Wild Hairs

I am not sure what has gotten in to me lately. I have been cleaning like a mad dog. I am not talking your usual every day dishes type cleaning. I am talking about cleaning and organizing rooms that have been forgotten about. Like our guest bedroom/yard sale storage closet, or the shed/Brandon's hoarding facility, even the den that Audrey destroyed (I am having second thoughts about it being a playroom for her).

Yesterday, I was so sick of having all of my holiday decorations in the guest bedroom closet, and in the little pantry thing. That I went crazy and organized Brandon's hoarding shed so that I could move it all out there. It went surprisingly well if you do not think about all the Daddy Long Legs I ran into. Gross. I managed to organize everything that was already there, and add all of my decor and have it still look nice and clean. Go me.

So, since I made space in the guest bedroom closet I put all of my yard sale stuff and Audrey's baby stuff that I am keeping in there. I put it all in there neatly so that when I need to get something out, I do not have boxes falling on my head. I put clean sheets on the bed and dusted the furniture. I attempted to vacuum and nearly finished when my vacuum sucked up a corner of a dish towel. I do not know what happened exactly, but it quit working and I did not have time to investigate. As of today, I still have not done it. I get irritated when I have to go looking for a screwdriver.

Today I decided to clean up the den. It had toys, crayons, paper, and ribbon strewn all over the flower. It was lovely. There were also a few things I had set back there to get out of the way and Brandon had placed Audrey's wooden chest back there in the middle of the floor. Again, lovely.

It did not take me long to do because Audrey's stuff just gets thrown into her toy box  or crayon box anyway. I had to clear space in Audrey's closet before I placed the chest in there. We are going to use it for her memory stuff. I have already placed her finger paintings and first few dresses in it.

Now I have a clean shed, a clean den, and a clean guest bedroom/closet. Now if only the rest of my house could be clean....

So, I have to mention the new donut/bakery/coffee/lunch shop in town again. I have taken Audrey there the last two mornings. I am starting to worry. This place is going to be the cause of my weight gain and empty bank account. The coffee is great and the donuts are even better. I let Audrey eat donuts for breakfast yesterday, she thinks I am an awesome mom. I think I am an awesome mom because I made her pair them with cantaloupe.

Yesterday I bought a dozen donut holes. Audrey ate most of them but, I saved a few for hubby because he always likes something sweet after dinner. He did not get to eat them. I left Roxy in the house, in the laundry room mind you, because it was just too hot outside. That little escape artist got out and stole Brandon's bag of donuts off the counter. I felt really bad so I bought him a new bag today. Roxy is outside.

Brandon told me the first thing I had to do when I got home last night was look at Audrey. I always do anyway but I do not think he knows that.

This is what I saw

You really have to love your shoes to want to sleep in them.

I took a picture of the house this morning. It is not great, especially with Big Red in the front. It is much prettier when my little matching gray car is in the extra parking space, but she is special and gets the carport spot.

Something, or someone, broke one of our solar path lights. Jerk(s). So now all that needs to be done is the trellis above the window box (the one that does not have a window), the security doors, new light fixtures, and Brandon is building new stairs. I am going to be one happy lady when it is all finished. 

My baby's hand looks so good today. It is day 7 and it is healing so well. She is so amazing. I thank God every day that she has been such a good girl. She has not tried to take her bandage off, not even once. She does not let it bother her or get in the way of her play time. She has really done a wonderful job at coping. Like I said, she is a trooper. 

I am wondering if you can use Mederma on children? If so I am going to be buying some for her. I do not want her hand to be scarred to horribly. I have heard good things about Mederma and I am hoping I am able to use it on her hand. 

Here are some comparison pictures

Day 1

Day 7

The in-between days,

All it Takes is a Coat of Paint

We painted our house! Well, Brandon and Earl did. I supervised, sort of. I went to get a band aid and Audrey stuck her foot in a paint pan and walked everywhere. It was hilarious though and for the record, I did not know that pan was there. There were cute little footprints on the sidewalk and on the driveway. Earl and I laughed and cracked jokes, while Brandon sat there huffing and puffing. Sorry sweetheart there are things to get mad about and there are things to laugh about. Paint comes off concrete so this was a time to laugh.

I took my eyes off of her for two seconds and she steps in a paint pan, some people were like oh em gee. I was like, BFD. It was hilarious. Lighten up people, jeez.   :o)   (So sorry)

We did not take an official 'before' picture. I do not know why but oh well. The picture that I do have has the white trim already painted, and some gray along side the trim. You will get the idea though. Also, there is a strip above the front door that was not painted so just ignore that.

Now that I look at them, it turns out I do not have an actual after picture either. It actually makes me laugh because I thought I had one of each, at least. In the first 'after' picture the section by the front door is not finished. The second 'after' picture is just the front section of the house on the same day. It still looks pretty though.

The white wood trim and the flower boxes were quite a job for Brandon. He built all new window boxes for me, I was always complaining about them. He built them with metal rods in the bottom so that when the water runs over the top of the flower planters it drains into the flower beds below instead of sitting and rotting a wood bottom. He did a great job.

Oh, and Audrey helped too.

Just needs paint!











He also fixed all the wood trim in the front of the house. Some of it was rotting, mostly the bottom parts. He used his wood working skills and replaced it all. Looks like new!

The day the actual roller painting started was on Father's Day. That was the best Father's Day ever, and I am not even a Father. We all had a great time goofing off and working at the same time. Earl and I have this joke when we go cut wood with Brandon, we goof off and then joke that the other is going to get fired by Brandon. Brandon is all work and no play, so Earl and I mess around until Brandon says something to us. Brandon plays along too sometimes by pretending to be "big boss" but it's funny. We did that most the time they were painting. Those two crack me up.

I decided I would help paint too and this is what happened.

They did not let me paint anymore after that.












The house is all finished except for the security doors. I think security doors are ugly but Brandon refuses to take them off. So, we compromised. We are going to have them painted white to match the trim and give it a more clean look. I will take a picture tomorrow morning of the finished house complete with flowers in the window boxes.

I love the house now, I think it is very pretty! And it matches my very pretty car :o)

The Life of a Lioness

Audrey's little kitty is hilarious. She loves to play outside so in the morning I take all the kids outside to play while I water. All the kids being, Audrey, Kat, and Roxy. Sometimes Roxy will chase Kat up a tree or, Kat will climb up a tree just to stretch her claws out. Audrey gets really upset when Kat goes up a tree. She yells, "oh no, oh no!!" That too is hilarious.

Today Kat decided she was going to lounge in the tree. It was too cute not to take pictures of. I had just read the Lion King to Audrey and that was what she reminded me of. Anyway, she looked super cute relaxing up in the tree, while Audrey was on the ground having a panic attack over it.

Cute right?

The Perfect Weekend

Audrey and I had a wonderful weekend. I did because it was the perfect mix of work and pleasure. I know Audrey did because she was constantly surrounded by people that love her and were willing to give her all the kisses and candy she wanted.

Nana and Papa Hoffman came to town on Thursday. They are the best Grandparents ever. PERIOD. You can try to argue with me but it will be a waste of your time. My Grandparents are not only the funnest people to be around (how many grandparents do you know that still can party like they 25?), they are the kindest, most helpful people I know. 

My Grandma aka Nana, is the sweetest person on earth. You would  have to be to stay married to my Grandpa for 55 years. I am joking. She really has the best heart. She is so helpful, she will help with dishes or whatever it is you need done. When she goes to the grocery store she buys whatever it is you need for the house ie., paper towels, hand soap, aluminum foil, paper plates, etc. She is also a great listener and so loving. 

My Grandpa aka Papa, is the funnest and funniest person. He is always up for a good time and always has a good joke to tell. He is not always all fun and games though. He is also a great listener and has some of the most wonderful advice. If Papa is around you know you are going to laugh, smile, and get plenty of hugs. 

I tried to show Papa and Nana a good time on Thursday but they ended up stealing my show. I wanted to treat them to the new donut/coffee shop here in Holbrook but they insisted on paying. We all had our fill of donuts, cinnamon rolls, and coffee. That place is great! I cannot wait to go back. I am so lucky too because it is a block away from me. 

For lunch we ordered Navajo tacos from ADOT, which I also tried to pay for but was beat to the punch. After lunch Nana and I did chores while Papa and Audrey watched TV and took naps. 

 As soon as Parker and Brandon got off work we headed for Gallup, NM. We did some shopping and ate at Cracker Barrel. Brandon and I love Cracker Barrel. We are old souls and cannot resist buying old fashioned candy when we go there. I love the store area and the decor in the restaurant. We enjoy looking at antiques and enjoyed classic food.

Audrey loves Cracker Barrel too I guess. She enjoyed playing games at the table and outside with Parker and Grandma Karen. She ate all of her macaroni and cheese, then Daddy bought her some gummy bears for desert.

 On Friday I was getting ready for Saturdays yard sale. Brandon had left that morning for work and was not going to be back until Saturday evening. He was sent to San Manuel for some sort of training I believe. So, I decided that I would have a yard sale while he was gone. He likes to hoard things so I have to get rid of them while he is not looking.

My Grandparents had to stay and extra night because the road home was closed due to yet another AZ wildfire. Yes, Arizona is on fire. Friday afternoon we loaded up and went to Wally World.

 Nana and Papa treated Audrey and I to Taco Bell and we went home. That evening we had a BBQ at Parker's and visited. We were supposed to play games but by the time we finished eating it was time to go home. Audrey was on the verge of passing out on the floor.

Saturday was my yard sale. It went really well. Not only did I make a good amount of money. I managed to do yard work in between customers. I weeded flower beds and watered everything in the yard. I know weeding the flower bed does not seem like much but it was overflowing with weeds. To the point where my flowers would not grow because of them. It took the whole morning.

Audrey's stuff from the last 3 months. It's getting ridiculous.  

Of course nobody had an offer near what I think she is worth :)

 By 1pm I had the carport cleaned up and was ready for my hubby to come home. Saturday night we relaxed and had some family cuddle time.

I had to work Sunday but the evening was wonderful. Brandon made us dinner while I cleaned the bathroom. He even watched Audrey for me. It is the little things like that that make me one happy mama. I am thinking that Brandon needs to cook dinner and babysit at least once a week. That is not too much to ask right?



*UPDATE

Audrey's hand is healing quickly and it looks great. She no longer cries during bandage changes and she uses her hand more and more. She does not try to take her bandage off and she is very good at keeping it out of her bath water. If you tell her not to use her owie hand she listens. I could not have asked for a better baby.

Pictures

This is from this morning. Her ring finger is almost completely healed. 

Only Audrey can make a bandage look cute. 

"yook" she says. 

Mom's Should be Stronger? No?

I have to post this really quickly. Is it normal that I am overly emotional since her injury? Audrey is handling it so much better than I am. It is almost like she doesn't remember it. She instinctively does not use her other hand and is as happy as ever. She has been all smiles. Mommy on the other hand, has been anything but.

After Audrey went to sleep last night I cried so hard I could not breathe. My eyes and face muscles are sore today because of it. I have not cried like that in years. It was like it had been building up all day long but I was staying strong for her. Once she was asleep it was all over.

I cried myself to sleep last night wondering, why? How? What? Every question I could possibly think of. What could I have done different. Why did I not think of that possibly happening? How did her little hand even get into that tight space? WHY, WHY, WHY, did that have to happen to my sweet little baby. She is such a good girl.

It did not end last night. I cried when I saw her this morning. I cried again when she went down for her nap. I am crying now. It hurts so much to know that my sweet, innocent, little girl is in pain and I cannot help but feel at fault. I should have known.

But I did not know, I cannot see the future. I just need to be more cautious. Accidents happen and I am sure this is not going to be the last time she gets hurt (that hurts my stomach to think about). I just wish I could take it back. I do not want her to hurt. I do not want her hand to be scarred and have an everyday reminder of how my baby was injured because I was not thinking (sigh).

Please say prayers for her, hopefully her hand will heal quickly with minimal pain and scarring.

Live and Learn

I am so far behind on blogging and I have so many stories to tell. I decided I will start with the most important/scary/recent story I have. If you are sensitive to wound images you may not want to read on. I am going to post a few yucky ones. There was an accident yesterday.

Yesterday morning about 8:45 I was jogging on my treadmill. I do this everyday for about 10 minutes. Yes, I realize that is not much. No, I am not jogging to lose weight. I jog because for my health. I am very unhealthy and I can feel it. I am trying to be healthy so I can teach Audrey the importance of eating healthy and being fit.

So, as I was jogging Audrey came into the room. In this room there is a toy box, a rock band drum set, a table for Audrey to color at, a piece of our sectional, and randomly, a baby gate. My point being, this is not a room that Audrey is not allowed in. I recently made it a room that she is safe in, or so I thought.

The random baby gate I mention is right behind the treadmill. Audrey was next to me playing with the drum set and I noticed her walk behind me. I looked back to see what she was doing, what I saw was her facing away from me fidgeting with the baby gate. Due to the fact she clearly had no interest in me or the treadmill I ignored it and figured she would walk back over to her toys.

She didn't. Within 2 seconds of me looking at her, she turned around and got her hand stuck in the treadmill. Exactly how she did it, I do not know. All I know is that as soon as I heard her scream I turned off the treadmill and pulled her hand out as quickly as I could. What I saw, was this.

Yes, that is a Popsicle in her hand. I was doing whatever I could to distract her. It did not work very well, she wanted nothing to do with it. She is missing layers of skin on top of her hand, as well as the side of her middle and ring fingers.

At first I was not going to take her to the doctor (judge me all you want), then it started swelling and I was not sure what to do. I knew I had to take her in. My Mom came over as quickly as she could and we took her to the little medical center here in Holbrook. Not long after we got there we were told to take her to the ER. They did not have an xray machine she wanted to make sure it was not crushed.

So, we did just that. We went home, grabbed a few things, got in my car, and left for the Winslow hospital. Where we sat in the waiting room for 2 hours, give or take. By this point I was in a complete daze. I was not feeling anything. I was trying to stay strong for Audrey because when she saw me cry when it first happened she became very upset.

Even though we were in the waiting room for so long, it really was not a horrible experience. Audrey was in a great mood. We snacked on pretzels and cinnamon buns, and played games on my phone. Luckily, I had brought a blanket with us, which turned out to be a blessing because it was freezing in there. We cuddled in the blanket and took Audrey for walks around the hospital.

Finally she was called back for xrays. She was an ANGEL. She did everything the nurse told her to do without making a single peep. She just sat there. Possibly it was because she scared but she did not look like it. She just sat and watched the nurse do what she needed to do.

From xrays we were admitted to a bed. There was a big room with 3 beds. An 80 year old man on one side, and an 8 year old girl on the other, the three of us in the middle. The only thing separating the beds was a curtain. We could hear everything, and see from the ankle down under the curtain. This was really quite traumatizing because of the events that took place.

Let's start with the 80 year old man. He asked to use the restroom, so they brought him a portable toilet. Moments later (this is really gross so don't be a cry baby), we hear diarrhea noises. I felt bad for him but it was horribly disgusting. The smell was overwhelming. I had to stick my face in either my hands or Audrey's blanket just to breathe. I am so thankful Audrey was not awake because when she smells something, she let's you know. It would have been so embarrassing. I feel bad for the old man but holy cow, it was AWFUL.

Now for the sad part. The 8 year old in the other bed was not there when we first arrived. She was brought in   a few moments later by wheelchair. Accompanied by her mother, and a doctor. Just as she went on the other side of her curtain she started to vomit. It was so violent. My mom and I looked at each other in shock.

After she was done vomiting she kept saying to her mom "my stomach hurts," "hold me mommy." Every time she said a word my heart broke even more. This little girl was in pain. It was so very sad. We overheard that she was going to be transported to the Phoenix Children's Hospital by helicopter.

As soon as they arrived they woke her up to place her on the gurney. Right after she woke up she vomited blood which splattered on the floor. I just happened to be looking just as it hit the ground. That image is burned into my memory. After that her mother got on the phone, went into the hallway, and began sobbing. I so badly wanted to go give her a hug. How come nobody was with her? Mother's need support too. Anyway, I will be praying for that little girl.

Back to Audrey. The doctor came in and informed us that there were no broken bones (big sigh of relief, even though I sort of figured). They said it looked like a burn so they were going to treat it as such. A nurse came in, covered it in an ointment, and wrapped it in a bandage. An hour later we signed the discharge paperwork and went home, finally.

I learned a whole lot from this. #1 I learned that Audrey is going to be injured throughout her life and the only thing I can do, is try my best to remember that things that seem harmless may not be. I need to be more cautious. Especially at this age, she wants to get into everything. Because apparently I am going to have to be able to see into the future. #2 I will never complain about how long it takes to be seen in the emergency room. The staff knows what they are doing and there are some people that are far worse than you, even if you do not think so. Case in point, the little girl in the bed next to us. She was very humbling. #3 People are going to say and think, what they want about your parenting. I am not one to care what people think of me unless it is pertaining to my parenting, then I am very sensitive to derogatory statements. I should not be because in my life there are a few people who do nothing but make false statements about others. I should not let it bother me because I know in my heart that I am a damn good mother.

I also learned that Audrey is as tough as nails. She is a trooper and she certainly does not get it from me. Pain does not phase her. She cries more for attention than she does in pain. She was amazing in the hospital and I am so proud of her for being so strong and smiling the whole time we were there.

This is from this morning when I did her first bandage change of the day.

She was lazy all day long. 

I am so proud to be Audrey's mother.



I also want to thank my mom for being there for us. I could not have done it alone. I know Brandon would have come but we could not afford it. My Mom was there to offer as much help and support as she could and I am so very thankful.

Texas Mother Punished for Spanking Daughter

Texas Mother Punished for Spanking Daughter

Just a Few Links For Fun

Whether you like Christina Aguilera or hate her, this article is a great read. It just goes to show there are always two sides to a story. Also, you cannot always believe what you hear from the media. Personally, I appreciate her  for sticking to her guns about who she is, no matter what. Kudos Christina, I hope things only get better for you.
Media lies

On a happier note, I stumbled upon this website on Twitter. I have instantly fallen in love. I love to have fun with trends when it comes to beauty and makeup, and this website makes them even more fun.
Loves it

Latest Wallow Fire Update

A frequent guest just informed me that his friend in Springerville was given a 1hr notice to evacuate. This is so very sad. Here is a link with the lastest information Wallow Fire

I am trying to find a map of the fire but I cannot find anything up-to-date. I will post when I find something.

Pictures from the Navajo County Facebook page Navajo County FB page

The Wallow Fire

So, if you have not heard already, there is a huge fire burning in  AZ. It is called the Wallow Fire and they are saying it has the potential to become just like the Rodeo-Chedaski fire. Let us hope and pray it does not get any worse than it is.

It has already burned over 144,000 acres. Tomorrow is supposed to be windy, again. I am so sad for the families, homeowners, and business owners in the area. I pray that they can save as many of these places as possible.

The reason I am posting about this fire is because I visited this area over Memorial Day weekend. I posted all about our visit to Greer and Big Lake. This fire has come very close to these areas. Greer is on a pre-evactuation notice and several people have evacuated voluntarily. The fire has impacted the Big Lake Lookout but the recreation area has not been affected as of yet.

I hate to see this beautiful area go up in flames, I fell so in love with it last weekend. I do not understand why the forests are kept open when the fire dangers are so high, but they do. People need to be safe when having fires, even if it is just cooking. You never know what might happen.

I hope they find who is at fault and hold them responsible. This is a horrible ordeal and my heart and prayers go to everyone in the area.

All of these pictures are the view from Holbrook. The origin of the fire is 138 miles from here. The fire is still about 121 miles from here. It is amazing how much smoke is all the way over here. There are mesas outside my window at work and I cannot see them because of smoke.