AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I WON! Not just did I win.... I won the GRAND PRIZE from that awesome site Kandy Kisses I was telling ya'll about. I was checking in yesterday through out the day and gave up around 5:30. I just put the girls down and finished posting the pics of Naiya's train and then I decided... what the heck, might as well check again and...I WON!!!! Now I can go back to scrubbing my dryer with much more joy! :)

Ta Da!

The long awaited and much anticipated train picture:

And here's one she did of a dog:

I'm not one to bag, but that's pretty good for a 3 year old (not even 3 1/2 yet). Ah... who am I kidding? This whole blog is bragging about my kids. (Except when it's complaining about them!) ;)

On that note... Anyone have experience with removing a nice coat of melted crayon from the inside of a dryer?

Not so bad!

The original plan with my surgery was to have him cut down my my ear, along my neck slightly and around the hairline. Then lift the skin and remove the lump. (Sorry to be graphic, but I have a point to make here.) Of course this requires full sedation (Fun tube down the throat kind of stuff.) The surgeon was pretty set on this method, not because it's easier or because it's safer, but because the scar remains hidden this way.
Now let's get real. This thing is back by my jaw bone not far from my ear. Do I really care if I have a scar there? (Keep in mind that I had a funky noncancerous tumor on my forehead removed 7 years ago. There is a scar. IN THE MIDDLE OF MY FOREHEAD). During my consultation this morning, before surgery I said, "Now why not just cut right on top of the sucker and pull it out? Wouldn't that be easier?" Turns out the answer is YUP! Didn't have to get put out, just got a mild sedative and a numbing shot on site. In and out of the OR in 45 minutes, and he stitched me up like a pro... plastic surgeon style. Soooo much easier. Did I mention that since we pay 20% of this I just saved myself a bundle. Uncomfortable? Yeah. Painful? Yup. Worth it? Absolutely.
The best part? Recovery is 100% faster, but I still get spoiled. Thanks to Jared for taking care of me today. Thanks to my family for taking care of my girls today and for bringing me food, magazines and flowers. And thanks to Elissa for making FANTASTIC made from scratch minestrone with home made focaccia bread and brownies. Just soft enough that I can eat it! A great home made dinner tonight and all I have to do is lift my spoon. Plus my mom took care of food for tomorrow so I get to relax and be crafty with my girls!
Thanks also to everyone who sent prayers, happy vibes, sent e-mail and comments and called. It really was a great comfort! The lab results will be in on Monday so I'll keep you all posted, but according to this surgeon (who has TONS of cancer experience) we're looking good! :)

27 more minutes to eat.

In 27 minutes, I can't eat or drink any more. This is what I'm thinking about. At least I have my priorities straight. I was about to scoop myself a huge bowl of thin mint ice cream (no, not vegan) when Jared reminded me that eating that would increase the chances I loose control of my bowels during the surgery. This, by the way, is a huge fear of mine. I have been dealing with this fear since I got pregnant with Naiya and read about it happening during labor. Gross, I know, but I've read stories... Honestly, I think Jared just wanted the ice cream for himself, and he happens to know me too well. Anyhow... now my "last meal" will be a cup of chamomile tea with honey. Just as good... (I'll keep telling myself that anyway).
I wanted to use this time when I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep to update my toddler blog since I know I won't feel like blogging later this week, but instead, I decided I have to share how cute my kids are.
First of all, Eva has been hell to put to bed lately. She doesn't NOT want to sleep and she's not afraid to tell you. Tonight I put her to bed at Ne-ma and Pa's house (my parents) and she was FANTASTIC. She was acting all goofy earlier in the evening because Uncle Martin is in town for Thanksgiving. I thought we'd have drama at bed time for sure. When it got down to it, she wanted her stories and her snuggles. She looked up and said "I love you mama." Then I put her down and got in a solid 30 seconds of tickles before she was out. JOY! :)
Then there's my cute Naiya. She asked me what I would be doing tomorrow. I told her I had a doctor's appointment. She asked if I would get a shot. I said maybe just a small one. Then she said, "Maybe I should come with you to help you be brave." How cute are these girls?
Anyway, I'm running low on time, so I'd better get to that cup of tea!
Oh, and here's something to look forward to: Naiya drew an AMAZING picture of a train at Ne-ma's today. We took a picture of it and I'll post it as soon as my mom e-mails it to me. You won't believe she did it all by herself. (I still don't, and I saw it happen!) I'm positive you all will be just as excited about it as I am, right?! ;)

My lucky day?

I'm not sure how she found my site, but I had a comment left by Laurie of the Kandy Kisses Boutique. She invited me to her "Black Friday" give away and sale. She has very cute stuff and is giving away BUNDLES this Friday. If you have girls, might have girls some day, or know someone with girls, I encourage you to log on to her site and enter to win!

Here's a sample of one of her outfits:

Now what are you waiting for? Go...enter... and good luck!

On a not so cancerous note...

Have I told you lately how funny my girls are? I just love them!
This morning I asked Naiya to come to the bathroom to get washed up. She says "I'm coming," and I hear her slowly shuffling down the hall. Then she rounds the corner to the bathroom and I see that she is walking backwards. I asked her what she's doing and she says, "Thomas backs into the station to get his wash down, so I wanted to back in for my wash up." :)

Here's What's Really Going On

Does it seem like I'm not all here? Well, I feel like I'm not all here. So here's what's up.
First let me say, let's not make a big deal of this, please. That being said, you probably wonder why I'm even blogging about it, right? Well, "it" is on my mind. "It" has been on my mind for a while now, and I haven't blogged about it once. Totally against my personality! I really haven't wanted to think about it, but I'm thinking about it all the time anyway, so why not blog about it?! Anyway... here we go:

What is "it"?
Well to quote the results of the needle biopsy, "cells consistent with Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma."
What the crap is that?
Some sort of cancer of the salivary glands.
Where is it?
In my cheek.
How did it get there?
Beats me.
How will it get out?
Surgery... next Tuesday.
And then?
Now that is the question. Test will be run. Results will be read. I will be notified. Chances are nothing more will need to be done. Slight chance of another surgery. Even slighter chance of chemo.

There, I did it. It's out. Let's not talk about it. Just send me some mental happy vibes on Tuesday and we'll call it good.

Hey, What's going on?

Yes, that's totally a 4 Non Blondes reference. Wow, I'm getting old.
Tonight as we were putting the girls to bed, Naiya was especially rowdy. (In fact I can still hear her quietly singing and kicking her feet upstairs. ) Jared was laying next to her for our nightly snuggle and she flailed her arms out and knocked him in the nose. Then she said, "Oh dad, I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on with me!" What a funny girl!

All I Want for Christmas

The other day I was having a quiet cuddle with my little Eva. Things have been kind of hectic lately, and she certainly needed a mommy snuggle. She was tickling my face and then she looked up at me and said, "Mom we need a baby in this house."
Me- Huh? A what? (Isn't that the role that Eva is filling?)
E- "Yeah a baby and a cat." (No surprise there, as they are still heart broken about Mister Sophie.) Then she says "Maybe Santa can bring them."
I hope she's giving me a choice between the two. ;) Fortunately this is coming from Eva, the child that wanted to be either a playground or a glass for Halloween and finally settled on a lion. She is very fickle.
Now, on a slightly less ominous note, the girls have been SOOO cute together lately. They have been "hunting for monsters." They tip toe around the house with costumes on and squeal and run every time they hear a sound or see something move. This is one of the first times they've really started to play game by themselves and it keeps them occupied for hours. Plus, it's pretty entertaining for me.
BTW I don't want anyone to ask me if I'm prego on the comments. Y'all know me better than that. One glimpse at 2 little pink lines and the whole world would know I'm pregnant.

A point

I try not to get into politics on my blog, but since the election is over, it's not really politics anymore... It's just life. No matter how you feel on this issue. He's got a point.

Grosgrain Store

That lady that sews amazing outfits for baby and toddler girls and gives them away on her website has started an on-line store. She just has a few skirts and a few tops on there for now, but they are adorable!! If you're interested in checking it out, here's the link: GrosgrainStore.com
Here's a sample of one of her super cute outfit:

Tagged

I was tagged by Melanie.

I'm supposed to post the 4th photo from the 4th file of my pictures and then pass it on to 4 people. Me, being the rebel I am, I'm doing the 2nd photo from the second file and passing it on to 2 people. Here we go:



This is my cute (and a little cheesy) Eva at Wheeler Farm last spring.
Heather and Christy... consider yourselves tagged!

What Comes After 10?

This morning, my cute little Eva came in to wake me up. Truth be told, I was already awake. Naiya had walked in a few minutes earlier, and in a desperate attempt to buy a few more minutes of "sleep," I invited her to climb into bed with me. Eva on the other had wasn't falling for that. The conversation went something like this:

Momma- Do you want to come up and snuggle?
Eva- (In her sweet sleepy voice) No, I'm thirsty.
M- Is your water cup empty?
E- Yes. Can I please have some cool soy milk?
M- (desperately trying to buy a few more seconds) Sure, can you count to ten first?
E 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
M- That's great! Now what comes next? (still hoping for another second)
E- (with way more sarcasm than any 2 year old should ever have) You get the milk.

With that amount of sassy at the ripe age of 2, I'm starting to get worried!

Musical Mad-Lib

Lately Eva's been making up her own songs in a funny sort of way. Here's a sampling:

Twinkle twinkle little light
How I wonder what you see
Up above the world so green
Like a diamond in the floor

Sometimes she gets really creative and sings something like this (to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle):

Stinker mikle bittle mat
Ahhh C dunple sa be tat

I think she's on the verge of creating her own language! :)

We're Being Followed

This morning back at out house, we woke up to this:

When it was time to make birthday cards for Nema (Happy Birthday Nema!!), all the girls could think about was snow. So.... they painted blizzard birthday cards using cool colors! :)

We've been spoiled so far this fall, but now it's time to stock up on hot cocoa!

Park City

We decided to stay in Park City for a night to get away and relax. In the afternoon we stopped at a park to play. It was a little chilly, but not too bad if you are running around.

The girls LOVE playing in leaves, so it was perfect.

All the fun (and no nap) had them worn out and they were both out for the night at 6. 6!!!!! They even slept until their usual 6:30. Fabulous! :)In the morning we woke up to this:

Winter is definitely on it's way!

Halloween

Here are some pics of my "disco lion" and my "scarecrow witch" from Halloween.
Ready to head out....

Hanging out with Nana Janet

Cautiously approaching Gumpa (He's the scarecrow in the middle.)

Our Jack-O-Lanterns
Aren't my kids just so stinkin' cute?!

When I Grow Up...

Last night as I was putting Naiya to bed after another long day with no nap, the conversation went a little something like this:

N- Do you know what I want to be when I grow up?
Me- Thomas the Tank Engine?
N- No, mom, there's only one Thomas.
Me- Then I don't know.
N- I want to be a boy.

The rest of the conversation was me suppressing laughter and trying to briefly explain that, usually, things didn't work that way. With a little tom-boy like her around, Jared really shouldn't feel bad that we never had a boy!

November

So I ended up with an F for effort (or lack there of) on my October list. Here's how it turned out:
-Organize our office.....Didn't even get started
-Get our documents into a safety Deposit box..... Nope
-Make copies of all those documents to keep in case of emergency .... Done
-Make back up copies of all of our pictures... Thought about it a few times
-Have all of our pictures printed so that I can start making albums... Not this either
-Update our business tax logs for 2008... Yeah!!
- Start working on making Christmas gifts... A big fat NO
-Have a plumber come clean out our pipes- Did this
- Make/Alter Halloween costumes for the girls... and this
- Plan a toddler Halloween party.... and this
- Try Bikram's Yoga... loved this
- Get Eva a new bed... have this too
- Paint the outside of our house... Didn't even think about it after I made the list

I did however make it though the month which wasn't on the list, but looking back now, I think maybe it should have been. ;)

So, now it's November. Time for a new list (that looks strangely similar to last month's list).
-Organize our office
-Get our documents into a safety Deposit box
-Make copies of all those documents to keep in case of emergency
-Make back up copies of all of our pictures
-Have all of our pictures printed so that I can start making albums
-Start working on making Christmas gifts

I thought about being ambitious and adding a thing or two, but then I thought better of it. If you look close you'll notice I actually deleted one (painting the house). I'm thinking that'll be a spring time thing.

On a happy note... It's November first. There was no October earthquake as the psychic predicted. I am, however more prepared. Win, win.