Let's hear it for 2013!

Well great,  now that I decide to log in and post some photos I can't get the computer to load my camera card..  Ugh.

Anyhow, we had a nice New Years Eve, we did some shopping and then a friend came over with her kids and we made hats to celebrate the new year.  We had a lot of fun, and the hats came out so nice.  Then we went to our friends house for dinner and to wait until the big countdown.  I was tired but the kids were happily playing with all the other girls there so I tried to chat with the adults.

When the big countdown came we all had some sparkling juice and said happy new year to everyone.  I still can't believe it is 2013.  Wasn't 2013 supposed to be the year for levitating vehicles and teleporting?  The year when everyone looked the same because we had all "melted" together in the melting pot..  It's really an amazing year, I think there is just something about the number 13 that makes it special..  We will never see another 13, and we have never seen one before (well my grandma almost has, as she was born in 1914 - but that is beside the point).

I'm saying some really not kind words to the computer right now as the photos card isn't being read...  how frustrating.

So tomorrow is Adrianne's SEVENTH birthday...  I have her party invites all done and her 'kid' party planned.  I just need to figure out what to do for her 'real' birthday, tomorrow!  I want to get her something special, since her birthday is so close to Christmas she never really gets much.  I know there is a Brave bow and arrow set that she wants - she doesn't need it at all, but I'm sure she would be excited to receive it.  But then comes the logistics of how do I buy it without her knowing??  Maybe I can drive over to the mall tomorrow while she's at school..

Well that's my note for 2013, as you can see I haven't exactly been up-to-date on my posting, but I really would like to be better this year..  That is my one goal - remember every moment..  And my second goal is to turn on that darn Xbox more often..  :)

The Long and Short of it all..

Did you know that when you hair is really long you start finding it EVERYWHERE...  seriously, like strands attached/embedded in just washed clothes, strands wrapped around your toes in the shower, you literally have hair everywhere and you're constantly plucking it off either your own clothes or someone elses in the house.  But there is a good reason to have long hair too, for one it's pretty much blow-dry and go, no styling required (although hitting it with a hot iron really does control the frizzies).  Another good reason to grow out your hair is the ability to donate it to others who are unable to grow hair for one reason or another.  So that is what I do, every 3 to 4 years I grow my hair until it is unbearably long, then chop it off and donate it.  It's something that I feel is simple enough to do, doesn't take much work/money on my part, and I can do it relatively quickly.  So without further ado..  Here are the before photos..

Look at all that long sleek hair...

Pay no attention to those unsightly back rolls, I have been battling those since I was a teen!

Stay focused on the hair, all colorful with shades of brown, gold, and reddish (I have an AWESOME stylist who takes her time weaving each of those strands so the color is very integrated)

 Here I am again, showing off the shine power of super straight hair!

And here I am at the salon, with the tiny, itty-bitty fish-tail that was my hair (I don't have much of it!)

 And after the cut, here is the front.

Here is the back, I think this is the first time I have ever seen my neck (you know besides when I had a pony tail)..  And I must say, it is quite drafty back there!

I love the layers, and how nice the coloring looks (same color as before, we didn't update the color yet.  But you can see it more now because you can see the natural hair underneath)

So there you have it, all cut and dried.  I go in again in early July to put the dark back in and do streaks of blond/red.  It's so much easier to dry now, and it takes like 1/10th of the hair products I was using before.  I love it :)

Going to the school..

*You must sing the title to the tune on the Great Wolf Lodge commercials..  you know the one right?  Going to the school.... great, fun, school..*

Anyhow, it's Monday and that is my day to go to the school and give miss A. her lunchtime shot.  (I also do Fridays).  It's the schedule that we were able to work out with the nurse after our last minute diagnosis.  Here's hoping that next year will be mommy free, which I think it will be since she is already giving herself the shots in her tummy - now just to teach her how to count carbs and divide by her dose (maybe I could pre-program a calculator or something, OMG I think I just invented something new!!  A device where you could program in your dose and then tell it how many carbs/blood sugar level and it would automatically calculate out your insulin dose..  Am I a genius or what?!)

As for me, I've been busy volunteering.  Nothing new there, I know.  I put together all the promotional fliers/posters and made the tickets for the upcoming University of the Philippines Concert Chorus concert that the fil-am is hosting this July 7th.  It all looks great, even if I am a little biased.  Then I am working with next years PTO to put together a functional handbook that can be passed from year to year (and also some tips and tricks for the incoming treasurer, if I ever decide that I need a real job).  And lastly I have been coming up with some back to school promotional fliers for our big BBQ event (and trying to find donations.. well sort of slacking on this one).  OH AND I've been doing rehearsals for the upcoming fashion show at the Barong and Terno Ball this June 9th.

I told J not to let me sign us up for anything else.  We need a break from all this business.  I did finally get my actual Paid work done, yay!  But considering that I have $2500 in dr. bills from my endoscopy in February, and miss A went to the dr., then emergency room, then ambulance ride to hospital, then one night at the brand new Randall Childrens Hospital...  I don't think I made enough to pay for even 1/16 of that.  (The ambulance was $750, which reminds me I have to call them today and beg for mercy.)

I cannot believe how much everything is costing, that doesn't include miss A's prescriptions which were over $1000 just to get us started.  Needless to say, I am searching (in my free time) for a better insurance coverage, and trying to somehow find money for our house payment and other regular bills.  If ever there was a time to cut corners, I think we've hit it.

So add all that and my stress level us just skyrocketing, I was nauseated all weekend (not what you're thinking, however I suspected that as a possibility too) but it turned out to be a stomach bug and Adrianne got it late Saturday evening.  At this point I am just trying to keep my head above water and take things one at a time.  (And don't get me started on my student loan repayment which is coming up in July.. eeeek!)

Yes, I know, I need a job and I need it now.  I may actually get serious and start looking/applying but then comes the whole 'what do I do with my kids' question.  It's a tough line to walk on.

Anyhow I better get back to 'work' and mark a few more items off my to-do list.  Still not feeling quite up to par but I am functioning :)  Oh and my grandma is also doing much better, my Aunt and Mom are still staying with her 24/7 but they said she is getting around better with her walker.  Thanks for all the good thoughts that were sent to us during May, is it too much to ask to keep them coming for June?  Heaven forbid anything else occurs, I don't think our wallets/psyche can handle much more.

How do you Explain....

As I sit here at the hospital at roughly 3:00am with what sounds like a helicopter landing outside the window and a horrible case of indigestion from my watermelon, I wonder, how do you explain to an eight year old that she will forever be counting carbs, checking her sugar levels, and administering insulin. I know I could never have understood what was going on in my 2nd grade mind..

The only thing I can think to do is to act like it's a regular thing, similar to cleaning your earrings after you get them pierced.. It's just part of the routine. In hopes that one day she will forget the worry free times and just think of carb counting and insulin as normal.

It sounds sort of like trickery but I'm sure a month or two down the road we'll be coping just fine.  In my mommy mind my little lady has just lost one more carefree part of her childhood, which makes me more determined to not make a big to do out of it. I want her to know she can do anything she wants just like all the other kids.

Today is my brothers birthday, the anniversary of Mt.St.Helens, and now the day that my little lady got diagnosed with type one diabetes. This day marks so many occasions.  It is also the day that my grandma got to leave the hospital after breaking her upper femur.. What an amazing, long, and remarkable day.

Here's me brave little lady doing awesome in the er. She only squeezed out one tear while they were putting in the iv.  And one photo of her riding in the ambulance (the same one my grandma rode in!) What a long and event filled day.

A long time coming...

So it's been a while hasn't it.  Boy things can really keep me hoppin' these days.  Between the Fil-Am, the PTO, the kids' classrooms, and all the other chores around this place I rarely take time to actually sit in front of the computer anymore and just type.  I just check emails on my phone, check facebook..  This poor computer has been so neglected since J and I got our new phones.

But alas, I find myself sitting here (where I have been sitting much of the entire day) so I thought to myself why not post a little something..

So I finally walked for my graduation that happened in December.  It was nice, a friend of mine convinced me that we should do it together and we did.  I think all in all it was a nice experience and a lot of fun was had.  Here's a photo of me, I'm very far away but it's me :)

On mothers day we went up to my grandma's house to do some yard work.  My aunt bought a new weed whacker so I could take out some of the tall grass.  I was able to get a little done but then my grandma decided to go and break her leg which involved paramedics and a special trip to the hospital in an ambulance.  So mothers day ended up at the hospital, but as of today my grandma is doing good.  The surgery went well and they are hoping to have her in a rehab place by the weekend.

Monday was quite a day, it seems like I had chaos and activity surrounding me from all sides.  But I persevered and got through it.

Tuesday I volunteer in Alexa's classroom, we read about spiders and had some interesting discussion.  Then around dinner time J got stranded in the truck and we had to go rescue him, what an ordeal that was.

Wednesday I got up early and took doughnuts to the hospital for everyone to enjoy, then I was able to sneek in a nap.. along with some laundry.

Today is Thursday and it has been a busy day, all the to-do items that didn't get to-done early in the week are now frantically being done.  I had an application to fax in hopes that I can get some financial assistance for my endoscopy bill, and I had to create the tickets for the UPCC concert that is coming up, then print out all the forms for the PTO that the principal asked about...  Now I need to update the FAACCV website and print some photos to send to my brother with his (Christmas) Birthday gift!

The girls are doing good, I have a dr appointment for Alexa tomorrow because she has been drinking water like a dehydrated camel.  So I just want to get that checked out and make sure she is A-okay.  They have also been taking zumba classes again, at the last one they were really getting into it.

J has been building the girls a bigger swing set, we decided that the first one he built wasn't stable/big enough for them.  This one is quite a bit bigger.  We've also spent time gardening and planting all of our vegis for the summer.  And I of course have been tending to the flowers, lots of flowers.

Well I guess that is enough for now.. here's some photos we took at the tulip festival when we went on J's first day off after tax season.  April 18th

Oh and here's the girls with the teacher appreciation gifts..  The sun is in their eyes so they look terrible but we were running late so I just snapped what I could!

Wednesday is the new Monday..

Ugh, it's like a bad Monday around here. I went to my aunts house to say hello, but no one was home.. Then I remembered they were taking my grandma to a hair appointment. So I thought I would take a more current photo of their remodel, and I realized I forgot my phone.. So I wrote a note so they would know I was there, then some J witnesses came to the door so I took their flier in. And then I picked up my purse, set the lock on the door and went out. Usually we lock the dead bolt from outside, at which point I realized I left my keys inside! So the door is locked and I'm standing out in the rain.. That's okay I'll just go home and they'll realize I forgot to lock the door. No big deal. Only then I realize I left my keys inside, how will I drive home?!? So I decide to call J and ask him to please come get me... But I Forgot my phone! So no phone, no keys... Panic begins setting in.. I run like a crazy person down the road to catch up with the quick moving J witnesses and try to explain that I have no keys and no phone... I try to gather my thoughts and breathe, and ask if one of them has a cell phone I could use to call my dear hubby to come rescue me. One of them says of course and dear hubby rescues me.. Thank goodness because I was ready to loose it.

Wednesday needs a do over.