updates soon...sort of...

i finally realized today that it has been longer than i thought since i've last blogged. but, i do have stuff to chat about. just never the time to put all my thoughts down.

this past month was a whirl but i'm looking forward to some fun stuff coming up...including a Karen Russell class that's starting soon. =)

anyway, hopefully i will have a chance to sit down and process some of these thoughts, type 'em out & share very soon.

icing on the cake.

so to speak, it's the WORST icing imaginable. so, on top of the craziness with my son's health this week, i found out yesterday my dad has bronchitis. which is bad because he has one lung {the other had been removed in an effort to save him from terminal cancer a few years back}. i also found out today that my credit card number had been swiped at some point and someone had fun charging over $4K to it. {is it wrong of me to hope the person who did this gets nailed by karma BIG TIME?}.

like i said...it kind of tops off my week.

i'm also starting to believe that driver's licenses must be given away in cereal boxes. i thought about it today - quite a few times, actually - as i got behind one BAD driver after another. i thought how this has been happening all week - and, it's a scary trend in my mind. i mean, how do you ride BOTH lanes, not use signal lights when merging or switching lanes and think that it's OK to sit in the middle of an intersection in trying to make it through before the light turns red??? and, amusingly enough {but, not amusing when experiencing it in real time}, why do people act like they don't know how to drive in the rain when it has been raining for the past 8 days?????.

on a positive note, we got the green light for little dude's surgery. his congestion is better. and, now to work on getting him there and through it. what a hurdle.

at wit's end.

when i say i've been to the pediatrician's 1-2 times a week for the past 1-1/2 to 2 months, rest assured that it's no exaggeration. between amelia's pneumonia and getting her seasonal allergy attacks under control {finally} and james's ear infections and colds i swear the doctor's office has a room reserved for us. and, when i go in and they ask to see the insurance card and a verification on address, all i can do is chuckle {otherwise, i'd lose my mind}.

we have surgery for james scheduled next week. he needs a cyst removed from near the tear duct of his left eye. he also needs tubes at this point - his ears are red and inflammed. the poor kid. the latest and greatest: he's developed head and chest congestion. call it spring allergies...call it the 8 straight freakin' days - and counting - of rain stirring the pot...but we've got an issue on our hands. he's on two meds to try to clear things up and dry things out...otherwise we've got to reschedule the surgery and delay much needed procedures that have us otherwise bouncing in and out of the doctor's office. he goes back for a well-visit tomorrow. if you could just kindly keep him in your thoughts & prayers - hopefully, with any luck, we'll be trending in the right direction and can get the little guy back on track early next week with the procedures that need to be done.

a new kind of yum.

if you're stopping by for the first time, let me explain: i'm a baker. i've always been a baker. i love to bake - trying new recipes...whipping up the old as well. here's the proof:



so, this recipe was my latest adventure in the world of baking. and, it was very satisfying. =) this household is a huge fan of cupcakes. the kids love them. and, the adults...well...it's like the perfect portion of cake. i made giant vanilla coconut cupcakes for my husband's birthday - just take a peek at the picture on my blog banner.

but, pie has always been a huge favorite here, too. i'm just not the master of pie crust. so, i'm checking out a few options and i'm hoping to hone those skills a bit more. i've heard this recipe provides a no-fail promise to pie crust perfection. i mean...isn't everything better with a little vodka? now i just have to check it out for myself.

valium, wine & weeds.

my mom recently asked me what i wanted for my birthday in a few weeks.

i chuckled and asked her if she could hook me up with a year's supply of valium. seriously. that would be nice. =)

OR...my own private wine closet...with my favorite stashes from napa and sonoma.

valium and libations aside, these things would be pretty cool:

Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Autofocus Lens - and the sucker is backordered too...most likely because it's so amazing...

that would be a totally amazing surprise...

i could also use a new watch. and, this would be super fun...

and this is very pretty {i have a weakness for anthropologie}.

crazy as it seems, right now, i'd take a landscaping service to come in and do some much needed spring cleaning in my yard...edging, weeding, topsoil and new mulch...tear out some shabby looking shrubs. the flower beds look a bit like something you'd see in Where the Wild Things Are. guess what this girl is going to be working on over the next few days? yep...researching landscaping services and calling in for estimates. =)

here are a few quick layouts i put together recently:

and...

this past week was pretty crazy. amelia had some respiratory relapses with her allergies. looks like the nebulizer is here to stay for awhile, along with some allergy meds to use during the rough seasons. james got yet another ear infection. we're looking at tubes next month, during the same time his cyst will be removed from near his eye.

i think the best birthday gift right now would be everything settling down a bit. happy & healthy. yes...that would be good, indeed.

argh.

originally, i wanted to title this post, "about ready to lose my freakin' mind", but i decided not to.

still doesn't change how i feel today.

got a lot of things going on lately and all the health stuff going on with my kids has me a bit overloaded. i need things to level off a bit.

on the upside, my daughter is feeling loads better and recovering from the pneumonia. we don't know if she has asthma and we won't know that for awhile. what we DO know is that when she gets a cold, her respiratory gets nailed. for whatever reason, it's her achilles heel. so, what she doesn't seem to have in cold and allergies right now, she makes up with a bit of spunk and defiance. "no...i don't want to" and "no...YOU do it..." has me gritting my teeth with this new test of wills.
my latest and greatest news is how we have been practicing how to draw circles. and, while we haven't worked on it in a few days, apparently she has worked on it all by herself...by using a pen on the comforter cover in our guest room. so, i'm currently washing that, muttering sweet nothings under my breath.

some headway was made for "little boy". =)

his surgery has been scheduled for his eye and ears. BUT, i found out today that his iron levels just won't get to where they should be with normal iron supplements, so ferinsol three times a day is the next step. that and lean red meat {okay...we can do this} and leafy green vegetables {ha. say that to a 15 month old who is a carb and meat fanatic}. good times ahead. hemoglobin still low thanks to the beta thalassemia trait he got from me. i hate feeling like i gave my kid bad genes, so i've been beating myself up a bit this afternoon. at least, as my husband points out, he's a happy kid, and we're working on fixing the other stuff. and that, i am thankful for.

on the upside...it's a gorgeous day out. i think we're going to go outside and enjoy it a bit - and forget all these other things right now. tomorrow promises to be nice too, so maybe i'll get a chance to take some photos of new layouts and post them.

if you knew the half of it...

you'd understand why i haven't posted in awhile.

here's a quick breeze-thru:

daughter's allergies turned into pneumonia...

son ran through an MRI and is prepping for surgery for a cyst near his eye and possible tubes in his ears...(and caught sis's cold...)...

lots of crazy nights with kids up, crying...

cold, dreary, rainy weather wiping everyone out...

*sigh*

i think everyone can use a break about now.

here's a semi-recent layout i finished for the SC blog. it was another rainy, icky day here when i took the photos and i've since brightened it up now that i'm fumbling my way through learning photoshop...

and i'm happy to say i have two other layouts to photograph and post. now...to find the time...

hope everyone is having a stellar weekend...!