stuff

I wish I had a better title to this post, I thought about it for a long time, then put it in the thesaurus to try to come up with something witty and entertaining. Alas, I settled on stuff. So I have some random thoughts to share, nothing special.

First things first, I'd like to comment on my previous posts about my friend Kristen and her baby Anna who was born early. After my last post about it, unfortunately, Anna lost her battle for life. She lived for 9 days and Kristen is so thankful for the time she got to spend with her daughter. In remembrance, I'm going to be attending a March of Dimes event in her honor. Please continue to pray for Kristen and Frank, as well as their extended family as they learn to cope with this loss.

It wouldn't be a good post without pictures of my cute little boy, so here you go:

London and Reed sometimes like to look out the window together.

Funny face~

Smiley face!

My attempt at a "photo session", but it's hard by myself, he moves too much!

I had to take a picture of Reed eating, because he always crosses his feet like that when he is in his high chair. So cute!

Oh and I did a picture here of London, my other kid, he was tuckered out from a run and it was just too cute to pass up. He sure is getting older!

So I'm really looking forward to the next few days! Tomorrow night, I get to meet up with one of my bestest friends, April, and her sister Candace, and with my mom, and we get to attend the Michael Buble concert! We have 10th row tickets so it's pretty much going to be amazing! I've diligently been memorizing all the songs (even ones I don't like much) just in case he sings them. I even had a dream last night about the concert, it's that exciting to me. I'm sure you'll get a post all about it later on. Then on Friday, I'm taking the day off to do a little R and R with Apes and Candace, and we are getting massages and I'm looking forward to a stop at IKEA. Sunday is Easter, and as an Easter baby (born on Easter morn, April 19th, 1981), it's one of my fav holiday's! Having a bunch of people over, giving Reed his very first Easter basket (!), and searching for eggs! A fun few days coming up, and I'm SOOO ready for some fun and relaxation!

If you knew me WAYY back in the day, you know that I really enjoy painting furniture. Well, in the past several years I've let that hobby of mine slip to the back burner. I've been too busy or too lazy or not really had an inspiration or work space. Well, I decided that I'm back on board! The first projects are a handmade welcome sign for my front door. I painted it last night and attached my trees. Just a coat of lacquer and some wire to hang it by to add. I'm also painting a custom stool for Reed for his birthday. I'll post pictures when I'm done with them. But I'd really like to scour the garage sales this summer and find some pieces to refinish or repaint for fun, maybe even sell them (like I did in high school for some extra money). Let me know if you want anything, I'd happily make something for you! If I can dig through some old photos, I will post pictures of my portfolio if people are interested. I figure this might be a good way for me to earn some extra cash and be creative!

I think that's all I've got for today. Tell next time!
Cheers~

love working from home

It is a gorgeous day today in northern Utah! I'm hoping to open the windows later when it warms up a little and get some fresh air in the house. I'm working from home today (so I can spend a little time with my little guy). Here is a picture out my back porch just a few minutes ago:
I live in a terrible location right? Anyway, back to work now!

Good News!

I have great news! Kristen and her baby, Anna, are doing great! The long and short of it is that Kristen had HELLP syndrome (Hemolytic anemia Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelet count), which is very toxic and dangerous for both mother and baby. She had been having symptoms and at a regular check-up, her doctor put it all together and admitted her to the hospital on Friday, March 12th. She was doing better over the weekend, getting a few shots of steroids. On Monday, March 15th, in the early hours, her condition took a turn for the worse. Within 20 minutes, she had delivered her baby girl via c-section. Anna is actually doing very well right now, she is on the lowest oxygen level (meaning she is actually breathing well). She came out kicking and screaming (a very good sign). Kristen has been released and is home now, resting, while her mom and mother-in-law watch over her.

I did some reading about survival rates for babies born so early and at almost 26 weeks gestation, Anna has a 80% chance of survival. She is showing very promising signs of being a fighter! She isn't the smallest baby ever born (my research says that 8 oz has been the smallest) but she is pretty darn close at 11 oz.

Continue to pray for both Kristen and Anna as they both recover and continue to fight this very long uphill battle. But for now, I'm so excited to deliver good news!

Cheers~

a hurting heart

I'm taking the risk right now of being vulnerable with my readers. I guess maybe this is more for me anyway, a cathartic exercise. I have a broken heart. I've faced some hard heart-breaking events this year, and due to those things, I think my heart has become more fragile. I have a broken heart for the Vitek family.

Kristen and Frank Vitek had their little girl, Anna Marie, 4 months early. Yes, a whole 4 months. She was born on March 15th, when her due date was July 3rd. She weighed 11 ounces and was only 9 inches long. I'm not sure of the details of what happened, but Kristen experienced some complications and had an emergency c-section and Anna was born. I'm also not sure of how things currently stand, I'm patiently waiting to hear the status of both mom and daughter. Kristen was our next door neighbor growing up, and she would babysit my brother and I frequently. Her brother, Brian, and I grew up together, close as brother and sister ourselves. Brian and Stacy had their little girl, Ava, just last week (the subject of my blog post last week). Ava and Anna were supposed to be 3 months apart and they are only 5 days apart. Also, Ava was born almost 3 weeks early, so they should have been more like 4 months apart.

I've been sick to my stomach about this all week, dreaming and praying for this family. I'm so confused as to why bad things happen to good people and I'm pulling for little Anna and family to get through this ordeal. I'm trusting that God protects this family and know that my heart isn't the only one hurting right now. Pray for this family with me! I get a lump in my throat and feel genuine pain for this situation. I know I am fragile for stories like this as a new parent myself. Though I hope to never "harden" to these types of things, I fear that stories like this will continue to chip away at me. I'm trying to stay strong for this family and know that the pain they all must be feeling is ten times what I feel.

Send your good thoughts, mighty prayers and general healthy vibes in the direction of Illinois and this family. Thank you!

ear infections

My little dude is having an epic battle with ear infections lately. He is either on his third in 8 weeks or has had the same one for 8 weeks. Either way, it's not good. He is on his third round of antibiotics and I feel bad for his little bum bum and the wicked diaper rash he is getting. Is the rash + bleeding + crying for his butt really better than the ear infection? (well, yeah, but it still sucks). He doesn't cry much cause of his ears, pulls them a bit, but overall, he's pretty happy. The diaper rash is nasty and so sad.

Anyway, calling all you parents out there, what do I do? Doc Tony said that if this round doesn't work, then we'll have to start talking about tubes. I want to know your opinions of this. I feel like continuing to pump antibiotics into my kid is going to take a toll and I'd really prefer that he not lose his hearing. But as a parent who now is facing the possibility of my child having to get surgery, I have my concerns. I know this isn't a major surgery and I'm sure millions of babies have done just fine, and frankly, I haven't been very concerned about having to put my child through it until now. Mama bird wants to come out and gather up her little chick so no one can hurt him. I don't have any strong opinions yet either way and would love to know your thoughts if you are someone out there that has one. And as someone that reads people's blogs that I don't know, I figure there maybe someone out there that doesn't know me reading this but wants to say something - please say it!

Thanks everyone!

Welcome Ava Bromann

My "brother from another mother", Brian, and his wife Stacy, just had their little girl yesterday at 12:10pm. She was 7 pounds, 4 oz, 22 inches long. Her name is Ava MaryAnn Bromann and she looks just like a Bromann! First grandkid for Pam and Gary (Brian's parents). Brian and I grew up together, next door neighbors and we've hung out with each other since we were 2 years old. I'm so excited for them! Congrats Brian and Stacy!

tires, airplanes, and rooms

I was driving home from work the other day and I've seen this a couple of times, but this time, I got my camera out to take a picture of it. This is a massive tire being trucked. From the picture, you are like - oh that is a big tire. But really, look at how big it is compared to the tires on the truck! What exactly does this tire go to? Fogg tells me it's for trucks and equipment at places like mines but really, I can't imagine how it really could fit on to anything at all!


Ok, enough of that. Here are some snapshots of playing on the floor with Reed the other night.

Airplane!

Reed love his Dad!

So, as promised, here are some pictures of the last room in the basement with some furniture in it.

And we got ourselves a new king bed! We got a deal on it, so here's what it looks like. We got the mattress, box spring, and the whole frame/headboard, with 2 king pillows and 6 throw pillows for $450. I also got new drapes for the windows. For our old bed, I got this great bed set that had matching window treatments. Well, since we went from a queen to a king, I had to get new bedding, therefore a new window treatment. I got these at TJ Maxx and I simply love them. They are great for blocking out light in the morning too.

That's all for now! Cheers~