Hi everybody!!!

I know, I know. I have been a bad blogger, AGAIN!! I don't have any pics to share yet because I haven't really felt like taking any and I hate to blog without adding some visual interest somewhere. But, I wanted to give everybody a status update. I am doing great. The surgery was last Monday and I think I was done by like 1pm? I spent the night in the hospital that first night and actually slept most of that whole day. I woke up a couple of times but thanks to the morphine drip I was out almost as quick as I woke. lol Went home with Mom the next morning and stayed there until Friday to recuperate a little before braving the kids. Thanks so much Mom!!!!! You were an awesome nurse even if I wasn't the best patient! lol The pain has been very little. I took the Percocet mainly at night to help me sleep for about two days and have just been on ibuprofen ever since. Everything seems to be healing really well and they look great (to me anyway! lol) I go back on Friday to get the sutures out and so we will see what Dr. Hagerty says. I think he did a great job and I am going to be very happy with them. He promised 18 yr old boobs again and I do think he delivered! Thank you all for all of the good thoughts, prayers and wishes. I truly think that they have helped make this as easy as it has been. I have been pretty active this week and am in some discomfort tonight so I think tomorrow is going to be an easy day at home. I don't want to jeopardize the healing that is still occurring by overdoing. My wonderful, loving husband has truly been a Godsend this week. He has taken over everything and is making sure that I take it easy even when I try to help. He is doing a great job with the kids and juggling everything. Thanks babe!!!! Love you!!! So anyway, that is the update from here. I am hoping since tomorrow is "take it easy" day that I can get a little crafting in and maybe post a few pictures. Thanks again for all the love you've been sending!!! It has truly been appreciated.

Just checking in...

one last time before surgery. I have to be at the hospital at 6:15 and surgery is scheduled for 8am. I am really getting nervous but I think I have everything done. I have washed all the clothes in the house and put them away (for the most part, lol) I went grocery shopping and got all kinds of easy convenience foods for Matt to make the kids while I am gone. I ironed all my button up shirts and hung them in the bathroom at waist level because I would never be able to reach up and get them out of my closet. My bags are packed, the bills are paid and I have cleaned the cat litter. I hope that is all. lol I will be spending tomorrow night in the hospital and then going to my mom's until Friday. I will have my laptop though so hopefully I will be able to post about my progress in the next few days. Thanks to everyone for all the thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate them and I know that everything will be fine with God's hand on my shoulder through it all. I am hoping that since I will be out of work recuperating for a couple of weeks that I will be feeling up to getting some craft time in. I went Saturday to a Stampin' Up! Stamp Camp and had a lot of fun. We made some really cute cards and met some more amazing women. It is truly amazing how stamping brings a group of women together with a common bond. I cannot wait to get started and make a lot of new friends through my newest endeavor. Thanks Patti for the inspiration and I will definitely be putting your ideas to work! Okay, I am off to bed. I promise to check back in soon and let everyone know how I am doing. XOXOXO

If you are still reading...

Thanks for hanging in there! Things have been so busy around here lately. We have been through the sickies here so that was a lot of fun. Matt had the flu and spent the better part of last week in the bed. Skylar missed three days of school as well but never got terrible. She just ran a fever all week. Thankfully we all were prescribed Tamiflu and so the rest of us were spared the ick. It was hectic trying to do it all for those couple of days though. I don't know how the single mom's do it. My hat's off, truly! Thankfully, at the end of the week, I got a reprieve. For my BIG birthday present (at least in my mind), Mom and Dad volunteered to keep all three of the monsters for the night. So, Friday night I was able to have a break and a breather. I went shopping, had dinner, spent some time with myself and just relaxed. It was very nice! I also got to sleep in for the first time in FOREVER!!! It was really awesome. I haven't done a lot of crafting but hope to do some while I am in recovery in the next couple of weeks. I did make the decision to become a Stampin' Up! demo. My starter kit should be here tomorrow and I can't wait to start playing with all the stuff. I am not much of a salesman but I have really come to love stamping so hopefully I can pass that along to others and have some fun with it. I am not really in it to make money (at least right now). I just wanted to stock up with some product and couldn't pass up the opportunity. Thanks to Patti for all the help and advice. She has been amazing and I could not do this without her! Last, but definitely not least, my surgery is finally here. I go in on Monday and am getting really nervous. I know that it will be all right and I guess it is normal to second guess myself. It is just really making me anxious. Skylar asks me all the time "Did you get your boobies cut off today?" lol She was full of questions and I tried to answer them as best she would understand. I assured her that they would not be "cutting them off as small as hers" nor would they be "popping them like a balloon." She is very excited because I have asked her to be my "little helper" in the coming weeks and she thinks that is the greatest thing ever. She is 'Big Stuff'. lol Anyway, I guess I will close for now. No pictures tonight because I have been slack in that area as well but I promise to get back to that soon. If you are still visiting my blog and have made it this far, thanks again and I pledge to do better in the future!!!
Hugs and happy stamping!!!

Okay, last one for the night...

I had one more swap that I had to get done and decided to use my bird stamp set again. I just love this set! (Thanks Mom!) Not completely thrilled with it but I think the actual stamp came out great. I love to do the water color effect and the owl is just adorable.

Now I need to finish up my house for the Pink House. Hopefully, I will have pics to share of that by Saturday. It is a chipboard (kind of a thin cardboard/thick paper for you non-scrappers) house by Doodlebug Design, Inc that you decorate with cardstock and other embellishments. Really cool idea. Now if I could just translate my concept into reality I will be doing good! lol

A few pics to share

Been awhile since I shared pics of all the kiddos. This is Skylar with her front tooth that is coming in all crooked. Definitely braces in the making but then her Daddy had them and so did I so not unexpected. lol She lost her 6th one tonight. It was so loose it just fell out in her hand...no pulling, no pain. She was so proud that she "pulled it herself".
My stubborn girl. She is going to be the death of me I think. I thought that the other two gave me headaches...oh no, this beautiful, sweet face is going to be trouble in a few years. She is the stubborn-est of all of them. Definitely got my hard head.

My sweet (on most days) boy. He loves to talk on the phone. I am not sure what he was "talking" to Pop about here be he was completely immersed. He definitely did not get that from me!!!

Awww. Sweet Sisterly Love

My latest craft...

Just a quick crafty for tonight. I finally got my last swap done that is due next week. I was first introduced to these a couple of weeks ago at the Pink House during a Cricut class. These cute decorated jumbo paper clips can be used as money or gift card holders, as book marks, place cards, etc. These were made using my Cricut and I had a blast making them.

Okay, so I have once again been a bad blogger! I have been meaning to write about our "camping" trip this weekend but didn't have the pics uploaded until now. So, here they are. Skylar had a Girl Scout camping trip on Saturday and we went out for the day. I wasn't comfortable letting my 6 yr old camp out in the woods with virtual strangers even if it was Girl Scout sanctioned so we just went for the day but she had a blast. We hiked in the woods, learned about camping safety, got to pet and feed the horses and ate s'mores by the campfire.

Here she is with a couple of the girls from the troop.

Picking out beads to make her stepping stone.

Making the stepping stone.

The girls were excited to find turkey, deer and raccoon tracks on our hike.

We also spotted a couple of alligators sunning by the lake which was a big hit! It was a great day and she had a lot of fun. The ladies were very gracious and I helped with a lot of the activities. It was a bit hectic with 12 little girls but we managed. I also learned a new truth about myself: I am soooooo dreading the days of little girl slumber parties! Might have to let her Daddy be in charge of that! lol