Procrastinating Christmas

So, as many of you know, it took me a while to get my Christmas tree up.  It wasn't necessarily because I was procrastinating, but it was seriously because I was just too darn busy.  We bought our tree last Sunday at Home Depot.  Why Home Depot?  Once again, because we were just too busy to head out to a tree farm and cut one down like we normally do.  We picked our little beauty up on our way home from the kids Christmas program at church.

The poor little thing stood in our garage all week just begging to be brought inside, and for someone to adorn him with pretty lights and ornaments.  Monday was the day we were going to put it up...and then Brett got sick.  Normally, when we put up our tree it's a family affair, so I just couldn't see putting it up while he felt so yucky.  Brett was sick all week.  He started to perk up Thursday morning, so I thought Thursday night was going to be the night to get it done.  By the time I got home from work he had temp. of 103.  Ryan ended up taking him to the dr. late Thursday afternoon, so all hopes of getting it done that night vanished.

I won't get into the weekend, but suffice it to say, we were swamped with plans, one of them being family Christmas with my mom on Sunday.

To make a long story, just a wee bit shorter, we ended up with a blizzard {it maybe wasn't declared that, but it sure did feel like it} in our neck of the woods, which resulted in a snow day for me and the kids!!  I'm pretty convinced that this snow day was specifically for me ~ just so I could deck my halls! ;)  Boy oh Boy, did I deck my halls! :)

I was beginning to think that I wasn't even going to put up my village, but I did!

Chloe and I even managed to get the Nativity Scene up too!

Let's not forget about the Christmas Candy!!!

I was just telling Ryan how fun it was to do the tree today.  I didn't feel any pressure, and it was totally relaxing!  He replied with, "Yeah, I know.  It's the first year you haven't ended up crying while doing it!" ;)

Why Oh Why do I put so much pressure on myself to have everything so perfect?  In the end, does it really matter? 

Normally I would take these two sock monkeys and separate them, because well, they don't belong together...but they totally do!  Brett put these two little cuties together, and I just love them that way!!:)
 

This little cluster of ornaments is going to stay exactly the way you see it...Why?  Because my little Brett put them that way, and who am I to correct them, just so they look perfect....they are perfect just the way they are!!

This cute little ornament was created in 2008.  Owen made it.  I'll cherish it forever...

 We reminisced about Chloe's first Christmas...

 Look at her now!  Crazy to think she was once so little!! {Yes she is still in her jammies ~ in fact, we all are!

So while it may seem like I was "Procrastinating Christmas."  I think that the timing was just perfect so that I could enjoy all of the little things about it, instead of having everything so perfect and just so.

Now, excuse me, I must go watch Elf with the hubby and kids! :) 

I think I should re-title this post "Perfect Christmas!":)

Shutterfly, baby!!!

So, as always, I'm a day late and a dollar short with getting my Christmas cards ordered and sent out. How do people have the time to do it all? Anyway, this year, I'm making it easy on myself.  I'm planning to get my cards from Shutterfly this year.  The only problem though?  There are SOOOO many cute ones to choose from that I need your help with deciding!  I'm trying to picture my cute kiddies pictures in there!  Can't wait! Don't worry, I'm not gonna reveal the picture(s) I have just yet, but I am gonna reveal my favorite cards: {click on pictures to go directly to a preview of the card}

With Love Blue Christmas

Love this next one:

Like I said, there are so many to choose from, but I'm thinking these are some of my favorites!  Tell me what you think.  Which one do you like best?  Have you ever ordered from Shutterfly and what was your experience like?  In the past I've gotten calendars and photo books from Shutterfly, and I've been so pleased with what I've gotten.  I was surprised at the quality of the products that I received, and the delivery was in a very timely manner!  Shutterfly also offer birthday invitations, baby announcements, and much more, so check out Shutterfly!

1st day of school 2010

Today was the first day of school for the kids...and ME!!!! It was a whirlwind of a day, I tell ya.

It started off with me crying in the shower. Yep, I just admitted that I cried in the shower. I cried because I felt sorry that I couldn't take my kids to school on their first day of school. I cried because I wouldn't be the mommy taking their kids picture in front of the school and in their classroom and with their teacher. I was just a bit sad.

Thankfully, my mom was able to come take the kids to the bus stop, cause Ryan had work issues that he planned before me getting this job. My mom took some great pictures ~ ones that I am just too lazy and tired to upload tonight.

My day absolutely flew by! I'm in the classroom for most of my mornings, but then the late morning/afternoons I'm running all over the place supervising students! It's great, cause it really made my day go by quickly!

I'm eager to get to bed, cause I am pooped. I'm not used to waking up at 5:40, not to mention going to work! ;)

I'll try to get those pictures uploaded here soon.

It's amazing what a new watch will do

Chloe had a gift card for Justice that she got from her aunt for her birthday. She wanted to go and get a new lunch box for school with it yesterday.

Well, she got the lunch box, a necklace and a new watch (she's been asking for a new watch since her old one broke in her accident).

I wish you all could have seen her walking through that mall. She was as proud as a peacock strutting her stuff and then periodically looking at her watch. It was so stinkin' cute!!

Every couple of minutes, she'd ask me if it was 2:22. Yes, Chloe, it's 2:22. Mom, is it 2:26? Yes, Chloe, it's 2:26.

She just had to make sure it was still working! ;)

I made mention of the fact that now that I'm going to be working, I'm going to need a little bit more help around the house. Chloe immediately said she would do everything, and I won't have to do anything! :) I think she's forgetting that she has to go to school all day too! :) Chloe wanted me to teach her how to do laundry today, so I immediately obliged! Who wouldn't?!?! She was a quick learner, for sure, and she did about 3 loads this evening - never stopping to check her watch to see when the load would be done! :)

I just love this girl - she's got a heart of gold, and such a serving spirit!

Today, we head up to University of Chicago for a CT Scan. I'm eager to get the results, but I'm hopeful that everything is just fine!!

Let's talk about those changes...

Many of you may know that Ryan and I made the decision to take our kids out of the private school they were in and place them in the public elementary school in our town. It was a huge, very tough decision, but I feel very confident that we made the right decision. I've felt at peace about it for a long time and have been eager for school to begin. Side note: I'm never eager for school to begin, I'm the mom who loves having her kids home, so this is very strange for me! ;)

Fast forward a couple of months to last Wednesday. I had the idea to call the school to see if they had any types of openings to supervise recess, etc. They informed me of 2 openings for Teacher's assistants. I talked it over with Ryan and we both agreed that I should apply. I brought in my application on Wednesday around 11:30, and by around 2:00 that afternoon the office called me to set up an interview with the principal at 10:00 on Thursday. I went to the interview, and by 1:00 that afternoon, the principal called me to tell me that "I would be the perfect fit for the school family" and she offered me the job. I accepted it, without any hesitation. You see, before I even knew anything about this job, I wanted to get to the school, and just get involved. I wanted to be involved with PTO, room parties, etc. Now though, I am going to be right smack dab in the middle of my kids school, with eyes and ears all around! It is definitely a God thing, that's for sure!! Oh, and the best part - when my kids are out of school, so am I! I don't have to give up my summers with my family at the lake!! Yay!!

I had my orientation today, and it went great! There are 12 Teacher's assistant's and it just seems like an awesome school family! I officially start on Wednesday, bright and early to Welcome Back all of the students! I'm super excited!! {and so are my kids! :)}

ch-ch-ch-changes!

Lots of changes going on in our house this time if year! I'm not at liberty to share them all just yet, but when I can, you bet I will! Could I just ask you to keep my family in your prayers? Thanks!

Chloe Update

July 9 marked the 6-month anniversary of Chloe's accident {also Chloe's 8th birthday! :)}.  The neurologist originally told us it would take about 6 ~ 12 months for her skull fractures to heal and that she should be on limited activity for that time.  Well, seeing that the new school year is fast approaching, I needed some guidance as to whether or not she should still be out of recess and gym.

Thankfully, I have the direct line to the neurosurgeon's nurse {we know her personally!:)} and gave her a call.  Unfortunately, the neurosurgeon that we dealt with has left University of Chicago and the nurse had to present our case to the new pediatric neurosurgeon.

She presented our case and came back to tell us that Chloe was supposed to come back for a repeat CT Scan at the 3-month mark.  WHOOOPPPPPSSS!!!  Ryan and I both swear we did not hear the doctor tell us this, but alas, we will go in for our "3-month follow-up"...ahem...a few months late!  ;)

I have to say though, that I'm kinda glad to get another peek into her little noggin.  The last CT Scan that she had still showed the fractures on her skull.  They were healing perfectly, but still there.  I'm anxious to see the status of them, and I'll keep you posted on the results!

To My Chloe Girl:

My sweet Chloe,

Today you are 8 years old! Yikes! Stop growing up already! :)

You are growing up to be such a sweet, loving, beautiful girl! I love sharing those special times with you where it's just us...no boys! (just the way you love it! ;)) I love how you are so helpful with anything I ask you to do. You truly are a joy to have around, and I don't know what I would do without you! You are one special girl, that's for sure!

I'm looking forward to the future with you too!

I love you my Gracey Girl!!

Love,

Mama

To My Brett Boy:

My dear little Brettie Boy:

I can't even believe that you are six today!! Where has the time gone?! You are growing up way too fast, and there is no stopping you! :)

You are growing up to be such a little man. I love it when you tell me I look gorgeous! ;) One day you're wife is gonna like that more than I do, I bet! You are a little lover, that's for sure. You've got such a soft gentle heart, and I love that about you!

Now, don't get me wrong, you do have you're naughty streaks too, but for the most part, you are a joy to have around.

I love you Brett, more than I can express, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you!!

Love,

Mommy

This one's for Linda! ;) {The long awaited Oprah story}

Reader, Linda, gently reminded me that I never did tell you guys about my Oprah experience.  So sorry about that!  I've seriously been swamped!  I've got a little extra time now, so I'm gonna tell you ALL about it! :)

Tuesday night, my sister and I slept at our friend Katie's house, cause we had to be AT the Oprah show @ 7:00 ~ earlier if we wanted better seating.  So we got up around 4am and left around 5:30 or so. It felt a bit like Black Friday to me, cause the three of us always go shopping together, except it was much more exciting! ;)

It took us no time at all to get to the city, and we had NO problem finding on-street parking, so that was AWESOME too! ;)

The line was already forming - it was quite long actually.  The closer we got to the front, the more nervous I got.  Not really nervous, I guess, just really excited! ;)  You wouldn't believe the security check.  They seriously looked at EVERYTHING in your purse.  I have a little Bible in there, and they confiscated it {I got it back later though}.  And would you believe this one?  They took Katie's coupons!!!!!  Crazy, just crazy.  I have no idea what that was all about, but we did get it all back at the end.

They instructed us to this room that had nothing but chairs, and we sat there for what felt like forever, but it was probably only about an hour or so.  We made nice with the girls sitting across from us, so it made the time go by quicker. 

One thing I forgot to mention is that my sister-in-law knows one of the executive producers.  Would you believe that she called him and he was producing the show that day and we got priority seating?!?  WE DID!!  We were in the 5th row!  So cool!!

Alright, so Oprah comes out and she totally looks different in real life.  She must've had SOOO much make-up on , cause it looked REALLY caked on.  Anyway, she couldn't walk in the shoes that they had her wearing, and she was really cute about it.

The story was about this many from Arkansas, Tony Alamo.  He was the leader of this church/cult and his followers believed that if their children lived with him/married him that they would be the chosen ones to get to heaven.  He had MANY brides, including one at age 8!!!!!!  4 of his brides testified against him in court and he is now serving 175 years behind bars. 

I won't tell you many more details, cause I don't want to ruin it if you want to watch the show, but it was a pretty good show.  I was really hoping for the "Wishes do come true" or "favorite things" show, but oh well! :)

We aren't sure of an air-date yet.  They told us to keep watching Oprah's website to find out, so I'll let you know.

After Oprah, we got in the car and headed towards State St. and Michigan Avenue to see where we wanted to have lunch.  We were driving past the Chicago Theatre and the sign said "America's got Talent - FREE ADMISSION 1pm"  So we kept going back and forth - should we go - shouldn't we.  In the end, we decided we'd just go.  We got a sandwich quick and headed over to stand in another line.  Are we gluttons for punishment or what?!?  We were quickly informed that we needed internet tickets - even though it was free.  Boo.  We went into Halsted St. Deli so we could get a FAMOUS Rainbow Ice Cream Cone.  Can I just say YUM!! I totally didn't think that I would like it, but it was really good! As we were sitting eating our cones, Katie noticed some cameras outside and they were setting up a microphone.  Well, we had to go out and see what the commotion was all about.  Apparently, Nick Cannon {Mariah Carey's husband} is the host of "America's got Talent."  Side note:  I never watch the show and had no idea who Nick Cannon was. Oops!  Anyway, he was doing an introduction to the show outside!  That was pretty cool to watch too!

We were just standing outside eating our cones when a guy who was clearly from "America's got Talent," with headphone on and all, came walking past us.  I told Katie to ask him to let us in, and HE DID! :)  He actually told us we didn't need a ticket - someone else was misinformed.  We made it in! ;)

So, to be completely honest with you - now I know why I don't watch the show.  There were just a couple of good acts, but seriously the audience is what drove me nuts!!  They were so obnoxious!  Everyone had to get their voice heard, and it took so much more time than it should've.  We left at intermission. :)

We had such an AWESOME day!  I was with two of my best friends, and enjoyed a great day in Chicago!!

Just what I needed today...

I'm gonna get a little personal here, and I hope that's o.k. Don't worry, the deals will still come, but I just feel like I need to process my thoughts.

I've been having trouble with thoughts of Chloe's accident. I don't know why sometimes it's so hard for me to get past it, but it is.

We recently learned of a death of one of my husband's high-school friends father. He fell off a ladder and landed right on his head. He lived for a week after the accident, but he did pass on Saturday. And I'm thinking that's why my mind is going where it is.

My thoughts immediately feel so bad for this family and what they have to go through. But then, selfishly, they turn to "that could've been Chloe."

Yesterday, as I was preparing dinner, I relived the accident in my head, which, unfortunately, I do quite often. I couldn't stop sobbing. I thought about how awful it was for my husband to find her unconscious with blood coming out of her mouth and nose. How scary that had to have been for him. Ryan saw me crying, and we started to talk about it. He, of course, reminded me that she is FINE! She was actually playing outside on the swing-set when this was going on, so we both stood there and watched her swing. What an awesome sight to see now!

I know that this is just Satan trying to find a crack to steal my joy, but I'm not gonna let him! The Lord performed a miracle in our little girl, and I'm going to keep shouting it from the rooftops!

Anyway, to make a long story short, and the actual reason of my post. {I sure can ramble, can't I?}

I just opened my e-mail a few minutes ago, and received this e-mail from Chloe, I couldn't help but cry...again...but tears of joy, cause my baby is o.k.! Thank you Jesus that she is o.k.!

"hi mom chak your e-mail every day win i am at school OK OK plesce bye bye"

I love that little girl with everything in me.

Whirlwind

WOW! What a whirlwind of a day!! I just got home after being gone since 7:15 this morning! phew!!!

I had the privilege of speaking in front of my MOPS moms today!! If you have never been a part of a MOPS group, I strongly urge you to join one!!!! Anyway, I spoke to my moms about - none other than - money saving tips and couponing! ;) It was my first time speaking to such a large group of women, but it was SOOOO much fun!

Sooooo, if you are here because you are part of my MOPS group - WELCOME!! :)

Oh, and for you MOPS moms, here's a link to the KMart post I talked about today!

And for all you other faithful readers, I know I promised a post about my trips to Kmart with pictures, and I'm sorry I haven't gotten to that yet, but you know how life can be with 3 little ones under your feet! ;) Stay tuned - I'm gonna try and get to it tonight...AFTER GEMS! ;)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

{Above pictures are the little favors that my sister and I made for our MOPS moms. The theme for the month was HELP - helping moms share the load, so we thought this would be cute! :)}

I've had several people show interest in how I make my own laundry detergent. I basically go off the Duggar's recipe, {The Duggars have 19 kids, and I'm sure they are washing laundry 24/7!} however, I have calculated it so that it doesn't make such a HUGE batch. My laundry room is not HUGE, so I'm not thrilled with having a 5-gallon bucket in that room, so I stick to the smaller bottles! ;)

I saved old bottles from store-bought laundry detergent and just re-use those.

Aimee's Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe:

1/3 bar of any type of bar soap {grated}. The Duggar's use Fels-Naptha bar soap, however, I've found that really any type of soap works just fine.

1/3 cup Borax

1/3 cup washing soda {I buy Arm & Hammer brand, and this can be found in the cleaners aisle of your grocery store.}

Mix Borax and washing soda together and then use 1/3 cup of that for the bottle you make. So this amount will actually make 2 bottles, however I have no idea what 1/2 of 1/3 is!;)

{All of the above items cost me less than $6, and it lasts for a LONG time, so plan on making a lot of detergent with these products! ;)}

1. Boil 16 cups of water

2. Add grated bar soap, washing soda and Borax. {make sure you have mixed the borax and the washing soda and used 1/3 cup of that mix.}

3. Dissolve ingredients completely.

4. Use a funnel {if you don't have one, you can just pour it} and pour into used laundry detergent bottle. I do this in my kitchen sink, so if I miss the bottle a bit, it just goes into my sink.

5. Let cool. Again, I just let the bottle sit in my sink until it is cooled off. It may take a couple of hours.

6. Shake up the bottle, and you are good to go!

I have found NO difference in the cleanliness of my clothes, however, the smell isn't as strong as regular laundry detergent. To fix that, my friend said that you can buy essential oils and add a couple of drops, or I just add a fabric softener sheet in the dryer.

I've found that it costs just about $1 to do 1 bottle of laundry detergent, and something about it makes me feel happy when I make something myself! Love it!

I know these directions are a little sketchy, but this is the way I calculated it to fit into one bottle, so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask away!!

Good luck, and let me know if you give it a try.

{Yields about 68 ounces of detergent.}

Loved this

Before Chloe's accident, she was struggling a bit in reading and math {here I go with the Before and After again}. Of course, while she was home I helped her a lot with her homework, and I think that one-on-one time with her really helped.

I was so happy to find this in Chloe's graded papers folder yesterday:

Missed

For those of you who don't know. My husband moved his office home in September of 2009. Overall, it's been good for us. It's kinda fun to have him here throughout the day. He's upstairs, so it's not like he's all in my face all day or anything! ;) It's also fun to have lunch with him most days! And the kids love that he's home - even though it means they have to be quiet when they go upstairs during the work day.

So the other day, I went to my friend Kate's house to get my haircut. I had car pool that morning, so I left my house at 7:15 and just headed to her house from there - no sense in coming all the way home when I could hang out with her until our hair dresser arrived! ;) {Nothing like a game of Super Mario Bros. for Wii with your best friend! ;)}

Ryan called a couple of times that morning. Then a couple times in the early afternoon. And then finally at one of the calls, it hit me. He misses me!!! So I said to him, "YOU MISS ME!!! That's why you're calling me so much!" And he was all "yeah, I do."

And you know what?!? That made my heart glad.

Struggling with my Emotions

I'm struggling.

Picture this:

All three kids with no shirts on. They each have a straw that is under their armpit. While they blow into the straws, it makes a sort of farting noise. They march around the house blowing into their straws and making these farting noises. It's annoying, to say the least. I let it slide for a bit, cause they are happy and having fun, but then it's just too much.

I tell them to stop. All done now. They continue to blow into the straws. My voice raises a bit and tell them again to stop. Still more blowing. Then I blow up! "I've had enough of the fart noises! Put the straws in the trash!"

And then I look at Chloe. She's got a scar from her collapsed lung, and I can see it cause she still has no shirt on. It's a constant reminder for me of how bad things really were.

I lose it.

Why can't I just let the stupid fart noises slide? Why does it bother me so much? Why do I get upset so easily?

I know I'm just being a mom, and sometimes, I just get frazzled, but I have a hard time drawing the line from being a mom, and being a mom of a daughter who nearly died and I am reminded of it every time I try to discipline her. Shoot, I'm reminded of it every day I look at her! She's a miracle!

I feel like, how dare I yell at my daughter who IS HERE!!! SHE'S HERE! She could be dead, and she's not, and I'm choosing to yell at her!?!? What is my problem!?!?!

I need to find a balance, and I just can't! I feel guilty EVERY time I discipline my kids, and I know it's probably wrong to feel this way, but I just can't help it! Not sure what to do about it either.

Here I go again...

Another one of those long random posts! ;)

Here goes:

Chloe's doing really good - minus some headaches, which the neurosurgeon's nurse said she will have for quite some time. It's a bummer really, but if this is all we have to deal with after her accident, we'll take it. She's also pretty bummed that she can't play outside at recess. The weather has been getting so nice out, and all she wants to do is play outside. Apparently, yesterday she played on the sidewalk at recess time, and I had no idea she did this. I've told her to sit on the bench. Ugghhh!! It's just such a hard decision. If we let her play and she falls and hits her head on the sidewalk, we've got a huge problem. I hate living my life in fear, but if we can try to prevent something bad from happening, we will!! So, it's back to the bench for her.:(

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My mommy is here to spend the weekend with us! :) I just love it when she is here with me! Lots of time to chitty-chat while folding the never ending pile of laundry! She always seems to enjoy folding the laundry. I wish a little bit of that would rub off on me! ;)

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Today, I was the VIP for my nephew Bennett's preschool class! :) I was second pick. First, being his daddy. I was completely flattered that he chose me!!! He was so excited when I walked into his class - grin from ear to ear! We had a fun time doing crafts and playing games together - something I don't get to do often with JUST him! Love you Benny Boy!

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I got my hair cut yesterday. I was planning on having it grow out, but absolutely hated the growing out process, not to mention, I really just like my hair short. Before I got it cut, I ran to Jewel and got a box of hair dye. Yeah, I only spent $0.46 on it! ;) {I used some left-over catalina's!} Gotta love that!

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Speaking of Jewel...kinda glad that week is over! Phew! It was a whirlwind of Catalina's, but good nonetheless. Looking forward to a couple weeks of "regular" shopping before another Catalina surge like that one! Was it just me, or was it hard to keep all the deals straight!?!?!

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Alrighty! I think that's it for now!

Wordless Wednesday

Tackle it Tuesday

I've decided to go ahead and do a "Tackle it Tuesday!" I'm sure all of us have something in our lives that we need to "tackle."

Well, for me, I needed to tackle my laundry. It was seriously getting out of control! I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but I'm going to anyway. I've had about 4 or 5 baskets of CLEAN laundry sitting in my family room since Saturday. I've got no problem washing it and drying it - it's the folding and putting away that I absolutely loath!!!

I didn't get a proper BEFORE picture, because I had already started to fold the laundry before I decided to do this post:
And here's the in-between

And as for the after? Well, let's just say I'm...Ahem...still "tackling" that! ;) Really, I am!!

Celebrate Chloe

So, on to Chloe's party - that was on Valentine's Day!! Yes, I'm a bit behind. ;)

It was so great! We had close to 100 people who attended! It was just so nice to be able to thank everyone for their support - we had so much support, it was crazy, and awesome!!!

Chloe and her Auntie Mel

Me and my girl!

The Cake Pops I made

The Rice Krispy Treats that my mom made - Chloe told her what to write on them! :)

The awesome cookies my friend Shawnie made! They were so good!!

4 of the best friends a girl could have! LOVE them!!
Chloe and all of her friends! :)
This is Kelley. She was the trauma nurse on the helicopter the night of the accident. To make a long story short, My friend's friend knows her. I got her cell phone number and asked her to come to Chloe's party. SHE AGREED!! She was so sweet for taking time out of her day to come and meet my girl wide awake! {The last time she saw her was when she was in the coma.} It was so nice talking with her! Thanks again Kelley for coming!!

Part of the sweet table. We had so many good sweets! I wish I could've tried them all!

Thanks again to all the people who came out to Celebrate our girl! We love each and everyone one of you and appreciate all the support you gave to us!

Green Couch, Red Couch, Brown Couch...

This lovely love seat was the first piece of furniture that Ryan and I purchased together {along with it's matching sofa, of course}. Ya know, young and in love, getting our apartment ready for when we got married. I remember the day - we headed out to Darvin Furniture store {I'm not even sure if it's still in business} and bought our first set of furniture together! It was SOOO much fun!!

As you can tell in the picture, it's got a slip cover on it - a brown one. The original color of the couch is a sage green, and let me tell you - once we had kids it got all kinds of stains on it. In our old house it had a brick red slip cover, and since changing my comforter in my bedroom, it's now got a brown one to match.

This couch's home is now in our bedroom. There are many a day that I sit on it and talk with Ryan while he is working - just to the left of the couch. Or, the kids will sit and play their DS's or just chat with us if we're both at our desks. Since moving our office home, our bedroom doesn't have as much space for this little love seat, but I love that it's in our room - it's gives everyone a place to hang out and chat together! :) I plan on keeping it there for a while.


**This post is part of a writing assignment from Steph @ Adventures in Babywearing!**

Bike Helmet Poll

I've got a new poll on my sidebar that I would love for you to vote on.

Obviously, since Chloe's accident, we've had our eyes open quite a bit to helmet safety. I'm just curious as to how many parents make there kids wear bike helmets. We've never enforced the rule of bike helmets at our house, but all of the doctors at University of Chicago insisted that especially Chloe, but really the boys too, should wear them ALL THE TIME!

So, a new rule has been enforced in our house - No helmet - No bike. Simple as that.


Take a minute and vote - I'd love to hear your opinion!!

Cake Pops!!!

I'm just realizing that I never posted pictures from Chloe's party, or did I?! I gotta go check that out...

Nope, sure didn't!

I'll get to that...soon.

I made these adorable Cake Pops for her party though. Not only did they look cute, but that tasted so good!!! {Thanks Bakerella for the recipe! She's amazing, by the way - so don't compare my cake pops to hers!:)}


I was actually planning on doing a tutorial while I was making them so I took plenty of pictures. And since the party I've had quite a few people ask me for the recipe, so here you go:

**I made a batch with Red Velvet cake mix, and a batch with Strawberry Cake mix. While they both tasted great, I would say the consistency of the Red Velvet was better.**

Red Velvet Cake Pops
1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
lollipop sticks

1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Bakerella melts her chocolate in the microwave, however I put a glass bowl over a 8 qt. pan filled with water and that worked great too!!

6. Dip the tip of your lollipop stick in a little of the chocolate bark and insert into the cake balls. (Insert a little less than halfway.)

7. Place them in the freezer for a little while to firm up.

8. Once firm, carefully insert the cake ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered. Once covered, remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Don’t tap too hard or the cake ball will fall off, too. {My kids actually enjoyed with the cake ball fell off, cause then they got to eat it! ;)}

9.Place in a styrofoam block to dry. {I used floral foam.}








I wish my pictures were better, but I totally need a new camera.:( You get the idea though.

I must be crazy

So, we are headed to the Pinewood Derby Car Race at church this morning. The boys are so excited! Daddy made them a nice little silver bullet car for them to race down the track - it should be loads of fun for them.

Me, I'm trying to figure out a way to get to the Jewel just down the street from the church! I'm a bit bummed about my not so great trip there yesterday, and feel like I need to redeem myself! :)

I was talking to my friend Amy {Hi Amy! :)} this morning, who claims she needs therapy because she just can't stay out of Jewel, and she mention that she had a little bit of a mishap with the pudding yesterday too, so I'm kinda glad it wasn't just me! :) She's headed there now with a UPC list {this list is for the ConAgra deal - thanks to My Brain is Inside Out!}in hand! In fact, I just printed one out myself and I'll be heading over there while Ryan helps set up the track for the race! :)

Yes, I must be crazy, but I'm heading back to Jewel today! :)

Pure Joy

Tonight Chloe had a birthday party at a hotel for one of her friends. There was swimming and games, even Aloha Chicago was there to teach the kids how to hula dance. It was so much fun!!

While the hula dancer was up on the stage, the look on Chloe's face was priceless. She had a smile from ear to ear and was just in awe of this woman dancing. I couldn't take my eyes off of Chloe. I am almost a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I seriously was getting choked up. To sit there and look at my daughter with so much joy on her face was just so awesome!

I am just so thankful that I got to experience this joy with her!


***The above picture is the look of Pure Joy on Chloe's face when she stepped in the new American Girl store downtown! Man, I love this girl!!!***

Hubby just told me about this...

So apparently, Owen's picture has been on a website that he created for over TWO YEARS, and he just told me about it today!! What?!?!?!

I can barely remember him that little!

Check it out:

www.schillingconstruction.net

He's the 2nd picture that shows up!

WOW, just WOW!!!

Chloe's party is tomorrow!!! I asked my friend Shawnie {the master of cookie making! :)} if she would make some cookies for Chloe's party! Once again, she outdid herself, and of course made me cry while reading her blog post about them! I showed Chloe the blog post, and she said, "wow, I could just cry they look so nice!" {is she like her mother, or what!?! :)} Thanks so much Shawnie!!! Love you!!!


I also told Shawnie that I was making Cake Pops for Chloe's party. I have successfully made FIFTY of them, and I'm waiting on the next 50 to cool. She wanted to see a picture, so I'll give you a sneak peek {I'm actually planning on doing a tutorial post on them}.

Aren't they just the cutest things you ever did see?!?! {Yes, I took them outside to photograph them! :)} I did 50 with Red Velvet cake, and 50 with Strawberry cake. They taste SOOOOOO good - of course, I had to try them!

The results are in!!

I didn't have enough room on Facebook to put this as my status, so I thought I'd update all of you here...

We went for CT scans this morning at University of Chicago, and after them, met with ENT {the doctor taking care of her fracture on her forehead} and Neurosurgery {the doctor taking care of the other fracture and brain}.

After getting the CT scan, which by the way, we knew the person doing the scan - such a small stinkin' world, I tell ya, - we headed up to ENT only to find out that they didn't order a scan of her face/forehead. So, back down we went to CT. While waiting for those scans to be read, we headed up to Neurosurgery. Thankfully, we knew Kelly {a nurse in Neurosurgery}, and she told us just to come whenever, which was awesome! {Thanks Kelly! :)} We saw a Nurse Practitioner who looked at the sore from her chest tube, and it's healing up great! While I was waiting for the Nurse Practictioner in Neuro, Ryan ran over to ENT to see if they had the results of the 2nd scan that we did. He had to wait a bit, but ended up coming back to Neuro giving me the thumbs up sign! WAHHHHOOOOOO!!!!! Turns out the fracture on her forehead is healing up perfect! It's not completely healed yet, but it's healing the way it's supposed to, and no surgery is needed!!!! Apparently Dr. S. gave Ryan a big ole' hug when she gave him the news! I think all of us were relieved! :)

We then went to see the NP in Neuro. Apparently she told us that she heard a lot about Chloe and that Chloe was the favorite patient around there! :) So cute! Anyway, she told us her brain looks "happy and beautiful!" She's still on limited activities, but we'll take that! The headaches are all completely normal from when someone has a concussion - I guess I kinda forget that she actually had a concussion too - It's something call Post Concussion Syndrome. All completely normal and will go away in about 3 months. As long as the Tylenol gets rid of the headache, we're good!

All in all, a wonderful, albeit LONG day at University of Chicago, however, we got all GOOD news, and we couldn't be more happy about that!!!

Thanks for all of your prayers for us!!

Wordless Wednesday: Owen is not to fond of playing in the snow - maybe because his big brother throws snow in his face....

A bunch of random! :)

Haven't done one of these in awhile...

*~* Chloe started back to school yesterday - after four weeks! Overall, I'd say it was a pretty good day. The school secretary called a couple times, cause she had a headache, and it wasn't time for more Tylenol. I think it was a bit wearing on her to be back, but alas, she went back today, and we'll see how it goes! We got to the University of Chicago on Thursday for a couple of CT Scans, and a few doctors visits - we'll be there most of the day actually, so pray that all goes well with that! Thanks!

*~*I'm a bit disappointed with the outcome of our Rock Candy so far..only a little bit of crystals, and not much rock candy. I'm totally sick of it sitting on my counter, so it's got a bout 2 days to produce something or it's gone! :)

*~* This is what the top of my entertainment center looks like...

It has become a display for the boys {and Ryan is included in that - see that fancy yellow car he created?!} Lego creations. It's actually really cute. When the boys don't want one of their creations to get ruined they put it on top of the entertainment center. :) Yes, I do realize that I still have my Christmas village up, but hey - it's a winter scene too! ;) Alright, I'm just making excuses cause I'm too lazy to put it away!

*~* And for those of you who don't follow me on Facebook, Chloe got her haircut!! They cut about 7 inches off!!!

BEFORE

AFTER (don't love the part down the middle, so we fix it to the side now! :)

*~* We {well, Ryan really! :)} decided he wanted to have a party for Chloe...the day of her accident was her half-birthday. She said to me MANY times "I just can't believe no body remembered my half-birthday!" {At school they celebrate half-birthdays if you have a summer birthday} When the accident happened, and Chloe was asleep, we promised her just about anything, and that's when Ryan promised her we'd throw her a big party. So that's what we're doing - on Sunday - Valentine's day...the day of LOVE! WE LOVE CHLOE! {AND BRETT AND OWEN TOO!} We didn't label it a birthday party, cause we don't want people to bring her gifts - we just want to Celebrate her life!

*~*My mom and sister and I spent a lot of the day yesterday making the cutest little treatsfor Chloe's party yesterday, and also some stuff for MOPS. Can I just tell you how blessed I am to have these two women in my life?!? We have so much fun together! We laugh so much when we are together, and it's just so much fun! Love you guys!!

*~* This is totally random - Owen just asked me for some coffee...I swear this kid drinks more coffee than I do! Thank you dear Grandma Betty for training him in this way! ;)


*~*I just had to throw this one in here, cause I just think it's so cute! I sent Owen to his room, cause he was being a stinker and when I called him back down he didn't answer me...this is what I found...

Yes, he's sleeping! :)

So, that's about it! My life in a random post! :) Enjoy your day!

Do you believe in miracles?

**Just wanted to say that every post is NOT going to be about Chloe's accident. I will get back to my fun normal stuff, but for now - this is what's processing in my brain! ;) Thanks for hanging in there with me!**

Last week, I had a steering meeting for my MOPS group at church. My coordinator suggested that I write down all of the little miracles that we saw take place during those five days at the hospital. I thought it was a GREAT idea, because I really don't ever want to forget any of it. So while it's still sorta fresh in my mind, I'm gonna take the time to get it all down.

First of all though, I just want to say that watching all of this first-hand was so amazing! It certainly wasn't fun to be in the situation itself, but to watch it all unfold for good was just awesome and we are so thankful that the outcome was so great! God is so good!!

My main avenue for communication while she was in critical condition was Facebook. I would update it as often as I could, cause that was the easiest way to keep everyone informed all at once - and it kept us from being on the phone all day. It was so easy for me to update it on my phone, and give everyone specific prayer requests, etc.

Let's move on...

That first night, Ryan was trying to rest and of course, me being the worry-wart, couldn't sleep a wink. The nurse stayed in our room - ALL NIGHT! It was awesome! I felt so comfortable with her in the room with us. Every time she'd check her eyes, I asked her if they were still "brisk and equal" {that meant there were no signs of brain damage} and each time they were just that. I'm sure she got sick of us asking her, but that was huge for us to know that her brain was responding to the light. I finally asked her {Kim, the nurse} how she thought Chloe was doing. We were both standing over Chloe and she said to me, "I got called in tonight to work because of Chloe, they told me that she was going to have a bolt in her head, multiple broken limbs, and many other things. She doesn't have any of that." I of course started to cry. You see, when we were at St. Anthony's before getting air-lifted to University of Chicago, I couldn't even be in the room with Chloe. I felt helpless. There was nothing I could do for my baby. I knew she was in good hands, but I just wanted to be there with her. I finally began thinking about what I could do, and the only thing I could come up with was to get people to pray for her. I had my friend, Susan, call our church secretary, Joan to get it on the prayer chain at church. My mom had called her prayer chain at her church. I called my dad to get it on his prayer chain. I'm sure it was on many others too. Before you know it, it was on prayer chains all over, and it was all over Facebook too. We had hundreds {maybe even thousands!} of people praying for her - even people we don't even know!! It was truly amazing. I believe that the doctors at St. Anthony's and the doctors on the helicopter originally thought that she was going to be in worse condition, but because of all of the immediate prayers, I believe that she was saved from all of those things that the nurse said.

The next morning on one of my MANY trips to the bathroom, {I don't handle stress well} I recognized one of the nurses sitting at her station. I walked over to her and asked her if she was so-and-so's brother. She said yes, and I explained who I was. She asked why I was there, and I told her my daughter got into a snow mobile accident. "Oh, that's you!" she replied. And of course, I started to cry. {I did alot of crying at that hospital!} She asked if she could come see Chloe. We walked in and she took a look at her and said she looked good - her vitals looked good. To have that comfort of hearing that from somebody we knew was so awesome! We talked a bit and then she asked us if we needed something to drink. I asked for a Diet Coke and Ryan said a coffee would be great! We thought she was just going to go to the nurses kitchen or something to get it. Little did we know she was going to go to au bon pain and get coffee, diet coke, muffins, danishes, etc. I'm sure to her, it didn't seem like a big deal, but to us it was HUGE!! We didn't want to leave Chloe's side, but we needed to have a bit of nourishment. She was a gem our entire stay - bringing coffee and chai tea and just giving comforting words! She was awesome! {Not sure if she reads this, but just in case - THANKS SO MUCH CARYN!!!!}

That same morning, the helicopter team came in to see Chloe. They explained to us that they were so busy the night before. They actually were in Kankakee when they got the call about Chloe. The team explained to us that they were a little bit late getting to Chloe, but it worked out good, because at first, they didn't realize she had a collapsed lung, and because they were late, it gave the team at St. Anthony's time to do a scan and then insert a chest tube. The helicopter team said that it was a good thing they were late, because it wouldn't have been pretty if they had to insert the chest tube in the helicopter. {Yet another fingerprint of God doing his work!}

We continually asked for prayers for no pressure on the brain from the brain bleed. We prayed for no changes in the CT scan of her brain, and all of those prayers were answered! The contusion on the back right side of her brain swelled a bit, but according to the doctors it was completely normal for it to swell a little - just like a normal bruise would on any other part of your body. So yet again, prayers answered!

Originally, we were told she had two fractures in her lower vertebrae. On Monday {or maybe it was Tuesday - not sure} she went down for another x-ray of her back and also an x-ray of her wrist, cause the doctors thought that may have been fractured too. Before we left for x-ray, I did a quick post on Facebook to pray specifically for no fractures. I'm sure you can guess what the results of those x-rays were. No fractures! The doctor came in and told us she had no fractures in her back and explained that it was probably because the original scan was from a different hospital, so it maybe wasn't accurate. I proceeded to tell him that no, it wasn't because it was a different scan, it was the Lord! I told him that he could believe what he wanted to, but I was going to believe that she was healed!

I've heard of a couple of people who have renewed their relationship with God because of this accident. A new Christian at my dad's church felt the holy spirit urging her to pray all night on Sunday night. She couldn't fall asleep. She prayed and prayed all night. Went to work on Monday - not even tired! This has strengthened her relationship with God as well!

Throughout this whole experience I just feel like I need to give all the glory to God! He got us through this horrific ordeal with so much peace. I actually sit and think about how I got through that first night not knowing what was going to happen to my baby, and I think "how on earth did I get through that?" I know how. The Lord was holding our hands every step of the way.

So in answer to my own question - Do I believe in miracles? Why yes, I do - VERY much!

People who never prayed before - prayed for Chloe. People who did not believe in God, are believing. People are reevaluating their faith and priorities. I am reevaluating my faith and my priorities.

And THOSE, my friends, are miracles.

I'm so stinkin' excited right now!

O.K., so I just figured out how to transfer all of my old blog posts onto this new blog here! I thought that because I started over, I basically started over and all the other posts were on the other blog - NOPE!!

So, so excited right now!!!!!

2 more weeks

I spoke with the head of ENT at University of Chicago yesterday {she is the doctor taking care of the fracture on Chloe's forehead}. She thinks we should wait about 2 more weeks before Chloe can head back to school. I've got mixed feelings about this.

I'm happy, because more than anything in the world, I want to shelter her and protect her and keep her by me ALL.THE.TIME. Realistically, I know that can't happen, but it does mean that I've got two more weeks to have her all to myself. I'm also happy, because I really think that the more time she has for that to heal, the likelihood of it fracturing again if she were to fall or something is less and less, so 2 more weeks at home is a GOOD thing. Not to say that being at school is an "uncontrolled environment," but there are so many other students in the class - it would be hard for the teacher to keep constant control of her, ya know?

I'm a bit unhappy with the decision, because she really misses being at school. She misses her friends and teachers - she even misses the schoolwork! She was so upset when she found out they were starting to create their "Young Authors" books.

So - we've set up a little school house right under our own roof! ;) O.K., not really a school house, but we've been getting homework sent home - I've even printed some worksheets online and we've been working on it here at home. She loves it! We've even started doing her Young Authors book {I hope we're doing it right!:/} This morning when we were doing her work, she said "See! You can homeschool!" Yes baby, I can, but it's not something I would be able to consistently do with all three kids. I'm definitely not smarter than a 5th grader!;)

Either case - we're home for two more weeks, and we're gonna make the best of it!

Chloe was supposed to be in a concert at school this Thursday and Friday, but instead we are just going to go and watch her brother sing his little heart out! It'll be fun for her to at least see her friends!

Before and After

I feel like we now live our life with the titles, "before Chloe's accident" and "after Chloe's accident". I know it probably won't be that way forever, but that's just how it feels right now.

My life has been changed. To have a glimpse of how bad something could be and to have it turn around for good makes you evaluate everything in your life.

The biggest thing that I have evaluated was how I am a mother.

"Before Chloe's accident," I would say that I was a good mother. I loved my kids more than any other. I will say though that if laundry needed to get done, I probably would have chosen to do that over playing a game of Candy Land with the kids, cause I NEEDED to get the laundry done, or if dinner needed to get made and the kids wanted me to push them on the swing, I chose dinner, cause it HAD to get done. You get the idea...

When I first got the call from Ryan about Chloe's accident, I immediately started to blame myself. You see, the night of the accident, she was begging me SOOOO bad to come with me to cards {man, do I wish I took her with me!}. I told her I was going to go upstairs and get ready, and she said she was going to come up with me so she could spend more time with me. While we were upstairs, she started whining about wanting to come with me. I told her in a stern voice that it was for mommy only, and although I wanted her to stay in the bathroom with me, I didn't want her to whine at me about going. She stayed with me, but still pouted about not being able to go. Before leaving she couldn't kiss me enough. I'm so thankful I had that memory of not rushing her and just letting her kiss me and then come back and kiss me again!;)

While she was laying in her bed in the hospital, on a ventilator, in a drug-induced coma, I had the awful memory of a conversation we had earlier that morning. I can't remember the whole thing in detail, but I do remember telling Chloe that the way she was talking to me was very ugly, and I didn't like it. She started to cry, and said, "I'm not ugly!!" Of course, I explained to her that I wasn't calling her ugly, but the way she was speaking was ugly. Now, when I really sit and think about that conversation, I was just being a mother and correcting the way her attitude was. But during the time that she was completely incoherent, all I could do was call her pretty. I had mentioned this to my friends, and they said they totally noticed I kept calling her pretty in the hospital, but had no idea why I was doing that. I just was feeling so bad about that conversation.

Now that Chloe is feeling much better and up and about, I am letting the dust bunnies form in the corners of my woodwork, and enjoying my kids. If they want to paint - I'll paint...if they want to play Battleship - I'll play Battleship. I realized this past Saturday while I was dusting my living room that the last time I dusted was the morning of the accident, and you know what? Who cares!?!?! I'm gonna live each day to the fullest!

I say all of this, to tell you that this accident has opened my eyes about how I mother my children. You never know what can happen on any given day, hour, minute for that matter. Life is precious...enjoy every minute of it - even the tough times.

Processing

I'm trying to process the events of last Saturday and the days after. It's kind of hard, but I'm feeling like I want to journal a bit, so here goes:

{If you are unsure of what I'm talking about, Chloe, my daughter, was in a snowmobile accident last Saturday night. You can read more about it here on her blog.}

From the beginning, we have had an overwhelming amount of support from family, friends and people that we don't even know. I'm getting cards in my mailbox from people I've never met. Someone came to visit us at the hospital, because they new Ryan's uncle - we had never met this man. I've actually sat and wondered why? Why did this man care? He'd never met Chloe or us, and he took the time to come to the hospital and pray with Ryan.

I've heard some pretty amazing stories about people praying for Chloe. I know of many people who didn't sleep that Saturday night because they were praying for Chloe.

I was truly amazed by the outpouring of love for my daughter. The amount of people who came to visit her was just crazy - the security guard at the hospital said she "was one popular girl!" :) Thankfully, I knew one of the nurses in the PICU, and she helped sneak a couple people into our room when Chloe was waking up. Everyone wanted to see her awake, so we all just stood quietly by her bedside waiting to see those beautiful eyes. When they finally opened, it was as if we were looking at a newborn baby opening their eyes for the first time - it was so precious.

The amounts of snacks and food that people brought us while we were in the hospital was crazy! I feel bad saying this, but there were a few bags that had no cards or names on them, so I don't even know who brought them, but we were so very thankful for them!

The amounts of gifts that this little girl received/still receiving is unbelievable. We've got crafts and nail polishes and games and it is just so fun to see her playing with all of these new things. I'm just so happy when I see her sitting on the floor playing Candy Land or Battleship with her brothers. She's come so far - so quickly! It's amazing.

My MOPS group came on Friday with a "care basket." That's what they told me they had. Well, it took three trips to get everything in the house! Flowers, gifts for the boys, gifts for Chloe, food, snacks, paper plates, napkins, craft supplies - crazy!!! {my sister asked me take a picture!:)} These women were so thoughtful! They made so many different types of snacks for the boys and for us it was really just amazing. I know I keep going to that word, but seriously this whole situation has been amazing.


I can't possibly name everyone on here who has stopped by or given gifts, but please know that we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for caring for Chloe and us!

Before something like this happens, you know that you have family and friends that you can call if you need them. And then when something like this happens, you don't realize how big your support system actually is - and we didn't even have to call anyone - people just jumped right into action! It was just amazing.

Thank you - Thank you so very much for being there for us and taking care of us! We will remember it forever!!!