I'm Domesticated!!!

That's right. I am a regular June Cleaver now that I have been home for awhile. Today I made Pumpkin Bread AND Caramel Apples!! I mean, it IS the season for these types of treats RIIIGHHHT?!

I couldn't wait to eat the pumpkin bread, so there it is incomplete in this picture

Caiden and I made the caramel apples, with an occasional assist from Dave. It was fun and they taste delicious!!!
The chosen apples
Notice the tool that Dave uses to remove the stems

I show Caiden how to cover the apples with Caramel
Then he does it himself :)
The finished product :)

Ok so it's not rocket science or anything, but admit it, you are a little impressed aren't you? :P Oh, and just in case you were gonna ask...the laundry is already in the dryer :)

Redecorating Rooms - Making Progress

You have already seen Kiya's new room (formerly the guest room), well now let us unveil the new and improved GUEST ROOM!!!! (drum roll pleeeeeaaassseee).

This is our "Travel" theme room as it contains things that we have collected or have been given to us from around the world. This room still needs some finishing touches, but for now (and until we have money to travel to collect more "collectibles" it is done).

These are bottles of wine that we have collected from our travels that are MADE in the country that we are at (sounds simple but we have some stories on how we got these)

The globe is from Asia and I love it (Thank you Katie and Lisa)

Here is the bed made with pillows. This bed is actually our crib converted to a full bed. :)

I have to say Dave did most of the work here. He painted the room, hung the shelves, put the bed together. I helped put on the new box sprint (more guided it), new mattress, put the sheets on and then added all of the details and moved the clothes into the closet.

We also made some modifications to the playroom. We got rid of the Armoire, got a new TV (we sold Dave's PC laptop), and added more storage space for toys. It really opens up the space. We even did a once over on the toys and weeded out some "unused ones".

It's so nice to finally make some progress on our house. I mean after all, it's only been THREE years. :)

Finishing Touches to Kiya's room

Since I have been home and Dave has had some time off we have finished Kiya's room. We finally have her moved over OFFICIALLY!!! Her closet has now been double hung, clothes moved over, and drawers filled with her things.

If you look closely there are two purple butterflies next to the "A"

There is a fairy sitting on the dragon picture my sister made (needlepoint)

Dave put the shelves up, and her name and some more finishing fairy touches. It is a wonderland, and a place that Kiya has peaceful dreams...just check her out :)

Can you believe I got this picture in the complete dark WITHOUT waking her up :P

Update on Matt

Thank you everyone for all of your prayers and thoughts. I wanted to give everyone an update on Matt's progress. The Drs are pretty positive that Matt will be a paraplegic for the rest of his life. They are going to release him from the hospital soon to a rehab center for the next 6 weeks where the emphasis will be on Matt learning how to live his life in a wheelchair rather than strengthening his legs.

We are still praying and hoping for a miracle and that Matt will be able to walk again. He is a 10 year old very active boy that loves to play hockey and run. If it is not in God's plan for Matt to walk than the focus will be on helping Matt understand that he can still do things that he wants, he will just have wheels instead of feet.

As always your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.

Prayers Needed & Warning About Undercooked Food

As some of you already know my stepbrother's son, Matt has fallen ill quite unexpectedly. This past Friday, Matt was taken to the ER. He had told his parents that he had some back pain so they set an appointment with an orthopedic doctor for that week, however Matt never made it. He awoke early Friday morning and was unable to move his legs.

At the ER, he was x-rayed and they did a spinal puncture. He was seen by a number of doctors and an MRI was done, and he was admitted to the hospital. The MRI revealed that a mass was growing in his back near the T4/T5 area (mid back). The neurosurgeon did not believe it was cancerous, but indicated that it needed to come out. Matt had surgery early Saturday morning.

The surgery went well and fast and the mass that was removed literally popped out when they went to remove it. It was 1-1/4 inch by 1 inch. They are testing it to determine what it is, however the neurosurgeon believes that is a parasite called Taenia Solium (AKA Pork Tapeworm). The disease this parasite caused is cysticercosis. The neurosurgeon described his case as bizarre.

Regardless the mass applied pressure for a small time t his spinal cord. That pressure has left him unable to move from the waist down. The neurosurgeon indicated that he had blood flow on both sides of his spinal cord and there was no damage or cuts to the spinal cord which is good. Matt now has some feeling in his upper legs when deep pressure is applied. He is set to begin physical therapy to help determine his prognosis and to get things working again. The doctors are not giving any guarantees at this time. He is only 10 years old. When he is released from the hospital he will have to go to a rehab center for over a month (he will live there while he is recouping).

This was very fast acting. Again he only described some back pain, and then all of a sudden he could not feel his legs. Please keep Matt in your thoughts and prayers. This next week will be crucial for him. We are hoping in time he will recover and be running around again.

Also, please take this as a reminder to ensure that you nor your children do not consume undercooked food.

The Unveiling Of Kiya's Mural!!

Who knew that Dave could be so artistic? But that's exactly what he is. He is a man of many talents as you can see below.

Since I have been home and we had some extra time (he took off work to help me), we decided to change Kiya's room into the bigger room (formerly the guest room). In doing so we bought her a big girl bed and started discussion on a mural. When we spoke about doing a mural for Kiya's room we had lots of visions for it, but since I have been out of work due to the surgery we have also been tight on money. This is when Dave had the great idea that he would paint the mural himself.

Kiya surveying the progress of her mural
Dave painting in the house
His progress without the projector :)

Now I must preface before I continue further that Dave has never painted a mural before nor have I really seen him draw anything. He does has great visionary skills (after all he designed our pool), as well as dedication, perseverance and perfectionist tendencies. I have to admit, while I believe in his skills, I was a little hesitant because it is quite the big mural, and he has no experience with these types of things.

The right side of her wall with a fairy, flowers and a butterfly
The detail is great :) You see the snail shell? He actually went out to the backyard to get a snail shell, and the seashell, he used Caiden's shell from a previous entry

We found some pictures that we wanted, and bought a projector (on clearance) and Dave went to work. For two weeks he worked tirelessly on this mural. It turned out SOO great, and Kiya loves it. She points to the tree and says "Daddy" and something that sounds like "paint". I think she knows that he did this just for her. :)

Dave is very proud of his butterfly
Flowers :)
This is his least favorite fairy but I think it came out well
This is my favorite fairy, especially the blue streaks in her hair
This is Dave's favorite fairy
The tree went much faster. He did it in about 2 days
finishing touches
DONE!!!! Exhausted but happy to be done
Final product :)

So now every night she gets to go to sleep in her new big girl room, with her big girl bed, dreaming her big girl dreams under a beautiful tree and wonderland that her daddy painted for her.

Kiya's big girl bed. She needs to step stool to get up to it

With a dreamworld like this...Imagine the possibilities (just like the sign says)

Say NO to Drugs!

Do you remember back when Nancy Reagan started the whole Say No to Drugs campaign? Well, it is STILL going strong, however I think the message MAY need to be refined...or at least CLARIFIED.

Last week at Caiden's school had Red Ribbon Week (the same as Say No to Drugs). They had bracelets, wore red shirts on Friday and had ribbons around the entire school. I guess they talked about drugs too, but I think they may have missed their mark.

Today when I went to Caiden's school to pick him up, he was telling Dave and I about how his class won for their banner of how to say no to drugs. He showed us (so cute, I should have taken a picture), and then he proceeded to discuss with us what it MEANS to say no to drugs.

Caiden: Mama you have to say no to drugs
Me: Oh...what does that mean to say no to drugs
Caiden: Well you say no to the bad drugs and yes to the good drugs
Me: *huh confused look* Um...well...what is a good drug?
Caiden: Good drugs are drugs that people say good things about.
Me: *Look at Dave like...I don't think so* Well Caiden, actually we don't want to take ANY drugs unless Mama or daddy say it's ok (like medicine) and we give it to you. Got it??

Of course at this point, I start to go into a lecture, but Dave looked at me and laughed. I mean, I am the all natural girl right?? All I was thinking is some evil kid taunting my innocent son with some dangerous chemical saying "Caiden this is a GOOD drug...all the kids are doing it. It makes you happy and..." I had to clarify for him. :)

So as you can see Cade got HALF the message, but not the whole thing. And this from the award winning classroom for their ability to translate their "understanding" of saying no to drugs in the best way. Hmm...that makes me wonder what the other classrooms took away from that week. :P

Woman of Steel!

When I was younger, I always wanted to be wonder woman. I mean who wouldn't right? She was beautiful, intelligent, had really cool bracelets and a tiara that protected her and she spun around in circles. Everything a little girl could ask for.

I ran around in underroos (do you remember those? For those of you who are too young to remember - underrroos were underwear that were themed liked wonder woman, superman, etc...) and would wear them everywhere...until my mom finally told me that they were underwear and at the age of 5 I was not allowed to wear them outside anymore. :(

I would pretend to be invincible, I would spin around and use my golden rope and bracelets. It was wonderful. Well, I may not have a golden tiara and bracelets, but I am getting closer to my wonder woman goal...I mean, I have to say that my invincibility factor has drastically increased now that I'm a woman of steel with this back surgery. I don't wish to be a braggart, but again, I know you're jealous :P You too wish you could have metal in your back that makes you stronger than before :) Hmm...I wonder if I will set off metal detectors at the airports??? "No officer, I'm not carrying a weapon...I AM the weapon!!" :P

The above picture is actually a picture of an xray that I took with my camera phone. I was being sneaky. The doctor had not come in yet, and they put up my xrays on the computer so I really quick snapped this shot. You can see the bone that they put in my back (where a space normally would be there is the bone); and the screws securing it and holding me together. They are actually MUCH bigger than I thought they were going to be. It almost looks like the top one was going to come out of the top of the disc. It's actually quite interesting. Let's just hope it works!!!

According to the doctor, by December I should be able to hike and bear weight, and by March I should be able to do more high impact activities like running, mountain biking and pole dancing!! I can't wait. :) It's a slow recovery process, but I'm hopeful :)

A Trip Down Memory Lane...

Well thank you to Katie, I now have some pictures of when I was a kid. I thought I would share a few of them with you :)

It showcases how long Katie and I have been friends...

I love this picture of Katie rollerskating on her carpet in her house :) Now THAT'S Commitment.

Here are some pictures of some Fun Times!!!!

Me in the pink bikini, Danie and Katie at the beach
More beach shots
Katie and I playing out front. Yes I am wearing Wonder Woman Underoos
Mom with Lisa, Stephanie, Katie and myself
Katie, Mel, Steph and Lisa in front of our house

Here are some shots of Katie and I on our birthday...




Here I am watching Katie open gifts. I think I look like Kiya here (except more hair)
Always with a paci, Katie and I play dolls
Funny Christmas is my favorite time of the year...although here I am clearly showing my dislike for Santa
Katie wasn't very fond of the man either :p

Halloween Pictures

Angelic Katie and Bunny Rabbit Mel

The neighborhood kids on our stairs. Yes the carpet is gold :P
"raggady ann" Lisa and "andy" Steph


See I was funny...here I am as a clown :P with mom and Katie
Here is Katie and I just lounging around playing. Notice the paci...apparently my favorite thing

Thank you so much Katie for sharing these pictures. It was wonderful taking a trip down memory lane.