Living in chaos

We should have been Gypsies. We have moved so many times in the past 10 years and my husband is not even in the military. This past move was one of the worst by far! This move was unexpected due to having a nutball for a Landlord.We had scheduled to move the week after we got back from our trip to the desert but, during that time things just came to a head with my husband and our crazy landlord.
 He decided to just move while we were gone. This is where the book Men are from Mars ,Women are from Venus would have come in handy. He told me he didn't want me to have to deal with her and her craziness which I think was a nice idea  but, it just ended up being more of a disaster. Everytime we have moved I have done ALL of the packing..I'm just more of an organizer than he is which isn't saying much but, I do know how to pack and move in an organized fashion.
 He decided to just grab everything from one area and throw it in a box. You can only imagine what the boxes look like. Everything is a huge mess, we are cleaning the house we are leaving and trying to organize the new one at the same time. I can't find ANYTHING! None of the furniture was placed where I wanted it, The cable and phone is all messed up and to make matters worse I can't find my cell phone charger!!! I was without a phone part of the time while in the desert and lost business because of it. ARRGGGHHHH!!! That is probably the worst part of this whole mess.
  So, if I haven't called you please don't be offended. I don't have my phone book and I am scrmbling to try to get through these boxes to find my cell phone charger. I know, I know why not just go and buy a new charger. Well, I hadn't planned on keeping this phone for much longer and don't really want to pay money for something I may just find in a couple of days so,here in lies the lesson....Always buy a car charger too. ; (

Trip to Grandma's house

Last year at this time the kids and I made a trip to stay with my Grandma while her hubby went to visit his kids in Minnesota. Even then, Grandma wasn't at her best but, she was still able to get around on her own and even go out to dinner with us.
 This year things were very different. We made the trip already knowing that she had a couple of close calls in the last 2 months with COPD and congestive heart failure but, we weren't quite prepared to deal with what was coming next. Thank God my mom decided to come with me and the kids because this story might have ended a lot differently.

We drove in last Monday morning so, that my Aunt could show me what I needed to do and to show me where to take my Gram for her infusion appointments for an infection from 3 years ago that was still being treated. After her infusion, she had an appointment with her cardiologist who suggested that she be admitted to the hospital  for "Tune-up" but, of course being the stubborn woman she is she said "NO" even with my Aunt and I saying "YES". So, off we went to have some blood drawn.

 Now in between the Doctor appointment and getting home she had another episode of congestive heart failure and to make matters worse they were throwing in Renal failure. Luckily my uncle who lives in the desert and is a Respitory therapist was with my mom and the kids and came to the rescue. I called him because we weren't sure how to use her breathing treatment for the Emphysema. When he showed up moments later he told me she needed to go to the hospital so, I called 911. The kids were sad and shocked because they only just said hello to grandma and now she was being hauled off in an ambulance. This must have been so scary for them but, God knew and sent my mom to take care of them so, I could do what I needed to help my Aunt and my Grandma.

 The next couple of days were a blur, no sleep, trips to the hospital, phone calls, flights scheduled, house cleaning, bad news and more bad news. The house was now packed with cousins, Aunts, Moms and the neighbors were gracious enough to let a couple of family members stay there too. For a moment there we lost track of what needed to come first...GOD. Where was God in all of this? This is why my mom was sent. She always seems to reel me back in when I'm spinning out of control. She reminded me that we needed to pray but, first we needed to know what my Grandma wanted. Did she WANT to go home to be with the Lord? Was she giving up? Was she just too tired? or did she want to live? Did she want to be healed?

We made a trip to the Hospital that night and asked her all of these things and at first her response was she just didn't want to be a burden to all of us anymore but, after reading the word to her she realized that yes, she could have healing and knowing that changed her answer. She said she wanted to to live then looked at my cousin and said that she wanted to see Angelina's baby. We rejoiced and prayed. She asked for her body to be healed and re-dedicated her life to the Lord.

The next morning there was only good news. Her CO2 level(the amount of carbon dioxide a person breathes out) had dropped from 60(she was told this was her normal) to 50.This is what people with this disease usually die of it's like breathing poison. Normal is 30. The next day her level was at 45 and her cardiologist said that if it was up to him he'd let her go home now. Her heart was much better and she was doing great all on her own.

 So,we went from calling Hospice to trying to get her cupboards ready for a new healthier sodium free diet in a matter of days. God is so good!! He's just good all of the time! She is home now and getting better everyday. This is proof that HE is our great healer. It was not my faith or anyone elses's faith but, her own faith in the promises of God that healed her. We will just keep praising him and thanking him everyday and hope that you will too.

A little peak into our trip to see Grandma June 2011

Oh My Daddy

 Our little Princess loves to create..hmmm. I wonder where she gets that from? Anyway while she was making a Father's Day card for my husband I caught her singing this little diddy. She just cracks me up! If you've ever watched Spongebob you may remember the episode where Plankton sings to his computer wife Karen "Oh my Karen, Oh my Karen, Ohhh my computer wife Karen" well, Gracie had just seen that episode and made it her own... Have a listen.

Gracie making a card for Father's day and singing her special Daddy song to the tune of "Oh My Karen" by plankton from Spongebob.

Revealing the new Bob hair cut

It's hard to believe that my little Princess had her first hair cut almost two years ago. She was such a wiggle worm and not very cooperative so we hadn't been back in a while. Nana trimmed her ends once last summer but, it hadn't been profesionally cut since.
 Well finally after much blood, sweat and tears....well, maybe just a lot of sweat and tears. I had decided that she absolutely needed a short hair cut. I was tired of her crying everytime we combed out her hair and tired of the tangles in her hair every morning despite putting it in a pony or braid. She just has fine hair and a sensitive scalp so, in order to keep the sanity, hers and mine, we made a trip to Valdimar Hair Studio in Cerritos to see our favorite hair fashionista Ivette Lemon.
 Here are some pics fromt he day...

Here she is getting ready for her big hair cut

 

 That's a lot of hair!

Making the first cut

She's already asking if she's done yet! Oy Vey! 

We won't go into details but, let's just say that my little Princess

was acting more like a frog!

And the big reveal!

Isn't she sooo darned cute?? this cut was just made for her!

I asked her to give me a big smile and this is what I got!

Now we're just sitting and admiring the beautiful decor inside the Hair Studio and maybe posing a little too.

and  Packing up to go. Bye Bye Ivette, see you soon because mommy LOVES my new cut!

If you're in the area or not call and make an appointment with Stylist Ivette 562-676-5128 or Owner/Redkin Artist Diane 562-301-4304  at this uber quaint hair studio. They are two of the best stylists around and have a full schedule but, always make you feel like you're the only client they have. What's so neat is that this small little Studio has some big clientele and you'll never feel like your not important. That's what keeps us going back.

You can find the Valdimar Studio at 17100 Norwalk Blvd, Suite 109 Cerritos, Ca 90703

There's always a silver lining.

 So much has been going on around here that I just keep saying "What next Lord?" Some moments I feel like I can't take anymore and then others I feel like it's gonna be o.k. we'll make it though. Right now, I'm in between those two places.
  We have all taken our turns at being sick with a nasty cold that just seems to wanna hang on, My youngest son had a migrane today, my Landlord is (well, my mother taught me that if I don't have anything nice to say, just don't say anything) so, I'm just not gonna say anything, two of my grandmothers are in the hospital, I had a client flat out lie to me which caused me to lose money and we're moving!
 So you might say, where's the silver lining? Here it is. I found out that even though we're moving to a smaller place we'll be in a much better school district and if you know anything about the school crisis we're having in California then you know that this is like winning the lottery. My kids will have a pool to swim in all summer, we can take our sweet little Sunday and we have a twenty four hour gym. It's almost like living in a resort except when you walk outside the gate your still in the city.
 As far as the client who lied, well she opened up my schedule so that I would be able to work with a local photographer on a prental belly painting which, I wouldn't have been able to do if I had still had that previous client booked.
 I know God always has a plan for us and even when you can't see it in front of you, just keep your eyes fixed on him and know that he is working everything out for your own good. So, tonight I know that I can leave my grandmothers and my son in his hands and he will take care of each of them. I will get a solid nights sleep tonight and tomorrow will be a gift that I will be thankful for.