Pools, B-days and Ducks OH MY!

So it has been a LONG while since an update...oops :) No excuses...just been lazy. For the vaycay this year I was in Amarillo with the family. The following are some pics of that week. NOTE: ELLIOT GRACE IS THE CUTEST LITTLE BIG GIRL EVER!

We were experimenting with real food--tater tots were a hit! Love the baby blues :)

Carrots were hit and miss. She learned that mema and enry (Emma and Henry--mom's dogs aka the bows) liked to sit under the hi-chair during meal times AND that if you held your hands down to the sides of the hi-chair, the doggies would tickle your fingers and get rid of whatever you didn't want to eat. HILARIOUS!

Bathing beauties. Jennie and Elliot lounging in the boat at Mama Jett's pool. Elliot loves the water--she may be part frog.

How many one-year-olds do you know that can swim like a champ?

Swimsuit was a little tight...on Elliot and Aunt Missa--LOL!

On July 2nd Elliot turned a year old!! We celebrated at Aunt Bubz and Uncle Dubs house. Jennie and I worked a long time on the banner. She will have a personalize B-day banner for many years to come!

Sweet! The cutest little cupcakes for the party!

Jennie and Elliot

Jordan, Elliot and the moo-moo (present from Doffy and Taffy)

Elliot and Daddy opening presents...

So after the presents, Mom and Dad squished poor Elliot into her official "cake smashing tu-tu." It was a little tight, but really cute. Nonni helped get her all geared up!

Love this pic! Elliot is very polite--she always tells people "hi" and "bye" when you are coming or going. Sometimes she just points at you and tells you "bye"--that's it! Elliot has spoken. You are voted off the island.

this is the evil princess birthday hat of doom. Long story...

Let the cake smashing/tasting begin!

Giving Uncle Ry Ry some great faces.

mmmmmmmmmmmm yummy! PINK CAKE! Thanks Mommy! And yes, they cut the tu-tu off of the cake-covered baby...ha ha ha!

We also took Elliot to Medi Park to feed the ducks one day. It was hot but we had fun anyway :)

There were baby ducks...very cute. I have a TON of baby ducks being cute pics, but decided to spare you guys. Here is the token cute duck pic.

Elliot and Daddy feeding the ducks while Mommy looks on.

Elliot also fed the ducks. She tore and threw the bread...

until she realized it was bread...then she ate it--LOL!

So random...there were two gigantic swans just hanging out with the ducks at the park. Dunno where they came from but they were beautiful.

Look at that sweet face...

So, those are a few of the many Elliot pics. Overall it was a great week despite the cancelled vacation, virus, ridiculously hot weather etc. Good times in Amarillo. Now that she is walking, I can't wait to go to Sea World and the Zoo!

UPDATE #2

So...the short version.

Went back to the Opthamologist on Tues. June 9th. I have permanent optic nerve damage (to what extent we don't know yet) and something is going on with the macula? I go back this week for more tests.

I saw my neurologist the following day (what a fiasco!). The blood work panel done to test for the auto immune diseases was NEGATIVE across the board! HOWEVER, the MRI showed lesions on my spine and in the brain. Some large, some small. Scary. But Dr. Z. said that although it looks like MS, he doesn't THINK it's MS. He believes the acute optic neuritis is idiopathic (fancy way of saying "I don't know") and we are just playing the waiting game.

So...the new game plan is...I am on a new medication (fun side effects with this one too--it's a glaucoma med). I go back to have the MRI redone on July 16th to see if the lesions are bigger, smaller or the same and then we go from there. Next step would be to try to treat the lesions.

In the mean time, I still cannot see with the left eye, I am still on the diabetic, no sodium diet. And I learned this weekend that I cannot deviate from the diet or bad things happen. The new meds cause numbness/tingling in my hands, feet and nose.

So that's it for now...still waiting and hoping for a few more weeks.

UPDATE

So for those of you whom I haven't spoken with, please don't be offended or think that I do not appreciate your positive thoughts or well wishes...quite the opposite is true. I am grateful to have so many people willing to keep me in their thoughts and prayers...I just need some time to rest and process things. So please accept this heartfelt thank you and a hug. OOO THANK YOU OOO!

The diagnosis is acute retrobulbar optic neuritis (hooray google!) The prognosis is believed to be positive, but not definitive at this point--Dr. Z has not ruled out Multiple Sclerosis or any of the auto immune diseases, but feels like this may be a blip case...nothing to really be worried aobut at this point. I return to the neurologist on June 10th for the MRI and blood test results and will hopefully have my answers then.

I was treated with IV Steroids (prednisone) while in the hospital and am now on a taper dose. Prednisone is a nasty corticosteroid...with lots of fun side effects. Feel free to look that up also...

Well, that's it for now. I am going to go take another shower (gotta love the temperature spikes and sweats) *sigh*

peace.

TAG UR IT!

So Berkely tagged me to write 7 things that people don't know about me and then tag 5 other people...this is going to be a difficult task for 2 reasons: 1) i pretty much tell everyone, everything and 2) I don't know if I can come up with 5 people to tag?! But, since i don't ever back down from a challenge...here goes nothing!

1. My most recent guilty pleasure is iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts. We went for breakfast during sister's weekend and I can't stop thinking about them...I have like 3 a week. Totally horrible for me I am sure, but oh so tasty!!

2. For the past 4 months, I have had coffee and conversation with a wonderful friend of mine every weekday morning. This is unusual for me because I am a night owl and usually don't go to bed until after 2am; however, I now go to bed closer to 1am and get up around 7am everyday. :) I love my special mornings and wouldn't give them up for anything.

3. My favorite punctuation mark are the points of ellipses...I know I WAY over use them but they are just so handy...and they work the way I think--so they are perfect. Speaking of punctuation, as a student of grammar and proof-reader of papers...I am super picky when it comes to grammar and sentence structure; however, when I type and express myself in virtual writing...it is like pulling teeth to get me to follow the rules of spelling, grammar etc. Hypocritical, I know...but oh well.

4. I am super insanely jealous of all my friends who have children! I want to be a mom...but am impatient. (I am also super happy for all my friends who have children--not to sound like a horrible witch or anything).

5. You know the fat on the edge of a steak (or marbled in prime rib)? Or the skin on chicken or turkey...yeah, I LOVE that stuff. Again, not good for you, most people cut that stuff off or trim it away...but i love the way that the fat melts in your mouth--it tastes so good. YUMMY!

6. I watch "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" at night when I am going to sleep--or if I can't sleep. I have worn out 2 VHS tapes of that stupid movie in the last 12 years...yeah, I'm a nerd.

7. I have a routine in the mornings...wake-up (I don't use an alarm), turn on the radio, turn on the shower, get undressed, get in the shower, shampoo my hair with one shampoo, rinse, shampoo with the other shampoo, rinse, put on conditioner and comb hair out, use body wash and loofah, rinse conditioner, turn off shower, dry off, put lotion on face, wash hands, put contacts in, put hair product in and wrap up hair in towel, brush my teeth, take my pill, fix hair (depending on if it is a straight day or curly hair day), put on make-up, put on deodorant, get dressed. If I deviate from the routine--or get interrupted by the phone etc...I forget things. I have walked out of the apartment without deodorant...without contacts...without brushing my teeth...with a towel on my head...etc. It is ridiculous.

ok...wheew! That is 7 things...now I tag Bubz, Jennie, Wesley, Ryan (someone please tell Ryan cuz I don't think he checks my Blog) and Jaden...LOL!

First (but not last) Sister's Weekend!

This weekend was our first sister's weekend. Bubz and Jennie came down (sans hubbies) to play all weekend. We had a ton of fun! Bubz has more (and better) pics, so hopefully she will send or post them soon, but here is a quick trip through our weekend.

We went shopping after they landed on Friday. We hit up North Star mall and the girls did some reasonable shopping. After the mall, we went home to get ready for dinner. I took the girls to Martha's (one of my favorite places to take friends/family for Mexican food), and we ate WAY too much! It was super good though and we had a great time.

After Martha's...we went for a few good margarita's at Cha-Cho's. Jen was too full to enjoy her drinks, but Bubz helped her out. Good times (Elizabeth has those pics...LOL)!

Saturday we went to the King William Fair (part of Fiesta). It was a nice day (just a bit windy) so we walked and shopped and ate a turkey leg!! We bought Mom a mother's day gift and got Liz and Jennie some nice things--great thing about King William is that it is an artisan's fair and all of the wares are handmade and you can talk to the artists.

After the fair we were going to go to the zoo...but Jennie needed to go home and wash her feet first :) so we went back to my apartment and ended up resting for a bit. We watched Bobby Flay make blueberry pancakes and Jennie slept. After a rest, we decided to get ready for dinner and a movie. I was watching the SPURS game (moment of silence--and that is all I'm going to say about that) so we finished the game and headed out to Olive Garden for dinner. Dinner was yummy (thanks Mom!) and the movie was good. We went to see "The Haunting in Connecticut" since we three don't get to see many scary movies...it was ok, but Jen and Bubz were freaked out (then they had to sleep in an old residence hall--LOL). They freaked each other out all night, but did manage to get sleep. Sunday, we slept in, and went to breakfast at Dunkin Donuts...YUMMY! Several baked goods and cups of coffee later, we headed to the...

We enjoyed the overcast day (no sunburns) and toured the zoo.
"we are beautiful butterflies!"

"I can fly!"

"these flowers are deee-licious!"

CHEETAH...fast cat

a cool looking snake...Jen is creeped out by snakes--LOL!

So this lion was apparently impatient and wanted his lunch, so he was roaring up a storm. He was loud! People came running up to see him complaining, but he only carried on for a few minutes. Bubz got a video of him...pretty cool.

Lazy Ostrich...

Jennie and a zebra...

Said zebra...he was really pretty.

Bubz and a distant giraffe. Graceful and beautiful...the giraffe too...

Pretty girls...I love my sisters!

Hippos getting cozy...

Bubz and some Nile crocodiles...

Overall...the Zoo trip was a success!

This is my special tree. I wanted to show my sister's this magical place. I don't know how old this Grandpa Oak is, but it is the largest oak tree I have ever seen! This tree is magical because you can just feel its energy when you are there.

We are listening to the tree...he has mad secrets!

Liz and Jennie with Grandpa Oak (Jen named him)...After visiting with the big o' oak tree, it was back home again for a nap. We rested for a while then it was packing time. We got everything packed up and off to the airport we went. It was a great weekend for spending some time together with family as SISTERS...something we never really get to do. We decided we need to do this WAY more often. I had such a wonderful time with the girls and already have a list of things we need to do next time!

Bagheera wanted to say good-bye! The kitties loved having extra hands around for the weekend! BYE BUBZ AND JENNIE! SEE YOU NEXT TIME!!!

TA-DA!!! and Happy Earth Day!

Praise Jesus...I have freed the pictures from camera limbo! Here is a whirl-wind tour of the past month-ish (minus the METALLICA news which will come later!) Happy Earth Day...I hope everyone did their part today to hug other earth!

PS--pics of sister's weekend coming soon! Stay tuned!

This is my beautiful friend Amy after laboring for 30 hours and having a C-section. Baby Teddy (T3) Mora was born 6 weeks ago. He is a great baby and both parents are super great too! We got to spend some time at the OLLU Tamale Fest this past weekend--i these guys!

I also got to go home for my mom's birthday in March! Jennie, Jordan and Elliot were there along with Wes and Bubz. It was a great weekend and we got to play a lot with Elliot. Here is Bunny trying to teach her how to drum...and other ridiculously cute pics from that weekend!

My old supervisor and really great friend Griselda was in town for a visit in the beginning of April. She moved to the Azores with her husband a few years ago and while there...she had a baby! Here is crazy fun Griselda and baby Joshua!

Ok...for Easter weekend, I went to see my baby sister and her growing family. We had lots of fun doing nothing in Ft. Worth. I got some much needed rest and got to spend some quality time with family. On Easter Sunday, we all went to Kris and Michelle's to have a "traditional Easter Dinner" and to hunt Easter eggs. Everyone had a great time...even Elliot (after a meltdown and feeling bad and all).

Elliot and Daddy--pre-MELTDOWN! She had a bad cold and wasn't feeling well, poor thing, but she was still the cutest kid ever for her first Easter!

Finding eggs at Kris and Michelle's!

This is NOT a pic of Elliot sneezing...this is the tail-end of her cute face...it is hi-larious!

Deaven and Kallie hunting eggs...the other cutest kids I am blessed to know!

Cutie Kallie...

Deaven showing his football egg...

So...we are in the NBA Playoffs (GO SPURS GO!) and first round we are playing the pinche mavs (boo hiss). I went to the first game last Saturday (we had bad ass tickets) and even though we lost...it was still a good time. *ASIDE* Mavs fans are the rudest and most arrogant fans in our conference--yes, dear readers--worse than the Lakers. I am glad we beat the hell out of them on Monday!)

So that's it for now on the picture update. We are super busy this week with Room Selection, so I will write more later...I have a lot to tell you about the METALLICA CONCERT coming up in SEPTEMBER!!! PEACE!