Mohawk????

OK, I'm at a cross roads and need your help!!

Cody wants to get a mohawk with electric blue tips this summer. I've checked with the daycare and they are OK with it. My dilemma is if I would be sending a bad message to him by allowing him to do it.

I think it's harmless but can definitely see how it could be influential to him at a young age. Would this lead to nose rings and tattoos or would letting him do it now just satisfy his hunger and save me the fight when he's at a more rebellious age??? Please chime in by answering the survey to the left.

Success

The surgery was a success. I am managing more pain than I wanted but am sure it will get better soon (especially after I take my vicidan). I am in a soft cast for two weeks then I'll be put into a hard cast when the stitches come out. I think I'll be in a cast for three months before we'll know if the graft took and I'll need a cat scan to determine that. Then they'll have to go in surgically to remove the pins.

The Dr. did say that if the graft does not take then I will have to "deal" with the pain from the dead bone, become arthritic, and over the years loose range of motion. When the arthritis takes over and starts to impair my quality of life then he will perform the second surgery to remove the dead bone. So the good news is that I won't have another surgery on my wrist for a while but if this does not work than I'll get to live with additional arthritis. . . . . yeah.

Again, thanks so much for every ones get well wishes and prayers!
XOXO

Wrist Surgery

On May 18th at 9 a.m. I will be in surgery for my left wrist. The Dr. will hallow out the dead bone in my wrist and then fill it with a bone graft from my arm. I'm sure there will be a bit more pain involved with this surgery than my ankle surgery due to the graft but the Dr. says that I'll be back to work in just a few days.

I would like to ask for prayers on this one. As most of you know, this surgery only has a 40% success rate and if it does not work than I'll have to endure another surgery to remove the dead bone in my wrist and fuse four other bones together to accommodate for the hole left by the missing bone. If this is the case, I'll lose 40-60% of my range of motion in my left wrist.

I know how powerful prayer can be and I am grateful to all my friends and family who have already prayed for me in length ;0)

I'll post again next week to update everyone on my recovery. It will be a few weeks before the Dr. will be able to determine if the graft took but I'll continue to keep everyone updated. Thanks again for all of your support!

XOXOXOX

Reusable Shopping Bags

Kroger, and other grocers, have put together a website were you can create and buy your own reusable shopping bags. I put together 3 designs and the links to view and vote for them are to the right. Whether you vote for mine or not, this is a great idea and I encourage you to use your creativity while making a difference.

Ankle Surgery

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers! I am happy to report that the surgery went well and I am on the road to recovery. Dr. put me in my walking boot today and I am to ease into it. I'll have PT 3 times a week for four weeks with an estimated 4-6 month full recovery.

Next will be the wrist surgery but I am going to wait until I am stable on my feet before I schedule that one ;0)

Thanks again to everyone, you've been wonderful!

Cody is 8!!!

I feel like I should be packing Cody up to go to college!! The boy is going to be as tall as my by the end of the year, I'm sure of it!!!

We didn't do much, just cake and ice cream at our place. Cody actually passed up the opportunity to do Monster Jam . . . no one has quite figured out why. Maybe he's convinced it's just not meant to be after last year ;0)

Thanks to G-G-Ma and G-G-Pa! The boy thought he was "RICH" after your gift. Funny how quickly he went through it . . . now he just reminisces about how he was, "rich once."

Christmas 2008

Soooooo Christmas went fairly well this year. No major catastrophes, no trips to the hospital, and amazingly . . . the kids didn't complain about what they didn't get . . . . that should go down in the history books ;0)


Doesn't our family just look soooooo happy ;0)



It was actually excruciating trying to get everyone to cooperate for this picture . .. go figure ;0)



Cody, of course, enjoyed himself ;0)


Miss everyone, hope y'all had a great Christmas too!!!

Babies All About . . .

So my beautiful girlfriends both had their amazing little bundles of joy! How cute they are . . . . but I still don't want another one ;0)

I love that they are discovering this new and amazing world now that they've had these babies. So funny how our lives change so dramatically after children.

Here is Aimee & Ryan's baby boy, Kaylon:

Here is Andrea & Brian's baby girl, Ashley:

HALLOWEEN

Halloween has come and gone but the candy still remains!!!

Cody decided to be a little scarier this year! He actually freaked Nikki out, she did not like the mask (at all)!!! Cody thought it was the coolest think ever!! When you pump the handle, blood runs down the face of the mask ;0)

Nate was pretty freaky too . . . don't know what he is but he really liked the get up so that's all that matters ;0)

Nikki was very excited about her costume even though Mom wouldn't let her trick or treat (after days of argument). She did get to show off her outfit to her softball girlfriends at their little get together.

I think they're a pretty good lookin' bunch!

So the kids went their separate ways, Cody's first year knocking on doors alone. Ha, creaped him out a little! We got about half way around the block and he gave up. He still ended up with a full bag of candy but I don't think he wanted to argue with me anymore about keeping his mask on so people would know he was dressed up ;0)

Cody also got to make his first pumpkin this year. Much to his dismay, he had to paint it because not only did I NOT want to clean out the guts, I don't trust that boy with a knife ;0)

Goofin' Around

I am proud to announce that Mom & Dad went on a date for the first time in a long time! You go guys, keep it up!!

I stayed with the kids while they were gallivanting around town. After homework was completed the boys (Nate & Cody) went off to play so lovingly like they normally do (ha ha ha). When the noise level was almost obsolete, I knew I was in for a treat. See what happened next . . . .

I'm so proud of how well they spend their spare time ;0)

Nikki's Birthday

Poor Nik-Nak! This is her second Birthday now that has been postponed due to a hurricane. A couple years ago it was the exciting Rita evacuation. This year, Ike. BUT, she didn't complain and we celebrated at my place this year, which is a first!

Due to the storm, we stood in the line at the grocery store for 20-30 minutes just for cupcakes. Nikki and I enjoyed that the plastic character rings which topped these mini birthday cakes were woman of great statute like Tinkerbell, Cinderella and Barbie.

We did manage to find a Benihana's that was open and Amy joined us for the celebration. I learned how to master the chop sticks . . . . Nikki and Cody found another use for them.

I think Amy was impressed by the zucchini train the chef made.

Against Nikki's best efforts, we still managed to announce her birthday and d0 our part in embarrassing her on her very special day.

IKE!!!!

What a mess!! Around 2 a.m. Saturday, September 13th Dad and I woke up to what we thought was the Wizard of Oz movie. The house sounded like it was going to blow away at any minute. To my amazement, the kids slept through it!!

We "hunkered" (which I just learned means to crouch) down, made it through the night and literally, come 10 a.m., Ike was done with Houston.

Dad and Nikki made their way around the neighborhood to help in any way they could. Amazingly enough, the extent of our damage was no power, mangled trees, and a few missing roof tiles!

I was lucky enough to only loose power for a few hours during the blunt of the storm and my apartment complex was virtually untouched. Mom finally gave in and decided to save what she could from her fridge and move the family into my place. So, Mom, Dad, Nikki, Nate, Cody, I, Titus, and of course, My Grandmother from Colorado (this was her first hurricane) staid at my place till Tuesday.

We survived but not without finding a new appreciation for our loved ones. You can really get to know your family when they're crammed into a two bedroom apartment for three days;0)

There are still a lot of people without power and dead trees that line the streets waiting to be collected by the wood chipper but Ike has passed and we are surely counting our blessings!

TAGGED

OK . . . Andi is making me do this, apparently I HAVE to share six "random" things about myself and post it on my blog. BTW Sooooo love you Andi, thanks for thinking of me.

HMMMMM . . . .
1. Very few people have ever recognized that my left eye is mixed with brown and blue. The brown is becoming more predominate and will eventually take over my entire left eye, leaving me with one blue and one brown eye.

2. I absolutely can not stand for clothe to be in my mouth nor can I look at someone deciding to suck on their shirt color for some unknown reason. It activates my gag reflex, just thinking about it makes me green!

3. One day I pray to have a big beautiful garden. I love plants and flowers, particularly the unusual ones. Unfortunately I can't get most of them to survive the Houston, TX heat ;0)

4. My son most likely gets his OCD from me. Very few people realize how particular and orderly I am with my life. I have weekly calendars, behavior charts, cleaning schedules, and my budget is through the end of 2009 including everything from estimated rent & insurance increases to estimated prescriptions. I can walk into a room I've never been in before and with in just a few minutes, be able to tell you where any given object is. I also have to have things lined up symmetrically and I can't just eat one M&M at a time, it has to be in even numbers! Can we say FREAK???

5. I am not scared to die. I am at peace with my life and the wonderful gifts God has given me. I even find it hard to understand why others fear death. I feel a new journey for religious answers coming on . . .

6. OK, this is random but not unknown. I LOVE FROGS!!! When I was in elementary school there was a family of tree frogs that lived in our back yard and the baby was (don't laugh) named Fred. Some kids have imaginary friends, I have frogs! My mother even has a picture of me and my childhood friend, Fred.

So now that I've done this, it's your turn. And I do say that with all sincerity because I am supposed to tag six others with this task but I don't know anyone else with a blog (except the one who tagged me). So if you feel so compelled, here are the instructions:

1. Post the rules on your blog. 2. Write six random things about yourself. 3. Tag six people at the end of your post. 4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass it along.

Happy Birthday To ME!!

I celebrated my 27th Birthday on Friday the 29th. For some odd reason, I am getting the 30 jitters! I have never been scared of aging, in fact I respect it. I've always been intrigued by my elders and always though of aging as a wonderful gift given to us by God.

My mother thinks I'm just weirded out because when I was little, 30 was old ;0) Cody keeps telling me that I'm so old, hopefully he'll realize (sooner rather than latter) that I'm a young mother! I'm sure my mother mannerism makes me feel so much older too. I was talking with some friends the other day and called a 22 year old a "kid!" How odd is that!?!?

I must say that this was definitely a great Birthday! I received some wonderfully thoughtful presents and the family had a blast at Lupe Tortilla's for dinner!

American Idol

I managed to win two tickets to see the 2008 American Idol Tour, this is where the top ten contestants of the show go on tour all over the USA. So of course, I had to take my number one compodre, Nikki, with me to see the show ;0)

We managed to make our way up to the nose bleeds which worked out just fine because we had a good view and less people to fight for leg room. The top 6 came out and performed . . .

Chikezie is Cody's favorite and Nikki really enjoyed Brooke. I always thought Brooke cried to much on the show but her voice and range of musical talent are nice. I was rather upset with the David Archuleta craze, that boy should have never made it as far as he did, in my opinion. I was sure that Michale would be competing against David Cook.

It was kind of disappointing because it felt like the first 6 really had to stick to the songs they sang on the show and they didn't give them much room to play it up. Or maybe they're just crappy performers ;0) After they finished there was actually an intermission!!! I had never heard of music concerts with intermission, how weird is that! They had these two guys battle out on Guitar Hero, and a human Pop Tart floating around the crowd, it was just too funny!

Then the show got good!! Thanks Mom for letting us stay latter considering the next morning was the first day of school for Nikki. It was sooooooo worth it!! Syesha and Jason came out, Syesha looking like a hooker version of Whitney Houston and Jason got some good cheers from the crowd. I rather liked Jason on the show but he always seemed so stiff on TV. You could definitely tell that the show and the tour has really brought him out of his shell. His performance was more "real" so to speak and he actually made a few jokes ;0)

THEN . . David Archuleta came on stage (he got smoke and no one else did, I'm sure he put that in his contract! wrong!), the crowd went wild!!! Of course he sang a few songs from the show and then another one that Nikki says is his new release (I've never heard it).

I think Nikki LIKES David ;0)

He did his goofy, big tongue laugh and walked off stage. Then came David Cook!!! OMG!! The entire place stood up and just went wild. He couldn't talk for what felt like 5 minutes. He is definitely the greatest performer I've seen in a LONG time!! He worked the stage, the crowd, even the crew!! It was a blast to watch all the teenage girls go crazy trying to reach out and touch him. He sang his version of Hello, which I think he won the show when he sang that song!

The atmosphere was great, we left in smiles, good times . . . good times.