My One Year Anniversary

My One Year Anniversary

I now have a new day of remembrance on my calendar. My special day comes just a few days after most people celebrate a special a day called Valentine’s Day, a day of love, hearts and kisses, and of course chocolate and flowers. My day also falls in the month of February in which our nation tries to bring awareness to Congenital Heart Defects which is the #1 (NUMBER ONE) birth defect. I also share my special day of remembrance with my good friend’s daughter for the same reasons only she had her experience a year before me and at the precious age of 6 months old.

On February 17^th of every year I now celebrate how my AWESOME God brought me safely through Open Heart Surgery and allowed the skilled hands of Dr Fraser and his surgery team to repair the defects in my heart that I was born with. Today I am so thankful that I’ve been allowed one more year on this earth with a more efficiently pumping heart. I remember how wonderful the nurses and hospital staff were as they helped my healing body and soul. I’m also so thankful for how wonderful it was to have the support of my wonderful husband and parents as the Lord lead me through that “valley” in my life, and for the wonderful family and friends back home that took care of my precious boy and me when we returned home.

February 17th, 2011 right before surgery

While my body has healed from the invasive procedure and my heart is now pumping at 30% more capacity than it has in my entire life I still have a few scars to remind me of the experience. Some people think I would want to hide them or desire them to go completely away. However, I find it to be my badge to wear proudly. There are so many precious little ones that joined the “Zipper Club” at such younger ages than me and I am now a tad proud to be ranked among them. During my recovery time spent on the heart floor of Texas Children’s Hospital I was able to see many of these precious ones as they healed and fought, some as small infants and newborns, others as energetic little 4 year olds using their chest tube poles to “surf” around the halls. These little ones and their parents are true heart heroes.

This past Monday I traveled back down to Texas to see my Cardiologist at Texas Children’s for an echo and a fetal echo on our baby growing inside me. For those who don’t know, we are expecting Baby Two sometime in April and due to my CHD all of my children will be screened for heart defects as well. We had already had one fetal echo done back in November but due to the gestational age of Baby Two and the position he or she was laying in they were unable to see every part of the heart they needed to completely rule on a healthy heart. So we were to return during the third trimester to finish screening the baby. Thankfully they were able to get all of the images they needed this time around. However, they did find a narrowed area in the Aortic Arch that is causing enough concern that we will need make sure the baby is screened birth with another Echo and a couple of other screenings.

February 17, 2012 one day shy of 32 weeks gestation 

I would ask that you remember our baby in your prayers. Of course I hope and pray that they were “off” on their measurements and there is NO defect or that the narrowing does not cause any problems and we will not need any repair work done. However, I know that NO MATTER what the outcome is that my AMAZING God will bring us through. 

Food Fun!

Today has been a bit rough for Mommy and Little Man. I think most of the problem is due to not getting enough sleep last night and some of it maybe just a two year old pushing boundaries. Either way, when we arrived home from our Mom 2 Mom meeting we need lunch and a distraction, quickly!

So I grabbed little man’s two favorite cookie cutters from our box of 101 Cookie Cutters (so glad I purchased that box this past December!) and the stuff for grilled cheese sandwiches. I set little man up on the counter with his sippy cup and he helped me make CARS AND “CHOO-CHOOS” Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. We had a good bit of fun during the process and he enjoyed eating the finished product afterward.

So here is a quick step by step for those who might need it…

Step 1

Grab your toddler (or over-grown child, AKA an ADULT), cookie cutter shape of choice (more than one is okay), bread, cheese, butter & pan.

My Juice-Drinking Helper!

Step 2

Cut out the bread using your preferred cookie cutter. Making sure to match them up correctly, butter the OUTSIDE sides of the bread and then place one butter side down into already warmed skillet (I add a little butter to the skillet when I heat it up). Add your cheese and then place the second cut out slice of bread on top making sure to put the buttered side up.

The car cut-outs...

Train, AKA "Choo-Choo"...

Cooking side one...

Step 3

Cook for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown and the cheese has melted. I usually place a lid over my pan to help the cheese melt faster so I don’t end up burning the bread trying to melt the cheese.

My lid "method"...

Finished Product!

Step 4

Enjoy your sandwich!

Had to add this shot, this is quite the look!

Yummy!

I have a feeling this is how we will be making Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Avocado Melts & Tuna Melts from now on! YUMMY!

Project Life

Right around the New Year I was seeing a few pins here and there on Pinterest about something called Project Life. Oh! And for you sad souls that don’t know what Pinterest is yet you’ve got to check it out! Even my hubby is getting on the pinning-wagon! Now, back to what I was saying…Pinterest pins about Project Life and these women who were blogging about their “Title Page 2012” and “Week One”

So, Project life, what is that? After conducting a google search I came across the website for Becky Higgins and Project Life. In the easiest terms and taken directly from her website, Project Life “simplifies how you document life and preserve memories”.

Here is where a couple of things hit home. I WANT to document and preserve our life and memories. And I definitely NEED something SIMPLE. I need simple not because I don’t like crafting or “scrap booking” but because I am a young wife and mother (soon to be again) and want to spend my PRECIOUS craft time on other projects.

After debating the cost and looking at more pins about other women and their Project Life 2012 starts I decided that this WAS for me and I needed to get started ASAP! I also decided that I would rather purchase the supplies from Project Life/Becky Higgins to make it easier and simpler for me in the long run. You can take the project life concept and use any material/tools you have on hand but remember I needed SIMPLE!

To Amazon I went and there was an order placed and my supplies arrived last week during the “week of sickness”, which you can read about here. I am very excited to get started later today on my Title Page and am hoping to get caught up by next Monday.

Oh and BTW, I decided I needed a “scheduled” time to do my weekly spreads in or I would never stick to the commitment. I have set aside Monday afternoons for completing the prior week’s spread. Now obviously LIFE my change this at any point in time but I needed a committed time slot (or to BE committed, into a mental hospital…).

SO, go check out Project Life AND Pinterest! You may never be the same!

A New Year, A New Post - Finally!

Happy 2012 everyone!

Happy "already the middle of January 2012"!

My goodness! How the time flies and the New Year is already TWO whole weeks over with!

One of my "not written down anywhere but they’re in my head” New Year’s Resolutions was to get back to this tiny start I’d made into the blogging world in 2011. However, like all good intentions, LIFE has a way of stepping in and pushing some of those intentions aside. Yet I will not let that stop me from working towards my goals because otherwise, let’s face it, if I did that I would probably never accomplish anything in life.

So let’s recap these first two weeks in our crazy house….

Week one I was busy finishing up the holidays which included putting away Christmas (little man wasn’t too happy about that) and having my sweet hubby home for TWO whole Mondays in a row! FYI, this NEVER happens and it is usually a cardinal rule that he is NOT available on Mondays for anything outside of work. This can really be hard because a lot of my “specialty” Doctors ONLY see patients on MONDAYS. Ugh! Very frustrating for all involved and sometimes hubby has to make an exception to said “rule”, such as my upcoming Cardiology/Echo/Fetal Echo appointment in Houston.  

Also during “Week One” I was finishing up preparations for hosting a close friend’s Baby Shower, which happened to fall on the first Saturday of the New Year. Then we had a scare a couple of days before the shower that it wasn’t going to happen after all (don’t worry Baby and Momma are both fine!) but things starting looking up at the last minute and we proceeded as planned. Thankfully, we ended up having a wonderful (yet exhausting) time and there is no way I could have done ANY of it without the several other hostesses or my sweet hubby.

food table at the shower

Which leads us into week TWO…

My wonderful in laws had taken “little man” home during the baby shower so we (hubby and I) could have some rest time (which my pregnant, tired self REALLY needed) and they could have some grandson play time. Unfortunately for all involved I got a call about 2hrs into my glorious nap saying little man was throwing up, several times. And at this point in time, NINE days later, we’re still not done with (hence why I’ve not accomplished ANYTHING all week). So fast forward some and Monday of week two I got the stomach bug. Tuesday hubby/daddy flew out for a trip, a Bachelor Party Ski Trip – yeah so jealous (of the trip, NOT the skiing). Then when we went to convalesce at my parent’s we ended up sharing the stomach bug with them! My poor sweet parents! Add in a late night trip to the Pediatric Urgent Care to the week with loads of laundry/clean up and we’re caught up with 2012 as it has been thus far. Oh, and for the record hubby/daddy did come home (I’m not sure if I would have) and life is starting to return to “normal” as we know it.

Little Man before the "puke fest" began...

AND, for the record puking while 26 weeks pregnant with a very active baby is very, interesting…

Lastly, I want to say that during these “trying” (I use the term VERY lightly) weeks I saw and felt the Grace of God many times over, as we prayed for safety and health in my friend’s pregnancy and when I was sobbing holding a puking 2 ½ year old by myself. God has definitely been good and gracious and I’m thankful to be HIS child everyday. And so thankful for a wonderful family and support system here on earth as well!

WELCOME 2012!!

Finally Getting Back To Blogging!

Hi all! Just wanting to get up a post real quick to get me back into the blogging mode (which I had barely begun in the first place)!

Life is GREAT! It's been busy. I have had Open Heart Surgery at Texas Children's Hospital (BTW they ROCK down there!), gone through recovery having my wonderful Mother In Law staying with us and these last few weeks have tried to get back into the swing of things. Yesterday I traveled down and back to Houston for my post-op check up with my Dr's (everything is looking awesome!). The flights there and back were interesting. My Mom2Mom groups are wrapping up and I'm looking forward to the adventure into Toilet Training next month.

I've been slowly working on a couple of projects to share with everyone. Some of which I have plenty of pictures of and some I WOULD have had plenty IF I had noticed during all the detailed picture snapping that there was NO MEMORY CARD in my camera! Oh bother!

Well, there you have it! My crazy random thoughts blurted out there for all to see! Hopefully I will be able to take more time, thought and correct grammer for my future posts. But for now this is what you get!

Oh! Did I mention I got a Tulsa County Library Card? (Sorry Rogers County but Tulsa has you beat!) Oh, and I gave Noah a partial hair cut by myself? And then asked a sweet friend to help finish it....