A special girl needs our help.....

This little girl is from my home town. A local family that most everyone knows or knows someone that is connected to this adorable girl. I emailed and asked Carmen's mommy Jaci's best friend. Leslie if it was okay to write a post about Carmen. I know that this is going to be a long road but I would love to make everyone that reads my blog help in anyway that they can. As a mom now myself I just feel for Jaci. Jaci and I have many friends in common. The two of us have had a few conversations, she is a wonderful mom, friend to many and just all around a loved lady. I wish no little girl or boy would ever have to go through any type of cancer. No mommy should have to watch their baby go through this as well. Here is some information to catch you up. I will post updates here and there. One thing we can all do is Pray. Pray that God holds Carmen, and her family and friends and just brings peace and calmness to all of them. That the cancer goes away fast and will be healed fast. Please feel free to share this story but please make sure that you Email Leslie and don't bombard the family directly.  To Contact Leslie Burns call her at 360.620.5084 She is acting as the Liaison for the family.

"Care For Carmen"!! Support this little girl and her family through their fight to conquer cancer!!

 

 

After having surgery to remove a small mass in Carmen's upper abdomen we were told that our hopes of it being a benign cyst were crushed. The surgeon found blue cells which were a sign that cancer is present in her little body. Seattle’s Swedish Hospital did the pathology on the mass and diagnosed her with Extraosseous Ewing’s Sarcoma; a rare form of cancer that occurs in the muscles and soft tissue. Carmen’s tumor was 2cm in diameter which suggests it was discovered in its early stages. The cancer was localized and fully removed during that first surgery.

Jaci, Todd, Carmen and Leah have a long, scary road ahead. Carmen will have an IV surgically inserted into her shoulder after which her doctor has prescribed 30-36 weeks of chemotherapy treatments which will entail 2-5 day stays at the hospital happening every 2 weeks. In between treatments Carmen will be at an incredibly high risk for infection and must be admitted to the hospital within an hour should she develop a fever.

Carmen has strength unlike any of us. She is ready to fight this cancer and has taken the news of it in stride. Missing her friends at school is tremendously saddening for her as she loves her classmates dearly but finding out that the hospital has a school she can be a part of has made her feel somewhat better. Her attitude remains upbeat and her smile continues to light up every room. Jaci and Todd have faced this cancer head on and will continue to do so. Their own strength obviously comes from a family connected deeply by love and support for one another.

We will post more updates as they come. For now, please share this page to ensure as much exposure to “Caring For Carmen” as possible; you never know who will come across this journey and be able to help! We want to create a cushion of love and support for the Garringer's as they tackle this. All donations will be incredibly appreciated as will be well wishes, prayers and time. Please show your support for this beautiful family and sweet little girl as they endure the most challenging phase of their lives.

Follow this Caring for Carmen Facebook Page. page for continued updates and how you can help!! Please also feel free to go to her CaringBridge 
 

 (updated 1/10/2013)

Wordless Wednesday.....(maybe a few words) Happy 30th Birthday to Chrystal..

 

Happy 30th birthday to Chrystal!

The wonderful women that I laughed with,

 prayed with,

cried with,

that because of

 I am now a mommy

to the two cutest boys in the entire world.

Not everyone is as wonderful and loving as you are.

That carried these two little guys and put herself

her children and her husband.

HER LIFE

on the Line

for Me....

to become a Mommy.

Chrystal Ryan Barnett.....................

I love you so much.

Most importantly

My boys love you.

You are their Auntie and your bond with them

                                    Words will never be able to say thank you enough.
                                           Happy birthday sweetie!!!

 

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday... Love me some Olive Garden.

Well you may not know this but I am in love with the Olive Garden and Pintrest. These two worlds collided when I found this pin for the Alfredo recipe. I have to share it.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce.   
2 pkg Pasta (we like penne, instead of fettuccine)
1 stick of butter 
1 clove of minced garlic 
1 pint of heavy cream
1 cup of fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp cream cheese
1/4 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp white pepper
3 tablespoons flour with 1/3 cup warm water mix up and add as you stir it in.  ( to thicken up the sauce.)
2 broiled chicken breasts cut in slices. ( If you want to add chicken.)

This is with the Fettuccine.

Meet Me Monday.......

Wow the past week has flown by! Here we are again doing the meet me Monday. You wouldn't believe what the past week was like for me.



1. Who wakes up in the morning with the kids, you or hubby?

Well, we both do. Hubs will wake up when he is on his days off.

I get them every other morning. ( he works really early 5 days a week. he is gone and out the door by 2:30 AM)

This makes it so I also get up during the night. Unless what happened the last few days and that is that they both wake up screaming...then hubs has to get up regardless. Poor guy.

2. Do you watch the World Series even if your team isn't in it?
No. I love baseball but, you know, there's this thing called "no cable" that we have, that's not conducive to watching anything.

It will be on the TV but I wont be watching. I will be writing my blog post, checking my social media sites or maybe taking a nap. 

I only watch the Superbowl because of the half time show and the commercials. I hate watching any sport on TV. Yuk!


3. What is the best compliment you have received?

The best compliment that I get and that makes me feel the best is when people say nice things about my little family. That we are a beautiful family. Or how amazed it is when the boys ( remember they are 14 months old) are so well behaved during a church service.

I love that. It makes my heart swell with pride. Especially when I'm complimented on my family.....

4. Do/did you dress up to take your kids trick or treating?

Oh yes! I love Halloween. Not only is it a great day to be someone different for a day, but it is also Hub's birthday and the gateway to the boys birthday :)

I have themed ideas for the 4 of us to dress up as for trick or treating. I can't wait until we can dress up next year...Next year the boys are going to be Mickey Mouse and a one of his friends. I keep thinking what their Daddy and I can dress up as with the two of them.....Hummmm I must find this on Pinterest. :)


5. Do you have a favorite bible verse? What is it and why?
And I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you the more, am I to be loved the less?" 2 Corinthians 12:15.

This is about being a mother. I believe that as the type of mother I want to be, I should set the atmosphere in the home, even when sleep-deprived or buried under a pile of laundry and bathroom messes. I get so upset and stressed out, as I tend to the kids at time.

I have never received such an amazing gift from God like my babies...Even after a time when I didn't want to have God be a part of my life he was with me. He knew his plan for me before I was even a thought.

I am blessed to know that Jesus always has my back :)

Happy Wives Club Link up!

The neverending list of Why I love my Husband.

There are so many things I could list but I will just contain myself to write the first 10 :)

1) He get's up every single morning he is on his days off so I can sleep in.
2) He goes to work even when he is sick to provided for our little family.
3) He is the best daddy in the entire world to our babies.
4) Before he is my husband he is my very best friend.
5) He bares with me with my mood swings :)
6) He tells me everyday how much he loves me.
7) I love it when we are in the car and he starts singing to the songs. He has a really good voice :)
8) He will go with me anywhere I ask him to. ( including going to the womens show!)
9) He will sit with me and let me watch the Real Housewives , even if he wants to throw something through the tv to avoid it.
10) He is super close with my parents.....and that means everything to me.
11) one extra.....he lets me try out a zillion things to make me happy always tell me how proud he is of me every single step of the way. He is my biggest supporter.

 

Check out: Happy Housewives Club

 

 

Wordless Wednesday.

My poor little baby.

He is so sick.

                                             It breaks my heart.
                                       If you pray, please pray for him.

Meet Me Monday!!

1. Have you set any goals/resolutions for 2013?
Not really, Goals, yes, resolutions no. Resolutions are made to be broken and broken resolutions make me feel like a failure, so I just avoid the whole mess all

Be debt free.
Be more patient.
Be a better mommy to my kids.
Be a better wife.
Be a better homemaker.
Be a better friend.
Be a better Christian.
Be a better at reading more often.
Be a better daughter,
Be better with my health.


2. Have you made any travel/vacation plans for 2013?
No I have ideas but nothing booked. Here is my wish list for traveling.

To go to Colorado to see my best friend/sister, my nephew and her hubsand.
On that same trip we would see Hub's cousin his partner and his Auntie.

Go on a road trip with my mom and the boys. Maybe the Ocean? We love Cannon Beach.

My good friend moved to San Diego and we would really like to go stay with them and play on the sandy beach!

Hubs has the week of the 4th of July off so we would like to go somewhere warm to watch the fireworks....maybe a camping trip somewhere fun.

We also have three weeks in November off.....so we will plan something.
3. What room is never cleaned in your house?
I have two places right now that are super messy.

My bedroom and my dinning room table. Talk about a cluttered, messy catchall that they are.. Our bedroom is full of crap that is collected on the dresser, and bathroom vanity. Then our walk in Closet is jam-packed with our paperwork, clothes, crafts, coats, everything and anything that doesn't have a real home.

The table is full of baby highchair trays, paper work, hubs work bag, baskets, sippy cups....

That is it !! I will clear the bedroom from the junk! The table wil be clear by weeks end so that I can sit my family around a table at night for every dinner time. It is a tradition that I want to make sure we do. So yes those things will be worked on ASAP. :)

4. What food must be in your house at all times?
Diet coke, is that a food? Well it is to me.
We have to have Eggs.
& I have to have popcorn.

5. Are you a hugger or more of a hands off person?
I'm a hugger. I will hug anyone....at anytime.
I hug people that hate it. I force you to hug. I am a forceful hugger.
If you don't want to hug, sorry its too bad. I am going to hug you!

A slow but rewarding road.

Let me catch you up alittle bit.

If you have read my blog from the start you know that my twins were born very early. Both have small problems because of it, but Brock is the one that got the blunt of it. From the start B has had a long road.  Being still born and actually passing away in the ambulance ride from Harrison Hospital to Tacoma General.

You know that little B was born at almost 28 weeks resulting in hemiparesis cerebral palsy on the right side. He was diagnosed at 4 months old. It was a push from me to find out what was truly wrong with my baby. In all the many tiny things that were wrong and being seen while we were in the NICU and the ICN, they never could pin point the main problem.

Before they let us leave with him from the ICN he had to pass a few milestones and have a few things done to him. One was he had to have three blood transfusions the week he left.

As his mama this was scary to just sit and watch. He wimpered a little when they started and cried a little during the times that he was hooked up. He was and always has been such a trooper.  I read to him and sang to him and prayed over him, and many times had to step out so I could cry. I have to say that I still do those things when he has to get anything done that is out of the normal. Heck I can't sit in the room while he or his brother get shots. It kills me. He mostly just sat there and slept.  

We had B home for a week when he turned blue and started having Sezures. My entire life I have been around them. My mom has epilepsy, she has grand mal seizures. This was nothing like that but my heart has never fallen in my chest before like this. He just rolled his eyes to the back of his head and turned blue.  We called 911, telling them that I wouldn't go to the hospital that was closer. I stood my ground and made them take me back to Tacoma General.

Here he is during our week and a half stay at Marybridge Hospital.

This is him as he was getting his first of many EEG's.

Such a scary time for us as a family.

It is never fun to be in the part of your life when you know nothing.

He never even Cried once. He just layed there and slept.

When we left the hospital he still had to sleep on the sling but didn't have to sleep with oxygen anymore!!

 This was a big moment for Brock. (and us)

B is now 14 months old and we  have been doing some sort of therapy three times a week for almost a year. Plus I work with him during his playtime when he is at home. We work on fine and gross motor skills, sensory, On Wednesdays we go to physical therapy at Mary Bridge I truly believe that because of our "Dream team" we have at Mary Bridge and Tacoma General, B is doing much better then any of us thought he would be. They had said they didn't think he would roll and now he is walking. He started to walk alone a few days before Thanksgiving!!

I do have to say that I am so thankful to God. He gave me twins. Francis loves his brother more then anything. They are adoreable together and F leads B to goals none of us even knew that they have been working towards together.  B follows most everything he does. Almost a month or two behind him but he always catches up. I feel so blessed and lucky to have the two of them to call me Mama.

Spank or not Spank?

My littles are two very strong willed children. Already I can look at them and know what they are thinking. I love when they push the limits. I love when they are starting to do their own things. Trying to feel me out. Like with the blinds all day long they go up to them and touch them waiting for me to do something or say something. Dropping things over the babygated area. I get up say no and move them. They cry throw a fit and go back and do it all day long. It is a drawn out baby version of cat and mouse.

Same thing in the tub at night. They sit good and then they get up and try to walk around. They have done this to me for months. All bath time they hear "Hey, sit on your butt!" & "Sit down right now." or the " Ok, now you have done it! Its time to get out of the tub. No more play time in the tubby for you." My neighbors above us must think I am a nut. Well let me tell them. I am a nut. I have two 14 month old twin boys. Yup I am pretty sure I am nuts.

Hubs and I had this great master plan on how to Discipline the boys!!! We would hold our tempers and lovingly talk to them. That was my thoughts. His thoughts were when they were old enough to know NO that they would then get a small spanking. (Cringe)

One of the most important virtues a parent can instill in their child is discipline. This can also be one of the hardest parts of parenting. When do you decide how you will go about punishing your child??

Back in my day it was common for children to be spanked, even hit with objects such as cords or belts.  The boys MeeMa loves to tell the story of the day her mom Grandmamom , hit her and the spoon broke in half. My mom, ( MeeMa) burst in a belly roll attach of laughing and that just pissed her mom off even more.  I was spanked and so was hubs. There are no seeable damage but our therapists might totally disagree.

With that being said tradition doesn't always mean the right thing to do though. There is a good reason spanking is fading out in modern day. All the research points to children who are spanked having some damaging psychological affects: low self esteem, trust issues,drug/alcohol abuse, aggressive behavior, depression... the list goes on and on.

There is certainly a big difference between smacking your childs butt and hitting them so hard they are left with bruises or welts, or smaking them in the face and leaving a hand print impression for days.  I don't agree with it and this may make me seem like a big fat hypocrite, but I don't think it's a big deal if a kid who's old enough to understand right from wrong deliberately disobeys their parent and gets swatted on the butt. I do have a huge huge problem with some of the awful examples of parenting that I've been a witness to.

I've seen a toddler slapped on the head for walking in the wrong direction. I've seen parents who resort to time outs or loss of privileges being mocked by other parents for that choice. One thing for sure is the mommies sure can be way to judgemental and they are the most hard on other mommies. The playground preasure is so bad at times and I am only a year into it.

I totally get why parents do spank their child. Short term it does work. Children learn to fear their parent and therefore become obedient. Sometimes it may seem like the only method that will get you any sort of compliance. Then there's always the argument of, "I was spanked as a child and turned out just fine."

Don't get me wrong. I am not telling anyone how to raise their children at all... If you make the decision to use spanking as a parenting tool then that's your business. For my family though, at this point in my life, I do not foresee spanking my child all of the time, once in a while to get through to them I might have to spank them through their padded diapers... As you can tell I am at odds about it.  I hear in the back of my head spare the rod, spoil the child. 

As short of a temper as I have at times, I cannot picture myself hurting my littles on purpose. Ever. I just raise my voice a little to loud at them at times and that hurts them enough. I do understand that verbal abuse is just as harmful as physical but where do we as parents draw the line in the sand? What is the black and white of the situations?

What are your thoughts on spanking vs. Yelling??