Pizza Box Art

Zachery's preschool class decorated pizza boxes and today we could order a pizza and get it in his special box.  I love this idea and, obviously so did he!

I asked him who the people were on the box.  The four people are our family, but the little person at the bottom was a "serious person"?  I asked him again and he said it was just a person who wanted to talk to all of us.  Funny kid and very cheesy smile.:)

 

We are enjoying having a friend, Caden, stay with us this week while his parents are on a lovely trip.  Zach and Caden have been having a blast playing with nerf dart guns, running, hiding, eating, laughing and whatever else they can  find to do.  Today Caden said, "My mom isn't coming to pick me up."  Then I said, "Maybe your dad will then."  To which Caden replied, "No they're not coming."  Oh, "so you're staying here", and he said "yes."  :)

Avery's new starve-her-til-she-eats-during-the-day thing is working out.  She is a little scrounger and has been looking for food all day pretty much!  She took this slice of pizza and was working on it until she gagged on a bigger piece and spit up a little.  Overall it's going well.:)

Bakerella presents Macaroons

I just came across this tutorial on how to make macaroons; not the coconut kind, but the yummy french kind.  About 8 years ago a friend and I went on a trip and while we were in Paris, she showed me this awesome patisserie that specialized in making yummy macaroons.  Yummy doesn't quite do it justice, they were fancy delicious, and my favorite was the pistacio ones.  I'm excited to try to make them and I 'd love for others to try to.  Come over or try it yourself and let me know!
So, are you in?  Will you make macaroons and tell me how it went and if they're delicious?  Here is a link to the site Bakerella.  I'm going to try it next week.  It doesn't look difficult, but there is some prep (egg whites sit out for 24 hours).

C'mon you can do it.

I did it!

I just finished a decoration for Valentine's Day!  I like how it turned out, and I can use it not just for V-day. 

Zach picked out a Z to put in his room and so we made it together, kind of. 

I'm feeling crafty and could modge podge anything right now.  I think completing something is good for the soul.

Eat, girl eat!

I'm getting excited for Valentine's Day.  Not so much for the cards, treats and my Valentine (although these are all great) but I'm missing the Christmas decorations in my house and I want to put some color back in here!  I just came across this tutorial for Valentine's decoration (or you could use it for another holiday, ect.). anyhoo, check it out here.  A friend, Beth, heart attacks her house covering the living spaces with cut out hearts.  I love seeing those hearts all over!  I want to make a wreath to put up, but I'm not sure yet what I want it to look like.  Fun stuff, I need to get cracking!

When I was a little girl, on Valentine's Day evening, we'd get a knock at the front door and when we'd open it there would just be a valentine card to one of us kids from "Tom Thumb" or "Mother Goose" or something like that.  It would continue til all of us received one.  My grandma Christensen lived with us, well in a cottage in our back yard, and she would give us those Valentines.   It was fun and once I caught a glimpse of her running around the house, and that was fun to see. :) 

On a different note, Avery just got switched to a continuous nighttime feed through her g-tube so she gets most of her daily intake at night.  Now, while she's up during the day, she'll get hungry and want to eat orally.  So far, she does seem to be more focused on food!  I'm hopeful that this will help her to eat.  Cross your fingers!  The only lament is I have to get up during the night to add more food to the feeding bag.  The first few nights were rough because she kept waking up and wanted to play with the machine.  Now she's sleeping through it.  Another bonus is she doesn't spit up!!!  She was spitting up (and sometimes it was a lot) if she cried hard shortly after being fed- gravity bag.  Now she can cry and I'm not reaching for a bag or a "chum bucket", not that she was crying a lot, but dear Avery can be sensitive.  So, lots of positives in this arrangement.  2010 is a promising year. :)  I know we're blessed and I don't want to appear ungrateful or insensitive to others.  We have much to be grateful for, and we are! 

Avery is going to have her last planned heart surgery this spring.  We don't have a date yet, but I'm hoping it'll be around the beginning of April.  I'm hopeful that her recovery will be quicker than the last two.  Avery is doing well, she is full of energy and stays busy!  You can't really tell she needs surgery right now, but when she's sick or cries a lot, she gets pale and a little blue around the mouth.  After the next surgery, that won't be the case!!  She will be pink (they tell us).  I'm almost excited for this surgery, it means we're done- well, okay not really, but done having UofM surgery stays!  knock on wood.  I don't want to jinx myself.  When I think about being with Avery up at the hospital my stomach gets in knots.  I have my thoughts/concerns with Avery, but all around you, there are other situations more/less critical and just as anxious.  I've seen parents have to leave without their little ones and that makes it hard to be casual or cheerful when you don't know what kind of day your fellow hall mates are having.

Well, all you can do is be positive and sympathetic (that's not the word I want to use, but I can't think of the one I want right now).

So I know I've made some grammatical errors here in this post, but that's how I think.  Here's to Valentine wreath making and happy days ahead!

Bits and Pieces and Holiday Pics

Today Avery's cardiology appointment went very well.  As we discussed things, Avery walked around in her diaper and socks and gave her stickers to the doctor.   While I have yet to speak to aforementioned woman, from the last post, my faith is restored in the system.  Should I have vented?  Probably not, but what harm was done?  Renae's secretly viscious.

My brother's wife, Jocelyn is doing a month of activities to help teach her kids about a Proclamation on the Family.  It's a great idea and shows the kind of mother she is, awesome.  Feel free to check it out here.

"There's a lot of snow out there."  That's a direct quote from my husband.  His two bits.

I was given a moment today to think about the seemingly small, but actually big blessings we have been given.  The Lord knows what we need and is happy and willing to bless us.  Aren't we lucky.  I'm thankful for that moment I had to realize He is there and watching over us.

Zach looks just like Eric and I here, a fine mix.  He got this awesome lego set from his aunt Andrea and cousins out in Idaho.  Thank you!

Zach took this picture

Avery got this recorder for Christmas and when she figured out how it works, oh she just loved it.  She can communicate better with us and I love this little happy girl. 

Venting

"George is getting upset"!  So now I will vent (Eric is working).  I'm sure it's not a big deal, but what if it is?  Avery's meds, though not life sustaining, interact with one another and everywhere I've read, including reading given to me by the hospital when discharging, say to get regular blood tests to make sure it's all okay.  Fine, good, let's do it.  Now, different philisophy, ect. and it's not necessary to test so often (it's only every 3 months).  I could strangle this one person's neck, she is so condescending and self righteous I could puke all over her if she gave anyone the time of day.  (ok, that was a bit much) 

The point is, I can be in control of her situation only so much.  Her drugs have occasionally been altered due to results from the periodic blood testing, so it appears to be useful.  I think the reason has nothing to do with it not being necessary medically.  What do you do?

This venting is likely one of many coming up this winter and spring.  Avery has started getting things going for her last (crossing my fingers) surgery (sometime this spring).  I can promise you this.  I will be venting again.  I will try to be hopeful and positive.  It just is hard when you can't control everything and you have to rely on so many.  I feel fragile, yet braced for impact.  Help me smile!  It'll be okay.  I can do it, and so can you.

Spanglish Prayer

Zach has been trying to speak a little spanish here and there.  It has something to do with Avery's love for Dora, which she watches while she is tube fed.  For example, we were in Micheal's craft store and Zach started asking me what certain items were, then he'd reply, "oh, that's ----- " clearly making up a word and saying it was in spanish.  It was funny, but after awhile I just said, Okay just talk in english.  I didn't know what he was saying anymore.  I love his enthusiasm for it though.

Tonight, as we knealt to pray, Zach said he wanted to pray in spanish, so with a mix of my high school spanish and mission portuguese knowledge, we did it.  He did stick in a few extra "maria's" and I'm not sure what he thinks that means.  I'll have to ask him tomorrow.  :) It was great.  I'd say it in english first, or have him ask in english, then I'd translate it.  Thankfully our Heavenly Father speaks all languages, mixed up ones too, with extra maria's and all.