Family time this Thanksgiving

I do love this time of year. Thanksgiving in a few days, and then Christmas just around the corner. I love the smells, the lights, the cool weather, and being around family. This Thanksgiving we will be celebrating Thanksgiving at my Grandmas. My Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, my Sister from San Francisco and my Mom will all be there. I am really bummed that Lisa(my older sis)can't make it out. We will miss her very much. And not only are we celebrating Thanksgiving, we get to sing Happy Birthday to my Grandpa and my son. They were both born on November 27th. Yay birthday cake!! We also get to toast with champagne. My sister's Boyfriend proposed on Sunday. Yay again!! I am so happy for them. This Thanksgiving we have so much to be thankful for. I know at times I may not show it or act like it, but I am so blessed with so may great things, especially my Family.
P.S: The picture posted is my younger sister and her fiance CONGRATULATIONS!!!

The funny little thing that Ava does

Do your kid's do cute, funny things when they are getting sleep, relaxing or about to pass out for a nap? My little Ava does the funniest thing. As soon as she gets her bottle with water or milk she goes straight for her belly button. She always seem to do this when she is tired or is drinking something. It's pretty funny. I have heard of kids pulling on there ears or reaching for the satin part of a blanket, but the belly button. It's so funny to me. We noticed it pretty early on. I took a picture so you can see Miss Ava in action. Do your kiddos do anything like this??

STILL in the NICU

I just wanted to thank you Vik for posting and we are still here. We should be going home today. His levels were actually up again. They were 19.5 when we got here and after a few days of photo therapy they went down to 12.4 and are now up to 13.5. I guess it is normal for it to go up on the 5th day or so . We will have to see the doctor tomorrow and have the levels tested.
I must say it had been an very hard year. Many things have happened but I am hoping things will get better. I thought our hospital stays were over . I just need my life to get back on track somehow. Just being here seeing all of the sick babies and kids has made me realize how LUCKY we are to have healthy kids. I cant imagine having a child with cancer or any other serious illness. In the NICU it is pretty sad. We are at the Phoenix Childrens Hospital and it is really a sad place to be. I am grateful the what Abe had was easy to fix even though I must say I was in tears and a total mess the first few days and have had little to no sleep. Just seeing him under those lights and not being able to hold him when he needed me just about killed me.
I did go home for about an hour to take a shower and also gave the girls a shower and got them dolled up since my husband isnt that great at the hair thing. It was nice to see the girls. Also my house is a total mess. I dont know .....mabey a hurricane passed through there while I have been here and it also smells very funky.
I just ask you all to please keep me in your prayers as usual.
Lisa

My poor Nephew is in the NICU

I'm really sad to say that my nephew Abel is in the hospital. They admitted him Thursday night and he has been there ever since. He is Jaundice. His levels on the blood work he had done were very high. My poor sister Lisa has been through so much during her pregnancy. Not only was she sick the whole 9 1/2 months but she also had so many other thing happen during her pregnancy. And she now has her newborn baby in the hospital. We are all praying that he will be home soon. Please say a little prayer for them. I will post pictures as soon as she sends them. Have a good Sunday.

Ablelardo (Abel) has arrived!!!!!!!!!!!

My little man has arrived. I am so happy you guys dont even know. He is the best baby too. Sleeps and eats but does have a temper. He hates to be changed. I mean hates it so I am sure his first sponge bath later will be nice.
The birth went well and he was born Friday after days of contractions and no sleep. I was so tired I felt like I couldnt even push anymore evn though I only pushed for like 20 minutes. This time is the first time I really felt like I got ran over by a train but today is better. I was in the hospital for 2 days mostly because he was having some fast breathing which seems to be something called STRIDER so if anyone knows about that please give me more information.
We are home now and I just ate my first homemade meal (not hospital food) and I must tell you I have never appreciated being able to eat so much. I was still a little nauseated this morning but I think I am getting over it. Sometimes it takes time.
Well thank all of you for your support throughout.
Lisa

My son's bedroom makeover

This weekend was was so nice and a little sad at the same time. We transformed Roberts room into a pre-teen room. We painted his room a darker color, and hung a few things (we have to look for some more photos and football stuff). My Grandparents, my mom, my Uncle and Aunt all pitched in to buy him new furniture and accessories for his new room. They wanted to get him something for his Birthday and decided on helping with his Bedroom makeover. It was so great of them. They bought him A bed, desk, nightstand, bed comforter and sheets, some goodies for his desk and a desk lamp. His room looks great. The sad part is that my little boy is growing up. He will be 12 years old on Turkey day. I am excited about seeing what kind of a young man turns out to be. I really hope I taught him well and hope he will make great decisions in the years to come. Enjoy the makeover pictures. The first picture was the only pic I had of his room before.

YAY!!! My nephew is finally here

If you're wondering why my older sister Lisa has not posted in awhile, well it's because she has been trying to deal with her last days of pregnancy and in pre-labor since Monday night. I felt so bad for her. She finally gave birth to her son this morning at around 9:30am. He weighed 7lbs. 13oz. He was having some trouble breathing at first, but my sister said he is doing well. I don't have pictures yet. I really hope to get them soon. They did pick a name for him but I am not sure if its a sure thing. As soon as I get details I will post them. I can't wait for her to start feeling better and get back to normal. She has had such a hard pregnancy. She really needs a break. I wish we lived closer. These are the times in life when we need family around. Have a great weekend!! Vickie

Fall Ball is over!

Today is Robs last day of Baseball. It was his first season of baseball. He wanted to play baseball instead of football this year. He did pretty good. He liked it but missed the excitement of football. He said he is definitely going to play football next year. I think he looks like a baseball player, but I think it's me just wanting him to play a less aggressive sport. Of course his dad is all over him wanting to play his favorite sport. I am glad that he is up to playing sports, it makes me feel better about him doing something instead of wanting to play video games all day. Either way I would be proud of him. He is always so busy and he still manages to get A's and B's in school. I hope he continues to play sports in middle school next year, and in high school.(oh my gosh he's going to be in middle school next year, 7th grade) I know we are coming up on the hardest years of a preteen's and teenagers life, but I really hopes he find a sport that he loves and sticks with. I love you Rob keep up the good work.- Mommy (Vickie)

Yummy in my Tummy Taco Soup

Every week I make a weekly menu. We really like tacos around here so It's pretty much on the menu once a week. I try to change the taco fillings every once and awhile to make it different. Last week I got my Kraft food and family magazine, and there was a great recipe for Taco soup. I was so excited to find this. It was just what I needed to give Taco Tuesday a little twist. The soup was so yummy and warm for a cold fall evening. Here's the recipe:
1lb. extra lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 onion, chopped
3 cans of chili beans(15 1/2 oz cans) mild chili beans, undrained
1 can of of whole tomatoes(14 1/4oz), undrained
1 can of corn(14 1/4oz), undrained
1 can of tomato sauce(8oz)
1 pkg of taco seasoning mix
1 1/2 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of cheese

- Brown Beef with onions in a large sauce pan; drain
- Add all remaining ingredients except cheese; stir, breaking up the tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Simmer on medium-low heat for 5min.,stirring occasionally.
- Serve topped with cheese
Extra ideas: I added cilantro to mine. I also had a bowl of tortilla chips to dip in the soup.

My family loved it, I hope you give it a try. It was soooo good. -Vickie

My Dollar Tree find

About 2 months ago I was reading one of my favorite magazines(ALL YOU) and I saw some very cute wall stickers. They showed words, designs, neat kids cartoons and other fun stuff. When I first purchased my home I knew I wanted to write things on the walls or put up neat designs. But when I saw this it looked super easy to do and affordable. I looked on the back of the magazine to find out the stickers were from The Dollar Tree. I didn't believe it until I went the following day. I found a few of them that work in my home. One of the them was for the girls play closet. They were wall stickers of the Noggin show Oswald. The other one was the famous LIVE LAUGH LOVE saying.I put that one up in my laundry room.I guess it helps to have that in there to look at when I'm grumpy about doing laundry. They are so cute and make a statement. And hey you can't beat $1.00. Check them out and tell me what you think and then go to The Dollar Tree and see what you can find. Have a great day, Vickie

Decision 2008

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE
I can't wait to see if my guy wins!!!We shall soon find out.

Our fun Halloween

We had such a great day Friday. I took the girls to my Stroller Strides class Friday morning. We had a bunch of goodies. The kids ran around in costumes. The girls had a great time. Later that night we went to a friends house for dinner. We decided to go somewhere a bit different. We went to Riverside Community College. They had some neat things for the kids to do. They even had some science experiments in the lab. We then took them trick-or-treating. They had a great time. This year was so different now that the kids are growing up. We hope you all enjoyed your Halloween and your treats.

What HYPEREMESIS has taught me so far.....

Well you all know I am in my 36th week of this nausea and puking illness and so far I have learned a few things. I know it is hard to relate unless you have had a taste of it but here goes....
1. Eating crackers before I get up and out of bed doesnt work, wont work and please dont suggest it.
2. You learn who your TRUE friends and family are very fast especially after the so called 3 month period when everyone THINKS it is gonna be over never ends till the end.
3. You learn what a strong person you are when you really think about it.
4. You actually know more about hyperemesis than you OB.
5. You could actaully end up being a nurse if you had to inject yourself with medication day in and day out.

I will add more later as I am sure there is more.