Almost Famous

Ummm...we tried out for a commercial. Adam and I. It was so much fun. We drove to Burbank, they videotaped us talking about TurboTax and then asked us questions about our "favorite" NBC shows. And by favorite, I mean the three shows that they told us to talk about...which were not my favorite. After, we got some dinner and yogurt. The tart cranberry raspberry at Yogurtland was sooo yummy. Then we drove home and had something fun to talk about. No, we did not get a call back. I am curious to see the commercial now to find out who they chose. <3

Granny B turns One-oh-Three

 Today my beautiful Granny turned 103. I wasn't there for her party, we only talked on the phone, but here are some of the pictures my mom took. Granny is the sweetest lady I know. On the phone she talked to me about how blessed she was to have had a good husband and a good son and good grandchildren. I told her that I feel blessed to have such a great granny. When I was growing up I would stay the night with my Granny as often as possible. I would usually stay over on Friday nights. Granny and I would hang out and she would tell me the stories of her life. She taught me how to sew and crochet by hand. She would help me make clothes for my dolls. She would show me her "treasures"...like her old dolls from when she was a girl, and her Japanese jewelry box that played a tune when you opened the door, and an old cartoon that her son had drawn. Once I drew her a picture of Bart Simpson playing basketball. I'm not sure what she saw in that picture, but she kept it on display for years. It might even still be up...haha! Granny and I would sleep together in her big bed. She lived near a go cart race track and I would fall asleep to the sounds of the races going throughout the night. Every morning she would do her exercises before she got out of bed, so I would exercise, too. We would stretch our legs and do a few crunches...that was about it. I still do that sometimes when I wake up...because it's what granny does. Then Granny would get up and fix breakfast. She would always sing her favorite old songs while she cooked and my cousin would make jokes because the singing wasn't very good. First she would cook bacon, then she would scramble eggs in the bacon grease with some black pepper, and let me tell you...bacon grease makes for some delicious scrambled eggs! Then she would heat up some water for my hot chocolate and her coffee. Last, she would make me my favorite toast with cinnamon and sugar. I would watch the Saturday cartoons while we ate our breakfast, then when all the info-mercials started coming on I would go out to play in her yard. I would climb her tree for a pomegranate and sit and eat the pretty red seeds. I would make necklaces out of the 4 o'clock flowers when they opened, and I would play with her snap dragons. I would suck on the milk thistle and chew the mint leaves that grew near her garage, and I would try to plant the peas from her pea pod tree, or pick the yellow flowers from her bush and pretend to be a flower girl in a wedding. One time I picked off nearly all the little yellow flowers from her bush and granny got mad. That's the only time I can remember her being mad. I stayed with her a lot in college, too. Whenever I was too tired to drive home at night, I would go to granny's. It didn't matter what hour of the night it was, I would pull up and come to the door and she would already know I was there...even though she is hard of hearing. I love my Granny B. She is an amazing lady!

 I love that they got her a pinata this year. She is a candy fanatic. She actually got down on her hands and knees to scramble up the candy. She is really just a kid at heart. Priceless!

 

 I love you Granny!

Kate Update

So for anyone who cares...Kate definitely does not have Celiac Disease. It was confirmed by blood work and biopsy, so...pretty certain. It's great news...except that we still don't know what's going on with her. Some of her symptoms are worse; some are better. I read online that sometimes with chronic hives the cause is never determined, and it can take up to 5 years for the hives to go away on their own. So far it has been about a year and a half. The hives appear virtually every day, and are getting progressively worse. I've been taking a break from the doctors ever since her upper GI procedure turned out no results. She's on a probiotic, and we have been trying essential oils from a company called doTerra. We really like the oils we've tried, but so far the only results we've seen for the hives is that when we rub lavender and melaleuca on the rash she gets immediate relief from the itching and the swelling goes down. Don't get me wrong, that's great news, and it's more than I can say for all the OTC antihistamines we have tried, but honestly I was hoping the oils could cure her; not just relieve her symptoms. Other oils that seem to help her with other stuff like digestion, asthma and nausea/vomiting have been lemon, peppermint and a blend for breathing. Also the peppermint oil has helped reduce the kids' fevers when they have been sick. It feels great to be able to treat their everyday ailments naturally. Plus it smells yummy!

In summation: We are frustrated. We are grateful for the oils. We are trying to be patient...

1st Grade Thanksgiving Play

1st Grade Thanksgiving Play: Katelyn was Pocahontas, I was the pianist, and Zach was at every rehearsal. He made very good friends with the lady who painted the backdrop, and after the play Kate's teacher called him up in front of everyone and gave him a bag of licorice for being such a good sport. By the end, he could sing all the songs right along with the entire 1st grade. Very cute!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Halloween

 Happy Halloween!!