May 2009

May has been a great month for us. It's hard to believe it's almost over already. Where has time gone?

Mother's day weekend, Makenna, my mom, my dad and I flew to NJ. It was a quick 4 day trip but it was so much fun. It was Makenna's first time on an airplane...boy did she do great! I am so proud of her. We saw all of my mom's family while we were there, went to my cousin's bridal shower, went to the shore and much more....all in 4 days. It was so great to see everyone and Makenna really enjoyed meeting everyone for the 1st time. Especially her great-grandparents.

On the airplane in Denver before take-off.
She is so excited!

Lovin' the beach! It was freezing
but we didnt' care. We had such a great
time.

Windy Day at the beach -- as you can tell!
Bad hair day for all of us! 4 Generations!!

Most of the family!

My cousin, Chelsea and Makenna!
Makenna thought Chels was the greatest ever!

It's so nice to have energy this spring, especially after the last few where I have felt terrible. Last weekend Makenna and I did a bunch of yard work. We planted 2 burning bushes, a bunch of flowers, veggies and herbs. The lilies are my favories. I didn't even tire out. AMAZING!

Monday (the 18th), I went to my support group. It's hard to believe that I am nearly 6 months out from surgery. May 25th will be my 6 month anniversary. What a great feeling. I am down about 86 pounds. WOWZA! I had my blood work done and everything is great with the exception of a slightly low iron count. That's too be expected after all the blood loss I had following surgery. It might take a year for that to get back to the normal range, but I'm getting there and am not worried.

I launched my photography business this month as well. I have several photoshoots lined up and am looking to schedule more. If anyone is interested, there wont be any charge for the sitting fees and any pictures you want are the same price as I pay for them. This will be going on until September. Thank you for helping me build my portfolio for my website.

More to come. We are getting ready for a long weekend. I love holidays!

April 09

April has been a crazy month for us. Lots of birthday's this month and Easter as well.

The month started off ok. Kyra's started treatment on 4/2. She did ok during the treatment but then was pretty sick for a few days following. She's such a trooper.

Easter came with rain this year. It was cold and too wet to do an egg hunt outside. Makenna and I went to Eric and Candi's house this year along with Mom and Dad and Candi's mom and sister. It was fun and Makenna really enjoyed the egg hunt Candi and Sally did in the house. Before we went of course we had to open Easter basket's at home.

Makenna showing off her new flip flops for summer.
She wanted a psir just like mom's. I wish I had a pair with
lady bugs on them like these. They are cool!

Love this little Page-boy hat! She wanted one like mine
but it was hard to find a skull and cross-bones
for a 3 year old. So, the flower will have to do.

Not to sure of the sugar-free peeps!

Love this picture. Makenna is
wearing the Easter dress from Great-Mimi
the fancy glove from Nana and vaccuming the house.

The weekend after Easter was Eric's birthday and the wettest craziest 48 hours of "weather" we've had in a long time. It's rained. It snowed (18 inches). It thunder-snowed. It hailed. It sleeted. And then...it was 70 degrees. In the process I got water in my basement and lost my satellite. It's April 22nd and still do not have TV. 5 days is a long time with a 3-year old. It sure was pretty though.

I'll offically be 5 months post-op on April 25th. I went to the doctor last week because I'm having headaches and severe dizziness again. I have to have another MRI and an EEG to rule out anything. It's been 6 months since the last round so I'm hoping no change. I still think it's a combination of stress and not enough protein. The flip side is I am down 72 pounds and 14 sizes. Yee Haw! I'm having fun shopping and feeling like it's ok to put on make-up everyday and the best part is being noticed. By Men! LoL! I have even been asked out on a date. AMAZING! Now, to find a baby sitter for the chicklet. Time will tell what happens.

More to come for April...It's not over yet.

March 09

During the month of March, I started working hard on getting my photo studio & website set up. I can't wait to start taking pictures and, hopefully start making some money at it. The problem is when??? Between working full time in an office and coming home to be a full time mom there isn't much time left. We'll see how things work. Still practicing a lot though. I took a Nikon class with a friend. I learned SO much. Almost overwhelming. If you want to volunteer yourself, your kids or your family for a photosession let me know and we'll figure something out. I'm hoping to do a lot of outdoor shoots as it gets nicer.

March was a beautiful month weather wise. We spent a lot of time outside soaking up the sun and just enjoying the outdoors. We did have 1 larger storm, but that didn't stop us from going outside.

My Nephew, Matthew, enjoying the warm
spring day at Grandma and Pop's house.

This attitude has to come home with me :-)

Kyra also enjoying playing outside
and Grandma & Pop's. Isn't she beautiful?

Kyra and her Pop

My little snow bunny

Enjoying the snow outside on a beautiful day

My Sister in-law's Mom hosted a wonderful "cancer sucks" party to kick off Kyra's long teatment plan with Chemoteraphy. April 2nd is the beging of her l-o-n-g 14 month road to cancer recovery. Thanks Sally for the great party and wonderful food.

Toasting to Kyra and a speedy recovery!

Eric and Matthew snuggling at the party

Kyra Elizabeth -- 5 1/2 years old.

I was 4 months post-op on March 25. 60 pounds down. Still feeling good with the exception of returning headaches. I think that's because I can't figure out how to get 60 grams of protein each day and only 500 calories. Not an easy task.

February 09

Wow! I can't believe it's been since January since I posted an update. Shame on me. Here is a quick run down to get me caught up of the adventures of the last few months. Look for more frequent updates going forward.

February was a pretty typical month fo us. Nothing out of the ordinary or exciting. Makenna's best friend turned 3 and we went to her birthday party. It was fun! I like the smaller events.

Best Friends: Anna & Makenna

I can't believe it's been 3 months since surgery. I'm down about 45 pounds. I feel great.

Stock Show 2009

Makenna and I went to the Stock Show today with our friend Laurie. It was total madness. I don't recall ever going to the stock show as a kid, but maybe I did. If I didn't, I know why -- The place is not condusive to strollers, or handicap people for that matter. There is one (maybe 2 but we didn't see it) elevators on each floor and the elevators are about the size of a small closet. There is no fitting 2 stollers in there at one time. What a mess. Laurie and I are sure this has got to be a fire hazard. Other than that, it was fun! Makenna got to play on the playground ($.50); She got to ride the kiddie train ($3.00), she got a new cowGIRL hat ($16.00); She got her Picture taken on a horse ($5.00), all that plus the cost of parking and admissions = EXPENSIVE. It was fun, but not something we will do every year.

Showing off the Pink CowGirl Hat


Riding Bareback

showing off

Showing off a little more...

looking grumpy for some reason

A day at the zoo

Makenna and I went to the zoo today. it was cold, with a few snow flakes, but bundled up it wasn't too bad. it wasn't crowded at all and all of the animals were out playing or sleeping, excpet for the monkeys. We saw the entire zoo in less than 3 hours. We had a great time and I'm always looking for opportunities to use the camera. Here are a few of the favs.

Doing a little nose scratching on the fence

Doing what lions do best - pace back and forth.
He did this for a full 10 minutes while we stood there.

Lucy the Sealion waving at Makenna and I

Makenna freezing but enjoying herself

Check out how this bear is sleeping.
He's about 7 feet off the ground all wraped up in this tree.

Cute huh?


Just chillin' out.


The penguins were lovin' the cooler weather.
This guy was "standing guard" while the
other swam. BRRRRR!

Makenna and Mama

Makenna's favorite past time -- Taking a bath

concentrating on playing

being goofy!

Loving Mama taking pictures

Feeding the ducks!

Makenna and I love to feed the ducks -- Even in the snow. This morning we went out in the 20 degree weather and had a great time. It also gave me an opportunity to try out the new lens I got for my camera. I still need a lot of practice, but it doesn't take bad pictures.

Feeding the ducks


Running from a goose. Boy are they mean!


A mallard patiently waiting for some grub


The old ice house

t
Swimming in for some morning breakfast

Back to a Normal Routine

Ok, so I've been home from work since November 24th recovering from major surgery. Even though I've been "working from home", I'm so ready to go back to work. Not only will I get to socialize with people over the age of 3 but having a routine is good. Kudos to all you stay at home moms -- I don't know how you do it.

I'm also looking forward to getting the OK from the doctor on Monday to start working out again. I know my trainer is looking forward to getting me back in the gym so I can start toning again. Nothing is worse than having saging body parts. UGH!

Makenna starts back to school on Monday as well. YAY! She really does like preschool and I like having something to talk about at dinner. Normally everynight at dinner, we do a review of the things she learned that day, what made her happy and what made her unhappy. It's a good opportunity for us to discuss feelings and that we should be nice to people, not hit, use our words etc. The perfect parenting opportunities. Everyday there is a new situation that we need to discuss and learn from.

We are looking forward to a great 2009. 2008 was a bit of a challenge for our family and are looking forward to a fresh start. We also hope to do some traveling this year. We'd love to go back east to see Grandparents and greatparents. Maybe we'll also make it to Georgia in the fall to see my dad family.

Happy new year to all! Hope it's a happy and healthy one!

The week between Christmas and New Years

Makenna is home from school for 10 days and we have been trying to find things to do each day this week. Can I just say that I'm not used to being home all day with her. Needlesstosay, I'm sleep great at night. LOL!

Monday we stayed home all day since the winds were updwards for 60 miles per hour -- Sheesh! When there was a calm in the storm, we took the jeep out for a spin. Let me tell you, when Makenna gets her drivers license she better not be driving the way she does in the jeep. She doesn't pay attention and runs into other cars and people. She's always changing the radio station and talking on her cell phone. I've created a monster. Check out the new wheels!

Tuesday we went to build-a-bear. Makenna made her ump-teenth bear. This one came home with Hello Kitty PJ's and Slippers. Guess what her name is... PRINCESS (I'm sure this is a phase and at somepoint SOON not everything will have to have the name princess). After build-a-bear, we came home and tried out my new camera. I've had my eye on the nikon D60 for a long time, and finally made it a reality this week.

Wednesday we went to the park and out to lunch. It was very mild today and no wind. They say it's returning though so we thought we better hand out outside while the opportunity presented itself.

Thursday we didn't do much. Happy News Years to everyone. This was a lazy day for Makenna and I. We watched movies, read books, and did laundry. Not one of those days that goes down in the history books.

Finally - the last day of the week. I think I'm getting antsy to get back to work and get into a routine. I've been home from work since November 24th reecovering from major surgery. It's time to get back to it! Besides, my house stays cleaner when no one is home. :-)! Not sure what Mak'D and I are going to do today. It's supposed to be 65 degrees. Not that I'm complaining, but this is spring weather. We'll probably go feed the ducks at the park and take the jeep for a spin.