What is happening to 2007?

I just realized that as of midnight tonight 2007 is half over! Seems like we just had Christmas and already we are closer to next Christmas than we are to last. I guess it's true what they say about time going faster the older you get.

It's been an interesting six months for our little family. We made some changes and improvements to our home that required a steady stream of contractors in and out for about 3 months. I think we are finally finished with all of that (knock on wood). The last repair was done last week and I think we are ready to spend the second half of the year enjoying the fruit of our labors -- well, OK I guess it was mostly other's labors but we did have to write the checks.

And while having several home improvement projects going at once was total chaos, the stress of that was nothing compared to this year's other bump in the road: our little A.J.'s health problem. Most of you know all about it so I don't want to spend too much time on the details here but on July 13, A.J. will have surgery to remove a schwannoma, or benign growth, from his facial nerve.

This is something we've pretty much been dealing with since the first of the year. If I counted right, A.J. has seen 10 different doctors this year, and 8 alone just for this issue. (And that doesn't count all the residents we saw before we saw the doctor we actually had an appointment with.)

We were told at first that it wasn't a big deal, probably just a virus that was causing the facial weakness and that it would go away. I believed that for about 6 weeks, but then when it got worse again around his birthday, the neurologist ordered an MRI. That's when we found out about the growth. Then it seemed like every doctor's appointment we went to, the news kept getting worse and worse. First is was finding out the growth had caused hearing loss in his left ear. Then we found out that his face will never completely get better and that his hearing is as good as it will ever be. And then there was the news that he might have an incurable genetic disorder that causes these growths.

But the hardest thing was finding out how invasive the surgery was going to be. Knowing that two surgeons were going to cut into A.J.'s skull and move his brain out of the way and maybe his middle ear too was just a little too much for me. I cried whenever I thought about it, let alone talked about it. How could this be happening to our little boy? How could his little left dimple be gone forever? And what would happen to him when he gets to Jr. High and all the kids made fun of his crooked smile?

But then the miracle happened. It wasn't the miracle that everyone was praying for, but to me it was a miracle none the less and one that I really needed: Peace. And it seemed to come all at once. Suddenly, my ability to cope and my resolve to get through this increased and I just knew that whatever happened, everything was going to be all right. And I came to realize too that we were lucky to catch this now while he is so young.

Now I know there are hard days ahead. I know when they wheel A.J. off to surgery I will be a basket case. And I know when he comes out of surgery and he's in the PICU with all those tubes and machines, it will be difficult. And then we still needs to meet with a geneticist to find out if he has the genetic disorder and I've heard that can be very nerve wrecking.

But I also know that the prayers of many are going with us to the hospital. We've been touched by the outpouring we've felt from our family, friends and ward members. A.J. has been asking a lot about it lately and getting more and more scared and I keep telling him that everything is going to be all right because so many people are praying for him.

So I guess I do know what has happened to the first half of 2007. I spent a quarter of it at the doctors office, a quarter of it dealing with contractors and half of it rubber stamping.

$6.50 for a Nap. . .

Yeah! James is home and all is right with the world. His flight got in around 10:00 a.m. so he was able to take the rest of the day off to spend it with us.

James promised he would take A.J. to see Ratatouille, the new Pixar film just out today, when he got back. Sometimes when they go see the latest kids movie, I stay home and take a break. But I had heard such good things about movie, I decided to tag along.

There was only one problem with this: I haven't slept well the past few nights and I guess I was pretty tired. I got about 20 minutes in and could NOT keep my eyes open. I missed about 30 minutes of the film. And to make matter worse, James says I was snoring! Just one more thing to add to my "most embarrassing moments" list.

It was a cute movie from the parts I actually saw. Not as good as Finding Nemo or Cars, but still cute. It was also a little long for A.J. He kept asking when it would be over, but afterwards he said he liked it. Still $6.50 is a lot to pay to take a nap!

When the Cat's Away. . .

James comes home tomorrow morning from a 2 week work assignment in Virginia. So really instead of typing this, I should be cleaning the house so he doesn't have to come home to chaos. Not that he expects the house to be spotless. Just seems like it the thing to do.

James' job frequently takes him away from home. The longest was five months in 2004, so two weeks should be a piece of cake, right? No matter how long or how short it is, there are certain things that just don't get done around our home nearly as often when James is away, some because he does it and some just because I get lazy.

1. Cooking: I really don't mind cooking. I know some of you would rather do anything than cook, but I kind of enjoy it. However, A.J. would rather eat PB&J for breakfast, lunch and dinner than just about anything else. Me, I can only eat PB&J once a day. Cereal or eggo waffles gets us through breakfast, but dinner is a problem. I am programed to make four servings when I cook so most things last two meals. I don't mind leftovers twice, but I cannot eat Hamburger Helper for 4 meals straight! I'm not exactly sure what we've eaten for two weeks but some how we survived. I am looking forward to James coming home so I can start eating real food again.

2. Grocery Shopping: kind of related to the cooking thing. Yesterday, I went to the Super WalMart for the first time in three weeks! That must be some kind of record for me. I did make a quick trip to Smith's last weekend for a few essentials (we were out of ice cream and popsicles and since I was there I picked up some fresh produce.) Yesterday, I finally had to do real grocery shopping because we were out of Jelly.

3. Laundry: James is a big guy and his clothes take up a lot of space in the laundry basket. A couple of times in the past two of weeks, I realized A.J. didn't have any shorts to wear. How could that be? The laundry baskets are only half full. So I did a few loads a couple of times, but never folded them. That is something that James and I usually do together while we watch TV after A.J. goes to bed. Last night, I finally folded all that laundry and it took me two episodes of Alias to get it all done and put away!

4. Cleaning in general: I mentioned in yesterday's post that I am not a neat freak. Really, I am more of a slob. Now James isn't a neat freak either, but he isn't nearly as much of a slob as I am. And he does plenty to help out in this areas as well. So tomorrow morning, I am going to mop our kitchen floor and vacuum before he gets here. The bathrooms are just going to have to wait.

5. Parenting: OK, I don't give up on being a parent all together. But I sure am a better parent when I get a break once in a while. A.J. actually did awesome the first week. I don't remember that long of a stretch of naughty-step-free days. But this week it all fell apart. There's been a little too much whining from him, and a little too much yelling from me.

Now there ARE a few extra bonuses to James going out of town:

1. Guilty free crafting time. Once A.J. goes to bed at night, I've been known to spend hours down in my craft room. And if A.J. is entertained by a movie or surfing playhousedisney.com, I might get to sneak in a few hours during the day too.

2. I can put whatever I want on our Blockbuster queue. I rented The Holiday (total chick flick!) and I've watched a season and a half of Alias, (now there's a woman who doesn't take nothin' from nobody!).

But we've both really missed James and we are really looking forward to him coming home tomorrow.

UPDATE . . .

My new Stampin' Up catalog has arrived!!!! I was out running errands when I heard the good news so I stopped off at Bry's to pick it up. Oh, I had an order of stuff too which I am usually dying to get my hands on, but the new catalog was way more important! Lots of new stuff, lots of great ideas to "case" or "scraplift." Now I just have to start planning my purchases out over the next several months so I don't go broke all at once!

And one of my errands today was to Costco where I stumbled across a great buy on an awesome tote made by All My Memories. Did I NEED one? Of course not. But did I HAVE to have it? You bet! It was about half off of retail, so who could resist? It kind of looks like an electrician's tool bag that you would see at a hardware store, but it is all dolled up for crafting. I got the black one with pinstripes. So cute!

I have selective OCD

I have selective OCD. Those who know me well will not be surprised by this confession. I'm NOT a neat freak, germaphob, nor do I have to touch my food to my chin like the guy on Everybody Loves Raymond. But I do have my things that set off this tendency. Maybe it is more like an addictive personality or something. But here are a couple of things that set it off for me.

1. DISNEYLAND! We just got back from the happiest place on earth just a week or so ago. Keep in mind that A.J. is just 4 years old and this was his third time there. This time we went with our good friends Tera and Darren and their two daughters Brynn and Clara from Idaho. Here's a picture of our family by Big Thunder Mountain, one of my favorite rides!

I had to warn our friends when we started planning this adventure that I tend to go a little crazy when it comes to Disneyland and that they may not want their first trip to be ruined by a crazy woman who was gets up at the crack of dawn to get to the park BEFORE it opens. I spent weeks scouring the Internet for tips and trick and then meticulously put together an itinerary that outlined every ride we would go on and when we'd go on it as well as the shows and where we'd eat etc. See, I have a system and if you follow it, you don't have to stand in line more than 20 min for any ride. But I tend to be a little militant about it.

Well, we all survived and Tera and Darren say they even had fun. Not sure they'd ever go back to Disneyland with this crazy lady, but maybe they've learned a trick or two that will help them the next time they do go back.

The other cool thing, A.J. was tall enough to go on most of the rides and old enough to really experience the magic. His new favorite ride is "Soarin' Over California" at California Adventure. After we went on it he kept saying that he wanted to ride "Horin" again (sounds like whorin'). Took us a few minutes to understand what he meant and the poor kid will probably never live that down.

So, my obsession with Disneyland can take a break for a spell. Although, I am already planning our next trip in 2009. After all, the lines for Finding Nemo were too long so we HAVE to go back!

2. PAPER CRAFTING. And lately it's been RUBBER STAMPING! When I started scrapbooking about 9 years ago I purchased some white cardstock, some colored cardstock and a few stickers. I wasn't going to get that into it. Then I bought a few printed papers and some punches, some markers. Then I had to have brads, eyelets, the tools to set the eyelets. . .. You get the picture.

During all this time, I'd have friends invite me to Stampin' Up! parties and I'd fight it off saying I just know that if I buy one thing, I'd have to have it all. Well, I finally broke down about a year ago and bought that one thing and the dam broke. I blame my neighbor Michelle, who introduced me to her SIL Bry who is a SU demo. The rest (and a lot of our money), as they say, is history.

Then my dealer -- I mean demo -- told me about this website called splitcoaststampers.com. HOLY COW! There are other women out there who are just as obsessed about all this as I am. And we feed each others obsession and enable each other by telling each other about all the wonderful things out there that we HAVE to have.

Take for instance the Cuttlebug by Provo Craft. There have been die cut machines out there for years and I never had too much trouble avoiding purchasing one. I spend a few weeks reading what everyone is saying about this cute little machine and seeing what they are making with it and suddenly I am dreaming about it and thinking about it all day long. I finally had to buy one so I could sleep at night. But I do love my 'Bug and I do use it almost every time I do anything. Here's a card I made this week with the embossing folder feature.

This is a very exciting time over at SCS (as those of us who live on the sight call it) because Stampin' Up!'s new catalog debuts on July 1. The anticipation is killing us all! However, the catalogs are starting to arrive at demo's doors. Bry called today to tell me that she had her copy but didn't get her costumer ones yet. Maybe tomorrow. AHHHH! I feel like a kid on Christmas eve.

The kind of sad thing is that I haven't scrapbooked since last October. I have done more than a hundred cards and all kinds of other paper craft items, but not my first love. My goal for the next few weeks is to actually get around to doing some real pages. Let's see if I can do it or if I get too swept up in all the new stamps in the catalog to actually do anything.

BTW, SCS also give us a chance to post our creations for the whole world to see. If you want to see what I've been up to my new craft room, you can check out my gallery.

And so it begins. . .

I've been thinking about blogging for a few months now. I am a writer at heart and as a SAHM, I don't get many opportunities to do much writing these days. Not like the good old days of writing news releases, newsletters, speeches etc in my former life as a PR professional. I kind of get a rush out the click click click of a keyboard and my poor friends have had to endure mile long emails from me as I get my fix.

But I wondered what I should blog about. I spend a lot of time over on splitcoaststampers.com and so many of my SCS "friends"( can you call someone that who you've never met but see their avatar everyday on the web?) blog about their rubber stamping. That is a big part of my life, but I feel like I have more complex things to share.

So I am not quite sure yet what all I will be sharing here. Probably something along the lines of random thoughts on a random life. I'll give a shout out to my good friend Sabrina for the title "In the Salt Shaker" from something she told me many years ago, "It's hard to be the Salt of the Earth when you live in the salt shaker." Pretty sure I live in the salt shaker. Maybe Sabrina can let me know if that is true or not!