Prayers, good thoughts and virtual hugs requested

This is my first blog post on my iPhone, so let's see how it goes.

You know how I've been working on my daughters birthday party, right? I've bought all of the food, made the decorations, made her a dress, everything needed for a super awesome first birthday party. But instead of her being the guest of honor at her party, instead she's going to be having surgery.

I won't write all of the history, nor am I coherent enough to try and figure out how to make a link, but you can look up the post titled "Ava's Story". Quick cliff notes, she was born with gastroschisis, where the abdominal wall doesn't close in utero and babies are born with their intestines on the outside. Ava had a significant amount out, so it took 4 surgeries to close her up.

We knew that gastroschisis isn't a one time thing. There is always complications for future issues. But I guess hubby and I were hopeful that it wouldn't have any further complications.

On Thursday night, hubby went to the airport to pick up his dad. Ava wouldn't go to bed, just kept fussing. I tried to rock her, sing to her, etc. None of the tricks were working. They got back at 10:30 and when hubby picked her up, ava started retching. No, she can't vomit because of a surgery she had to fix a hiatal hernia, so she just does a really violent looking dry heave. Hubby said he would stay up with her so I went to bed. I woke up at 3am and he wasn't in bed yet, so I got up. ava was still retching, but every few minutes or so. I called our dr; and he said to bring her to a hospital in Dallas and he would call ahead for us.

We checked into the ER and they start IV fluids and do xrays. xrays showed a large mass in her stomach. So they put a NG tube in her nose down to her stomach, which pulls out any fluids or gas. As soon as they got it in, 75 ccs immediately came up the tube Into the canister. A total of 150 came up before we left the ER.

The dr on staff called the original surgeon who did the surgeries to get his opinion and we were admitted. They did a barium test, and it shows that she has a large obstruction in her intestines (a complication from her gastroschisis). They did a total of 5 xrays to see if it would pass and while it did move a little bit, it's still stuck.

So Ava will be going into surgery this morning at 8:30. No clue on surgery length since it depends on what they find in there. No clue on recovery time, could be days to weeks. Again, depends on what they find.

I have peace in knowing that it's the same surgeon she's always had, who is one of the best in the area. I have comfort in knowing that so many people are praying for us. I hope you will say a prayer too. If you don't pray? Then send us good thoughts and a virtual hug.

It's funny. I was so stressed with making her party perfect. It's funny how life reminds you what your priorities are.

Kix. Kid tested, Mother approved + GIVEAWAY

School will be starting up in a next couple of weeks. My girls aren't exactly the best at waking up early, so I need something in the mornings that is quick, easy and nutritious. Some mornings we do fruit and oatmeal, other mornings we'll do scrambled eggs and toast. But on those mornings that things aren't just running smoothly, cereal is our trusty standby. But just because it's cereal, doesn't mean I want something that's full of sugar, marshmallows, or other stuff my kids don't need in the mornings.

So when General Mills offered to send me 6 boxes of their Kix cereal, I happily accepted. 

I remember eating Kix when I was a kid. The “Kid Tested Mother-Approved” cereal has no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, or no artificial preservatives and is the same great taste kids have loved for more than 70 years.  

Are you jealous of all my cereal goodness? Want to get your own? General Mills has graciously offered to send the winner 6 boxes of your own! 

Ways to enter...


Required entry: Must be a follower of my blog. Tell me you are, and what your breakfast routine is on a busy school morning. 


Extra entries...


Follow me on FB +1


Share this on twitter/fb/blog and post the link +1


This giveaway ends Friday August 19th at midnight!

"Disclosure: Kix cereal, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark."

Happy 1st Birthday to our princess!

One year ago today, our sweet girl, Ava Grace, was born.

Which began our 66 day stay in the NICU.

Tears, headaches, and six surgeries later...

We finally got to start our lives outside of the NICU.

This sweet girl has been such a blessing.

Always has a smile on her beautiful face.

Always knows how to make us laugh.

LOVES her daddy and always wants to play with him.

But thinks Mommy is the best one to snuggle with.

Thank you Lord for this precious, perfect girl! Happy Birthday, Sugar Bear!

I love you to the moon and back.

Kettlebell Fitness Challenge? Let's do this!

I've been MIA on blogging for a minute. My youngest is turning one tomorrow, so I've been doing a bunch of crap for her party on Saturday. I have, however, still had time to bitch about those 4 lbs I want to lose. 

My friend Erin, who blogs at Life in the Dub Lane, is going to be doing a kettlebell challenge on her blog, and I kept thinking about it. Especially since she posted pictures of herself in a bikini, and my immediate though was "Bitch! Ugh, she looks so fabulous". (Sorry, doll. That's the price you pay for being an uber hottie, Erin. Love you!) So if a kettlebell will get me a body like hers, I'm game.


The challenge starts on September 5th, it's a Monday. The workout calls for you to commit to half an hour a day, 6 days a week. Now, I sucked at Insanity and P90X. Mainly because I'm lazy it's hard for me to find an uninterrupted hour every day to do it. Half an hour? I can do that. 

 
There will be a weekly LinkUp on Erin's blog for you to post your progress. Progress includes a PICTURE. With your face in it. Form fitting/figure hugging clothes are best to see progress. You must wear the same outfit in every photo so it's easiest to see the changes. If the outfit gets too big? Hell, that would be awesome.

The link up will be each Sunday {as that is your day off}.  

Details regarding link rules will be posted as we get closer to the start date.

At the end of the 8 weeks, there will be a nice award for the TWO participants that achieved the greatest results. One participant will be chosen by Brook Benten herself and the other will be chosen by Readers Choice. The prize? Brook Benten has graciously offered to give the 2 Winners each a set of her entire DVD Library.

Have questions? Erin explains more about it here. 

Need some more motivation? The DVD normally runs $30, but there is a current Groupon going on where you can get the DVD for $20. 


A DVD, on sale, that helps you become more of a hottie than you already are?

I've ordered my DVD, and I need to pick up the kettlebell (a 10 lb one is suggested if you're just going to get one. Erin says the best place to get one is Target). 

Are you going to do it with me?

Highs and Lows 8-7

So here we are again. Time for Highs and Lows. Pretty simple. Share the highs and lows of your week.

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Highs

• I celebrated the big 31 29 version 3 last Tuesday. Hubby grilled out filets, corn on the cob and baked potatoes. I got some great presents. Gift cards to Target, Homegoods, Bath and Body Works, and Old Navy. Old Navy can be hit or miss for me, clothing wise, but I love that you can use it at Gap and Piperlime too. I ended up getting these shoes at Piperlime. 

I dig them. Rocker? Romantic? Awesomesauce.

• Another high? My sister in law got me Alice: Madness Returns for the PS3. Now, I suck at video games. But I've been wanting this one for forever, back when it was released on a PC (me, being a MAC user, never got to play it). And I love it. Although when the enemies start swarming me, I hit pause and have hubby get thru that part.

• My baby is turning one on Wednesday. I've been planning her party for a long time, and it's finally all coming together. Her dress is made, the favors purchased, the centerpieces finished. Now I just need to buy the food supplies. Thank God that my bloggy buddy Julie from It's Sew Stinkin Cute is coming over on Friday to help prepare the food. I heart her.

• I had a fantastic meet and greet with a photographer I want to work with, and I'm super excited about the shoot we're planning. Did you know that I pretend to model?  You really want to buy that spa coat, huh?

• Another photographer that I've been talking to just dropped off the wardrobe at my house last night. Pretty cool stuff. I haven't done any modeling since Ava was born, I'm itching to get back into it.

• Went to church this morning (which admittedly we suck at). Tried out a different campus, I dig it. I was worried about dropping off Ava, since usually she screams when we hand her off to anyone, but she did so good! They said that she deserved a sticker for the best baby there. Makes a momma happy to hear that.

Low

• What. The. French is up with hubby's car? Spent a billion months in the shop, we get it back, has to go back to the shop thanks to leaking oil. Then on Thursday, on the way home, his car decided to die on the highway in a construction area (so no shoulder to pull off onto). He finally gets it started and it keeps dying every couple of minutes on the way home. Luckily the battery was still under warranty, but the lady at Walmart said it might be the alternator? Ugh. Screw you, car. 

• I've been having the worst dreams lately. Ugh, seems like every night I have crappy dreams, and then I wake up in the morning in a sleep deprived funk. Last nights dream? Hubby decided to go back to school, but picked a school that was hours and hours away. His parting gift? A huge bag of old cookie cutters. WTH?

• Ava is teething, which means she's been a BUTT. Luckily it was only the first part of this week. My FB status that day? 

So there you have it, another week down where the things to be thankful for out number the things to bitch about. 

My Statement Necklace, an untutorial

I'm an Etsy-addict. It probably doesn't help that I can't afford half of what I have on my favorites on there. 

Like this. Stunning, right? But I certainly don't have the $160 that she's asking. So it was time to get crafting.

I wasn't able to find red flat stones at any of the bead stores around me, so I found this on Etsy. I had the best luck searching for "flat nugget stone" under the supplies section. These cost me $15 shipped.

I then hit up Hobby Lobby for the rest of the supplies. Thick and thin chain, jump rings, and TAN felt. The pic shows red, but I figured out why she uses tan instead of red after I made the first one. The red would show up against your skin, the tan blends in.

Next, I hot glued them on TAN felt, and cut them out. Don't cut too close, since you'll need something to glue the beads onto, and you can trim it later.

Next, I took some fishing line, threaded it through the hole, and tied it in a knot. Then started threading on the beads, adding a drop of hot glue every 4 or 5, and making sure to keep the beads very close to the stone. I added the hot glue along the edge, so it touched both the stone and the felt.

Now, this is where I started to wing it. At first, I just did the beads all the way around, and then attached the chains with a needle and thread. But with the hot glue, I had a hard time getting the needle to go through. So I figured out where I wanted the chains, made a pen mark, and when I would come across one of those, I would string on the chain and it cut it to size.

Then when I would get to the other side, I would attach the other end. Make sense?









I ended up doing all of the stones, and then laid them out and figured out the ones I wanted to use in my final piece. My stones are a lot bigger than the reference pic, so I just used four. I was feeling an asymmetrical look, so that's what I went with. I attached the stones to each other with jump rings (I used three on each stone so it wouldn't be too flimsy) and then attached a chain to the top so I could wear it.

It's huge, but isn't that what a statement necklace is about?

Sponsor Spotlight

So, it's the first of the month, which means we all have money burning a hole in our pockets, right? My sponsors are awesome, and they have awesome discounts, which you should totally get in on. Christmas is coming up, and I know you want to be prepared for that. Plus, it's my birthday tomorrow, and I know you're looking to get your favorite blogger a little something, right? 

The Whimsy Shop

The super sweet and amazing Janice is throwing a super sale! She's just a short while away from delivery, so she's doing a "The baby is moving into my craft room" sale! You know those wire wrapped tree necklaces, the ones that are usually $26? Now they are $12! There are a ton of super great sales in her etsy shop. 

Did I mention that you can still use the LCW15 for 15% off your entire order?? Sale prices, plus an additional discount? Yes please!

Cute Couture Designs

I get so many compliments on my wax seal necklace, every time I wear it. And now I'm in LOVE with that gold wrapped bracelet. Have you checked out Kelli's etsy shop? If you haven't, you're missing out! And don't forget to use the code Jewels for 15% off!

Meggie's Love

When I featured Megan's etsy shop, I had so many people email me, telling me how adorable the watches are and how they want to get one. Well, her discount code LCW15 for 15% off ends tomorrow! Get in on the discount before it ends, you know you want to!

You, Enhanced

I have a giveaway planned with Nik in a few weeks that I'm excited about, and you should be too! Who doesn't love free stuff? Until then, you can use JenRocks15 for 15% off of everything in her etsy shop!  I already have that Pow necklace, but I have my eye on that tree. Gorgeous!

Rebecca's Whims

Holy crap. Rebecca has added so much stuff to her etsy shop in the past couple of weeks. I wish I had that much motivation! I think the blue and copper heart is so stinkin' pretty! And she has those custom stamps too, I love that tree, so sweet! Use the code BLING for 15% off!

Happy shopping! Buy me yourself something pretty! Don't forget to start early on those Christmas gifts!