Surgery day and the wonderful Mr. Mom

What have I been up to? Well, typing with only one hand for one thing. Tuesday afternoon I got a carpal tunnel release. It's only about 10 years overdue. Is it just me, or do mom's kinda put themselves on the back burner when they have children and those little darlings have needs of their own?!

But with both kids in school all day and Chase doing rather well right now with school and therapies, we decided it was time. The carpal tunnel pain has increased tremendously in the last year or so, and Eric took some leave at work, so we scheduled the surgery and said "git 'er done". Let me just say, it hurts but Percocet is loverly! My surgeon said there's no guarantee the surgery will work to fully take care of all the symptoms, but here's to hopin! At least the numbness in the fingers should cease!

This pic was taken right when we got home from the hospital and i was still pretty drugged up, but also about to take more pain meds. Eric has me all set up with the iPad to watch Tron until i fell asleep again. They really had a hard time putting my IV in, thanks to the fact that they make you fast all food and drink after midnight and then your veins are no good because your dehydrated! It took 3 people and 3 different poke spots to do it. i couldn't see anything while they were doing this because they made me take out my contact lens and took away my glasses! I'm legally blind without corrective eye-wear so it was weird not being able to see who was doing what to me! At least when they did finally get it in, they knocked me the heck out for the procedure!
I'm glad its over and can't wait for Tuesday when they take the splint off.
I must say how wonderful Eric is at being Mr. Mom. He's had to do everything from getting the kids up and ready for school, feeding them breakfast, making lunches, conversing with Chase's therapists, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning up, tiding up the downstairs for the therapists that come do behavior therapy with Chase in the mornings before school, picking the kids up from school (2 different schools mind you), helping with homework, getting kids ready for bed, reading to Allie's class during Nevada Reading Week) paying the bills, taking care of me, which is no easy task I'm sure! Tomorrow he gets the pleasure of curling my hair for me since I'm one handed :) At dinner tonight, i asked him if he'd like to switch roles, he declined the offer. I guess I'm okay with that since I'd rather not be the one that has to go to Afghanistan for 6 months at a time!

The Loft

Around Christmas time, we decided it was time to do something with our loft. It's the part of the house that we play in the most....the Wii, the Playstation, the computer and netflix are all up here. We tend to end up here in the evenings after dinner, and always on Sunday's. You can always find Chase up here playing the Wii before school when he has a morning that there is no behavior therapist here working with him. I LOVE that he can turn on the Wii all on his own and get to his favorite game (bowling on Wii Sports Restort) He's also developed a liking to the ski diving game too. I think he likes that it takes a pic. Anyhoo, here's some before and after pics...

From the top of the stairs, our bedroom is to the left(Chase took this pic by the way :)

Starting to move stuff around, applying paint samples to the wall
It's always a good idea when looking at paint samples to see how they look at all different times of the day in different lights..

 The hallway to the bedrooms

The horrible excuse for a computer desk area!

Dha dah dah dahhhhh! The new and improved LOFT

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how our wood pallet wall turned out, and it cost us 0 dollars! We just went around, well, more like scrounged around town and got pallets from businesses that they were going to just bust up and throw away! Can you imagine the ludicrous-ness?!

My dad painted this chest of drawers for us and we ordered the butterflies online, i can't remember the website though but it was thru amazon. I made the sunburst mirror with bbq skewers.

The curtains came from Lowe's at 20 bucks a pop

The mirror was free, not a good pic of it, but it used to be brown and we spray painted it John Deer yellow.

The computer desk was free of charge. We sanded and painted it yellow.

My dad gave us this 1920's lamp that is lovely and hangs above the computer desk.

Love all the different colors in the wood. All we did was pull out the old nails, gave it a light sand and then nail gunned the wood to the wall.

Look at that fit! If the desk were any wider, it soooo would not have fit...

I said to Eric as he was working on the desk "I sure hope it fits after all the work getting it ready for the loft!" He says "Yeah, me too! Maybe we should measure it!"
Thankfully it fit!

 My favorite photographer. 

Gotta love a Las Vegas winter..

This, folks, is why us crazy Las Vegans endure a Las Vegas 117 degree everyday in July, August and September summer...so that in January, we enjoy 64 degrees everyday weather. There's hardly any wind, (I jinxed the last fews days saying that) the temperature is perfect and it doesn't rain. I love that I can go out and do my walk any time of the day or night, and it's totally possible without freezing my bazooka off.

I love living in Las Vegas. Even if the traffic is crazy, the drivers are crazier and forget how to take turns at a 4 way stop, the middle schoolers are asking for a death wish on a daily basis with how they cross the street, the high schoolers are out of school by 130 and "hanging out" suspiciously at every Circle K and Fresh and Easy, and it takes 45 minutes to get to almost the other side of town, etc, we get 65 degree days in January. I love getting into my van to go pick my kids up from school and its so warm I have to turn on the AC...in January people, January. It just doesn't get much better than that, well, unless I was living by the beach of course. But I am so grateful we got stationed here. We get to be close to both our families and Vegas has Schlotzsky's. If you don't know what that is, you be missin out! I love my friends, my ward,
                                                   with awesome Missionaries,
my family, and this great city. I love that we were able to buy our house at a great price, and that it's layout is conducive to having a swing hanging from the ceiling in between our kitchen table and great room (hence, the swing Elder Leidecker is sitting on) I love that they have a movie theater here that shows an "autism friendly movie" every month. I love that there's casino's for "locals" that cater to "locals" like me! I don't indulge in gambling, but I do like to see movies and eat at the buffet, nay I say, be gluttonous at the buffets, that are made just for me, a local. I love Chase's bus drivers, and Allie's awesome charter school she attends for freeeeee (said like Adam Sandler in Mr Deeds). I love how Vegas has a funny way of sucking you back in, when you NEVER in your wildest dreams thought you'd ever return but just to visit. Never say never!!!I know we won't be here forever, because there will come a time when it's best to leave and go somewhere else that will better suit Chase's needs, but for right now, this is where it's at. 2 turn tables and a microphone...where it's at--thanks Beck for those song lyrics.
Oh and Vegas has the coolest sunsets, nothin like a desert sunset to gaze at..

I swear to you, seriously, not kidding in one bit when I say that this photo is NOT doctored at all whatsoever. This crazy awesome sunset happened last week and it was talked about on FB for days after by us locals. This is exactly what it looked like in person...superb! The only reason I saw it was because Allie happened to look out the window and saw it first. So we opened up our back door and enjoyed for as long as it was there. Even Chase stepped outside and looked at it. I LOVE when he cares about things like that. I feel like each time, he steps further outside of the autism grip.

After the sunset faded, the kids enjoyed the swings..indoor and out! Funny how in Las Vegas, you only wanna swing outside in the winter but indoors in the summer...i think most places it's the opposite! Swinging outside in the summer here is like getting slapped in the face with a hairdryer on full blast. We cover both bases at our house :)
Gotta love Vegas..

For a good cause

First of all, I just have to say (brag) that I belong to the best ward in the world. Recently, a member of Chase's Primary class (6 yrs old) was diagnosed with Burkett's Lymphoma and has begun chemotherapy. He was getting discouraged when his hair started falling out, so the men in our ward decided to have a head shaving party, so Caleb didn't have to go through the hair loss alone. Here's Eric supporting Caleb at the Head Shaving Party last Saturday.

 The "before" pic in our loft

At the head shaving party

Time for the Bic!

Looking good! Happy to do it for Caleb!

Eric was a little bit concerned that he might get in trouble at work for his hair because shaved bald, but he didn't really care! It was for a good cause. But then he found out that a "clean shaved head" was permitted in the AF so no worries!

By the way, Eric made Tech Sergeant in the Air Force! I don't have the pics downloaded yet of his promotion ceremony but when i get that done, i'll proudly post the pics! That sentence made me feel like Jim Carrey's assistant in Mr Poppers Penguins that always used words that began with the letter P!

We wanted to take Chase to the Head Shaving Party but Chase and electric trimmers don't mix. We have to cut Chase's hair at home and hope the screaming doesn't alarm the neighbors. *sigh* the joys of autism and their sensitive ears.

For the past almost 2 years, Allie has been growing her hair out for Locks of Love. It was finally time, and no better time than now!

Allie's "before" pic

Braid is all ready to be chopped off!

My cute master beautician niece Lanita doing the honors

Seconds after the braid was cut

Allie's proud to give her hair to a great cause!

Last Sunday in Elders Quorum, they took a pic of all the men that shaved their heads. There were lots more that did it that aren't in the pic. So much wonderful support! Caleb loved seeing the pics of everyone that are cheering him on :)

And last but certainly NOT least, our totally rockin awesome Bishopric with their new do's...

Pictured from left to right: Brother Naumu, Bishop Ferre, and Brother Love
Aren't they awesome?!! It just doesn't get any better than this :)

Christmas 2011-part 2

More pics from our craaazy family Christmas/birthday partay...

A few of my nieces

Me and Charlyce...and the back of Lanita's cute blond head...

The b-day gal takin pics :)

Eric's grandma, mami, papi, and sis...and if you look close, you can see Chase behind Eric's mom..Chase did AMAZING at the family party. There were alot of people there, and he stayed around everyone the whole time. He never got over stimulated, he interacted, and he ate! It is so awesome to see his progress!

                                                                                  Allie's school concert...


                                                                                                     

                                                        Chase, uh, i mean, Iron Man, playing the Wii on Christmas





         We visited the Ethel M Factory a couple of days before Christmas... chocolate and Christmas go together superbly I say!                                                                                      

                                                                     Chase and great grandma at the Ethel M Factory

                                                      Allie and her best buds....

                                                          Us, minus Chase...where was Chase?? Oh, that's right...he hates being in pictures, which is why we haven't gotten a family pic taken since 2008 or 2009, but I'm pretty sure it was 2008

                                                             

 What you see here is what we gave Eric's parents for Christmas this year. We had all his sibs do the "Toyota jump", and then we made them into silhouettes. It turned out so cool, and no matter what Eric says, It Was My Idea. That's right. Don't mind all the glasses sitting on the counter...those were used by Eric to help glue down the silhouettes with modge podge. I forgot to move em before taking a pic.

My new-found-christmas-love-of-2011

                                                             I tell you what...if I wasnt already married....

 Our front door...Eric and I made this wreath. It cost a total of  $5 dollars. LOVE dollar store crafts!
We didn't do anything for New Years except go out for Mexican food; we're old fogies now and  can never make it till midnight! LAME-O


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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Christmas 2011-1

There is a strange force working against me! It's definitely not "the force", ya know, from Star Wars...otherwise, if it was, I'd have had this blog post done long ago! It keeps erasing on me! Always after I load all the pics and write captions for them.
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!!! (Name that movie) The winner will receive a virtual pat on the back.
Anyway....Happy New Year and all that jazz! I was very happy to have my parents home for the holidays. While on their mission, they only had to miss one Christmas!
So last year, on Christmas night, we, meaning just my little family of 4, we started a new tradition...by accident!
Don't ya love when that happens??
Is it a tradition if you've only done it once, but want to do it annually but can't do it the second year because of what day Christmas fell on?
Allow me to explain if you will.
Last year we were supposed to go visit some family that live on the other side of town, but Chase was a bit under the weather, and we just didn't think it kosher to go over to their house since we don't go there often, so we decided to instead, give Chase his nightly "sleep medicine" which is the only thing that turns off his autistic brain and allows him to slumber but for a while, and go to the drive in theater because Papa John's pizza and the Drive-in was about the only thing open on Christmas night besides the casino's and that wasn't where I wanted to spend Christmas...crazy?
So we swung by Papa Johns, felt bad that they had to work...yet glad they were, and drove to the drive in with our pizza, and smuggled microwave popcorn and root beer.
It was so fun! So we decided to do it every year on Christmas night.
I had the movie all picked out for this year, we were gonna see the new Matt Damon movie "We bought a Zoo'. (i have yet to see it dag nammit...maybe tomorrow)
Then, the inevitable happened, i learned that Christmas was on a Sunday. dun dun duuuuuuuun.
Don't get me wrong! I love the Sabbath Day and look forward to it always! But since we're "one of those, ya know, Mormons" we wouldn't be buying pizza and or going to the movies on Sunday. So Christmas night this year was spent as a nice quiet, healthy, leftover eating, day of playing with new Christmas gifts and napping.
On Christmas Eve, we spent it at Eric's mami and papi's house with the missionaries and my parents and Eric's grandmama. We were fancy that night with french potato (served cold) soup. Loved it!

Then, the day after Christmas, we had a wild party (wild in the Mormon community such as lots of soda drinking, playing of the Wii, white elephant gift exchanging that included a pair of Flash Gordon underpants,
and singing Happy B-day to me mum. If asked, she's 52 and holding... She's been "holding" for a while so she's just decided to start going backwards now :)
This Christmas was fun because Chase, for the first time, was 1.) interested in why there were presents under the tree, and 2.) when he could open them.

Christmas Eve PJ's

Cool hats made by their Aunt

Eric and I were sitting at the kitchen table a couple of days before Christmas and Chase is standing next to the Christmas tree and says "open it" and we asked him "open what?" and he responded with " presents!" We LOVED that he answered our question first of all, and that he showed interest! He's never been concerned with any of it! So for the first year, he actually opened his gifts, and enjoyed them. I didn't get a very good pic of him opening gifts. I snapped a few when he was still trying to wake up, so he's got his "I literally was just dragged outta bed by my sister and am still trying to wake up" blank stare but still opening his stocking gifts, so it counts!

(Allie loving her new orange nail polish)

 He was waking up a little more by this time, and within a few more minutes, he was gladly opening his presents on his own and fully awake!

Ready for church!!! Yes, they really did attend Sac Mtg like this :)
Gotta love Christmas on a Sunday

One of the prizes at the fam partay...that's my handsome hubs

 Even Chase trying the glasses out, but not understanding the eyeballs are supposed to swing to and fro..