Chelsey turned 22 today. Yesterday my Dad threw a big shin dig. We had Italian food, orange julius, salads and a Cold Stone Creamery ice cream cake. I am writing what we ate because I really like food.

Cousin Stacey surprised us with a visit.

Of course my Dad called in the band.

And the bumpkins.

My favorite picture.

And the story teller thoroughly captivated my daughter.

Oh wait. I lied. This is my favorite picture.

The only criticism I have is that there was no pinata.

A few years ago my Dad got a pinata and filled it with pecans, oranges, and unwrapped chocolate that became coated in dirt once the 50 pound pinata filled with oranges, hit the ground.

Needless to say, that was the only time I have ever seen no one go for the loot from a cracked pinata.

How I wish we had a video of that. That would provide me hours of entertainment.

Okay I know my moves leave much to be desired, but Kate Gosselin is seriously well...see for yourself.




And this had me in tears.

My Date With Destiny

Well my date with destiny did not turn out well.

Now if I were a mystery writer, I would have waited until the end of this post to reveal that fact.

However I am not into suspense right now.

I have been in suspense for 10 days and today I am just grateful to know.



I am not like "normal" pregnant women.

When I am 6 weeks along, the powers that be, make me come in for a little afternoon tea.

Okay not really, I actually come in for an ultra sound.

That was 10 days ago.

You see I have something called Factor V Leiden.

It is a pretty common blood clotting disorder.

A lot of people have it and don't know it.

1/20 of the Caucasian Population actually.

It usually doesn't cause problems.

But it caused problems for me.

And it put me in intensive care a few years ago with a massive blood clot in my leg.

An experience that is definitely in my top 3 list of worst life experiences ever.

Anyway.

Because of this unfortunate event, when I am pregnant I have to inject myself twice a day with blood thinning heparin.

Thus, the reason the powers that be, have me come in for tea.

They like to get me started on my shots ASAP. But they want to make sure there is a viable pregnancy first before I get started with the unpleasants. Which I think is very nice of them.

Almost 4 years ago I went in for my first Ultra Sound.

And on that monitor I saw a little flashing light.

That little flashing miracle.

The heartbeat of my soon to be, little red headed joy of my life.

10 days ago I went in for my 6 weeks appointment and no flashing light.

My Doctor told me not to jump to conclusions-it might be too soon to see.

I told her I am a pessimist, and jumping to conclusions is what I excel at.

But she said, well come back in 10 days, and we will check again.

Well that was today.

I have been preparing myself for either scenario.

Flip flopping from hope, to accepting the possibility it might not work out.

But praying that either way I would be okay.

And today my prayers were answered.

I didn't see a flashing light on the monitor.

But I didn't cry.

I felt "okay."

Everyone at the office was extremely kind.

After my ultrasound 2 different Doctors came in and talked to me.

I told the first one that came in that he was always the one who delivers the bad news to me.

When I was pregnant with Chloe I had an ultrasound that detected possible birth defects.

And he was the Doctor that came in and told me.

So now, his reputation continues!

I told him next time I see him, he better have GOOD news.

He said he hoped so too.

And then the second Doctor told me she knew how I felt because she had 9 miscarriages and never had any children.

Now that made me want to cry.

When I got home my little Chloe joyfully beamed, "Mommy, Mommy!"

My favorite word.

And that made me very, very happy.

Hopefully someday soon I will have a little chorus singing "Mommy"!

But until then, I am going to enjoy my little soloist and just be thankful for all the blessings (and curses!) that come along with being a woman.

Easter

Gorgeous weather. Going to church in the comfort of your own home. Variety of scrumptious foods and baked goods. Spring colors everywhere. I love Easter.

B-17

We took a field trip to Deer Valley to check out a restored B-17 Bomber.
My Dad's older brother flew one of these in WW II so my Dad is fascinated with them.
WWII soldiers are rock stars in my opinion. Heck no would I ever get into a plane when I knew I was going to be shot at. I barely like flying Southwest. I pray the whole time that the plane is not going to crash.

As you can see Chelsey had a great time. She told me it was "the second worst afternoon of her entire life." Although she has had many of these so I think this statement is inaccurate. She has also told me that she is not speaking to me for the rest of her life, "which is going to be a very long time, because I am going to live for a very, very long time."

Chloe enjoyed touring the plane though, as there were a few places to sit down, and she had to try them all.

The plane was a pretty tight squeeze in places. There were some people who had to back out because they were too large to get through at a certain place. I think this would be rather humiliating. Thank goodness I fit.

Chloe likes to watch planes.

Chelsey brought this hat to wear, it is from her Easter ensemble circa 1998. We thought Chloe was a better fit for the hat. You can see where my nerdy hat tendencies come from. I wish I had gotten a picture of my whole family wearing our hats. We looked like an outing with the Nerdy Hat Club, if that existed.

Anyway, it was a fun and enlightenging afternoon.

The Unveiling

Well I am mighty darn proud of myself.
Remember how I said I took up sewing?
And that I was going to make a duvet?
Well darn it. I did it!
Thanks to the help of my sister- in- law, Leonore. I am pleased to announce I only made about 3,341 mistakes. And that there are still a few finishing details left, which could raise the tally to like 4,021.

But overall I am happy with the result

It is white and puffy as I had imagined. Very "Sound of Music"esque.

And best of all, it did not cost me $200 plus tax, like the original from: "I spent my husband's whole pay check on a Scarf Store" AKA: Anthropolgie.

It cost me around $55.

If I were to pay myself hourly though, I would say I made about $.25/hour.

So I am thinking mass producing these for Etsy would not be advantageous if I am in the market for money making.

Slave labor, now that is another story.

But I am not interested in slave labor.

But maybe Chloe is.

But judging from her sorry attempt of picking up thousands of shredded paper off the office floor (see previous post), I am guessing she is not either.

Here is the original.
Wow. You know it is kind of hard to type with one hand.

The other one is busy patting myself on the back.

Chloe Strikes Again

Also.
We went to Don's office tonight to help him move out.
Chloe helped him move out by dumping an entire trash can of shredded paper all over the floor.
It took me over an hour to clean it up.
Have you ever tried cleaning up shredded paper with a cheap vacuum whose only use is chewing and spitting things back out, a broom, and your bare hands?
I suggest not trying it.
Unless you enjoy lessons in futility.
In that case, this is an excellent activity.