Pink, Black and White part 2

The birthday cake

birthday girl blowing out the candles

 The second day celebrating T's birthday. This was her family party.

Cookies and cupcakes

some treats

a new headband

equals one spoiled girl <3

The Pink, Black and White party

The invitation

Homemade treats, well mostly...

Few of the pom-poms I made..

Who doesn't love white chocolate dipped Oreos on a stick?

Rock candy Suckers I found at a local candy store

Pink bubble gum and white candy stars

Homemade white chocolate dipped strawberry marshmallows and chocolate dipped regular marshmallows.

Gifts bags, bought before T had chosen a color theme for her birthday this year. Made the letter tags (first initial of each girl attending) from wood, scrapbook paper that I modge podged on.

Homemade cupcakes, to resemble flowers

Packet of necklace making gear

besides making necklaces they also made bracelets

T's necklace and place setting

The table ready for the girls to come eat and enjoy!

Venting

Do you remember back when you were in school and there was always that mean nasty kid that you would see always be picking on someone (possibly you even) making them feel just awful? And have you ever wondered, after you grew up, what ever happen to this person? Did they "mellow out" and see the error in their ways? Did they ever feel guilty for all the hurt they caused? Or did they become more malicious, full of lies, out to hurt and cause more pain to innocent people who happened to cross their path?
I personally am fascinated by the 'true crime' type shows that are frequently shown on channels like ID and TRU as well as features on Dateline or even Primetime live. My explanation for my fascination with these shows are trying to figure what make these people 'tick'. I don't get how people do the things they do and I am always trying to figure why they feel the need to act the way have chosen and what made them choose to do the horrid things they do to others.
I have come to the conclusion, most of the time it cannot be explained. Some people are just pure evil and even some of them can really put on a good act, making people around them that they are the innocent, etc. These people have NO regard for truth or for other people. They care only for themselves an really not much else.
Case in point: A father who hasn't seen his kids much in the past 11 years (give or take). He wants to see his kids and has made many attempts but his ex-wife refuses to let him see them. At one time she did 'kind of' see the kids but only if she was there and the whole time she would scream at him, when all he wanted is to spend some quality time with his kids, then suddenly these 'allowed' visits stop.When he pushes the issue, as in shows up for court appointed visits anyway, the ex has him arrested because she claims she is fearful for her life, never mind he is only walking up the front walk and has yet to even do or say a thing. She also starts making these claims that the children are handicap, and all because of their father. She gets doctors to medicate the children, all the while no one is questioning her or her motives. She can go along making all these claims, and have no proof to back them up. She could quite possibly have Munchausen by proxy syndrome. She shows the signs and symptoms of this mental illness. How does no one else see this, you ask? I have no clue, no clue at all. As these children get older they start asking about their dad, then one of the restraining orders the the ex wife has out on the father, expires. They go to court she actually chooses to let the restraining order expire. She even agrees to let the father see his kids. He is excited, to get the chance. He and his 'new' wife go and see the kids. The ex-wife still not letting them see the kids without her, but allows the visit. Father and children has a fantastic time. The father is beaming and is promised by the ex he can see them again in two weeks. She then cancels, but says in another week or so he can see the boys again. They set up skype so they can talk. Father and 'new' wife are happy. Children are happy. Ex lets the boys see their dad again, this time she actually says that he can keep them for two nights. Father and 'new' wife happy. Kids happy. Father's family a little apprehensive, knowing the ex-wife, hoping for the best by expecting the worse.
Visit seemed to go without a hitch. They camped, hiked and got to know each other. They bring the boys back to their mother on time. All seemed well...Then the first bomb...
Ex decides to not allow father to see the children, because since they have seen him they seem to not be minding her anymore. She tells the father she is no longer going to allow visits until the children are 25 (ummm, don't think she can really do that). She files a retraining order that lists the reason that the children won't listen to her since their overnight visit. It is denied! Big surprise (insert sarcasm). She then refiles saying the father was inappropriate the children. And claims he did it more to the older child because that child is more handicap. This father would rather cut off his own arms that hurt a child in anyway. But she is believed. It goes to court, she has coached the kids into what to say. Father, 'new'wife and families of both are sickened by the allegations. For now the case is undecided. The father gets to have supervised visits, while it gets investigated more. 
This is one case where it needs to be ruled in favor for the father. This so-called mother needs to be stopped from making false statements and making the lives of her children, their father and other a living hell. 
Once again, this is sometimes what these mean kids turn into, just 'meaner' adults.

Getting healthier

So I have been giving a lot of thought to getting healthier. Admittedly I have let myself "slide" quite a bit and not that I am one who ever cares what I actually weigh (in fact I don't even own a scale!), I have finally reached a point where I am ready to make a commitment to myself to be healthier, feel healthier and look healthier. This doesn't meant I am "giving up" all the so called "good things in life", like my favorite: Pepsi and Dove Dark chocolate any variety or a Snickers now and again, though honestly the only thing I have a bit regularly in there is the Pepsi. I have already cut my Pepsi intake to one 12oz can (or bottle) every other day, and now getting to the point where I rarely even finish that one can. The goal is to only drink it occasionally (like I said I am not giving up on my favorites, just going to have them on special occasions or as a "treat" every so often but no longer daily or every other day).
Also with this challenge I have made with myself (a extremely good friend and I are doing this together to help each other along the way), I am committed to drink a green smoothie daily. These smoothies are all natural with fresh and fresh frozen ingredients.Today was my first attempt at making one and it wasn't to bad. Honestly, I was kinda "put off" by the green color of green smoothies. I am a very visual person and if something looks, well not right I am 99% sure I will NOT try it. So green drinks...well...enough said.
 Over the weekend I went out and bought a new blender, I got a KitchenAid, but if you look online the Blendtec and Vitamix seems what is most recommended to make your smoothie have the consistency of smoothie shops. Now I am sure these are wonderful blenders, let me assure you the KitchenAid that I bought worked perfectly and the consistency of my smoothie was like one found at Jamba, and with one-forth the cost of the "recommended" blenders, I couldn't be happier!
Todays smoothie consisted of spinach, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and three-fourths of a pear for sweetness. I was pleasantly surprised that my smoothie was reddish-purple in color! Now, it did have a slight taste of spinach but it wasn't overwhelming and was pretty good. I am planning on going to the store again tonight and "stalk" the vegetable and fruit isles to get more mixture ideas and hopefully find some perfect combinations for me.

dedicated to baby AJ

This is my friends sweet baby boy who passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday April 27. A very sad time for all of us who knew him and know this sweet family. For anyone who is able to help this family, no matter how big or small, there is a memorial fund set up under AJ's name at Wells Fargo Bank. Acea Jack Robison Born on Jan. 31, 2011 Departed on Apr. 27, 2011 and resided in Layton, UT. Visitation: Monday, May 2, 2011 Service: Monday, May 2, 2011 Cemetery: Hooper Cemetery " AJ " Acea Jack Robison Named After My Grandpas " My Heros" – Other than my Dad. Layton, UT - Acea Jack Robison passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday April, 27, 2011. He was born on January 31, 2011 to Paul E. and July Hurd Robison in Ogden, Utah. His smile was contagious, and would grow bigger and Bigger. He would always make everyone smile along with him. He'd smile from one side to the other showing his darling dimples. He was played with and very well cared for by his sisters. He was a strong boy, and the light of his parent's life. We all love and will miss him very much. AJ is survived by his parents; sisters, Romalyn, Madalyn, Annalyn, Ceralyn; grandparents, Acea H. and Clara Robison, Jack and Maria Hurd, Thomas and DeAnn Kemp; numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. Funeral Services will be held Monday, May 2, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at the Chelsea Park 1st Ward, 2800 West Gordon Ave. Layton, UT. Donations can be made at any Wells Fargo Bank for AJ Robison Memorial Fund. As I pull my kids closer and hug them tighter, over the last few days I am relieved to know that families can be together forever and so thankful for the atonement. That though this all people will be resurrected, and for those who obey the gospel will receive the gift of eternal life with God.

Accident Prone

I have a 8 year old daughter, Taylor who is accident prone. I swear there isn't a day that goes by that she hasn't gotten hurt one way or another. Today there were two culprits.

To begin with I need to set the stage of today. My parents are out of town for the weekend and needed someone to come in and feed their cats. Usually they ask my brother but as luck who have it, he and his wife were going out of town for the weekend as well. So as I was talking to my mom the other day and asking if she would be able to come to my next eye treatment and she mentioned the problem of the cats. She asked if we would be willing to come and feed them if we were going to be coming into town. We did have a few errands in town so we could help out. We went to their house and the kids were already fighting over who gets to feed the cats (we have a cat too and no one fights over who is going to feed him, more like who isn't going to..). We assign Taylor to get their newspaper, and Katie and Taylor to get the mail, if any. Katie and Taylor walk to the mail box. When they get there Taylor apparently stands to close and as Katie pulls open the box it smacks Taylor on her forehead. Culprit #1: mailbox door=Injury #1.

Later, we get home and the kids are doing their housework, they want to play video games so they are actually doing this without much complaint. One of Taylors chores is to clean off and organize the coffee table in our TV room. She gets everything off the table and asks Ethan to get her the cleaner. Culprit #2: a bottle of Pledge furniture polish.

Ethan tries to get the polish and it slips from his hand and of all places it lands on Taylors foot. She is in tears on the floor. Ethan feels terrible. John picks up Taylor and carries her to the couch telling her she will be fine. Taylor takes off her sock and reveals a nasty gash in her big toe. It is bleeding, has a "beautiful" purple bump/bruise. Thankfully, she can bend it, it finally stopped bleeding now all bandaged with neosporin. Along with a dose of childrens Tylenol and an icepack to help the swelling, and all we can say is, " Only Taylor, only Taylor" while shaking our heads. Tomorrow is another day and with her, we are just waiting to see what new "injury" is yet to come...

My eye, an update

My eye is still the same, there is no actual cure, and is quite serious, I will most likely always be in care of a retinal specialist as well my ophthalmologist. I still am "missing" some vision in my right eye (though my vision has gotten better, there is still a blockage in my vision) and hopeful it will all come back, but at this time there still is no guarantee. As for my shots I have had two so far and will definitely be having a least one more which is scheduled for April. The medicine that is injected, is doing what it needs to be doing and the hemorrhage seems to be reducing in size, but it is still there. Though the medicine it self is relatively harmless, each time I am injected it is increasing my chances for an eye infection since the needle leaves a hole in my eye and takes time to heal up. My retinal specialist, Dr. Brinton, is hoping to only do one more shot, because he is worried about me getting an infection. As for now it will be taken each visit one at a time and doing whatever Dr. Brinton deems necessary. There is still a chance of laser treatments as well as more shots (but like I said that can only be determined when I am at one of my appointments), but that is if my body tries to "heal" it self by producing new vessels to replace the blocked one. These new vessels would be weak and cause more blood leakage, hence the reason for the laser treatment.

As for the cause or why it happen it is still up in the air. I have had 8 vials of blood taken and each test has came up negative. Though that sounds great that they can't find something, makes us worry about what is causing this and what tests to run next. I have had both a fasting test as well not fasting, even some genetic testing. So basically that is where it stands at this time, dealing with a vision blockage, no idea how or why it happened, will never be cured just treated for the rest of my life, otherwise I very well could go blind in that eye as well since I have had this in one eye there is an 80% chance of getting it in the other, which frightens me, but I try not to dwell on it. I also have learned to put on a pretty good act/brave face about not worrying, and down playing the seriousness this actually is. Now you know my "secret act" you'll probably be able to see through it, but that is okay, it is probably better if someone other than John knows the "real" seriousness of this and the "real" concerns we have as well as the doctors. Now I must go back and put on my brave face....

What March means to me

I can hardly believe it is already March! We are now in the third month of the year and for me that mean my oldest will be an official teenager. Makes me question "Am I old enough to have a teenager?" Answer, "unfortunately yes". Dang it! :) But then I remember there are people my age and younger who have kids older and even have become grandparents somewhat recently, and honestly that make me feel better if not younger than what I am. Another event in March is St. Patrick's Day, now I know it isn't much of a holiday or one of "big celebrations" but we always have a mischievous leprechaun who comes and makes a big mess, but with the mess he leaves some "gold" for the kids. Wonder what he has in store this year for us and if the kids trap they set out will finally catch the rascally leprechaun.... And finally the best part of the month SPRING!!! How can I stress enough how much I am more than ready for spring? Green grass, flowers starting to bloom, the trees starting to bud there leaves, warm days with cool nights and the best part? The kids will play OUTSIDE more and get those wiggles out! I absolutely love Spring and all it represents and brings, and for me it signifies new beginnings! Definitely my favorite time of the year.

Ben's first tooth lost

Ben lost his first tooth yesterday. It took me by complete surprise. He came home from school and said. Mommy I haven't lost a tooth yet, but I think I have one that is a little loose that I found today. Well, being this was the first time he has mentioned a tooth being loose, I though I would check it later because most likely it will take a few days to a few weeks before it actually came out. So, I preceded to make lunch and as he was eating his PB&J out popped that rascally tooth. He was SO excited!!!! All he could talk about the rest of the day was how it came out and how the tooth fairy was going to come. The funniest thing is, this morning he had forgotten all about it and I to remind him to look under his pillow for his "treasure". He received two dollars from the tooth fairy, since it was his first tooth and all. Ahhh! I have one excited little big boy.

Retinal Hemorrhage

So, I have a retinal hemorrhage in my right eye. No clue how this happened and there is no actual cure, but there is treatment which I started this past Tuesday. One of the many tests I had was a fluorescein angiography a procedure that takes special photographs of your eye, in order to further investigate the blood vessels in my eye, which showed the hemorrhage.

From here I will need injections in my eye. The injection is a medicine called Avastin. It lasts one month in my eye, then I return for another. I don't know how many I will need of these (hopefully, not to many), then eventually I may need some laser treatments. I am a bit nervous about all this but the alternative is possibly blindness in the eye, so I will take the discomfort of the injections.

Tuesday was my first injection and to say that it was painful, is a HUGE understatement. I was told that it would just feel like pressure in my eye, boy were they ever wrong! They did put numbing drops in, and either they don't numb it enough or they didn't let it sit long enough. From there they put a wire thing in my eye to keep it open and then the shot immediately after. I was asked later how my eye felt and the best I could say is that my eye felt as if I had shards of glass in it. Now a couple of days later my eye is feeling better, though a bit tender still. Next appointment is set for March 10. I told the doctor they should give me a RX for Valium since I had no clue how I will be able to sit still for the next shot. I think they thought I was joking...

Loking for a Photography class?

My friend Heather has her own photography class and she is offering two different classes to help those who need help learning or expanding knowledge of their SLR camera's. The classes are mainly for beginners I believe, as in if you had just bought a SLR camera as well as for those of us who have had one for a while but keep it in "auto" mode to make it "simpler". Anyway, you will learn so many things about your camera as well as some photography "secrets"to make your photo's POP! Check out her blog for more information: heathercluffphotography.blogspot.com or her friends website: michellenuttall.com

Mid January, already?

I know I have said it many many times in the past that time passes SO quickly, but it amazing me so much by how it really does. It is now the middle of January. Ben turned six a week ago (6? really? I swear he is still teeny!), and the end of the term, which marks the halfway point of the school year was today. Just amazing, truly! I wish we could catch time in a bottle or find a way to slow things down more so we can enjoy the here and now more. So, I guess I need to stop wishing winter and the snow away and try to enjoy it (?). Snow fight anyone?

January

I can hardly believe that it is already January! The end of the school term/ semester is coming to an end next week and then we will be at the mid point of the school year. So far the kids are all doing great in their studies, which is a far cry from the first term of the year for Ethan. He has proven that he can "do" seventh grade and has really stepped up and taking control. He is a great student and is showing excellence in art and in theater. Man, that kid can draw and loves to act. I get complemented a lot over what a great kid he is and how funny he can be. SEP conferences a few weeks back were great. It was SO awesome to hear each teacher talk and faces light up about how great he is and how they love having him their classes. Makes me a proud momma. Katie is speeding along in 5th grade. Is is above average in almost all her studies. She is one smart cookie! She loves school and her teacher is wonderful! She did go through a semi-tough time recentlyShe also is still taking dance and has proven to be a great little dancer! Saying she loves to dance is a huge understatement! Ben is plugging along in kindergarten. He really is enjoying his teacher, making new friends and his new love reading on his own. It is SO great to have each of my kids reading and loving it (like me). Ben also enjoys drawing. He draws the greatest pictures! He too had his best friend move away (same family as Katies friend). The hardest part with him is that he doesn't get to see him like Katie does her friend, plus explaining divorce to an almost 6 year old proved difficult. He too cried, but mostly because he was afraid that we would too since his friend did. WOW! What a difficult subject matter to keep on his level and reassuring him that we are fine and Mommy and Daddy love him and his siblings very much as well as each other.  when her best friends parents divorced and her friend moved away from our neighborhood. There were a lot of tears on both parts, but luckily they are still in the same school (for now anyway). Katie also has lots of interest in crocheting and sewing, in fact she got a sewing machine for Christmas. Taylor is also doing awesome in school. She is a quick learner and also has tested above grade level, at least in reading. She too has a great teacher who is very attentive.She also is showing a great skill for drawing and designing. She is always doodling something or designing clothes.

John and I are doing great. John had a great scare with a blood clot in his leg. This clot is SO big that it runs more than half of his leg. For now he is under doctors care and using blood thinners to regulate it. He will be under care for 6 months. Since he rarely gets sick I had to ask him (jokingly of course) if he had to do this for attention, and if so there were much betters ways. I love that I can joke with him, which was about the only way I could deal with the stress of it all.

I am doing a small daycare at my house and currently watching 5 kids, the oldest being 5 and the youngest is almost one. I am enjoying them, but it is also exhausting and I wouldn't change a thing. So that is pretty much an update on us.