One More Thing...

Trimming the Tree

When we asked the kids what some of their favorite Christmas traditions are, decorating the tree was at the top of all their lists. It's a family affair and we all have things to do. I, for one, get the decorations out of the boxes and hand them to each kid to hang on the tree. Some are unique for that one special person to hang while others any of them can. They have their own ornaments from years past and a new one each year. Here we are, trimming the tree.

Fixing the Angel is Daddy's job!!!
All Done!
When all was said and done, we had a wonderful cup of hot cocoa topped off with delicious whole milk and chatted of good times past and more to come.

Everything seems bittersweet this year as I can't help think that Troy and Reggie may not be a part of these things next year - we do want them to go to college so it's a toss up. :)

I am HAPPY to announce that I set a goal to be done shopping by December 1st and as of 2:30 today, I AM FINISHED!!! Everything is either already purchased or ordered so I AM DONE! WHOO HOO! Now on to times of less stress, no last minute expensive gifts and fun times of baking are ahead.

Update on Javier

I'm happy to report that little Javier is up to 15 lbs. 10 1/2 oz! That is up .8 ounces a day. Our goal is an ounce a day so I'm still working on getting him to nurse more and longer. Anyway, we're so thankful that he's gaining weight again and things seem to be fine now. All tests came back normal so that's a big praise. We go back in a month for another weigh in will hopefully be on the same upward climb on the growth scale.

To all my buddy group friends, I'll be back soon! Promise!

Hugs to everyone, you are great friends.

Yeah for me!

I submitted my second Pampered Chef show today which means I get free spring products! And since the two shows are more than $1500, I get even MORE free spring products!!! Yippee!!! Just another reason why I love doing this.

So, I had two shows, made lots of money, plus free products and my hostesses are happy!!!

Last test?

We're praying today was the last run of tests on Javier. He did amazing and didn't cry a peep during the whole draw. He did cry, however, when I put him back in the seat to leave. Oh well. Can't be too perfect.

Roy's Grandma had a stroke today and is at St. Al's. She has a blood clot in her brain and they drilled a hole in her head tonight to try and relieve the pressure. Roy's back to the hospital now. Not looking good. :(

And, here's my nursing story of the week.... a little boy saw me DISCREETLY nursing Javier at the ball game today and asked his mommy what I was doing. Her reply????? "She's feeding her baby. You know like the cows do?" Eyes popping out of my head, I said, "Actually, like mommy's do." Sheesh. She stammered and sputtered and said, "Well, yes, some mommy's feed their babies that way but the rest of us just use bottles." I let it go at that as the little boy didn't care what is best for a baby. I just couldn't believe she was saying this to me. At that time, Javi popped off, I covered all and he looked at her and just smiled so big and beautiful - priceless, really.

That's all for today. I'm off to watch Ratatouille again. :)

Ratatouille

If you haven't seen Ratatouille, do! It is the cutest family movie!! Also, watch The Christmas Story with Ralphie this year. It's the best with little boys.

Enjoy. We sure do.

You Know You've Done Something Right When...

* Your 17 year old son wants to spend more time with the family.
* Your 17 year olds actually say they had fun spending time with you.
* Your children are really okay with a "family gift" for Christmas and aren't just saying it.
* You children vote to donate their gift exchange money to a local family for Christmas instead of getting a corny white elephant gift.
* Your children actually know the real meaning of Christmas and want others to know about Jesus, too.

I love my family. I have so enjoyed spending time each and every day this long weekend with them all. Thanks guys. I am blessed.

Guitar Hero

We have a borrowed Guitar Hero II game and have made it a family affair. Tonight we are having a tournament to see who's best. There are about 12-14 people downstairs right now playing.

In fact, we like it so much, we decided to get Guitar Hero III and two wireless guitars for our family Christmas gift!!! So, we voted to take $20 off the kids' money and put it toward the set. That is now a total of $40 off their amount since we take $20 off for Operation Christmas Child (previous post). Woot!!! We can get the whole package for about $100.

So, I was hoping to get a post with some neat pix in it but that may not happen til tomorrow. There are several of they boys' friends over and we're having a blast.

Back to the party...

ETA - PICTURES!!!

Roy and Ruy battle for the win. Roy won by a fraction!

I only thought we wouldn't have the air guitar anymore - guess that's only true if Roy is actually the one holding the guitar. Otherwise, he does this the whole time.

Melynda and Shyanne duke it out - as you can see from the facial expressions,
they aren't doing so hot....

Black Friday

Yes, I braved the crowds on Black Friday. Melynda and I picked up my Mom at 4:45 and went to our new(er) Kohls. After we got our loot, we waited in line an hour and 40 minutes. Next year we will take turns shopping and waiting in line to reduce that time. We're learning.

From there, we went to Macy's where I got Javi a new blanket sleeper and me a new snowman shirt.

I am all but done shopping and feel great about it.

I'm beat and going to bed. Oh, Roy stayed home with the little boys and Sky and they did just fine. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Off all days for the alarm not to go off, today was NOT the day!!! So, we're 3 hrs behind schedule. Mom says we're not catching a plane so we're having a relaxing morning; perhaps Someone else knew what we needed today?

So, the turkey is baking, the sweet potatoes are ready to go in the oven, the dip is made and I actually have a minute to post!

What am I thankful for? Really, the health of my family. With this latest scare with Javier, this is at the front of my mind. Health and that we're together today. With the boys being seniors, I can't help but think this could be our last Thanksgiving together for a long time. I have no idea where they are going to go to college and if they'll settle here but for some reason, I doubt it. So, today is kind of bitter-sweet. I am thankful we're together but can't help but think of what the future holds.

I'm also thankful for our home. This is our first Thanksgiving here and it's wonderful! I have the turkey cooking downstairs and the oven is free up here for the sweet potatoes. We have space - the boys are chopping wood right now, the girls are dusting and Roy is playing with Javi. Paco is with his Granddad and I am blogging. :) Soon, I'll have to get the kids around but that can wait a few more minutes.

I'm thankful I'm home. That my husband works so hard to keep me home. That it is our family priority for me to be here - even with college tuition looming over us while we had a full tuition waiver if I was still at the college.... it's okay! It's good!

For my friends - in person and on-line - THANK YOU!

Happy Thanksgiving. I have so much to give thanks for.

My Family

All My Children

Antonio and Javier

Half-Days

Kids love half-days and I dread them. They come home early from school, hungry and expecting some sort of entertainment of fun activity. So, today I have a surprise for them! They get to chop wood!!! ha ha!

We're actually going to get our family Christmas pictures done today at Sears in Boise. I love love love Tina who works there and the quality of their prints.

Hopefully, I'll be able to upload some pictures from our shoot!

Happy Birthday Honey

So, yesterday was Roy's birthday and he's a whopping 39 years old!!! He got overshadowed by Javi's ordeal but we had a lovely dinner on Saturday night and homemeade apple pie last night.



Happy Birthday, honey. I love you!

Poor Baby Boy

The test is over and we're waiting for results. Here's how the test works:
1) They hook up electricuting nodes to his legs (one leg at a time) and send little shocks to a gland that makes him sweat. 5 minutes.
2) They take that off, put gauze, tape, plastic wrap (generic grocery variety), more tape and then the blue stuff that makes it all tight and stuck.
3) Repeat to other leg. If the first one went well, this one didn't. He cried and cried and I finally nursed him in a very weird position. The lab dude was grateful as a kicking screaming baby did NOT make his job easy.
4) Wait in the lobby for 30 min
5) Go back to the room and lab dude took gauze and put it in sterile container... one per leg.
6) DONE!
7) Lab Dude will test the gauze for chloride.
8) Doc office lets us know the results. Today. So I'm waiting.
While I wait, here's a pathetic picture of Javi crying in the lobby of St. Luke's. Is he hurt??? No, he's mad I set him down to take a picture. He got over it as soon as I picked him up.

Welcome Karris Kiane!

Karris Kiane was born the evening of November 17th. She is my second grand-niece. She came into this world under water weighing 7 lbs. 5 oz, 20 1/2" long and absolutley gorgeous! I got to see her less than 24 hrs old and sheesh, she is TINY!

Mommy and Karris are doing great and Daddy couldn't be more proud. Her grandma and great-grandma from Texas were there for the special event. Little Karris' Granddad Larry was on hand for the event, though he chose to wait in the lobby of the Birthing Center.

Mandy and Babe went home that very night where Karris slept for 7 hrs, much to her mommy's fright. She is nursing often and well - good news for someone who wants to nurse!

Yes, I am a very proud great-aunt. Now Javi has a 2nd cousin 4 months old and 8 months younger to play with! Granted, their both girls... This should be interesting when they're 2, 2 1/2 and 3 years old under the Christmas tree!!! ha!

Operation Christmas Child

This is our third year of making shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We do one box per each member of our household so that makes 8 boxes this year! It costs $7 to ship each box and around $15-20 to fill them so we budget about $175 to do this. YIKES! The good news is, we take the $20 off our Christmas budget per person so we don't go over our budget.


We buy things all year long as they come on sale (school supplies being the main one) and watch for things like wash cloths, toys, dishes, mirror, etc. to buy bulk top make it more affordable for us.


Our church will be dedicating our boxes tomorrow during service. We have all the boxes up front and then we pray for the children who will receive them.

Here are a few testimonial stories from the website:

Malawi

From Kondwani: “Everything I got was of great value. My mum has just given birth to a baby boy. In the box there was a beautiful blanket, three pairs of
baby clothes, sweets for all of us, soap, toothpaste—just to mention a few
items. All these things my daddy could not afford to buy. Please send our
sincere gratitude to the people who sent us these gifts. Everybody is happy.
These are gifts from God.”
Kazakstan From a child:
“Greetings! My name is Aigul. I am 13. I am Kazakh. All the members of my family (grandmother and grandfather, brother, sister and parents) are Muslims. One day my classmate Zhanna asked me to the Zion church. She said that there would be a great Christmas holiday. I decided to go, and I liked it very much. There were a lot of children. We read the Bible, prayed, played games, and sang songs about God. My brother, sister, and I began to go there every Sunday. But our family was against that—they said that we are Muslims and forbade me to go to the church. One day when they all went to the marketplace, I ran to the church where there was a holiday celebration. I received a gift from America. At first I had been very happy, but then I got upset that members of my family might find out about my church visit.We and our teachers from Sunday school prayed for my relatives and then I went home. My parents were at home. When they saw me they were angry. I boldly went to the living room and set my box there. Everyone began to look carefully at the gifts. My father took the cross and hung it on a ring of keys. My mother took a postcard. Then they asked about a meeting for adults in the church, and all my relatives except my grandfather went to the church next Sunday. In the church my mother cried very much, maybe because God touched her heart. Now we have a Bible in the house, and every evening from 8:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. we read it in turns. Our life was changed due to God and the gift. Thanks to Him and Jane from America.”

This blesses our family; which is one reason we keep doing it. Each year we participate and pray for the children who will get a box, that they will be touched by God and their lives never again the same.

T.G.I.F.

Why am I excited today is Friday? 'Cause I pumped enough milk for Roy & I to go see "American Gangster" tonight at Edwards!!! It's part of his birthday present.

After a good night's sleep I feel great and know I will feel even better after I get a shower!!!

I have "the best" barbecue chicken recipe. I buy thighs and legs at Costco (about $13 total of meat) and make my sauce from scratch. I have several variations to it but we seem to prefer the Mexican variation, imagine that. ;)

Anyway, I made it for the banquet last night, none of us got near enough of it so I'm making it again this weekend! Yummy!!! It's messy and the meat just falls off the bone baking it in my stoneware.

Speaking of stoneware - or any Pampered Chef products... we're doing a fundraiser for Caldwell Soroptimist. If there is anything you want for Christmas presents or for yourself, PLEASE call or e-mail me!!! They get 15% of our sales so it's an amazing fundraiser. Let me know if you have any fundraising needs, I can help you out, too!!!

Okay, off to that shower before Javier wakes.

Better Days

Javi is nursing well and does the best when he's sleepy and we wake him. He's too interested in everything going on during the day.

We went to Costco and got me whole milk, egg nog and fattning burritos for lunch. :)

Our sons' had their senior football banquet tonight. I cried.

My grand-niece is a year old today. My brother turns 46 tomorrow and my other niece is due anyday. My nephew coaches his first state football game in Twin Falls tomorrow night. My Dad got released from eye surgey and it is classified a success. He's driving and we are praying the blurry vision subsides.

Many praises and more requests.

Praise God!

Javi has gained 11 ounces in 1 week!!! We've also upped my calorie intake to 3,000 calories/day per our good doctor. So, he's now up to 14 lbs 15 oz. up from 14.4 last Wednesday.

So, prayers are being answered and God is good! We go back in 2 weeks and still have the sweat chloride test on Monday the 19th. We'll do another blood draw a day before our 2 week appt to make sure it all looks good and the sodium levels and B.U.N. correct with my changes.

Off to a dinner at church.

Slow Down

How does one "slow down?" Is it true I have become addicted to a fast-paced life and just can't get off the train? We have something every bloomin' day this week! And, I have doctor's orders to "slow down" and take care of Javi. Sigh.

What do I give up?
*Paco's last week of swim lesson til January?
* Melynda's basketball games?
* Senior Boys Football Banquet?
* Church Dinner?
* Women's Group tonight?
* Hubby's birthday?

As you can see, I am between a rock & hard place. So, I go and go and go to 6 kids' activities and do the best I can.

I did say no to:
* a play Sunday night
* one of Melynda's game in south Nampa
* a late night movie

And YES to:
* a nap everyday
* sleeping in as late as possible, even if that means Paco is watching cartoons in bed with me...
* internet time. :)

8 Months Old

1st Cheerio at Nana's

Wow, this is fun!
At 8 months old, we are rolling all over, sitting, scooching (that is a word, right?), eating solids and now today, CHEERIOS! Okay, we played more than we ate but that's the point of Cheerios, right!? We won't go into the weight thing today but he's growing in length and we're working on the gaining weight issue.

Appt is Wednesday at 11:20 so keep us in your prayers.

I Love Church

I really do love church. I love my church family but more importantly, I love being in God's House! I love being in His presense. I know I can have that outside of church and I do sometimes, but I just love love the worship there.

And, today was POTLUCK!!! While some are scared to death of potlucks and the scary dishes they see there, I for one and my family for another, LOVE potluck Sunday. Today, I took a hominey taco bake that is probably one of those scary dishes but oh so good. People around here aren't familair with hominey but we had some folks from Texas there and one said to the other, "I don't know what it is but it must be good 'cause there's hominey in it!" I kid you not!!! In the whole thick Texas drawl that I can't portray on here.....

I love all the casseroles, salads and DESSERTS!!! Yummy! We also get to take home leftovers since we're a big family and I love being creative with that but sometimes am lazy and we just eat them Sunday night as is. :)

Anyway, I needed church today and am so glad I went. We prayed for Javier, my Dad and his surgery, my niece who is due anyday and others who needed lifted up to God by our church family. I just feel better.

Thank you, Jesus!!!

I miss my doctor

Another catch in all this going on is our doctor for every and for everything has just moved to Alaska!!! So, Javi was gaining fine when she was here and then went down hill. Well, through all this I really needed her. So, her dad taught my dad at seminary a hundred years ago and she's been all of our doctor forever.... my parents called her parents to see if we could get a hold of her in AK.

I got a call from her Thursday night and just cried when I heard her voice. She's not "doctoring" us on this but is listening and offering her view. I called her last night and updated her on the blood results and she can't wait to here how Wednesday's appt goes! Anyway, it's just made this more bearable having her available.

Oh, how I miss her.

Another Day

Today was the blood draw. One vial of blood, no tears from Javi whatsoever!!!! He was amazing.

We're doing okay. Trying to not borrow on tomorrow and take one day at a time.

We appreciate all your prayers.

Here's to the weekend. May it be more restful than stressful.

ETA: Just spoke to Doctor at 5:11 p.m. Most all blood tests were fine. His sodium level is borderline high and his B.U.N. is low. I'll be finding out more about those. Sodium is probably me and I'm adapting that immediatley. B.U.N. is lack of food in system; which we are working on as well. We go in on Wed for a check-up. Sweat test still scheduled for 19th.

More Bad News

My Sweet Baby Boy

Well, I got a call from the doctor's office at 4:45 today and we're doing a complete metabolic blood test on Javi in the morning. :( We've also scheduled a Sweat Chloride Test on November 19th. This tests for Cystic Fibrosis. We're very scared, worried, you name it. In two months time our baby has gone from 15 lbs 9 oz to 14 lbs 4 oz. This is only 2 ounces more than what he weighed at 2 months!!! Please pray. We're upping his solid intake to three meals a day/all he can eat. Plus, offering him nursing whenever he seems like he might take it.

Here's a ray of sunshine after some depressing posts:

Javier, sitting nice and tall for his picture.

A Day from the Bad Place

Stressful day. Very stressful.

Bad escort run - stressful.

Rushed picture setting - stressful.

Dad had eye surgery - stressful.

Baby loosing weight/not gaining. VERY stressful.

Mother-in-Law and Grandma in bad car wreck - very stressful.

Grandma's pending surgery tomorrow on leg - stressful.

Dealing with daughter being afraid - very stressful.

Life today - stressful.

Tomorrow is a new day - thank the Good Lord above. I hope to have something positive to post tomorrow. The positives from today??

Dad had a great surgery!!
Mother-in-Law fine.
Grandma will be fine.
Daughter now has a cell phone for emergency use.
Supportive husband and a family who loves me.

This is still a better day than my best ones at work.

Brie Recipe

The Pampered Chef ®
Tangy Pepper-Pecan BrieRecipe

1/2 cup pecan halves
1 jalapeño
pepper, stemmed and seeded
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1 4-inch round (8 ounces) Brie cheese with rind, room temperature
1 loaf (16 ounces) French
baguette
Vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425°F. Coarsely chop pecans using Chef's Knife or food chopper. Chop jalapeño using Food Chopper. In Small Batter Bowl, combine jalapeño and preserves; mix well using Skinny Scraper. Cut Brie in half horizontally using Utility Knife. Place one half of Brie, cut side up, onto center of Large Round Stone. Spread half of the apricot mixture evenly over bottom half of Brie using Small Spreader. Top with half of the pecans and remaining half of Brie, cut side up. Spread remaining apricot mixture over Brie; sprinkle with remaining pecans.
Using Bread Knife, cut baguette on a bias into twenty-four 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange baguette slices around Brie; spray with oil using Kitchen Spritzer. Bake 8-10 minutes or until baguette slices are golden brown and Brie begins to soften. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve using Bamboo Spreader.

Yield: 12 servings

Variations:

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Brie: Substitute 2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil,
drained, patted dry and chopped for the apricot preserves. Substitute 1
tablespoon prepared basil pesto for the jalapeño pepper and 1/4 cup pine nuts
for the pecans. Proceed as recipe directs.

Brown Sugar Dijon Brie: Substitute 1/2 cup brown sugar for the apricot
preserves, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard for the jalapeño pepper and 1/2 cup sliced
almonds for the pecans. Reserve 1/4 cup of the almonds. Chop remaining almonds;
combine brown sugar, chopped almonds and mustard. Assemble as directed in Step
2; top with reserved almonds. Proceed as recipe directs.

Cook's Tip: Wear plastic gloves when working with jalapeño peppers. The
juice from the peppers can create a burning sensation on the skin. For a simple
garnish, slice a jalapeño pepper in half lengthwise using Petite Paring Knife.
Brush cut surface with apricot jam. Place next to Brie before baking. This
recipe can also be prepared on the Large Bar Pan, if desired.

Camembert cheese can be substituted for the Brie, if desired.

Why is this a new favorite of mine? Well, it's SO easy, looks hard and is delicious!!! I cut many steps out by using my hot peach jam, made with jalapenos. This is a wonderful start to any meal or perfect for a light meal when paired with fruit or veggies. Just another reason why I love Pampered Chef so much!!!

Costumes

All Dressed Up!

Little Javi as "Simba"

Paco aka Black Spiderman
" Glamour Ghost" Sky

Mel as Pauline Bunion

On Target

So, I took my friend Heather's suggestion/challenge and signed up on November 1st for NaBloPoMo. What I didn't know was that I could keep posting here!!! So, I just brought my other posts over, not that they're all that, cause they're not but I'll do my posting here from now on.

To make it easier, I took the suggestion of posting on a certain subject to help me stay on target. Not surprisingly, I opted for the breastfeeding/mothering group.

So, here I sit, nursing at they keyboard (NIK).

We returned from a wonderful weekend in Hood River, Oregon and faced caos at home but that's another post - maybe.

I'm trying to figure out how to slow down and not be too busy for God. Really. What am I teaching my kids? That the busier we are the behinder we get! That's not what I want them to learn, so we're trying to figure what to change and how to go about changing it!

1 Year Ago Now

November 2nd post:

I just nursed Javier and was reminded that 1 year ago today was Paco's last nurse. He had gradually weaned himself to night and morning nursings at 2 1/2 but I needed him weaned before Javi's arrival so we left for the same conference we're leaving for now and left Paco with my parents and that was it.

I really wanted him to wean himself but he just wouldn't let go of those last sessions. It was with great sadness and fear that we took the step and after a month of him asking to "urse" and cry for me at bedtime, he was done. Sigh.

I do hope Javi is able to wean himself and we won't have to rush him. I know, 2 1/2 years isn't really rushing....

What Am I Doing?

November 1st post

Well, we'll give this a shot at posting once a day for the month of November.

We had a nice Halloween night with five hours of trick-or-treating!
I am excited to be part of the breastfeeding group on Nablopomo! I nursed my now 3 1/2 year old son til he was 2 1/2. In fact, tomorrow morning is the year anniversary of his last nursing. :( HOW SAD! He misses it so much and asked for it forever after but it was something I needed to do to prep for my now 7 1/2 month son who is nursing.)

Tomorrow it's off to Oregon for YWTC '07.