Dinosaur Train PJs - So Cute!

We recently were able to review the new Dinosaur Train™ Striped Footed Pajamas available at Kohl's. These are perfect for this winter which has been one of the coldest and snowiest ever.  The dinosaur appliques and striped pattern on these footed pajamas offer timeless touches, and the footed design keep toes toasty. SRP is $26.00, available in sizes 2T-5T.  I really wish they were available in bigger sizes.  Handsome begs to try on Goddess' size 5T. They are big on her and he is sure they will fit. He is a size 8 or 10 depending on the clothing. When I asked Goddess what she would want people to know about the PJ's, here is what she had to say. "I like the colors" "They are very, very warm and soft" "My favorite part is that Buddy is on my feet. He is so cute!" The PJs are very warm. She loves putting them on when she gets out of the bath because she "warms up quicker."

Holy Crap I Am On A Conference Call With Katherine Heigl

I am currently on a phone call with 15 other bloggers talking through a moderator to Katherine Heigl. Can you imagine!?

We are talking about motherhood, parenting, family and juggling life!

How cool!

Journaling My Medical Drama of 2010 - Warning, Graphically Detailed-PART 3

Part 1

Part 2

So, when we last left off, I was on the commode with an audience.

The next day, I awoke to a kiss on my cheek. It was Clary who had been given a pass to visit by Teach. She was good until I sat up to hug her. Then she stared crying telling me that she had assured herself that she would be able to hold it together. We visited. She got to watch me pee (we are soooo much closer now) and at least I had someone there to shut the door for me.

When my roommate left for a rehab center (poor thing cried that she just wanted to go home but in your 90's you cannot just do what you want, it's like being a kid again) I asked to be moved to the more private bed.

My view

I stopped the morphine on day 3 after noticing that my blood pressure was as low as 85. No reason for that! Move on. I am not a big believer in pain killers. I think they mask a lot of what is going on and you won't be able to moniter yourself. This is not to say I am a big believer in PAIN. If you are in unbearable pain, you NEED relief. But how would I know what I need, if I were constantly masking it?

They removed my stomach drain on day 4. I was on the phone with Teach 20 minutes later and felt very, very nauseous. He told me to buzz a nurse. I clicked off my Blackberry as I pressed the buzzer for a nurse, barely getting out, that I felt like I was going to throw up. Opened my commode and noisily throw up, while holding my stitched and stapled stomach. On my first hurl, I noticed my friend Sandra standing in the doorway. She asked if I had called a nurse, stepped in and motherly started moving my hair away and handing me tissues for my face. Such good friends!

Here is the tree, the flowers and a balloon that latested until last week when it blew out the back door as Goddess and I watched it go over the mountain were from my Daddy!

The nurse came, all was cleaned and I felt fine. Sandra had brought me the cutest little Christmas Tree for my hospital room. It was decorated with red beads, red ribbons and had two little mittens on it. She said, "there are two for your two babies." Awww...always knowing what to say. Then she proceed to hang up my cards and things I brought with me,(from her and a teacher aid at the school, pictures of the kids, art work from the kids). I love my friends.

It is hard to see the kids at the hospital but they did come to see me. They were informed by Teach not to touch mommy, I showed them why they had to be careful. Handsome was very interested "What did they do? Will it be like that forever"?. Goddess, not so much, "it looks like it hurts!"

Clary and Teach came to see me on the same day which was wonderful. I felt like I had people with me and loved my foot massage (thanks Clary). Only a good friend could put on exfoliating gloves, and rub cream into your feet with your husband sitting next to you.

On this particular day I was pissed off for a good part of the morning. During the early morning, I received a new roommate who was really unhappy about being moved from her private room. Can't say I blame her but hear me out.

My little make shift dressing area

This particular morning, I decided to finally get out of my hospital gown. I made a little makeshift dressing room and got a basin of warm water, soap, wash cloth, towels and new pajamas that I had purchased for my time at the hospital. I took a bath (well, you get the idea), put on my new PJ's and sprayed some Dove Body Spray, on. Just a light raspberry. The nurse came in and said, "don't you look nice? It smells so good in here."

I went for a walk, met Clarissa in the hallway, walked back and forth with her. That is what you do in the hospital. Met Teach in the hallway, and we walked back to my room.

We were there about 10 minutes when the nurse came over and whispered. "What did you spray? Your roommate says it is bothering her and I have to ask you not to use it again" Ok, this would not be such a big problem if....I hadn't been smelling "ASS" for the past few hours. Literallly, my roommate and her husband smelled like "ASS". I never complained to the nurse however, my nose was offended for two days! There were times, I had to literally put my hand cream up to my nose to smell something other than ass, because when you are not eating, and your nausesous from your meds, you cannot smell unpleasant things without feeling more SICK!

Here is my Facebook post on that day:

IVs suck. no veins left anddd it smells like ass in here. imagine? my name roommate came at 5am complaining all morn. complain to my nurse about the Dove body spray smell. too much for her. its so not strong and was pissed at her rudeness. however everytime she passes my bed or her hub or she moves it smells like ASS! now I know why It was too much for her. she is not used to smelling something good. fah!

Than:


My nose is 100% offended. the smell of ass is overpowering. should I complain or just hand her some ass wipes?

Facebook kept me going. That comment sparked some funny comments from my friends who had all kinds of suggestions on how to deal with the "ass" family.
Fortunately, by day 6 I received my very first meal for my new intestine!

I drank about half of it! There is my commode! It was very good to me. I got rid of it that day and eventually used the bathroom which I was able to get into with my IV being outside the door.

Then I received a few more containers of liquid! When you have abdominal surgery, you are actually scared to eat. I can tell you that that first bit of soup I had, I felt where it was in my digestive track the entire time. I knew when it was entering my stomach, small intestines and than large intestine! Weirdness.

For dinner that night I received....Fried Chicken and Mashed Potatoes! Really??? There was no work up to it...soup, ginger ale, italian ice, then...this.

I ate about 70% of it and it took me an hour to eat because I fed myself like I was feeding a 10 month old.
For breakfast the next day, December 21st, I received this...

It was delicious and I ate everything except the orange juice. I was afraid it would upset my stomach.

On the 21st, my doctor made his rounds by 9:00 a.m. and I got to post this message on Facebook:

Being released from my prison cell today! now if they would only remove the handcuffs!!!


I was beyond happy and called Teach right away. He came to the hospital at 12:30. My IV was disconnected and I was released a half hour later. I was excited but hesitant; no antibiotics? Ummm...OK, I guess I was ready. The doctor knows best.
 
I was wheeled out by a 6.5 foot, 65 year old volunteer as the nurses said, "good-bye Maria". They knew how important it was for me to be home by Christmas. It was the 21st and I was heading home.
 
Teach met me at the door with the car and I got it feeling soooo happy.
 
He went to pick the kids up at the normal time and hearing them come through the door was music to my ears.
 
He was awesome, bringing me my drinks and cooking my meals, taking care of the kids. My man, was awesome. I walked up and down the hall way every 25 minutes about 10 times each way....feeling like I was on the mend.
 
Until.............................................................
 
Part 4, the final chapter coming!

Pocoyo Squeeze and Play Plush Toy

Last month, I was mailed a box containing a Squeeze and Play Plush of the wildly popular Pocoyo.

Why Don't You Need A License to Parent?!

The word "license", according to Wikipedia, means to give permission.  We need a license or need to take a class for everything, driving a car, getting married, selling houses, etc.  Yet, for one of the most challenging, rewarding, hardest jobs on the planet, we don't. Anyone schmuck can have a child, thus making them a parent.  Why are people not forced to take a class before they can become parents?

We head into parenting without any knowledge, hauling our own baggage, histories of our own parents mistakes, fears, phobias, idiosyncrasies, yet we are allowed to shape, mold and teach the next generation.  It is just plain scary!

I had my first child at 36 years old. The positive side of having children older is I got to watch many friends and family make mistakes along the way.  We all parent differently, and while I don't judge anyone's parenting style, (mostly because I understand the second paragraph of this post) it is sometimes harder not to judge when I see some life altering mistakes being made.

Last week my niece, who has always been extremely sensitive (the kid used to tear up when she was 2 years old during Hallmark commercials or when she was talking about something sad), posted something on her Facebook wall that worried me and I just had to call her.  I noticed messages from friends who were saying they were sorry about what had happened during the day. She is 15, what could have happened during the day?

When I called, I asked are you physically OK? I know that at 15 to ask if you are OK would be crazy. No one at 15 is OK. They maybe alright but there is a lot going on at 15 hormonally and mentally.  When she told me she was physically OK I asked if it was about a boy. It was! Surprise, surprise.

She, wanting to be honest with her parents had gone to them and asked if it was OK for her and this boy to get together, watch movies, hang out with each other. Her parents, being like the rest of us, people who didn't need an education to be a parent told her that this boy, who is older than her, is trying to get in her pants, and will eventually go to college and leave her.

Ummm...OK...while I get the wanting to be an adult and warn this young teen of the makings of a typical guys head and how it works, I think they missed an opportunity.

What they taught her, was to lie. Go behind their backs for the things she is passionate about.  Most teenage girls (not the girls on Maury) at this age, in case anyone has forgotten, which her mother obviously has, are not thinking about sex.  The act of sex is scary. They are romanticizing holding hands, calling someone a boyfriend, hugging and kissing a boy. To even put that thought in her head makes her think about it. Try to keep them apart and she will do what she has to in order to get him/keep him.

What she and this 17 year old boy were asking to do, was watch a movie and hang out. These are things that if my daughter had asked me, I would hope that I would say, "Yes, he can come over here when Daddy and I are home. You can watch a movie in the living room with us. We would love to meet him."

Then I would make sure that The Teach and I were home. There would be rules. They would not be allowed to go to her bedroom unless they kept the door open. Allowing them the time to be together without being alone would show her that I trust her to make the right decisions for herself, under my supervision of course.

If this boy were pressuring her to go further than she wants, I would trust that she is smart enough to know what her boundaries are. The only way to do that, is to talk openly about making the positive choices without scaring her. There would be plenty of time to have the "he's trying to get into your pants talk."

Shutting the door on this relationship, as her parents have, creates a bigger problem. She wants to be with this person. She will eventually lie to do so. Teens who are kept apart will find a way to be together. Plus, this will affect everything for her. Why? Because she is passionate and feels she knows what she wants. They are not even giving her the chance to see if this isn't what she wants. Maybe by spending time with him, she will see he is not the person for her and move on.

In no way, am I advocating that she and this boy date. She is 15 but, this first relationship, positive or negative will affect the way she deals with all others.

My suggestion to her was, try not to bring this up. Your parents, are not going to wake up tomorrow morning and tell you they have changed their minds.  Try to show them that you are the smart girl, I know you to be and that you can handle this. By acting like the angsty teen they think you are, they feel they made the right decision for you. Put this away for a week or two, busy yourself with friends, school, and crew and revisit it again telling them that you would like them to reconsider and invite him over for dinner and a movie with your family.

Kids grow up so fast, parents need to make sure they are doing the best they can without being selfish or judgmental. You cannot tell someone how they feel. If your teen says, this boy is perfect or the guys worth fighting for, that is how they feel!  Telling them how you think they feel, is not the answer! Don't close the door on your teens feelings or honesty because you are uncomfortable with the conversation. The only way to get through the teen years, is to be open and allow your teen the room to be their own person. In the long run, it is the only way to have a lasting, loving, relationship with them.

Sunday Stealing - The Ace Meme, Part One

Cheers to all of us thieves
1. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT?  Just last month I had a left colectomy (post here), the scar goes from just above my belly button to my bikini line. It looks like I have a front butt on my belly. It is only a month old and I am praying it will eventually look just a little better. If not, I will call myself "double butt!"

2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM? Paint, some photos and a cross! Oh and there that one time that my son (about 3.5 years old) decided to write his name by scrapping it with a pencil into the wall.

3. DO YOU SNORE, GRIND YOUR TEETH, OR TALK IN YOUR SLEEP? When I was younger I used to talk in my sleep. My husband tells me that I grind my teeth sometimes. And, occasionally, he will inform me that I was snoring.

4. WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO? I listen to a little of everything but mostly rock!

5. WHAT TIME WERE YOU BORN? 7:38 p.m.

6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW? To finish this meme and move on.

7. WHAT DO YOU MISS? Having energy. Seeing my girlfriends. Spending time with family. Hanging with my husband before we were married, just driving around, talking and listening to music.

8. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION(S)? My children are the obvious answers and hell yes...they are at the moment my possessions. Besides that, they are my videos and photos. I love looking at them and remembering the moment.

9. HOW TALL ARE YOU? You should be asking how short are you, in my case. I am 4'11" and 3/4"

10. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC? Usually I get claustrophobic if I feel people are standing too close.
11. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK? Depends. Sometimes I am extremely scared of the dark and sometimes, I walk through it like it is nothing.

12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY? Probably one of my kids by something cute they said. I am a total sap.

13. WHAT'S YOUR WORST FEAR? Losing one of my kids or my husband.

14. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON PEOPLE YOU'RE ATTRACTED TO? Darker hair and light eyes.

15. WHERE CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF PROPOSING? Well since I have been proposed to, I don't see myself proposing anytime some.

16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINK? COFFEE

17. FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING? Pepporoni

18. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Right now? Umm...well considering I just finished breakfast, I could go for a nice, crisp, slice of something cold, like watermelon or grapefruit.

19. FAVORITE COLOR OF ALL TIME? BLUE

20. HAVE YOU EVER EATEN A GOLDFISH? No. Will people actually be answering yes to this question? SICK!

21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST MEANINGFUL GIFT YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED? A gift boxed set of Little House on The Prairie books when I was 13 years old.

22. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH? I am always crushing on someone. Never people in my little part of the world. Always some celebrity dude.

23. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED? Nope just one set, feel sorry for me?!

24. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND? The kind I can afford.

25. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FEMALE/MALE CELEBRITY? I have so many favorites as I am quite fickle, however my favorites stick around for years. For a while it was Josh Holloway of Lost, that lasted about 3 years. Now, it is Rob Pattinson since 2008.

26. DO YOU HAVE A PET RIGHT NOW?  YES! We have about 150 stuffed animals in this house.

27. WHAT KIND IS IT? All kinds, from snakes, to horses and everything in between.

28. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING? Are we talking about leaving the room? Leaving the city? Leaving my sight? Will they be back? You can't help who you fall in love with. Whether they are leaving or not.

30. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED? Ok!  Did you hear it?

31. BLONDES OR BRUNETTES? Both, but I prefer brunettes!

32. FAVORITE QUOTE? 
 "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

"Promise me you will always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think!"

33. FAVORITE PLACE? Right here with my family.

Journaling My Medical Drama of 2010 - Warning, Graphically Detailed-PART 2

Part 1

The 10 days leading up to my surgery I made sure that everything that needed to be done if God forbid the worst happened, was done. 

I cleaned out paperwork and put it in a place that would be easyily found if my husband needed it. 

All Christmas cards were mailed out.

All Christmas gifts were wrapped and tagged.

The kids clothes for school, were bagged by day down to the socks and underwear.

Notes to the school and teachers about the change in drop off and pick up were sent in.

Snacks and vitamins were ready for the kids in a bin in the kitchen.

Gas tank on the car filled.

Clarissa was on stand by if The Teach needed back up or someone to drop off or pick up the kids.

My husband did the gig for two weeks but it is a lot to do it all especially when you don't normally do it.  Anything I could get done, was! 

On the morning of surgery, I woke up and started to get dressed. Before putting my shirt on, I looked at my stomach in the mirror. I ran my hands up and down the smooth, unlined stomach knowing that it would never look like that again. I have an appendix scar and two c-sections but those are at the bikini line. This was going to be different.  I was having a Left colectomy - removal of the portion of the colon located on the left side of the body (also known as the descending colon). Colectomy can be performed as a treatment for cancer and other diseases of the bowel. I looked it up on line and watched a medical video, it is better to be semi prepared.

We dropped the kids off and I tried hard not to cry. I kissed them both praying it would not be the last time I saw them. I prayed I would be out for Christmas.

We got to the hospital after an uncomfortable conversation in the car. I felt strong until the conversation and needed to regroup and gain my strength back. We walked into the hospital holding hands and headed to pre-op. I couldn't be at the Christmas Concert and really wanted Teach to record it and I focused on that. Blood, IV, a nice warm blanket (like bubble wrap that is inflated with warm air) and I was comfortable and nervous but ready.  The doctor comes in, shakes our hands. I ask him how he is feeling. He is in scrubs and just came out of surgery. I hear him tell Teach that I will be in recovery for 2 days "They will keep a better eye on her there.". When he leaves, Teach says, Ok..so the kids won't be able to see you for at least 2 days. I can't bring them into recovery." 
 
In my head, I thought, OK, let's just get this done. I don't want to be looking at this, I want it behind me. Teach took my things (my wedding/engagement ring, kissed me, we said our I Love Yous and I watched him walk out of the curtain. I took a deep breath and the curtain opened revealing someone who introduced themselves as my anestesiologist.

Right before he left he asked if I wanted something to take the edge off. I am not great with meds, they make me sick, and I pass out quickly. My stress level seemed OK and I was alone so said, "nah, I'm OK!"

He walked out, and the nurse turned to me and said, "You really should take him up on that offer! It will make the ride down the hallway much quicker." I said, "Ok!"

She stuck her head out the curtain and said, "She changed her mind. She would like a cocktail. Make it a sweet one!"

He came back in with a syringe. I watched him insert it into my IV and he walked out of the curtain. The nurse was writing something in a notebook with her back to me.........

I woke up to someone removing an oxygen mask from my mouth. I was angry. I loved the cold, clean air. I felt a hand patting my leg and saying, "the surgery went well." As I moaned out loud, feeling the first lick of pain, she thrust something into my hand and pressed my finger onto a button. "Here, this is your pain medication, press this button." I felt her hand squeezing mine around the clicker in my hand. I moaned, feeling as if I were hit by a bus....

My eyes open. I don't have my glasses on so I can't really see but the room is dark other than some colorful lights from monitors. I hear beeping and see two people standing at a desk, talking quietly....

I wake and feel like I am moving. A nurse is squeezing my hand telling me to push the button, I am going over an elevator frame, there are some bumps and I am moaning. They are wheeling me into a room and I worry that I am supposed to be in recovery.

The nurses are buzzing around. I want to call Teach but can't move. I have a tube up my nose and down my throat. It is extremely uncomfortable and I want to cry. I feel the heaviness of the tape holding it to my nose. It is hard to breath, swallow or lie flat with the tube.

Nurses are buzzing around, making room in my shared space for all my equipment. I feel the bed being moved, things being shuffled and I am in ridiculous pain. They tell me that they spoke to my husband and he knows where I am.

I have a catheter for urine, IV's in both arms (one for my meds, one for morphine and one for my IV), and the one up my nose and down my throat. That was the worst one BTW!

The tube down my throat is constantly sucking stomach acid and everything else so that my intestines are not forced to work. It is disgusting hearing the sucking noise and seeing the dark fluids go past my face to collect into a glass canister behind me.

I am able to speak to the Teach on the phone and tell him about the tube and how hard it is to talk and swallow. He tells me that the surgery well and that the reason I wasn't in recovery is because it wasn't as bad as they had originally thought. Good news!

The next day he comes to the hospital. He tells me that he wrote to everyone we are both friends/family with on Facebook and told them not to call or visit me until he gives them the OK. The only person allowed is my father. He tells them that I have a tube that makes it hard for me to talk and swallow and that he needs me to concentrate on getting better. Some people were shocked, some (my sister, angry), most understood that he was doing it for me.

The pain was about an 8. I could breathe through it and couldn't wait for the tube to come out of my throat!  They took my catheter out the next day and brought me a commode. Hooray, I was right next to the door. Had a tube in my throat that only let me go about a foot from my bed, IV in both arms and my room mate had neighbors. I couldn't reach to close the door or the curtain and had to pee every 20 minutes. It was crazy. No privacy at all. Everyone and their brother saw me pee and would wave at me as they walked by. Son-in-laws and brother-in-laws of my roommate included would literally wave and say hello. Maybe they didn't realize what I was doing but, seriously! If someone is sitting on a commode, could you divert your eyes as you walk by and give them a little dignity. There was no way around it either. If I had waited for an aid or nurse which is what I did the first 6 hours of this, I would wait sometimes 20 minutes for someone to get there and when you had to go, you had to go. Pressure in that area after my surgery wasn't good!

Part 3 coming up.

Journaling My Medical Drama of 2010 - Warning, Graphically Detailed

I have been meaning to get to this post, mostly for myself because well as this is Maria's Space most of the non-commercial stuff gets saved into a Word file that I hope to eventually put into book  form for myself and my kids.

It is over a month that I had surgery but it wasn't far enough behind me to write about. It was such a traumatic time that to revisit it would be too emotional but I am ready and willing to write it down for prosperity.

Yesterday I finally discussed the details with someone outside of my immediate family and friends and it was very easy to do. So....here it goes.

If you have been reading along, you may remember that last May-into June (here is the post), I ended up in the hospital with a severe case of diverticulitis that required me to stay at the hospital for 2 weeks and on heavy antibiotics for over a month afterward.

Since June, I have had numerous uterine infections and never felt quite right. My stomach ached, digestion wasn't easy and I always felt, weak, sick and nauseous. At the beginning of November with my 3rd uterine I headed to the gynecologist yet again. "Something is wrong! I have another infection." She does her thing and says, "yes, it appears you have a bacteria, very normal. I am going to give you an antibiotic, although I am surprised that after almost 6 months of antibiotics you have anything!"

I ask her to please send the culture to the lab! She insists it is just a vaginal bacteria and that the lab bill will be something she can't control (I have no insurance) and wants me to wait a day and reconsider not sending. I tell her that I understand about the bill but there have been too many infections, something is not right!

She calls me a week later from her car phone and tells me that she had to look up the bacteria that came back because it is outside her realm of medical knowledge. It is Bacteroides fragilis which turns out to be an intestinal bacteria. "Ummm"...I ask, "what is that doing by my cervix?" She says, "I wish I had answers for you, I don't know." Well, thanks lady!

The next day I call my GI doctor and explain over to the phone to his staff what is happening and ask to see him. We make an appointment and I head down to see him to set up a colonoscopy which is something we have had to reschedule before for a uterine infection.

Colonoscopy scheduled I head home and prepare myself for the thought of this. Two days before the colonoscopy, I pass stool from my vagina. Now, when I explain this part to people, I carefully say, there is no solid stool coming out. There is simply a smear of "poop" on the toilet paper. How did I know? I saw brown, smelled it and sure as shit it was shit!

Ok, now that I got that part out...let me continue...there is nothing that can prepare you for this...I came out of the bathroom crying. I went to the living room to get a tissue and my husband asked what is wrong? I walked into the kitchen and he followed. I told him and cried harder. He hugged me and said, don't be scared (this is not the first time these words have come out of his mouth. I have heard them twice before: 1. We heard a tree break during a storm and didn't know if it was going to crash through our house. He said it right before he threw himself over me and our newborn Handsome. 2. My water broke with Handsome and there was Meconium all over. He knew enough to say, the baby is Breech, his bottom is at your bottom, he will not aspirate, don't be scared everything is OK.)  He said, "maybe you should call your GI doctor. I did! He said, it sounds like you have a fistula. You need surgery. Call Dr. blah, blah and set up an emergency appointment, you need an emergency cat scan to find out where the path is.

I called, scheduled, saw the doctor, I told him that the path was between my uterus and intestine, he said, no it's your bladder and intestine.  Emergency cat scan was scheduled for the next day. I made a video on my cell phone, it makes me sick to look at it. I was so scared heading into the hospital alone for this cat scan. I really thought I was dying. It sounded so bad. Soft organs can adhere to each other and create a path?! What the hell?

The results were sent to the surgeon. During my appointment I asked what organs were involved. He said, it may be bladder, uterus and intestine (I found out later, he said, all three because he had never heard of a uterus being attached to the intestine).  

Surgery was set up. It wasn't soon enough for me. It was 10 days from my diagnosis and I was worried about sepsis. He prescribed an antibiotic.

I was really pissed about the date because just like in the Spring where I missed Handsome's Spring Concert, the surgery would be on the same day as the kids Christmas Concert! Nothing could be done about, the surgery had to happen.

Part 2 coming tomorrow, I just need to get it all down but don't want to make this post too long.

Free People Sale - Sponsored Post

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You Capture - Circles

Circles, circles everywhere.

Seats at a carnival game and check out those circles on the numbered sections.

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere. Not the best picture but I love how many bubbles are in the shot. I was trying to capture my daughter in the bubble but my favorite part of this picture beside her dress, are the bubbles laying on the deck floor like glass balls. 

Who doesn't love the simplicity of the daisy. Such a common, can be found anywhere flower but look at the detail in those petals.

My dew drop macro shot! Just had to include it.

Tabasco Original Red

My husband and I pick up Tabasco Original Red every other shopping trip. It started back in 1992 when we got our first apartment together. We lived on yellow rice and chicken. When our Hawaiian roommate brought home a bottle of Tabasco and was putting it on his eggs.  We eye balled each other and grabbed some for our rice. It was exactly what we needed to change up our boring meal.

Our love of Tabasco Original Red didn't stop there, we added it to everything. The combination of salt, red pepper and vinegar oddly enough go with everything from eggs to pizza (my favorite place to use it). We use it in our marinades and I love popcorn with some poured over the top.

Writing this post today (we are snowed, and iced in) is probably the worst thing I can do. I am craving pizza which was supposed to be dinner tonight and hot wings. Both which I use my Tabasco Original Red on. It isn't just about the heat! If you like your food spicy this is a good choice, but the benefits of Tabasco Original Red is more about the combination of the flavors brought out by the sauce. Everything is just tastier!

My husband and I started putting his Game Day menu together, February 6th will be here before you know it!

If you don't believe me about the pizza. Try it with Tabasco Original Red, you will never eat your pizza without it again. 

Cash to Pay Bills - Sponsored Post

Up to $1500 until your next pay day and only took 5 minutes to apply! So easy!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - A Real Page Turner! Calling Twilight Fans!

Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls) by Maggie Stiefvater 

What I Can Tell You: 

I had heard about this book last year when Twilight Guy was billing it as Twilight for Wolves. I love Twilight and thought why not! Saturday I finally pulled it from the top of my To Be Read Pile!  Last night I finished it!

I prolonged the ending as much as I could just like I did with Breaking Dawn. I saw the end coming and didn't want it to happen, so I put the book down numerous times. The last page would bring the end of the story and I didn't want to let it go. 

I explained the book today to a friend. "It was billed as Twilight for Werewolves. It isn't like Twilight. In Twilight we have to accept the relationship Bella and Edward form. There is no big build up to their undying love. It just is! It was the only problem I had with Twilight. The relationship seemed juvenile because of how fast they loved each other.  This is not the case with Shiver. We understand why they love each other.  It is something we can see, feel and it doesn't feel silly. 

Grace is a strong girl! She is the anti-Bella. Her world doesn't come crashing down when she isn't with Sam

I love that Maggie gave us Sam and Grace's point of views by switching narrators. 

This book is a quick read and I couldn't put it down. I flew through it in two days (weekend home with two kids, laundry, life, and meals). 

Maggie Stiefvater's writing is poetic, funny and charming. The characters, beside Grace's absent parents (Really people, there is a boy living in your daughter's bedroom for weeks and you have no idea?!) are interesting and likable.  Our main characters Grace and Sam, are sweet and lovable. 

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Machete on DVD and Blu-ray

What I Can Tell You:

If you are a big fan of movie fast action, guns, shooting, and blood, Machete is a must see!

Machete came out of a fake trailer that was featured in Grindhouse and was a brain storm Robert Rodriguez had after meeting Trejo on the set of Desperado. 

As a fan of Robert Rodriguez movies, I knew I was going to love this movie. I remember Danny Trejo from two of my favorite movies, From Dusk Till Dawn with George Clooney and Desperado with Antonio Bandaras.  I really was excited to see this when it was in the theater. Unfortunately, I never got there but thanks to 20th Century Fox, I was able to review the DVD which was released early this month.

Machete, played by Danny Trejo is a Mexican Federale who is on a mission to rescue a kidnapped girl. He is set up and watched his wife and daughter murdered while he is left for dead. Fast forward 3 years and he is laying low, looking for honest work when he is offered a suitcase full of money by Michael Booth (Jeff Fahey) to kill a Senator played by Robert De Niro. It's a set up to show that this illegal immigrant is trying to assassinate the Senator.  He is taken to a Network hospital. U.S. Immigration and Enforcement Agent Sartana Rivera (Jessica Alba) is sent to retrieve the injured Machete. 

With the help of Luz (Michelle Rodriquez) and his priest brother played by Cheech of Cheech and Chong, Machete seeks revenge on Booth.  After much death, machete throwing, making out, and recovery scenes, Machete rides into the sunset with one of the chicks on his bike (not telling which one).

  

Only in a movie by Robert Rodriquez could a guy who looks like Danny Trejo make out with Lindsey Lohan (yup she is in there too), Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodiguez, and Alicia Marek. 

Great movie if you like this kind of thing and I do. Spent most of the move fight scenes going "ahhhh" "ohhhh" "damnnnn".  Fun, and a big cast: Don Johnson, Steven Seagal also have roles in this bloody revenge movie. 

Mommy And Me Monday - 2003

 

Here is Handsome at almost 4 months old.  His daddy is a Devil and Giant fan and I dressed him in a lot of sports clothes. He was my little boy and didn't feel think baby blue with trains, planes, teddys and other "boyish" stuff was the route I wanted to take.  I looked for boy clothes that looked like "big boy" clothes. He was so cute and fun. I love his round head!

If my eyes look a bit red it is because I was sporting a horrific eye infection that took 3 months to get rid of. I was on heavy meds and at the eye doctor weekly. Looks like I was always crying. I was but not because of my eyes. It was because I was sooooo in love with my boys. My husband and my son!

The Devils clothing that Handsome is wearing now rests on one of his stuffed animals. There are some pieces of clothing I just can't get rid of and this set is included in that. At least it fits a stuffed animal and isn't sitting in a bin like the other baby clothes that I couldn't part with.

A Stitch Before Dying - A Black Sheep Knitting Mystery

What I Can Tell You:
I am not a big mystery reader and wasn't sure if I was going to even like this book, let alone love it. The reason I loved it so much was because of the friendship between The Black Sheep Knitters. There is nothing like having girlfriends. When the 5 woman head out to support Maggie their knitting guru on a workshop retreat, leaving their individual lives and families behind, I was thrusting my fist in the air. You go girls!

As someone who doesn't go out with my girlfriend mostly because being home is my favorite place to be and while I want to, I am not that chick who will leave the family to have the time of my life with my girls. I think female relationships are very special and the Black Sheep knitters are no different. They all come from different lives, different backgrounds and have very different personalities but they love and support each other.

This mystery had me guessing until the last 40 pages. Something just told me......Oh well, I'm not going to give it all away but if you love mystery books, or even if you are like me and don't, this is a great book to read. Literally made me want to pull my knitting (started when I was pregnant 8 years ago) out and finally finish that baby blanket

Never Let Me Go On DVD February 1st (Review)

What I Can Tell You:
You may have missed this movie on your radar and placed it in the artsy, independent category of "If I Catch It, I'll Watch It". That my friends would be a big mistake. Based on a book by Kazuo Ishiguro by the same name.

The movie begins set in the 1970's and we are told that life expectancy of people are into the 100's. We are in a British Boarding house called Halisham House, however, the children are not like other children. They are not orphans as I at first expected. They are clones. Children created and raised to be healthy and eventually donate their organs to help others before they reach "even middle age."  The story focuses around Kathy, Ruth and Tommy.  Kathy likes Tommy but when Ruth and Tommy become an item.

When they are old enough to leave Halisham House, they go to "The Cottages" until they are called to be donors. There is no need for life lessons as their only purpose is to donate.

Ruth and Tommy are still together which leaves Kathy to become a carer, a kind of social worker. While at "The Cottages" they hear a rumor from other clones that Halisham kids can defer from donorship.

The three eventually go their own ways until Kathy visits Ruth during one of her post-ops. They visit Tommy, and Ruth tells them that she had been jealous of their "true love" and took Tommy from Kathy. She believes they should be together and tells them she has had time to think about how she could make it right. She wants them to get a deferral and be together.

They seek out a way for the deferral only to hear that there never was one. Their paths is defined and they must fulfill their purpose.

What a crazy world it would be. The viewer is forced to think about the souls of the clones. They are no different than the people they serve and will live the lives they were given. I wish there was more of a back story as to how this type of technology and cloning came to be but atlas, I am left to my own imagination.

The story is very thought provoking and the acting is muted and spectacular.  I was blown away by the calmness and gentleness of the children's destinies are laid before them. What a bizarre, scary, sad, alternate world.

The movie is a must see and I am dying to see it again with someone, to discuss it in detail.

I have never seen Carey Mulligan (Kathy) prior to this movie but she and Keira Knightly (Ruth) were also in Pride and Prejudice together. Will be watching that movie very soon.

Head over to Fox Searchlight's Never Let Me Go website for more on the movie, the story, video, behind the scenes peeks, and more.

Friday Photo Flashback - March 2003

This weeks Friday Photo Flashback is from my Baby Shower in 2003. This is Grandma (mom's mother). She is now 95 years old and lives with my 94 year old Grandpa in Queens, NY. God Bless them. She has been very worried about me lately with all my medical issues. Hearing her voice while I was at the hospital, I could tell how scared she was. There are three grandchildren for her but, I am the only one who speaks to her. She buried two out of three children and tends to both their graves which are by her summer home in Millbrook, NY.

I am very fortunate to have grandparents both alive at my age. My kids are fortunate too to have Great-Grandparents. Unfortunately, I haven't seen them in three years. Always something one year it was my car and the next was medical reasons. My wish for this year is to make the trip with the kids up to Millbrook, take them to my mom's grave to place flowers than to see their great-grandparents God willing.

Grandma is an old bird but she has a loving heart. I can talk to her like I talk to anyone on the phone, she hears just fine and her mind is still sharp.

We speak weekly and though she has never been an I Love you type of person. I know she loves me with all her heart.

The A-Team on DVD - Amateur Movie Review

What I Can Tell You:
I never watched the original A-Team with Mr. T and Dirk Benedict but my grandparents watched it weekly and any repeat that aired. I was excited to see The A Team mostly because well...to be honest...Bradley Cooper is in it.  I am also a Liam Neeson fan so, I thought why not!?

As a movie it was good. I thought there was some great action and as someone who doesn't know the story behind the original A-Team, the movie stood alone.

This ragtag group of Army Rangers lead by Liam's character Hannibal are the Army's answer to superheros. They can pull off anything and do. If they weren't working for the Army, they would be dangerous criminals.

There is a ton of explosions, car chases, funny lines, and fun. And, if this is not enough to make you want to watch it....there is plenty of Bradley Cooper minus his shirt or even with his shirt!

Really fun movie. If you have a guy who loves action but you just can't sit through another shoot up/explosion movie. I promise you will be able to sit through this one.

ABC Wednesday - Y

This week, the letter is "Y"

My Youthful, Beautiful, Yellow, Baby!

Twelve On DVD - A Review

Twelve, directed by Joel Schumacher is based on a novel by Nick McDonell is about  teens from the Upper East Side in Manhattan. These aren't just your average teens. They have too much money and spend it on drugs.

What I Can Tell You: 

I am not a big fan of movies that glamorize addiction, violence and sex with teens. These power hungry teens are despicable and annoying.  However, I like the narration over most of the movie. It was kind of like A Christmas Story. The narrator gives us the thoughts behind the motives and the background story to the scene. If not for the narration, handsome Chace Crawford and youthful, Emma Roberts I would have hated this movie. There are a lot of layers and a ton of characters.  If I were a teen watching this movie, I would have been sick to my stomach

I was disturbed on so many levels. From the rich, virginal rich girl who gets quickly hooked on the drug twelve sold by 50 Cents and has ridiculous wasted conversations with her too many stuffed animals before offering sex for a fix. To poor White Mike who lost his mother to Cancer and can't stop thinking about her. Too much sex, too many drugs, too much wealth. This is what is wrong with American teens. They have too much!

The acting is good. The narration, done by Keifer Sutherland makes it bearable but the moral of this story is twisted.

Need A Custom Sign? Check Out Build A Sign And Get Free Shipping Now!

Thanks to a campaign through Family Review Network, I was in touch with the awesome people over at BuildASign.Com who have helped me get some one of a kind birthday gifts for two important people in my life.

Whether you are a  sole proprietor, mom-and-pop businesses, non-profit organizations, franchise or major corporation, Build A Sign has the perfect sign solution for your needs.  There expertise doesn't stop there either, you can get a birthday, graduation, or wedding banner, personalized street sign, garden flags, and more.

My nephew is a bigggg fan of the U.S. Intrepid and has been there as many times as his age, 12!  I made him a street sign that reads U.S. Intrepid for his birthday next month. His mother, my sister, says he is going to freak!

My father-in-law is a total gamer and has a Guild on line, so cute. I got him a street sign for his office that has his Guild's name on it. He is going to love it and I know that no one else is going to get one for him. Totally different gift and I can't wait to give it to him.

Here is a list of all the signs available. Interested? Simply click the link to head over to that section and see how easy it is to personalize or order a sign.

For the next two weeks, Build A Sign is running a free shipping special on on their products. Simply enter promo code NewYear2011 on your order form.

What I Can Tell You:

The signs look amazing! Beside the two street signs mentioned above. I received a Stop Sign for Handsome's room. He has an obsession with Stop Signs for some reason. I thought it would be cool to get him one for his room. I was floored when I opened the box. There was an actual, full size Street Sign! He was so excited. We haven't figured out yet how we are going to hang it on his wall but eventually it will be there and he will be the only kid in his class to have an actual Stop Sign in his room! 

There are so many choices and it is easy to customize the sign to your liking. You pick the colors, the font, what it says and the size and order it in less than 5 minutes. So quick and easy.

My favorite part of this company is how flexible, easy going and timely there are. All my contacts with them have been handled efficiently, effectively and with complete professionalism. 

Color Carnival - Sweets

Thankfully Martha the former host of Color Carnival has graciously been keeping the happy meme alive while I've been recuperating from my surgery next month.

Martha, I can't thank you enough for stepping up and taking care of this while I was away. Unfortunately, my surgery which I had on the 14th of December really knocked me for a loop. I thought for sure, I would be up and running a few days later.

I was in the hospital until the 21st, back to the ER on the 23rd, and today they put a drain in and I will start another round of antibiotics. It has been a long road with more pain than I ever thought possible but I am feeling better and while I am moving slow, getting back to life is very important to me. I've been gone for wayyyy to long. I pray to be happy and healthy next December so that I can make up for this holiday season.

Without further ado, here is my Color Carnival submission. I haven't taken the camera out since before the hospital so I have some slim pickens but this is a photo of some lollipops I saw the end of November. Not the best composition but here it is.

Ruby Tuesday - Dinner at the North Pole

The end of November the kids and I headed to a place in New Jersey called Ice Caverns. We got to peek into the window of Mr. and Mrs. Claus enjoying our favorite meal.

We also met a friendly penguin. Don't you love the lights?

Then Handsome and Santa shared a moment! We see you Santa.

Not the best composition but I love their faces. Can't visit Santa without wearing some red of our own.

Mommy and Me Monday

Me and my first born, Handsome when he was 2 months old. I couldn't stop taking self portrait pictures. It was a conscience effort to make sure I took tons because as someone who lost my mother when I was 12, there were never enough photos of her and I together. I wasn't going to let that happen to my son.

The Weekend In Black And White

Since I am currently living in a monochrome world at the moment, The Weekend in Black and White the perfect meme to participate in this week.

Haven't brought the camera out this year but found one of my favorites from 10 years ago.

Spotted this bench at the New Jersey Botanical Gardens and fell in love.

The wrought iron fence, the vines, the texture...there is so much going on here yet nothing at all.

Vampires Suck - A Hysterical Comedy - DVD Review

I am a huge Twilight Fan and will watch and read anything based on the story or characters so when Vampires Suck came out I was dying to see it.

Thanks to the 20th Century Fox DVD release of Vampires Suck this past November I finally got to see it.

In this adaptation of the story, Becca Crane played by Jenn Proske moves in with her father because her whore mother is shacking up with Tiger Woods.  There is something strange about Sporks. There are vampires everywhere.  She meets Edward Sullen played by Matt Lanter and of course falls desperately in lust. When he tries to reveal himself to her by stripping off his shirt and showing her his bling she guess that he is a Jonas Brother. He finally tells her that he is a vampire which she states would have been her next guess.

For her 18th birthday he brings Becca home to meet the family but things go horribly wrong when she gets a paper cut and they all try to eat her. Fortunately someone ordered Chinese food and the delivery man is quickly tossed to them so that Ed and Becca can make their narrow escape.

He brings her to the woods where he leaves her but not before he saves her from, three dangerous vampires. He kills Jack (James) by knocking his head off with a baseball bat.

Becca is attended to by her friend Jacob White who is just as hot as Tyler Lautner. He makes her feel safe and takes his shirt off often because it is in the script to happen every 10 minutes.

Edward is living in Italy with Lady Gaga when Iris finds him to tell him she had a vision. Becca had a motorcycle accident and is dead.

Edward can't live with this and heads out to have himself killed before Iris can tell him that her vision was wrong.

Iris picks up Becca and explains what Edward is going to do. They race to the prom where he will reveal himself and his saggy, butt to the Zolturi who are party animals and would never miss a prom according to Iris.

He reveals himself while Becca tries to run through the red cloaked, prom crowd. Getting involved in a jello fight and trying to get through a group of Team Edward and Team Jacob teenagers fighting each other.

Edward is forced by the Zolturi to make Becca Vampire. He agrees after she accepts his proposal and ring. He bites her. A Team Jacob chick takes him out and is attacked by a Vampire Becca.

What I Can Tell You:

That is the movie in a nutshell. The actors are awesome and do the characters major justice.  All the nuances are there.  Bella's downcast eyes, hair behind the ears every second, weird mouth movements and stutter.  This is the actresses first movie and she is totally and completely Bella.  She deserves an award for being Kristen Stewart.  Edward, is hot even with the rollers he uses to create the now famous coif. Which he sports when watching Becca sleep.

I loved the entire movie and watched it with a complete smile on my face and can't wait to watch it again with friends.

There are some truly hysterical scenes if you like stupid humor. Like her father tells her that he left her bedroom the way she left it and when he opens the door there is a crib and toys in it. He stuffs a pacifier in her mouth before walking out of the room.

There is even a quick nod to Stephanie Meyer. I thought it was hysterical and think Twilight fans will love it.

Right now, I have a tremendous desire to re-watch Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse which were all in this condensed version.

Sunday Stealing: The First 2011 Alphabet Meme

A is for Age: 44 and proud of it.

B is for Beer of choice: Blue Moon

C is for Career: Mother

D is for favourite Drink: Water

E is for Essential item you use everyday: Deodorant and toothpaste

F is for Favourite song at the moment:

G is for favourite Game: Trivia Pursuit for Wii

H is for Home town: New York

I is for Instruments you play: I no longer play an instrument. It has been more years than I care to admit.

J is for favourite Juice: Grapefruit

K is for Kids: Two

L is for Last kiss: I kiss my husband every day.

M is for marriage: One!

N is for full Name: Maria Grace

O is for Overnight hospital stays: Too many lately!

P is for phobias: The dark

Q is for quote:

People Will Forget What You Did, but People Will Never Forget How You Made Them Feel.”

R is for biggest Regret: I have no regrets.

S is for sports: These days, soccer. I love watching my son play.

T is for Time you wake up: Whenever I hear my son jump out of bed. Usually between 5:50 to 7:00 a.m.

U is for colour of underwear: Light blue

V is for Vegetable you love: Spinach

W is for Worst Habit: Biting my nails.

X is for X-rays you've had: More than 10 - Cat Scans are 6 since May. I am surprised I am not glowing.

Y is for Yummy food you make: I make awesome crab cakes, lasagna, sausage and peppers and chicken parm.

Z is for zodiac sign: Leo

Handsome and Me in 2003

He was just two months old but look at the size of him. I am 4'11" so you can only imagine how big and uncomfortable I was.

My heart was so full at this time. The love you feel for your child is so strong. I couldn't stop looking at him. As a new mom, I loved every day. I couldn't wait for him to wake from his naps. I wanted to show him the world. My every breath was for him. Nothing else existed and kissing his head 100 times a day was my nourishment. Food was secondary and if I weren't nursing I wouldn't have taken time to eat. Why spend time doing something for me when I existed for him?!

I can't get over how fast things move. His face is still the same but he is now dribbling a soccer ball next to me up and down the hall way while shouting to his sister how to play Wii as he passes by.

This picture, shows quiet, tranquility, and peace. My how times have changed.

Teenage Author Makes Me Purr with Her Debut Novel: Aurora Fee

What I Can Tell You: Aurora Fee is the 1st book written by17 year old Megan Barnes.

There is something different about Aurora. She is actually over 600 years old living in the life of a 16 year old shape shifter. Aurora is part human, part cat and can shape shift at will or depending on the stimuli she receives. Claws when she is mad, whiskers when she is shy, tail when she is happy, etc. She moves often because as a teenager full of hormones she falls in love quickly. However, loving a human always brings heartbreak and she has had her fill.

As Aurora starts her newest school in New York, she meets and falls in love with devastatingly handsome Kartik who loves her too.  Unfortunately like most teenage girls, she also loves Zane which is the reason she left her last school. Only one problem. Zane has followed her to this school and when he saves her one night and brings her to his place, he unknowingly kisses her at midnight, under a full moon and now he is also a cat person. See, how it works?!

Kartik begs Aurora to change him so he can save her from Elliot the guy she has been running from. When she changed Elliot he went off the deep end and became evil! He is now trying to kill Aurora and anyone she comes close to. As if this isn't enough for a 600+ teenager, she has a voice in her head that is annoyingly familiar.

Aurora and her changed boys are in danger and evil is gaining strength to end Aurora's life forever.

This is a young adult book and is written by a young adult. So, the dialogue is youthful and easy. This is a quick read and the characters aren't very deep but in this very creative storyline, I give kudos to Megan for her shout outs for one of my favorite books. Obviously a Twi-hard like me, Aurora is looking for her "Edward". Aurora and her boys (Kartik-Edward and Zane-Jacob) was very Twilightish.  She is in love with two boys who will do anything for her yet, in the long run. She remains friends with Zane and chooses Kartik.

I can't wait to see what else Megan Barnes comes up with. Support our young writer by visiting her website and learning more about her book, the characters, and finding out how she came to write Aurora Fee.

Photo Hunt - Your Choice

I took this picture last year. 2011 has yet to see my camera in my hand. So sad! No pictures of my Christmas tree, Christmas morning, the kids opening their gifts. It truly makes me sad that I have nothing to commemorate the holiday. Surgery and recovery overtook my entire life. But, hopefully by next month, I will be up and running.

tnchick from Photo Hunt asked for a picture of our choosing this week. This picture was taken the end of November during the kids visit to Santa. I loved these lights and the little red house ornament. Those lights just make me smile.

Saturday 9: Closer to Home

1. Where did you grow up? Where do you consider home? Long answer short. Born in Queens. Moved to Millbrook NY when I was 3. Stayed in Hudson Valley area until I moved to Brooklyn when I was 13.

2. If you could paint your car any color with no loss in value, what color would it be? Red!

3. What do you think comes after death? Sleep

4. Name a TV show that should NOT be renewed for another season. One show? I think there are tons that should not be renewed. Like all the reality garbage. The Bachelor has run its course. American Idol is also done.  You have to dumb downed to watch most of these shows. Pathetic waste of air time that is making millionaires out of some really stupid people.

5. If you could have a free subscription to any online service, which would you like to have? Uhh...I am out of the loop at the moment having been away from the computer for a month. There is nothing I think is worth spending money for online.
6. Where did you think you'd be at the age you are now? I thought I would be right where I am but with better health.

7. What did you want to be when you grew up? A vet, a doctor, a nurse, an actress. Oddly enough I have been these things at least one time in my life. Not in the real sense but as a pet owner, mother and wife these are all necessary roles.

8. If you were to suddenly become famous, and were forced to change names, what would you choose as your stage name? I wouldn't change my name but if I were forced I would be Mommy! The world calling me Mommy would be fun. I always wanted a big family.

9. What is the first book that you can remember reading by yourself as a child? Ummm..not sure what the first one was. I was a big book reader, it may have been something by Richard Scarry. I had tons of those books.

20th Anniversary of Thelma & Louise Now on Blu-ray

Can you believe it's 20 years since Thelma and Louise was released in theaters? I can't! I love this movie. Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis and Brad "yummy" Pitt.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, this is a must see. Two butt kicking chicks take the law into their own hands and become accidental outlaws. It's been years since I've seen it but it was a favorite of mine and that had nothing to do with a young, long haired Brad Pitt either.

Friday Fragments - January 7, 2011

Life is starting to return to normal. December was pretty non-existent for me. Surgery was bad, recovery was worse and things are still not right. I head back to the hospital on Monday for another test to see how things are progressing.

Went to Wound Care at the hospital on Wednesday for inspection on my wound (surgical site). Thought they would just clean it, dress it and tell me everything was progressing. After a lot of "uh" and ummm" the nurse told me that there were holes at the top and bottom of my incision. One goes down 1 cm and the other 7 cms. They wanted to cat scan but after 6 since May I refused. Skin was lanced so they could drain and culture fluid. Sonograam performed since I refused cat scan and another will be done when I go back on Monday. If all is not better, another cat scan will be the only choice. Hooray. Not!

Every time I feel like I am climbing the mountain of healing, I snag on a ledge and have to wait for a rope to be tossed down. It is extremely frustrating.

Very sad over the fact that I have no pictures from Christmas. I do a Christmas photo book every year of Christmas morning and have nothing. No tree pictures, no present pictures, no kids opening presents. I sat on the couch and watched Teach and the kids do Christmas.

I have the best husband in the world. Without him I would never have gotten through my hospital release and the first five days home. Thank God he is in my life and can be a pillar of strength and rational when I felt like I couldn't go on. The pain was beyond what I could handle and I couldn't even take care of myself. He took care of the kids, me and himself. Our entire lives orbited around him.  He was the sun and nourished and provided for all of our needs, including the very basic. More later. I am just not ready to put it all down. Need more time, not a place in time I want to go back. Will write it all, the good, the bad and the ugly. Not just for my readers, but for me. All of these posts are saved in book form and I want to include it (eventually).

Have been taking the kids to school and picking them up. Pick them up 10 minutes early so I don't have to do the bad rush. Can't walk fast and don't want to accidentally have someone knock into me in the mad, rush to sign our kids out of school. Plus, it makes it easier for me not to have to explain my story over and over again when I don't even know what's going on.

Snow day today. Not sure how much we are expecting but it has been coming down for some time. The kids are excited. Handsome is playing Xbox 360 with his dad and Goddess knows we are playing games today as soon as I finish posting.

Have been working hard to catch up on all my blogging promises. Thankfully everyone has been extremely supportive and patient.

Working with sight words and reading with Goddess...my goodness it is challenging. She has no patience and gets frustrated and quits easily. She isn't applying herself at all which is extremely frustrating to me.

Handsome's class has moved onto subtraction. It was hard for him to change over and he was adding all the math problems his teacher sent home. His dad sat with him and used Xbox games to teach him. It appears as if he has it, we have to keep working on it.

Last night, we worked on capitalization of people, places, and things and special names. It was hard for him to get the concept at first because he knows the first letter of a sentence needs to be capitalized now he is supposed to capitalize in the middle of sentences? What???? I am certain with a little more practice this will be easy but...my patience isn't what it could be. I am always feelings something in my own body that makes me stop to figure out what it is, where the pain is coming from, yada yada.

Have been watching a lot of Netflix lately. Some really pathetic movies out there can be very entertaining. I suggest:

Mega Piranha...too funny. Classic B Movie with tons of technical errors. Good for a laugh. Love that Greg Brady's character is named Brady and the captain of a ship is like 20 years old with greased back long hair. Oh and Tiffany...what happened to her? Well, she is playing a scientist that can make a helicopter fly on... oxygen when it runs out of fuel. You go gurl!!!!

Teeth...Oh my...a vagina with teeth?! Well, you can only imagine what happens with virginal girl meets crazy, horny boys. Yikes.

Louis CK...probably one of the funniest comedians for me right now. I love him!

Johnny Test..we have watched all 3 seasons over the last two weeks. Goddess and I love this show.

Home Alone 2...We must have watched this 30 times since I came home from the hospital and Teach is telling me he watched it at least 15 times while I was at the hospital with the kids. Thankfully, it was a good movie for adults too or we would be looking to "murder that kid".

Raptor Island...Yuck!

Mega Shark vs., Giant Octopus...umm...really...really bad.

Altered..after having intestinal surgery, this movie was a bit much for me at times. It didn't suck too much.

Haunting of Winchester House..umm..really..really dumb. Even the casting sucked. They had like a 13 year old girl whose lines made her sound like she was 5. Grrr..hated this movie so much and was really disappointed.

Well, that's about it for now. Way more than I planned for my Fragments but I've been away for a while. Had the need to type.