Is April over yet?

Wow it's been a long month. It's not even over yet. Why do the longest months always have the most stress involved? It's been crazy around here. I've been bustin' my butt fixing up the house and redecorating, painting, cleaning, etc, etc, etc. I've repainted every room of the house (save the closets) and boy I'm sick of paint rollers, painters tape, primer and trim! Well let's see what have I changed...oh everything! The living room was repainted a really pretty color called Adobe Sand. I used my carpet shampooer on the carpets, and found an awesome rug at a tent sale outside in the mall parking lot. It matched everything I was going for in the living room perfectly. We bought a new couch and recliners months ago and it was high time I got the rest of the living room up to par.

I found a great pair of floating shelves at Bed, Bath and Beyond and framed artwork print there that matched the carpet and furniture too. I found some great accessories at Pier 1 Imports and got new faux wood blinds for all the windows. I repainted the kitchen too, and put up a tiled backsplash. It wasn't too hard to do the tile work myself. I was so much easier than I thought it would be. I worked mine and Shaggy's bedroom next.

I kept the wall color we already have because I just love it. It's a really pretty pale green, but I did repaint the trim and the doors a nice bright white, hung blinds, bought new bedding, and shelving, decor and printed out some cute photos of my favorite animal (gorillas) and hung them. I repainted the trim and doors in my bathroom too, but I've not bought new bathroom accessories yet....I am still looking for something I like to sort of match the bedroom. I'm not sure what I'll find in a light pale green, but I still want to keep a beachy theme. I know that may be a bit corny/cliche- beachy in a bathroom but I like it anyways. lol. I worked on the kid's bedrooms too. I got Laney and Hayden's room all

finished up, and decorated. I bought them new bedding and shampooed th carpets and then printed out some paintings of children and hung them up along with two floating shelves. I am still working on little accessories for the shelves, but so far I have some whimsical things on there. A frog prince figurine and a teddy bear treasure box on Hayden's shelf and a fairy treasure box, Turkish decorative box and a purple candle on Laney's shelf. I did Kyle's room next, I painted it a light grey color and found a great rug in black, white and grey. It has Chinese characters on it that say: Wealth, Happiness and Love. I printed out some great pictures and hung them on the wall and there were already floating shelves in that room so I just rehung them and added accessories, then bought black and white bedding for Kyle's new full sized bed. I can't believe he's too big for a twin! He's so tall now! I found the cutest hall table too at Pier 1 Imports for the living room. It fits perfectly at the little entrance hallway near the garage door and laundry room. It has a TON of shelves and its a great place for my purse...(instead of my kitchen counter like usual).

We also found a great gazebo for our front porch. Stupid storm the other day had major winds and we had to take the top canopy down, but we should be putting it back up today, and anchoring it better so that the wind can't do that again! The last thing I need the next time Kevin is deployed is for a rouge wind to knock down that sucker! It's super heavy. There is no way I could pick that thing up by myself. We had a yard crew out to clean out my flowerbeds, and I can't wait to get some new flowers planted. I want to get some new wind chimes too. Something whimsical and fun. I repainted the playroom, and bought a new toy shelf. I will try to find some fun artwork for that room too...there are some things I'm still working on, but I'm almost done.

I'm so exhausted! The day I was finished with all the painting and decorating I totally crashed. I slept almost the whole day away and all that night. I woke up feeling like I was in a time warp! The day went so slow when I woke up and I felt like a slug. I'm so glad to have all this done. I know I still have some work to do but for the most part it's finished. Now I get to kick back and relax under my canopy! :) Have a great weekend everyone. 

Jaesus. 

April Showers? They ain't kiddin'!

So April is turning out to be the crazies month this year so far. I have so much going on right now, (hence my lack of blogging) that my head is spinning. Let's see if I can explain all this with as little trouble as possible. First I'll start with Kevin. -Sigh- So Kevin has been having pain in his shoulder for over a year now. He kept going to the docs on base (who by the way are complete baboons when it comes to anything!) and they tell him that he has bicep tendonitis. They give him mild pain pills, and anti inflammatory meds. The pain comes and goes over the last year and he keeps going back to the doctor- over and over and over. Same shit, bicep tendonitis.
This last time Kevin was had a weekend off and he was in a lot of pain, more so than usual. I told him..PLEASE go to the Medicenter or the ER, DO NOT go to the base again! Those doctors are idiots and obviously don't give a rats ass about what is going on.
So off to the Medicenter he went. 4 hours later, he was home w/pain medication and a premature diagnosis of 'shoulder impingement syndrome'- (a bone spur of the shoulder).
AH HA! (I thought) now we can get this fixed and I can yell at some docs on base for being dipshits for over a year. Logically if someone has chronic pain for over a year you'd DO A DAMN XRAY! They failed to do so, and because of that Kevin suffered for so long w/this pain. I hate military docs. They can all go jump off a cliff for all I care for their "medical opinions".

Finally we have a diagnosis. He was scheduled to see an orthopedic specialist to confirm the bone spur, and sure enough it was then "official". He was scheduled for surgery after that and then he waited 2 long weeks. The week before surgery he was not allowed to take any pain meds that would thin his blood...so this last week has been hell for him. Today I dropped him off at the Outpatient Surgery Center at 6am. I wanted to stay, but it's just not practical to have 2 toddlers running around a hospital waiting room for hours on end. So 6 hours later I get a call from the doctor that did the surgery. As it turns out, due to the military docs utter LACK of concern, the damage to Kevin's shoulder is pretty extensive. He has muscle tears in his bicep and torn tendons in his shoulder as a result of the spur and their lack of treating it properly. A 2 hour operation lasted 5 hours. He will be in a sling for over a month, and probably have some muscle atrophy and stiffness. He will most likely have to see a physical therapist to help him regain movement in the arm once out of the sling since it will be immobile for so long.
I SO beyond pissed off. This all could have been avoided if those complete ASSHOLES up at the base actually cared for their troops. I have to say, if you or someone you love is thinking about joining the military....and you have issues w/pain or whatnot and the military clinic doesn't seem to be getting to the bottom of it, GO TO THE ER or a TriCare approved Medicenter after hours! Have a REAL doctor look at you.


The other thing we are dealing with is Kyle. He's had a stomach ache every time he eats for a while now. At first I thought maybe he was just eating too fast. Then I thought maybe it was just heartburn, but I realized that he was almost every time we ate dinner. I asked him if it did this at school (during lunch) and he said yes. He can eat a little, then his stomach hurts so bad he has to go lay down. We took him to the ER, they ran blood tests and all the rigmarole and turns out...my 15 year old CHILD probably has ulcers!! Ulcers!? Crazy.

So he has an appointment tomorrow with a jackass doc on base to get a referral for a gastrointestinal specialist. They do not have a specialist in town that will see anyone under the age of 18. The peds gastro doctor lives in Austin and he makes a trip here once a month.  We can't make an appointment with the specialist until the stupid base doctor signs off on a referral. So we see a doc tomorrow, then wait a week to get the damn referral in the mail, THEN we can make the appointment for the doc in Austin to come down and see Kyle. Thing is....his office said he doesn't have any openings till June or July. He will have an MRI done, and if it's ulcers...they more than likely will do surgery. -sigh- so much surgery! So as of right now they have him on some medications to help with the pain and inflammation. So far, so good, but he has his good days and his bad days.

Also, we are trying to get our house ready to be put on the market to sell. Nothing major needs to be done, just the normal tedious crap- painting, decluttering, depersonalizing, staging and decorating. And all this while I have a husband laid up with surgery and a son that has bad pain. This month is so daunting! I hate showing a house. Strange people walking in my home looking at my stuff..it's creepy. BUT we need a larger home, we are just packed in here like sardines! 

And then my dear BFF will be having her first IVF procedure on the 21st of April. I'm hoping that things go well and they work out for her. I know she'd make a great mom...and I wish her all the best!

And lastly, my grandmother hurt her leg the other day. She's been to the ER and she will have a CAT scan to make sure there are not blood clots or breaks. For the time being she is resting. Just so much going on. Too much. I cant take much more, I really can't. I can juggle lots of shit...but right now...I really need a vacation!

Jaesus

Lions and Tigers and Darth Pandas?

Our trip to Austin was tons of fun. We did a lot, and visited with family. The kids had a blast. One little trip we made was to one of the malls in Ceder Park. We went to the Build-a-Bear store and the kids got to pick and make their own stuffed animals. :) FUN!!! Brandon even got in on the fun. Laney picked a Hello Kitty doll, and of course dressed her up like a princess. She picked out a cute little purple

and pink dress with matching princess shoes and a cute little Hello Kitty purse. She named her new doll...Kitty of course. She's just too cute. Next she picked a sound to put in her Kitty. You guessed it, a meow sound. And we also put in a heart button that when pressed makes a heartbeat sound. Hayden picked his out next. He looked at each and every choice twice....thought about it very hard and settled on a pink teddy bear. Yes I know some people might have a knee jerk reaction to their little boy picking out a pink...anything....but I honestly wasn't surprised or freaked by it. He likes pink....so what? So the morons that gave me dirty looks for letting my son have a pink teddy bear can just shove it! The bear is adorable. He picked out a UT (University of Texas) basketball uniform, complete w/basketball socks, shoes, and a basket ball. It's just adorable, and Hayden loves his bear. He named his bear

Pinkie. I added the last name McDribble. Pinkie McDribble is the cutest little thing. That bear is SOFT too, and fluffy! The shoes look a bit alien on him...they are huge! Hayden picked out the "I love you" sound and he got a heart inside his bear too. Hayden smiled from ear to ear for hours! Brandon decided to get in on the fun as well and he picked out a panda bear. Brandon of course had to 'cool him out' by picking the Star Wars sound for his panda, and (giggles) dressing him up as Darth Vadar! This is the funniest damn thing I've seen in a

in a long time! It comes complete with Darth Vadar's outfit, cape, and boots...and even a bear sized lightsabar! I mean how adorable is that? The funny thing...that you can't see in the picture is that because it's a panda bear, his ears poking out of the helmet are black, but his tail is white. It's just SO funny pokin' out through the tail hole. ~~In a galaxy far, far away....a Panda rose in the ranks to become the new master of the evil empire. His name was Anakin Skypanda, but he is now known as Darth Panda!~~ [cue Star Wars theme here]. Yes we had TONS of fun. :) I really enjoy hanging out with my family, with my kids, with my hubs. We always have a blast. I hope to go back to Austin again this summer. Next time I want a Build-a-Bear of my own! Maybe a puppy....or a tie-dye bunny with huge floppy ears, or one of their fancy ones like the 'real' looking wolf, or bear, or owl. Who knows! I think a puppy, dressed as a rocker, or a biker! LOL I love that store, and I'll be getting little outfits for the kiddos to change their dolls into and play and make up all kinds of fun stories and adventures! Hope everyone has a great rest-of-spring-break!

Jaesus.

GiGi

I'm really worried about my Grandmother. She's having some dental surgery this week...which I guess to some might seem minor, but my Grandmother is 80 years old, and has Type I diabetes.



My wonderful Grandmother- Betty

My Grandmother is a spit fire! She's opinionated and sweet and loving. I adore her! She's been a huge part of my life from day one. I spent every summer of my life between her home and my other grandparents. I have tons of great memories and it kills me to see her failing health. She has five grandkids and twelve great-grandkids. :) Brandon and Kyle started calling her GiGi when they were little because "Great-Grandmother" was just a mouthful...and GiGi stuck! The great-grandkids love her so much. Two years ago we had to sell her house and move her closer to my Aunt Carol, Uncle Kendall and my Mom and Dad. She's been living comfortably in a gated retirement community with her goofy dog Precious (a chihuahua/boston terrier mix *if you can picture that mix!*). I guess I'm just nervous about all this because we have all known that these are her twilight years (and I don't mean sparkly vampires) it's been rough on everyone watching this unfold. 

Best GiGi in the world Tshirt

I guess it's bothering me so much because I am realizing that the generational responsibilities going on right now are shifting once again. When I was a kid...about Brandon's age 13 or so...I watched my grandmother deal with my Great-Grandmother's decline in health. My Grandmother took my Great-Grandmother into her home to live with her towards the end of her life. My Great-Grandmother had Alzheimer's Disease. It was heart breaking to watch unfold. My mother was there too of course, and seemed so....'grown up' and 'adult' to me (of course she would seem that way) but I sit here knowing that my mother wasn't much older than I am now when all that happened. I have no idea how she did all she did for my Grandmother and Great-Grandmother. How strong my mother truly is, is really laying on my shoulders now. I am realizing that I too will have to share the load of caring for and helping out with my Grandmother if and when my mom cannot...or my Aunt cannot. And then...for my own parents. Boy that puts things into persepective real quick. 

GiGi with a few of her G-Grandkids
Leif (my nephew), Brendalyn, Cale, Nautie, Irie, and Kyrah (my 2nd cousins)

I hate admitting this...but I'm scared. I'm so very scared. I don't want to lose my Grandmother any time soon, but I can see the writing on the walls. I just hope that the youngest of the twelve great-grandkids get to remember some part of her, in some way. The youngest is not yet one years old. I'm afraid that she will have no memory of her precious and beloved GiGi. I know we will all fill her with stories, and laughter and pictures and film of her. And let her know, if she's a spunky kid like her sibling and cousins are....it's because of her GiGi. I love my Grandmother so much. I love my family. I feel so lucky to have such a great loving group of people to call my own.

Jaesus.

No really...what's your real name?

Sorry I've not blogged in a while, and I do promise to do those Q&A videos. I have all the questions you've sent me on my formspring. I've been sick. Real sick...and honestly it's not pretty. lol I doubt you'd want to see me sniffling through questions. Answering them in my feverish daze. I'm feeling a bit better today...but not up to a video.

However my dear hubby and I came across a website that listed funny last names. He read them to me and had me almost peeing myself.
Here is a list of my favs:
(note: these are REAL names straight from the phone book)
Bolivar Shagnasty
Michael Hofacker
Rev. William R Dickgraber
Freddie and Jo Skunkcap
Harry Beavers

Harry W. Wacker

Haywood Jablowme

Miracle Fingers

and Phat Ho

:) love weird things on the internet. So I do promise I'll be back shortly once I kick this cold's ass.

Jaesus.

Vlog!! What's going on!

Here are the pics from Kyle's 15th bday! :) I cannot believe he's 15! that's nuts.
Jaesus.

CATastrophes and DOGgone-its!

Wow! So today started off easy enough. Some light housework, lunch, a workout, hanging with Kevin and figuring out some financial things that surprised us (we will be able to buy a larger home a year before we thought)...just normal stuff. So when Kevin left for work this afternoon I decided to make a batch of my homemade cupcakes and homemade icing. They turned out yummy. After the clean up it was time to walk my dogs. Just up the street as we began our walk I saw a little Boston Terrier sitting in the driveway of a neighbors house. I figured maybe he was just sitting outside waiting on someone to let him in the house so I walked on. I take two dogs at a time (as most of you know) when I walk, I was probably about 150 yards from the halfway point, when I heard the unmistakable sound of hissing, clawing, growling...ya know..CAT FIGHT! Two cats had a knock down drag out about 15 feet from me and my two biggest dogs. Now (SEGUE ALERT), I'd like to first point out the importance of a quality dog food. One with out fillers, corn, ya know...crap. I personally feed Solid Gold Hund-n-Flocken (it's German- stop snickering), My dogs are 12, 10, 9, and 7...average lifespan for my 12 yr old dog's breed (Catahoula) is 13 yrs. and the vet says he looks like an average 5 year old. -end of segue- So since you know that my dogs are in great health for their ages..you can imagine that little 'ol me had a hard time holding on to two fully grown dogs (at 75lbs and 65lbs respectively) were *so* much fun to hand on to. So there I am -death grip on leashes when one of the cats from the fight (the loser I'm guessing) pops out of the bushes next to us. I freak out, the dogs freak out, the cat freaks out...and then...IT HAPPENED!

The cat runs out in front of me and the dogs, crosses our path and the dogs jerk forward while I'm holding them back for dear life. This cat did this insanely graceful hip-hop-skip-slide across the gravel then onto the curb and dashed across the street (to my horror) into on coming traffic. The cat runs across one lane, then to the second and gets just center enough that when this truck passes the cat is right between the tires and the truck drives forward missing the cat, the cat spins, flips and then rolls (seriously- he ROLLED on his back like freaking Ethan Hunt from mission impossible) and out from under the truck and safely to the other side of the road before the second car crushes him.

It was at that point that I realized I was holding my breath. Kitty-Catastrophe averted, I continued on my way and eventually turned down the street that led me to the turn back home. This street I dread. Every freaking day some little punk-ass kid (I think I've mentioned him before) bothers me when I walk my dogs. I makes ugly gestures at me. He mouths off, and makes obnoxious noises to get the dogs riled up. I finally...after MONTHS had enough. I turned around and yelled at the little jerk to get his mother. She came out and so did a neighbor next door. The neighbor seemed to agree with me about how he behaves. He got an ass whoppin, and I felt amazingly better! I always had horrid anxiety about passing that house. I tried to ignore him for as long as I could, but he got what he deserved. Okay so I went on and I was on the last block before mine when I saw the same little dog from before, the cute little Boston Terrier. He was definitely lost. So I took the big dogs home, went back and got the Boston Terrier, put him in my garage and took his pic then made flyers. I walked the little dogs then and posted the flyers then went home. Tomorrow we'll take the Boston Terrier (that we've 'named' Fogerty) to the vet to check for any Microchips. I hope that

whoever this little guy belongs to calls me soon. He's a sweet little guy. He seems to like little kids (his tail wags when he sees them) but he's a bit skittish around them. I can't have him in the house though because of my own dogs. I don't have an extra room or a crate to put him in. This is another reason why we are trying to move as soon as possible to a bigger home. I'd love to rescue dogs with my sister. She's rescuing when she can, but we could get so much more done if I had more room. We'd love a larger home with two separate fenced areas. One for the kids and our own dogs, and one fenced in area outside and room in the house for fosters or rescues. Well anyways...so my day started normal and ended BUSY! I'm still doing stuff and it's after 10pm already. Now off to get the kiddos tucked in and Fogerty settled for the night in the garage. ugh! Kevin would have to work on a day this crazy. :P

OH! and by-the-way: while I'm thinking about it; I am going to try and end each blog post with a funny pic of my dogs or my kids.

Jaesus. 



Here we have Miss Peggy Sue playing dress up with Laney Jo