bye pumpkin patch, see you next year." Caden waved and said bye the whole way back to the ranch, totally cute.

While the men paid for our haul we went to the petting zoo.

This is Charlotte and her son Jimmy Dean was right next to her. Caden walked right up, petted her and moo'd hello.

Here's one of the goats Shrek (Fiona was resting below). Caden walked right up and moo'd hello. In fact he walked up and petted and moo'd hello to the Miniature Pony Chocolate, the bunnies, the wild turkey & the miniature Donkey’s Pete and Repeat. The only animal he didn't moo to was the cow? We may need to work on the farm animal book some more this week.

Sure he looks at the camera for their photo.

All in all it was a long drive and a warm day, but will absolutely do it again next year. It cost $7/person to get in but all the activities - Petting zoo, Hay maze, Sack racing, Gem Mining, Western golf game, Horseshoe pits, Hay ride, and Pony rides are all free. It would take the average family about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to do all the activities. The pumpkins were reasonably priced at $3, $6, $9 and $12 depending on the size. And the staff are so wonderful and very invested in the authenticity of the ranch. So we'll totally drive the 45 minutes there and back next year. Besides, who could say no to this face?

Lots o' changes

2010-10-04T02:58:00.000-07:00

Wow how does three months pass so quickly? Feels like I just posted here a couple weeks ago!
I suppose it's easy to see how that much time has gone by when I look at all the changes that have taken place in the past few months.

The biggest change is that I am no longer unemployed, woo hoo! I have been working at Bank of America as a fraud analyst for about 2 months now. It was my first interview since the layoff and I got the job offer within about 2 hours. I'll admit that felt really good. There were many things about the last job I was that made me doubt that I was a good employee or that I could really be an asset to a team. I have to say that I have been loving the job and the people are just amazing. It's been a ton of fun getting to know everyone and I have really enjoyed learning about the bank. I've also learned a lot about fraud and the general public.

Here are a few tips I have picked up in my past few months of investigating fraud:
1 - Don't ever be without a second form of payment when you are going anywhere! I can not tell you how many people I talk to that have no access to their debit card due to either a fraud situation or a system malfunction and they tell me that they have no other way to gas up their car or feed their children. Hello people keep an emergency $20 on you at all times!!!!!!

2 - Drunk people can be just plain mean. Had a drunk guy tell me he hoped I would die in a car accident on the way home.

3 - Be aware of your surroundings at all times when you are using your debit card. Never use an atm you think looks odd and never, never, never throw away a receipt until the purchase has cleared your account. Check your bank account at least once a week (people surprise me when they say "oh i haven't checked my account in a few months" really ?!?!). And for the love of Pete don't ever send your account info through an email to anyone. Yep, that's right people actually call us up and say "well the email said it was from Bank of America so I thought it was ok to give them my account number and social security number" oh how that makes me want to sit with then, hold their hand and explain how the world is full of bad people who do bad things like steal your money.

4 - Drunk people can be downright funny. Had a drunk guy propose marriage to me three times during our conversation last week.

So in a nutshell I'm learning a lot and really loving the company. I've never worked anywhere that cares as much for their employees. The overnight schedule is a bit rough, but how blessed we are that Caden can spend so much time with me during the week. Absolutely counting our blessings over here!

In other news Caden keeps growing and keeping us running a million miles an hour! This kiddo is a crack up and his personality can fill any sized room. I uploaded a few of my recent favorite photos :)

So we will be getting ready for Halloween here in the next week or so. I'll miss the trunk or treat this year do we're going to a pumpkin patch next week where I can get some photos. I'll share those when I get them.

Gasp - Apperently I have broken the law for years and I never knew it!

2010-06-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

Lol - I was born and raised in CA and according to this list of wacky state laws I have broken state law tons of times! Makes you wonder what happened that caused these to become laws. Happy Friday, and remember to keep some pocket change when you're in FL with your elephant :)

Alabama
It’s illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church.
Alaska
Whispering in someone’s ear while he’s moose hunting is prohibited.
Arizona
Cutting down a cactus may earn you a twenty-five-year prison term.
Arkansas
It’s illegal to mispronounce the name of the state of Arkansas.
California
You may not eat an orange in your bathtub.
Colorado
It’s unlawful to lend your vacuum cleaner to your next-door neighbor (Denver).
Connecticut
A pickle cannot actually be a pickle unless it bounces.
Delaware
It’s illegal to get married on a dare.
Washington, D.C.
It’s against the law to post a public notice calling someone a coward for refusing to accept a challenge to duel.
Florida
If you tie an elephant to a parking meter, you must pay the same parking fee as you would for a vehicle.
Georgia
It’s illegal to change the clothes on a storefront mannequin unless you draw the shades first.
Hawaii
All residents may be fined for not owning a boat.
Idaho
A man must not give his sweetheart a box of candy weighing fewer than fifty pounds.
Illinois
It’s illegal to take a French poodle to the opera (Chicago).
Indiana
The value of pi is 4, and not 3.1415.
Iowa
One-armed piano players must perform for free.
Kansas
It’s illegal to throw knives at men wearing striped suits (Natoma).
Kentucky
Every citizen is required to take a shower once a year.
Louisiana
Biting someone with your natural teeth constitutes simple assault, but biting someone with your false teeth classifies as aggravated assault.
Maine
If you keep your Christmas decorations on display after January 14, you’ll be fined.
Maryland
It’s against the law to wash or scrub a sink, no matter how dirty it is (Baltimore).
Massachusetts
No gorilla is allowed in the backseat of any car.
Michigan
A woman may not cut her own hair without her husband’s permission.
Minnesota
It’s illegal to paint a sparrow with the intent of selling it as a parakeet (Harper Woods).
Mississippi
Walking a dog without dressing it in diapers is forbidden (Temperance).
Missouri
Children may buy shotguns in Kansas City, but not toy cap guns.
Montana
It’s a felony for a wife to open her husband’s mail.
Nebraska
Bar owners may not sell beer unless they brew a kettle of soup simultaneously.
Nevada
It’s illegal for men with mustaches to kiss women.
New Hampshire
It’s forbidden to sell the clothes you’re wearing to pay off a gambling debt.
New Jersey
It’s against the law for a man to knit during the fishing season.
New Mexico
Females may not appear unshaven in public.
New York
While riding in an elevator, you must talk to no one, fold your hands, and look toward the door.
North Carolina
It’s against the law to sing off-key.
North Dakota
It’s illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on.
Ohio
You must honk the horn whenever you pass another car, according to the state’s driver’s education manual.
Oklahoma
It’s forbidden to take a bite out of another person’s hamburger.
Oregon
State law requires dishes to be drip-dried.
Pennsylvania
It’s illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors.
Rhode Island
You may not bite off another person’s leg.
South Carolina
If a man promises to marry an unmarried woman, he is required by law to keep his promise.
South Dakota
It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep in a cheese factory.
Tennessee
Selling hollow logs is strictly forbidden.
Texas
You may not shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel.
Utah
It is illegal not to drink milk.
Vermont
Women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth.
Virginia
Tickling a woman is unlawful.
Washington
It’s illegal to pretend that one’s parents are wealthy.
West Virginia
If you make fun of someone who does not accept a challenge, you risk a six-month prison sentence.
Wisconsin
Unless a customer specifically requests it, margarine may not be substituted for butter in a restaurant.
Wyoming
Unless you have an official permit, you may not take a picture of a rabbit from January to April.

Hahaha - Swagger Wagon :)

2010-05-19T21:22:00.001-07:00

Homemade Pop Tarts

2010-04-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

I have never been a lover of Pop Tarts, but my hubby can devour a box in two days if not monitored. So I was super excited to see these bad boys on one of my favorite food blogs today! I have a ton of homemade jams and a jar of nutella. So I'm excited to try these this weekend. I'll report back next weekend with the results :) If any of you out there try these I'd love if you'd share your results!

Abby's Baptism

2010-04-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

We got to go see this beautiful young lady be baptized this past Saturday. Well Caden and I made it through the opening prayer before we had to retreat to a primary room due to a case of the crankies. DJ said it was a beautiful baptism and everything went very well. Afterwords we enjoyed a yummy barbecue. It was a great night, thanks guys!

All boy take two

2010-04-11T10:48:00.000-07:00

So Caden was running in the living room when he saw DJ turn for our bedroom. He tried to turn and follow him, lost his footing and fell full force right into the door jam to our laundry room. I heard the thud turned and picked him up to see a good 2 inch bump on his forehead raised up about an inch. So off to the ER we go to make sure he hadn't broken anything and check for a concussion. Talk about having your heart stop. I woke up that morning feeling sick but the afternoon sensation of nausea was much different. To make matters worse the doctor did the whole child abuse screening and questioned us like we had hurt him. I have worked in law enforcement long enough to know that he was going to check him due to the injury, but his for of questioning was so uncalled for it left me in tears. He's totally fine today, though DJ and I are exhausted from having to wake him up every two hours last night. So need a nap!

All Boy, no questions

2010-04-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in my chair enjoying the nice spring day while Caden was playing in the living room, when it got a little too quite. I looked up from my reading to discover this! (And you know I'm a scrapbooker when I reach for the camera first, lol)

Without missing a beat he stood up. My heart stopped when he did this.

And then I watched him get down all by himself. I had put the camera down by that time. Seriously this kid has no fears!

3rd year running

2010-04-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

Can't believe how much these guys have grown over the last three years! Or how much energy a body this small can produce, lol. Still I love how happy these young men are :)

And here's their proud parents (who don't seemed to have aged at all in three years, hmmmmmm)

It all equals one happy family!

Hope everyone has a Happy Easter weekend. I'm off to go get my house clean for our company! :)

Random Dozen - Easter

2010-03-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

I saw this on a friends blog. She gets these random 12 questions from somewhere every week and posts them with her answers. I've had a hard time posting on the ol blog lately due to random depression and some computer issues so I thought I'd give this a try. Plus who doesn't like a good q & A session. So for the two ladies who read my blog (love ya girls) here ya go - Easter edition Random Dozen :)

1. How do you feel about the marshmallow Easter Peeps?

I have a a general dislike of the Peep in general. Yet every year I buy a box and eat one just to make sure the sicking sweet gritty still taste awful, and they do.

2. Chickens are notoriously nervous creatures. When you are nervous, what is the best way to calm down?

I get nervous when we drive on freeways due to a terrifying accident we were in involving a big rig in 2004. The best way to calm myself down involves lots of deep breaths and some visualizations of us at our destination. My husband helps me tons too, he can talk me though anything.

3. People say, "April showers bring May flowers." Do you enjoy Spring rains?

I adore the rain. Coming from the San Francisco Bay Area I am use to days of rainy weather at a time. So I miss it terribly here in the desert!

4. When I was randomly flipping through TV channels this week, I saw a show in which tattoo parlor employees received tattoos of a co-worker's face on their bodies. I can't imagine having a portrait of a colleague tattooed on me. But if someone forced you to receive a portrait tattoo (face only) of anyone, who would it be? Why?

My son Caden. No matter what happens in this world he will always be my baby :)

5. Would you rather have a tattoo (any kind) or a nose ring?
Oh tattoo hands down. Who wants the constant sensation of something stuck in your nose?

6. Do you have any special plans for Easter?

Going to dye eggs and hang out with some friends who will be visiting from Utah. We will eat lots of chocolate and watch General Conference. Throw in some scrappy goodness and it's sounding like a great weekend!

7. Cadbury Eggs or Reese Eggs?

Reese Anything!!!!!!!!!!

8. What was the last thing/person you took a picture of?

My son after he climbed into the cat tree, lol. He just looked at me like "hello put that thing down and get me out of here lady!"

9. What book are you reading now, or what was the last one?

I just finished The Actor and the Housewife and now I'm reading The Thirteenth Tale.

10. What do you think is the most difficult task when it comes to Spring cleaning?

Drapes. Ugh how I hate taking them down and beating them. Seriously considering just vacuuming them this year. Whoever thought sueded drapes were a good idea should be drawn and quartered!

11. How many pairs of flip-flops do you own?

3. One black, one brown and one white.

12. Which color makes you happiest?

Yellow daises, Blue ocean and green grass all make me very happy!

Hope you all have a Happy Easter weekend. Remember it's about more then the chocolate bunnies :)

March 12 of 12 - Obsession Addition

2010-03-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

I thought that this month I would do our 12 of 12 on our current obsessions. So I documented the things or places that we just can't get enough of lately :)

I am a huge scent person. I love to smell yummy things and once hooked I usually can't ever find the item again or the product is discontinued. So when I first sniffed this Bath and Body Works hand soap Nectarine Mint I was addicted immediately. I bought 10 bottles! I totally smell my hands after each time I wash them :)

Caden is completely obsessed with crawling through and under things so our friend Lisa gave whim this tube to crawl in and he is hooked. Thank goodness cause it's so much better for mommy then crawling under tables and in cupboards
.

Brownies - nuf said :)

Caden and I go to the local library every Thursday morning and meet some friends for the free story time hour, some library goodies and some park time (love you ladies!) I have become obsessed with trying new recipes since I'm home now and we are on a really fixed income, so I have been checking out cookbooks. I have had so much fun looking through them and have found some great recipes. They also have a fantastic kids cookbook section. I checked this one out and had so much fun looking at all the recipes that are made right from Dr. Seuss books.

We are also obsessed in this house with free movies! We check out 10 a week and have a blast watching them together almost every night. I get Caden a ton of kids shows too. Oh and they have tv series too, free, awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scrapping - I'm obsessed with this hobby every month of the year. It totally relaxes me and usually involves some fantastic girlfriends :) I had just finished this layout. LOVE IT!!!!!!!

I am a cinnamon fanatic. We found these bad boys on a trip to Utah last year and I bought 4 boxes. I horded them and hardly shared more than 5 candies. On our shopping trip that morning I saw them at Fry's. I think I actually squealed, lol.

As I said earlier I'm a huge scent person. So it makes perfect sense that I adore Scentsy products. I have hosted one party and been to two others in the last month and I know own 15 different scents. I have 4 warmers and a totally would burn a different scent in each one if we had a bigger house. I was totally addicted to the Poinsettia Pine this day. Currently I'm hooked on Coconut Lemongrass - yummy!!!!!!

Ok way back in the day (which was a Wednesday if you're curious) in high school times DJ worked at a Sonic. I got hooked on the cherry limeade drinks and would have one at least 3-4 times a week. About a month ago I found out from a friend that Walmart sold a cherry limeade sugar free drink mix. I ran out grabbed some and a Sprite Zero, went home dumped a tub of the mix into the 2 liter and served over ice. Totally obsessed, and now always have one in the fridge :)

I love to bake and cook. I can get easily obsessed with a recipe and work to get it perfect. This usually drives my family nuts cause they have to ea it over and over again. This month my family did not complain as I attempted to perfect cake doughnuts. 3 batches and I think I got it right. Warm homemade doughnuts = good nights!

We go to the duck pound several times a week and walk around in the beautiful weather before it gets to hot here is a few weeks. Caden will sit and talk to the ducks for hours if I let him. We sing the quack quack waddle waddle song and feed then bread. It's a great time.

Ok here is my self portrait for the obsession edition. My husband has always been a huge gamer (within reason - he has never missed a family event to play or anything like that) and I decided that I would learn about his game so we could share some time together do things he likes too. And in fairness he did try to scrap with me one night - turns out I don't share my toys well. So I learned about the game, and then found that I had lots of fun and found myself playing occasionally without DJ. Over the last 4 years I have become totally enamored with the intricacies of the game and adore the joy it brings to DJ that I share the time with him.

Gigity - That's all I have to say

2010-03-11T11:24:00.000-08:00

Our Wednesday Ritual

2010-03-10T07:34:00.000-08:00

So since I have been home with the baby it has become our Wednesday ritual to go to the local animal park after nap time. We have a great time walking around and looking at all the animals, feeding the ducks and strolling through the aquariums. It's extra fun when nana can meet us for the day. This trip I thought it would be great to pack the camera and take a picture of everything Caden paused to look at or got excited over so I could show the day through his eyes, sorta.

The first stop is usually to the meerkats. He loves to point and giggle and these cute little guys as they dig and fidget.

After the meerkats we go to the walk thru aviary where Caden can get up close and personal with the birds. This day these two guys were following us around. I think they had figured out stroller = dropped treats, lol.

They were very pretty though. I loved the bright blue!

Next we move on to the Giraffes. We take Caden uo to the feeding station and he loves to see their long tounges. This day they were not so interested in us and stayed out in the pasture eating :)

From there we mosey over to the Singing Dogs. This one took an interest in Caden. They sat staring at each other. Caden babbled to him and the dog would just cock his head to the side and listen. When we went to leave the little guy was Caden the whole time, until he turned the corner.

From here he points to the Llamas, so we're off to see them. We always ask them if their mama's a llama? Then Caden looks at me and I say why of course your mama's a llama and he belly laughs. Makes me smile!

We turned around to see this guy stalking us, lol. He was snapping at us through the fence and followed Caden all the way down to the end. I was talking to him the whole time but he was only interested in the stroller.

When we turned the corner we were face to face with these guys. Caden kept pointing at them and babbling. We think he was pointing out that they were eating out of a bowl.

Just across the way is the baby nursery so we took him in there to oh and aw over the little ones. There were baby deer and ocelots. There were baby land tortoises. But at the end exhibit there was a baby wallaby in this adorable makeshift pouch. We all loved this little one. So cute :)

So this made us want to walk over to the Kangaroo walk about. We saw this albino wallaby who looked like he had not ever missed a meal! The sign by him states that albino animals hardly every live more then a few years because they can't blend into their natural environments and predators can find them easily. So this little (hahaha) guy was saved by the zoo, awwww. And because this is a family friendly blog he has been given a modesty dot :)

As we walked through the exhibit we noticed a lot of mama kangaroos with full pouches. I think we counted 3 babies on board. They crack me up laying out propped up on an elbow just chilling. Caden was talking away to these ladies. They would look over at him and then just close their eyes in the warm sun all cozy and happy. Love it!

From there nana spotted the train and we had to get on cause my little guy LOVES trains. He had a great time and to our surprise he actually looked at all the animals as we went by. He would point to each once and look at us for an explanation. The train has a loud speaker system so the conductor can explain what we are looking at as we go by. Caden would look at the speaker and talk back, lol.

This mama was standing guard over her baby who was only 2 days old. So cute :)

Couldn't help it, had to post this one. Proof he has a top tooth. He's growing up WAY too fast.

After we made our way through the zoo it was time for Caden's favorite part of the park, the aquarium. He loves it for all the things he can see eye level, all the things he can touch and of course cause he can get out of the stroller and walk!

Nana is so patient with him. They are buddies foe sure. This tank has huge lobsters and I swear Caden licked his lips, lol. He always stops at this one and just stares at the spiny guys walking around.

More proof that he is all boy. Every single tank that holds a snake, frog or anything slimy he stops and watches. These guys are poisonous dart frogs. They remind me of those plastic toys you push down and they pop up in the air really high. They would be just sitting there and then all of a sudden hop to another rock, made Caden crack up.

I can't help it but every time we stop at the penguins I recite lines from Madagascar. These guys had just been fed and were getting ready to go for a swim. They feed them twice a day 10am and 4pm, so cool to watch.

Walking like such a big boy:)

Much to nana's dismay Caden really likes the eels. Nana hates snakes or anything that resembles a snake.So she stops for him to look and pretends to not care, but I can see her skin crawling, lol.

I love this fish! Have no idea what he is but he has blue stripped teeth! How cool is that? I will hold Caden up to see the tank and this fish swims right to the front of the tank and will watch us walk back and forth. I wonder if they have as much fun looking at us as we do looking at them?

Sting rays! You can pet these guys and for a small fee they'll give you some food and you can feed them. I love these guys too. Caden likes to look at them but when one gets close his grip gets very tight. He never squirms or cries but you can tell he's not sure how he feels about them.

This guy is hardly ever down in the water so this is the first time Caden has seen him. He was very active and swimming around. Caden stopped and looked but refused to get too close. I think this park has 5 different species of albino creatures.

Caden was not very interested in these little guys, but I love otters so I stoppped and watched them for a while. These little ones had just arrived at the zoo 30 minutes prior to this photo. They are Asian otters and will be one of the main features of the new aquarium building that will open in December this year. There are three otters and they are super cute, go check them out! The park is open 365 days a year. The zoo is open 10-5 and the aquarium stays open until 10pm! We go a ton during the summer at night cause it's air conditioned and Caden can run like mad all he wants. Great family fun.

Calling all scrapbookers - Prima has a secret!

2010-02-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

And they're itching to share it with us all soon! I cant wait to find out what it is cause Prima is one of my favorite scrappy lines. I love their flowers and ADORE their bling swirls. So excited to see what's instore. Go check them out here and see what's cooking!

If any of you know a gamer........this will make you LOL :)

2010-02-25T07:48:00.000-08:00

This video made me laugh the whole time to the point that the baby actually stopped what he was doing to watch me. If you know a gamer then you'll see the humor and cleverness it took to put this together!

Do a social service and hug a gamer today :)

12 of 12 - First time!

2010-02-12T15:30:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to be a 12 of 12'er, however being a working mom I would often forget to take photos and given that we only have 1 hour together as a family a day there was not much to document each day. So this being my first official 12th home as a SAHM I thought it would be perfect to do my first 12 of 12 of my new life. So come walk with me through my day :)

These little golden fishies are a staple at my house. We all go crazy for them and therefore you can pretty much always find an open bag in my kitchen. I have had to ration the little dude cause he shoves all of them in his mouth at once then points to the bag with bulging eyes, lol.

The weather has been so nice we've had the doors open, ahhhhhhh. Caden LOVES to sit by the door with his juice in the morning. Cracks me up.

This was my art project today. I finally hung some family photos. Next week I'm getting out the cricut and I'm going to add some quotes!

Caden is a super active kiddo and hardly stops for a minute (unless he has his juice and an open door). The only two time he chills in one place: 1. if Super Why is one (clearly he's my kid - the show is about reading)

And 2. if I stand in one place too long (it's his second place he loves to sit).

Here is our new thermostat. So pretty, tells you the temp and humidly inside and out. It has pictures based on the date. Even has a remote thermostat that you can take with you into the room that's allways the hottest/coldest and it will run until that room reaches the level you want. Cool huh? Yeah we just wanted a plain ol thermostat but apperently for the system we have on the house (it's a dual engine system) there are 4 thermostats on the market. This model was the cheepest - $556, cough, cough. Ouch - hope I get an interview this week!

And here we have my two least favorite yet most occurring (daily) chores, sigh - still WAY better then the vipers pit I was working in, so I embrace the loads in my life. Meet Laundry - hello laundry (I usually greet it with a french accent, not sure why)

And here's Laundry's sister Dishes (she has no accent, though thinking about it I would say she's got a thick New Jersey swag to her, ya that fits).

I
totally splurged on these beauties and Caden and I have been enjoying them all week. That kid can pound a strawberry in a minute flat, and that's with only 2 bottom teeth!

Ahhhhhhhh there are choruses of Angels in my home when it's Caden's nap time and I get a ice cold glass of my mana straight from heaven. It tastes so good on my tongue ( Will Ferrel reference there ).

This is hands down my favorite of Caden's toys right now. His name is Mad Max and he makes me smile :) Got him for $3 at Babies R Us, he's awesome don't you think? I was so meant to have sons!

And last but not least the self portrait. This is so not how I looked going to work. Hair not straightened, no make up, comfy shirt - and yes a smile! Happy 12th!

Good Times - Great Family Shoot

2010-02-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like a good old fashioned family shoot to bring me right back to why I love photography. No editing tricks, no special effects, just people who LOVE each other having a good time. This family had me laughing so hard my cheeks hurt afterwords. It was a great time. Hope you like the results Dennyse :)

Can't wait for this very important date :)

2010-01-27T08:50:00.000-08:00

First let me say that I'm a HUGE Tim Burton fan, followed by the fact that I'm an even BIGGER Johnny Depp fan. So when ever they announce that they are doing a project together I get down right giyty. About 15 years ago while writing a paper on the beloved story Alice in Wonderland by Carol Lewis I mused that my dynamic duo should make that tale into a film. I'm sure you can all guess my udder delight when I saw three years ago that they both had signed to make my wish come true (had I known the power I held in that moment so long ago I may have struggled to stay true to the Burton/Depp desires of my heart given all the other things I could have wished true, but you know what they say about hindsight). So I have waited with bated breath for the day to come where I could cuddle up to my warm popcorn and cool diet coke and let myself slip into my favorite place of all - the land of complete whimsy. I adore the absolutely impossible! So here's a little clip of awesome for you to feast on. I hope you can set aside the real and suspend reality for a few hours and let yourself get lost in a bit of good old fashion story telling - it's good for the soul, I promise.

And just a little bit of post scrip info for you all - cause I love to teach you know. Do you know why he was called the Mad Hatter? Well in Lewis' day the hatters used a special formula to shape the brims of the top hats. This concoction used Mercury which long term exposure to caused insanity. Hence the expressionhe's as mad as a hatter.

Stress? What stress?

2010-01-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

I've totally turned my stress about life this past week into a burst of creative energy. That and cleaned the heck out of my oven. Seriously you can see yourself in the door. Ahhhhhh feels good. So here's the fruit of my labors.

Siblings

2010-01-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

There is something about photographing siblings that makes me long to have one myself. I grew up the only child and my only cousin was 9 years my senior. So much of the sibling relationship is very foreign to me. I often look at those who don't get along with each other and I just don't understand how you could take for granted the blessing of that family. Well these cuties live right next door to me and I have watched them grow up so quickly. They love each other and I truly hope they remain as close as they are today!

I was visted by a yummy little elf today

2009-12-12T20:38:00.000-08:00

Oh yummy, yummy, yummy baby! She was so not wanting to sleep so I had to be quick with the shutter finger when she blinked. Oh but she was perfect in every way! Can't wait to see her again :)

Back up and running

2009-11-20T05:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah baby I've got the good ol bloggiety back up and running. Whew was that some drama that I don't care to go through again. I'm not going to go through it all here just because I think it would give a certain person way too much joy to know I even care for a minute that took time out of her day to try and hurt me. Let me just take a moment to tell this woman something, just in case she swings by here again; honestly is the best policy, fact checking pays off and I give you no power over me so nothing you try to do to me (including trying to get me fired) can phase me. Ahhhhhhhhh revenge may sound good but I will tell you honest justice will always feel better the morning after.

So my little blog is back and running. My life has been busy, busy, busy these past two months!!!!!!!!! We got to go to my one of my favorite places on earth for the baby's first Halloween. It was amazing to see his face and reactions to all the lights and magic. I think he's a fan :)

Speaking of the little man, he's not so little any more!

And I'm still doing the photo game. I got to photograph a wedding last night that has to be my favorite this year, hands down. I cried the whole time. It was small and warm and full of love. I left wanting to go snuggle into bed with my husband and son and tell them just home much I love them and how grateful I am they are mine. I just can't decide which of these I like best. Any thoughts?

Going Private

2009-09-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

My sweet friends this sorry little blog is going private. I have too much that I want to share here and don't because of the fear that someone will use it for evil doings. So if you want to be on the list please send me an email or leave me a comment and I'll get you on in a jiffy. Hey evil world, I just fortified a part of my family, take that!

Edit, edit, edit

2009-09-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

I have to admit this has been my favorite wedding to edit in a long time! I loved these two sweet kids. They are so in love with each other ;) Chris had written a poem to his future wife when he was around 13 years old and his sister read it during the ceremony. Amber was so moved. It is just so fulfilling to witness love and get to capture it for people. Here are a few of my favorites so far.

Done

2009-09-13T10:03:00.001-07:00

I'm working on the wedding for the bride who held these flowers and wore this dress. See you in another 50 hours, lol.

love it!

2009-07-19T13:24:00.001-07:00

Totally gonna print this and frame it for the house =)

last two days of class I came up with these ...

2009-07-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the positive feedback on the photos. I've been having a great time learning all these fun tricks. And I seriously believe in sharing the wealth, so I'll teach ya anything you want Christy and Jenna, just let me know!
Oh and Jenna - I have plenty of openings for a family session in August, September and October. Let me know which month works for you and your adorable family.

by popular demand

2009-07-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

a photo of the not so little any more man.

Latest photo from my class

2009-07-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

We were suppose to make the photo look like a vintage old time photograph. I love the old tin type look that this one has. I'm a geek about old photos and there are often times when I take something and think how great it would look aged. So here ya go. It's not for everyone - but I really like it.

Seriously loving this and may drop off the face of the planet while playing around!

2009-07-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

Oh my heck the possibilities. I'm drooling over how to scrap this like 10 different ways!!!!!!

2009-07-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

I was tagged and I just love this dang things so here's the latest as tagged by Amie.

8 Favorite Shows:

1- So you think you can dance
2- Survivor
3- Amazing Race
4- Lost
5- Bones
6- CSI
7- What not to Wear
8- Cold Case Stories

8 Things I did yesterday:

1- Worked 9.5 hours
2- Scrapped with the girls
3- Made a killer batch of Pozole
4- Got some great books & clothes at Once Upon a Child's summer clearence
5- Edited pictures
6- Folded clothes
7- Watched Pirates of the Carribbean
8- Drank a homemade chocolate peanut butter shake

8 Things I am looking forward to:

1- Having fun with friends on the 4th
2- Finishing getting the office/scrapbook room organized
3- Going to see Harry Potter in a few weeks
4- Swimming with my boys
5- Disneyland this October
6- Ordering our family photos the Rae Lynn took
7- Scrapbooking Friday night
8- Losing some weight finally.

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1- Pei Wei
2- IchiBan
3- Chipotle
4- Oregano's
5- Rio Mirage
6- Lo Lo's Chicken & Waffles
7- Pete's Fish and Chips
8- Taste of India

8 Things on my wish list:

1- To lose enough weight to fit into a size 10 again.
2- To buy a car for DJ without going into debt.
3- A cure for diabetes
4- To have one room in my house have a complete set of matching furniture.
5- A Cricut Expression
6- A Wide angle lens and a shoot sac for my photo business.
7- To actually get clients for my photo business.
8- To never have to spend a night in the hospital for anything other than spawning a new life again.

8 People I Tag:

1- Rae Lynn
2- Sher
3- CaseyLu
4- Teri
5- Carrie
6- Christy
7- Jessa
8- Anyone else who wants to join in!

Has it really been a year?

2009-06-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who supported us through this year of blessings and trials. We love you all!

Beautiful Sedona

2009-06-02T20:30:00.001-07:00

We woke up on Memorial Day and decided to throw the baby in the car and get the heck out of dodge for the day. So we thought either Prescott or Sedona, and since we hadn't ever been to Sedona that's the direction we pointed the car and went. We didn't think to really research anything or get directions, duh, so it was a very fly by the seat of our pants day. The baby screamed bloody murder for a good hour of the drive then finally fell asleep. It was a beautiful drive up there with hardly any traffic at all.

Once we got to Sedona we just drove until we found an interesting little corner with lots of trees, terracotta walls and cobblestone streets. So we decided to stop there and do some walking. There were some amazing shops including a photography studio that affirmed to me that I have 0 actual talent with a camera. Oh my heck I would have sold the car and walked home to buy a few of those prints, absolutely amazing.

The architecture was just beautiful. On one corner it felt like a small Tuscan village and then you'd turn around and it looked like old Mexico. I was frothing at the mouth for a family or a bride and groom to photograph. (I just found out that a good friend of mine and here family were wandering around the same day and time we were, dang it and they just had a baby too, great photo op)

So here are some shots from the day. We are so going back in July for another day of exploring.

I loved this frog sculpture. Totally made me think of Mr. Todd's wild ride.
There was amazing art all over this place. I loved it!

Caden was fascinated by the flowers. I leaned him over and he would just stroke the petals then look back at me with a big smile. It was so cool to see him exploring.

I didn't get to be artistic like I wanted cause there was a ton of people and the baby really wanted us to keep moving. Any time I tried to set up a cool angled shot I would have to wait for the people to clear and he would start screaming so I just walked and shot. Oh well next time right?

Even though I'm the size of a small planet, I love this picture of us. The sun was blocked for just a minute by the clouds and the lighting is great and I love how lush everything looks. Oh and the little man is adorable too =)
He was very interested by the waterfall and the sound of the water. I would hold him up so he could see down in the fountain and his legs would start going crazy. Hence his new nick name Crazy Legs Cuglietta.
You can totally see how his eyes are changing in this shot. The look s green here!

And here's the red rocks. Loved them, loved them, loved them.

So it was a great day. We got stuck in the biggest traffic jam I've ever seen and I was raised just outside of San Francisco and have lived in LA. We sat on the 17 and I was in 1st gear for over 2 hours. It was unreal. So any families that want to take the trek up there I'll totally photograph you in that gorgeous little villa of shops. then we can eat at the amazing little Mexican restaurant there, mmmmmmmmmmmm yummmmmmmmmmm.

I know where I'll be November 20th

2009-06-01T04:56:00.001-07:00

A year ago today

2009-05-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

I was holding this miracle in my hands

And today I am holding this miracle in my arms

Happy mother's day to all the amazing mothers in my life. I am better because I have known you.

Current Obsession

2009-05-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

I love this song to pieces. This is what I sing to Caden every night while I put him to bed. Oh there is just something about a guitar and a strong voice. I pray there is music in Heaven. For you Lynard Synard fans you'll recognized this is a cover by one of my favorite rock bands, Shinedown. I am currently working on a scrapbook page with these lyrics on it and a letter I wrote Caden. I hope you enjoy the song and if not at least the beauty of the lyrics.

So thankful tonight

2009-04-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

I am full of thanks tonight for the amazing bond between women.

I'm thankful that I was able to go sit with my beautiful friend who just had a beautiful baby.

I'm thankful that I was able to hold her hand when she was in pain, comfort her when she was scared and talk to her while she cried.

I'm thankful that my husband was able to come give her a sweet blessing.

I'm thankful that I was able to cuddle on her baby girl for her when she could not hold her.

I'm thankful my Heavenly Father blessed me with Caden so I could better serve this beautiful sister knowing what she was going through.

I'm thankful tonight that I was able to be there for her in the moment that she needed me and that I was able to know that I needed to be there with such a powerful prompting.

But mostly I'm thankful for her friendship tonight and her willingness to let me serve her. It's been hard to get people to let me help them (right Robyn) and tonight my sweet friend let me fulfill that desire in my heart to simply serve. And for that I am truly thankful.

The most traumatic day I had since I've become a parent

2009-04-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying thank you for the supportive comments from my previous post. And just to let you know that if you live in AZ you were not one of those mentioned in the (you know who you are) portion of the letter. And most likely if you're from CA and are reading this - you're not them either. That post was not meant to fish for compliments I promise. All I'm gonna say on the matter (because with writing the post I put the issue to bed, washed my hands of it and am at peace) is that prop 8 has angered many, and amongst that number are a few "friends" who no longer believe that I am their friend all because of my choice to be a Mormon. And when challenged or told I won't do something I am the type to take something to the extreme to make sure the challenge is met. So in the most public form I have I declared my feelings and said good bye to any regrets that I succumb to the world. Done.

On to my current trauma. So Friday I wake up and go to work and I'm thinking woo hoo it's Friday it's gonna be a good day - i'm ready, i'm ready, i'm ready (spongebob lovers out there get that last part). About a quarter of the way through the day I get a call from my mom who proceeds to tell me that she can, as of next week, no longer watch Caden on Mondays and Wednesdays. So I email Amie to see if she can take him 5 days a week. She of course says Yes! oh and by the way my last official day of day care is August ## - all cause she's gonna become the best RN in the world and change peoples life and crap like that (shesh totally selfish of her having dreams and stuff - seriously though I'm so proud of her, you go get em girl.

So I'm stressing a bit by now. I knew Amie was shutting down the business this year but having an official date made it real and that meant I had to deal with it now. Well I had put in a call to a local day care center a few weeks back and I called to get the quote and set up the walk though and interview. Holy Toledo - $850 dollars a week to take Caden there. I about had a heart attack.

Then about 10 minutes later I end up reading the saddest child abuse case I have read to date. I see pictures of the most egregious acts of abuse and my mind goes into full forced panic mode. I could feel the tears welling up and I knew there was no stopping them. I just sat there at my desk crying - uncontrollably. I wanted to hold my baby so badly right then. I couldn't get to Amie's house fast enough after work. I swear I was no more than 2 feet from him the whole night. Now in my previous post I stated that I was not ashamed that I was a working mother - but that in no way means I like it. I would have quit right then and there if there was any way at all that I could. I even pulled up my budget spreadsheet and tried to tweak the numbers. Can't afford the $850 for the center, can't afford to stay home, can't bring him to work with me - well crap.

So should anyone know someone who does in home day care I would love the referral. I know I have a few months, but I'm a planner and I will freak out until I have a person lined up. I'm officially invoking that great promise of sisterhood here - with a pretty please and a cherry on top for good measure. I mean come on look at this face and tell me you don't want to snuggle and laugh with him all day long. Oh and he sleeps, never cries and his diapers smell of roses - just ask Amie =)

Thanks, but I like me just the way I am

2009-04-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

Dear those of you who have worked so hard to let me know I'm full of faults and imperfections for how I chose to live my life (you know who you are),

Let me start by stating with utter certainty that I know I am in no way shape or form perfect. I know that I am the furthest possible point from perfect on any map.

That being said let me now state that I am really just fine and dandy being me. I appreciate all the comments and remarks about my faults and imperfections that I have received in recent weeks, but really those faults are a part of me and I embrace them. Now I'm not stating that there is no room for improvement or that I don't strive to better myself because I truly do on a daily basis try and make myself a better person. But I'm OK knowing that I will never be perfect. I'm just fine knowing that I have lived a full life long before joining the Church in which I have done and been many things, and let me say none of them am I ashamed of in any way shape or form. Each and every action helped me become who I am and without them I would not be the person I am learning to love today.

For that reason I will always turn up the radio when Brass Monkey, The Joker or Back in Black comes on because those songs are part of my past and I love the memories that go with them.

For that reason I will not deny that I enjoy playing on-line computer games. Or that I love Douglas Adams books & the Twilight series. Or that I'm giddy that there is a new Star Trek movie coming out. Or that I would be ecstatic to sit and watch all the Lord of the Rings movies in succession in my PJ's with a great deli sandwich. Because geeky or not I love the way these indulgences make me feel.

For that reason I will not apologize or feel ashamed that I am a working mother. I have to do what my family needs me to do and if that means I work then I will do it. And in doing so teach my son that personal responsibility is important and your family will need different things from you at different points in your life. The truly important lesson is in how you spend the time you have with your family, not the total quantity of time you spend with them.

For that reason I will never tell a friend that lives a different or alternative life style from mine that they can not be a part of my life or that we cannot be friends anymore because their agency is theirs and the worth of every, EVERY soul is great in the eyes of the Lord, not just those who live the same choices as me. And most of my friends from my past have helped me through tough times without any judgment or ill will against me, for that I am forever grateful.

For that reason I will always believe that it is more important to teach rather than judge because I have been judged more in my life in the last 2 years then any person deserves to be judged and let me tell you it feels awful to always have to worry about what you do and say and how others will tear you apart because of it.

For that reason I will always support the freedom of speech, both yours and mine. Men & women have died for this right, respect it! If you don't agree that's fine, but remember that for everything you feel passionate about there is someone out there that feels just as passionately about the opposite point of view; and they have the right to.

I could go on and on, but I just wanted to address the issues that have been brought to my attention by people in my life, and assure the universe that I really am OK being me. Heck I'm starting to get really good at loving me. Imperfections, religious beliefs, political views, choice in music, health problems and all. But thanks for the concern and all. I appreciate the worrying you've done for my soul, though I think we'll be just fine.

Sincerely,
Me

Finally an update

2009-04-05T16:04:00.001-07:00

The babe is getting to be quite the little man. He's three months old and his personality is really coming out lately. He's not one to wait for anything. Patience is not his strongest point, hmmmm wonder where he got that lovely trait? Sorry Caden, it's a curse.
These photos are not in any real order except that they are all taken between 9 and 12 weeks. Above was a Saturday afternoon that he was just giving us all sorts of new faces after his nap. Too cute!
He's been smiling since he was 6 weeks old but we could not get a good photo of it because any time he saw a camera he would turn very serious and just stare at it until I put the camera away. Finally I got some side shots before he caught on, lol.

For his first St. Patrick's Day I gave in and got him some cute outfits. Being that he's Irish and all we had to document the day. The one above says "I'm a McCutie" hehehe, I love it!

And how could you not want to kiss that face?

Another after the nap moment, so sweet.

And speaking of naps, he finally went down for one in his crib! It wasn't for very long, but he did it. He still has not napped as long for me as he does for Amie or my mom, but he's getting better. And no he's not sleeping in his crib at night yet. I'm still not doing well with him being all the way on the other side of the house especially with the break ins that have been happening around lately.
His moods have been very present this last month, as documented with the next three photos. These were taken over the course of about 15 seconds, no joke. Happy Baby.

Serious Baby.

Holy Cow I'm Ticked Baby.

He was blessed in late February. It was a great day!

We went and hung out in the grass for the first time. He loved it to our surprise.

He kept moving his feet all around in the grass and his eyes would get really big.

Same day as the grass, just too cute not to share.

More smiles!

We went to the zoo with some friends. It was a fantastical day and we totally can't wait to do it again. Caden had a blast looking at everything, took a nap in his stroller and ate a bottle in front of the Monkey cage. Good times.

He really liked the aquarium.

Dad had fun showing him all the cool underwater things that lurk in the ocean. I believe he was also trying to impart his fear of water where you can't see the bottom as well.

But Caden still totally loves his bath time, so no harm done!

Such a happy guy. Well hopefully I can post more this next few weeks. That is if I stay out of the hospital! I have had a 3 day stay, 3 ER visits, 2 MRI's, 1 CAT scan, 4 X-Rays, 6 I.V.'s, 2 allergic reactions and 9 new prescriptions in the last 4 weeks. I'm hoping it's all done for a while cause at over a grand in bills I can't take this any more! Have a good week.

Holy cow 24 hows can just fly by these days!

2009-03-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

We are very happy to report that Caden's heart is just fine. In fact the doctors couldn't find the original narrowing and the murmur has completely disappeared! Thank you for all the prayers.

I will be posting a big ol update this week, I promise. And it will have a lot of pictures including my first 12 of 12!

I'm sorry, did you just say surgery?

2009-02-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

So we went to Caden's cardiology appointment this morning at Phoenix Childrens Hospital. My pediatrician had told us that is sounded like an innocent murmur so we were not worried about the appointment at all. We get taken into the room and they take his blood pressure in both arms and legs; I should have caught on when the tech kept trying to get the pressure in his legs. She hooked him up and did the ECK then went to get the doctor who came back in and completed the exam by listening to his heart and checking the pulse in his arms and legs.
Next he tells us that the murmur doesn't sound normal and the pressure in his legs is significantly diminished compared to his arms and he wants to do an ultrasound of Caden's heart. We get ushered to the next room and they do an ultrasound that takes 30 minutes and is extra nerve wracking because the doc is present and talking to the ultrasound tech in their own language with lots of "oh ya I see that too, go back again...yep I was afraid of that....."
Next back to the exam room to wait. The doc comes back in and tells us that Caden's ultrasound looks good except that he can't see the one part of the heart he really needed to see because what he suspects is that he has a narrowing of the aorta. He then shows us a diagram of the heart and where the narrowing most likely is and why he couldn't see it on the ultrasound. Next he tells us that we need another ultrasound in 2-3 weeks to see that part of the heart to determine is he does in fact have that narrowing. Then we can discuss the options which are only surgery given his age.
So my day started with a quick trip to the doc for a routine "just check it to be sure" appointment and quickly had my head spinning. March 9th we go back for the second ultrasound and hopefully they can see the full heart and it's normal, which is great but then leaves me wondering why he has such low blood pressure in his legs? Until then we are praying like crazy, Caden's getting a blessing and we are going to fast.

Also I have a question for all the mommies who read this post. Caden started fighting his bottles 2 weeks ago and we can't figure out why. He is on Prevcid for reflux. We have tried different bottles and different sizes of nipples. We've tried different positions, tv on, tv off, walking, bouncing, rocking and nothing helps. He'll take the bottle get about a 1/4 ounce down and the kick out the nipple and scream. We take the bottle out and he starts rooting while screaming. The feeding will take an hour and we're lucky if he gets 2 ounces down where before he was taking 4 ounces. He eventually passes out and I'm in tears. Does anyone have any suggestions or is this just a phase? I need a light at the end of this tunnel!

Here's some new photos DJ took this weekend of me and the little man.

Oh my heck....................and a prayer request

2009-02-07T15:09:00.001-08:00

This is absolute perfection!

So cute.
But these are my favorites! Woo Hoo for good light and a not screaming baby. I can't wait to scrap book these.
Also I'm throwing this out there for a prayer request. DJ applied for a permanent position with the County. This would increase his pay a little bit, give him benefits and paid holidays (so he wouldn't have to take so many days with out pay) We really need this because the City of Surprise started doing layoffs last week eliminating 32 people. This is really bad news because they were just sure that no lay offs would happen this fiscal year and we're only half way through the year. So I'm not really sure how much longer I will have a job. I didn't have the scary pit of the stomach feeling before but it's there now, even after I pray. I know we'd be in a world of hurt since I'm the breadwinner but what really scares me is the lack of health insurance given my medical situation. We'd be in a truly scary place without benefits. So should anyone want to throw a prayer out there for us I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks!

I'm one month old!

2009-01-29T13:13:00.000-08:00

And as cute as can be! We've decided that he looks more like my Dad than DJ. I'll post a photo of the two of them together soon so you can see too.

Baby Tag

2009-01-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

My girl CaseyLu tagged me so I thought I'd share with you all =>

1. Where were you when you first found out you were pregnant?
At home in my bathroom. (Though Amie, Chris, Tori & Denise told me I was expecting two weeks earlier at one of our scrap booking nights, when I was only 6 days preggers!)

2. Who was with you?
My husband.

3. What was your first reaction?
Shocked, excited, scared, shocked.

4.What was your husband's reaction?
Excited and worried about me and my medical problems.

5. Who was the first person you told?
Mom and Amie.

6. Were the pregnancies planned?
Surprise to us planned by Heavenly Father.

7. Was everyone happy for you?
After all the docs gave us the thumbs up that I was doing well everyone was ecstatic.

8. What was the sex?
Boy

9. What was the nursery theme/colors?
Barn Yard animals.

10. Did anyone throw a shower for you?
Toni, Amie, Chris & Barbara threw me a shower with all the ladies from church. Tiffany threw me one at work.

11. Did you get any outfits you wouldn't use?
None I wouldn't use, but some I can't just due to the AZ weather.

12. How much weight did you gain?
5 lbs.

13. Did you get stretch marks?
I already had those, so they just made a reappearance.

14. Did you crave anything crazy?
Nothing really crazy. I never had a real love of chocolate before I was pregnant and I loved all kinds of chocolate afterwards. I really loved spicy foods and would eat anything I could witha kick to it. I also could not get enough oranges, and I'm still totally hooked on them eating 2-3 a day.

15. Who or what got on your nerves the most?
The pain from my arthritis that kept me from being active at all or being able to do simple things like towel off my lower half after a shower or put on my pants un-assisted.

16. Where were you when you went into labor?
Hospital, lol. I was induced.

17. Did you have any complications?
Yes, lots. Read the post titled Caden's journey to hear the whole story.

18. Did your water break?
Doc had to break it, ouch that hurt lots!

19. Who drove you to the hospital?
Husband.

20. Did you go early or late?
3 weeks early.

21. Who was in the room?
Husband and mom.

22. Did you video tape it?
Nope.

23. Did you have any pain medication?
Epidural that wore off 3 times and by the time it came to push had completely worn off from the knees up so I felt everything, EVERYTHING!

24. Did you have a c-section or natural?
Natural.

25. What was your reaction to the birth?
Thankful it was all done after 27 hours. Worried that he was ok. Tired.

26. How big was the baby?
7 lbs 2 oz.

27. What was the baby's full name?
Caden John C.

28. Did your husband cry?
Nope. But he did declare me his hero =>

29. When is the next one coming?
3 -4 years

30. If you could, would you do it all over again?
Absolutely without question, in a heartbeat.

Ok I tag the following people: Toni, Tiffany, Jenna & Tori

Made me laugh right out loud.

2009-01-23T10:34:00.000-08:00

First let me say I had a great birthday! I think people thought I was upset yesterday that my day wasn't the way I wanted it, when in fact I was absolutely content snuggled into my bed with my son asleep in my arms for most of the day. I got flowers (my most favorite treat in the whole world) from my parents and my best friend in CA, who I also got to talk to on the phone for a few minutes. Amie brought over some yummy cupcakes! DJ brought home Pei Wei and we spent the night snuggled in bed just the three of us watching some mindless TV, it was absolutely perfect.

Now to share with you all the funny that made me laugh right out loud. My friend had given me a copy of Paul Reiser's (the actor who played the husband on Mad About You) book on becoming a parent Babyhood. We had both loved his book Couplehood when we were planning our weddings so she had thought I would enjoy his antics on becoming a parent when she had found out that she was pregnant. I had read the book back then but not really enjoyed it as I was just starting to deal with the infertility issues that would plague my next 6 years. However once I found out that I pregnant I picked it up again and had some good laughs. I thought I'd share one excerpt that made DJ and I laugh out loud for a good couple minutes.

Warning - there is candid discussion of an adult matter in the following excerpt, read at your own discretion.

Given how much more naturally compent my wife is at almost all areas of parenting, if I do discover an area where I may have a leg up, I jump on it. I pounce on it like a lion on meat.
One day I walked by to see my wife changing our son's diaper, and I witnessed what, for my money, was a rather perfunctory once around of the boy's young privates. I said, "Babe, what are you doing?"
She was thrown.
"Why?"
I stepped in with unwavering authority.
"That is not how we wash balls."
"Is that right?"
"That's right."
"Sweetie, I've been changing diapers pretty consistently for a while now, and..."
"Maybe. But let me ask you something."
"What."
"D'ya have balls yourself?"
"No, but..."
"All right, then."
"So what? That doesn't mean that - "
"Well, I think I know a lit-tle bit more about the subject than you do. So ... do you mind?"
"Fine."
And as she stepped away, I took over.
"Thank You."
When she was out of the room, I looked down at my son, who I'm pretty sure was smiling appreciatively, and I winked at him. It was the first time I'm aware of having a specifically male bonding moment with my son. (And certainly the first time I ever winked at anybody.)
"Don't worry, Daddy's here. Daddy knows what you need ..."

We had read this just after finding out that we were having a boy. DJ giggled several times that night and declared that he would change the first diaper so he could show me how to take care of the little man. And he kept his word, DJ did in fact change the first 5 diapers and Caden did in fact pee all over him, hahaha. Don't worry he got me too, we were both initiated before ever leaving the hospital.

Happy Birthday to me, my present? A sick baby =< Updated

2009-01-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

Woke up today a 29 year old with a sick 3 week old. Caden has a head cold accompanied by a bit of a stomach bug. Poor guy is spewing from all ends. We canceled my birthday lunch to go to the pediatricians together. Ahh the joys of hanging in the waiting room with a screaming baby. I think i get to puch one more hole in that mama card I've been issued. I also think I shall hint to my husband that we need to eat take out tonight...........

Caden was tested for RSV - negative, woohoo. He's snuggled with me all day, all 9lbs 10oz of him! Eating is favorite thing in this world so far and he has gotten straight A's in that subject from his Doc! I'm glad we went down to the Doc's today cause in the course of his appointment she discovered he has a heart murrmur. So we're going to see a cardioligist next week to see if it's a simple newborn murrmur or a hole in the heart (diabetic babies a prone to holes in the heart) which is easily fixed if they don't just grow out of it in a couple months on their own. Still glad we can have it checked out. Thank goodness for modern medicine =>

And for those requesting new music...... I always have my laptop (prime source of internet usage in the house) on mute so I had totally forgot that I had Christmas music on there, lol. I will change that tonight!

this thing called postpartum

2009-01-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

is really freaking hard. Much harder than labor and doing it alone is a 100 times harder than I thought it would be. Caden has had some pain issues this week due to his formula so he and I have done a fair amount of crying together. Luckily my mom has come over on Mondays and Wednesdays for a few hours and DJ comes home for lunch because otherwise my house is just the two of us and even though I thought that sounded like heaven, it's been a lot more to handle than I had anticipated. Thank goodness DJ is so good at just letting me cry and taking the baby as soon as he gets home so I can have an hour to shower and be quiet. And thank goodness Heavenly Father makes his angels look like this so I can forget the previous 2 hours of screaming. Seriously I have no idea how I'm going to go back to work in 4-6 weeks.

Caden's journey

2009-01-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

So my mommy thought that you might want to know how my journey from her belly to our home went. I thought I'd share it with you all along with lots of pictures. Here is me and my mommy (I'm in her belly) ready to go to her last doctor's appointment and get her induction time. She was so tired since she only got 2 hours of sleep that night.

The appointment went well and she was told to come back that night at 10pm to start her induction. Here she is all ready to be hoked up to her I.V.'s and machines to watch my progress. She was very excited and all smiles but only I knew just how scared she was too and sad that our time sharing her body was coming to an end.

Now there was not much to document between when her induction began and when things really got going because mommy was not allowed to get up and move around due to her being so high risk. So what has happened by this point is that they started her on the magnesium sulfate to make sue she didn't have a seizure due to her blood pressure and her water was broken at 8am on the 31st. The magnesium was really nasty stuff and it made her feel just awful, all hot from the inside out and very nauseous. She was able to finally have some regular contractions after her water was broken and Dr. McKernan wanted her to start pitocin. But with her hip problems she wasn't allowed to go on the pit until she got her epidural. That was a really hard experience. It took 3 hours and 3 different times to get her epidural successfully in place. Her arthritis had caused most of the problems. She was in lots of pain by then and had been given some serious pain medication that knocked her out for an hour or so. But when she came to things appeared to have been successful and her pitocin was working very well along with her epidural. By 8pm she was at 9 cm and looking forward to pushing. Then the epidural slipped and her legs were very numb but her hips had come back to life. Mommy was in so much pain she was actually working at not passing out after each contraction, which were coming about every 30 seconds to a minute. Here mom was very good at talking her though the pain and Daddy would let her know when the contractions were almost over. Finally the anesthesiologist came back in and gave her a bolus of medicine and the pain had subsided again. Unfortunately so did the contractions and the medicine also stopped her from dialating to 10 cm. At 11:45pm she was still at a 9 cm and we knew I would not make it by midnight. So mommy, daddy and grandma watched the ball drop in NY and toasted in the new year with some cider. Then it was back to business.

At 1 am mommy was finally ready to push. Grandma was getting very excited that we were getting close.

Daddy was excited and getting a bit loopy!

She got about 30 minutes of pushing in and her epidural slipped again. So after 25 minutes of major pain again and feeling like her hips were going to break right in half she got another bolus of medicine and again her contractions stopped. So mommy had to try and push on her own to keep things going. It was very very hard work on both of us. Her Doctor was getting very worried by 3 am when I still wasn't very far down. So he wanted to get her ready for a C-Section. Mommy, daddy , grandma and her nurse didn't want to have to go through a C-Section so they told Doc that they needed 30 more minutes and that mommy could do this on her own, doc agreed to 30 minutes. Her nurse turned off her pit for 10 minutes and then turned it back on full speed. Mommy's contractions kicked in and she was able to finally feel like she was really pushing. Doc got the call to get to the room and he was barely able to get there in his gown when I came into the world at 3:31am making me the first baby born at Arrowhead hospital in 2009, ya-hoo.It happened very fast and mommy tore really bad all the way through her muscles. She lost a good amount of blood but they were able to stop her bleeding and she was able to stay there while I was introduced, weighed, measured and brought over to meet her.

Here's my doctor. He's the man! We love Doc McKernan!!!!!!!!!
Because I was the first baby in 2009 at Arrowhead the staff gave me this really cool basket full of goodies and samples and all sorts of fun stuff! And then the Glendale newspaper came and interviewed us for a story on my birth. I was a celebrity already at only 6 hours old!

So for my birthday I spent much of it doing this

and this
and this
and mommy did a lot of this.

Then my blood work came back and I showed really high levels of billirubens meaning I was jaundice. So I spent the next 2 days doing my best impression of a beach lounger. It was very hard on mommy to be away from me so much and to think of me in the dark with no cuddles. She did a lot of crying when she got to see me. Luckily her recovery was really hard and she got to stay in the hospital just as long as I did so we did it together.

Our great friends Toni and Brent came down and Brent helped my daddy give me a blessing so that my liver would start working right. It was a really wonderful experience. Mommy got to hold me and Toni was able to stay in the room. Then afterwards they got to snuggle with me.

Mommy only got to hold me for 30 minutes to feed me every 4 hours so she sucked up all the loving she could get each time.

Then it was back to the lights.

Finally at 4pm on Saturday the 3rd we called mommy's room from the nursery to let her know I could go home. She jumped up and ran to get me. We went back to her room and she changed me into my going home outfit. I was very tired by that point.

Daddy went and got my car seat and loaded p the car with all my gear and we were ready to hit the road. I know they thought I was asleep but I caught a moment between mommy and daddy where they realized it was really real and we were going home as a family. They were both crying and I could tell they were overjoyed.

When we got home Grandma was there with dinner and some cider to toast our home coming.
Daddy poured us all a glass.
While mommy snuggled with me on the couch.

Then it was time for me to snuggle in and go to bed with my new family. It was a long journey and there were some moments that were a little scary but all in all it was worth every minute of have my new family.

And my mommy wants to let everyone know that visitors are more than welcome, just give her a call and she'll let you know when is a good time to come snuggle me. I can't wait to meet you all!

We're home

2009-01-04T19:17:00.001-08:00

He's perfect! I'll share the whole experience this week. Right now I'm going to go snuggle with my new family =>

Baby Caden is here!

2009-01-01T08:15:00.000-08:00

Hi all, this is Amie, posting for Christine who is still in the hospital with baby Caden.

He was born early this morning, Jan 1st, at 3:31. He was the first baby born at Arrowhead and will have his picture in the paper. =) He weighs 7 lbs, 2 oz and is 21 inches long.

Christine will give you all the details, but to summarize, it was not an easy delivery. Multiple complications with the epidural, arthritis, etc. She is very tired!

She likely will not be accepting any visitors at the hospital and will probably be coming home on Saturday.

He totally looks like DJ. =)

The only picture I have is password protected. Go here and put in l0njj452f as the message ID. Then norm68burr as the password.

Caden's Room

2008-12-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of Caden's room all ready for him to come home this week. First is his crib. My grandfather was just dying to buy us something for his first great-grandchild and even though we had been given a crib he was just set on getting this crib he had seen online. So a few weeks ago we got a call that he had ordered us the crib and we were not to argue with him about it, lol. It's beautiful, much darker then the other furniture in the room but I think it looks just amazing. Here are some the little friends he received at the shower seating on the left and on the right are two of the stuffed anamials that DJ gave me when we were dating. We thought that they fit right into his room.
Here you can see the two wall colors kinda and his name that I just finished painting and put up this weekend. I still have the shelves to put up but they just didn't get done and given the bed rest we (meaning DJ) made an executive decision that Caden will never notice that his shelves were not up the moment he came home.

And this is my favorite part of the room. That is my grandmother's rocking chair, which she rocked my mother in when she was a baby. It's 60 some odd years old and feels so good to sit in. And in the chair are two bears that my mother gave me when I was 5. They are pupets and she used them to wake me up for years. They stayed on my bed well into my teenage years and I just never could come to terms with getting rid of them so they have been boxed up for the last 12 years. DJ went and found them, washed them and put them in the room for me to find. So super sweet and I think they make the perfect touch.

I haven't been able to take photos of the basinet or moses basket that my grandmother and aunt gave me. We did narrow it down and found out that they were made in 1939! When I actually remember to take a photo in the daylight hours so you can really see them I'll post it to share. I really love the thought of all the history I have been given to share with this baby => Less than 48 hours now, and I'm starting to freak out just a little bit. DJ promised he's post for you all when the little man makes his debut, guess I better teach him how to use blogger tonight, lol.

Merry Christmas and a fun little survey

2008-12-25T07:25:00.000-08:00

DJ and I went out for our tour of Christmas lights last night and had a wonderful time. I made peppermint hot chocolate from scratch, so yummy, and we bundled up in warm clothes then we drove around 5 different housing developments for a little over 2 hours before my bladder called it a night. I found a few houses that made me laugh or just ohh and awe. I love Christmas lights and how the glow just makes a house look so happy.

Then we came home and snuggled up by the lights of our Christmas tree and slept out front. It was a wonderful night through and through.

And speaking of wonderful we received the best ever Christmas present yesterday! I was back in the nursery folding and putting away clothes and other items and organizing how to store some of the goodies for the little man when I heard the door bell ring. My slow pregnant frame didn't make it to the door before my visitor had left (thank you Jess for the bread, yummmmmmm) and when I opened up my door I immedetly notice my front yard looked different. Our great friend James had come over with his landscaping crew and trimed our tree and plants and cleared out all the leaves and just made out front yard look beautiful! I seriously stood there in tears, what a wonderful present. And by the way should anyone need a landscaper there is no better in the world than James and his crew and I will happily pass along his info to anyone who is looking in a heartbeat. But we may be stingey about sharing him as a friend cause if you think his work is good he's an even better friend - love ya man, and your wife too (the CD rocks so hard Chris, thank you=>).

So this morning we got up and thanked each other for our favorite gift we've ever given each other by watching my belly bounce all around. Then DJ made a lovely eggs Benedict breakfast. Not our usual corned beef and hash but that has too much sodium for my blood pressure right now so that tradition will have to resume next year. And we put on the Muppet's Christmas Carol. We are going to go into the office and play our computer game together for a while. And my mom is making a small dinner for the 3 of us since my Dad has to work tonight. We are planning on watching A Christmas Story and The Santa Clause two classics for sure! Wonderful day!

So this is a little survey of things you've done. I've seen different versions on people's blogs and received in an email so I thought I'd list it is as a precursor to New Years Resolutions next week. You change the color of the font if you have done the listed activity. Enjoy and feel free to do your own!

1. Kept a journal
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a butterfly
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Rode a roller coaster that went upside down
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Been to Hollywood
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Stayed up for 24 hours straight
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Had a snow ball fight
25. Held a baby animal other than a cat or dog
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Been to Las Vegas
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Been snowed in somewhere
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Rode a horse
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Made up your own recipe
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Flown on an Airplane that seats 50 or less
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie or TV show
56. Cut down your own Christmas tree
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Gone ice skating outside
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited one of the Smithsonian museums
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
7 3. Stood in Times Square
74. Been in a car accident
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Had a professional massage
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Given money or goods to someone in need completely anonymously
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

100. Swam in the Ocean

Countdown - Edited

2008-12-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

Well I'm in my last official week of being a person with no children. Doc scheduled my induction for Tuesday the 30th in the early afternoon. Our hopes are that I will have a son by the 31st. I'm experiencing tons of emotions that I didn't expect to be feeling. Bed rest sucks, pretty much just as bad as it did earlier in the pregnancy. Spending several hours a day all alone can get really hard especially with all these extra emotions and hormones running through me. I've had one visitor and my girl Amie calls to check on me, but that's pretty much it. The other morning at the doc's office I got to talk with Shelly from my old ward, which was lovely. I miss her even though she only lives a few miles away.

So tonight is Christmas Eve and DJ and I were trying to think of something to do to celebrate the holiday. I will totally admit it's been very hard for me to get into the holiday spirit this year. No family activities planned, no shopping or baking to do, no money to really enjoy any of the holiday events, didn't even make it to the Temple to see the lights. It's been even harder to not have anyone visit or call. The first year we were in the house and the ward people stopped by and the phone rang, the second year had been less but we still felt the warmth of well wishes, this year we've had one visitor and not one call or well wish besides my two girlfriends Amie and Chris. It's made it very hard for me to want to be jolly since I equate the holiday with being around people. So I told DJ last night I needed to bake some cookies cause I didn't want become a total hum-bug and he told me that we'd pack into the car and drive around and look at Christmas lights with the cookies and some hot coco tonight, woohoo. Then he surprised me and said he saved a bit of money from a while back and was going to take me to the movies tomorrow morning. I'm really excited to be out of the house, he treats me so well, seriously he's the best present ever =>

Ok well I'm off to go start dinner. When you can only be on your feet 10 minutes at a time you have to start cooking early or it just never gets done, sigh. And I'm trying to make double dishes so I can freeze one serving for next week when the little one gets here so poor DJ won't end up cooking every night. I have not been that successful at this goal as my current culinary ventures have been cheese sandwiches and meals from mom. Oh but gooey cheese is just so yummy right now.....mmmmmmm.......think that's what I'll do for lunch today.

I wish everyone a safe and spirit filled Merry Christmas. If you are traveling please be safe in the crazy weather that's out there right now. After the holiday I'll post the pictures of Caden's nursery.

***Edited***
Yikes I don't want people to think I was complaining about people not stopping by making me sad. It was/is more of the fact that I can't make my cookies and hundreds of truffles and drive around and give them out so that I got my fill of holiday time friends. Totally understand with Christmas mid week and traveling people are all out with family. But thank you for the happy comments and emails and calls, don't worry I know I know I'm loved and I love all of you very much too. Just was lamenting being stuck in the house - but it's so worth it for him to be happy and healthy!

Bedrest

2008-12-19T13:29:00.000-08:00

After a brief trip to the hospital this morning I was sent home to be on bed rest until the little man makes his debut. My blood pressure was scary high and they found I was spilling sugar. So now I'm home and laying down with orders to not be out of bed except for once an hour. I go back on Sunday to the hospital to have some more tests. And then on Tuesday if things are still looking the same we're talking induction.

Oh and this Tuesday I was 70% effaced and 1cm dilated! Yikes - guess I better pack a bag here soon and find a pediatrician.

Tagged =>

2008-12-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

I may have been tagged by Miss Natalie (she has a family member named Christine too) and even if she didn't intend it to be me I'm sure that she won't mind if I join in the fun => So here it goes.

One Word Tag
Where is your mobile phone? purse

Where is your significant other? cooking

Your hair color? brown

Your mother? friend

Your father? stable

Your favorite thing? baby

Your dream last night? none

Your dream goal? mom

Room Your In? family

Your hobby? photography

Your fear? death

Where do you want to be in 6 years? home

Where were you last night? parents

What you're not? drama

Where you grew up? California

The last thing you did? shopped

What are you wearing? sweater

Your TV? Small

Your pets? cats

Your computer? oooooollllllddddddd

Your mood? tired

Missing someone? lots

Your car? dirty

Something you're not wearing? socks

Favorite shop? craft

Your summer? long

Love someone? yes

Your favorite color? blue

When is the last time you laughed? today

That was fun! Not as easy as you think it will be.

Well in other news the lady at my work who has been making my life miserable, bashing my religion and making horrible comments about me to others that are so not true just because she doesn't like my religion............resigned this week. WooHoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She has been trying to make my life even more miserable these past few days and next week I'm sure she will try to top herself. So I'm sorry to say I have resorted to a very childish method to keep my head from spinning and saying something I would regret. Of course I do pray and ask for help but when she gets particularly ugly I hum somewhat loudly "ding dong the witch is dead." I know so childish but it makes me get through her horrible comments and I haven't lost my cool yet.

So I've started to have some contractions => Doc said this week he would be ok with me having him any day now, yikes! I was worried about his lungs not being ready but Doc assures me that since I've been on steroids for most of the pregnancy that he would be just fine. So come the 20th I'm in let's have a baby mode. Secretly I'm hoping he comes before Christmas. His nursery is almost done, I'll share photos as soon as I'm finished.

And I'll leave you with a few shots from my co-workers photo shoot. Her 18 month old was sick with the flu so it was quick and to the point, but still very fun.

Date night achieved and other fun stuff

2008-12-05T21:03:00.000-08:00

DJ and I finally got to go on our date night tonight. We went out to the Surprise Party and watched the hot air balloons get up in the air, saw the sky divers land in the dark from 4000 feet up and enjoyed a beautiful fireworks display. We shared a yummy bag of hot fresh kettle corn and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Then he took me over to the Golden Spoon for some dessert, mmmmmmmm mint frozen yogurt and chocolate chips, perfect. We came back to the house and watched a favorite - The Chronicles of Narnia (I bawl everytime Aslin sacrafices himself, in the theater the little girl next to me kept asking her mom if I was ok, lol). All in all it was a wonderful night that I loved, too bad the camera battery was dead and I didn't realize it =< We had a wonderful time talking about the baby and our thoughts on all sorts of stuff - we just really connected which was so nice

Tommorrow we get to go to a baptism, do a little grocery shopping then I'm going to my mom's for a girls night with some friends and DJ is heading off to a good friend's house to enjoy a little testosterone fest watching the fight. It will be a packed day, but I should be able to stay off my feet for most of it so I can tell the doc when he asks on Tuesday that I followed the rules.

Baby Caden had the hicups today for an hour, poor thing. It was fun to feel but I did feel sorry for him after a while. I only have two more weeks until I'm considered full term enough to have him. I'm gonna try to be a good girl and just let nature take it's course but I'm very tempted eat a habenaro pepper while jumping on Amie's trampoline to encourage this little man to join the world. He dropped about 6 weeks ago and I do believe I learned a new appreciation for the word unfomfortable, lol. But on the positive side I've not had heartburn related to him being high, only when I don't eat regularly and I've not had that can't catch my breath feeling that some of my girlfriends have told me about. My blood sugars have started to give me a bit of problem, but that was to be expected at this point in the pregnancy. For the most part they have been in great control and my A1c's (a test that registers your past 3 month average of your blood sugars, good control is 7 and pregnancy goal should be 6) have been 5.3 and 5.7. My doc is very pleased. He's also pleased with my weight gain, drum rool please..............a total of 1 pound at this point, lol. He keeps shaking his head and laughing cause I'm on a good dose of steroids for my arthritis and I should have gained a ton of weight. He laughs and tells me that he gains weight just writing my perscription for the stuff and that I will actually leave the hospital lighter then when I got pregnant. I told DJ that had I know having babies would help me lose weight I'd have been begging Heavenly Father for this a long time ago and he would be raising a football team!

And speaking of babies I'm super excited because after not being sucessful getting any of the 3 photographers I know booked I was able to book a maternity shoot with a photographer that my mom works with. Her name is Nancy and she's lovely and artsy and very talented. I'm very excited to try her out. She also is extremly talented with blown glass and beeding. I've seen some pieces my mom has received as gifts from her and I'm just in love with the beauty of the glass. I am going to get her website information so I can share it with you all, it's just so very yummy.
Then I was also able to schedule a newborn shoot and in March a family shoot with Kylie of Next Step Photography. She's Julie's sister in law and I really like her style. It will be so weird to get to let go and have someone else be in charge of the photography. DJ and I haven't had a shoot that is just us in a actual portrait session since 2003, the first offical pictures of us as a couple was the wonderful pictures Heather took at our sealing, can you believe that? Shame on me. Well it has been a combinaton of things that caused the delay but really that is way too long. Anyways was able to check those items right off the list - woo hoo!

And I booked a few Jobs myself. I took some family photos for my girl Amie & my co-worker Nichole. I have a maternity shoot for Casey coming up and a wedding in June. I'm going to start up again with weddings as of March and family shoots as of Febuary. I have to get a bit of research to get done on some advertising options so that I can make my little business better. In CA I booked a ton of jobs but out here I've not pushed the business very much cause I was a bit burnt out after 30+ weddings in one year, yikes! But with this little baby on the way and the very real chance that I will be out of a job come July of this year and if not 08 then 09 is looking very very likely with the state of the Surprise budget I need something in place for sure. So if anyone is looking for weddings and such I'm here, just give me a call. My studio lighting is going to be here soon and of course there is always outside.

Went and finished the shopping for the baby too. We got a ton of clothes and I mean a ton of clothes for the shower and through a huge donation from Casey Lu and Amie. Seriously the kid will be just fine until about a year old! So DJ and I were able to go out and get all the bottles, pacifiers, bath stuff, crib bedding, blankets, moniter, diaper bag and all the odds and ends of babydom. It was fun and we were blessed by my BIL & SIL giving us some $ so we could afford it all! I had so much fun shopping for the little man and everything really started to get real putting the stuff away => My mom came over and we sorted all the clothes by size and washed everything and got it hung up and folded, seriously baby laundry is just so much fun to do (I know, I say that now. lol). There are so many things that I can't wait to put him in!

This week coming up has all sorts of fun activities we are signed up for; a work holiday brunch, the drive we've been doing for the west valley crisis center is done and we get to deliver the goods, Heather and Dave's Christmas party - have to get my gift still and decide what yummy dessert I'm bringing, another baptism and my hunny and I are planning a night to finish the nursery. I can do everything from teh sitting position too, woohoo! It's gonna be a good week I can tell!

Ok this was seriously longer than I planned and I have to sign off so we can read tonights portion of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, a new tradition we started this year we read 10 pages a night starting Dec 1st and it should be done christmas eve - love that story, hopefully we can keep this tradition up!

Happy weekend all =>

Thankful, updates and some other stuff

2008-11-28T13:42:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Turkey day! Mine was exhausting but just delightful. DJ and I cooked all the side dishes for the feast at my mothers house. We did pretty well too, only one scuffle in the kitchen and only one of the cats got stepped on. Not bad for me being 8.5 months pregnant.

We went over to my mom's house and met my grandparents, my uncle, aunt, 2 of their 4 boys and my in-laws. The Wii was rolling and food was everywhere. We were able to sit outside and enjoy the nice break in the storms then back inside for a little football action. Good times.

I challenged myself to come up with some things I'm thankful for outside of the normal list toppers and I settled on these:
-for being raised with a belief and recognition of what the holiday season is really about and not having any connection of that joyful feeling to how many presents are under the tree. With so many conversations around me on a daily basis these days being about how sad people are that they can't afford a bunch of gifts I have grown more thankful for how careful my parents were that I never had my focus on the number of gifts but instead the family and the time together.
-For the pregnancy being almost over, which means that I can start to recover and hopefully get healthy again soon so I can be with Caden a long time.
-For a husband who is so excited to be a dad that he can't talk about anything else, sings and reads scriptures and Dr. Seuss to my belly. And for how he has loved me with ultimate devotion and never once has he complained about my needing his help at 2am, or when he has a migraine or the flu, or when it was his first day off in weeks. I'm truly blessed.
-For parents who put off their own retirement by at least 5 years to help us with the 25K in unexpected expenses, and bills they paid off so we could afford child care and DJ could take this new job that cut his pay by a 1/3 but gives him the opportunity to be home nights and weekends. And they did it all without us asking - true quiet service and love. Seriously I have the best parents on the planet.
-For 3 of the best girlfriends anyone could ever ask for, who have helped me laugh through the hardest year of my entire life. There are no words for the feeling of being loved in spite of all my many faults, thanks!
-And finally for the absolute miracle of modern medicine. Without it I would not have made it this far and have only 5 weeks until I meet my son.

So looks like we will have the nursery done in 2 days! Ya. I can't wait to see it all ready for him to come home. My aunt brought over the family's bassinet and moses basket. They have held 3 generations of my mom's family in them. We didn't even know they still existed cause Kim's youngests are 16 year old twins. I can wait to clean them up and get them ready too.

My refrigerator died yesterday so today I had the pleasure of getting up and going to Sears and buying a new fridge. Yikes! I literally paid off the last credit card on Tuesday night, stupid Murphy's law! The new one will be here tomorrow some time between 9 and 9. Woo hoo!

And finally I have decided to sign myself off for a while. I have this problem saying no to people and will just let my free time be given away. My husband usually gets left behind while I run around and try and make everyone else happy. I have realized that we only have days left that it will be just the two of us (my selfish side is still a bit sad about this) and I have decided to devote myself to just hanging out with him and being just us. So before I have people stopping me in the halls at church and texting me that I'm never around I thought that I would let you all know why I may not be accepting offers for nights out or special events. Please know that it has nothing to do with you and in about 6 months I'll be totally ready for a night out =)

Well I'm off to go put up my Christmas tree and make my house all merry while the 22lb day after turkey cooks in my oven (totally spoiling my hubby with his very own turkey, it's his favorite thing in the whole wide world). Then we are going to have a date tonight, the first one in over 2 years, he's totally due, can't wait to surprise him!

The Nester is in a Fester

2008-11-17T18:49:00.001-08:00

So the last few weeks I've hit the door after work and beat feet right to the bed, curled up, had the hubster rub my feet and my back and my shoulders, then cozy with my doctor ordered ice cream before dozing off to sleep. All of that only to wake up 4-5 times and struggle to get back to sleep. Or worse yet suffer a panic attack and be up for hours trying to regain my sanity (has anyone else suffered from panic attacks or anxiety attacks during pregnancy? and these are not about worrying about having a baby, they are more of the actual feel like I can't breathe, may not wake up in the morning variety). So I have been not even worried about anything outside of the work world or my bed. But this past weekend it all hit me about how I only have 6 weeks left and with my tired needy lifestyle my house has gone to pot! I looked around and everywhere all I saw was crud, junk, dirt, dust and clutter. I broke out the note pad and wrote a list room by room of all the things that had to be done before I would let life emerge from my body. I brought the list to my hubby and he worked really hard to not laugh at my list and then told me we would start on Monday after work.
So when we got home tonight we proceeded to tear apart my kitchen and we scrubbed, organized, sanitized and put the place into order. It made me down right giddy. I actually asked my hubby if the smell of the cleaner made him want to skip around too. He laughed and let me know that if was not making the impact on him that it made on me. Then he decided that he could kill two birds with one stone and help develop my skills as the future mother of his son. He put on Star Wars - A New Hope and proceeded to teach me all about Millennium Falcon's and the force. Now mind you I'm a huge Star Wars fan so I thought that this lesson was kind of funny, but quickly realized he was teaching his son by proxy and it made me smile.
In the end my kitchen is sparkling and I've decided that white appliances are pure evil for how much dirt they can hold onto. I decided that Harrison is a really great name for our second son. And I can sleep tonight (hopefully) knowing that should my son decide to come tonight I could safely let him sleep in the kitchen knowing that the room was clean.

Hello 3rd Trimester & I've been Sick

2008-10-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

I have been SICK. And I don't mean oh I don't think I'll do the errands today cause I feel a bit under the weather, I mean praying for a quick death sick. And I have discovered a new form of torture that should with out question be used during any important interrogation from here on out. Friday while nursing my 101 fever and hugging my trash can I would finally feel a bit like I could lay down and rest for a while, it was then that Caden would haul out and kick me in the stomach so hard I jumped from the pain and grabbed the trash can again. Oh it was officially the longest day of my life. Then my poor hubby came home from work and he too was deathly ill. We curled into bed and both just laid there motionless.
We had to go to the grocery store Saturday night and that 30 minutes was enough to wipe us out for the rest of the night. This morning we are feeling better, but still not good and I've been contracting on and off since Friday so I've been instructed to stay down and quite. My mom broke her foot and is all alone today so we are going to pack up the pillows and blankets and go over to her house to help her out since she can't walk and hopefully by tonight the plague will leave us be so we can go back to work tomorrow.
Only 10 more weeks until the little man is here!!!!!! I'm scheduled for an induction on Jan 3rd at 38 weeks. I have started to go to the hospital twice a week for non-stress tests and fetal ultrasound monitoring. My office isn't thrilled with me having to leave early twice a week, but what are you gonna do right? The little man is doing great, measuring about a week and a half ahead right now, but taking practice breaths and everything he should be doing. He's still breech right now so we're hoping that he will turn soon so we can avoid a C-section since Dr. McKernan is worried about my ability to recover from a major sugary with my medical issues. Either way DJ and I are getting really excited for his arrival. He has been reading and singing to my belly alot lately. His current favorite song to sing is Child's Prayer, makes me tear up each time. We still have so much to do, paint, put up furniture, get some diapers and formula. I feel like I have nothing at all prepared, yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nesting has really set in this past week, and that with insomnia has made for some interesting 2am activity, lol.

2008-10-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

8 Things
I was tagged by Toni so here it goes:

8 TV Shows I love to watch:
- Survivor
-House
-The Office
-CSI
-So You Think You Can Dance
-Law and Order
-Pushing Daisies
-Amazing Race

8 Favorite Restaurants:
-Oregano's
-Cafe Rio
-Carrabas'
-Arriba Mexican Grill
-Chipotle
-Pete's Fish and Chips
-NYPD
-Taste of India

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
-Went to DJ's graduation from his security academy
-Got to work at 6am
-Went to lunch with my hubby
-Was treated to a pumpkin spice creame frappachino - yummmmmmmmy
-talked with my good friend Casey Lu
-went grocery shopping with my mom
-watched Survivor
- cuddled in bed and felt the baby move

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
- Caden's arrival
- My baby Shower
- Going to the Temple with my hubby tomorrow
- Thanksgiving
- Family get togethers
- The smells of Christmas
- Holiday baking
- The New Year

8 Things On My WishList:
-For DJ to get full time status and benefits
-Being debt free
-An honest to goodness date with my hubby - it's been 2 years!
-Trip to Disneyland - it's been 2 years!
-Paint and decorate the nursery
-Being perfectly happy
-a wii
-A free weekend

Dear Blog

2008-10-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

I apologise for neglecting you, but this past month has been hard. See I use you as my journal with the added benefit of keeping my friends and family posted about the current happenings in my life. Well this past month has seen the demons creep back out from under my bed and I've been struggling. Frankly the things I've been struggling with are more than I really wished to share with the world. See I do really well faking being happy in small doses and quick visits, but when I sit down to write here I simply can't bring myself to write chipper things while crying. So I've just left you be for the time being. I can't promise when I'll be better because I don't even know, but when that happy day returns I'll make sure you are the first one to know.

Thanks,
Me

PS for those of you who don't know we've had to cancel all those lovely amenities that life offers including our home phone. That one doesn't really matter too much, it rarely rang anyways, but just in case you needed to call you'll have to use our cell #'s.

Hello September and August wrap up

2008-09-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

It's September and I'm ready to decorate with all my fall pumpkins and colors. And I'm 20 weeks pregnant. That's right I'm half way there (well since the Doc is taking me a few weeks early I'm over half way there) and I still haven't felt the little bugger. I did finally gain 2 pounds though and that made the Doc very happy. We're all registered and a shower is in the works. I have another ultrasound on the 15th that is going to be 3D! We get to see little Caden's face. I'm so excited!

We've been plugging right along here at the home front though August was full of some serious tragedy in our friends and family's life. One of my best friend's youngest sister (22 years old) is dying of brain cancer. She was diagnosed 3 weeks ago and given 3-4 weeks to live. It's been rough and sudden.

Then I got a call from another dear friend that her sister whom I know well and have had the pleasure of photographing a few times lost their 8 month old son suddenly. Their story is also heartbreaking. They got pregnant many years ago and miscarried at 8 months. The struggled to get pregnant again for years. Finally turned to adoption and quickly received a baby only to 4 months later have the mother decide to take the baby back. Finally they got Hope and for 6 years were a happy family of three then finally came the news that they were chosen again and were receiving a baby boy, Logan. You've seen these two in a photo post last November. Not but two months after Logan joined the family Anna found out she was pregnant. It was a very difficult pregnancy and she was on bed rest for like 5 months, but Hayden joined the family happy and healthy last this January. Anna dropped him off at the sitters house and he was having a normal day. He went down for a nap and the sitter checked on him a few times, but the last time she noticed his color was off and sadly Hayden had passed away during his nap. My heart just broke to know the tragedy that this family has faced. I shared my religious beliefs about children how pass before the age of 8 and put all of their name on the prayer list in the Temple, but still didn't feel like I had done enough.

Then a good friend who has been struggling since her husband was laid off earlier this year lost her house and was telling me she feared where her family including her daughters were going to live. I was so thankful for my church and the community that is built in which proves to me that Heavenly Father's plans for us are absolutely perfect. I have been shown so many ways that I can be thankful this month that I fear I have not expressed it in my prayers enough.

I also go to spend a bunch of time with my girls Amie, Toni and Chris this past month. It was so nice to have that time out of my boring quiet house. With DJ working 6 days a week 12 hours a day I do hate all the alone time I end up having. I wish I was better at being on the phone cause then I could call people and chat but really I have such a hard time hearing on the phone and end up missing half of the conversations. And we have missed the dinner invites and hanging out opportunities. So to my girls who are always so much fun and I love dearly thanks for all the bonding, joking and scrapping - who loves ya babe!

And here are some scrappy pages I've done recently.

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's a ..............

2008-08-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Baby Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Caden John will make his appearance late December or early January. DJ was shocked with the news but has warmed very fast to the idea of a son and within the hour was very excited for sports games, cars, cub scouts and teaching him all about the priesthood. We're very excited and now in the market for lots of Snips, Snails & Puppy Dogs Tails. Thanks again for all the prayers and help in the first half of this pregnancy.
I will draw a name tomorrow night from those who guessed boy and post the winner tomorrow night!

Taking a poll

2008-08-18T07:32:00.001-07:00

So we go to find out on Wednesday what we're having. Let me know what you think boy or girl? My husband is dead set that it's a girl. I fluctuate day to day. I haven't decided what, but there will be a prize somehow involved. Let me know what you think by Wed 10am =)

Tagged

2008-08-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Toni tagged me so here it goes =>

SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks! Erase my answers, enter yours, and post it. *Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...

They have to be real places, names,things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

WHAT IS YOUR NAME: Christine

4 LETTER WORD: Card

VEHICLE: Car

CITY: Concord

BOY NAME: Caden

GIRL NAME: Carrington

OCCUPATION: Cook

SOMETHING YOU WEAR: Cardigan

FOOD: Cheesecake

SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Cleaner

REASON FOR BEING LATE: Car

SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: Come-in

Not Dead

2008-08-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

I'm still alive and kicking. Dr let me take some Motrin and I'm cleared to take it until week 30, yea-hoo. So I'll fill ya'll in really fast then go crawl into bed.....................mmmmmmmmmmm bed.

I had a great big meeting with my HR department and the information I had received is true. If the Dr takes me out before December 16th I have two choices - go on disability and lose my job or take a special leave without pay option that leaves me with COBRA for benefits (yes so that means no pay check and $650 a month for medical benefits with no prescription coverage and 1 month of insulin is about $1900). So I need tons and tons of prayers that I do not need to come out of work until December 16th PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!

We go find out August 20th at 10am what we are having - DJ is dead set it's a girl =).

My grandmother is doing great and has been home for 1 weeks now. We should get the results of her cancer this week, thanks for the prayers.

Finished Breaking Dawn - ugh - I'm still reeling from the disappointment. I guess I'll need to re-read it one more time with lower expectations and see how I feel about it that time.

No I haven't felt the baby yet.

Yes we have some names we like.

No I have no information on a shower yet (really I'm only 17 weeks on Tuesday what's up with the crazy planning a head people) and if someone approaches me about a shower I'll let you know.

Yes I'm still eating tons of chocolate - absolutely DJ's child, lol.

OK because I'm not going to have a chance to post again until later in the week I will leave you with an assignment. My girl Chris had posted this on her blog a few weeks ago and I've been wanting to post it so here we go - the memory game.

Here's What you Do
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Because.....

2008-07-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

the reason I found Twilight (thanks to my friend Jesika) was my unhealthy addiction to another young boy and his magical story and the fact that only 3 bars of the theme song turns me into a giddy little kid and because I cannot wait for the birth of my child so I can read these amazing stories to him or her...........I give you the only fictional man who owns my heart more then Edward Cullen......................Mr. Potter!

November 21st 2008

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Be there! (don't for get to turn off my music down below)

What happens when a 4 month pregnant chick who has been house bound for 3 & 1/2 weeks breaks free and goes to the grocery store?

2008-07-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

She buys a bunch of stuff that wasn't on the list. I use to always crave salty starchy snacks but I now I have a wicked sweet tooth and am digging sour stuff. Weird!

tagged and an update

2008-07-16T17:20:00.001-07:00

Well I saw the Dr on Tuesday and he thinks I can go back to work next Tuesday. I'm both ok and not ok with this development. The fact that I only have 1 week without pay instead of trying to find $1200 a month is a bit of a relief. However, I'm still in a good amount of pain (walking very slowly) and the nights are still very tough and I'm only getting about 3-4 hours of sleep total (not in a row) due to the pain. I'm not sure how I'm going to make it 8 hours a day 5 days a week for the next 5 months dealing with this pain and sleep deprivation. My sugars are very high also in relation to the pain and sleep deprivation and have me worried right now as well. And I must admit while terrified of the financial hardship I was enjoying the ability to nap when I needed and work through the pain at home where if I just needed to cry it was alright, and that isn't going to be the case at work. I really found myself a bit bitter about my working and full of envy for those who get the blessing of staying at home. I've been more vocal about it too which makes me feel guilty because DJ desires for me to stay at home but has never been in the position to make that possible. He's trying so hard to bring a little extra right now to help cover the extra medical costs by working nights for his father, so he works 12 hours (including his commute) then 8-10 hours at night to turn around and work another 12 hours. I worry about his health and safety when he does this pattern so often and all for $50 before taxes and gas. We had a couple of leads for possible new jobs for him but they seem to have gone away, or are on hold. So looks like things are back in a bit of limbo. I just really hope that I can adjust to work and that the pain will subside during the day hours so I can get through the next 5 months.

Ok I've been tagged by Julie and Teri so here are my 4 things.

4 Jobs I've had
1. Veterinary Assistant
2. Photo Lab Girl
3. Tax Fraud Investigative Analyst (IRS)
4. Legal Specialist for the City Prosecutor

4 movies I've watched more than once
1. Steel Magnolios
2. Madagascar
3. Lord of the Rings 1, 2 & 3
4. Princess Bride

4 Places I've lived
1. Vallejo, CA
2. Thousand Oaks, CA
3. La Mesa, CA
4. Fresno, CA

4 TV Shows I watch
1. The Office
2. CSI
3. Survivor
4. Good Eats

4 Places I've been
1. Mexico
2. Maui
3. Wyoming
4. Washington DC

4 People who email me regularly
1. Amie
2. Mom
3. City of Surprise
4. junk

4 favorite foods
1. Strawberies on Waffles
2. Pumpkin Pie
3. Crunchy beef tacos
4. Movie Theater popcorn

4 Places I'd love to visit
1. Alaska
2. London
3. New York
4. Ireland

4 Things I'm looking forward to next year
1. A healthy baby
2. Hopefully losing weight
3. Almost 30
4. ?

4 friends I'm tagging

Anyone who wants to play along =)

For Sale: 1965 Ford Mustang

2008-07-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well the time has come to say good bye to DJ's mustang. This is the only thing he has had longer then me, lol. We have almost sold her a number of times and she was saved at the last minute, but this time with me facing 8 months of disability and a loss of 40% of our income we are looking for help anywhere we can find it. So the love affair of the Mustang has come to an end. She is actually a 1964 & 1/2, has a straight 6 and brand new leather seats. DJ rebuilt the engine in 1998 and she has mostly been in storage since then with only about 1 year of in town driving. She needs a new paint job and a new back deck for the speakers and new carpet, but other wise she's in nice condition. The car has been wired for A/C but there was never an A/C unit in the car. Ford will make one for the right price, but we never checked out that price.

We are asking $10,000, but are willing to negotiate that price. Contact us with any questions at fawkes_phoenix_red@yahoo.com

Photo tag

2008-07-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally doing the phototag that my girl Amie tagged me with over a week ago. Why am I able to do this tag you ask? Simply because I have the best friends on the entire face of the planet. Amie and Toni showed up at my door on Tuesday night at 8:30 and asked if I wanted some company, which was a wonderful treat after 12 hours of being alone. I of course said yes but warned them that my place was a disaster as I opened my security door and it was then that I saw that they had brought cleaning supplies with them. I literally started crying right then and there. These amazing girls cleaned my entire house and I am so thankful for their service, friendship and love. Thank you again ladies =) I love you both bunches right back!
So here goes the photo tag - My kitchen sink.

My closet - hubby's side cause the door blocks my side - which is actually cleaner, lol.

The master toilet.

The lovely laundry room with all the crud that piles up there.

My favorite room - mainly because it's the only room that's almost done.

See my little chair rest station lol.

The fridge, which looks full but is actually empty. Crazy how that happens huh?

My favorite shoes that you'll never see me wear because they make me 6 foot 1 inch tall and my 5 foot 8 inch hubby has banned them from existence. Oh but they look so cute on with my black mermaid skirt.

And here's a photo of my kid kicking back on his/her vicodin high. The little peanut wouldn't sit still and was moving all over the place for Monday's ultrasound so the tech had to work really hard to get a good reading on the back of the baby's neck for the downs syndrome test, which after 15 minutes of trying looked totally normal, woo hoo. The heart rate was at a steady 158 and the little one is measuring 2 inches. I totally laughed every time the baby hopped around and DJ ended up getting really emotional. It was a great experience, can't wait to see the little one in person.

So we are trying prednesone for the arthritis and the vicodin is going to be around for a long time. I feel very strongly at next Tuesday's appointment my Doctor is going to pull me out of work for the rest of the pregnancy, which scares me but I'm ok with it as long as the baby is healthy. Thanks again for all the kind words and prayers, they have been a huge blessing and very appreciated. I'll keep you all posted as things develop. =)

Drugs

2008-07-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

3am found us in the ER at Del Webb with me in enough pain I truly wanted to be knocked out. But it wasn't the pain that took us there it was the numbness in both of my feet, the swelling in my joints had stopped the blood flow to my lower legs. This ER doctor was so much better then the one on Monday, he actually talked to me about the arthritis and an action plan rather then tell me that I was overweight which is obviously the cause of all my problems. He took one look at me and my history and said right well we have to get you out of pain so we can remove the stress your baby is feeling right now and you can sleep. Oh sleep, that would be such a wonderful treat, I could have hugged him if I could have stood up. So I was introduced to the lovely world of morphine, which when mixed with 1000mg of vicodin makes for one very happy me. I, according to my husband, sounded drunk and became very honest with my feelings, lol. And when I got home I actually slept for 4 straight hours before any pain returned, and yes it was glorious. So now I have to try and see a rheumatologist this week and I have a new pain med regimen of 1000mg of vicodin every 6 hours during the day and a percocet before bed at night. Hopefully this will help me sleep and let me wake up with only moderate pain. Oh how thankful I am for the world of legal drugs!!!!!!!!!

The truth comes out

2008-07-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

Both so sad and so eye opening at the same time. It's so very true that you really find out who your friends are when you are in need. I really want to thank those who have come to my aide and helped me this past week. The phone calls to check on my and the sweet comments on my blog, the meals and treats - I really felt loved and didn't feel so scared. It's amazing how limited you are when you can't drive or walk and you realize just how much you actually do on a daily basis when it doesn't get done. My sweet hubby has helped a ton but being gone at 9am and not getting home until 10pm he can only do so much (especially since most nights he is rudely awoken at around 2am by a crippled wife who needs to pee and is in so much pain she can't actually talk - the boy has learned sign language really fast).

And to those of you who so kindly implied in emails and conversation this is in my head and I'm milking the pregnancy pains and should just suck it up like the rest of the of them - I say thank you kindly but I no longer need your assistance. I assure you this is not in my head. 6-8 vicodin a day barely takes the edge off, my joints are visibly swollen and when a skin thermometer is placed on one of the affected areas it registers around 107 degrees. Just because you didn't know me prior to 2006 before I was taking my current medications and living in pain doesn't mean it didn't happen.

I'm going into see my perinatal specialist on Monday and hopefully they will have some answers on more reliable pain management. I am also getting some tests run for downs syndrome and they are going to do a bunch of blood tests to see what's going on with me and most likely he will determine how long I will be on bed rest. I'm a little nervous about the downs syndrome test because being diabetic my chances are increased, but I've been praying really hard for comfort and trying to not focus on things that are not in my control. (Wowser that's really hard for me the control freak, but I must say I've really embraced the lesson and am trying to get better at letting things go by handing them over to Heavenly Father.)

So there is just one more thing I want to express to those who may read this and judge quickly. Until you have walked in someones shoes you really have no idea what their lot is like. Be careful who you chose to judge based on your own experiences because you may just be given that person's trial someday and then you may really need them for help. And just because someone is usually a happy person and it's out of character for them to have a down day remember they are entitled to that down day without judgment or ridicule. We are commanded to help bare each others burdens and serve our fellow man, not tear them down and make them feel bad. I pray I have never kicked a person when they are down and I can certainly say that this experience will make me all the more aware of those who are struggling. One of my favorite quotes is "Everyman is just as happy as he has made up his mind to be." I can assure you I am still very happy about this baby and being pregnant, because I made up my mind a while ago that I was going to be happy. Thank you again to all of you wonderful friends who have helped me out, please know you are all in my every prayer.

Let the games begin

2008-07-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well after 1 week of excruicnating pain in my lower back and hips, not being able to walk without tears, no relief when sitting or laying down, an ER trip, pain pills and muscle relaxers, 2 trips to the chiropractors, and DR ordered bed rest - I'm still in major pain. However, we have been able to diagnosis the cause, which is both good and very bad. Apparently 11.5 weeks is how long I need to be off my medications for all the crazy pain of my psoriatic arthritis to come back full force.

As some of you know I suffer from a very sever case of psoriasis that I have been treating with the wonder drug Enbrel, seriously I would marry this drug if it were possible because the last 2 years on it were the first times since I was 16 that psoriasis hasn't ruled my life. Now one of the awful things associated with psoriasis is the development of psoriatic arthritis, which is very much like rheumatoid arthritis. I have had P.A. in my hands and feet for years but my wonder drug took the pain away and my joints were no longer swollen so I felt completely normal and I was able to do almost anything without a constant reminder I was sick. Well when I came off my meds so suddenly because we very unexpectedly found out I was pregnant I have suffered a huge flare up of the psoriasis and now the arthritis. I had no idea that a body could be in so much pain. I haven't had relief in over a week no matter what I do except by taking the pain killers because they knock me out and whether I feel the pain or not I sleep. I'm feeling like I could have a nervous breakdown at any moment trying to deal with the prospect of 6 more months of this pain, not being able to move or take case of myself. I seriously don't think I'm strong enough to deal with this, it's only been a week and I'm ready to give up, which makes me feel like a horrible person cause I'm suppose to want to lay down my life for the baby (which is a miracle in and of itself) but I can't stop focusing on the pain long enough to get a grip on my situation.

I've dealt with sever back pain for years since my 2001 car accident left me with permanent nerve damage, but with that pain I could get myself all propped up into a position that gave me a reprieve and so far there is no relief from this constant throb and swollen joint. It takes me about 30 minutes to get out of bed get to the bathroom and back to bed because of the pain an my inability to walk. I have no idea what to do. I have responsibilities that I can't just let go ( I just found out that I'm supposed to be at the Stake baptism Saturday an apparently I'm conducting and giving sharing time on Sunday) I can't even imagine how we're going to survive if I'm off on disability for six months since you only get 62% of your pay and we are barely making it with all my pay. I'm mentally exhausted from all these trials lately and just praying it'll come to an end soon, but I'm struggling to keep my faith strong that it will ever end. I don't mean to be such a downer but this is my journal and I had to get these complaints out of my head before I went crazy.

An update and 100 other things

2008-06-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well the saga of the A/C unit has come to an end. My parents decided as their baby gift to us they were going to have the unit replaced and all the other damage that was found as well. There was major water damage in the attic due to the previous unit not being installed correctly. the ducts were not installed correctly and have major air flow issues which is why the east side of the house never cools down. All the electrical that was installed and fixed by the previous owner is not safe and needs to be replaced. There was something else too that I can't even remember now. But bottom line is a lot of money and an increased thankfulness for my parents.

The other bad news this week is that our cable and Internet went out (I'm at my parents typing this) and after 2 hours on the phone with cox Monday they couldn't figure out what was wrong so they had to schedule a tech to come out and work on it, but they couldn't get anyone out to us until Friday night at 7pm! Holy cow that's some crazy wait time in my opinion. And when we asked if they would be crediting our bill for 5 days without service we were told that since they don't know who's fault it is that the systems aren't working they won't be giving us a credit without an investigation. Um well we turned on the TV and it worked, then we tried to turn on the TV6 hours later and it was a black screen. I'm thinking the cats aren't smart enough to damage the cable and we didn't do it so that leaves Cox.

Finally I entered my 10th week of pregnancy today and bought my first maternity clothes. I've been having wicked headaches and lots of crazy back pain, but otherwise I'm still feeling pretty normal. Here's praying this will be the pattern of this adventure.

OK I saw this on my friend Jesika's blog and thought I'd see if I could come up with 100 things about myself. If you're brave read on my friends. See ya next week.

1. I'm LDS.

2. I met my husband in high school....

3. while dating his best friend....

4. who remains one of both of our best friends to this day.

5. I am 18 months older then DJ.

6. Which means I was a college freshmen girl dating a high school senior, lol.

7. DJ proposed to me twice before he graduated and I turned him down.

8. He officially proposed to me one week after he graduated high school in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle in the middle of the fireworks show.

9. But we were the only people who knew what had just happened cause he asked by whispering in my ear.

10. To this day Disneyland is my favorite place to vacation and I would turn down a trip to Hawaii to spend a week in the magic kingdom.

11. I'm a California native.

12. I spent my formative years 30 miles east of San Francisco but never rode a cable car until I was 21.

13. By the time I was 25 I had moved 10 times.

14. All in the State of CA.

15. My favorite drink is ice cold root beer.

16. I worked in a vet hospital from age 14 to age 19 as a tech assistant.

17. therefore I have x-rayed a snake, pulled blood from a lizard, helped examine a spider monkey, as well as all the normal cats, dogs & birds.

18. I also got to volunteer at the Oakland Zoo...

19. where I bottle fed a 3 week old elephant.

20. When I was 15 I spent a day shadowing a dolphin and whale trainer at Marine World where I spent the day learning how to train dolphins.

21. I am an only child.

22. I only have 8 cousins, total on both sides of the family.

23. I LOVE Chinese food and could eat it every night...

24. But, I can't eat it now that I'm pregnant....

25. because I'm an insulin dependent diabetic and have to keep my sugars in perfect order.

26. I'm the only girl in my family.

27. I'm terrified of bees.

28. I can't sleep in a moving car.

29. I have been in two major car accidents that I shouldn't have walked away from....

30. neither of which were my fault.

31. I have never spent more than 1 night alone in my entire life.

32. I love to grocery shop and have spent many hours just wandering the aisles for fun.

33. I love reality TV.

34. I love getting my nails done.

35. I love to cook and bake.

36. I use to work in a diner and a bakery.

37. For three years I got up at 2am 7 days a week to throw over 400 news papers.

38. I still cry every time Mustafa dies in Lion King and when Shelby dies in Steel Magnolias.

39. I have seen What Lies Beneath hundreds of times and I still need to turn on all my lights when I watch it.

40. I know every word to Ice Ice Baby.

41. I have never seen E.T, Goonies or Jaws.

42. My favorite food is my homemade lasagna.

43. I love making homemade pasta and sauces!

44. I love to bake and can make any pie thrown at me.

45. I hold a B.A. in English Literature....

46. but I can't spell to save my life.

47. I love, love, love like my freckles.

48. I have never lived without a cat!

49. I'm very much a 'time' person....

50. I hate it when I'm late!!!!

51. I have a photographic memory with numbers.

52. When I was younger, I wanted to have an accent.

53. I use to ice skate competitively.

54. And dance hip hop competitively.

55. I hate American Idol.

56. When I was a kid I loved to drink sweet pickle juice and my mother always caught me sneaking juice from the jar.

57. I have only camped outside twice in my life.

58. I have been photographing weddings for over 10 years.....

59. I worked as a studio photographer for over three years.....

60. and I've never had formal training in photography.

61. I love the smell of fall spices and frequently bake with extra cloves in my fall recipes just so I can smell the goodness cooking.

62. I'm better at getting up early then staying up late.

63. Halloween is my favorite day of the entire year.

64. It is also my favorite time of the year to go to Disneyland and pretty much the only time of year I will go to the park.

65. I love candles and often in the fall and winter never turn on the lights at night just so I can light all my candles.

66. I don’t really like jewelry and hardly wear anything but my wedding ring.

67. Christmas tree shopping was my favorite day to spend with my hunny during the entire year. We made hot chocolate and homemade cinnamon rolls and bundled up for the loverly 40 degree weather to go scour the lots for the perfect tree. Then came home and decorated the entire house…..

68. but we own (against my will) a fake tree now so the day has lost a bit of its vigor in my mind.

69. I can’t stand when people’s Christmas lights are not in sync on their houses (you know one strand blinks and the others don’t) or when there are noticeable lights burnt out, and I have been known to say something to neighbors about their lights.

70. I hate playing completive sports and would chew my own leg off to get out of one.

71. Wal-mart is my favorite place to go wander when I’m depressed or sad.

72. I was 16 when my maternal great-grandparents passed away.

73. I don't like Arizona heat.

74. I love to cross stitch and once cross stitched an entire baby blanket for my best friend in CA.

75. I’m a sucker for a good movie on a rainy day with hot apple cider.

76. I really don’t like talking on the phone cause I have a very hard time hearing people when they are on the phone, yet I’ve had my hearing checked and there is nothing wrong.

77. I'm shy.

78. I have never broken a bone.

79. I have dislocated both of my knees (at different times)

80. I have only been to 7 states in my entire life. (CA, HI, UT, AZ, WY, PA, VA)

81. I have no nieces or nephews.

82. I’m terrified about being a mom…..

83. and completely excited to see DJ as a dad.

84. I have the best girlfriends on the entire planet.

85. Before joining the Church I only had 2 girlfriends.

86. I love rocking out to very loud music.

87. I really, really, really miss rainy foggy CA winters.

88. My husband and I love to carve pumpkins and we usually carve about 10 of them while watching scary movies.

89. I'm very insecure about my “talents”….

90. but, I want to be the best so badly I’ve never given up even thought I constantly say I am going to.

91. I love a good thunderstorm!

92. I desperately want to be able to stay home when this baby joins us.

93. I love playing board games.

94. I love my hubby so much that I learned how to play World of Warcraft so we could play together and now I’m addicted too.

95. I love hanging out with my parents (as long as we don’t have to live together).

96. DJ and I have never been able to celebrate a single anniversary together.

97. The scent of grapefruit is my favorite smell on the planet.

98. I’m petrified of water where I can’t see the bottom and refuse to get in it ever.

99. I LOVE to give gifts!

100. I still have most of my stuffed animals from when I was a kid in the garage in a Tupperware box.

Well don't that just suck! edited

2008-06-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

So we found out today why our energy bills are so high, we need a new A/C unit. Yep and last year when we had the system go out and the home warranty company came out to look at it and told us that it was just a leak and filled the freon and fixed the leak and told us the system is in great condition for it's age and we are really lucky - they lied. The guy today said there is no way the problems in the unit were not visible last year and he said that the unit shouldn't have passed inspection. So now we're trying how to come up with $5000 dollars (ironically the same amount we just spent on the floors and I had a little voice in my head the whole time saying don't do it, but we needed to for my health since I do so enjoy breathing, but the voice kept saying don't do it) to put in the new unit. We can't afford to put it on a credit card so now we're really in a pickle. I had $2000 to pay off the car in August which was going to be a huge blessing cause we will need some extra money when I go on maternity leave since you only get 60% of your pay and then I need to come up with day care money right after that and losing that car payment is the only way it will work out. Ugh I'm so tired of this constant money crap!
I know people say that making more money won't solve our problems but I'd sure like to try it. DJ is still only making $24k a year before taxes but working 50+ hours a week making a second job impossible and with that kind of pay we can't afford for him to go back to school. There is no chance of him getting a raise and the drive to metro has caused $100 more a month in gas. He's got 3 years management experience and tons of customer service experience and tons of cash handling experience but no other jobs will even look at him since he has no degree. It's so frustrating. I know he hates what he's doing. He comes home bummed out and feeling like he's failing and try really hard to pump him back up but frankly it's starting to get to me too. And in this economy I'm not sure what to do really. Leaving this job could be a huge mistake cause then he'd be the new man on the totem pole and if there was a problem the first to be let go. If anyone knows of a good job out there please let us know cause we sure need a break soon before this ship sinks. Or if you happen to have a brand new A/C unit sitting in your garage and you have been thinking hey we should just donate this to charity give me a call. Or if you need a strapping young man to come clean your house for say $5k I've got the man for you. And if you have any tricks on how to carry a child for say 24 months so we could get the cash for day care lined up again pass that bad boy along too.

***to add insult to injury today DJ's car died - engine blown - died. My biggest fear has completely come true. I have looked at our budget the past few weeks and was continually amazed that things were going to work out once this baby got here, they would be really tight trying to live on $50 a week for groceries and diapers but we were going to make it. I'm really tired of living in a snow globe that is shaken violently every time we just get things put back together after the previous shake up. I knew that the trials wouldn't stop after we got to the Temple, but I thought the blessings would help balance it all out...............and hopefully they will whenever they finally get here.***

What a weekend!

2008-06-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

Well this has been an amazing weekend for sure.

Friday night I hosted our little scrappy addiction group. We had a great night talking and laughing and making pretty pages. We got to talk lots of baby stuff since Jenna & Casey Lu are also preggers! It was lots of fun to just unwind and relax and get a few creative juices flowing. I'm really starting to like the work I'm producing and I think I'm finally finding my own style. Thanks for the fun girls.

Then the next morning Toni, Amie, Chris and I drove out to Mesa and we did a Temple session together. It was awesome to share that with my girls. The previous Saturday was so busy I didn't get to sit with them and really experience the moment. I loved getting to feel more relaxed and really feel the spirit without any stress. It was a great way to start the day and a wonderful bonding time with my Sista's. Love you ladies to pieces =)

Then today at church two amazing wonderful incredible rocking ladies told me they were pregnant!!!!!!!! Oh my word the water here really is chock full of the pregnant mojo. I'm am so excited for these ladies to be mom's cause they are going to be absolutely amazing at the calling! Congrats a million times over ladies. (ask me and I'll tell ya who)

And speaking of callings I have found myself in a new one as of this weekend. I was released from my Relief Society calling and called to be the 2nd counselor in the new Primary Presidency. I'm excited and terrified all at the same time. I have some amazing shoes to fill and I pray that I will be able to serve these children in the way that my Heavenly Father needs me to. I love this opportunity to serve and grow closer to the children in this ward. I love seeing their eyes light up and nothing makes my heart fuller then having one of them run up and give me a hug. Today during Sacrament Amie's son Ethan sat with us and was too cute when he laid his head in my lap and started humming a primary song. And then Heather's youngest Lizzie ran over and wanted to sit with us for the second half of Sacrament and she crawled into my lap and wanted to know when we could have a girls day where we could bake and garden together, smile how I do love these kids around me. So I feel a little overwhelmed right now and I'm sure it will take me a bit to get into the real swing of things, but with these amazing youth around I can only imagine that they will help build me up to someone worthy of leading them.

I need prayers

2008-06-10T01:02:00.000-07:00

**Edit - Got my new insulin pump at about 2pm. Got everything set up and it seems to be working alright. I ended up having to give myself about 10 shots to keep my sugars in range, ouch. Most moms can only pull out the labor stories, I'm totally pulling out the endless needles story. Thanks for the prayers. **

My insulin pump stopped working at midnight. The company said it would take 15 hours at the earliest to get me a replacement. My sugars could soar dangerously high by then. I'm terrified right now. Please pray that the baby and I will be ok and the pump will get here as soon as possible.

Camping.......oh it was camping all right

2008-06-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

So since January or February Amie, Toni and myself had planned this camping excursion. Yep that's right Amie-just-pull-off-the-side-of-the-road-and-pitch-a-tent talked me into the terrifying idea of sleeping with bugs and peeing in the woods/cactus. And my girl Toni was right there to bribe me with tantalizing recipes and the prospect of cooler temperatures. So I gave in and my husband was so excited. Then I had to go and create a miracle, a medical marvel as this little baby has been called. And when asking if I could forgo some of my medically necessary items I was told absolutely not as it could raise my blood pressure and it wasn't worth the risk. So we all packed it in and camped luxury style at casa de Lowry.

I must saw it was very relaxing. I was super early along so hardly anyone knew about the baby therefore being around a bunch of people who did know gave me an opportunity to gush and swoon about the little miracle.

We had a great time, scrapping, watching movies, gabbing about babies, cooking for each other, playing at the lake, talking about the impending Temple trip and just bonding with my bestest buds. It really was a fun weekend. So enjoy a few photos from the weekend I made possible =)

Can you see the face?

great times, awesome friends, and a comfy bed = a wonderful weekend! And yes Amie I will gladly camp with a newborn =) but given the fact I'm due in January lets say May after the high country is not still frozen in snow.

The Perfect Day

2008-06-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

A wonderful drive to the Temple just DJ & I and our amazing friends Shawn & Luke. Great conversation and spiritual stories.

An amazing experience and a new eternal family.

Friends who truly love us and boy-howdy do we love them right back.

Having a talk with my husband once we got home that I will remember forever.

Hanging out out with out of town friends.

A fun dinner and a little Kung-Fu Panda.

Snuggling with my hunny.

But hands down best part of the day - I got to really truly actually meet my Husband, see him through our Heavenly Father's eyes and fall in love deeper then I could have ever dreamed was possible.

Whew am I ready for bed!

Buyer Beware - Home Depot --- And a baby update

2008-06-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

I currently hate Home Depot. The molding between the new wood floors and the baseboards did not look like I thought it should have based on what the lady at Home Depot had described to us. So when the installation company called to see how things were going and if I was happy with the floors I ha to be honest. I told them that I loved the floors but the molding did not appear to match the description of what the lady had said. We talked and I soon found out that the lady at Home Depot was completely wrong and in fact had failed to go over the additional flooring options with us, one of which was to have the flooring meet the white baseboards without additional molding, which is what I would have picked hands down. So I talk to the installer about options that could be taken care of at a later date that I may like better and how they could do the job whenever we were ready and we could talk prices then too, if we decided to go that route. Then Tim the installer tells me to give Home Depot a call and let them know that I was made aware of the other options that should have been presented and tell them you are unhappy with their lack of communication. He says this is happening a lot lately and see if they will credit you back the cost of the moulding that you obviously would not have bought. Good idea I decide, thank Tim and call Home Depot.

They tell me they would need to contact the installer to discuss how the work order was written up. I get a call back about an hour later and Paul from Home Depot informs me that Tim, my buddy, tells him that he gave DJ the option on Monday morning to install new white baseboards and DJ said to just install it the way the work order reads so therefore Home Depot is off the hook. Well poor Paul failed to realize how fired up an irritable pregnant woman who just paid $6000 for a floor that she is not fully happy with can get. I keep him on the cell phone and call from my desk phone my husband and confirm he did not have that option an then confirm with Tim that he never gave him that option, rather he told DJ that should have been an option Home Depot presented.

So I talk to the Assistant Store Manager Jeff (AKA worlds largest butt-head) who tells me that there is nothing he's gonna do but investigate with the store clerk who wrote up the order then call me back sometime tomorrow afternoon. I inform Jeff that the idea of an installer who has no product to sell giving DJ the option to change a work order to reflect new baseboards is asinine and we both know that's a lame call on Home Depot's behalf. I tell him I'm not looking for anything free, I'm actually telling you that had the option been given for new white baseboards I would have taken it - and that's the more expensive option! Jeff cops attitude with me then says he will call back tomorrow. I'm miffed but dealing with the thoughts of not perfect but at least a ton better then before floors are just fine for now.

I get home to find out that the installers didn't finish the job. They packed up and left without any of the rooms finished because Home Depot called and told them I said to stop! I was in disbelief and started crying - I have 6 people coming into town this weekend and 3-4 of them were going to stay with us, and my house is torn apart and the floors aren't finished. I call Home Depot and inquire why the job was stopped unfinished and am told that they have no idea what I'm talking about. So I kindly (not really) tell them that the installers told us they were instructed to stop working. Finally the guy - Jeff - AKA jerky - tells us that they obviously stopped the job because why would they have the installers put down product they were going to have to rip up? So I convey to them that I never gave a stop work order, I never said I expected them to come in and do the floors differently because I knew I couldn't afford that right now, and why would anyone want their floors left undone?

So he has no answers. I have blue tape and unfinished edges, a kitchen and guest bathroom full of my furniture and other stuff that I can't put away because the floors aren't done so they might shift with too much use until the molding is attached. And I have guests coming into town in 48 hours. The installers book a few weeks out so best bet is end of June. $6000 apparently gets you treated poorly and unfinished work at Home Depot!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy cow - and to make things worse I can't really get to my kitchen all that well to cook. A normal person could just order a pizza and cry into cheesy toppings, not me I have to watch every little thing I eat so this is actually really a huge deal in my little world. Grrrrrrrrrrr

It almost takes the smile off my face that was put there earlier when I went to my ultrasound and got to see the little baby and his/her little fluttering heartbeat going about 141 beats per minute. Oh and the relief that there was just one heartbeat. So I'm officially measuring at 7 weeks and 1 day pregnant. I'm officially due (as of right now) January 20th - 2 days before my birthday =) The Dr said things look great so even thought stupid Home Depot tried they couldn't totally destroy my day. But whoa nelly did I see how crazy emotional I can me with these hormones running through my body - yikes.

3 more days - until eternity - and our forever family!!!!!!!!!!!!

Smells like updog in here......

2008-06-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

Well not really, actually it smells like new wood floors. And aside from one finishing aspect of the floors that I'm not really fond of (the rest of my family loves them and says I'm just touchy right now, hrmph, whatever) I do love them so, we really shall be best of friends I can tell.

I can't wait to show you the final products. I would take pictures but aside from my bed and this one computer all my stuff, including my camera, is shoved into the dinning room behind all the furniture that usually occupies my house. Oh but the floors are so yummy and my house is really becoming my house.

So other then that not much is going on. I have my next ultrasound tomorrow, yikes. I get very nervous about these. This one is to determine the due date and rule out twins (my dad is a twin and there are several twins in the family line so we have been told)-----(Amie stop chanting twins, twins, twins). I'll fill ya all in tomorrow night.

I'm getting super excited for the big day on Saturday! I tried on my beautiful, amazing & much anticipated temple dress last week and it fit perfectly ----up to the new and quite expanded chest area. Sigh. I'm of course totally ok with that given the miracle that cause my uppers to grow, but that dress was so perfect to be sealed in, c'est la via.

So for right now I'm just enjoying my new house, trying not to freak out that I will have guests here on Friday night and nothing will be put back into place, and praying hourly that tomorrow I will get to see a little tiny fluttering fetal heartbeat.

Oh and just so you don't have to read a picture less post, here are some recent photos from a shoot with a co-workers daughter and niece. I really can't wait to learn photoshop so I can enhance these for real. All I've been able to do so far is mess with the fill lighting and a bit of the color saturation. Yes the eyes on Nevaeh are for real and they are that color blue, all I did was lighten the photo. She is just the most precious baby around, very snugly.

To answer a few questions

2008-05-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

1. No we were not trying to get pregnant.

2. Yes we were with in 6 months of putting in our adoption paperwork.

3. No since we were not trying to get pregnant we did not go forth with any of the Dr recommend infertility treatments. This little miracle is purely of God's doing.

4. Yes I knew in my heart with in days of conception (and with the help my girls Amie & Chris) that I was pregnant, so I was able to come off any harmful medications I was on with in the first week of the pregnancy. In fact I had major suspicions so early on I had to wait 10 days before a test registered I was pregnant.

5. Yes we found out for sure on Mother's Day morning.

6. Yes both of our parents screamed and cried when they found out. My mother can't stop smiling every time we get together for something.

7. Yes my blood sugars are my biggest worry right now. They have to be in super tight control, especially in the first 8 weeks of the pregnancy since that is when the major organs are developing. If my sugars are out of whack I can create major birth defects in the heart & brain stem. So if I turn down an event or invitation please don't take offense I'm just having to be so careful right now that keeping myself away from any temptation is my best plan.

8. No I have not had any morning sickness at all! Though I almost wish I did have some so that I would feel more pregnant and stop freaking out that I don't really feel pregnant yet.

9. Yes I see a team (no joke a total of 5) medical professionals. I will have an ultrasound every 4 weeks and I get to go to St. Joe's for a special fetal 3D ultra sound of the baby's heart at about 24 weeks. Since I found out on the 11th I have had no less then 6 Dr's appointments.

10. I have to keep working after the baby comes.

11. No we have no feelings one way or the other boy or girl. We're just praying for healthy. Though I'm leaning towards girl just cause I'm the only girl on my side of the family and DJ just has a brother & his father always wanted a little girl. And Amie is leaning towards twins, yikes.

12. Yes we are so completely over the moon that we may very well pass out of sheer happiness at any moment.

Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. We couldn't ask for better friends and family around us. It was been so wonderful to have all this support and happy reaction after years of Dr's and others telling us we were crazy and should never try to have kids.

This weeks gonna be another crazy one. Sorry if I don't post for a couple of days. We are having the floors re-done in the house and my entire house is torn up and will not be replace and put back together until Thursday night. Then we have friends coming into town Friday for the big Temple Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We hope to see you there. 9am session for the Endowments and 11:15am for the sealing. Then Neilson's frozen custard for lunch. Gonna be an amazing day! =)

Do you believe in miracles?

2008-05-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

It's faint, but there are two lines there. =)

Going MIA

2008-05-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

It's gonna be a quiet week round here cause I have 5 photoshoots to edit, 1 wedding to edit, and this is in the house........And just so there isn't a riot here look at these - though they are not edited yet.

I think a fly or somthing was passing though this shot, lol. And he will be edited right on out.

So happy!

So in love.

Oh the kissing that was going on........

Ok this one I made black and white so ya'll could see her amazing peace and the absolute beauty that is Robyn!

OMGosh!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-05T22:23:00.001-07:00

Twilight in HD