Thankful Thursday that became Letters of Intent Friday

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Dearest Friends/Readers/Followers/Assorted Stalkers,

I had every good intention of posting a witty and meaningful Thankful Thursday post yesterday.  And then life happened.  And when you are falling asleep on the couch with the TV on and your laptop in your lap at 8:30 PM, sleep wins over blogging.  And, so, like much of my cooking, we are going to make full use of the magical gift of leftovers today!  Enjoy!

Oh, and don't forget to enter my giveaway!  Comments are open until Monday morning, when the winner will be posted.  And if you are a GFC follower, or blogged about the giveaway, but didn't leave me a comment telling me as much, please do so.  Remember, the more comments, the more likely you are to win free caffeinated goodness!

Sincerely,

The Blog Addict Currently Experiencing Withdrawals!

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To My Sweet Man,

I know you are still a hunting newbie.  You learned that last year's kill was truly a once in a lifetime experience.  But, really and seriously...

... it's much easier to shoot an elk when you stay awake to see one.  Just sayin...

Your loving, over-caffeinated, having too much fun throwing mud balls at you wife

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Dear Colorado Weather,

Keep the snow up here...

... not at my house.  Because I haven't even started to rake these:

Signed,

It can't already be November, can it?!?!?!

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Princess Madi,

Seriously, girl!  How do you sleep like this?  You realize you are your Daddy's child, don't you?

Love,

Feels sorry for your husband someday

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Dear Daddy and Mommy,

Thank you so much for breaking the hot water heater.  Because when you had to get a new one, we got a giant coloring board,

a secret shoe-hiding tunnel,

a fabulous fort,

a luxury condo with a skylight,

and a new way for Mom to think we are the cutest things ever!

Love,

Three Girls Who Think The Best Toys Are Free

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Shall We Have Coffee?

If you have been around me for any length of time (usually 5 minutes will do), you know about my loves.  Now, don't misunderstand me.  My priorities are God, my hubby, then my kids.  But, right behind them (and sometimes leading), comes my love for the caffeinated beverage of happiness.  The beverage that God Himself had to have ordained, because it is so perfect.


Yes, my friends, I refer to coffee.   That blessed bean of goodness.  The joy of my morning. 


And, I love to share a coffee date with my friends.  To sit and sip the goodness, and visit for hours about everything and nothing. 


But, as much as I would LOVE to have a coffee date with each of you, Jerome has issues with me state-hopping every week to see all of you.  Sigh.  Sometimes husbands can be so, well, practical.  Sheesh.


So I struck upon a brilliant idea.  It isn't very often that I am able to take time to myself.  To go to the coffee shop by myself, and just sit and read (or people watch) and enjoy my coffee.  And, if I don't have that, I can safely assume that most of you have not taken that time for yourself lately either.


I have, on my kitchen counter, a $10 gift card for one of you to S*arbucks.  I bought it with my own money because S*arbucks knows how much money and coffee they would lose if they actually sponsored me.  And I would be honored to bless one you with it.  I seriously considered buying a gift card to our local coffee shop that I love WAY more than Starbucks (thus making a trip to Durango necessary for one of you - bwahahahahaha), but Jerome insisted that that could be considered cruel and unusual punishment.  Sigh.  So I got S*arbucks.  My only stipulation is that you have to promise to use this card on yourself - to take time to nurture yourself.  Because a cup only overflows when it is full.  Or when Violet gets involved.  But I digress.


So, how do you win coffee and alone time? 


Mandatory Entry:

• Leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite S*arbucks drink is.  Because you know we all have one. 

Optional Entries (please leave each entry as a separate comment):

• Follow me on Google Friend Connect and leave a comment letting me know that you are a follower.
• Blog about this giveaway and leave me the direct URL link.
• Call/text/email/FB my husband and insist that he fly me across the country to see you in person (just kidding - he would seriously kill me if you did that). 

The contest will be open until Sunday night.  I will post the winner Monday morning.  Now comment away!

Monday Mugs: Pink

Cause you all my brain is just not firing on all cylinders right now!  Go join Oswald Cuties for more Monday Mugs!

The theme for today is pink.  Before children, pink did not exist in my vocabulary.  Not only did I not wear pink, I despised pink.  Having three girly girl princess will change your outlook.

For example, I now take photos of pretty pink flowers:

And pretty little girls dressed in pink, even if I cannot get a single normal smile.

In our house, mealtime pink is both fashionable...

and functional...

... sort of.

But mostly pink is just for fun.



No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth

I am so glad you are all still here.  I didn't mean to go so long since my last real post.  Really.  This was a really hard week for me emotionally.  And when I hurt, I struggle to write.  I started at least a half dozen posts in my mind, but when I got to the keyboard - nothing.  But, at the same time, it was a good week.  I am learning to snuggle up to my Daddy when I hurt, rather than run away.  Emphasis on learning. 


Jerome got home safe and sound, so Madi and I are both sleeping better.  Madi has, in fact, been full of piss and vinegar (sorry, family saying) since the return of her accomplice.  They have caused plenty of trouble.


Kat's tests all came back normal.  There was nothing they could see that would cause her pain.  We both agreed that the barium xray was one of the coolest things EVER!  Yes, I am raising a nerd prodigy.  She still has pain, but not as constant as before.  She has been on Prevacid for a little over a week, so that may have something to do with it.  She still goes completely pale and weak when an episode hits.  She has two or three episodes per day while she is at school.  Her very sweet teacher has a bean bag in the corner for her - she lays down for a while until the pain subsides, then she gets back up and joins the rest of the class.  She is tired, and tired of hurting. Needless to say, we are headed to Denver in a few weeks.  



I have no idea what to expect when we go to Children's.  We could be up there one day or many.  It all depends on what the doctors think, and what the best course of action will be. 



I have also learned a lot about people through this, and myself.  I have had countless people tell me exactly what I should and should not be doing for my daughter.  Well-meaning people, but still completely uninformed.  People who see my daughter a grand total of 15 minutes or less a week, if at all.  People who I haven't seen in years.  I have actually had people tell me that I was accepting and using a tool of Satan by taking my daughter to a traditional doctor. 



I cannot help but remember all the times I have given unsolicited advice.  How many times have you?  And how often do we really have no business stating our opinion?  I wonder how many hearts I have grieved in my ignorance.  

Read it Forward Winner

Dear SenoraG:

Congratulations!  You won this month's Read It Forward giveaway with this comment:

 As determined my my ever-helpful sidekick, Random.org:

Shoot me an email with your address, and I will get your book right out to you! 

Congratulations,

TheBookNerdWhoHopesThisMemeTakesOffLikeARocket

Catching Up

Well howdy!  It has been a long week.  Jerome comes home tomorrow, Praise You Jesus!  Our home group was wonderful and brought us more food than we could possibly eat yesterday and today.  My friends are such a blessing.  I didn't know how much I did not want to cook until I didn't have to.  They are such a blessing.


Madi is doing okay as long as she is distracted.  Otherwise, we have waterworks.  Lots and lots of waterworks.  She is also still having nightmares, so what little sleep I am getting is interrupted by a scared daddy's girl.


Violet has keyed in to her big sister's sensitive state and has made it her goal to find new ways to torture Madi.  Which makes my life interesting on a moment-by-moment basis.


Katrina had her best day yet today.  She was not allowed to eat or drink after 8pm last night for her test this morning (more on that later), so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it.  She had very little pain all morning.  After she was allowed to eat, the pain returned.  It wasn't as intense, but it was still there.  We also started her on Prevacid, a medicine used to treat ulcers and acid reflux, on Tuesday.  So I'm not sure right now if this episode is fading on it's own, if the pain is minimized due to being NPO for over 12 hours, or if the Prevacid is working.  So, here's what we know so far:


Blood Tests: All negative. No mono, no anemia, normal kidney, liver, and pancreas function. No food allergies, no household allergies. The only airborne allergies are to Kentucky bluegrass and cedar trees. Duh. Everyone else in CO is allergic to these. And everyone, including Kat, have problems in the spring. Runny nose, stuffy sinuses. Cedar trees aren't a problem in the fall. So we know that's not it.




Poop Tests: We don't have all the results back yet. But we know we don't have any parasites. So no friends living in her intestines.



Cultures: Both urine and strep were negative.



We did an upper GI scan at the hospital this morning. That's where you drink the barium and they x-ray your abdomen. It was actually really cool (nerd mom). Katrina wants to get copies of the x-rays to show her class (nerd kid).  We should have the results from that and the rest of the poop results tomorrow.  



We have an appointment set at Children's for Nov 10th. If we find something we can't take care of here, or we don't find any answers, our doc might try to call up there and see if we can't get the appt moved up.



If we have ruled out every other possibility, then the only diagnosis left is abdominal migraines. They tend to occur in girls who have a family history of migraines.  Which we do.  Essentially, they are migraines in your stomach.  Which is yucky because it is something you just have to learn to deal with. And kids with AMs as children are much more likely to develop regular migraines as adults.



So, we will hopefully know more tomorrow, and maybe have a cause that we can work with. Ugh.  My brain is exhausted, so I think I am going to turn off the computer now and just sit.  Please forgive me if I have not left comments lately.  My brain is mush.

True Story Tuesday: Saint Poopicus Returns

Life has been interesting since Daddy left.  Saturday, I didn't end up having to take the minions to the store.  A fab friend called right before we left and offered to keep the kids at her house.  I almost kissed her.


Sunday after church I took the minions to my parents' house and I headed up the mountain for a beautiful fall Colorado afternoon wedding.  Well, the reception was slower than molasses moving at a leisurely pace, so I didn't get back to my parents until after 10pm.  I was forced invited to spend the night, and got to see firsthand just how little sleep Kat actually gets when she is in pain. 


Monday morning my ninjas parents slipped out of the house without waking us, allowing my girls to get some much-needed sleep.  Kat still hurt so another visit to the doctor was needed.


While we were there, the doc asked us to collect stool samples.  We left, armed with many containers, latex gloves, and a pile of instructions.  On the way back to the office (she spent the day with me so I could monitor her symptoms and, of course, collect the poo), Katrina gave me a very weird look.  She asked, "Mommy, why do they want my stool?"  I replied something to the effect of smart people testing it to figure out what was wrong with her tummy.  Her next question?  "Can we get me another one?  I can't see the mirror without mine."


Wrong stool, honey.  Wrong stool.


And if you have never had the opportunity, let me reassure you that collecting stool from your child is extremely entertaining.  Sadly, a cereal bowl at the office was a casualty of war.  But at least she got to keep her wooden stool.



Seriously people.  I know I'm not the only one who has these conversations.  Go link up with Rachel & Mr Daddy for more true stories!