Wow, a lot happens in 8 months...

Life keeps happening in spite of the fact that I haven't blogged about it in about 8 months. I'll give a quick overview and then "hopefully" I'll be a bit more diligent in my blogging.

In September, Savannah started 1st Grade. She is a good student, and mostly enjoys school. I'm praying for the opportunity to homeschool her, but until that time, I am confident that God will use her (and my) time at that school for His glory.

In October, our baby girl turned 6! She had a doggy themed party. All her guests came dressed as doggies and she had a doggy shaped cake made with love by Grammie. I spent the entire week before the party redoing her room.


November was a time for celebrating family and being thankful for all God has done for us. We had TWO Thanksgivings! One the day before with my side of the family, and then another one on the day of Thanksgiving with Wayne's side of the family.

It was pretty quite around here come December. Wayne had his celebration of Christmas with Savannah. It was a pretty quite day at our house. Just the way I like it. ;)

Savannah also received a Student of the Month award in December, for Responsibility.

January was pretty uneventful. Not much to report.

In February, Savannah performed at her school's talent show with three of her friends. They were gummy bears! She did such a wonderful job. Not only did she remember all of her moves, but she performed wonderfully too! It reignited her desire to dance, so we re enrolled her in dance. So, now she is dancing (tap, ballet, and jazz) and doing gymnastics.

February also brought a surgery to my door. During my yearly "girly" doctor appointment, my ob/gyn found a large fibroid on the posterior of my uterus. He said it was rather large and wanted me to have an ultrasound done to see exactly what it consisted of.

Well, during that ultrasound, the tech found no fibroid, but she did find a large cyst on my right ovary. I have known about this cyst since my ultrasound almost 7 years ago, when I was pregnant with Savannah. I had also seen a picture of it from when I had the laparoscopy three years ago. It didn't concern me too much, until they started throwing around words like "complex" cyst and "solid components."

Due to the fact that it was no longer just a simple cyst but was now a complex cyst with solid components, they ordered a pelvic MRI. After my doctor received the results from the MRI, he referred me to an oncologist. I wasn't too concerned, at this point because of all the research I had done. Plus, just as with the Asherman's Syndrome, I knew God would receive the glory and that He had a plan for this situation. (By the way, only about 1% of ovarian cysts are cancerous, and statistically they are in women 50 years of age or older.)

To make a long story short, I saw the oncologist and showed him the picture of the cyst that I had from the laparoscopy and he too, did not seem concerned. However, due to the size of the cyst, he did say it would need to be removed.

A few weeks later, I went in for surgery and the removed the cyst, which was the size of a grapefruit. It was so large, that it was actually nestled in my colon. It was also a dermoid cyst. The "solid component" was a ball of hair. I've had this cyst my entire life and only really felt its existence when I ovulated. It's a strange feeling to be pain free during ovulation for the first time in my life.

Which brings us to March. This month brought a new mile stone in Savannah's growth. She lost her first tooth! She also had her 1st Grade performance at her school, which had a patriotic theme. Her class sang The Star Spangled Banner and a few other songs.

There are a few other things that I want to add, but they are recent enough to warrant their own posts.

The "Fruits" of Our Labor

It's been nearly three months since we planted our garden at Grammie and Papa's house. We received a call that it was "time to harvest." And boy was it! It was actually overdue on the zucchini's. There were about three of them that are uneatable because they grew too big.

We harvested all of the carrots, because the pumpkin had no place to go. I picked it up off the ground (where I can see it had already received a tasting from some little critter) and placed it where the carrots had been.

I'm pretty sure that we won't have any cantaloupe. Th

ere just isn't enough room! Next year, we are going to make our planter box MUCH bigger, and plant MUCH smarter.

We may or may not get a watermelon. The

plant seems to be getting big, but as of now, it's only flowers. It may be too late in the season, and they may have been overtaken by the zucchini, which is way out of control. Zucchini bread, anyone?

Here are the pictures from today. We will go back in a couple of weeks to check on more zucchini. I'm sure that more will be ready to pick.

Gardening at Grammie and Papa's

Last year Savannah and I planted sunflowers, pumpkins, and watermelons at my parent's house. The only thing that ever grew was the watermelons. The rabbits and ground squirrels ate the sunflowers as soon as any green come up out of the dirt and the pumpkins flowers never had a chance. The only reason we were able to grow watermelons was because Papa covered the foliage with chicken wire!

This year, we are going to outsmart those little varmints. This year Papa build a planter box. It's about 10 or so feet long, 3 or so feet high and about 3 or so feet wide. Papa drove the tractor while Wayne and I filled the box with dirt.



We added vegetable planter mix (not organic unfortunately) and Savannah helped to til it together with the native soil.



Here is a picture of us planting the sunflowers. We put them at the back of the planter box where they wouldn't shade the rest of the fruits and vegetables.





Next we planted watermelon, zucchini, cantelope, carrots, and pumpkins. It's probably too much for that little area, but we just couldn't make up our minds!





Last year, Grammie bought Savannah her own gardening tools. She had fun using them for their practical purpose!



The height of the box would keep the squirrels and bunnies from eating our garden, but we wanted to make sure that nothing would even think about approaching. A mini-sized scarecrow should do the trick! (Um, notice the adorable dress Savannah chose to dig in the dirt with? She said, "Mommy. You can always wash it.")



We're very optimistic about this years crop. We're just sad that our yard doesn't get enough sun to have the garden at our house. For now, we're grateful for Grammie and Papa helping us out and letting us grow our garden in their yard!

Making Pretzels

Savannah and I love to bake. Last year, Wayne got soft pretzel mix from his friend at work. We had such a good time making them. In fact, I believe I blogged about it. When Savannah brought home her fundraising packet from school, I saw that they had soft preztel mix. I was even more excited to find out that it was organic soft pretzel mix! Here are some pictures of this years batch of pretzels.

Look, ma. Organic!



Pouring the mix into the bowl.



After adding the water, oil, and yeast, mix, mix, mix.



Kneading the dough is fun!



Daddy lending moral support.



Separating the dough into equal sized portions. (Yes, my daughter is a dork... :) The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.)



Rolling the dough to make into the pretzel shape.



Fresh out of the oven. We've got your typical pretzel shape, a butterfly, a heart, and the figure 8 for one of Savannah's favorite shows "John and Kate Plus 8." In fact, she kept calling it her "John and Kate Plus 8" pretzel.



The finished product. I only made two with sea salt on top. The others were made into cinnamon 'n sugar pretzels. They were very yummy.



I was just looking at last year's blog about making pretzels, and I'm surprised that I made them at all this year!  I now remember what a hard time we had.  We didn't have ANY of those problems this year.  Of course, it was much warmer this time than the last time, so that may have contributed to the ease of this batch of pretzels.

PB & J

It's kind of freaking me out, how independant my little girl is becoming.  Nevermind the fact that she doesn't need me to stay with her to fall asleep.  Forget the truth of it that she can pretty much take a shower without me.  Let's focus on the day she decided she also didn't need me to make her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches anymore.  Isn't that one of the quintessential duties of a mom?  To make their kids pb&j's?

It almost hurt, like a growing pain, to watch her do it so well! I did get to help cut off the crusts, though.  Phew!  I'm still needed. She has told me a couple of times in the past week that pretty soon she won't need me...  Can I put her on a time-out for a statement like that???

The Independent Clause

It has been brought to my attention that I coddle my nearly 5 year old way to much.  My husband has been telling me that for ages, but it didn't really hit me until the good Lord above called me out.  So, I started to think about our daily routine starting with bedtime.

We start in the bathroom where I put the toothpaste on the brush.  She then she opens her mouth for me to brush her teeth.  After, we go into her bedroom to read some books and bible stories and then she'll lie down.  I will snuggle up next to her as we say our prayers and then I sing and snuggle until she is asleep.  I quietly sneak out of her room and into my own bed at this time.

At about 3am Savannah either calls me from her room or shows up at the side of the bed.  "Can I sleep with you?"  She then crawls up and we snuggle until the morning.  I usually wake up before her, so I wait until she wakes up so that she doesn't have to wake up alone.

Then, I grab her animals and her nightime juicy and carry it downstairs for her where I proceed to make her breakfast.  After breakfast we head back upstairs where she picks out her clothes.  I sit on her bed and she brings them to me and lifts her arms so I can take off her jammies (nauseated yet?...)  I then hold out her pants as she places her feet in each leg hole.  I follow that by pulling her shirt down over her head for her.

After this, we go to the bathroom to brush her teeth.  I put the toothpaste on the brush and then she opens her mouth for me to brush her teeth.  After I brush my own teeth, I go into her bedroom, grab her socks, and we both head downstairs.

Once downstairs she sits down either on the couch or at the kitchen table while I put on her shoes and socks...  Yah, I could go on, but I won't.

I have to tell you, as much as she got (yes got, that is past tense) pampered and coddled, she showed little to no appreciation!  In fact, she was getting *cough, cough* a bit spoiled.

So, I decided that a lot of things needed to change.  I instituted the "Independent Clause" in our house.  She now dresses herself, brushes her own teeth, puts on her own shoes and socks (I still help a bit with the socks, but just a little bit, I promise!) and even washes her own body in the shower as well as drying off after.  It's amazing what a change I've seen in her in just the past week.  In fact, she even made her own PP&J (that's a post all by itself because it was so cute...)

Just yesterday, after accomplishing to put on her own socks she says to me, "Mommy.  Now all I have to do is be a good listener, and then I'll be a big girl."  Yah.  By todays standards, honey, you've been a big girl for over a year.  Being a good listener ain't the way to get there.  I kept that to myself though, hoping that she'd try to behave better so she'd "be a big girl."

Going into Retirement

Her shoes, that is.  I'm not sure exactly how long Savannah has been wearing these Wal-Mart brand "Crocs" but it's been well over a year.  She wore them in Hawaii in June of 2007 and I know that she had them approx. six months before that!  And, as you can tell from this picture, they have been worth the whole $6 a pair that I paid.

"Why are they two different colors?" you may ask.  Let me tell you a story...

Once upon a time Savannah had two pairs of Crocs (yah, I know they aren't really Crocs, but that's what we called them); one pair were pink and the other pair were blue.  She loved matching them with her outfits.  And then, the unthinkable happened.  One of her blue ones fell out of the car when we were shopping never to be seen again!  She was so brave.  She didn't even shed a tear because she still had her favorite pink ones.

Then, one day while Savannah was playing at the park with her cousins, they decided to start kicking dirt into a grated drain.  As everyone knows, Crocs don't fit on the foot real tight, so after a few kicks, her right pink Croc went flying and fell down the drain!  Daddy tried his best to retrieve the shoe, but to no avail.  This time tears were shed.



Wouldn't you know it though?  What are the chances, I ask rhetorically, that she'd lose the opposite shoe?  She still had a complete pair, even though they were two different colors.  So, she began to wear her Crocs, one of each color.  We would get so many people commenting on how unique and "hip" she was to step outside the norm and wear two different color shoes.  Sometimes we'd just smile and other times she'd share the story.  Pointing out her left blue foot she'd say "This one fell out of the car," then she'd switch to the right foot and continue, "and this one fell down the drain."

So, my daughter's fashion statement was nothing more than a set of unforeseen circumstances. She did look pretty cool though.  (At least to me.  I was one of the weird kids in high school that would wear two different color of Converse shoes...)

Anyway, the poor things had seen their day.  The tread was almost completely gone from the bottom.  Her toes were almost popping out the little holes, not to mention the fact that they looked as though they'd been run over buy a car at least half a dozen times.

Off to the mall we went to purchase her a pair of "real" Crocs.  And "real" Crocs is what she got.  They are a nice shade of purple.  We even got those little things that pop into the holes.  I'm thinking of getting her a pair of pink ones hoping that she will opt to wear one of each color.  :)

Soccer/Team Mom

That's me, minus the mole above the lip.  Even my haircut now looks similar.  Well, I don't wear high heels either, but honestly, that's besides the point.  The point being that I am a soccer mom.  And more specifically, Team Mom for Savannah's AYSO soccer team.

I'm not sure why I chose to volunteer to be a Team Mom.  I think I just wanted that experience since I grew up with my mom usually being the Team Mom for my brothers' teams.  I myself never played soccer.  I was the gymnast.  I thought it would be fun to take on that role.  Which it has been.  Well, kind of.

There is a "kink" so to speak, in my Team Mom status.  Mostly that my kid refuses to play the game.  Practices go wonderfully.  She loves to kick the ball back and forth to her team mates.  She even likes to dribble the ball down the field into the goal.  However, as soon as Coach starts a scrimmage game, she runs off the field in a pout.  She looks at me and says "I don't want to play that game."  Um.  I hate to break it to you kiddo, but that IS the game.

Game days are so stressful for me.  Wayne even told her that if she scored a goal, we'd go to Build-A-Bear.  And honestly, had she joyfully played even one quarter we would have taken her.  She was excited last night to play because she is good and I was pretty sure that if she played she would score.  However, we get to the field and all the sudden she starts her pout and again, refuses to go on the field.  This, of course, upsets her daddy, and reasonably so.  Not only were we one player short today, but we've vested time and money into this.  And she wanted to play soccer this year!  *sigh*

I'm not sure exactly what to do.  I know that a few things need to change at home (I coddle her way too much) but I'm at a loss at what to do on game days.  I seriously am dreading next Saturday.  I guess I just need to offer it up to the Lord (in the grand picture of things, this is really no big deal) and pray that the changes that I know He wants us to make will make a difference in just six short days.

Any suggestions are welcome.

BTW - Her team name is Flutter Power.  I'll have to upload some pictures of her first game.  She at least played one quarter then.  Of course, I was on the field because the coach had to leave early.  Oh, and in case you are going to say I should go on the field with her, that's not an option.  I think that is part of the problem.  She doesn't feel that she can do anything without me (my fault *cough, cough*)

First day of Kindergarten

My little girl is officially in grade school. I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I remember my mom saying that and thinking, "Are you kidding?!" Now, as a parent, I completely get it. And although I still cherish the season when she was a toddler, it is so rewarding to see her off to "big school" as she called it. She realizes that kindergarten is different than preschool. She will correct me though, if I call it school. She wants it to be called kindergarten. ;)

I was a little nervous to drop her off because the last few months of preschool, she would cry when I first dropped her off. I wasn't sure how she would react to kindergarten. I tried to not make such a big deal out of it, because she's too smart for that. But, she did get brand new shoes and a brand new backpack which I think helped a lot. The night before it took me at least 30-45 minutes to get her to sleep because she was "so excited!"

Here is a picture of her with her new shoes and new backpack.


A closer look at her pink camo backpack (wish I wouldn've taken a better picture of her shoes.  They are so cool!)



Here she is being silly.



I think she feels a little more comfortable at this school because we are within walking distance.  It's on the same street as us, about 3 minutes of walking time.  So, we walked to school for her first day, since she has afternoon kindergarten we have to time to do that.



Once we got there, we waited for her teacher to come to the back gate and let the kids in.  It's a closed campus, so unless you go through the office, you are not allowed in.  I love that.  Once her teacher came, Savannah gave me five kisses and two hugs and went through the gate to stand in line.



Here's another shot where you can actually see her teacher too.  I was shooting through the chain link fence, so it was a bit of a challenge.



I have to admit, I got a little choked up while she was standing there.  Not as much as when she started preschool, but a little bit.  I turned to the mom next to me as I started to say "I think it's harder on us than them," when I noticed she was bawling.  Her son was so cute though.  His little brother who was about 2 1/2 was crying so he says to him "When I get home, we'll play roller coaster like 5 times!"  Every one was saying "Ah..." when the dad says, "Yah, who do you think the roller coaster is?"  LOL!

I waved to Savannah a couple more time before her teacher told the kids to blow us kisses.  As soon as she was out of site, I walked home.

When I picked her up, I asked if she had fun.  She said that she did, so I asked her, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she said.

"Okay."  So much like her daddy.  Everything is on a "need-to-know" basis, and I guess I just didn't need to know.  LOL!

I was so excited for her first day, and I know she was too.  The best way that I could've and did prepare her was by praying and letting her know that Jesus and His angels would be with her.  I just trusted Him that she would be fine, and she was.  It was also comforting to know that she was exactly where the Lord wanted her to be.

Thank you, Jesus, for the beautiful little girl that I have the privilage of calling my daughter.  Thank you that you love her more than I ever could and that you always have her best interest at heart.

I'm a woman. I CAN change my mind...

It's not so much that I changed my mind, I just moved it around a little bit.  :D  I had originally thought that I wanted to purchase more Foogo's, which I do!  But, I think I only want one more.  Mostly for longer trips outside the house since they are insulated like a Thermos.  (Oh, that's becaust they ARE a Thermos..)

Anyway, I've come to fall in like with the Klean Kanteen.  Mostly because they are eco-friendly, but also because, come on, they now come in pink!  How cool is that?  Savannah is pretty excited about that.  I also like that they have the different lids.  I can either put the sippy lid on (which doesn't look "babyish" at all) or the sports cap lid.  She can basically grow into them.  Love it!

Plus, I really want one.  But I think I'll just get the silver.

Click, Click, YES!

So, I've decided that I really need to get behind my camera more often.  I've gotten pretty rusty.  I haven't had a photography job in almost a year (anyone? anyone?)  Anyway, before I left to go on a girls-night-out, I shot a few pictures of Savannah with her new parasole.  Of course, she wanted to take a few with her best furry friend D'Argo.

Here are the first few shots...



I'm actually pretty surprised that she allowed me so many shots.  The past year or so she's been such a pistol when it comes to being in front of the lens.



If things keep going this well, I may need to get a Flickr account.  I'll still post some here too, but the majority will go on the Flickr.  That's of course only if I get up and behind the camera more!





This next one isn't my favorite.  Savannah's face is a little blown out, but I love the look on D'Argo's (not in focus...) face, so I had to add it.  It looked really bad in color.



So, those are from Saturday.  The one's below are from today.  We were outside playing with the dogs, and I thought Savannah's hair looked really pretty, even though it was kind of a mess.  She didn't have a shirt on and I didn't want to take her picture with no shirt just in case one of them turned out good and I wanted to hang it on my wall!  So, she ran inside and grabbed her hand dyed silk.  It was perfect!  Love these shots...





Loooooovvvveeeee this one.  I think it's hang on the wall worthy.  I'm so glad I made her put  something on.



This one she is actually laying on D'Argo, but you can't see him.  Her face just looked so beautiful I couldn't ruin it with a big drooly Rottweiler!  LOL!



And last, but not least, my favorite one.  Well, of Savannah.  I wish I could crop it just perfect so that it was just her, but I can't.  :(  I wish it didn't look like she had a choke hold on the dog because I love everything about the capture of her.  *sigh*



And that's all for now.  Don't forget.  You can click on the image to make it bigger.  Remember though, that it opens in the same window, so you have to click the back button to get back here.