My Date For New Year's Eve

My sweet hubby is at work tonight so Cameron and I are enjoying each other's company and celebrating New Year's Eve together. The one bad thing about Shawn working late tonight is that Cameron can't go to bed until Shawn gets home because I am not able to lift him into his crib. Hopefully he will fall asleep on the couch, but that is doubtful. Anyway, I took some pictures of my wonderful date tonight. I prepared an elegant dinner for just the two of us and we toasted to the New Year with some chocolate milk (lol). Anyway, we are going to sit around here and play and watch some TV and wait for Daddy to come home. Isn't my date just so handsome? Ah, I am so lucky to have such a sweet and handsome date!! Here is to wishing you all a Happy, Healthy & Blessed New Year!!

A picture to share

The other night as we were getting ready to go out... my hubby took this picture of Cameron and I and I thought I would share it. As you can see, I am in desperate need of a haircut, but that probably won't happen for another couple weeks. I am gonna have to be shaggy for a bit longer. I can hardly wait for it to be cut off. Anyway, not sure if you can see that smile behind those hands, but he has such a precious smile that he was covering up.

A Talk With My Surgeon

Today I contacted my surgeon with questions about my weight restrictions. I am getting quite yantzy if you can tell. All I want to do is grab a hold of my little boy and hold on so tight to him and unfortunately I am not able to do that yet. I couldn't remember what my doctor told me, I guess my old age is getting the best of me (lol). Anyway, the nurse informed me that I am not able to lift anything over 20 lbs for 4 weeks from the 22nd when I had my staples removed. So, I guess I still have 3 more weeks left (UGH). I am getting so frustrated to say the least and all I want to do at this point is to snuggle with my little boy. I just want to be able to do all of those things that I am use to doing with him and as you guessed it.... I am missing it BIG BIG bunches!! I guess you could say that I am a bit jealous too. I mean this little boy of mine is totally obsessed with his Daddy now and doesn't want a thing to do with me and it is killing me. We go from being best of buddies to strangers or something close to it. It hurts!! Well, I guess I will just start counting down those days and when those 3 weeks are up, you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be holding that little boy as much as I can in a 24 hour period. Another thing that I mentioned to my doctor was the fact that I was still experiencing sharp pains in my surgery area. I asked if it could possibly be the fact that everything was moving back into place and that the muscles and everything were growing back together or whatever they do after surgery and she said "yes" and "no". She explained that if the pains continue and I am still experiencing them next week then I should probably come in and have an x-ray done. I asked why and she explained that it could mean that perhaps I still have a gall stone that is basically floating around in there and wreaking havoc. Oh, geesh!! I about lost my mind when she said that. What I didn't tell her is that I have been experiencing the pain for the past couple weeks. It is intermittent, but it is definitely something that gets my attention so here is to hoping that the pain disappears soon. The last thing I need or want is another surgery and most importantly to be cut open again and deal with weight restrictions again. Gotta love it!! Well, I will keep you all posted. If you could just keep me in your prayers - I would appreciate it. Thank you in advance.

Birthday Invites Complete

I love days when I feel like I got alot accomplished. Well, with Cameron's 2 YEAR Birthday right around the corner... I decided to make birthday invites for his birthday party. Since his birthday is on a Tuesday this year January 6th, we decided to have the family gathering for his birthday on Saturday the 10th. Well, since I have my lovely new printer (courtesy of my in-laws) I decided to make invites this year. Well, I found some pics for his invitations and created them myself. I think that they turned out pretty good and well Cameron was thrilled with them. He was just so excited about having a party!! Anyway, I am going to start practicing on making a Mickey Mouse cake myself (decorating and all) and if that doesn't work then we will go with good ole Kroger or Wal-Mart so we will see. I thought if I take a try at it this weekend then perhaps I will be ok come birthday time and his cake wouldn't look too terribly bad (lol). I will keep you posted on that. Well, I included pictures of his invites. Hope you like them.

Inside the card on the left side

Inside the card on the right side

Marley & Me Fit For Kids?

Alot of you questioned me as to whether or not the movie is fit for kids. Well, I can tell you that there were TONS of kids in the theater to see the movie, but to be honest with you... I am not sure that it is something that we would take Cameron to see. I do know that every family is different and some families would say it isn't that bad while others might say that they didn't find it appropriate. I will say this.... it is definitely worth watching it twice so perhaps check it out with your hubby and if you find that it is ok then take your kids to see it. All I know is that there were a couple times that Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson were making out on the bed and there were a few times were there were some cuss words, but no nudity and nothing too graphic, but the making out on the bed and a few cuss words was enough for me. Hope this helps you all determine whether or not the movie is right for you and your kids. Minus those few things that I mentioned above..... it was a GREAT movie!!

Date Night Out with Marley & Me

As many of you know, my husband is a school teacher for High School Spanish. Well, the good thing about him being a teacher, means that he gets lots of time off during the year. The time off couldn't have come at a better time to be quite honest. He has been such a BIG help with me recovering and it means that he spends more time with Cameron and I which we have truly enjoyed. Well, my husband and I aren't drinkers at all. I use to enjoy a good margarita with salt, but since I am a diabetic.... well, that is a thing of the past and well my husband just doesn't enjoy it so he doesn't drink which is fine with me. We never really go out on New Year's Eve, but we thought since my hubby was off from both jobs today and tomorrow that we would take advantage of that time and go out. Well, tonight we went out for dinner and we went to go see Marley & Me. If you haven't seen the movie then we highly recommend that you go see it and make sure you take plenty of tissues. Yep, I got my buttered popcorn if you are curious and really enjoyed it and we also shared a box of Milk Duds (yummy). Anyway, I am definitely not going to ruin the movie and tell you all about it, but it is definitely one you should check out. Touches your heart, that is for sure!! I am pretty sure I would give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Prayers are needed for Stellan

If you aren't familiar with MckMama and her blog then I highly recommend that you check out her blog. One of the many things I love about MckMama is that she loves the Lord with all of her heart and well so do I. Stellan is MckMama's youngest son that was born not too long ago and unfortunately he is very sick with RSV and is in need of lots of prayers. Please head on over to her site and say a little prayer for her sweet miracle baby Stellan. Thank you in advance for any and all prayers that you send up for that precious little boy. Hopefully with lots of our prayers... that little boy will be on the road to recovery and back home where he belongs.

Organization Complete - Before & After Pictures

Oh My, what a mess!! Cameron always goes to the doorway and points to something he wants and then we have to go and dig through everything to get what he wants. Gotta love the catch all closets full of stuff. Not only is it a catch all for all of the toys that Cameron plays with here and there, but it is also a catch all for all of the stuff and junk that I just decide to throw in there to hide when company comes over.... quick and easy clean up job (lol). I have tried taking the door off and making it just a little play area for Cameron, but taking off the door doesn't help keep it clean. So, we put the door back up with hopes that it would help and well, that didn't work either. Anyway, it is clean now and that will be one of my New Year's Resolutions to keep it clean...at least for a little while (hahaha). Here are BEFORE pictures.

Lookee There - You can't even see the back of the closet. What a mess!! Here are the AFTER pictures of the closet. Much Better - huh? You can actually see where the front and the back of the closet end and begin.

Ta Da - I separated all of the toys and labeled each drawer with my new label maker. Now I know that it won't stay this way especially with busy fingers into everything, but it looks nice - right? Hopefully if we stay on top of things then we can try our best to keep it organized and looking good at least for awhile. Yep, I think he has plenty of toys and that isn't even the half of them. He still has tons more in his room and in his bedroom closet. Yep, I think we need a bigger house!!

Time to Organize

My good ole hubby is off from both of his jobs today and tomorrow and I have just a few plans for him (hehehe). I gotta take advantage of him being around and why not do it now while he has 2 days off in a row. One day to help me organize and the other day to recover (lol). Anyway, we have this closet under our stairs that I am wanting to get organized. It is basically full of toys, books and who knows what else. Anyway, I am going to get some totes, organize toys, take some up to his room, organize books, take some to his room and organize, organize and did I say organize? Yep, that is what the day is all about. Anyway, as I am sitting here typing my husband is not wanting to wait so I must go and help him now before he gets a bit frustrated. I will post before and after pictures later. Hopefully we can come up with some type of plan for this closet and not just use it as a junk hold all. Hmmm, perhaps a bigger house would work perfectly (hahaha).

May I borrow your glasses Mr. Potato Head?

You gotta love the good ole Mr. Potato Head. I mean what is there not to like about this toy? You can give him so many looks and dress him up anyway you would like. Well, Shawn's cousin Stacey and her husband Scott bought Cameron a Mr. Potato Head for Christmas. Well, let me tell you that he LOVES it and especially loves the yellow glasses that belong to Mr. Potato Head. I tried to tell Cameron that they were way to small for him, but he still wanted them on his face and indeed he got them on there..... how? I have no idea, but he did manage it. He put them on his face, gave me a thumbs up and said "Cool Dude". Now tell me that this is not the cutest picture!?! He just cracks me up!!

Cameron wrestles Mr. Potato Head on a minute to minute basis and they fight over who is gonna wear the glasses next. Cameron wrestles with a smile and I think Cameron won this battle. What do you think?

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y !! I won this battle and what do you think about that there Mr. Potato Head? I guess Cameron decided that he could exchange him the glasses for a tongue on top of his head. Hmmm, you wonder what poor Mr. Potato Head thinks of that.

I guess Cameron finally decided to play nice and allow Mr. Potato Head to wear not only the glasses, but also the green hat. I bet Mr. Potato Head feels much better.

I remember the days when I use to play with my Mr. Potato Head when I was younger. I love the fact that he is still around and now there is so much more you can do with him. What a great gift for not only Cameron, but his Mommy too

My Sleeping Prince

I caught my precious little boy sound asleep on his Daddy's chest the other night. Nothing more precious then watching a sweet baby or in my case a toddler sleep. I still relish the fact that I can watch him peacefully sleep and him not even know it. I remember when he use to snuggle up under our chins and we could hold him so close and he was so small and tiny. Now we hold him and his feet dangle over the side of our arms. Oh, where does time go? Our baby has grown up so fast and he keeps growing. I love seeing him grow and learn, but boy oh boy do I miss that baby stage. For those of you with little ones.... enjoy them because they grow so fast!! Cherish these special moments.

Santa & Mickey Mouse came for a visit

Our Christmas was a very good one and I hope yours was as well. As Cameron gets a bit older, things become more and more fun. Shawn and I didn't exchange gifts because quite frankly we didn't have the extra money. We did however spend all of our extra money that we had on Cameron and that is what it is all about. I have always told my husband that once Cameron was born that I didn't need anything from him and I am sticking to my words. I have all that I have ever wanted in this little boy and that is the honest truth. I did get some wonderful gifts from my in-laws and money and gift cards from my parents so it was a great Christmas had by all. Shawn's cousin Stacey and her husband Scott stopped by for a visit along with her sister Marci and her boyfriend and they brought lots of gifts for Cameron. Bless their sweet hearts.... they bought him a Baby V-Smile, 2 sets of cars to go with the Mickey Mouse Race Track that we bought for Cameron, a Mr. Potato Head and a Doodle Pro which is LOVES!! If you haven't checked out Stacey and her site please do so. She is honestly the sweetest person that you will ever meet and when I say sweet, I mean every bit of it. Anyway, thank you Stacey & Scott for those wonderful gifts!! Hopefully we can repay the favor when your little miracle baby comes along : )

Here is Cameron opening a gift from Scott & Stacey Here is Cameron in some of his new pajamas that he received from his Grammy and Grampy.

Mommy & Cameron playing with his new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - singing the all famous Hot Dog Dance.

Here is Daddy and Cameron performing their version of the Hot Dog Dance - Yippee!

Cool Mickey Mouse Race Track - all 3 of us love this toy!

Cameron received a Choo Choo Train from us as well - he loves it, but loves to sit in the middle of the circle and the train is always crashing head on to his foot. He laughs and then says "boomee". He is so funny!!

I love this precious smile on his face. He was so excited to get this toy. SIMPLY PRECIOUS!!

Here is Cameron enjoying his Doodle Pro. Yep, he is addicted to this toy and he had to take it with him when we left Christmas morning to go to my in-laws house. I received a new printer for my computer, photo paper, printer paper, a label maker (I love being organized), $100 cash, Speedway gas gift card, and 2 Olive Garden gift cards. Cameron received tons of Mickey Mouse stuff, undies (so we can work on potty training soon), socks, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Mickey Mouse Race Track, Choo Choo Train, cars, cars and did I say cars, diapers, clothes, pajamas, a remote control car, barnyard bowling, books, Baby V-Smile, Doodle Pro and well the list goes on. So, all and all it was a wonderful Christmas and we are truly blessed to share yet another one with all of our loved ones! Hope you all had a blessed day with your family and friends and enjoyed the time celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Mr. Sneaky the Gift Shaker

After making Christmas cookies last night, I caught Cameron getting into the gifts. Yep, he thought he was being all sneaky trying to get into the gifts and shake them. Good thing he didn't shake two of his gifts or else he would have heard a choo choo train with one and a cow mooing with another. That little boy is getting WAY TO SMART for his own good. We have started spelling certain words and well that doesn't work either because as soon as we spell it, he says it. Yep, we got a genius on our hands!! ~ Enjoy the pictures ~ Merry Christmas!

M-E-R-R-Y C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S !!

My favorite part of Christmas time is baking. I love baking and giving to others, but something put a small damper on that this year. Unfortunately, with my surgery, I wasn't able to bake like I am use to, but I didn't give up on the tradition of doing cut-outs with Cameron. Shawn had the brilliant idea of getting gingerbread and sugar cookies that were already in a roll and then we just roll them out and cut them out with our cookie cutters. Well, let me tell you that I will NEVER do that again. The dough was just way too difficult to work with and by the time I cut the cookies out, they were so soft that you couldn't hardly move them from the counter to the cookie sheet. The gingerbread men and women got along alot better then the sugar cookies, but it was just such a hassle. Let me just say that I missed working with my own sugar cookie recipe this year. We will definitely get back to it next year!! Anyway, my parents are coming into town today and I will see them for a little bit tonight and then we are heading to my in-laws house to light luminaries for all of our loved ones that have passed away and then we will take them to the cemeteries(another family tradition). We will visit with them and then come home, unwrap gifts with Cameron in the early morning, off to my in-laws again and then back home in the afternoon to spend time with my parents. Did you catch all that? I know, it is kinda crazy, but I am hoping for a smooth plan for next year where we spend Christmas Eve with one side of the family and Christmas Day with the other side. It would make it easier on all of us (I think). I guess that is one drawback of being married (lol). Well, I took pictures of us making Christmas cookies last night and thought I would post a couple for you to see.

Here is to wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Blessed New Year!

CNN & The IVF Vacation

I went on-line this evening to read up on my local news as well as the evening news on CNN. Well, I saw something on CNN tonight that made me think. Yep, can you imagine that it made me think? Well, let me just say that it got my wheels turning, not in a good or bad way, but it just got my wheels turning. Anyway, I came across a video on CNN that had to do with infertility. Well, I am like a magnet and whenever I see the word INFERTILITY then I automatically check it out. I like to stay updated on the "goings on" with infertility. Well, I checked out the video and it was all about couples that have gone overseas to have IVF done in order to conceive a child. I thought to myself "Why in the world would you go overseas to have that done when you can just have it done so close to home". Well, after watching the video, it seems as though couples are going on vacations to get pregnant through IVF. They have found that if they go to the Czech Republic then they find that the expense in having IVF is cut in half, actually more then half. I know that our 1 and only IVF procedure was over $12,000 and if you want to go to the Czech Republic then you are looking at spending (GET THIS) $3,316 and that includes your fertility drugs. I about flipped my lid. I couldn't believe how cheap it was. I couldn't believe that the cost of $3,316 was including "the complete ivf treatment". You should definitely check out this site. The site is called IVF Vacation. I read up on it a little bit and I guess I am teeter tottering on whether or not it would ever be something I would do. I guess if it came right down to it, that it would be something I would do. I can't imagine my life without Cameron. He is the brightest star in my sky and he is my whole world. I just love him to pieces and I also know that if given that chance to go over to the Czech Republic in order to make it all happen again and give me Cameron...... heck yeah, I would do it. In a quick second !! I guess I just hate that people have to go overseas in order to make this happen (ya know?) It is a shame that the expenses here in the US have to be so freaking high. Why does having a baby have to be so difficult? Why can't we have the same costs that the Czech Republic has in order to help make the dreams of lots of men and women out there have a baby? It shouldn't be that difficult to have a baby. You shouldn't have to travel eons of miles in order to make your dreams come true of having a baby, but some people do and have and their dreams did come true. Actually there is a couple that I was reading about on this site that lives here in Ohio. They live in Cleveland, Ohio, but just to know that there is a couple close to me that went overseas in order to get pregnant is amazing. They welcomed their twins into the world on October 21st. I don't know.... at first when I started reading about it, I was kinda hesitant, but when you put yourself in the shoes of someone going through infertility then you would probably do just about anything in order to make your dreams of becoming a parent come true. I definitely like to keep money in the good ole USA, especially since everyone here in the US is struggling and the last thing we need to do is take our money and spend it in the Czech Republic, but if it were me and I had the money and I didn't have my baby yet then you can bet your bottom dollar that I would be doing LOTS O' RESEARCH on that place and checking out the availabilities in order to make my dreams come true. Heck, you could have IVF done a couple times over there for the price of one over here in the states. Just like I mentioned in the beginning of my post..... Definitely gets ya thinking - huh?

All 24 Staples Are Out - Whew

Well, I am happy to report that I went to see my surgeon today. Yep, I went and had my 24 staples removed and boy oh boy does it feel much better. No more tugging, pulling and stretching over every single staple. Last night I noticed that the area around my staples were starting to show pus so I was getting worried to say the least that I could have an infection. My surgeon basically informed me that it is just a way that my body tells me that the staples are a foreign object and they are ready to be removed. He removed each and every one of them and to be honest there were a few of them that were a bit painful, but nothing like that drainage tube that was removed before I left the hospital to come home. Did I ever tell you about that drainage tube? Well, I would be more then happy to share that with you now..... I had this drainage tube that was hanging out of the side of my stomach and it was basically draining out all of the blood and other fluids that were in my surgery area. Well, this tube had to be stripped in order to keep me from getting an infection and well the day that I left to go home, they took it out. Now, I have felt some uncomfortable things before and I have dealt with some pain especially when conceiving Cameron and IVF and all, but the removal of the drainage tube was NO COMPARISON!!! Yep, no comparison at all. They put my hospital bed flat and that hurt bad enough as it is because it just pulled on everything, she clipped the stitch that was holding it in place and then she pulled out this HUMONGOUS 12-15 inch tube that was in my side. Oh, the pain was awful. I screamed so loud and tears were falling down my cheeks and I couldn't believe the pain that I was feeling. Oh, it was awful and all I could think of was "Yep, they already took out the IV and now I am in MAJOR need of some strong strong pain meds!" When they pulled that tube out, I could feel everything inside my belly move around and it literally felt like my insides were being torn out. Anyway, the removal of the staples weren't that bad at all in comparison to the drainage tube. So, now I am experiencing the freedom of no staples and truly enjoying it to say the least. My doctor told me that I would feel better in about an hour after they were taken out, but I felt better instantly. No more tugging or pulling and the discomfort was very small compared to what I have been experiencing over the past 2 weeks. I am still on weight restrictions for the next 4 weeks, but my recovery should be pretty easy from here or at least that is what I am praying for. Anyway, I posted a couple updated pictures of my belly...... ignore my wonderful baby stretch marks, but hopefully in another week this might look a bit better and keep improving! Funny because my doctor said it looked great and I thought it could look ALOT better (hahaha).

Our Day in a Nutshell - So far

Today has been an enjoyable day so far and it is only 10:37 am. Cameron let us sleep in and boy oh boy did we need it. Shawn especially enjoyed it since he is working so much and I was totally exhausted after my day out at our family gathering yesterday. We got up at 9:30 - can you believe that Cameron let us sleep in that late? Yep, I was surprised too, but I guess we all needed it. I fixed pancakes for breakfast for both of my boys.... Shawn had good ole regular round ones and I fixed Cameron Mickey Mouse pancakes.

Shortly after we ate we decided to give Cameron a bath and well as you can see he took off his diaper and up the stairs he went. I guess he was ready for a bath - huh? Yep, he indeed loves his bath time and we have just recently had to start spelling it out instead of saying it because if you say that you are thinking about it and then you forget or decide to do it later then you are in for some trouble. Yep, little man is not happy if you promise a bath and then go back on your word. Anyway, he enjoyed his bath and play time in the water. Now I am off to the kitchen again to get ready to fix homemade spaghetti sauce for my sweet hubby. I even offered to fix it and after I did that, I thought to myself "What were you thinking?" I guess he deserves a good meal for all he has done for us (strike that) me. So, I am going to fix him a good meal and I hope he enjoys it. I have to let it cook and simmer all day so it will be good and tasty in time for dinner. Hope you all have a blessed day!!

Family Christmas Party

Tonight was a fun evening. I was glad to get out of the house, but the ride over to the family gathering was a rough one for me. Pretty much all of Shawn's family lives out in the country and when you have 24 staples in your belly, it can tend to be a rough ride on the country roads. Anyway, we got together with my husband's Dad's side of the family and we had a very enjoyable time. I was happy to be out of the house and even more thrilled to talk to other adults. We had a huge amount of food to eat.... everyone brought some tasty food and we had something of everything. We had the all famous Honey Baked Ham, homemade noodles, baked beans, macaroni & cheese, cheesy potatoes, mashed potatoes, salad, relish tray and a gazillion sweets. The food was delicious and I was thrilled that I was finally able to eat and enjoy it. My appetite kinda disappeared with my surgery so I was happy to have it back. It took me some time to get ready to go and I was exhausted before we even left for the party, but I enjoyed the time out of the house. Shawn took this picture of Cameron and I this evening and I thought I would post it since I look halfway decent since I have had my surgery. My hair is in desperate need of being cut, but hopefully I can get it all chopped off soon. Well, Shawn is off today and tomorrow so I am going to go and enjoy some more family time. Hope you all are enjoying your families during the Christmas season!!

Cameron and Santa have a conversation

The day after my surgery my in-laws took Cameron to go see Santa. Well, Cameron wasn't real into it and wouldn't sit on Santa's lap. Well, my MIL told Cameron that he needed to find a way to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. The other night as I was sitting watching TV, I hear Cameron rattling off Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Socks, Train and the list goes on. I got up to see what he was doing and I found him talking to one of my decorative Santa's that is on my table in the entry way of the house. Yep, indeed he took the time to tell Santa what he wanted. I got him to tell Santa again while I got a video. Take a look how cute this is!! You will just love it ..... I know I do. **BE SURE TO PAUSE MY CHRISTMAS MUSIC SO YOU CAN HEAR WHAT HE HAS TO SAY - The music is all the way at the bottom of my blog**

Colors of the Rainbow

Ok, time to brag a bit and you all know that I love to do that frequently when it comes to Cameron. Well, this little boy of mine LOVES this toy. It was given to us by a very dear friend of mine by the name of Beth. I actually took care of her children when I was fresh out of high school for many many years. Now they are all grown up and it makes me feel SO old. Well, she gave us tons of toys when I decided to quit my job of over 10 years and take up childcare in my home (bless her heart). This is definitely a favorite toy of Cameron's and it has helped alot when it comes to helping him learn his colors. This toy will entertain him for some time and as he plays he rattles off the colors so you gotta love a toy that helps him learn. Anyway, I just had to share this picture with all of you and let you see how intent he is while playing with it. Yep, it is great to know that he knows all the colors of the rainbow and then some.....I definitely have a smart kid on my hands.

Sock Monster on the Run

Well, I always knew that I had a little sock monster around this house. I could wash all the socks together, dry them together and still end up minus a sock or two. Well, I found out why last night. This little boy of mine is obsessed with socks. My in-laws were over last night helping me yet again with Cameron and I must say that he was not happy until he removed his socks and my MIL's socks. He pulled on her socks for I don't know how long and finally he flew back with her sock in hand. You would have thought he reached gold. He was thrilled and so excited that he finally got her sock off. Look at that smile on his face!! Oh, it melts my heart. Anyway, after he was able to pull her socks off, he started running into the hallway with them. Yep, the sock monster was on the run and if I wouldn't have stopped him, who knows where he would have taken her socks. So, if you ever come for a visit then I would highly recommend that you wear slippers. If you aren't careful you could end up barefoot with cold feet especially if the Sock Monster is on the run.

Sending you Holiday Hugs

Just thought I would share with you the Christmas pictures that we ended up going with for our Christmas card. I really wanted to create my own card, but other things got in my way of doing that. Hope you like the card. The good thing is that all my Christmas cards are FINALLY mailed out. Whew......

Do you ever feel icky about yourself?

Do you ever have days or weeks where you just feel icky about yourself? Well, today has been one of those days for me. Can you tell that I need to hurry up and recuperate from this surgery before it sends me over the edge? (lol) Anyway, today it got the best of me and I spent some time crying this morning. I am so frustrated that I am not able to do anything to help anyone and/or do anything to help my hubby or family to help make things easier on them. Don't get me wrong - I am doing better, but today was just an off day for me. I showered and still cannot dry my left butt cheek or left leg due to too much twisting and turning and it still causing pain and discomfort. So, I have to ask my sweet hubby for help which I hate, but he never complains and of course always does it with a smile. I got dressed shortly after brushing my teeth and not before looking at my body (particularly my belly). I literally look like I have been through some war or some fight and lost, lost BIG. I have bruises all over my belly, my arms, my legs and my belly is covered in staples. My hair needs cut and I literally feel like a mess. I look like a mess too!! So, today I spent alot of time thinking to myself..... why in the world does my hubby continue to stand by my side, love me for me and why in the world does he find me attractive? Ugh, I know that I shouldn't feel this way, but I do and I can't help, but feel this way about myself. We have a Christmas party to go to this weekend (a family party) and I am looking forward to it, but who knows how long I will be able to last. I have no energy to do much of anything and still do not have my strength built back up and all I can think about is ruining the day for my hubby. So, who knows what Saturday will bring, but I am looking forward to it, but just hoping that I can hang with the big dogs or maybe I should say "Hang with the Family". So, do you ever experience days like this and how do you cope with them? How do you make things better and try to see the positive in things? Normally I am a very positive person, actually can't stand to hang around negative people, but lately, I am in need of a little pep talk. This surgery, recovery and everything that goes along with it is getting the best of me. Any pointers that you may have would be much appreciated. Thank you as always for listening.

Fun Festivities with Cameron & Daddy

Life is never dull with Cameron or his Daddy. Well, as some of you might have read in a previous post.... my DH was off from work the other day for a snow day which was actually due to freezing rain. Anyway, my DH is a Spanish Teacher and he was off for the day which allowed us to spend some quality time together as a family. It was nice because it is something that we haven't done for some time due to DH working 2 jobs and then me recovering from my surgery. Anyway, it was alot of fun and I thought I would post some pictures of Cameron and his Daddy and a pic of Cameron and myself. The picture of myself isn't the best picture.... I look like junk and pretty much felt like it too, but still was able to put on a happy face for that sweet boy of mine.
Cameron and Shawn are definitely 2 peas in a pod, like father like son and they are so much fun to watch when they spend time together. I am just so blessed to have them both in my life. Cameron was spending ALOT of time climbing on Daddy as you will see in some of the pictures and then they both were taking turns wearing my laundry undergarments bag on their head. Uh yeah, Shawn was doing laundry and just got done washing some of my bra's when Cameron noticed the bag and it looking a little different from what he has seen before with a bag. Well, he knows that he is not allowed to play with bags, but I didn't see any harm with him playing with this one since it is mesh and he can still breath with it on his head. So, with him being the clown that he is, he decided to stick it on his head and run wildly around the house. Not too long after that, did he have Daddy try it on and now I think everyone in the house has had it on sometime or another this week. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the fun pictures. Indeed these 2 boys in my life keep me laughing constantly and make my world such a brighter place.

Hard Times Just Get Worse

I was really debating on whether or not to make this post, but it has been something that has really been bothering me for some time and to be quite honest I need to get it off my chest. After quitting my job of over 10 years in order to stay home with my son, I decided to take up babysitting in my home in order to help bring in some extra money for us. Not only have I been babysitting since I was fresh out of high school, but have done it here and there and everywhere. I was a Nanny fresh out of high school and truly loved it. I really enjoy children and I love spending time with them.

Well, it was during the summer when one of the little girls that I babysat for and her parents decided to take a trip to the local daycare here in the area. After touring the daycare, they decided that they weren't real comfortable with sending her there which is what I have heard from many other people. They said that they would continue to keep her in my care until she turned 3 and then they would again look for another pre-school. I was fine with that because there comes a time when you have to send your child to pre-school so they can continue to grow and learn more things. Fast forward a couple months..... Remind you that this little girl was in my care for almost 2 years. We treated this little girl like she was our own. We would take her to places in order to make things easier on her parents and their inability to leave work. We were very flexible which is something that you need when you have parents that work and we took great care of her or so I thought.

Well, the week before my surgery was a very easy week. I had my son and 2 other little girls in my care and they all got along great. They played with the numerous amounts of toys that we have, watched some tv, danced, had fun reading and we even did a few crafts. It was an easy week which is what I wanted especially before my surgery so I could also tackle alot of other things that needed to be done around my house. I did however confront this little girl's Mom about a concern that I had for some time. I didn't say much and never really said much because I pretty much felt sorry for the little girl. There were numerous times when this little girl would come to my home in the morning and she would be soaking wet....her diaper would be full of urine and it was like they hadn't even changed her as soon as she woke up. She would sit on my furniture or on the floor to watch tv or play and I would normally change her after an hour of being at my home. Well, when she arrived, I noticed that her pants were soaked.....not only in the front, but also in the back. I changed her diaper instantly and noticed that it was literally soaked to the point that it was just hanging on her by the diaper tabs.....barely hanging on. Well, I decided to confront her Mom because I was more or less worn out with her coming to my home with a soaking wet diaper and sitting on my furniture or new carpet and staining it or ruining it. Well, she became quite defensive and to be honest I don't blame her, but I wanted to make sure that I brought it to her attention and that I did and we moved on. I just wanted there to be a change in things and I was worn out with my stiff being ruined. Rewind a couple months back (gosh, I have you all over the place - huh) these folks took a vacation and one thing I allow every child is at least 5 days off UNPAID for their parents to do whatever they want with them (sick, vacation, appointments) and they asked if they could take their 5 days off for vacation as unpaid and I said "Sure, I would actually prefer that so we can get paid around Christmas time". Who wouldn't want to get paid around Christmas time - right? Well, we all agreed that would be fine.

Well, to make this long story short and to get to the point..... the night before my surgery, I received a call from this little girl's Dad and he asked me if his daughter fell and hurt herself today. I said "No, things were real calm today and there was no crying or hurt kids". I told him that it was an easy week and all the kids just played and had a good time with one another. He then proceeded to inform me that he found a bruise on his daugther and I told him that there were numerous times that I changed her throughout the day and didn't notice or see anything, but then again I wasn't looking for anything either. Well, he left it as that and wished me well with my surgery. The day of my surgery..... my hubby comes home to check e-mail that evening while I am still in the hospital and he finds an e-mail from her parents where they said basically that they were implying that I abused this little girl. Of course I wasn't understanding a whole lot when he first told me because I had pretty major surgery and was pretty high on pain meds and still recovering from the anesthesia. Well, the day after my surgery when my husband came to see me, he informed me what they said and read off the e-mail to me. I was really upset that these parents could accuse me of hurting their child. I cared for this little girl for almost 2 years, treat her as though she was our own and loved and cared for her so much and then they accuse me of hurting her. It was very upsetting to me!! I was hurt and was upset, but to be honest there wasn't a whole lot that I could do with a cut open belly and still in the hospital while experiencing ALOT of pain. Well, my DH called them and left a message and they never called back. I tried calling and also sent an e-mail to her Mom and she responded that she was pulling her from my care and she also found a daycare close to her place of employment. Well, I am sure it is like this everwhere, but daycare's do not just have openings for any and all children when they need care. They always have waiting lists especially in this very well known area where I use to work for over 10 years. Getting into these daycare's is not any easy or short task to say the least. My whole point with this is that I am still very much hurt that they accused me of such a hideous thing. I would NEVER lay a hand on any child.... I find it to be absolutely UNACCEPTABLE when people abuse children or other people for that matter. I guess I have also got to the point that this money that I was bringing in was helping tremendously with Christmas gifts. Now, we are out of that money and that makes me upset. The whole situation just frustrates me and makes me unhappy. Not only do we miss her company, but we also are REALLY missing out on the money that was going to help with Christmas gifts. I sit here and think about why they would do something like this. If they wanted to send her to a daycare then why not just tell me instead of accusing me of something that I would NEVER do. Anyway, now I have shared this story that I wasn't real sure about sharing, but I did and I am hoping you all share your thoughts and feelings on this situation as well. My husband works hard at 2 jobs. He is a teacher during the day and works at a local grocery store part-time. I feel bad that he works 2 jobs and now I am sitting here doing nothing while I recover. It has put a strain on our marriage, our relationship and I can't help, but to think that I am so anxious to get back up and running so I can go out and get a part-time job in the evening so I too can help bring in money. I am not sure I can get much more frustrated right now. I know that things are bad for other people and I realize that other people may have it worse then us, but this is our struggle and what we are dealing with right now and to be honest.... it is enough to make us wanna scream.

This n That & FAMILY time

Well, today has been a GREAT day!! Today my DH had his first snow day off and we are truly enjoying the time with him. He fixed egg and cheese bagels for breakfast and he cleaned my kitchen for me (what a sweetheart) and now we are just enjoying our time as a family which is very far and few between anymore. Since he works 2 jobs, we very rarely get to spend a whole lot of time together so, we are REALLY enjoying it today. Oh, I love snow days..... well, it isn't snowy, but the roads are covered in ice and most of the schools cancelled or had a 2 hour delay so that is always nice. Cameron has been using Daddy has a jungle gym and climbing up and down on his Daddy and enjoying the time with him and well I am just so excited that we can all be together. I miss it tremendously to be quite honest I wish it didn't have to be this way, but we are doing it all for Cameron so that is pretty important.

Recovery continues to go well. I normally only have 1-2 pain pills a day which is a great improvement from the pills that I was taking every 4 hours. I have been sleeping in the bed which is still something I am getting use to, but Shawn needs his rest so I cope with being uncomfortable so he can have a good nights rest. I guess love just does that to ya. It is just hard and difficult laying on your back ALL night long.... you tend to get a bit stiff, but last night I was able to roll over to my left side which was nice, but then when you roll back over to your back then those staples tend to pull (uh yeah, not such a pleasant feeling). My belly button still continues to be wonderful shades of the rainbow. Cameron points to certain areas on my belly and either says yellow, green or purple. I am so happy that my belly is teaching him the shades of a rainbow (lol). My arms and my legs are still bruised pretty bad as well, but I have listened to quite a few of you and others and have been taking it easy and not doing anything to give me a setback so I am being a good girl and listening!

I am going to try to finish up my Christmas cards today or at least get closer. I have been concentrating so much on burning all of my pics to a disc to have them for safe keeping. After reading my dear blogger friend Angie's site and learning that she lost all of her pictures recently....well, it freaked me out to say the least and lately I have been a maniac with burning all my pics and saving them to a disc. I wouldn't know what to do if I lost all of my 10,000 and some odd pics of my sweet Cameron and all of those sweet memories. So, I am down to 3000 left to burn and then I can relax knowing that they are safe on a disc. Thank you Angie for opening my eyes to this and I am so sorry that you lost all of your pictures!! I guess we can all learn from one another - right?

So, let's talk about family holiday traditions. I don't know about you, but I am and have been since Cameron was born anxious to start family traditions. Unfortunately, some of these have been delayed until next year when I am feeling better or we have gone with an easier approach to things in order to still make them happen, but make it easier on Mommy. Anyway, it has always been a family tradition since I was a young girl to jump into the car and go look at all of the Christmas lights in town. Well, that was easy enough and we have done that frequently this week. I just grab my pillow to apply to my belly and off we go to look at the lights. I normally bake lots and lots of goodies for family and friends, but that has been somewhat of a disappointment for me this year. I had so much fun with this last year. I found a GREAT sugar cookie recipe and made homemade icing and the cookies were delish. Well, this year I am not going to so much trouble. Instead my DH is going to go get the already made sugar cookie dough in a roll at the grocery store and we will improvise in order to make it happen. I just won't be able to take any to the maternity area of the hospital where I had Cameron or to my OBGYN's office. I told myself that these people made such an impact on my life when I was pregnant with Cameron and then when I had Cameron they were a huge part of it so, I told myself that I would take treats to them every time around this year, but we will have to delay it til next year due to me not having the energy to do it. We will just make enough cookies to make it fun for Cameron this year and that will be one other family tradition taken care of. I don't know about you, but when it comes to your kids and you make them a promise then you tend to keep it even if they are too small to know, but just knowing that I made that promise to Cameron and then me not being able to follow through with it was enough to crush my own heart so, I will stick to my promises as much as I can. So, do you have any family traditions? Next year we are going to start the tradition of making a gingerbread house together.... Won't that be fun?

Well, I am off to spend the day with my husband and my son as a FAMILY and I will check back with everyone later this evening during quiet time.....when little Cameron is fast asleep in his crib.

Feeling Better Today

Hope you all are doing well. I must admit that I am feeling much better today, but after I over did things the other day... I plan on just taking it easy today. So, with all of that being said, I am just thankful to be feeling better and glad that I am not nauseated anymore and not tied to the bathroom.

Not to gross anyone out, but if any of you have had your gall bladder taken out then you know that your bowels don't ever seem to be the same anymore or at least mine haven't and that is quite frustrating. I hope these changes don't last long because I am not into living my life on the white throne forever and a day. Yeah, it isn't pleasant at all and I am not enjoying that. The last thing anyone needs after major surgery is to spend their lifetime on the white throne when they could be laying down and resting. Trust me.... after over doing it the other day.... I definitely learned my lesson.

I have been missing Cameron so much lately and he has been bounced back and forth from our home to my in-laws home so today I decided to get out of the house and rest at their home. So, I am out of the house, close to Cameron and enjoying the company of my sister in-law and my father in-law and later on my mother in-law will be home. It is funny because you sit here and think to yourself that there are an awful lot of people out there that don't get along with their in-laws and I am not one of them. I truly love my in-laws to pieces. They have treated me like their own since before Shawn and I married and I am so thankful. They have been excellent during everything. They have been there alot for us when we needed them and indeed they never complain about a thing. Seriously, could you ask for better in-laws? Uh, nope I don't think I could.

My FIL fixed Cameron and I pancakes for breakfast today and now I am sitting on their laptop....well, not sitting on it, but I am sitting next to it and entering my post for the day. Then I am going to get out all of my scrapbooking stuff and make a card for a dear blogger friend of mine Amy B. If you aren't familiar with Amy B. and her site then you should definitely check it out. This woman is indeed the strongest that I have seen and known. She has a son by the name of Philip, an amazing husband by the name of Jim and she is currently dealing with health issues with Philip and her very own health problems. Please take a moment to check out her site and say a prayer for her family. They are in need of some healing and lots of prayers. So, click her name Amy and it will take you right to her site.

Well, I am off to make a card for Amy with hopes that it helps to bring her some cheer and lots of prayers too!!

Not feeling so hot...

Today has not been a good day. I woke up and instantly did not feel very good at all. I knew the other day when I woke up that I was feeling alot better and knew I was able to do more which I enjoyed. I knew after I did everything that I did over-do things and today I am feeling it. I have been nauseated all day long. I was thinking it was just that my sugar levels were low, but I realized that I was wrong shortly after I ate. I haven't felt good and still don't feel good. I try to explain to everyone that I hate relying on others when these others have so much other stuff to take care of, but I should have listened and took things gradually. Yep, you were all right and I was indeed wrong. Ugh, I hate admitting that I was wrong, but I was and now I am praying for my mistakes and not listening.

I was feeling pretty good last night and I got ALOT of my pictures burned to my DVD discs. I knew that was something that I had been wanting to do and when I got over 2000 pictures burned to my disc.... I was pretty happy. Yep, I still have over 10,000 more pictures to burn to my disc, but at least it is a start. Hmmm, do you think I am at all obsessed with my camera or my son? Oh, I can't help it. I am indeed so in love with my son and my love for him grows stronger every day and now that I don't see him that frequently since my in-laws are caring for him.....well, I miss him even more and my love grows stronger and deeper every day. So, yep I am happy to admit that I am a picture-a-holic, camera-a-holic or Cameron-a-holic. Whatever way you want to put it - I am happy to admit it!!

So, how many pictures do you have uploaded to your computer that need to be saved to a disc? I have the best idea - make it a New Year's Resolution to save those pictures to a disc so you have them for safe keeping. I know for a fact that I would be heart broken if I lost any of these precious memories.

Well, I am off to lay down. Hope you all are getting ready for Christmas..... it is just around the corner. Here is to hoping that I feel better after my nap.

Yep, I think I over did it today

Well, today was a busy day and probably too busy for me. I was actually feeling pretty good today when I woke up... even if I did sleep all night in the recliner. I went all night last night without a pain pill which was a good stretch for me however once I moved and got up out of the chair.... I was feeling the soreness and pain. Anyway, I slept pretty much all morning and then when Shawn got off work we headed to go get Cameron. He spent the night with Shawn's parents. Bless their hearts they are so tired and worn out from watching this very active little boy, but they would never say a thing about it. They love watching him, but they are worn out.

Anyway, we went to go get Cameron and I was so excited to see him. Ah, my heart melts every time I see that little boy especially after he is gone for awhile. I miss him so much and can't wait for things to get back to normal. So, we picked him up and the ride was quite difficult and bumpy (yep, I was sore). We went to the grocery store after we picked him up to get some diapers and I decided to go in which was fine since it was a quick trip. I was slow getting around, but I thought it would help build up my strength. We left shortly after and came home, but then we went back out to Wal-Mart later on this evening. I just wanted to get out because I have been locked up in this house and I was starting to get cabin fever and I was hoping that Shawn could push me around in a wheelchair, but when we got in there.... there were no wheelchairs available. So, I walked around and we got to the back of the store and in that instant, I knew I had overdone it !! Yep, I was hurting pretty bad, but I had to find enough strength to get back to the front of the store, check out and get to the car. Hmmm, yep that was going to be a challenge, but I did it and with alot of pain. We went home instantly after Shawn picked me up at the curb and I came home, propped my feet up and popped a pain pill. WOW, I am hoping I didn't over do it too terribly bad, but tomorrow will be the true test.

Good News out of all of this, is that I picked up my Christmas cards today with Cameron's pictures on them so I can address those and finally get them out. I normally have them out by now, but at least my friends and family will get them before Christmas. hahaha, I was beginning to wonder if they would get them at all. At least that is almost done so I can cross that off my list....what list is that? Oh heck, I don't know. I guess I was just hoping I made a list before my surgery because now, I can't remember anything especially on these strong drugs. Top shelf drugs - gotta love them!!

I think tomorrow will be a day of rest. My in-laws will be back over and will stay here from 3-10 since Shawn has to work. I was hoping he would get the whole weekend off, but I knew he wouldn't be that lucky. I miss him when he is gone. I guess I am just missing everyone and everything that is normal for us right now. One more week of this and then Shawn is off for Christmas break since he is a teacher and then on the 22nd I get my staples out so hopefully the healing will improve even more after that. On a funny note..... I was using the restroom today and if you all have children then you know that you don't ever have any privacy EVER when you have to go to the bathroom. Well, I am sitting there using the restroom and Cameron looks at my belly, looks at my legs and gently rubs his finger over my bruised legs, then he points to my belly and screams out "Yellow Belly". I didn't know what he was saying at first and then I realized that he saw the big bruise all over and around my belly button which is pretty much a bright yellow bruise...... the size of a lemon and he was saying that Mommy had a Yellow Belly. Gotta love a child that is so honest and so observant!! He cracks me up with some of the things that he says. Kids do indeed say some of the darndest things!!

Hard Times

Well, this has indeed been a difficult week for many in my family. My in-laws continue to be so helpful and I can't get over how wonderful they are and how blessed I am that they are in my life. They continue to take care of Cameron while I am recovering which is great help, but I can't help, but to miss my little buddy boy. Today, Cameron went to spend the day with Shawn's Dad and I sit here in the house alone. I guess everyone feels as though I should be enjoying the peace and quiet, but to be honest with you.... I rest easier when I know that Cameron is close by. I just miss him and next week doesn't sound like it will be any better. I have asked for help from others in my family however it seems as though it is just such a difficult task that I just end up forgetting the whole thing. It is a shame that you can't count on ceratin people to help you out in difficult situations. I realize that others have their lives too, but seriously isn't that what family is suppose to be about? Taking care of one another?

Anyway, it has been a week today since I had my surgery and I feel as though I am doing better every day. My incisions look pretty good except the bruising which is a bright yellow and I am taking my pain pills, but I am not taking them as frequently so that is an improvement (I think). I still sometimes think that I should be doing alot better sooner, but I guess that is just me and who I am. I wish I wasn't down and out and not able to do things around the house or help out, but that is just the person that I am. Hopefully, things will just keep improving everyday. Good News is that I am finally all caught up with reading everyone's blogs and leaving comments so, I hope that I didn't leave anyone out!!

On another note and my main reason for needing to get better fast..... as I mentioned previously, Shawn's parents were over last night until Cameron fell asleep. Well, his Grammy gave him a bath which he really enjoyed and then he came downstairs and played for a little while longer before bed. Well, Grampy took Cameron halfway up the steps and then he changed his mind on wanting to go to bed. He came over to me and hung out by my legs for a little while and then I sat and had a talk with him while he stood beside me. After talking to him and reassuring him that everything would be ok.... I climbed the steps to take him to his bed and Grammy followed. I guess he just needed his Mommy to take him up there, give him some hugs and kisses and tell him that everything would be ok. It is nice to know that he still wants and needs me and that warms my heart especially during this time when I feel like he could take me or leave me. Hmmm, yep it sounds like a pity party for me - huh? Well, I will stop with the pity party and call to check in on Cameron. If you could please keep me all in your prayers.... I need the strength to cope with everyday that I am away from Cameron. I know it sounds strange, but when I tried forever to conceive Cameron and it finally took..... we were blessed, we were blessed beyond our wildest imagination and I can't stand it when we are apart. Cameron and I are just best of buddies and this separation time is difficult for me and I am sure it is difficult on him too. I literally never knew how much love my heart could hold until I had my little boy and that love grows deeper and stronger everyday. It is AMAZING!!

Turn Back Time Thursday

Even though this was just taken about a week ago..... It is my Turn Back Time Thursday for this week. Ah, I don't know about you, but there is nothing better then receiving kisses from your child or children. So, here is my special memory that I wanted to remember today and share with all of you!! What is yours? Join me on Turning Back Time on Thursday's. Let me know you are participating by leaving a comment.

Friend Followers

Well, tonight I lost a very precious friend follower. Yep, you heard me correctly. I lost a follower of my blog and it really upsets me. I take pride in making things interesting for you all to come and read and even though we don't know who we lost, when we lose them..... it still bothers you to know that someone doesn't care to follow your blog anymore. I truly LOVE IT when I have new followers and I make sure that I set time aside to follow each and every blog and get to know each and every one of you and your blogs. I am sorry if I neglected someone. I personally feel as though I have neglected everyone especially since I am recovering from surgery right now, but I pray that you all stick with me until I am able to visit your blogs more, comment more and post more on my blog. If you are reading my blog for the Very 1st Time and want to be a new follower then I welcome you and encourage you to stick around and hopefully things will become more interesting for you and everyone else (lol). So, tonight I leave you with this note...... if you were a follower of my blog until just recently and you chose not to follow me and my story anymore, then I hope you will come back.

Time to Brag

Hi All, Things are going pretty good here. I got to shower again today and can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. I don't know how those guys and gals on Survivor do it. How do they go so long without a shower? Oh, I was in the hospital for 3 days and without a shower and that was plenty for me. Anyway, I hate to keep going over the fact that I am clean, but heck.... I smell good and I am enjoying it!

So, I told you that my in-laws have been helping me for quite a few days and I must say that I am so thankful for them. They have been WONDERFUL and I have truly enjoyed their help and their company. Yesterday they were here from 6:45 am until 10:00 pm and they did everything to help me out. They cooked, cleaned, took care of Cameron and took care of me. Did I tell you that they took good care of Cameron? Yep, that was my most important thing. I knew that they would take good care of him, but to see that he was well taken care of and happy was just enough to help me relax and know that he was in good in hands while Mommy is recovering. Recovering is quite difficult on me and Cameron. Cameron wants so bad for me to hold him, rock him, read to him, play with him and run after him and well Mommy isn't able to do much of anything right now. I have no energy, no energy and well not much energy. I am getting better every day, but when you want so bad to help out everyone and do so much..... well, it is bothersome that you can't do what you want to do. So, if you are one of those people out there that likes to do, do, do and can't do, do, do when you are down and out then it tends to be bothersome to you and quite irritating!! I just hate imposing on others and that is difficult for me. I too want to do all those things that Cameron wants and it hurts me to know that it will be 6 long weeks before I can hold him again. It will literally seem like an eternity for me to be able to hold and snuggle with him again and who knows if he will even be in to his Mommy anymore. Ugh, how difficult!! I just have to hope and pray that he doesn't give up on his Mommy and doesn't forget that I too can have fun with him even if I can't hold him.

Well, I am gonna wrap things up for now. Cameron is taking a nap and I might try to enjoy the quiet time as well. Take Care Everyone!!

Recovery is Slow, but Steady

Hope you all are doing well. I am doing decent, but could always be better. Recovery is slow, but is moving along which is nice. I was able to finally able to take my shower last night. Shawn helped me with a sponge bath the day I came home, but last night I was actually able to get into the shower last night and really take a shower. You take alot of things for granted like washing your hair, shaving your armpits and just being clean. I mean really being clean and there is nothing better then smelling good. Oh, I never knew that my bar of soap could smell so good and that isn't even my normal bar of soap, but heck it smells so good!! Anyway, I have 24 staples and 4 of them are under my belly button and the rest are across my belly.... clear across my belly which is not good.

My caregivers have been GREAT!! My in-laws have been over helping me for the past couple days and then Shawn will be off tomorrow and Thursday, but they will be back over in the evening since Shawn will be working his 2nd job. They have been taking great care of Cameron which is a huge relief and so calming to me. I haven't been sleeping too well. My bed is the recliner because to be quite honest.... I am scared have to death about laying down and trying to get back up.

So, let me touch base about my drainage tube that they took out before I left the hospital. Uh Yeah, that hurt like HECK!! I literally felt like my insides were being torn out. It was about 12-15 inches long and she just basically ripped it out of the drainage hole on my right side. I screamed so loud that my screams must have been heard throughout the hospital. It was AWFUL and it hurt like the dickens!!!!!! Yep, something I don't want to have to experience ever again nor should anyone have to experience it.

I am taking my pain meds every 4 hours. I try to be strong and wait longer, but I can't quite get there yet and I hate to push it. I think my pain meds are actually starting to kick in so I am gonna wrap this post up for now. I am slowly catching up on blogs, but it is taking me some time. Thank you so much for your kindness, your thoughts and most importantly your prayers!! They mean the world to me so thank you!!

I'M HOME

Hi Everyone. Well, I am home and worn out to be completely honest with you. Shawn updated you on what happened and indeed they had to cut me wide open because my liver had grown over and around my gall bladder so, you can imagine the difficulty that they were having to get it out of the way. Anyway, it was a good thing I didn't wait much longer because my doctor informed me that I was also on the verge of having pancreatitis. I am doing alot better with the pain today and that is why the sent me home plus they were probably tired of seeing me cry (lol). It is sad that you take so many things for granted and I am indeed happy to be home and enjoying the comfort of my own home and having my hubby and son around me. It has been so reassuring to know that Cameron has been well taken care of my Shawn's parents and I am so relieved to be honest with you. They are a true blessing to me!! It was just hard being at the hospital throughout the evening by myself. I didn't want Shawn to stay because of the snow that had fallen and the roads were real bad so I thought of him and sent him on his way. It was lonely being there by myself, I was hot, itching and feeling the pain so I was pretty miserable.

I am so happy that I was able to come home and have Shawn help me get cleaned up. Oh, it was such a delightful treat to brush my teeth, wash my hair, my armpits and other areas. It was just nice to get a sponge bath and to smell better or at least somewhat better. My husband has truly gone above and beyond his call of duty when it comes to his wedding vows. He is an amazing man and I owe him big for all that he has done to help me out. He was joking around with me while he was helping me wash up that I looked like a jungle women (hence the armpit hair) plus he told me that I had so much oil in my hair that he could probably give both of our cars oil changes (lol). I am trying not to laugh because trust me.... it hasn't been a good thing. Anyway, it is nice that he can joke with me about that stuff and still love me with as bad as I smelled and looked.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. I doubt that you will see me online for a few days, but I will try my best to stop in and check on you all. Hope you all are doing well. Hope this all makes sense.

Lisa Update!

Hi everyone!! I wanted to let everyone know how Lisa's surgery went. As you know, she was scheduled to have laproscopic surgery this morning. After about 30 minutes, the doctor called and told me he was unable to do the procedure laproscopicly, and had to do it open. Her liver had grown around the gallbladder making it unable to be accessed with the scope. Lucky her!! (lol). She came out of surgery ok, and with the help of drugs is feeling somewhat decent. She will be in the hospital until probably, Monday. I will try to keep everyone updated as possible. Keep the prayers and thoughts coming her way. We truly appreciate them!!!

Lisa's Husband
Shawn

Turn Back Time Thursday

I was thinking about starting something new and if you want to join in then please do so. I thought it would be fun to create "Turn Back Time Thursday". This is where you get to post pictures of fun moments, special memories or just a memorable time that you would like to share with others. No description is necessary unless you want to add one. So, today I share this moment with you...... Cameron Comes Home from the Hospital

If anyone knows how to do the Mr. Linky and could give me a short and easy description then I would love to add it. If not then just post your comment and we will then come take a look at your Turn Back Time Moment. Thanks for playing...... this should be fun!! Gotta love those sweet memories.

I am feeling the love

My sweet friend Candi from This IVFing Life has granted me a cool award. An award that I have not received yet so it is quite exciting to add it to my list. If you haven't checked out her site then you should head on over there right now and take a peek at her beautiful little IVF baby Carter. He is amazing and so is her story. So, go ahead and check it out!!

Now, I get to pass this award along to 5 others. Well, I am going to pass it along to one gal in particular and that goes to Carly @ The Wonders From My Sleepless Nights. Carly's blog touched my heart instantly when I came across it for the first time. You see, Carly is a Mom like most of us, but she lost a little boy by the name of Christian back in January 2007. After her loss she decided to start up her blog called To Write Their Names in the Sand . If you haven't checked out this site then you definitely need to take a look. She has dedicated some of her time to writing names in the sand of children that have lost their lives way too early. It is a beautiful site and I requested that she write the name of Baby A in the sands for us and it should hopefully be posted soon. As some of you know.... we too lost a child back in 2004 and although we never got to see our child or know if our child was a boy or girl we know that our child grew in our hearts for a very short time, but will live in our hearts forever. So, to find this site and to be connected to Carly who does this amazing work for those struggling after a loss it is amazing to me. It is touching and something you should definitely see. So, if you have just a moment.... be sure to check out her site and say a little prayer for all of those precious babies that have lost their lives way too soon. May those precious little angels rest in peace and continue to live on in their families hearts FOREVER!!

Time is Fast Approaching

Do you ever feel like you don't have enough time to do something? Do you ever feel like you don't have the help that you would like to have in order to get things accomplished? Well, that is how I am feeling lately. I feel like I have so much to do with so little time to do it in. I have a very long to do list and when I get something done... I think of something else and then add it to my list. So, my list never gets any smaller if you ask me.

My husband works 2 jobs in order to allow me to stay home with Cameron. Bless my husbands heart for working so hard and never complaining about it. I just wish he was home with me in the evening to help out around the house. This is where I give single moms a round of applause for doing it all on their own. Cameron keeps me running 24/7 or at least that is what it feels like and I take care of two other girls around the same age as Cameron during the week so indeed there is no rest for the weary. Shawn and I are dragging butt and we are worn out. Gotta love that my surgery is around the corner. That is this Friday and I have so much to do before that time arrives. UGH, I have a ton of laundry to fold and put away, I want my kitchen to be cleaned up and in good shape before my in-laws come over and we still have to go to the grocery store, clean the bathrooms and I would like to mop my kitchen floor too, but who knows if that will happen. I feel like I am nesting, but I am not even pregnant so that is kinda scary!! I guess that I just feel that since I am gonna be out of commission for awhile then I should have everything done or it will be a BIG mess by the time I am feeling better and able to do stuff. You know 7-10 days for weight restriction is not going to be a good thing for me especially when my hubby is always gone in the daytime and evening working his jobs!! It just makes me tired thinking about it all.

I am going to try to plan meals so we have everything and then I can throw things together or have my mother in-law do it for me, but if you know me then you know that I hate imposing on anyone for help so, it will be difficult for me to just sit around, relax and recover. I am like my Mom in that aspect and like to have everything done right away so, indeed it is always hard for me to relax even if I am not going in for surgery.

So, I got a call from the nurse at the hospital the other day. You know the nurses that calls to ask you one hundred billion questions. Well, you gotta love it when they ask you if you have a living will. Now come on folks!! Do they really need to ask that question!?! Seriously, there is nothing like scaring the weebee jeebies out of someone that is already having a hard time with going through the surgery and then you ask them if they have a living will. Oh, I just about freaked out!! Then they ask if you smoke (nope), drink (nope, but need a stiff one now) and do you take any street drugs (absolutely not) and then they ask you if you take caffeine......Hmmm, well, if you are like any other normal person in this world then you need a little caffeine every now and again so..... uh yeah, I might have a Diet Coke 2-3 times a week. Other then that the only other things I had to mention were that I am allergic to the plastic tape that they use to tape down your IV's and my other surgeries. Uh yeah, that plastic tape gives me some major skin irriation and I just can't use it so it is a MUST that they use the paper tape on me plus it feels alot better when they rip off that tape off your skin. Yeah, with that tape, you don't lose AS MUCH skin as you would with the clear plastic tape. I shouldn't need any surgery for the skin repair after they rip off that tape. We should be ok there. Another thing that I am totally a BIG baby about is when they put the IV's into your hand. Well, I never have ANY luck at all when they put an IV into my arm. There has only been 1 time that they have put an IV into my arm and did it on the first try. All other times have included about 5 people in my room and each person taking their own turn in poking me and try to find a vein. Seriously, is there a better way then bringing in people off the street to help in trying to find a vein? Is there a better way or a toy of somesort that they could use to run over the top of my arm to help find my veins? After many years of fertility treatments and every other day blood draws.... I can't really blame my veins for wanting to hide. How in the world do people do it that are addicted to shooting up drugs? I mean what type of satisfaction do you get from sticking yourself with a needle every day? I personally think you gotta be stupid if you want to poke yourself with a needle everyday. I just can't stand needles!!!!! I hate them and it irritates me to have nurses that sit there and put the needle in, can't find it, pull the needle out a little bit, jam it back in, then sit there and roll your skin over the needle with hopes that they will soon strike blood. Uh yeah, it is not pleasant at all.

Well, enough of my rambling. If I get off here and quit blogging then perhaps I will get some things done around the house. I guess a part of me thinks that if I keep blogging then I won't have to have my surgery (hahaha). Yep, I can't help it that I am a chicken!! Have a great day everyone.

Wordless Wednesday

F-I-N-A-L-L-Y

Well, I finally have some pictures of Cameron to work with for Christmas and I must admit that they are pretty cute. I wish I could get him standing in front of the Christmas tree, but I better not press my luck (lol). Unfortunately, I have very few of them where he is looking directly at me, but with a few others I thought I could put together a collage and then create a card to send out to everyone. So, I think that is what I will do. My trick that I used was Mickey Saves Santa.... yep, you heard me right. I have Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to record every morning so we have alot in storage so if he wants to watch some different ones then he has them. Well, we woke up this morning and I noticed that Mickey Saves Santa was on at 3:00 am and it was one that Cameron has not seen. Well, let me tell you that Cameron loves it and laughs and smiles through the whole show. So, while he was laughing and smiling.... I took about a dozen pictures and that way I can pull some out of that batch and use them. Good thing is that he was even clean and dressed cute so that was an added bonus (lol). He wasn't in anything with Christmas colors, but he has a cute little white turtle neck on and a Calvin Klein sweatshirt jacket so he looked decent. Anyway, here are some of the pictures that I will end up using for the Christmas card collage. The one large picture that I plan on using in the collage is of the one of him in front of the Christmas tree that I took on Thanksgiving day (the last picture). He is eating a cracker and has a few crumbs on his mouth, but hopefully that won't show up. I still have to crop and do a few other things to the pictures, but this is what I have so far...... pictures and that is what I wanted and needed. Let me know your thoughts!!

My Amazing Acrobat

My sons 2 year birthday is fast approaching and I am beginning to think that he is taking classes in his sleep to be an amazing acrobat. I sit here and watch him as he performs all of these stunts and think to myself " Now where in the world did he pick that up from". Seriously Shawn and I do not stand on our heads, jump on the couch, jump from toys, climb the back of the couch to get into our TV cubby and we most certainly do not climb the cupboards in the kitchen and try to get on top of the countertops. I mean for Pete's Sake where does he see all of this? Who teaches him all of these tricks? Who has taught him to be this amazing acrobat that likes to scare the crap out of me? Oh, lets talk about him standing on his head.... yep, I am sitting in my chair today reading my magazine and he screams out to me "Mommy, Mommy". Well, I glance over at him and I had to take a second glance and blink a few times to see if I saw him correctly. Yep, indeed he is leaning off of the foot stool, balancing himself on his head and his hands are behind his back. Where in the world did he think to do that? Does he like to see his Momma nervous? To think that he isn't even 2 years old yet and he is doing things like this makes me quite nervous. Oh, what am I in for as he gets older? Do I need to buy this boy some protective gear? Now let's talk about him climbing on the kitchen chairs to get on top of the kitchen table.... yep, you heard me correctly. Now would you like to know what happened next? Ok, well as he is climbing up that chair, he falls off the other side, screaming bloody murder for about 15 seconds, asks to be put down and then does the same thing again not even 5 minutes later. Ah, and then he likes to pile things on top of one another and try to climb them to get to the highest point on the couch or a chair. Now seriously..... why be so daring?!? Does he really have to keep his Momma running 24/7 ? Well, you know me and you probably know me quite well by now. I always have my camera close by and I always gotta snap a picture and then of course tell him to not climb the furniture, don't stand on your head, get off that chair like that and do not climb the drawers of the cupboards to get to something on top of the counter. So, as my nerves are shot and I am ready for bed..... here are some pictures of my AMAZING ACROBAT. Introducing to you all " THE Crazy, Courageous and Captivating Cameron" *(Enjoy your show)*

Not Me Monday

Yep, it is that time again. Time for that blog of carnival fun brought to you especially through MckMama and her great blog site. Everyone participates so why not try it out and join the fun. Here are my Not Me! Mondays for this past week.

1) I did not prepare my very 1st Thanksgiving Dinner on Thanksgiving Day, while in the process I did not and would never drop my 22 lb turkey into the cooking bag thinking it was sturdy enough to hold it. Nope, not me!! I would certainly not continue to wrestle the turkey after it dropped out of the bottom of the bag and into the kitchen sink, rolling around and make a huge loud thud. Nope, that wasn't me.... I totally know how to prepare a turkey. *now*
2) I totally did not try to grab my Thanksgiving turkey AFTER I dropped it into the sink and have the hardest time doing it because I lathered it up so well with vegetable oil. Nope, not me.
3) I did not FINALLY get my turkey into the cooking bag and then sit down thinking to myself .... "Well, at least I know what it is like fighting a sumo wrestler"
4) I AM NOT typing my Not Me Mondays at 4:58 am due to Cameron not wanting to sleep. Oh no my son always sleeps in
5) I did not wake up so early this morning, notice that MckMama posted her Not Me! Mondays and get super excited thinking that I would be the first one to post mine after her and then realize that 44 other people posted before me (sad face).
6) I am not sitting here trying to explain to my son that he is watching his "movie" and thinking to myself that I would still very much like to be cozy in my bed.
7) I am not sitting here watching my son dance like a maniac and think to myself that I would love if I had his energy. Not me.... I already have so much energy!

So, now that you have heard my Not Me! Mondays then I would highly recommend that you click on over to MckMama's site and see what all the hype is all about. Have fun and be sure to join in on the fun and share some of your Not Me's with all of us!!