The Query-Velazco Show

Vonnegut

2009-07-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I've said before, bugs in amber.

I haven't written in awhile and this isn't the typical post of what we've been doing but I wanted to share this quote by one of my favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut. It just reminds me that this moment is life, this day is life and these seconds are life. Let's enjoy.

SURPRISE

2009-04-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

We're blissfully, happily engaged!!! I would tell you more but I'm playing scrabble with my fiance:) Go to http://web.me.com/audioscott/Operation:_YES/Field_Manual.html to join in on our day.....or Scott's months of planning. It's however you want to look at it. It was the most magical, wonderful day in my life next to the day I had my baby. Like I said, it's blissful here and we are thrilled beyond belief. Wedding plans are in action!!!

Spring Update

2009-04-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well, to run through a lengthy update as quickly as possible is nearly IMPOSSIBLE so I will try my best to remember everything and keep it short. This past month and a half have been wonderful. I made a trip to Indiana with Brooklyn and a friend. I got to spend some wonderful time with my mom, went shopping, made it to see my BF in Odon and Brooklyn got to see her grandparents. It was quite nice. Shortly after coming home my mom and bother, Toby, made a trip down so we got even more great time in. Last weekend they came down again and it was the best weekend ever. Mom, Toby, Brooklyn and I all went to Memphis to see Graceland. I have always wanted to go so it was so nice to experience it with my little girl. The rest of the weekend Scott was off so we got in a lot of hangout time which consisted of dinners, shopping, porch sitting and conversation. Scott, Toby and I even got to go out two nights and hang out with some friends. Scott and I don't get to do that a lot so it was very nice. Having Toby along was an added bonus. We actually watched an all girl Rage Against the Machine cover band that was AMAZING.
It was a little stressful and still is a bit however, because my mom has been sick. She was in some pain while she was down and it's hard to watch your mother hurting. Right now we are just waiting for some test results and hoping the doctors can help her feel better. I will keep you posted. I got a new MacBook last week! I'm enjoying it so much and because I now have a new one, my old one will go to Brooklyn. Six years old with her first laptop!!! I was 20 when I got my first computer!
Work has been a little stressful as well as this is a very busy time for me. Hopefully, after next week it will slow down.
Brooklyn is doing wonderfully. She just lost her very first top tooth. This makes number 4, I think, however she informed us all that this was a much bigger deal because top teeth are more difficult to lose than bottom teeth! Ha. She actually lost that tooth the day before picture day so I can't wait to see how it turns out. She told me she smiled REALLY BIG! I bet it's wonderful. I'm glad we will have it captured in the school pic! Tomorrow Brooklyn has her first dentist appt since some of her adult teeth have come in. I'm anxious to hear the dentist opinion on how well she is taking care of them.
Scott has been working a lot lately so we haven't been able to spend too much time together besides when my family was here. I actually had a few days where I stayed up late or slept on the couch until he got home so I could see him. I guess we were made for this life. It hasn't really ever bothered me. I miss him during times like these but I can't help but feel blessed that he is working, doing a job he LOVES and that he has work. Also, the times like these make the days he is home so wonderful. I definitely think we don't take our time together as a family for granted. That's a blessing for sure!
This weekend should be great. B is off of school tomorrow and Scott and I are home from work. Besides the dentist, we are going to lounge and hang out. Tonight however, we are kicking the easter weekend off with a bang. CIRQUE DU SOLEIL style! I can't wait. I have always wanted to go to a Cirque show. The show we are going to see is Saltimbanco and it features lots of acrobats and jugglers. I bought the tickets as stocking stuffers for Christmas so I am about to die with this wait! It's finally here! It should be amazing. I have no doubts.
Well, I hope you are all well. I will leave you with some pics!

Bliss

2009-04-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

I can't begin to tell you about the bliss in my life. I can't even tell you without feeling guilty. Why, because I'm affected by misfortune and because I feel pain for ones I don't even know. But, today, I am choosing to let you in on a good story. I'm sharing a piece of happiness. I'm choosing to share because I talked to my friend Jennifer last night and she reminded me that I should never feel bad for feeling this happiness. She said I have went through the worst of times and that I should only feel blessed. So today, I am sharing my blessings. I am in love, hopelessly in love with a man who has taught me more about morals and truth and understanding than the world's history could ever teach me. He is my lover, my friend, my partner, my dream. I don't know where you all are in your relationships but I will say this: If you are in between, if you are questioning if this is what love is really like, you aren't where I am. I have been with Scott for almost 3 years now and I know that some of you have been through many more years and you might be sitting back saying, "Just wait, it won't always be this good" but I choose to say you that isn't true. My days get better each day. We have bad days but even our worst days are better than my best days I had before him. I choose to believe that we will continue to work as hard for each other as we do now. I know we will because we work harder today then we did before and we enjoy it. It's not 50/50 here, it's 100/100. We work, hard. We love, fully. We give, endlessly and we understand, completely. I know life changes and times get tough but I know I love this man so much that I will work hard to overcome whatever life hands us and I will love him fully. I will love him the way he deserves to be loved because, dangit, he's an awesome man.
I haven't been blogging much because life has just taken me away. We have enjoyed so much this month. It's hard to find the time to get on here to post. But I will say that Brooklyn is doing splendid. She pretty well aced her report card this month, is close to losing her third tooth, expecting another visit from her Granny and her Uncle Toby today and loving life. She is the joy of my mornings, noon and nights. She is far surpassing everything I knew at 6 and is doing it with such ease. Brooklyn has blossomed so much this month. It's almost like she has found another piece of herself. I love watching her grow into a little lady.
As for me, I'm working, getting things ready to start school soon. I can't wait to finish! I just want to be back in a hospital. I just purchased a new computer today. This household has 3 mac's and yes, Brooklyn is a mac owner at 6 years old. I was 20 when I got my first computer! I'm enjoying my family so much. Scott's brother just moved to Lexington so we're already planning a day trip to see him. I just booked our Disney vacation and we're hoping to get to Ohio soon to see the other half of our family (Scott's side- the Velazco's) I sure miss them and really want to see how Grandpa Graham is doing. I really love life and all it has to offer. I hope you are all feeling the same.

Pics

2009-03-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics from the last week. I will have to blog about this week in another post but I will go ahead and say it's has been the most wonderful week. I wanted to share our "BIG" snow, B's trip for a manicure and my little pancake flipper! We have been having a lot of fun around here!

God. Family. Love.

2009-03-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

I've been hit by a stress bug. A big and aggravating stress bug. I wish with all of my might that I could take it and toss it into some far off abyss. I feel as if I've been fighting against myself. Yes, I want to be in a good mood, yes I want to be the care-free girl that laughs constantly and gives off the warmth of a thousand suns. Lately though, I feel much more like an ice princess. What's worse is that I can see my family through the eyes and with the heart of the girl who wants this. However, my stomach and my chest are taking cheap shots at them and in the end, my mind sits baffled at my own inability to balance myself.
After all the internal struggle it leads me to this thought. I want to love my family with God's love. I don't know your beliefs so when I say God take that as this: The greater power, the perfect lover or at the very least (if you don't believe in any of that) the utopian idea of it all. (I think that covers it) So isn't that how we are to love? Isn't it our goal to be better, closer to this than the day before? Or if you don't think it's our goal don't you think we should all strive to be this type of lover? Think about such a perfect love. A love that is never ending, never tiring. A love that is strong, pure, tested and true. Life giving love. I want to be a perfect lover to my family. I want to be the strength when they are weak. I want to be the joy when they are down, the arms when the need comfort. I try so hard to be this type of lover. So, when I fail, when I feel weak, when I feel broken and battered, when I feel like I could have done better, like I should be in time out for my attitude, I sit and I listen to things like this. I am reminded that although my goal may be perfection, I am still on a journey there. I am still a girl that at times feels weak, that feels joyless, that needs comforting. I can hear something like this and know that I still have to find my strength in something bigger. I can't be in control of everything, everyone. I am reminded that that is okay.

Pics

2009-02-24T17:03:00.000-08:00

The following are from both Valentine's Day and our Mommy Daughter date. On Valentine's B's present to us was a giant bed in the middle of the living room with the couch cushions as I am sure you can see in some of the pics! She said we could all watch a movie in the living room on our giant bed! Ha ha! Enjoy

And we're back.

2009-02-24T15:24:00.001-08:00

The last month has been awful for our Internet connections! It seems like the company is trying to fix the problem but it has turned out to be larger than they expected and as a result, I have been able to get on the Internet in 5 min increments, once a day. Hopefully this works once I finish and try to post!
February has been wonderful. Valentines was a special day for all as Scott got B and I giant cupcakes from a gourmet cupcake shop in town. MMmmm, were they good!! I don't even like frosting but the 5 feet of frosting these had must be what clouds in heaven taste like. On top of that glorious treat, Brooklyn got a new outfit, book, stationary, mini strawberry plant, art scissors and who knows what else. :) Scott walked away with some new books, flip flops, movie, candy and is still waiting on his ear buds. They were back ordered:( I had a blissful day of gifts. Scott made a valentines play list for me that was combined with a journal he made listing all the songs and their words....and pictures! I got new cookie sheets and lots of other little goodies. We all went to dinner at Olive Garden which I love. I haven't been in over 2 years because Nashville doesn't have any and you have to travel to one of it's suburbs to get to one. I was so happy to be having salad and bread sticks that I filled up and had barely any of my dinner. It was a great Vday.
Last weekend I had to do some shopping so B and I hit the mall on Friday. I let her go to Build a Bear and use her gift card and coupon. B really wanted a new bear and was about 6 dollars short on a Bear and outfit so I said I would cover the rest. She was SO thankful. My eyes teared up when she said "Momma, thank you so much." It was so heartfelt and nice to hear. After that we hit up a couple of stores so I could get some jeans and bras. Thank GOODNESS! I was in need.
Sat B and I had a lunch and movie date. Subway and Hotel for Dogs. It was nice to have a Mommy/Daughter weekend. Scott had to work all weekend but we made the most of it!
This year Scott and I are trying to give each other a night out with friends a week. It's been so nice for each of us. I don't leave B with just anyone, anytime so it's hard for us to get out together. However, we still need interaction with our friends. Scott has been having poker night with his friends each week and I have been doing dinner and movies or drinks with a friend. I think it's been refreshing for us.
Today I went to the doctor and had enough blood drawn to start a blood bank. They are checking every level you can think of, hormone, thyroid, sugar, everything. I am hoping to find out the results by Friday. Looking back it seems my hormones have been out of whack since I had B and I am finally trying to get to the bottom of it. Let's hope it's a simple fix!!!
Well, I hope you are all having a great week!
Pics soon!

Goodness

2009-02-07T15:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't get to update when I said but by now you all must understand that this is common. Anyway, let's begin the blog o' goodness. For starters, today has been wonderful. I woke up after 10 hours of sleep!!! Yes, 10! Seriously, am I in college again? Anyway, I woke up rested and immediately went to the kitchen to make my decaf coffee. As some of you know, I'm a big ole quitter. I was once a smoker, no more. A soda drinker, no more. A caffeine addict, no more. I could tell you some others but we will stop there. Just know I'm fine tuning. As a result of my hormones freaking out, I decided it would be best to try and naturally balance myself. Hormone replacement therapy isn't all that good on your body and definitely isn't a long term fix. So, I quit caffeine in my quest for balance. So far, so GOOD! I can't begin to tell you the world of difference I have seen. The stress, chronic worry, anxiety has almost been zapped and my face is clearing up quite well. I have felt a happiness in myself that I accepted belonged to childhood. I have felt joy! Belly laugh joy! It's been awesome to feel this kind of relief from my fearful, anxious mind.
Oh, think goodness, right?
On to the next. This week I made it into my dermatologist office for a look at a mole I have had forever. I won't get too graphic but I will say that although I though it as no big deal, my gynecologist felt otherwise. I have to admit that the black, oddly shaped and surfaced spot on my leg did not look right but I remember the day it showed up and I didn't feel it necessary to have looked at. Long story short, here I am in the derm's office explaining my "no big deal" mole while she's telling my she needs to cut it off and sent out for a biopsy. How in the world does the hypochondriac girl never have this looked at in 10 years? Who knows? How does she not freak out now? Who knows. Well, good news! The biopsy came back and I am A-OK. It was a blue nevus mole. It looks like a blue freckle now and is perfectly normal. Whew!
Moving on again. I have been trying to finish school for what seems to be forever now. I have been through the ups and downs of financial aid and can tell you that it has, at times, crushed me to not be able to get back in there and finish my degree. Well, I have started getting my financial aid info back and so far, I already have a grant that covers half of my schooling! Hooray! Hallelujah. Woo Hoo.I am so excited to finally be planning my class schedules and can't wait to see if I get more. Considering that was a state grant, I am hopeful that I will be getting federal grants to cover the rest. Free!? The way education should be.
Last on the blessing bandwagon is our taxes. Since Scott is technically "self employed" as a recording engineer, paying taxes in an understatement. This past year we have been abundantly blessed with the amount of work he has had but that struck fear once tax season approached since we hadn't done proper planning for this day. I am happy to say, I think we are going to be alright! :)
So, THINK GOODNESS. It's been so peaceful to be thinking so positively this week. Blessings all around.
To update you on our days, Scott and I went shopping at Trader Joe's Friday. We browsed with a sweet tooth craving forever and came home with animal crackers and strawberry licorice. I'd say we fought temptation pretty well. Brooklyn had a friend over last night. Today I made pancakes for B and Scott before Scott had to head to work. Brooklyn and I headed to Target so I could pick up a few things. Before we left B took a bath and when I went in to was her hair she exclaimed "Wow Mom, you're beautiful! You look prettier than Belle!" Talk about feeling good!!!! Belle is B's favorite princess so I felt awesome! While at Target B got some new paint markers and I got a quesadilla maker. Yea! The weather has been wonderful so B and I sat on the porch. I read my book while Brooklyn painted with her markers. It's been a great day.
I also have to send a VERY, VERY special congratulations out to my friend Sarah on her pregnancy. I am so thrilled for her and her family. I know they are too.

Pic post

2009-02-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

I hope to update you all tomorrow as I am pretty busy tonight! I did want to get on here and share some of my favorite pics this week. Sunday morning Brooklyn woke up and made me a special sign! It was so cute. Later on she made another I love you Mom sign but added her traced hands and feet. She put hearts in the center of them and turned them into ballons! So stinking wonderful. Scott and I have been talking about the joys of parenting and it's struggles this week. Well, Brooklyn had a "connected to the hip" Scott day right after that. Instant parenting gratification!!! It was super sweet and I know it made him feel really great. I love the picture of them listening to music on the computer, reading a book, side by side with B's bear.
Last, since she looks so cute here.....It's June! Sweet little thing. Hope you are all having a wonderful week.

Rant

2009-01-24T05:49:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a week. I was glued to my television set on Tuesday. What an amazing day in history to watch. There was a line to a song Will.I.am sang at the Neighborhood Ball that night and it said "And Martin wasn't dreaming for nothing". I was laying on the couch with Brooklyn in my lap and tears just flowing. Like I said, what a day in history to watch.
Scott was off yesterday and we were going to grab sushi together but he got called in to the studio to help with a problem another studio was having. This is the same thing that happened on Thursday. Thankfully they were pretty enjoyable days for him
Brooklyn had a friend over last night and the girls spent the majority of the times playing with B's Ponyville land. After dinner I made the girls popcorn and let them watch an episode of Punky Brewster. Man, I still love that show!
I've been doing timed math tests with Brooklyn during homework time this week. Usually we do 1 page of homework, write out sight words and then do a sight words test. I decided to include the timed tests as she gets tested twice a week on them and I thought she could use the help. Wednesday night I gave her a test on her 6's. In five minutes she got them all done except 3. On Thursday I gave her the exact same test but she had had cookies at school about 6 hours earlier because of someone's birthday. This time she didn't even get half of the problems done in the same amount of time and even missed a few she did finish! The next day her teacher gave her the same tests and not only did she finish in time but she got them all right. Things like that make me wonder how many kids are on medicine for ADHD or ADD only the real problem is sugar. It makes me want to go to the schools and discuss with the board about getting sugar out of the schools. I am baffled by this issue. I am also baffled by how many times children are rewarded with candy at school. I have brought in sugar free candies each year but even with that, aren't we doing a disservice to our children by teaching them that eating junk food is a reward?
Okay, off my soapbox. This weekend we are all home so we will be enjoying that. I have a WW meeting this morning and then we will be enjoying the day out together! Hope you all have a great Sat.

It's not a snow day, it's a cold day!

2009-01-16T08:00:00.001-08:00

This week Brooklyn and I have been having a lot of fun around the house although we haven't done a whole lot. We all love playing Cadoo so that has been a nightly event. Besides that it's really just been the usual house cleaning, cooking, homework, reading Junie B. Jones books and the other little day to day things. Brooklyn doesn't watch tv during the week so she's usually playing on her leapster, coloring, painting or keeping herself occupied while I am getting dinner ready. My normal daily background music is Dylan. I don't know how many albums are on the IPOD but there are enough to keep me listening all night. I've noticed Brooklyn singing along while playing doing other things and the other night Scott heard her too. I am sure my mom felt the same way I did when she would hear me singing along to Patsy Cline. It's just sweet. Well, on top of singing, Brooklyn has taken to dancing to Bob as well. While cleaning B decided to take to the kitchen and play in the sink. She actually "prepared dinner" and decorated the table for us. Here are some pics I took this week.

This weekend should be a little busy. Brooklyn's school got cancelled because it's cold. (All of those in Indiana and Ohio still going to school in temperatures with a negative sign in front, I'm sorry). Monday is MLK day which mean B and I both have the day off making it a four day weekend! Scott has Sat. and Sun. off which one day we will be taking B to Grimey's record store. She has a gift card from Ben and Katie we have been waiting to use and now is the perfect time. B got an ipod over Christmas so she'll be able to put her purchases on there too.
Along with that card, Scott's mom also got her a giftcard to Target. I heard they have toys half off so I plan on dropping by to let her pick out some more stuff.
Earlier this week Brooklyn fell off some equipment on the playground and came home very sore. She hit her back which knocked the wind out of her. I gave her some tylenol and monitored her but didn't take her to the Dr. Today she is still complaining when she bends over or turns a certain way so I plan on getting her checked out.
Sunday is of course, football Sunday. Sadly both our teams are out but it's still exciting to see the last games of the season and prep for the Superbowl.
The rest of the weekend will be the usual house things, errands and things. After the extra long weekend it's the PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION! So excited.
Happy Friday all!

Mid week frenzy.

2009-01-14T17:08:00.001-08:00

Well, things here are busy. I have been trying to get all of my financial information together so that I can fill out my student federal aid and hopefully get my money to finish school! I can't wait to be back in school. I love learning and I really do want to get that degree so I can be working in the science field. Cross your fingers!
Brooklyn got her report card Monday and I was so PROUD. Honor Roll again! I love that she is working so hard in school. She was very proud of herself which made me so happy. She has hit almost every benchmark to go to second grade and it's only mid semester. Learning is something Brooklyn seems to really love too.
Scott has been working a lot lately but has been getting home at a decent hour so I get to see him. Brooklyn has been asleep most of the time so she has really been missing him. Everyday she asks when he will be home, if he's already home or if she will be awake when he gets home. Monday she was pretty bummed he couldn't see her report card so today she has been making up for it. Those two have been connected at the hip all evening. Here are some pics of them selling lemonade on their online lemonade stand!

Grab a chair, it's been awhile.

2009-01-11T07:33:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year All! I hope everyone had fantastic holidays! We most certainly did. This was the first year that we have stayed in Nashville on Christmas morning so it was extra wonderful. Brooklyn is 6 now and I want to create those memories of holidays at home!Our Christmas with my mom really was the best yet. I have grown up having Christmas with her so it was fun to have her here to have Christmas with us. I enjoyed her visit so much as we got in lots of girl time. Brooklyn really made out as she brought a santa's sack full of toys for her. Christmas morning Brooklyn ran in and of course woke us up with a "Merry Christmas!!!" I think it was 6 am. Brooklyn is an organized child about most things so she immediately ran to the tree and sorted everyone's presents into piles. I have to say I was so excited about everything Scott and Brooklyn were getting that I hadn't bothered to really guess what I might be getting. I was BLOWN away!! Brooklyn made me such wonderful gifts including a blue christmas bulb with her fingerprints in white which she painted into snowmen. Scott makes me an annual photo book which he has printed up as well as a DVD of the year's Scott and Brooklyn shows. I love these gifts! This year he also got me new pots and pans(YEA!!!!) and tickets to an adventure race for New Years Eve. Plus, Scott's mother got me my Kitchen Aid mixer! I have been wanting one for years. For me, this Christmas was filled with great memories and moments. Plus we've really been enjoying all the gifts. Brooklyn got some great new games that we have been playing about everyday! Cadoo is SO fun. Scott's mom sent us a box of other christmas candy, gifts and stuffed stockings which came late so it was like another day of Christmas! After all of this I thought Brooklyn might need to get rid of all her old toys to make room for the new ones but she still had Christmas at her other Grandparents! Whew. Scott and I met them halfway and B stayed in Indiana for a week after Christmas and came back with SO much more. She had a great week up there.
I always HATE when she is gone but I really tried to enjoy the time. Scott and I went to the movies a couple of times, went out to eat a lot, had a dinner date at home and really had a lot fun together. It was one of those weeks that really rejuvenated our relationship. We spent one afternoon running the dogs at the humane society....actually RUNNING. Those dogs love the moment you open the door, they shoot off like rockets and you better hold on tight! Sadly, I got sick on NYE and we couldn't do our race. Thankfully they are planning on doing another around St. Patrick's Day so we can transfer our tickets.
On Jan. 2 we went to Indiana to pick up B and go to a family reunion. My mom's side hasn't really gotten together since my grandma passed a couple of years ago so it was nice to see everyone. Plus, my aunt and uncle are heading back to Africa so it was good seeing them before they had to leave. They also brought two boys with them that will be going to college in Michigan thanks to some donations. Can you imagine the shock of growing up in Africa to go to the snow in Michigan by yourselves!?! Wow.
Well, this year I have been on a mission to really make great strides in all areas of my life that I have been working on. I don't ever make resolutions but this year I did. So as well as improving on what I am doing, I made a list of those. I always try to be a better me and this year I was to really dig into that. I also want to share that with you while keeping track of it all. So, you can go to www.whole-evolution.blogspot.com for my blog on all of that. I do hope it is something good for you as well! I have already been blessed because of my changes. Brooklyn told me yesterday that I was like a whole new mom. Talk about support! I hope to be that for all of you seeking improvements in your life.
Now to the pictures! Enjoy!

Award Winner Speech

2008-12-24T12:03:00.000-08:00

Yea!!! I've been nominated for a fabulous blog award! Sue over at Sue's Family news nominated me for this! Sue is the sister to Shirley, my second mom. Before Shirley passed I spent most of my time as a member of her family and that included her extended family! I would spend each Sunday after church having lunch at Sue and Shirley's mom's house and I remember many times Melissa and I diving Odon/Cannelburg road to go to Sue's house. I've known Sue for as long as I can remember but haven't been able to see her or talk to her in a long time. Thanks to blogging we've been able to reconnect and catch up with each other! I've missed that!

Here are the rules to receiving this award:
1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.
Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

I know I will have duplicates because so many people in my blog-o-sphere have been nominated and I question the boy's blogs doing it!

1. Scott and Brooklyn at Scott and Brooklyn. These are my two favorite people in the world and I love being able to go see the new shows they make together. It so nice to see the relationship between them, the laughter they share and it's a blessing to be able to preserve that with technology. My favorite blog ever!

2. Melissa at Trinity Hope Gingerich. I know Melissa has been nominated but I am doing it again because I truly love reading her blog. Melissa is absolutely my sister in every sense of the word. Melissa and I grew up together. She taught me so much of those sister things from how to use a diffuser on my hair dryer to talks about boys, those lessons about strength and how to ride a four wheeler. We both have little girls now and it's just so nice to be able to keep up with her and her and the rest of the "siblings"!

3. April at The Stilwell Family. April was one of my best friends from about 1st grade till my freshman year of high school when I moved to Bedford. We had lost touch but because of the blog have gotten back up to date with each other and our families! We even got together twice over Thanksgiving this year. It was so neat to see our children playing together when it seems like yesterday we were those children!

4. Abbie at Rise to find the sun. Abbie and I went to North Daviess together. Her blog has been a new find for me but it's been so nice to read. Abbie seems to be going through my exact life from 4 years ago. Even though I too made a choice to end my marriage it was so difficult and I can relate to all her feelings. I am reminded of how far I have come since I made that decision although it did take a lot of therapy :) I should send Abbie some encouraging messages because through reading her blog I can tell she is making choices with the best of intentions for her little boy and I know she has the strength to overcome this!

5. CJ at Idiotblog. CJ is the manager of the recording studio that Scott works at most of the time. While CJ is a great friend to Scott, I find that he, his wife Julie and their son George have become family friends of ours as well! I love reading CJ's blog and he is the reason I even wanted to start a blog. His blog always makes me laugh and helps me not take life so seriously.

So, Here are my 5 addictions.

1. Scott and Brooklyn- I can't get enough of them. No matter what we are doing, my favorite time is just being with them.

2. I am absolutely a Young and the Restless junkie like Sue. I record it everyday and can't wait to watch it when I get home. I have watched this show since I was a little girl. I LOVE it.

3. Magazines. Cosmo, food and cooking, shameful celebrity gossip magazines. ..... whatever, I love them.

4. Lists. I make them for everything, goals, to-do lists, grocery shopping, clothes shopping, wish lists. I probably make an average of 3 lists a day.

5. Cooking. I love everything about it. Making the grocery list, preparing the food, the stress relief I get from starting and finishing a task, the delight of eating it, sharing it. It's a favorite hobby.

ICE!

2008-12-21T18:52:00.000-08:00

I just have to say that ICE was awesome and you should all come take part. Sadly, this is the last year they are doing The Grinch but they will still have a huge exhibit next year. For those of you who don't know what it is, ICE is a grand display of ice carving from chinese artisans brought in by Gaylord Opryland. It is at Opryland, right next to the Opry. When you go in, the building is 9 degrees on the inside and they provide you parka's to stay somewhat warm. Inside they also have a child and adult slide carved from ice. It's truly magnificent!
The rest of the pics are from our walk through the hotel and then our lunch out on a patio on a beautiful day in late December!

Natures' Fury

2008-12-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

So, I bet you can't guess what the picture is about. Those of you out of state are thinking this is a photo of a beautiful December morning and that it seems to be about 50 degrees outside. You would be right! What you don't know is that this is also a picture taken at 7:00am on Friday.....Brooklyn's snow day. Yep, that's right...a snow day. Where is the snow, you ask? I am still wondering that. What happened to a 2 hour delay? Hmmmm.... I would like to know that too. I have realized that TN snow days are actually days when the forecast says "snow is possible". It is simply mind boggling to those of us that slid around on icy roads and still got in trouble for getting to school late or road the bus with chains on the tires to make it up the hills. Well, now you see a TN snow day.
Well, due to the raging winter here in the south, I couldn't finish my Christmas shopping Friday. Instead Brooklyn and I finished up all the gifts we had to get for Scott, my mom, her teacher, etc. We got to the stores when they opened and then went to lunch at O'Charley's. I haven't been there in years! Before we had lunch we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond which was playing a demo tape on their TV. Brooklyn started touching the buttons while we were standing next to the TV and I explained why she should leave it alone. Well, when we walked back by the TV the temptation must have been too much because I see a hand go up and then hear "KSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH". I immediately told Brooklyn she had to tell one of the workers she turned the TV off. To which she was quite nervous about. It was my lesson for the day and I expected the worker to say something along the lines of "Oh, which tv? Thank you so much for telling me" .... however, she was very nice about it and couldn't have cared less. I know this because she said "Oh gosh, who cares! It's no big deal". Oh, well. I tried.
Saturday Scott stayed home with Brooklyn and let me go out to finish my shopping. It was WONDERFUL! I not only got my Christmas shopping done but I also had lunch out while having my oil changed, got my weekly grocery shopping done and just enjoyed some me time! I spent three hours out and when I returned home, I had a spotless house!!! What a great guy I have!!! I got to relax with Scott and Brooklyn without having to stress over housework. Instead we made buckeyes! We actually made a ton so both Scott and I took them to work so we could effect other people's waist lines!
Speaking of which, I have been eating horribly! I can not wait to get back to eating healthy! That isn't going to start this week though. Tomorrow I have a work lunch party and then my mom will be here. Yea! I am taking mom and B to ICE at Opryland so I am super excited about that. Who doesn't want to see a giant Grinch carved out of ice or go down a giant ice slide?!
Hopefully I will get a lot of fun pics!

Oh, Goodness Gracious!

2008-12-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here with a glass of wine, a cake fresh out of the oven and typing this blog with Plant in Peril on. I am so glad to be relaxing. I am not kidding when I say I may actually eat the entire cake by myself......I feel it could go either way. This week hasn't at all been bad. This week has been EXHAUSTING, however. Work is the real source of my exhaustion.....that and nature. :) This is the second year for me to deal with "End of year" stuff at work but I feel like this year is more stressful and it doesn't help that I am quite hormonal this week. :) Aside from cooking dinner, I have spent most of this week on the couch once I have gotten home.....sounds nice, right? Nope, because I feel I have wasted the week. I am not going to let it ruin the rest of my week though. I need to give a special thanks to Scott. He is always so helpful to me during times like these. Twice this week we have called on each other for support and we have been there for each other. That always makes me feel loved, needed and helpful. Times like this though, the times I could suck it up and quit being lazy, these are the times where I want to say, THANK YOU! Thank you for letting me be lazy. Thank you for letting me have my days. You improve the quality of my life and I love you!

I wish you all could be watching Planet in Peril right now. It is amazing. I am amazed at Shell gasoline, the lead poisoning in Peru, the virus exchange that will birth our new pandemic. I am amazed. Once I am finished with school I think it would be wonderful to work on the virus exchange! We can all do something to make our world a better place! An idea I have for the "green" people reading or even those who aren't: Christmas wrapping can be such a time of waste. Paper, ribbons, cards, plastic. I'm trying to do my part with recycling but here is an idea for Christmas presents I am going to try. Instead of wrapping in paper, go to the store and pick up some fabrics and wrap your gifts in those, tie ribbons you can reuse in your daughters hair or on another gift. Once the presents are unwrapped, take those fabrics and sew them together to make a Christmas quilt!! What a memory for those mom's out there! What a gift to give your little ones one day. If you don't feel like keeping them, donate them to charity or sell them! I hope you all think about it!
Well, Brooklyn got a hair cut! This is her first big cut! I'm glad she likes it. She would prefer it long but I remember when I cut my long hair in grade school and just cried and cried! She is at least okay with it until it grows out. I think she looks wonderful.
I have joined a website called Momslikeme.com. It's a site to connect, share stories, recipes, thoughts, anything with other moms in your area. Look it up as it might be in your neighborhood. We have mommy meet ups and play groups too. I just wanted to mention it!
I also wanted to mention Wild Aid. Sharks are my favorite and this is an organization that is out to help them. Did you know that every species of shark has declined by more than 50% in the last 15 years!?! It saddens me that so few know the seriousness of this. I say this just to encourage you all to find an organization doing something you care about and get involved.
Tomorrow I am headed to volunteer at B's school and then I am going to finish my Christmas shopping. I can't wait. I doubt I will actually finish but I am being optimistic :) I hope to get close though. I also want to head to a coffee shop and just sit for awhile. I need some time outside of my office and my home!
Here is a pic from our popcorn stringing this past weekend.....and my favorite pic of the Christmas tree celebration!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-12-04T20:14:00.000-08:00

Aren't they cute?? That was from El Dia De La Muertos in October at the Botanical Gardens. I love that picture.
I just wanted to wish Scott a very HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I love you!!! I'm very thankful for my life and the people I'm traveling through it with.
Also, our new coffee pot, the Hamilton Beach Brewstation, is WONDERFUL! Scott's mom has one just like it and it really is great. No carafe, 12 cups, and quick brewed, delicious coffee! Ah, life is about enjoying the little things, right?

Another one bites the dust.

2008-12-02T13:57:00.000-08:00

Well, they say the come in threes right? Let's try 4. What am I talking about you ask? Home appliances and other "housewares". Today I will bidding farewell to my old coffee pot. I can't say I will miss it although I did love the insulated carafe! It's kind of given me fits since the beginning however. The very first time I used the thing I ended up having to move my stove to clean behind and underneath it. Let's just say a lot of coffee has been wasted by that thing. It's been around for almost 7 years but in coffee years, that's old and now it's done. So pre-christmas expenses I don't want to have-1, Amber - 0. Not too bad right? Well, let's go back a bit. A few weeks back I noticed my cooking pan was starting to get a "hot" spot. Sadly, I have been dealing with it for too long and have grown exhausted by the number of "mishaps" my little pan is giving me. I could go buy a cheapy but I love to cook and I need a good pan. Boo for old pans and the expense of a good new one! Score: Expenses-2 and Amber-0. What is number 3? Knives....or should I say shredding sticks? I was trying to cut up some juicy and delicious chicken breast last night but I realized you can't do that with a shredder. How did I not notice this before?? Ugh......Score: 3-0. Now to #4. The ever important, much needed sweeper! After losing a bit of suction and a bad odor, I realized my 10 year old sweeper needed to go. I was annoyed but actually excited. I really do like sweeping. It's instant clean gratification. So, I imagined that I would eventually make the purchase but could get by until after the holidays. Well, while in Indiana, my brother got a new job and will be traveling all the time. This means, he doesn't need his sweeper! So.......... ta da! New sweeper!!! SADLY though, my wonderful guy bought me a FANTASTIC new sweeper as a surprise!!!! I say sadly in the fact that we decided to take it back and use the hand me down until it dies! It was bittersweet. He knows me so well!!! I am hoping this stays at 4. I am ignoring the smell coming from the dryer until further notice. :)
On a high note, I'm so happy to be home. I love my family so much!!! We've been enjoying being back and really having a nice time doing nothing!!! Saturday when we arrived home, we all made our Christmas lists and then read them out loud. It's become a fun tradition. Brooklyn decided we should then all get up a second time while we clapped for each other. It was very funny and Brooklyn even took a bow!
Well, here are a few pics from the trip again and then the ones from our list reading! Scott's picture is him actually recreating his list reading after B went to bed. It turns out that Brooklyn got a close up of his face.....a real close up. So I retook it!! I'm trying to catch up with the pictures.....now let's see if it works!

We're Back!

2008-11-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

So we finally made it home from almost a week in Indiana! Brooklyn went up on Sunday to stay with my mom and I joined them on Tuesday. Like everyones holiday, ours was BUSY! I arrived feeling a bit under the weather but nothing too bad. I decided to head to the pharmacy to pick up some OTC meds and cough drops though. When I got to Mom's Brooklyn showed me her beautiful smile....minus 1 tooth! This is her 3rd one so far. Wednesday I woke up feeling awful but truly felt better as the day went on. Brooklyn and I met up with one of my best friends from grade/middle school and her children. We hadn't seen each other in years and of course, never met each others children. Parker and Brooklyn made stuffed animals at Build a Bear which I'm convinced were filled with gold considering the price. We hit up Subway later and I got to talk with April's mom! I am sure I was 14 the last time I saw her. Thanksgiving night I went to April's mom's for some more reminiscing with April and another grade/middle school friend I hadn't got to see in years. I am so thankful for this time as these girls were once so close to me and it was great to catch up. It's also nice just to talk to another mom your own age and with the same ideas on raising children! I was a little bummed we didn't get to play catch phrase though! Wednesday night my family had dinner at mom's. I will have to say that cold came in handy because I really didn't overeat the whole trip and I got about 10 hours sleep each night!! Thursday I had to drive mom to the airport as she was headed to Florida to finish up her holiday. I like when we get moments alone to just chat so the ride was nice. I also got a new stack of magazines from her to bring home! On my way back from the airport I jetted over to my ex-in laws and got to have dinner with their family and of course my favorite person, Brooklyn. I'm blessed to have a good relationship with them that it was possible to do that. Friday I went to visit one of my best friends, Carter, and get my hair chopped off. I'm happy I did but it is pretty short. Scott said he really loved it though! After that I met my friend Ang for lunch and then headed to my other best friend, Jessica's, to spend the night. Jessica, her husband and her son had just picked up their Christmas tree so we started the evening listening to Christmas music and decorating the tree. We finished the night by playing every sport on the Wii! It was a lot of fun. Jess made breakfast the next morning so I lounged enjoying my last day of not cooking and relaxing! At noon I picked up my baby and we headed back to Nashville.
Scott was in Ohio the whole week so it was definitely a bittersweet holiday but I am so thankful for the trip. I had been needing some friend time and boy did I get it! I also wish Brooklyn and I could have enjoyed Thanksgiving with the Velazco's because we haven't been able to see them for awhile.
Scott woke up early so he could be home by the time we got home! I am truly lucky to have such a great guy who loves Brooklyn and I so much! Oh, and June!!! Scott and June went to Ohio together and from what I hear, she was a trooper. Scott says she did well but it was good for her to get home. Lesson: June doesn't like the car!
I am so glad we are all home now. It was wonderful waking up with June at my feet, Scott next to me and B asking if she could watch cartoons!
This silly thing isn't letting me upload photos again!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will post soon!

A few pictures.

2008-11-22T07:46:00.000-08:00

So, I am so far behind on getting these pictures uploaded that I thought I would post a couple at a time instead of doing the big slideshow. Here are a few from our friends, Bethany and Jared's wedding and one from the bachelorette party. Sorry I didn't get one of Scott! I actually forgot my camera and had to get these shots from my cousin!

Part One

2008-11-15T17:29:00.000-08:00

So the last two and a half weeks have been exceptionally busy. My mom was down for a few days which was wonderful. We went to El Dia de Los Muertos at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. For those that don't know, this is the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead which is celebrated the day after Halloween. It was extremely pleasant. The weather was amazing and of course any day spent in acres of gardens can't be anything but beautiful! Plus it was spent with the 3 people I love so very much, Scott, B and my mom. The night before we took Brooklyn to a friends housing addition and walked the neighborhood trick or treating. We walked for about an hour and Brooklyn's bucket was full so we called it a night and came home. Once here Brooklyn broke out the Halloween Chinese boxes of candy we made earlier in the day for everyone. We all broke into our boxes and immediately started trading candies. It was fun. I have to say though, we don't eat candy like that normally and I PAID for it awfully bad for the next week it seemed. Brooklyn's system was on overload and I was in tears by the end of the week throwing away all remaining candy. I hated that I kept the candy this year. The school had also been giving her sweets everyday. I had to write the teacher to let her know that had to stop. Thankfully she has a really great teacher he went to all her other teachers (Art, Choir, PE and Computer) and let them know this as well. The rest of mom's visit was spent shopping and talking, of course. Overall it was so nice and needed. I think I really needed my mom that weekend.
This past week I have been resting up as Brooklyn and I have both been down with colds but the week before was filled with a mix of things. Our friends Bethany and Jared were in Nashville for their wedding on the 8th. So the Thursday before I went out with the girls for a bachelorette party. We went to Margot's for dinner and then to Lime for drinks. The last stop was next door at Blue Bar where all the girls met up with their husbands/fiances/boyfriends except for me since Scott was at home watching Brooklyn. I had a wonderful time for the most part but I have to say, I haven't stayed up that late in a LONG time.
Saturday was the wedding and I really loved it. Jared is a priest so the wedding was a big traditional Catholic ceremony with the Nashville Cathedral Choir. I loved the choir!! The wedding itself was pretty lengthy but since their was so much interaction, Brooklyn stayed entertained. The only thing that was crazy was taking communion. I couldn't figure out when to kneel and when to eat my bread. It was a bit different than I am use to but I was glad they requested all to take take part and those not baptized were offered a blessing instead. It was lovely. Brooklyn got to play at the reception and enjoyed dancing with Jared's little sisters so that was her favorite part. All of our friends were there so that was great for Scott and I.
Tuesday before the wedding I went to dinner with my friend, Melissa. She's a really great person to spend time with and she always puts me in a positive mood. We always plan to get together every week but sadly it doesn't always work. So, I was glad we got to fit that in.
Well, I could continue this catch up but I think I will break it up into 2 parts. I am going to spend some quality time with Scott. Sorry I am not posting any photos but I will put a slide up with the next post. Hope you are all having a great week!

A bit of everything.

2008-10-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

First let me say, I am still saddened by the loss of my team last night! I was so proud the first half, feeling like we were just playing like we do or did before! My team was in Nashville playing Monday Night Football and I was in my living room sporting my Manning jersey with 3 other people wearing Titans gear and eating some tasty chili. Sadly, we all know how that ended. I will give credit to the Titans. They've always been my number 2 team and it's nice that they are finally playing some really fantastic football. They've definitely had a hard time gaining respect in the league, I think. So, Congrats TN!

This week I have still been cleaning like a mad woman, with the exception of last night and tonight. I ate too much schnitzel at my Oktoberfest luncheon at work yesterday and the leftovers today. Ugh. My body isn't use to such food. It's left me feeling like Violet in Willy Wonka. At any moment you will see me balloon into a German potato and roll around my house. Anyway, I've been bleaching and disinfecting everything. I still don't see the difference but at least I know I'm getting to that stuff I normally don't. The other day I actually moved the washer and dryer and swept underneath. I was prepping the laundry room for our new task: Recycling! I feel bad that I am just getting around to this. It's something I have been wanting to do but have just never set down long enough to figure out what I needed to get and what goes where. I need to get one more bin but I think I've got a good system started. I plan on dropping off on Sunday's so I can pick up the Sunday paper while I'm out. This way I can start getting into that other thing I keep trying to do. CLIP COUPONS! Maybe I will even get to Goodwill to drop off all that stuff that is sitting around!

My mom is coming to visit on Thursday! I'm pretty excited as Scott has been working straight for 2 weeks almost and will still be working when she comes. I need some adult conversation! Plus, I think we're going shopping and she is bringing down a dress for Brooklyn I had her pick up for me. A couple friends of ours are getting married on Nov. 8Th and it's a great time to dress up as it's Black Tie optional. I wanted to get B a nice dress but they don't have dress shops down here like they do back home. I love this little dress shop back home where B has gotten most of her holiday dresses since she was born. Mom went by there and sent me a bunch of photos on my cell so I could pick one out. I'm glad she's able to bring it down.

B has been extremely funny lately. Tonight she was talking with "Sass" which included her saying "Girl" at the end of every sentence. She was also playing drums on her bowl and telling me I needed to put her in Rhythm class. The night before last I asked her why she insisted on taking the onions out of her pasta yet she loves onion rings. I stated these were just onions with breading around them. Her eyes instantly got huge and she said "Mom!! How dare you say that? Onion rings are tiny circles of happiness wrapped in love!" I burst out laughing. She is the funniest little lady. We spent this past weekend going to the library and doing some Mother/Daughter shopping. We had a blast on Sunday. I realized on Saturday that B and I have two very different opinions when it comes to some things though. While shopping I kept picking out my idea of cute clothes for her. She said no to just about everything. I decided to just let her pick out an outfit. She definitely picked out something opposite of my sweater dresses and leggings but she still looks super cute and I love that she has her own style. **For some reason it won't let me post a picture right now so I will soon!

On a Roll....or should I say HONOR ROLL!

2008-10-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what B did? Yes, she made the Honor Roll! I'm so proud of her. Brooklyn is the youngest in her class and is one of the smartest from what I'm told! Thursday I had a parent teacher conference and was updated with all the progress. Her teacher said that 1st graders should be reading between a 6 and a 10. Brooklyn is reading on a 12!! I'm so proud of her. She is such a great little girl. Today was awards day so I got to go to the school and see Brooklyn get her ribbons, one for the Honor Roll and one for The Homework Club. That means she turned all her homework each and every time and on time as well. This is only the first 9 weeks and school is something that you have to keep up with but I am just so proud right now. I've mentioned before that I was nervous about B starting school so early so this is just reassurance for me that she is doing well! After school I told B that she deserved a special surprise and asked her what she thought would be a surprise she deserved. Her answer: a fridge for her bedroom and a flat screen tv!!!!!!!!????? Seriously? I wanted Barbies when I was 6. Flat Screen didn't even become a part of my vocabulary until last year it seems like. I laughed my head off. My surprise was ice cream!! I think our ideas were a little different.
As for the rest of the week, it's been pretty busy but very good. B and I went to Michael's craft store Thursday night and looked around. I was browsing the scrap books because I would like to make one for B this year. I hate that I haven't done that yet!!! Hopefully I will get myself caught up! I won't stress though.
This week I've been trying to catch up on deep cleaning. The dreaded housework of moving furniture and cleaning underneath, cleaning toys, scrubbing places you didn't know existed in your home. Ugh. I feel like I have cleaned so much but my house looks exactly the same! I have so much more to do but I have the weekend and am deciding to enjoy the ability to do a little each day. Scott is working a big stretch until Nov. so I have the evenings to fill!
My mom is coming to visit next weekend so B is counting down the days for that. She should be here on Halloween and will get to trick or treat with us! We're going to a friends Subdivision to walk around. We'll just park in their drive and then walk around which will be so much easier than what we did last year. Plus, it's the house of one of B's best friends so she will get to see her too! Brooklyn is going to be a kitty this year. She has leopard kitty ears so I'm semi making this years costume to match the ears. I bought her a black turtleneck and black pants which I plan on trimming with a leopard print fabric I need to buy. The neck, shirt cuffs and bottoms of the pants I plan to trim with the fabric. I'd also like to make leopard print booties to cover her shoes. We'll see how it turns out. I'm not the most excelled in that department!
All in all, it's been a really great week. I'm feeling healthier. I've actually gotten back to doing my yoga each morning the last 2 weeks. Now I just need to remember my vitamins everyday....I forget those all the time!

Second post for the day!

2008-10-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

So, I know this song isn't the greatest music but it reminded me of Scott. So this post is mainly for him but enjoy the video. Babe, I love you so very much!!!! The life and home we've created together is a constant reminder that "Fairy Tales" do exist, that love isn't hard, that being good to each other is easy when you love someone. You're my best friend and I'm crazy about you!

Tagged and other random information.

2008-10-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

Fall break is here! I can't believe the first nine weeks is over already! Brooklyn is growing up so fast and each day it seems to speed up. She is doing wonderful in school. I have a parent teacher conference on the 23rd so I will be updated a little more in depth but her teacher has been telling me great things so far.
Brooklyn had a dentist appointment Thursday and the dentist said her teeth still look great and to keep up the good work. She got to pick out a new princess toothbrush and toothpaste as well as getting stickers and a balloon. Brooklyn always feels so proud of herself when she goes to the dentist. It's very sweet to see her gain confidence from her own actions and to know she sees the direct connection.
Today we're going to get some pumpkins to carve once Scott gets home from work. I also need take my car for an emissions test but the only locations open today are pretty far away so we may have to wait till Monday. Indiana didn't do emissions testing so it's something I usually forget about. Sadly, my paper plate expires Tues so I have to get over there and get it done. I may try and get over to the polls as well for early voting. I've never voted early before but seeing as how this election is extremely important, I want to make sure I get my vote in!!! Hopefully you all are registered and informed so you can also get your votes in!! Whatever your choice is just make sure you've done your research and are casting YOUR vote for YOUR candidate, not the media's or friends or anyone else's.

So to end, I've been hit. I was tagged to list 6 random things about myself and then to tag 6 other people to do the same. This is going to be difficult seeing how everyone has pretty much been tagged so far! Here are my facts though:

1. I had a pretty rough pregnancy with B. I was diagnosed with preeclampsia in my second trimester and put on bed rest at 5 months. This disorder is the leading cause of death for mothers and infants so it was quite scary. Although I didn't realize how bad it was at the time. My doctor explained it to me in the sense that your body is rejected the baby the same way it rejects organ transplants at times. Although it was a difficult pregnancy and I had her early, my labor was wonderful and I have a healthy little girl!

2. I'm going back to school to finish my degree in Medical Laboratory Science and couldn't be more excited to do so.

3. I was hit by a car while sitting on my couch watching tv. It seems some men were being chased by the police and missed the curve. I still get nervous when I hear screeching tires!!

4. I love researching just about anything. I love learning so I could spend hours researching things, I just can't remember all of it!!

5. I have started saying things like "Brooklyn take your clothes to the trash can." The same thing I liked to tease my mom about.

6. I have a large tattoo on my back. It's our family motto you could say. It says "Be good to each other" and has two birds on each side that symbolize finding a true love and home. I've had several people make comments on it and it makes me feel good that it can be a reminder to others.

Since most have been tagged, I can only tag two. They are April S and Sarah S.

Poopsy Daisy.

2008-10-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been wonderful and well, filled with poopsies. So, this entry isn't for the faint of heart. Although, I know the mothers out there reading will be tough enough to take it and will probably get a few laughs in as well.
This all started a couple weeks ago when Brooklyn was complaining of abdominal pain and was having a few "accidents" and not of the pee persuasion. I have to admit that when it started I wasn't sympathetic. I didn't understand why my potty trained 6 year old was pooping in her pants. Brooklyn has had a tendency to get distracted from her body telling her it needs a restroom break many times before and although it hadn't been happening for awhile I was chalking it up to that same disregard for natures call. Now, I should tell you that Brooklyn has a disorder called galactosemia. This is a condition in which her body doesn't break down galactose (a sugar found in milk and other things) in the same way that you and I can. This condition is nothing like being lactose intolerant as this condition can be fatal or cause mental retardation. Although B's condition is very mild, she still has a limited intake of galactose. When she does get it she often has issues with the bathroom. Since I knew her diet was being monitored I was confident this wasn't the reason for her accidents.
So, a call was placed to the Doc and in we went. I felt horrible for B as her last run in with the hospital was when she was taken by ambulance from complications wtih her T&A . She was so nervous that I could audibly hear her tummy rumble and I had to watch as tears rolled down her cheeks due to fear. Thankfully we had the worlds BEST phlebotomist and B didn't feel the blood draw at all! Much better than the 5 nurses it took to hold her down the last time. Because of B's symptoms the doctors felt it necessary to check for the "Nightmare Diseases". I was a wreck but I went in prepared and the results came back ahead of schedule......the verdict: CONSTIPATION. Wait........ my daughter is pooping her pants frequently and you're telling me she's constipated? Explanation please!
Well, it seems that when someone is blocked like this, the non blocked poo that is being made squeezes itself around the blockage. This make for "accidents" due to the lack of signal it is giving your body to get the bathroom. Ah, that makes sense....so what are we to do? Well, for us, it was Magnesium Citrate. This little bottle of salty "goodness" is used to clean out the tract before surgeries and other procedures requiring an empty bowel. Since this little bottle was going to cause some "movement" we needed to block out a weekend of being home and close to the potty. It was to be given in the morning so Saturday it was. I was prepped. I dressed B in "old" comfy clothes that were made for quick take-off, old undies that I intended to get rid of and prepped her for the time issues she would be facing. The medicine was suppose to have results in 30 min - 6 hours. 8 hours later....nothing.....then 9...then 10. I was researching sites at this point wondering what was wrong as the medicine indicated that failure to produce was a sign of a more serious problem. Brooklyn is nervous because she thinks if she doesn't go she will have to drink more of the less than pleasant aid and Scott is already seeing the anxiety on my face. I have never prayed for poop before but I have to admit I was close. As I am doing this however, B is standing in the living room wide eyed. I hear "I need to go to the bathroom", then two hands grab her bottom and she says, "I DIDN'T MAKE IT!". I start chanting like she's about to win her first cross country race "RUN B, RUN!" She sprints to the bathroom and to be blunt.....bombs went off. Brooklyn starts laughing hysterically and Scott and I are both Woo-hooing like it's a celebration....a poo-bration. :) And besides the old undies, we all made it through safely. So Saturday was over but I wasn't too sure the medicine was. So B stayed in old clothes and undies at bedtime and I prepped for another day of bathroom running.
This morning I woke up at 6 and started some slow cooker chili for the game and then made my way to the porch for some coffee drinking mom time. This included the prep work I needed. Brooklyn woke up about 7:30 and watched cartoons while I made breakfast. About halfway through she comes to me and says her tummy hurts. I say the question..."Do you need to poop" and she responds with "No..... I don't know". Ah, this is perfect. I tell her to try and maybe that will help.. all the while I am thankful that she may be able to make it today. About 15 seconds later I hear "Mom, can you come here?". I was not at all prepared for what I was about to see. I walked into a newly painted bathroom, and a change in carpet color. WHAT!? I didn't even hear anything...how can someone so little make such a mess.....ALL OVER THE BATHROOM!! I was prepped though. Completely calm I said, "It's okay honey...let's get your clothes off and you can get in the shower" while my head was shouting "I have to replace the carpet....I need Merry Maids.......Where can I find a bio hazard suit....Don't step there...or here." As Brooklyn ran to the shower, I ran to the computer and quickly googled "How to clean poop out of carpet". What I found is my savior of the day. Peroxide!! The same stuff I still put in my ears because my mom use to tell me to even though I wonder if it's even safe! Scott went to the store and bought me the spray bottle of it and I went to town. I have to say, the stain has taken some work but at least we don't need to replace it! Whew. We have had one more incident since then but thankfully it was in one of the bathrooms with the linoleum flooring! Tomorrow it's back to school so please be sending the positive thoughts our way. I know no first grader wants to experience what she has while at school!!! B does have to take miralax for a month to keep her regular so I am a bit concerned for her! Like I said, keep her in mind!
All poo aside, we had a wonderful weekend! Truly. Today we had some great food and watched the most hard hitting football game I've seen (Titans vs. Ravens). My #1 is the Colts and I can't watch them here each week but I kept up via the Internet. When watching the Colts I generally cheer, jump and clap like a crazy person during the game. The Titans have always been my number 2 but I've never been such an "active" fan with them. Today was different. B was closing her ears and Scott and I were overly loud and jumping from couch to couch. Let me just say I love Nick Harper (former colt I might add) and I LOVED this game!!!! Congrats to the 5-0 Titans...they played HARD!
On top of all the "fun" we've been having I also managed to get the house dusted, get to the grocery store, clean out the fridge , freezer and wipe down all the cabinets. I made a horrible lasagna (which is hard for me to say since I take great pride in my cooking), made chili and chocolate chip cookies and am now working on laundry! It's been quite a weekend!
Well I will leave you with these two jems..........Mommies, invest in peroxide and for those chili lovers (the spicy lovers that is) here is my slow cooker recipe.

1 pd of thin sliced chicken breast.....shredded (I put in raw and shred with two forks after it's cooked and still while in Crock pot)
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 15 oz can of chili hot beans
3 15 oz cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 to 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce with seeds, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Stir everything together, cover, and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
Top with your favorites....mine, jalapenos and pepper jack cheese.

Enjoy!!

Quickness.....

2008-09-29T20:42:00.001-07:00

Just a very quick note to let you all know what's been going on in the Query-Velazco home. This month has been exhausting with it's highs and lows. Around the 10th of the month Scott, B and I went to Indiana to purchase our new car. We bought a Toyota Corolla and couldn't be happier with it. I have only tested the mileage from Indiana to Tennessee which is comprised of both highway and city miles and our gas mileage is about 35 mpg. Thank goodness!! Considering we our families live in Ohio and Indiana this is a welcomed perk to our little Toyota.
We drove to Indiana and back home on that Sat. and the following Wednesday I found out that a close friend had died. Not to go into a lot of detail but this was a person I had to mourn on different levels. He was my best friends brother, an ex boyfriend and a friend. His family is an extension of my own and it has been a difficult loss. Scott has been amazing and sadly, I haven't been my best. Like I said, it's been difficult. So Thurs. through Sat. I was back in Indiana and spent that time with my friend Jess and her family. Included, of course, was the viewing and funeral. It was exhausting in every way. Once back in Tn I had a friends bridal shower to attend and quality time with my visiting cousin to squeeze in. I wasn't the best company but I'm glad I was able to fulfill all of my commitments.
Now it's back to everyday life. Scott, B and I had a great weekend! Friday we went for coffee with friends, took B to the playroom, had dinner with different friends and played some Yatzee! Saturday the Hindu temple across the street had an Indian Festival so we took B over to bounce in the bounce house and for a tour of the temple. I wish I would have thought to bring more money because they had a lot of Indian skirts I would have loved to buy. Sunday I took a much needed 3 hour nap and Scott and I watched the Titans play a pretty game.
Tonight B brought home her books she bought from the bookfair. She was very excited and so was I. It's nice to get books at such a good price and B loves to read. I've been reading to her every night since she was in my belly so it's nice to have new things to read as well. Scott and B set down and did her homework together. (something he likes to do with her when he isn't at work) We all set down for a game, or 10 of Hungry Hungry Hippos. Once in bed we read the first chapter of one of B's new books and did site words.
Now Scott and I are relaxing and getting ready to watch Scrubs. I love days like these. Days where we just get to enjoy each other and be a family. Scott just got back from grabbing Sonic so we can snack on some late night "bad food". So I hope you are all having a great week. It's time to go and enjoy the rest of the evening.

August

2008-09-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

Well it's almost been an entire month since my last blog. I think that deserves some sort of an award. I hate that it has been that long but oh, well. I'm posting now. I really want to recap weeks, not months but at least for today I will be recapping August. School is going great for Brooklyn again this year. I really do like her teacher and it has been AMAZING to see how much she has learned in such a short time. She has homework each week that we space out over the time. She could do it on her own, I'm sure but I like to sit with her and just enjoy watching her learn. On Tuesdays she has dance class so we don't do homework that night but Mon, Wed and Thurs nights she does her homework. Because of these activities we have more of a "schedule" than we did last year. It really keeps us all on track and I always enjoy having a plan! :) On Thursdays I volunteer at Brooklyn's school and am so glad I get to do it for her class. I help with getting class or homework papers together or whatever the teacher might need a hand with. I think Brooklyn has a great school and I'm glad they encourage such involvement from parents.
Brooklyn's birthday was the 30th and she turned 6! Friday Scott and I went to the school to have lunch with her and brought in cupcakes for the class. I did this last year as well so I'm hoping to continue until it's no longer "cool" for Brooklyn to have us come in! We took a balloon in as well so the office could send it to her in class but when she got home she hadn't realized it was from us! That made me laugh a little. Saturday was Brooklyn's party. It was at the pottery studio and there were about 7 girls. They all had fun and were very excited. We had pizza, cake and painting. I asked the ladies if we were the loudest party they've had and she said no. I had a difficult time believing that! My mom sent a large box of presents down for Brooklyn and she got those the Thursday so she pretty much had 3 full days of celebrating. It was an overall wonderful b-day for her.
I've been trying to get things in order so I can go back to school in the spring. I have wanted to finish my degree for sometime but have easily gotten sidetracked. I had planned on spending Friday at the advisors office but instead split my time between car shopping and having coffee with a friend. Both were exhausting. Scott and I have known for some time that getting a new car was fast becoming a necessity. However, I was hoping for a little more time. I just got use to not having a car payment on my old crapper but as life has happened a car payment is on the horizon. I know what I want so there are no problems there. It's just a hassle checking reports on cars and then trying to "handle" the negotiations with the salesmen that get to me. Mentally I was done after one morning with them. Oh well, I'm happy we are able to get a new car and I'm thankful for the ability to take on the payment.
After my car appt. I went to my coffee date with a friend. It was exhausting for completely different reasons. Mentally it was refreshing and enjoyable. However, physically I was reminded of my lack of exercise recently. I spent two hours walking in circles downtown. While this was good for my body, the humidity in the air was not kind to my hair. I had volume...and not in the good way. Natural curly hair is not my friend when humidity is around.
Today has been a day of my body forcing me to rest. I don't know when I've been this exhausted. I took two naps today!! I had a whole list of things I wanted to do. Go to the store, clean the bathrooms, do laundry, pick up our pottery..........etc. None of this happened. I was chained to my living room. I did manage to cook all three meals and play a few games with Brooklyn. I also enjoyed being able to spend the whole morning cuddling with my little girl. So, although nothing got done I am so thankful for the day. It was needed.
Scott's work schedule is full this week so sadly, he'll be missed at home. Last week we got a lot of time together so I can't complain. I know there are some people that wouldn't be able to be in a relationship where the work schedule is like Scott's is but I actually really like it. Yes, there are weeks were I see him in the morning and not again until the next but there are also weeks where he is home 5 out of 7 days. It's so exciting when he's had those long weeks and then he says "Baby, I'll be home for the next 3 days straight." It's something to get excited about and it's almost like mini surprises. It also keeps us missing each other. I think that's healthy. Funny the girl who lives with lists and plans loves the crazy schedule of the recording engineer! We did spend the first year of our relationship in different states. I can't help but love the fact that we're in the same bed every night. That's something that was a dream for us at one point.
Well, I think that's a good catch up for now. Hopefully I can update again tomorrow about the COLTS win! I can't wait until 7 o'clock. Thankfully I'm a Titans fan as well so tomorrow afternoon I can kick off football season!

Where has the time gone?

2008-08-12T20:40:00.001-07:00

Well it has been forever and a day since my last post. So, my sincere apologies. The month of July was packed full and August has begun much the same. I will try to fill you in on what's been going on since I blogged last.
Mom's visit was good but short. She took Brooklyn to Knoxville for a few days so her time at the house was limited. While she was here we did manage to get the four of us over to tour the Belle Meade mansion, the studio and have a couple of dinners. She left with Brooklyn to head back to Indiana for the week so Brooklyn could stay with her paternal grandparents before Summers end. During that week Scott and I tried to take advantage of all our time. We rarely get a lot of alone time or time with friends and the times Brooklyn has previously been in Indiana Scott has had to work a lot. Fortunately, this time that wasn't the case!! We went to the movies, out for coffee and lunches, out with friends, out to dinner, had friends over and watched our favorite shows while sitting at home together. It's so hard to be away from Brooklyn but I try and appreciate the time it gives Scott and I to be a couple of kids in love!
We left Thurs. of last week to pick up Brooklyn from Indiana. It was short and hectic since Scott had to be back for work on Saturday but I hate traveling alone and anytime he comes with me is so much nicer. In my "younger days" :) I use to love taking long road trips by myself. I would travel to TN and MO frequently and always enjoyed the rides. It was a chance to clear my head and be carefree. When you have a child that seems to change. Now I worry too much to enjoy it!! Anyway, we picked up my nephew once we got in town, stopped over and saw my two nieces, brother and s-i-l, picked up B and then headed to my friend Jessicas with a couple of pizzas. Jessica's son Ethan, Daytin and Brooklyn had a nice time running around playing and the adults had some quality conversation. Friday we left for my mom's, went to the mall, dropped my nephew off and headed back to TN. We were all glad to be home. As soon as we were on our way Brooklyn told me she was excited to be going home and that was wonderful to hear. When your kids go away and have so much fun you can understand why coming home to rules, bedtimes and discipline doesn't have them jumping for joy so it's nice to hear little things like that.
Saturday Scott had to work so Brooklyn and I headed to the mall to finish up some school shopping. While we were out we hit up Auntie Anne's pretzel stand and ate in the food court. There was a cookie shop next to us and Brooklyn thought it would be nice to get a giant cookie for Scott. I let her pick out what she wanted to write on it and she came up with "I Love You Popper Scott". I admit I teared up. Popper Scott is the nickname B came up with on our way home to TN. Scott and I have really let Brooklyn bond with Scott at her own pace and it's amazing to see how that relationship has blossomed. She really does love him so much and it's so sweet to see her wanting to show him that. After that I took some jeans to get hemmed and then we made one last stop to pick out some new shoes for Scott. I picked out two pair and let Brooklyn make the final decision. She chose very well as he loved them....and his cake too!
The rest of our week has included having friends over to watch the Titans pre-season game, catching up on housework and starting first grade!!!!! I can't believe my baby is a first grader. I can honestly still remember how she felt in my arms as a baby like it was yesterday and now she's holding her backpack on one shoulder because that's what first graders do. Didn't ya know?
Brooklyn's teacher seems like she's going to be great and B seems very excited about this year too. I will post pictures of the first day as soon as I get more time.
Right now I have more laundry and house work than I care to do! I feel like I'm behind on everything so I am hoping that I will get caught up this week. Scott is working late hours so I plan to try to accomplish this goal. I still have to sign B up for dance this week, finish Birthday party plans and shopping, take her to a post op appointment and work the next three days. So needless to say....I'm not making promises.
Well, it's late and I have the women's gymnastics to watch.....Hey, I didn't say I wasn't going to start that catch up today did I?

Sunday Sharing

2008-07-27T06:54:00.001-07:00

Last night Scott and I decided to sit down and watch "The Last Lecture". For those of you reading I highly suggest doing the same. It's and hour and sixteen minutes in length and completely worth every minute. For those of you who don't know about Randy Pausch here are the basics: Randy was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University who found out he was dying of pancreatic cancer. "The Last Lecture" was exactly that although it technically wasn't the last time he spoke in front of people. It was the idea of, If you had one last lecture, what would it be. Randy Pausch died last night. This wasn't about religion, death or cancer.....you'll just have to watch it if you want to hear it. So there you have it. I had a lump in my throat an hour after watching this video. Humans are incredible creatures and I've always felt you can learn something from everyone, even if it's the characteristics you don't want to have yourself. I think I learned a lot from watching that lecture and I really haven't processed it all. That's the beauty of opening yourself up to what other people can teach. It evokes emotions, challenges thought and creates change. If you decide not to watch, I would just say this. Look at the people in your life and learn something.
Well, today my mom is coming to visit. I'm pretty excited as I think we are going to head to the Belle Meade Plantation for a tour of the mansion and grounds. My mom really enjoys this kind of thing and since the Plantation is very near my house, it's something I can take her to. Brooklyn is pretty pumped too but not for the same reason. Like any little girl does, she loves her Granny and there is a special bond there. Mom will be down until Friday but some of that time Brooklyn and her will be in Knoxville visiting some extended family. Hopefully we will get enough time to do some other things though. B wants to take her Granny to the pottery painting place so I'm sure we will go there.
Happy Sunday all!

A Look Back.

2008-07-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

We've been doing some Summer cleaning around the house this weekend and the majority of the overhaul has been Brooklyn's room. I've went through clothes, toys and trash. I've taken 3 bags and a box of belongings and put them in the "To Go" bin. It's been two days now and we just finished. Brooklyn has had to have constant redirecting through the process because as all mom's know, cleaning old toy boxes just reminds the little ones of the toys long forgotten in the bottom of the box and suddenly they are now new. I think Brooklyn spent a good chunk playing but she was more help then the last time we did this. At the end of it she told Scott, "I cleaned my WHOLE room and mommy swept." The hours I put into that room, the deep down cleaning with bleach, the trash I took out and she only noticed the sweeping!?? Oh, well, as mothers do we ever feel like our children really notice our hard work until they become mothers of their own? I know I didn't.
This week I have stumbled upon two blogs from people that were a HUGE part of my life. Still are but time and distance has come and now I am catching up through blogspot! So a quick back story for those who don't know it. Shirley Miller was my second mother and still to this day has an influence on me, the person I am, the mother I am and crosses my mind at least daily. The two blogs I came across were Shirleys daughter's blog and Shirley's sisters. Now, this of course has caused me to think of Shirley even more lately. When cleaning Brooklyn's room I came across the doll that Shirley had last given me before her death. It's wrapped up in a scarf that went to a big sun hat Melissa and I bought for Shirley. I gave this doll to Brooklyn to sit on her bookshelf after I told her the significance and because she loved the doll so much. We have a family photo of Shirley sitting on our fireplace and Brooklyn knows about her but now, THANKS TO THE INTERNET, I can share a little bit about the people that were so close to me when I grew up and it can connect the dots for her a bit.
Anyway, I tell you all of that to say that Shirley had 4 children of her very own and my two brothers and I basically lived with her and her family during our childhood. That is 7 children! Not to mention the other children she would babysit at times. I don't know how she did it. Shirley continued to be that second mom to me until she couldn't any longer. We weren't bad children by any means but we did normal children things and somehow she kept her sanity. I remember my mother would come and ask us to come home and a lot of the time we would want to stay at Shirley's. I look back and wonder why Shirley wasn't pushing us out the door!!! My ONE child has a messy room and I'm exhausted!!!!!! Not that I didn't see the hard work that was put into raising me, but today is just a reminder of it all.
Well, that is my walk down memory lane for today! Now I must do laundy, clean my own room and the rest of the house!! :) Here are a few photos of B during her breaks! She's a bit confused by a bee in the second one.

July!!!

2008-07-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

So this month seems to have been filled to the brim. I'm actually surprised we fit it all in and the month still isn't over. I wish I could have updated with a more organized blog today but I am just going to squeeze in all the things that July has brought to us. Brooklyn lost her first tooth. It was the very first tooth she ever got. It's amazing how fast she is growing up. To remember the feeling of excitement when that tooth came in and now the excitement of loosing it ..... how quick time flys. I need a pause button.
We spent the 4th at a friends house this year. While we wanted to take Brooklyn to see the BIG fireworks in Nashville, several factors helped us decide that it might be better to brave the crowds next year. I wasn't really bummed as we had a good time cooking out, playing cards, frisbee and setting off a few fireworks of our own. It's always nice to enjoy things when Brooklyn is comfortable and she was so mission accomplished.
Brooklyn's surgery came soon after and that, as I'm sure you've read previously, was a roller coaster. I'm so happy that we are over that hump. Brooklyn is doing soooooo much better. It's pretty much the same old Brooklyn minus the snore. I knew before the surgery that I would miss that sound and I do! It's better for her but more anxiety for me! I use to be able to tell that Brooklyn was sleeping even if I was on the porch playing music and a jet were flying over....now, I lean over her, put my hand in front of her nose and watch to see if her chest raises! After Brooklyn seemed to be doing better, I decided to get back into action with my babe. Monday we went to Brushfire, a paint your own pottery studio here in town. We had a lot of fun and I'm sure Brooklyn was excited to be back in the land of the living. Tuesday Scott, Brooklyn and I went to see Wall-E. Besides the Tookerton crying the entire time over her unending fear that Wall-E was about to blown up at any minute by his robot love, we had a great time! Scott and I really enjoyed the movie and Brooklyn probably did too...she's just soft hearted. So sweet!
This week is starting a new list of things to fit into July. My mom will be down on Sunday and staying through the week. She and B will be taking a trip over to Knoxville to visit other family while I work Mon-Thurs. They will head back here to visit and then Mom is taking Brooklyn back to Indiana Friday to drop her off with a visit to her other grandparents. I'm going to go to Indiana the next Thursday and then we'll head back to TN to prepare for Brooklyn's first day of 1st grade. I need more tissues.

This video is just some clips from the month in order...bringing us all up to speed!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So emotional

2008-07-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

I miss Scott. At any moment I should be getting a text from him telling me he's on his was home. I haven't been this excited to see Scott since.......yesterday. :) This week has been one of the most emotional and exhausting weeks I have had as a mother and sadly Scott has had to work everyday since the surgery. I'm so glad he's working but I have to admit I was aching for him to have a day off. I need him. I'm also thankful to be able to say that. I think it's good to be able to make it and survive on your own but it's also amazing to be with someone who makes you feel not that you're surviving but truly living when you're with them. Scott's that for me. Brooklyn's that for me.
Brooklyn is doing better today. This week the pain my child has endured has sent me to tears on more than one occasion. To see your child in pain, the worst pain you've ever seen them in, it takes years off your mental stability. Age no longer matters, I'm sure you'll get a brain disorder at least 10 years earlier with each "episode". Brooklyn has spent a lot of time rolling around holding her throat and crying in pain. She's going through that pain where she wants me to touch her and then she doesn't. The narcotics she's on make her have night terrors that I can't seem to calm her down from and she wakes up in pain at least 3 times a night. She has two medications she has to take. One every 4 hours and one every 8 hours. Aside from the fact that this causes us both to get up 3 times during the night it also increases the chances that I will accidently overdose my aching daughter. I'm setting alarms, keeping charts and making lists....I still have to go over which medication I should give her every time I hear the bells ding. We're all alive here so I'm thankful for that!!! Brooklyn has truly been such an inspiration and sweetheart through this all though. She is such a perfect spirit. So like I said, today was our best day. Brooklyn was actually up and active. She painted pictures, colored and ate "healthy" food. She even played the guitar and sang three songs to me.
I'm pretty sure Brooklyn has lost at least 5 pounds in the last week. For a 40 pound 6 (on August 30th) year old, 5 pounds drops her into the heavy toddler range....or as I refer to her now....a teacup princess. I've always called her a princess and when she was in the hospital, being wheeled around with her tiara on, everyone saw she was a little princess too.....so now, it's my teacup princess.
Scott just got home and I have to see my babe! I will update more soon.

Who stole the morphine?

2008-07-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

So evidently I must have been given something while here at the hospital because parts of my previous blog are a bit misleading. The monkey was not getting me a diet coke..... I actually regret having to say that. The other mistakes I am not too concerned about and really don't remember at this point. Just know you can't expect me to make much sense.

No elephants, but Frogs and Monkeys

2008-07-11T17:19:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting in the 5th hospital room that Brooklyn's had since yesterday. I should go ahead and apologize for not letting you all know that what type of surgery she was having....I know a lot of you had asked me about that and it hadn't of even crossed my mind until you then. So I will start at the beginning with this blog and hopefully catch everyone up to speed.
Brooklyn suffers (hopefully that should now be suffered) from sleep apnea. This is usually "cured" in children by removing the tonsils and adenoids. Brooklyn came in yesterday and had a pretty good surgery but a pretty crappy recovery. She woke up in a lot of pain. A LOT. Her blood pressure got a little high and her oxygen stats were a little low sporadically. After about 3 1/2 hours she was moved out of recovery and into a room. Which, from what they told me, was quite a bit longer than they usually keep them in recovery. She did pretty well except when she had to taste the liquid loritab for the first time. It was actually a pretty funny moment. She was determined to take the medicine by herself and after she took a small drink she was very hesitant to take another. She still held onto the medicine however. Within 5 min she was so loopy and irritable from the meds that she was pushing us away and drifting off to la la land. Super cute. We were discharged a bit later and Brooklyn was seeming better every second. She was talking and eating things like ice cream, Popsicles, mashed potatoes and even noodles. She was drinking and by her urine output she was doing awesome. The sweetest thing was when she played doctor and I was the patient who was getting surgery. She replayed the entire day's events and continued to talk to me about how I would be okay and what I would experience. There were other moments that were truly amazing. Like the stuffed frog Mommy got her as a surprise friend to take home after surgery. She named him Froggy and said he just had the same surgery she did. It's been so sweet to see her act out her emotions this way. All in all we were all very happy with the outcome yesterday. Brooklyn went to bed about 9 and slept soundly until I woke her up for her 1:30am meds. She drank her medicine the best she had and even took in a good amount of Gatorade. She fell right back to sleep and so did I!! I was sleeping on her floor so I was a bit nervous that I wasn't going to be able to. Besides waking up with a stiff neck, I slept really well. We woke up at 5:30 to take another round of meds but this time didn't go as well. Brooklyn was in quite a bit of pain but she went back to sleep easily. At about 8:45 Brooklyn woke up with a lot of pain and no interest in food, drink or even talking for that matter. Pretty soon after she started puking and it was pretty easy to see it was blood. I called the Dr.'s office pretty sure they would say it was normal and to keep an eye on her ... or at least to come in to get checked out and go home. The nurse from the surgeons office said this wasn't normal and to come in. I still wasn't concerned at this point. Within 30 seconds of getting off the phone she called back and said, "Your surgeon said to call 911." .....seriously?? So I was super calm, telling B she was going to get to ride in the ambulance. All the FD and EMT guys who came were AWESOME! Such a great group of public servants. Truly! Brooklyn had low blood pressure and was tachycardic when she got into the ambulance. She had to have her sugar checked and wanted me to do it. So here I am in the back of the ambulance bouncing up and down, back and forth trying to poke my daughters teeny little finger with a spring loaded mini needle. Whew, props to all the EMT's for the million of things they can do in such conditions. Her sugar was fine. Once we were in the ER we were told she would be admitted for the night at least. They had to put an IV in after that and Brooklyn had to have 5 nurses and myself holding her down. She was screaming and kicking. At one point she said "People, People, if you would quit holding me down I will not kick you." It was crazy. Finally she calmed down after that and eventually we were taken to another room. Brooklyn's been resting comfortably since then. She hasn't been able to eat or drink in case they have to take her back to the OR so that has dried her lips out....other than that and of course the throat pain, she is doing wonderful. A lot better than earlier. I don't think I've seen anyone so cold and clammy but sweaty and out of it. Scott was working today so I was by myself with B for the majority of this morning. I held it together for most all of it. While she was getting the IV, I struggled but maintained. After that, I called Scott and requested a "break" to go shower and get Brooklyn some stuff from the house. I needed to get out a good cry! Scott was engineering and THANKFULLY, SELFISHLY left in order to be with us for a few hours and to let me get a shower. I also stopped to get Brooklyn a new hospital friend from this visit (it's tradition to adopt a stuffed animal to love every hospital visit. He is a super soft Monkey whose name Brooklyn decided was.....you guessed it, MONKEY! Very soon he will be coming back to the hospital and bringing me a diet coke and our family will have our first hospital slumber party! B already has the slumbering down!
Keep sending your positive energy our way..... Brooklyn definitely needs it.

Let there be elephants.

2008-07-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is surgery day and it seems to have approached at lightening speed. We have to be at the Children's Hospital at 8 am with a surgery start of about 10 am. Brooklyn is handling it all very well. The last week she's actually been excited about it because she knows she will get to eat ice cream and watch cartoons all day. These are two things that are limited in our house and the fact that those limits will get thrown out the window for awhile has been the "highlight" of this surgery for her. I decided this week I needed to let her know about some of the things that weren't so exciting. She has known that her throat will be sore and she won't have a voice for a couple of days but that's about the extent of it. So I talked with her about the fact that she will be in some pain, sleeping a lot and about the IV which is the biggest fear she has right now. I've heard the Children's Hospital is good with this sort of thing so I'm hoping the IV process will be joined with a mini circus of monkeys on tricycles and miniature elephants running through her room.....or at the very least, a puppet show to distract her.
Thankfully, I'm off until Monday and then I will be working from home until the 28th. I'm blessed to have such an accomadating job. After that my mom is coming down for the week. Brooklyn will go back to Indiana for a few days after that and when she gets back she will be starting first grade!! I can't believe my baby will be a first grader. She's still so little and I just realized that she will start her senior year when she is 16! So far she is doing great with school but sometimes I worry that's too young and she should stay back a year. As long as she is emotionally and mentally up for it I won't worry too much however.
Brooklyn lost her first tooth on Sunday. When she went to the doctor last week they said they would have to pull it before the surgery if it hadn't come out. Saturday night I pulled on it but only popped a root so we decided to try again on Sunday. Well, one pull the next day and it came right out. Brooklyn was so proud and excited. The tooth fairy left her money and a note which made her feel pretty special. She said the tooth fairy told her to keep taking good care of her teeth because she does such a good job and she's right! She's always been great with that. Brooklyn is great all around and that area is no different!
Well, today is prep day for mom. I have laundry and other chores to get done before tomorrow. I've always handled my nerves well until whatever makes me nervous approaches. So, I should be good today but tomorrow I will be a ball of jelly. I'm sure I will be fine until they take her off to surgery.....then I might need the miniature elephants.

Camp Lisa

2008-07-07T18:24:00.001-07:00

So Lisa Loeb put out a children's album and thankfully put on a show for the kids at Barnes and Noble. Scott and I took The Tookerton and we all had fun. Brooklyn clapped and sang to some of the songs she knew while Scott and I had surreal moments of age. Stay came out 15 years ago (at least I think) and here we were taking Brooklyn to buy a Lisa Loeb record and get an autograph. I'm just happy my daughter is listening to the same artists I enjoy. Reason #3,000,001 of why I love my family and Nashville.

I love Scott and Brooklyn

2008-07-05T18:39:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post. I will update more later but I wanted to share a great bit of family info. Brooklyn wasn't feeling well today and took her first nap since she was about 3 due to her pukey belly. I went to bed with a belly ache and woke up feeling off and on sickness and sadly we had to cancel some family plans that I was really looking forward to. To make my life better, Scott traded his cool kid clothes for a Mr. Mom apron today. Not only did he clean the house, go to the store to buy sprite and medicine but he fixed all the meals in the house today and our supper was awesome. I am so unbelievably blessed and we have a very happy family. I think that is obvious in our desires to be good to each other.

I'm slow.

2008-06-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

I wish I had the desire to actually do things. I'm a dreamer and I spend my time doing a lot of things in my head and before you know it I've cleaned the house, wrote more in my book I want to publish, taken Brooklyn to the park, fixed an amazing dinner and learned about 5 new skills....oh, and traveled to at least one place over seas....now it's bedtime. On my way to bed I notice something....there's laundry to do, I haven't left the house since I got home and I couldn't tell you where a pen is if I tried. Wow....really? I could have sworn I accomplished something today. Okay, so maybe I am a little hard on myself. I do try and clean a bit everyday, cook dinner, play with Brooklyn and do something for myself but I guess when your daily accomplishments are bigger in your head than in reality it can leave you feeling a little ..... lazy? Oh, well. I have wanted to blog more and I feel like I am at least doing that. This is Brooklyn's last week of camp and then she will be having surgery next week. I will be working from home for 2 weeks so maybe I can put get refocused. I'm sure the day she has surgery I will be a mess however. I'm so nervous right now that I really try to not even think about it. The doctors have prepared me for her "silly, somewhat scary" demeanour after the surgery and I know how loopy people are from previous experience but I know when it's my little beeb laying there it will be horrible and terrifying.
Well on to something more positive. I do think I am going to be trying a little harder to accomplish some of my other goals. I should write more and I will. I want to take some natural health courses so I've been researching and "trying" to get that in order. I only say trying because my only road block right now is financial. I also want to do some "good for the mind, body and soul" things for myself. Scott and I have both had an interest in acupuncture so hopefully we will be doing that soon. Oh, and a massage. Scott is the world's best when it comes to this as he is ALWAYS willing to give me lengthy massages. However, we both enjoy the atmosphere and calming effect going to a masseuse gives you. Plus, couples massages are always fun. I'm a firm believer in psychology as well. This was my major when I first went to school and my savior through my divorce. I have come to believe in this area of medicine so much and I would really love to sit down with someone and talk about dealing with my fears. I'd like to not worry as much as I do. I've truly never understood the stigma that goes with seeing a therapist. I do think our society is embracing it more now than before however. I do have to say that I'm not as supportive for psychiatry. I still believe in it's goodness I just think that we're an over medicated society and that shouldn't always be the first choice. A world of help can come just from talking and maybe we should all start there. So anyway, hopefully all of my plans will continue to develop into active endeavours. My goal to be a better me each day is in the priority. I have a great family and they make me want to be great. I say that sincerely.

Wild, Wild Brooklyn

2008-06-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

So Brooklyn has been enjoying a number of camps this summer. She started at Harpeth Hall with a sports camp. I have always known B wasn't into a lot of sports such as basketball and soccer but it was something I thought she should at least try. She of course didn't care for the sports but had a great time making friends and seeing what it was about. The second week was cheerleading and that was a sport she enjoyed. This past week was dance and I knew she would like that. Brooklyn has taken dance and gymnastics classes before so she was looking forward to this. They learned 6 dances in 5 days and then had a recital the last day. Scott, myself and our friend Katie went and we all were so proud of her. That's a lot to learn in such a short period of time. So here is a little video that Scott put together from the show. This is my first video post so hopefully it works! Scott also has another video to go with this that is up on the Scott and Brooklyn page. Check it out if you'd like as there is about 10 min. more. P.S. Thank you to Katie for coming with us to support Brooklyn. You're a great friend! And another Thank You to Scott for putting this video together. You constantly show your love in ways like this and I'm so blessed to have you!!

2008-06-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend we went to Ohio to visit with Scott's family and to hit up Cedar Point. We had originally planned to fly but decided to rent a car instead. Let me first say that an 8 hour drive with a child, a guy who hates car trips and a girl who is always paranoid about accidents is not the best way to start any mini vacation. However, I think we all surprised each other. Brooklyn did amazing on the trip there and back. It really shows how fast she's growing up. She didn't complain at all and was such a joy to have in the car. AWESOME! Scott even had an enjoyable car ride there but especially on the way home. Friday we spent the day with the Velazco's. This included a steak dinner and a trip to Fred's Ice Cream. I can't begin to tell you how much I love Scott's family. His mother and father have absolutely taken us in as family and they have been so kind to us since day 1. It is an amazing testament to the hearts they have. We don't see them often but it's great to see the relationships grow each time we do get to visit with them. I grew up with brothers and so did Scott so it feels pretty normal to hang out with Tim and Cory(scott's bros.) Although my family is drastically different than Scott's. :) Friday night we got to hang out with Scott's friend Deweb, his wife and daughter. I had heard a lot about them but this was the first time I got to meet them. Sadly, I was exhausted after driving 8 hours on 4 hours of sleep so I was probably no more fun than the mannequin in the movie "Mannequin" before she came to life. I did chat to Deweb's wife for a bit about Indiana. We grew up in neighboring towns so that was interesting. The rest of the time I spent convincing Scott that babies were fun and drooling with envy over their little Ella.
On Saturday we were off to Cedar Point. Now, I was looking forward to Brooklyn getting to ride rides but I must tell you that I have crippling fears of falling. I avoid escalators when possible or hold up lines by looking at each stair going by trying to time the right step....each time telling myself "Step now, no now, okay now!" I hate stairs you see through and must have handrails or I'm a mess. The list goes on but as you can see, I'm every man's adventurous dream woman. I decided to go on the sky ride first thing. This is a simple air trolley similar to a ski lift except their are two sides connected so it's much less open. I made it approximately 10 seconds. I don't remember much after that except tears, shaking and reminding myself to breathe. Brooklyn held my hand! It was horrible but Brooklyn wanted to do the Ferris wheel and I knew she had been looking forward to it. So, that was our next ride and I was determined to make it enjoyable for her. Well, I did it without tears and even managed to smile and take a few pics. We were up there for awhile so thank goodness I handled it well. That experience convinced me I needed to ride a roller coaster. The rest of the day I took Brooklyn on rides we both could do.....this included antique cars and the scrambler. :) Scott got to ride one coaster and then came back to hang with us. About 4 we decided to get in line for the two of us to ride a "big kids" coaster. I was pumped and mentally in the right place. We waited an hour and looking at the line we had about 20 min. left.....but Mother Earth decided I didn't need to overcome my fears that day. Storms showered us and cut our day short. The good part was Brooklyn had an awesome time and that was my goal. We also got good sleep that night and were well rested for our trip home. Before we left on Sunday we got to eat at our favorite restaurant in Marion and had more family time. I really loved getting to see Grandpa Graham so much too as he's the most wonderful person. He makes my heart smile and I think the word "sweet" was created by people to describe him.
Our trip home was truly rockin'. It was a very Query-Velazco sort of ride. I'm sure if we had a reality show and just that trip was an episode, it would be a viewers favorite. We spent our time singing along to Blue October, Stevie Wonder and Johnny Cash. There is nothing greater than hearing Brooklyn sing along to these songs she has come to love so much just like we do.
I truly love my family.

A melting pot of updates.

2008-06-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend is our family trip to Ohio and I should be packing right now....or putting away laundry, cleaning the house, getting food in order, pretty much anything but this. However, we had a luncheon at work today and the theme was ecuadorian dishes. Being the lover of food that I am, I had to try it. Lesson learned for the day: Ecuadorian food is not your friend. I am sitting here with no energy, no supper and no desire to have either. I could go to bed right now and be fine.
Anyway, back to our trip. We don't leave until early (like 5 am) on Friday but I have to work tomorrow, pick up the rental car, pack, go to the grocery store and make our food for the trip. Whew. I'm hoping to make food for the trip there and back. I hate going on trips and feeling horrible from the fast food so we're trying to stay healthy. The weekend is going to be super busy as we will only be there till Sunday. Friday will be spent at Scott's parents house visiting with them and our distant Napoleon. Sat. we are getting up early to head to Cedar Point for a fun filled day with our friends William and Mandy and Williams son. Sunday we will be with Scott's family again to have the traditional Sunday lunch at our favorite restaurant in Marion (House of Hunan) and then back on the road to Nashville. Brooklyn starts dance camp that Monday so besides taking her there and picking her up, I will be spending a lazy day at home.
This week Brooklyn has been at cheer camp. The first day I picked her up she was on top of the pyramid and it was so cute. She's such a wonderful little girl and she just shines when she's smiling. It was a great moment but it's still hard to see her growing up so fast. This morning I woke up to Brooklyn crying in her sleep. I went in and laid with her, calmed her down and waited to leave until she was peacefully asleep. When she woke up she said her dream was that she went to a party with her Aunt Haylee and they took Rudolph with them. When they walked in, everyone ran up and hugged Rudolph and not her. :( She cried as she told me and it was so sad but so cute. Needless to say, she was tired today and camp wasn't as fun. Brooklyn tends to get quite sensitive when she's tired!
Scott has been working long hours this week. We've been really lucky this last year as his work has been full but the hours have allowed him to be home with us a lot too. This week is the first real week that he hasn't been home to go to bed with me. We're thankful for the work though. I know I'm not directly in the music industry but knowing what I do from Scott, I feel like we're lucky for what we have and should appreciate that. There are a lot of people that would love to be where Scott is and to have him making a living, supporting a family doing what he loves is truly a blessing.

A little later than expected.

2008-04-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

So I started this blog with hopes of updating more frequently than the 3 or 4 months it's taken to actually do so. I've realized I'm a bit more of a procrastinator than I have admitted to myself or others in the past. Well, at least I'm here and attempting to get this going again. All credit goes to my old friend April, however. A married mother of two little ones, step-mother to one and a husband in the military. Whew, if she can find the time to update daily I think I shouldn't have any problem doing the same.
I want to give myself some freedom here though. At first I wanted to post only good things on here but I have never written that way before. I always write to work through emotion or share emotions. In turn, I can usually analyze, process and see positive. So, I'm just going to let it all out, let's say. You will just get what my mind needs to purge and hopefully that will be either enjoyable or positive in some way.
Recently I've been trying to "improve". I'm a big believer in trying each day to be a better me and I usually hit my goals but there are times I feel things get bigger than me for a bit. I want to feel like I'm making an effort to do the things I talk about doing. Speaking on that some more though, I have just recently started to take some initiative and get moving in the right direction. I've been interested in not only opening up a "healthy little coffee shop" down here but also starting some sort of organization that goes into schools to promote "healthy" diets. I got together last Tuesday with a couple of girls I met down here and after mentioning the idea one of them said a group was just starting that was quite similar. It was geared more toward supporting local co-op but that one guy in the group had mentioned his desire to go to the schools. They are having a meeting this Tuesday so I am going to go and hope to get involved or at least get some ideas bouncing around out there as a starting point. After dealing with the issues caused by food in my daughter and seeing it in my friends children as well, I'm a strong supporter for eating healthy. That's not to say I never splurge:) I'm also getting together this Friday with my friend who is wanting to open up her own business. I'm positive we can motivate each other as most of our conversations have left me energized. I've also got two of the best supporters in the world. Scott constantly supports me and makes me feel as though I can do anything and Brooklyn gives me the strength to do so and the desire to want to. They both make this place a very happy home and me one lucky gal.
Well, I guess I will end this rambling blog for tonight. My goal is to be in bed very soon and I can't have this blog be the reason I don't do that. Brooklyn is going to the dentist tomorrow so I will let you know how that goes. Considering all the other medical things we're dealing with I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get a clean bill of healthy teeth!! Also, just a fun side note, Brooklyn sat at the table tonight as we ate our baked chicken and she debated wether chickens pee. Quite hilarious. She has decided that dragons must poo a lot though seeing how they eat so much!!!
And on that, Good night!

Take One

2007-12-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

I've been in the beginning stage of starting this blog for some time now. That basically means I created a page. My intentions were good but now I question how dedicated I will be to this. I'll hope to update once a week but we'll see how it goes. Well, on to the good stuff. It seems that a number of great things have been happening lately and with that a group of negative things have decided to come along. I've been keeping the positive my main focus and although difficult at times, it's easier because of one of the main positive things in my life......Scott. He absolutely brings out the best in me and my life has so greatly improved since he became a part of it. My daughters life is better with him in it. Love is one thing but to be loved by a person like Scott Velazco is something I truly believe is rare. He's helped me become a better person just by being who he is and loving me the way he does. It's something I can't explain. He believes in me and is passionate in his support. He makes me feel proud, attractive and intelligent every single morning (and not for just a moment but from the moment I see him till we go to sleep). He's impressed by me, thinks I'm a great mother. Next to my daughter, he's the most perfect and positive thing in my life. I hope you're all loved........till next time.