You Know You're Fat When ...

This morning ... I found Daisy eating ...



normal - right?!



however ... she was laying down beside the food bowl with her head over in the bowl!



Yep - fat'n-sassy!!!!



oh my goodness ...



We were laughing about her doing this and "discussing" her weight this morning ...



so, this afternoon while grocery shopping ... I found this!



OH My GOODNESS - had to take a picture! I was laughing so hard in the isle all by myself!



couldn't believe it! AND ... this is exactly what she needs! 50 calorie snacks!



funny ...



happy day ... tammy

The Love Box ...

To make "dull, boring, January" a little more brighter for LeAnna (it's such a let down after all the Christmas excitement) ...

I found this cool "mailbox" ... $1.00 at Target ...

LeAnna decorated it and it became the "Love Box" ...

Throughout the day, everyday, LeAnna can check the mail ... if the flag is up, there is something in the Love Box!

It has anything from little love notes, to pieces of candy or chocolate, gum, or even a scavenger hunt that leads her to a bigger prize that won't fit in the box ... (she's had two hunts so far all around the house)

This is her favorite thing to do as soon as she comes home from school everyday ... we started this about a week ago ...

Today ... she got some Strawberry Shortcake highlighters ... (also on the $1 isle at Target) ...

Trying to be "frugal" while still providing some fun and bringing LeAnna some "joy" to her day in an inexpensive way ...

This will continue until Valentine's Day ... She's really liking the "Love Box" ...

happy day ... tammy

babies, babies everywhere ...

wow - what a busy weekend ...

three sessions ... and all involved toddlers and babies ...

one of my favorite pics this weekend ... was a sweet baby who had just learned to walk on Thursday ... so imagine trying to get some "posed" pics of a very active "walking" baby! Here she is climbing on a chair ... LOVE the diaper cover!!! I must find out where her mommy got it!

busy day ... must get at it!

tammy

Cool School ...

Cool School was today at NCS (Nashville Christian School) ...

Channel 4 WSMV, has an educational segment they do called "Cool Schools" ... they choose a school and then choose a week to go there and focus on the school and their "coolness" ...

anyhoo ... yes ... agree that NCS is a cool school ... however ... not sure how "cool" it is/was to get up at 3:50am this morning to be ready to go "live" in the gym at 4:30am this morning!!!

They showed taped interviews (from earlier in the week) and also live shots from 4:30am - 7:00am ...

"if" you attended this morning you got the day out of school today ... if you didn't attend, you were required to be there from 7:45-11:00am ...

LeAnna chose to be there at 4:30am so she could have a day off! - which she thinks is "cool"!

Several things planned today ... Kaitlyn is over today (she chose to get up early too! ... and if you caught any of the live shots this morning - you would have seen Thomas (that is Kaitlyn's daddy) - doing the early morning "cha-cha" for all of Nashville ... very interesting ... and we have it recorded to prove it!

LeAnna made it on several times ... earlier this week, she was awarded a t-shirt in honor of getting a "caught being good" award ... and it made it on this morning as well ... very cool too ...

you can watch all the clips combined here ... LeAnna is about 1/2 way through ...

click here

then a birthday party this evening for her friend Jordan ...

and a very packed weekend ... 3 clients, plus another birthday party that I'm probably not going to be able to make, getting the Sunday School department back in shape from our busted pipes last weekend and church twice on Sunday ...

whew ... tired thinking about it all ...

happy day ... tammy

The Life Of A Princess ...

Princess turned 3 this week!!!! January 20th ...

Hard to believe we've had her three years now ... she came to us a very small black puffy ball of fur whose eyes you couldn't even see ... now - her "black" coat is starting to show age and lots of gray is coming in ...

Her friend/enemy (depends on the day) Daisy, has outgrown her - officially! I thought "miniature" meant mini, small, etc ... hmmm ... Daisy is anything but that!

It's hard to tell how big she really is until you decide to pick her up ... (hoyer lift please) ... to prove her "bigness" ... here she is laying on a "king size" pillow sham ... yep ... very large compared to the little itty bitty white puff we brought home in October!

Still love her though ... in all her fat, piggy ways ... and she's just 6 months old ...

She loves to antagonize Princess ... actually, they antagonize one another ...but they enjoy playing together ...

Oh ... to be a dog ... lay around all day ... getting your belly rubbed ... picked up and loved on at any given moment ... have your own personal chef, butler, maid, taxi to the beauty shop ... do tricks and get treats ... wow! What a life!

ha!

happy day ... tammy

Trauma/Drama ...

what goes in ... must come out ...

LeAnna had her staples removed today ...

we were hoping for a "non-traumatic" experience ...

well ...

1 staple was stuck ... embedded ... however you want to put it ...

the doc ... was sweating just a bit ... and gave me a sigh of relief when it was over ...

she commented that she had never seen staples like this (we knew this already from the ER last week, that they were "new")

she also said ... "it's going to bleed ... I've got to wedge it out"

EEK!!!

The whole time - I'm telling LeAnna "it's not that big of a deal" ...

yikes! it wasn't "supposed" to be that big of a deal ...

Her friend Miquela spent the night Sunday night and was a big help in keeping her "calm" ... we had to wait for an hour before being seen ... I think every kid in Nashville was sick and at our doctor's office! =0)

Anyhoo ... after an hour and 45 minutes ... we left ... tear stained shirt and "open" laceration ... yep ... could have used a stitch or two for sure ... but the doc decided to let it be ...

it happened to be the same spot they left gaping open a bit at the ER last week ... go figure right?!

here's two of the staples ... for the sake of comparison ... the one that looks like a bat or an "m" is what they are supposed to look like ... the embedded one below it ... yep she cried hard on this one!

playing at home later ...

She's fine now ... and happy it's over! Now just "time" ... to heal completely ...

whew!

trauma and drama ... all wrapped up in one laceration!

Back to business as usual ... I guess ... but what is usual? or normal? Okay ... "our" usual/normal! ha!

happy day ... tammy

Mini for me ...

I found something "new" ... to me ... apparently it's not that new ... was introduced a few months ago ... but anyhoo ...

As many of you know ... I'm all about "presentation" ... I get VERY excited about small packaging, items presented in a "fun way", "trial size" items ... anything that catches my attention in it's uniqueness ...

so ... imagine my excitement ... when I find out that Krispy Kreme has a new "mini" doughnut!

WHAT?!?!?!? Woo-Hoo!!!!

Excited ...

so ... yesterday ... we checked them out ...

I was so excited in the doughnut shop ... (I know ... but hey, it's the little things - right?!)

So ...

here they are ...

I know ... they look "normal" right?!

so ... here's this ...

Mini's on the left ... normal size on the right ...

And ... here ... in Nate's hand ...

are these not the cutest things you've ever seen?!

ha! oh well ...

here's the "nutrition" info on the mini's vs. an original ...

Original Krispy Kreme:

Calories - 200

Fat - 12g

Carbs - 22g

Mini Krispy Kreme:

Calories - 90

Fat - 5g

Carbs 10g

Looks like I've found a new 100 calorie snack!

happy day ... tammy

Answering My Own Questions ... when the "question" should have been the "answer" to begin with ...

... been reading this morning ... which led me to "think" a bit this morning ...

have you ever used the words ... "but God ... "

as in ... but God, what about this ... what about that ... but God why this ... why that ... but God why do I feel this way ... why do I think this way ... why do I think "so-and-so" thinks this or that way about me ... but God why is this happening to me right now? and so on and so on ... "

ever been there?

... probably everyone at some point in their life has used those words in front of their many questions ... "but God" ... I know I have ...

but in reading this morning ... new light was shed a bit to me ...

instead of ... "But God ..."

try adding ... "But God ... is in control" ...

sort of changes the perspective a bit ...

so next time I start to "question" ... I need to "answer" like this instead...

Several people in my world come to mind who could use this "change" in their thought process today ... I'm in hopes that it encourages you the way it did me ...

be encouraged ... because ... He IS in control ... of everything!

happy day ... tammy

Have You Ever ...

so ...

helping my Pastor's wife out by looking for an ice breaker game for an upcoming ladies meeting ...

found this ...

however ... not going to use this ... because once again, I was reminded ... that you know I always say ... "if it's going to happen, it happens to me" ... "I'm jinxed" ... "when it rains it pours" ... you know the old cliche's ... anyhoo ...

the idea with this particular game ... is to ask these questions to all the ladies, with each lady receiving one point for each one she can say yes to ...and the lady with the lowest score is the winner ...

hmmm ...

ALL of these have happened to me!

.... I would only win if you could receive the MOST points! - ha!

oh well ... on the search for another game ...

see if you can say yes to any of these!

Have you ever...

1. Locked yourself out of the house?

2. Lost a member of the family while out shopping?
3. Put something unusual in the refrigerator?
4. Turned white colors pink (or another color) in the wash?
5. Gone away from your home and left the iron on?
6. Put your heel through the hem of a dress?
7. Had your zipper break in public?
8. Gone somewhere with two different shoes or socks on?
9. Remembered an appointment after it was too late?
10. Called a member of the family by another name?
11. Been ready to bathe and found no hot water?
12. Fallen up the stairs?
13. Gone shopping for groceries and discovered you did not bring any money with you?
14. Driven away from somewhere while a member of your party was still out of the car?
15. Dialed a phone number and forgot who you called?
16. Locked the keys in your car?
17. Got into the car to go somewhere and forgot where you were going?
18. Put something in the oven to bake and forgot about it?

embarrassed to say ... but yes, these all have happened to me at some point in "my time" ...

happy day ... tammy

45 Month Anniversary ...

Okay ...

we are only 12 days into this year already ... and we've had several ordeals already!!!!

oh my goodness ... just hoping this is not a "gauge" of things to come this year! Praying against that!

Whew ...

rough night ... I was up every few minutes checking on LeAnna and then every time she moved I was up ... where the laceration is on her head, (top back right) I didn't want her turning and laying wrong with it being open like it was ...

she slept a long time ... I finally woke her up a little after 10am ...

we had to eat, bathe, get dressed and leave for our appointment to the surgeon ...

an ironic moment ... when I realized that Dr. Christian (whom we seen today) actually performed her open heart surgery exactly 45 months ago today ...

whew ...

we were there for a while ... but got a very good report ...

after x-rays and reviews ... the Dr. said that everything was in correct position, bone structure wise ... and the sternal wires were in their proper places ... so she was not worried about that ... one of the places LeAnna has been complaining about is an internal suture ... she said in a couple of years - soft tissue would form over it and it would not be as bothersome ... other than that, she couldn't really explain the "chest pain" ... other than, there will be aches and pains that she will experience because of going through the open heart surgery ... and also that at her age, it is common to experience chest pain anyway ... she said in 3-6 months she probably won't feel anything at all and that she's just very "aware" of any pain right now. She assured us that she is not worried at all. Which is exactly what we wanted and needed to hear!

So ... this evening ... several times LeAnna has come to me saying, "Mom, I'm hurting again" and I explain to her that it's okay and that she has lots of stuff in there but it's okay and it will not hurt her and that she will be okay ...

Whew ... it's just hard ... when I really and truly don't know (no one does, but her) her level and kind of pain that she is experiencing ... and as a Mommy, I just want to make it all okay ...

I'm just trusting God that all is well and she's in His hands and everything is going to be okay.

Whew ...

After we left her office ... LeAnna asked if we could go to a few places that she explained earlier today she had "good memories" there ... =0)

so we went to the gift shop ... we went to Taco Bell/Pizza Hut in the food court and we stopped by the "stage" area with all the butterflies ...

to her ... these were "good memories" ... because it gave her a bit of "escape" from all the wires and beeping machines during our stay in our little room ... and also our visits back for check-ups ...

while we were eating in the food court ... Nate stopped by a table next to ours and felt impressed to talk to them ... we found out that their little boy (looked to be about 2) had a brain tumor and is having surgery in the morning ... we were able to talk to them for a bit and tell them we would be praying for them ... his name is Gage ... tears came to the Dad's eyes ... and to mine as well as I walked away ... we were leaving the hospital with a good report and they were sitting there in dread and not knowing their future ... yep ... makes you stop and think ... and immediately be thankful ...

another "whew" ...

Wow ... long, stressful last 24 hours or so ...

thankful though ... and very happy with our report ...

thanks for your prayers, we are very appreciative ... tammy

One Little Monkey ... Jumping On The Bed ... She Fell Off And Busted Her Head ...

a nightmare ... every parent's fear ... all those times we've repeated the same cliche's over and over ... until one day ...

it actually happens!

LeAnna was turning flips into the air off of the foot board of our bed ...

she stated that she was just going to do "one more" ...

that one more turned into "no more - ever again!"

She jumped into the air, turned her flip, but instead of landing on the mattress like she always has ... she came down head first on the foot board that she jumped from ...

she did not land on a sharp edge object ... she landed on the flat foot board surface ... but the blunt blow was hard enough to bust her head wide open!

it was all slow motion ...

I heard a loud noise, an "Oh My God No" from Nathan and then silence ... THEN "bloody screams" literally!!!! Blood was coming out everywhere ... we got her to the bathroom, I ran to the kitchen for a towel?

yep ... I lost it for a bit and couldn't think properly ... ran back to the bathroom, got a towel, soaked it in cold water and had Nate apply direct pressure while I went to the closet to put on clothes ... I had just gotten up from a nap ... was still half asleep ... wide awake at this point though... and in my "state" that I was in, I stood in the closet praying for her and not knowing what to wear or how to put my clothes on ... it's stupid now when I think about it ... but I literally didn't know what to do!!! I couldn't think!

There was so much blood on the bathroom floor you would have thought a murder took place! It was awful!

anyhoo ... long story short ... it happened at 4:20pm and we were at Vanderbilt Children's ER by 4:45 ...

... SO glad we went that extra few miles and went to Children's Hospital ... they're the best and we were in and out of there in 1 hour and 20 minutes! Record time for an ER visit!!!!

However ... due to some questions they had about her chest pain issues ... they hooked her up to a heart monitor and decided to do staples instead of stitches ... it's much quicker than sewing up ... and not knowing what the chest pain was coming from they wanted to do what they had to do quickly and it not be as traumatic ...

HOWEVER ... deadening the area was traumatic enough! She was a very brave girl and a trooper!!! I was just glad they had her good and numb before they took this stapler and started stapling pieces of metal into my baby's head!!!!!!

AAAHHHHH ... I hurt for her so bad ... oh my ...

her laceration was 2 centimeters long and about 1 centimeter deep ... it required 6 staples.

which will stay nicely in place for 7-10 days ...

she still smiled for a picture ... =0)

Nate took this right after they put the staples in ... a little blurry but you can see that they left it gaping open a bit ... I questioned it to the attending physician who came around to inspect the resident's work ... she said they started using a new kind of staples that didn't pinch it up as hard and they tend to leave it open a little ... she also stated that it was open a little too much, but that it would be okay ... just to watch it ... AAHHHHH ... I'm thinking "okay, we're already numb, do what you have to do - I don't want to come back!" ... it almost looks as if the staples didn't help that much ... oh well ...

this pic is after the blood dried ...

On the way home ... I was a limp dish rag ... coming down from my adrenaline high ... I had high sugar issues contributing to my "high" which made it worse for me ... so my high was high ... ha ... anyhoo ... I was already feeling anxious about our doctor's visit on Monday ... this added to the mix made it a great situation for me! Thank God for fast acting insulin to remedy situations such as this!

oh well ... Life ... it happens! and not always the way we plan for it to!

All the Batson grandkids have offically had some type of busted head injuries and were treated at Vanderbilt Children's hospital ... they have all been "initated" and are now ready to get on with life! (LeAnna brought us to this realization)

I'm just happy that she was okay and that it wasn't as bad as it could have been ... I guess when you are in the middle of that type of situation you tend to think the worse ... Just glad all is well now ...

Whew ... Life is always throwing some kind of punch ... I think I'm ready for some "hawaiian punch" ... ha!

happy day ... tammy

A Night Out ...

Girls night out ... for Mom's birthday ...

We started out at Opry Mills ... we shopped til we dropped!

Then on to the hotel ...

the view from our room ...

We had dinner and then walked around for a while ... and ended up at ... wouldn't you know it ... the Arcade! Thanks to LeAnna as our "tour guide" ... she had been there before and had us walk around until she finally found it!

We took turns "speed racing" in a virtual car and then basically blew $5 worth of tokens! Oh well ... she had a blast and we all had fun with her!

then ... back to the room to "retire for the evening" ...

We were up early for breakfast ... we met Mom and Judy's cousin Betty at the Water's Edge Marketplace Buffet for a wonderful, anything you can imagine buffet! Definitely want to go back ... they serve breakfast, brunch and then dinner ... THANKS Betty for breakfast and for the room!!!!

It was a great "night out"! And a great way to celebrate Mom's birthday by getting away on the "other side of town" instead of going "out of town" ... mini trip! ... nice.

happy day ... tammy

A Birthday ...

Happy Birthday to Mom ...

she is 67 today ...

I took her to Bluecoast Burrito for lunch and then we went to find her a new stove to replace her "well used" one that's on its last leg.

This evening we went to O'Charley's and celebrated her day with family ... it was a very nice evening ...

tomorrow however, is the real party ... it's a "girls night out" ... Judy and I are splitting a room at the Opryland Hotel and Mom, Judy, LeAnna and myself are going there tomorrow afternoon and spending the night ... a "night out" in the Opryland Hotel ... dinner, shopping and LOTS of walking around and then breakfast in bed on Saturday!

We picked LeAnna up from school today and then headed over to Wolf Camera to pick up an order I had placed ... VERY EXCITED about my little deal I found ... I have actually put one of my "2009 goals" into action this week! One of my goals was to take advantage of this really good deal at Wolf Camera and have all my digital pictures printed from my 2 hard drives ... on Tuesdays and Wednesdays you can print unlimited pictures for .05 cents each! Unheard of! However ... they are glossy and are only 3 1/2 x 5 ... but ... that's actually better for scrapbooking and fine for just putting into an album ...

So ... I'm well under way with 200 pictures down and 1,000's more to go (literally) ... I had Christmas 2005 printed ... ha! yep - that's how behind I am ... however ... once you go digital, it's VERY easy to shoot, upload and then leave them there! And with my big scare of thinking I had lost every picture back in December ... I'm very excited about my "printing goal" for 2009!

AND ... looking through these pictures from 3 years ago ... oh my goodness ... WOW! LeAnna has grown so much!!! It was a nice reminisce ...

On the way back home, LeAnna was eating a snack and starting crying because a VERY lose tooth "moved" a little too much with her snack and started bleeding ...

Nana promised LeAnna some moo-la if she would let HER pull the tooth! (we've all been begging her to let us pull it for days now! - it was hanging so low that she could do a "Nanny McPhee pose perfectly)

and she did! Nana pulled it! and LeAnna has a bit more $ to add to her piggy bank! (she's saving for Spring Break ... but to hear her say it, she says, and I quote - "I've got to raise money for my trip too, just like you and Daddy have to raise money for our trip") - ha!

just very happy this tooth is FINALLY out!!!



... I'm feeling better about the situation on Monday ... I'm very aware of the possibility of surgery, but I feel peace and for that I'm thankful ... I appreciate your prayers more than you know ... I'm very thankful for many of you who have spoken a special word of faith on our behalf ... it's appreciated more than you know ...

happy day ... tammy

Spontaneous is NOT always a good word ...

So ... LeAnna's the one with the chest pain ... BUT, I'm the one who had the heart attack yesterday!

Oh MY Goodness ... just when you think it can't get worse ... well ... let me start from the beginning ...

We took LeAnna to the doc yesterday due to her now more frequent complaints of chest pain ... not your "I can't breathe" chest pain - we would have been at the ER a long time ago if that were the case ... she has had pain in her chest area where a sternal wire is protruding ... and to be on the safe side we made an appointment at the doctor ...

so ... appointment yesterday ... and her pediatrician said she deserved a second opinion with the surgeon who performed the surgery 3 1/2 years ago ... not an emergency, but they would refer and set up an appointment this week and call us with the info ... and in the mean time keep a "pain journal".

I got a call before I got home with the appointment of next Monday at 1:45 ...

THEN ... after being home less than 10 minutes the phone rang and it was the surgeons office ... stating again the appointment day and time and for LeAnna not to eat 6 hours prior to the appointment ... because once Dr. Christian evaluated it might be necessary to go straight to the OR ... for us to bring a bag but not to worry it was possible she would go home Monday night after surgery and that it would take longer to get her to sleep than to actually do the surgery ...

WHAT?! WHAT?! AND WHAT did you just say?!

explain again ... a little slower ... and in ABC 123 terminology that I can comprehend at this said moment please!!!!!

because even though I heard everything that was "coldly" and in a "matter of factly" manner stated to me ... I did not comprehend that my child could possibly have surgery at VUMC on Monday afternoon ...

again ... sorry ... WHAT?!?!?!?!?!

yes ... stress level rising ... tears flowing ... and in a few nano seconds - one million thoughts went through my head of what to tell LeAnna!!!

the child who 2 hours before was afraid of getting a simple shot at the doctor?!

the child who just last summer (3 years after surgery) was still making mention of waking up during surgery? (which we had already been to see the surgeon 2 1/2 years ago when all this came up and finding validity in what she had to say about it ... Dr. Christian said there was no way a 3 year old could come up with what she told her she remembered) ... anyhoo ... KNOWING all this ... I just couldn't imagine telling LeAnna that even though we were just going to be checked on Monday that it was possible they would wisk her off to surgery ... aaahhhhhh - NO! oh yeah, and by the way - don't eat or drink all day - just in case!

Can't even begin to describe my state of mind at that moment ... and what all I was thinking ...

We have decided NOT to mention this to LeAnna for now ... so if any of our "little friends" are reading this, parents PLEASE don't let them mention it to her ...

I tried calling the surgeons office back to discuss this and see if there was an option to just "evaluate" on Monday and "schedule" surgery for another day if needed ... no answer ...

SO ... this morning ... tried again ... finally got through (specialty surgeon's office and VUMC on top of that!) ... the lady who I got patched through to, said, "oh yes, Ms. Batson, I have you here on a list to call ... was just getting ready to contact you ... after speaking with Dr. Christian again, she said LeAnna does not have to be NPO for the visit (meaning she can eat and drink up until the appointment) and that surgery would not fit into Dr. Christian's schedule for Monday afternoon if needed" ...

WOW! relief! for now ... however, knowing there is still a possibility ... but at least we can 'schedule' something instead of the spontaneity approach! (my little brain invisionment - "dr. christian to leanna ... well, leanna looks like you need these sternal wires out that are protruding ... hmmm ... I have some time to kill in the next hour before I go to dinner ... let's just put on this gown, lay on this gurney and we'll head to the OR now!)

anyhoo ... they are "thinking" it's the sternal wires ... they don't know yet ... they acted as if it were a common thing and a common procedure to remove them ... whatever ... nothing is COMMON about surgery and being put to sleep no matter how minor!

So ... we still do appreciate any prayers you pray on her behalf ... because if it is necessary later to remove them ... she is going to need prayer to get through this mentally ... especially "remembering" the last surgery ...

I covet your prayers.

limp as a noodle but coping - ha!

happy day ... tammy

First Annual Friendship Day ...

... a very busy first day of the week on this first full week of this new year ... (I know - I went back and read this twice because it sounded funny - ha) anyhoo ...

LeAnna was invited to attend a birthday party today for her friend Sophie ... we found out Friday that she was having a Hello Kitty party, so LeAnna was insistent that she have the new Hello Kitty at Build-A-Bear ... SO ... we got up early and was at the mall in Franklin shortly after they opened this morning ... the party was at 11am ... so we were in slight fast paced mode ... we made it to Ashland City from Franklin by 11:10 ... not too bad, if you know the distance from Bellevue to Franklin, make a "kitty" at Build-A-Bear (and yes, she took the time to jump up and down 3 times, spin around touch the "heart" to her head, cheek, and heart and kiss it before inserting it AND give the kitty a bath and pick out clothes, and enter the info for a birth certificate, walk back through the mall and drive to Ashland City ... oh yeah and we went to McDonalds on the way to the mall ... yikes! (no officer, I didn't see a speed limit sign - what sign?)

moving right along ... (literally) - ha!

Sophie turned 5 on Friday and we celebrated with them at Cheesecake Factory Friday evening ... and then her "private party" was held today ... in other words ... Jaden was at grandma's house! ha! The girls had fun eating, decorating their own personal "cupcakes" and playing games ... the mommies had fun chatting ...

THEN ... it was off to pick up Kaitlyn ... today was "their" Friendship Day! and from this time forward - January 5th has been declared as "their personal friendship day" ...

LeAnna came to me a week or so ago and said, "Mom, we celebrate Mommy's day, Daddy's day and Grandparents day ... but we don't have a friend day - so Kaitlyn and I decided we would have our own day" ... so that's how it all started ...

So ... Kaitlyn brought over her Build-A-Bear closet and a special bear friend and they played all afternoon with their dress up closets and bears ... it was "their" last time together while still on Christmas break ...

no more sleeping late ... no more staying up late ... it's back to school for these girls tomorrow!

LeAnna was in the bed by 8pm this evening ... and I did some much needed work on the computer ...

I tried two new recipes this evening ... both very good and will be made again ... however ... was in a bit of a time crunch and didn't take the time to do pics ... however, I had good intentions to do so to be added to table for three ... next time ... goal is to cook every night this week ... so maybe tomorrow nights meal will be a "newbie" and I'll have more time to do some pics ...

LeAnna has a doc appointment tomorrow ... she's been having some chest pain and it has been occurring more often in the last few days ... I'm "thinking" it's that silly wire pushing it's way through on a bone ... it is protruding a bit ... (one of the wires that was used to hold her breast bone together after open heart surgery 3 1/2 years ago) ... please say a prayer for her and my peace of mind ... let me tell you - it's NOT fun when your "heart patient" child starts coming to you with chest pain! I honestly believe everything is okay ... however, I just need some peace of mind to know it's just that wire and nothing else ... I totally appreciate your prayers. I'll post the results of the visit tomorrow ...

happy day ... tammy

Easing Into The Creative Mode ...

yep - "Christmas Music" dilemma ...

how easy peasy was that?! I'm so dumb ... I practically gave it away talking about my "backward masking" - ha! oh well ... it's the "holi-daze" still trying to wear off!

so ... pretty lazy day ... did "some" more cleaning ... almost back to normal ... did some shopping - bought some needed items that were on sale through today only!

still nothing spectacular for the table ... didn't really shop for that today ... but on the "to-do" list ...

as far as being "creative" ... I went to Michaels and took advantage of their sale that was also through today only, and purchased scrap pads of paper ... 40% and 50% off ... very cool ... and very cool paper I might add ... excited about being creative with it ... =0)

READY for school to start so I can really get things back to normal ... however ... as soon as I get back to normal, school will be out for Spring Break and then opportunity to get back to some type of normal for about 2 months and then school will be out for the Summer! Oh MY ... I've got to get my "creativeness" flowing for "what to do" this Summer ... we're not doing a Summer Vacation this year ... because we're doing a Spring Break in Disney World and a Fall Break in Hilton Head in October ...

so ... got to be creative in keeping her occupied ... last year - my "81 Moments" and drawing from the box of weekly activities and frequent library trips worked out GREAT! so - yep, got to come up with some clever creativity ...

hoping this day finds you feeling "happy" in this NEW Year! ... tammy

c i s u m ... s a m t s i r h c ... Dilemma ...

... taking down my Christmas "decor" ...

was planning on doing it today or tomorrow ... sometime before the weekend was over ...

but Nate called and said, "PLEASE, have the Christmas stuff down before I come home" ...

Yikes! ... so ... that's what I've been doing ...

however ... what type of music do you listen to when taking it all down?!

wonder what backward masking would sound like with Christmas music?! hahahahah ... would Santa go back up the chimney and Rudolph's nose turn back to black ... hmmm ....

anyhoo ... another "issue" I'm having today ...

My home has been heavily decorated since September ... with Fall and Christmas ... and with taking everything down and putting it away ... everything is so empty feeling ... sort of "blah" ...

hmmm ... maybe I should put my WORD into action and "create" something! ha! I have plenty of decor it's just that "let-down after the holiday's" type of feeling ...

maybe I need to do something on my Dining Room table ... that would probably make me feel better ... for the last 4 months the table has heavily occupied some serious decor ...

so maybe I'll go "create" something to help the "blahness" subside ... =0)

I'll post a picture if the creation actually subsides any of the "blah" ... ha!

(did anyone get the title of this post? comment what you think it is - I'll reveal it tomorrow)

happy day ... tammy

It's An Alpha Kind Of Day ...

Welcome 2009 ...


A new, fresh day ... not just any new day, but the actual first day of a brand new year!


This makes me happy ... I know ... I'm weird - in how I view this ... but, we're all weird to some extinct ... some more weird than others ... and that would probably include me ...


anyhoo ...


I moved the slider, so to speak ... and I began focusing on my goals today ...


... this alpha day of the year.


I mentioned that I had set some goals for 2009 ... and I'm not sure I'll share all those ... they are my personal goals ... and not to jinx myself, I'm going to try and accomplish a few of these goals before I blog about them ... =0)


However ... there is one goal that I will speak of ...


I made a decision to focus more on myself this year ... not in a selfish manner, by no means - but in a way that by focusing on "me", it will allow me to "be more" to others. I put a lot of thought into this ... and after talking to Renee about her "OLW" (one little word) that she used for herself last year and is continuing this year ... she encouraged me to do the same ... (her "word" was used throughout the year as a focus in many different areas of her life)


however ... I couldn't just think of "ONE little word" ... I found many ...


SO ... I sat for awhile yesterday ... pondering thoughts back and forth ... trying to decide how to incorporate something like this into my "goals", etc ... and ... I came up with this ...


I decided to have a Word-A-Month ...


I created a small box that holds 12 words on separate pieces of folded paper. Each month, I will draw a new Word ... that Word will be my focus for the month ... to act on, do and be that word in some form or fashion ...


This is exciting for me. Knowing that at the beginning of a new month, I will have a new word to focus on ... It is VERY, extremely hard for me to admit this ... but I tend to be a "starter" instead of a "finisher" type person ... I can come up with all kinds of ideas and implement them, but following through for a very long period of time is tough for me ...


SO ... doing this on a month-to-month basis should help me feel a sense of accomplishment, while at the same time, remaining positive about helping myself while in turn helping others.


I created my box today ... I drew my first word today ... and it is ... (as you already know from the header of my blog) ...


Create
Cre-ate
1. to bring into existence
2. to produce or bring about by a course of action or behavior
3. to produce through imaginative skill


... what an appropriate word for my Magna Doodle mentality ... ha!




My thoughts are already directed towards this Word of the month ...


My first thought on this "alpha day" ... and VERY appropriate for this "alpha month" ... is



"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew within me a right spirit." - Psalm 51:10



... very cool to draw this word knowing our church is having a month of "focus" on prayer, fasting and dedication to obtaining direction for this new year.




I'm excited about "creating" this month ...


I'm also creating a 12x12 scrapbook this year to reflect my "Word-A-Month" effort. Something else on my "goal sheet" ... along with a few other 12x12 scrapbooks that I'm dedicating myself to this year that will be given as gifts at the end of the year ... Hopefully by setting this reasonable goal of scraping once a month, instead of on a more frequent basis - I will be able to attain it.


fingers are crossed ...




I have my goals printed and hanging in my office area as a reminder to keep me on course ...


I have 10 goals listed and they are all attainable ... I had to do this ... there is nothing worse than setting goals that you know you will never attain ... it does nothing but create negative attitudes and that's the last thing I need.



last year ... (for reflection's sake) ... I did not attain all of my goals ... but I did attain a few ...


first, it was a rough year for me ... physically, mentally, spiritually ... I have issues that I still need to deal with that have not been resolved ... I'm working towards that.


I did however, manage to meet some goals and for that I'm proud of myself.


1. I managed to lose 25 pounds and keep it off (4 months now)


2. I also managed to keep my A1C from raising while losing the weight (a blood test for diabetics to test blood sugar levels over a period of 2 months or so)


3. I dealt with some major hormones and had a consignment sale that got rid of 7 years of LeAnna's clothing and things that were being stored for no other reason other than I was not willing to deal with it before now. Very happy that I did this. very.


... so ... didn't meet all my 2008 goals ... but was able to check off these!





In thoughts today ... I'm wishing you a very Happy, Prosperous, Creative, Learning, Loving, Forgiving, New Year ...


happy day ... tammy




... one little word
A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything.