Making Memories Monday

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Daddy & Addy walkin' to the park


In the tunnel - she loves it!


Swingin'!!

Mommy & Addy jumping on the bridge; as with most things - she's not sure if she likes it or not

Gettin' ready to go down the slide!

"Okay Daddy! Are you ready to take pictures of us coming down!?"

"Here we come!" (Notice the 'not so child' on the left)

"I cannot believe you!!!"
This kid jumped up on the slide (ON PURPOSE) as we were coming down!! Oh My Gosh!

Addy & I completely and utterly stunned with this rude kids behavior...

We get over that lil episode and head over for a mommy/daughter ride on the tire swing.


"I love you SO much!"

After we were done swinging on the swings I put Addy on the ground to run around. The next thing I know I see a line of liquid going towards my daughter...
Come to find out there was a 'child' hiding out under a slide using a squirtgun to shoot at Addy!
I could not believe what I was seeing!!!
I asked the kid "please stop squirting my daughter." They totally blew me off. I scooped Addy up and we took off!
Doug and I argued a little on the way home that I was overreacting and such. I told him - "you don't know what was in that gun!! It could have been PISS! It could have been ACID!!! I'm not taking any chances by letting some obnoxious kid that I do not know - squirt my child! UGH!

Addy on the way home from the park holding the pine cone that we picked up on the way there. She wouldn't touch it on the way there LOL.

Dinner at Guelaguetza Mexican Restaurant

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Guelaguetza Mexican Restaurant

Sweetie Pie Saturday

My face literally hurts from grinning so much!!!

Last night we packed up a lot of Addy's toys... 9 trash bags actually. I couldn't believe just how many toys she had; some I realized that she was just too young to have just yet and some she has outgrown. I will be storing some in the attic for the next baby and a lot will be getting sold at a garage sale at some point this summer.

Addy is left with a lot of kitchen and learning type toys, big toys like her strollers and shopping cart and such, as well as books, blocks, Little People and a lot of dolls.

It is melting my heart to watch her interact with her baby dolls... it is so darn cute!!
She actually put on a doll carrier back pack pretty much by herself and I got the biggest flash-forward image of her starting Kindergarten! She is getting to be such a big girl - growing up right before my eyes.

I love my daughter more than I will ever be able to express!

Walk Down Memory Lane Wednesday - Addison Kay

1) Where were you when you first found out you were pregnant?
At home

2) Who was with you?
Doug, Christina, James, Becky & Makayla & Cody

3) How did you find out that you were pregnant?
I thought it had just been too long since my last visit from Aunt Flo so I thought I mine as well test…

4) What was your first reaction to finding out you were pregnant?
I was literally in shock! I picked up the stick and walked out to the living room to show Doug. Time seemed to move in slow motion, everything was a blur. I hugged Doug and instantly started crying when I knew I couldn’t pick up the phone to call mom.

{I cannot believe my eyes! This can't be real!!!}

5) What was your boyfriends/ or husbands reaction?
He was shocked too, but not as much. I think he was in disbelief at first- like possibly I was kidding; until I handed him the stick.

6) Who was the first person you told?
I emailed pictures of the stick to 1) my aunt Debbie, 2) my brother and 3) my best friend Jennifer. And talked to each of them on the phone as they opened the email.

7) Did you plan to get pregnant?
No, well not really. We never prevented because I was told that I would need ‘assistance’ to get pregnant. I went through fertility diagnoses and they told me I had PCOS and would need Clomid and artificial insemination to get pregnant.

8) Was everybody happy for you?
As far as I know everyone was over the moon for us!


9) Was anybody hating on you?
Not that I’m aware of or care about

10) Did you go out and celebrate?
Not that I can recall; we had four foster kids at home at the time- that would have been hard to manage

11) Did you want to find out the sex?
Of course, I was crawling out of my skin to find out

12) What was the sex?
Female

{Our lil "beanie"}

13) Did anyone throw you a baby shower? Who?
Yes- my friend Jennifer and her and my family helped.

{Jennifer & Mary}
Best Friends pregnant together! How great is that!

{Jennifer, Tammy, Aunt Pat, Me, Christina & Aunt Debbie}

I LOVE these girls!!!

{Daddy & Mommy}

14) Did you get any outfits at the baby shower that you just knew you weren't going to put on your baby?
Not that I can recall. But some of them I couldn’t because she was born so small that the outfit didn’t match up with the weather/her size at the time.

15) How much weight did you gain?
Something like 18.

{Abt. 30 weeks pregnant}

16) What did you crave the most?
Cereal, carbonation (like sparkling water), juice, toast…

17) Did you crave anything crazy?
I loved oysters, but I always have. Cannot recall anything else that was abnormal.

18) Who or what got on your nerves the most?
Nothing really. It was a pretty easy, relaxing pregnancy.

19) Were you married at the time?
Yes

20) Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?
I was considered high risk because of my preexisting diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and MTHFR blood mutation. I had sugar problems really bad at the beginning. Towards the end I went in twice a week for NST’s (non-stress tests) monitoring. I couldn’t feel her movements throughout the pregnancy because I had an anterior placenta. It was hard to know if/when she was moving well. A couple weeks before delivery I was hospitalized because of a non-reactive NST. They monitored her, gave me steroids for her lung development, put me on a different blood thinner and sent me home on modified bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy.
I ended up delivering early because she wasn’t moving much and her fluid was getting a little low.

21) Where were you when you went into labor?
I was induced from Friday, August 31st - Sunday, September 2nd.

{Can you smell the fear!?}

22) Did your water break?
No, well the doctor broke it during induction.

23) Who drove you to the hospital?
Doug and Jennifer was in her van right behind us.

24) What was your due date?
October 5, 2007

25) Did you deliver early or late?
Nearly 5 weeks early.

26) Who was in the room with you when you gave birth?
Well- my hubby, my Aunt Debbie and my best friend Jennifer were with me though induction and were supposed to be there in the room when I delivered. Since it was c-section Doug was the only one in the room. My Aunt Pat and Uncle Steve waited with my Aunt Debbie and Jennifer outside the OR.

{Uncle Steve took this priceless picture of Doug looking onto Aunt Pat, Jennifer & Aunt Debbie as they looked at the picture Doug took of Addy right after she was born}

27) Was it video taped?
Yes
VIDEO 1 http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/curleysuzie/Videos/Addison/?action=view¤t=090207AddisonBeingBornVideo1of3.flv

VIDEO 2 http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/curleysuzie/Videos/Addison/?action=view¤t=090207AddisonBeingBornVideo1of3.flv

VIDEO 3 http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/curleysuzie/Videos/Addison/?action=view¤t=090207AddisonBeingBornVideo1of3.flv

28) Did you have any drugs for the pain?
Yes- I had an epidural

29) Did you go natural or have a c-section?
Natural for 52 hours or so, then a c-section because I couldn’t progress past a 3 and her head was getting stuck.

{Dr. Mason wheeling me into the operating room}

30) What was your first reaction after giving birth?
I was in shock. The whole thing seemed like a dream. I couldn’t believe that there was really a living being inside me. Once I heard her first come out I started crying uncontrollably. I said “this doesn’t feel real.” “She’s beautiful”. I kept saying “oh my God, oh my God”. The doctor said “honey, you’re a parent, oh my God is right! You have no idea!”

{WELCOME TO THE WORLD ADDISON KAY!!!}

31) How big was the baby?
5 pounds, 12 ounces, 18 inches long

32) Did your boyfriend/husband cry?
Yes, you can hear him in the video.

33) What did you name the baby?
Addison Kay. Kay after her grandmother (my mom) that she never got the chance to meet. She was conceived two months after she passed away.

{The sign the nurses made and hung on the hideous picture in my room}

34) Did the baby have any complications?
At first she did. She was in the hospital for 11 days in the Special Care Nursery (a step down from the PICU Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.)

{Daddy (& Jennifer) trying to sneak a peek at our baby girl through the windows of the SCN}
I delivered her at 10:10pm 9/2/07 and couldn’t see her until 10:47am 9/3/07.

{Mommy's first time touching her precious miracle}


{Our new family!}
This moment will forever be burned into my memory. Priceless.

She had water on her lungs which turned into pneumonia.

{Our first glimpse of baby girl Addison- through the nursery window}
My heart skipped a beat...

She also had jaundice.

{Addison 'Tanning'} (Undergoing jaundice light therapy)

There were times that the doctors thought she had a serious infection and kept doing spinal taps on her- turned out to be nothing.

{Daddy cuddlin' with his baby girl}


{I love this little girl more than words can describe!}

She had acid reflux and was on medications for several months.
She had apnea and was on a machine to monitor her breathing and medications for over 4 months.

At first they thought she couldn’t hear well- she failed her first test and barely passed her 2nd test- but she’s fine.
She was on oxygen while in the hospital but was lucky enough to leave the hospital without it.

{Addison and her great Aunt Pat}
Precious!


{Addison and her great Aunt Debbie}
Amazing!

She came home for less than two days and we had to take her back in because she wasn’t breathing well on her own. She stayed for two more days and came back home with us for good. We haven’t had any hospital stays since then.

{Makin' a run for it!!!}
I was so relieved when the day finally came that they said we could take our baby girl HOME!


{I absolutely hated seeing my baby girl in the hospital, again.}

She is growing up into a very normal little girl- you would never know her start in life was so bumpy.

35) How old is the baby today?
1 year, 8 months, 1 weeks & 5 days old

{Addy enjoying a cupcake at Makayla's birthday party on 01/04/09}

36) When is the next one coming?
I’ll keep ya posted

{Addy enjoying a baby friend!}
She was so nice and gentle. Looks like she'll be a good big sis!!!

37) Are you married now?
Yes

38) If you could, would you do it all over again?
IN A HEARTBEAT!!!

Happy 42nd Birthday Doug!

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Addy made daddy a birthday card! :)

Temper Tuesday - My Blood is Boiling!!! (Warning - Adult Language)

ohhhhhh!!! I am SO upset!!!

I just received yet another call from a bill collector:

CSR: "Can I speak with Marilyn?"

Me: "No, she is deceased, and has been for 2 1/2 years. Please remove me from your calling list."

CSR: "No! I WILL CONTINUE TO CALL UNTIL I SPEAK WITH MARILYN!!"

Me: "SHE IS F*CKING DEAD!!! YOU STUPID B*TCH!!!" ~CLICK!~

I promptly checked the caller id and phoned the company to complain about this idiotic, asinine, disrespectful piece of sh*t, so-called human being.

I was greeted by a supervisor of sorts whom apologized for the CSR's obnoxious behavior. I informed her that my mother has been deceased for 2 1/2 years, that I have sent out death certificates to all her creditors and would be willing to send one to her company if need be. I do not need the daily reminders that my mother is no longer with us. She insisted that she put notes into the log and that it is not necessary to send in a death certificate. She told me that I should not receive any more calls and assured me that she will speaking with the CSR.

I'm still trembling in anger!

05/12/09 - 05/18/09 - Giveaway - Build-A-Bear

What Mommies Need

Mother's Day 2009

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Spending Mother's Day at moms favorite restaurant - Red Lobster :)

(VIDEO) Addy in Her Crib

My Pretty, Pretty Princess!

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Addy dressed up in her ballerina pajamas playing in her room :)

(VIDEO & Pictures) Suzie's Confections Press Debut!

Suzie's Confections was contacted late last week to see if we would like to be included in a Good Morning America feature. The segment was for "Mother's Day gift ideas under $20". I jumped on the oppourtunity and today was the day!

Chocolate Dipped Pringles Potato Chips was the featured item.

The Show

The GMA online article

Thank you again, so much, Tory Johnson! What a great experience this has been!!

Suzie's Confections (possibly) on Good Morning America

I am OVER THE MOON, JUMPING UP AND DOWN, ANTS IN MY PANTS, ECSTATIC!!!

I received and email Friday afternoon around 2:30 on Etsy from a Good Morning America Contributor. The context of the email was to find out if I would be interested in having Suzie’s Confections featured on the show! I could not believe what I was reading!
After calming down and talking to a couple close friends and family I called the contributor to follow up with the email. She was busy so I spoke with her (what I believe to be) receptionist. She asked me a handful of questions and said that she would call me back.
Only about 20 minutes or so went by before I received the return phone call. She asked me if I could prepare and ship three orders of Chocolate Dipped Pringles Potato Chips and ship them, Fed-Ex, Priority, Overnight, Saturday delivery to New York! Sure thing! Right on that!! Even though it cost me an arm and a leg – I am sure if all the stars align it will more than be worth every penny!
I was able to get to the store to get the items, get home, make them, package them and ship them all between 4pm and 6pm! I truly cannot believe what I am capable of when I am determined!!
I received a call this morning from Tory herself! I could not believe my ears! She was so nice, sincere, sweet and smart! I clicked with her right away; it was strange as I did not feel nervous for one second speaking with her. She told me that she received the items, that she loves them and that she will use them on the show if possible. They are still ironing out the details as to if they will be using edibles on the show or not – but if they do that mine will be included.
So now I play the waiting game… she told me that she should have some more answers on Monday and will call to let me know then. The show air’s Tuesday, May 5th; you better betcha my DVR is set to record it!!!
I will update as soon as I know any more details.