Thursday, November 17, 2011

Inspirational Guest Post



Heather at http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/heather/
With Cancer, it takes a village of love

I’m going to tell you a story about love and survival, and a little girl named Lily whose love encouraged her mom to beat the odds.

Have ever heard the saying, “It takes a village?” My daughter was born on August 4th, 2005 and the "village" began to take shape around my new family. It included family and friends welcoming Lily to the world.

Looking back, I now realize this was the calm before the storm.

Before Lily, I was part owner in a successful salon company, personally overseeing twenty employees. Going back to work after having Lily, I started to deteriorate physically. I lost weight at a pace of five to seven pounds per week. During a doctor's visit in November, I explained my symptoms, and after some blood work, and a chest X-ray, they found the culprit: fluid buildup around my left lung. More tests were run, scans taken, biopsies done... and I finally got the diagnosis on November 21, 2005. Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma, a cancer in the lining of the lung, caused primarily by
asbestos exposure I had endured as a child.

The prognosis was grim, fifteen months to live if I didn't act fast. I was in mom mode, so I was worried for Lily, not for myself. My husband and I flew to Boston, and on February 2nd, I underwent treatment called
Extrapleural Pneumenectomy, requiring the removal of my left lung, all the surrounding tissue, lymph nodes, diaphragm on the left side, the lining of my heart, and one of my ribs. This was topped off with a heated chemo wash, an eighteen-day hospital recovery, and additional two months recovery before chemotherapy and radiation.

In the midst of this I discovered that it truly does take a village. We could not have done it if our village did not surround us with love, support and prayers. Lily lived with my parents in South Dakota while we were in Boston. Everyone from family friends to church members chipped in helping my parents care for Lily as they worked full time. My parents emailed me photos of Lily learning to eat food, scoot, and roll around. For me, it was all about Lily.

Five years later, it's still all about Lily. I never did go back to work. We try as a family to really embrace life, in all its fragility. We also see the gentle hand of God in all these events.

Lily knows it take a village. I make sure she knows that. Cancer is a funny thing. With the bad, comes a lot of good. I have seen the extremes of both, and in the end, I am alive and thankful.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

check out my new blog!

My oldest son Cruz is so mischievous! My family is always  laughing and telling me to write some of the stuff he does down. So I decided to blog it!

Monday, September 19, 2011

21 questions to ask your kids

Answers from my 4 year old..

Copy this note, ask your kid the questions and write them down exactly how they respond. I'd love to hear the answers.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Cruz: "to listen"
2. What makes Mommy happy?
Cruz: "when i listen"

3. What makes Mommy sad?
Cruz: "that I be mean"

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
Cruz: "when she tickles me"

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Cruz: "Cruz & Gabriel"

6. How old is Mommy?
Cruz: "that's a tough one, 13"

7. How tall is Mommy?
Cruz: "tall"

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Cruz: "get presents for Cruz"

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Cruz: "cooks"

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Cruz: "her food is good"

11. What is Mommy really good at?
Cruz: "cooking, putting makeup on"

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
Cruz: "not good at watching TV"

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
Cruz: "job is to take care of me and baby Gabriel"

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Cruz: "toast"

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
Cruz: "that she cooks good stuff for me."

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Cruz: "hmm that's a hard one.. johnny test's mom"

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
Cruz: "we play video games, and we snuggle sometimes"

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
Cruz: "me and Dada are the same"

19. How are you and Mommy different?
Cruz: "my hair is short"

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
Cruz: "because I love her"

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
Cruz: "Vacations"

Saturday, August 27, 2011

My kids birthday Cakes so far...

Growing up I would get my birthday cake from Nolands every year. So I decided to do the same for my kids.. Here are pictures of their cakes so far!

Cruz's baseball first birthday cake and smash cake!

Cruz's spongebob 2nd birthday cake!

Cruz & his cousin Damian's Camo birthday Cake!

Cruz's 4th Chocolate Factory Birthday cake!

Gabriel's polka dot 1st birthday cake and smash cake!









Thursday, August 4, 2011

Wonder Dads

Wonder Dads is a great website to find ideas of things to do with you kiddos! Its free, offers coupons, and has lots of areas covered. They did an article recently called The Best Blogs To Tell Your Wife About, and I'm happy to say Poshy Mommy made the list!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Accent Wall & Vinyl

Finally got around to painting my youngest sons room, went for a brown, blue, green theme with circles and safari...


 
Before

after.. with my cutie in his crib :)


Made the circles and monkeys with my Silhouette!


close up of one of the monkeys




Now just need to paint my oldest sons room...

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Chocolate Factory 4th Birthday!

Thanks build a sign!
Candy Table

Whirley Pops

Cruz's Wonka Bars!

more candy

the cake


chocolate fountain
Birthday Boy!
He was a happy birthday boy!