Auuurite

We had a B.I.G scare with LJ on Sunday. She was running a fever all day (about 102) and I could never get it to break. I took her to her after hours Doc and he told us she picked up a bug and to keep giving her Tylenol. We went home and I put her to bed and at 3am she woke up crying. I went to check on her and my baby was on FIRE. I checked her temp and it was a big 103.7. I gave her meds and tried to get her temp down with a cold washcloth. I laid her in bed with me and after a little bit she went back to sleep. Around 5:30am she stirred. I turned the lamp on and she was having a seizure. =(

Okay, I'm just going to jump to the end. I can't think about it. Anyway, turns out she has a kidney infection. Poor baby. She's doing fine now and hasn't had any more fevers.

UPDATE:

So I wrote the above a few days ago and never finished nor published it. We've had the fevers under control. They are no more. And she's been taking antibiotics. Well, yesterday she busted out in a rash on her belly, chest and back. I was thinking it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic but instead it turns out to be a non-descript viral rash. It's in the same category as chicken pox or the measles but this one has no name. She got a chicken pox vaccine the week before and I'm wondering if this rash has anything to do with that. I forgot to ask that question when we were at the doc's office. Mr. A's mom is a nurse so she's going to look it up for me and let me know. It's not related to her infection or the meds she's taking. It's just another thing that we've got to deal with. Poor girl. I need to boost her immune system somehow. All of this right before a 4 day holiday. 4 for us. =) Our plans are to go camping. Mr. A bought the family a pop-up camper and we were going to break it in this weekend at High Falls. Now that she's feeling better, I think we're still going to try and go. High Falls isn't far from where we live so, if anything, we can just load up and head back home. On that note, I need to be packing. Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Autism Speaks

I have lost track of days ever since I stopped working. I am constantly asking what day and date it is. It's going to all change now. I start back at my old job next week part-time. Yay!? I really don't want to go back to work, but I need $$$. I'm glad it's part-time. 3x a week. I can handle that. And I love the boy who I'll be tutoring. He has autism. He is the most mainstream, advanced, autistic boy I know of. I won't get into it because I'll get emos, but I'm glad to be seeing him again. There are sooo many perks to this job, but my boss is not one of them. Rich haole. That says it all. I'm sure I'll have lots to vent about next week. Just a warning.

Anyway, LJ's rash went away! I found the best diaper rash cream E.V.E.R.. Triple Paste! That stuff is the best shit. It goes on easily and it doesn't sting her okole like Balmex did. The same company also makes a cream for dry skin/eczema. LJ has both so I tried that stuff out and it works great for her as well. It calmed her dry skin/eczema on her chest and back. And it isn't greasy. Best believe I'll be stocking up on those products.

TLH has a session this afternoon. Sooo glad. She has been sassy all week. It seems like the more slack I give her, the more she takes advantage of it and does whatever she wants and talks to me however she wants. Bad news, chickie. 3 days of restriction. No video games, no cellie, no iPod. My restrictions consist of taking away things that she loves. I went down the line. First I told her no video games. She said fine. Like she didn't care. So I added her cellie and she still didn't care. Then I added her iPod and that did it. She yelled "NOOO, mama!" and started crying. That's when I knew she would behave. I was right. She straightened up right after that. That girl loves her iPod. I just added new songs to it before she had it taken away. I'm sure that's why she wanted it so bad. No Justin Bieber or Katy Perry for her. She'll wise up one day and learn to not be so sassy to me.

LoveLoveLove

25 Randoms

1. My keys are coded with key caps because one of my fears is being chased into my house or car and not being able to find the right one.

2. I get car sick.

3. I want to retire in Belize.

4. I was an usher in a Filipina beauty pageant my older sister won. At the end of the ceremony, the ushers were given trophies with their name on it. I didn't pick mine up because it had my younger sister's name on it.

5. I CANNOT read stories of child abuse. My heart literally starts hurting and I cry.

6. My husband is easily startled, so, I'll hide when he comes home from work and jump out and scare him.

7. If I hadn't met my husband, I would have left GA a LONG time ago.

8. I once drank cooking oil thinking it was sweet tea.

9. When I was younger, I HATED my middle name (Mayumi) so I would lie and tell everyone it was Michelle.

10. I used to "wave" my bangs. I wish someone would have told me not to.

11. I love water cooler news.

12. My favorite concerty I've ever been to was Beastie Boys.

13. I wish I was financially stable enough to spoil my girls with whatever they wanted.

14. My memory sucks.

15. I want to shoot a hole-in-one on a par 3.

16. I use Revitalash to help my lashes grow.

17. I used to be a body piercer.

18. I'm so afraid of being alone that when I die, I want to be cremated and turned into jewelry my daughters can wear.

19. Two months later and I still have birthday decorations up from when Leila James had her first birthday.

20. I LOVE Vegas sooo much I want to marry it.

21. I'm the boss at word search puzzles.

22. I moved out of my parents home when I was 15.

23. Although I love purses, I don't like carrying one.

24. I swoon over Paul Walker whenever I see a pic of him. *sigh*

25. Long story short, I punched a girl in the face for wearing my husband's (boyfriend at the time) hat.

So, I Lied

Do you remember when I said I'd update my last post with pics? That was a big fat no-go. But only because I got so frustrated trying to upload the vid of the girlies making music. It took FOREVER and then an hour later, Blogger decided to test my patience by telling me that there was an error trying to upload my vid! After a few expletives were yelled out, I hastily closed the laptop shut and went to bed. Ya, I'm not going to try to upload anymore vids. Do you have a hard time uploading your vids?

So, we took the girls to the Museum of Arts and Sciences this afternoon. They're having an insect exhibit and it was pretty neat. Who knew there were sooo many kinds of bugs out there? I don't like bugs but I also don't mind them when they're trapped or dead on display. They had these huge mechanical bugs on display that would move and when LJ first laid eyes on them, she got scared and tried to get out of her stroller. Andy took her out while T. and I finished looking around. They have a mini zoo in there with the cutest Tamarin monkeys ever. LJ loved them. Two of the monkeys were watching her intently like she was the animal on display in a cage. It was cute. We attempted to watch an animal presentation but LJ wasn't having it. We had to leave before she really threw down.

The poor girl has a B.A.D. diaper rash. =( I feel so terrible about it. Her bottom's been red for a couple of days and in the past it has always went away and never got as bad as it is now. I started washing her off with soap and water instead of the baby wipes but I still haven't found a cream that is helping. That Beaudreax (sp) stuff always irritated her. Balmex is decent, but it's not doing anything now. I always used the jelly Baby Magic stuff and that would help but that's not working either. So frustrating. I hope she's not in as much pain as her rash looks like she should be. We have a doc's appointment on Monday. Hopefully he can give us something to use. Have any suggestions?

Mr. A isn't working tonight and I was looking forward to cuddling with him in the bed but the guy passed out in the recliner while I was in the shower. Booooo! At least I'll be waking up to him in the morning. I'm a happy girl. =)

It's bedtime now. Church tomorrow. Hope you're all having a great weekend!

LoveLoveLove

Let's Pretend

That I've been here all along, shall we? I don't even remember what my last post was, but so much has happened since then.

The wedding came and went. It was sooo good! It turned out sooo beautiful. The bride looked gorgeous in her vintage dress and birdcage veil and, I have to admit, us bridesmaids were looking fabulous as well. I wish I had taken photos of that night but I was too busy being the life of the party. =) Just kidding. Although, I did lead the conga line. I can't wait to see the photos the photographer took. I probably looked like a drunken fool. I drank enough to let loose and have a good time but not enough to not remember anything the next day. Ohhh, let's not forget the speech that I wasn't going to give because the last time I publicly gave a speech, I BLACKED out. No shit. I was in 6th grade and gave a speech to the entire school because I was the campaign manager for a girl running for class president. I remember saying the first line and the next thing I knew I was asking everyone to vote for Michelle. I don't remember anything in between. I didn't pass out or anything like that. I just blacked out. So, after that, I vowed never again to speak in public. Anyway, I knew it was customary to give a speech so I asked her if she wanted me to and she said she didn't care either way. So I opted not to. Well, the best man at the wedding was giving one for the groom so I knew I had to give one for the bride. Ughhh. Thanks, asshole. I ended up writing one 5 minutes before giving it and I didn't black out. Woohoo! But, I was glad that part of the evening was over. At the end of the night, a friend of ours must have thought I was crazy drunk cause this bitch kept trying to make me steal stuff! What the hell! Fucking kleptomaniac.

Let's see, LJ's first birthday has come and passed. It turned out good. Lots of family came. Even Auntie E and Lolo! All the Moose and Zee decor was a hit. What else...Her teeth finally came in. She now has 4. I was starting to wonder if they were even going to come in or if we had to go ahead and invest in full dentures for her. She's into birds. Parrots. Luckily, T.'s old toys and books are coming in handy. Last Christmas T. was into birds and we got her a FurReal Parrot. Of course, T. outgrew that but now LJ is loving it. She'll get it out of her toy bin and bring it to us to turn on. She pets it and plays peek-a-boo with it. Sooo cute! She is obsessed LOVES the movie 'Up'. I think we've all watched it a gazillion times. I put it on for her when I need to clean the house. Her favorite part is when all the balloons fly into the air. Right before that part comes on she'll point and say,"Look. Look. Look". She also loves the parts with applause. She claps along with them. And she loves sidewalk chalk. She walks around the driveway, with chalk in hand, randomly scribbling. Too cute!

T. got her first period last week. I know...It's just a matter of time before the floodgates open and all the teen dramas come rushing in. She started middle school and so far so good. Some girls don't like her and boys are always drooling. I hope she can ignore all the bullshit and just focus on school. She's in band this year, too. She's playing the clarinet. She can't blow out a note yet but she's trying. It's really funny, too. The girl is blowing as hard as she can but random noises just come out. T. gave LJ her old recorder and now they both practice their wind instruments the same time. LJ puts the whole mouthpiece in her mouth and makes music and dances. It's the cutest thing. I'll have to post a vid. T. is still in counseling. She hasn't been in over a month because she's been at her dad's for summer vacay. She has an appointment this afternoon after school. I'm glad she likes it and she has someone else to talk to. It seems to have helped alot.

Mr. A is on 3rd shift at work now. 12am - 7am. He seems to like it. And it's more pay. That's probably the only thing I like about it. I HATE not being able to sleep with him. I make him cuddle with me right before he goes to work, though. I love that man.

Rocco is still recovering from his surgeries. Yup, plural. He went in for a normal neuter procedure but ended up having kidney stones removed along with his balls. It was a lot more complicated than that. Because only one of his balls dropped, the doc had to go in and get the other ball that was still up in him. Well, the doc accidently nicked his urethra and had to stitch that up. Rocco licked his wounds so much it kept bleeding blah blah blah so when the doc went to fix him back up, they found that he had 4 kidney stones. Poor guy. At least he isn't pissing blood anymore but he still has to wear the "cone of shame".

As a family hobby, we took up camping. We went on our first camping trip last month. We went to FDR state park. It was sooo much fun. I loved it. So much that we bought a pop-up camper. I'll post pics after our first outing in it. We're going to High Falls Labor Day weekend. It's going to be so much fun!

In other news, congrats to one of my besties on her pregnancy! Woohoo! I'm sooo happy for her! There were a few bumps in the road but I hope from here on out it's nothing but smooth sailing. Excuse me while I send out good wishes and vibes for her...

So, I'll try harder to post on here and keep the very few peeps who read this updated. And I'll update this post with pics later tonight.

LoveLoveLove

First Year Wedded Bliss

Happy Anniversary, Mr. A!

A Mother's Day

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the mommies!

My Mother's Day started off hectic! No pampering or indulging at all.

Mr. A's family came over and I cooked everyone.

They all know that I don't cook but I thought I'd surprise them with a meal of Shepherd's Pie.

My cooking experience was not a good one.

I ended up feeling overwhelmed by all the pots and pans and just plain mess surrounding me.

I, seriously, lost all composure so I made myself a cocktail and that helped out alot.

After that, everything went by in a blur.

I managed to have the kitchen clean and the Pie in the oven before my mother-in-law came so it looked like I had everything under control.

But more importantly, the food came out Y.U.M.

Everyone went back for seconds and still saved room for the cute butterfly cake The Aung made.

I wish I had pictures to post, but I can't seem to find my camera anywhere.

Maybe I can get Mr. A to get me a new SLR camera...

Highly doubtful, but that's okay.

My girls are the best gifts I could have ever received.

That and two more Momiji Dolls to add to my collection.

=)

Going Cuckoo

My latest obsessions...

The World's Largest Gummy Bear

My favorite candy are gummies.

From gummy bears, worms, colas, to my favorite, chocolate covered.

(Colas would be my favorite, but chocolate trumps all.)

Mmmm...

But, I draw the line at this.

5 lbs of gummy bear? No, thanks.

12,000+ calories? Double no, thanks.

Why did they mess up a good thing?

Laid Back

It is so hard to go out to eat with friends these days with L.J so it was nice when The Groom and The Bride-To-Be came over this past weekend for dinner.

The menu was sooo ono! Crab legs, veggie kabobs, roasted corn and cocktails.

YUM!

Dinner should always be as relaxed as L.J is in this pic.

Party In The ATL

As Maid of Honor, I get to plan the bachelorette party!
And I'm sooo excited!
I'm envisioning a starting point at my house with decorations, hor d'ourves, mini games and lots of alcohol with an ending of gorgeous, passed out women in the limo on the way home from ATL.
Boys beware!

Fresh Start

Yay! TLH is not bipolar!
Not yet, anyway.
To make a long story short, TLH is diagnosed with adjustment disorder.
The Dr. said that bipolar usually hits children in their teens and since it runs on her dad's side of the family, there is still a chance she could inherit it.
She also said that it was good we were getting her help early and early intervention will definitely help for what can happen later.
TLH starts therapy in 2 weeks and the A. Team has already incorporated new rules around the house that her therapist suggested we try. And so far, so good.
I know this will only make the A. Team better because we all have the same goal...
To be one big, happy, loving family.

She's Sew Crazy

TLH has shown some interest in sewing since I first received my sewing machine and when the Easter Bunny brought her her very own starter machine, she was excited to get started.
As it turned out, that machine was a piece of crap.
I The Easter Bunny should have known that cheap wasn't the way to go.
So, I returned it it mysteriously disappeared and TLH started learning on my machine.

And, she loves it.
Her first make was this hair scrunchie.

It came out so good and she was sooo proud of herself!
I love when she feels accomplished.
But, we have to take it back to the basics because her hand sewing isn't as great as stepping on a pedal.

CraftFail.com

I don't know how I stumbled upon CraftFail.com, but I'm loving it!
75.5% of the clothing, crafts or whatever it might be that I try to make, end up as fails.
It usually takes me 2 or 3 tries before I just give up and settle I'm satisfied with the final product.
It may be because my measuring stinks.
But it is a big improvement from my old method of just eyeballing it.
Take these bloomers for example.
(Excuse the lack of pictures. My model was such a diva and didn't want pictures taken so I bribed her to sit still by letting her hold that tube. I really don't let her play with diaper rash cream.)

This was my very first time making bloomers.
I used this tutorial as a guide.
I didn't use a pillowcase. I used the matching fabric I made the pillowcase dress with.
I only had to redo them once. Whew! And they were still so-so.
I wish the leg openings were a little more stretchy than they are, but, she was able to get her chubby legs in them.
The leg openings on the first bloomer I made were just a little too tight.
It looked like they were cutting off her circulation.
I've since made another bloomer for her (which I'll share in a later post) and I only had to make them once. But, the leg openings weren't the same so one is smaller than the other and somehow one side came out longer than the other.
I don't know how that happened.
The innocent look on my face right now says it all. =)
Another fail project I just finished is this ruffled butt onesie.

I followed the tutorial to the tee (or t.?) but somehow I managed to still fail.
I even measured. Correctly.
I guess I was so intent on following the directions and concentrating that I forgot to make sure the ruffles were on straight.
It doesn't look too bad in the picture but when you hold it up, there is such a noticeable slant.
Maybe it won't be so noticeable when L.J wears it.
Oh, well.
I have 4 other onesie's to practice on.
Thank goodness for Gerber onesie packs.

My Muno

Buttahz is one of my besties from waaay back in the day.
Back when Nirvana was the shit.
Back when Doc Martens were on everyones feet.
Back when everyone dressed for raves.
I am sooo glad that we still keep in touch after all these years.
I made a Muno softie for her most adorablest son, Marz, today but as soon as L.J saw it, she had to have it.

I figured she would play with it for a few minutes and then move on to the next thing like she does with her other toys, but that didn't happen.
She kept Muno by her side for almost the entire day.

She even walked a few steps to get him.

I knew, then, that Muno wasn't going to be shipped off to his new home with Marz.
Muno now has sentimental value.
I'm sorry, Marz! I'll send you something even better than Muno. And I promise it won't have a drop of L.J drool on it!

So Much To Do

I have been on a yard sale/thrifting kick for a couple of weeks now, so after TLH's soccer game on Sat. I just had to stop at a couple that were on the way home.
Big mistake.
Mr. A ruined it for me.
He was hating on everything! He cock-blocked everything I picked up.
"You don't need that." "That thing doesn't work anymore."
I glared at him like I normally do when I have something ugly to say but keep it to myself because we're in public.
Never again will I take him with me.
He made me pass up on a baby jogger that I've been longing for.
Just the other day I told him I wanted one and what do you know?
I spot one at a yard sale.
First thing he says, "How are we getting it home?"
Hellooo...
Isn't that why we we bought Delilah?
To pile our crap in?
Needless to say, I didn't get anything.
Anyway, when we got home, I was still irraz, so while he was out painting the garage, I took the girls with me to go thrifting.
I found a couple of cute things, but my find of the day was an old pentagon side table with storage.
I haven't taken any photos of it but you'll see it in a future 'Before/After' blog.
I can't wait to get started on that project!
So little time.
As I mentioned, Mr. A has been working hard finishing the second garage we built a year ago and getting our pond pretty again.
And while he's been doing those projects, I've been resanding our back deck.
Yup, I'm handling power tools.
Well, just a sander, but it still has to get plugged into the wall before being used.
I was sanding away when I saw Mr. A in the corner of my eye on the top landing (where my new craft room will be!) of the second garage with a basketball.

Him and TLH were playing basketball and he decided to launch the basketball from that distance.
And guess what?
He made it on the second try.
He's such a big kid.
I also got a little break from sanding when the duckies came!
They usually swim in the pond in the mornings, but I guess they got a late start today.
TLH grabbed some bread and they led the duckies all the way to the house so I could get closer pics of them.

So cute!
Anyway, the deck should be finished and stained by the end of the week (yay! no more splinters!) and then I'll be able to start on that table.
So the plan goes.

Another Milestone

L.J surprised us all and decided to take her first 2 steps today!
I guess she thought her babydoll was worth trying to get from me.
It won't be long before she's walking all over the place with me chasing right behind.
I can't wait to see her little chubby legs in action.

She won't be needing those baby knee pads anymore!

Maid To Be

A good friend of mine is getting married and I'm the Maid of Honor.
Being a bridesmaid is not my thing.
I'm very shy to begin with so having all those eyes on me makes me uncomfortable. (You wouldn't think that with all the tattoos I have.)
Mr. A and I never even had a "real" wedding.
We did it "Sex in the City" style and went to the courthouse like Carrie and Mr. Big.
And I liked it that way.
So, now, it's crunchtime.
I need to lose some lbs - like pronto.
The other bridesmaids in the party is tall, super thin and modelesque.
My self esteem drops lower and lower everytime I think about it.
Ugh.
But I do get to wear a pretty yellow dress.
Yellow does look good on me.
=)
I have 3 months to lose 15 lbs.
5 lbs a month. Do-able.
Let's see if it's do-able for me.
Wish me luck!

Daddy's Little Girl

I wish I had a better camera to capture stolen, precious moments as these...

Before/After

Our bedroom was becoming a junk room/catch all.
And that picture was taken after I edited all the junk down to what you see.
So not inspiring.
I can't believe I was letting our bedroom become a scene from 'Hoarders'.
Bad. Very bad.
I decided to reclaim our space and tidy it up.
The first thing I did was price baskets that fit the bookcase in our room.
Ridiculous.
$20 a basket x 8.
Ya, right.
Too rich for my blood.
So, I went into cheap mode and decided to make my own.
I found the perfect sized shipping boxes at Staples for $2 and some cents a box.
Yup, shipping boxes.
I used a box cutter to cut the top flaps off

and then headed outside to spray paint the boxes white.

Once they were dry, I glued scrapbook paper to the front of the box and just to make sure L.J wouldn't rip the paper to shreds, I Mod Podged it.

It came out so much better than I imagined and now I can really clutter it up and no one will be able to see it!
Another great thing about these "baskets" is that it makes for less dust - and dusting.
I am now inspired to redo the rest of the bedroom.
Love it!

DaDaDaDa

L.J babbled for the first time today!

We were all in the kitchen when she started blurting out "DaDaDaDa".

I love hearing her sweet, angelic voice!

But, I know, once they start talking, they never stop.

Peach Pit Ring

I was eating a nectarine (are they the same as peaches?) when TLH mentioned that her book 'The Daring Book For Girls' has a tutorial on a Peach Pit Ring.
It says that if you rub the sides of a peach pit on cement, it eventually will make a ring.
TLH wanted to try it and we figured a nectarine pit is the same as a peach pit, so I finished my nectarine and gave her the pit.
She started scraping but after 30 seconds she found out that it was tedious work.
So, instead, she gave me the job while she played basketball.

After 15 minutes of scraping, this is all that I accomplished.
TLH had the right idea of pawning this project off on someone else.
I guess this ring will have to happen in sessions.