PINK is everywhere!

Where do I begin? We woke up this morning to absolutely beautiful weather. Jeremy took off for a quick mountain bike ride, while Isabella and I loaded up the chariot and headed out on my bike. We rode up to the coffee shop, had some breakfast and coffee (of course) then stopped at the park on the way home. It was so beautiful and the wind had not kicked up yet.

The rest of the day we spent doing chores. Jeremy finished some shelves for Isabella's room which just had to be pink! They turned out beautiful and we loaded them up with her books. We cleaned and organized her toys, now her room looks comfy! Originally we decorated with frogs, fish and flowers, but slowly it is turning into a 'princess' room. First Isabella found a princess light switch plate, then the pink shelves and now she is going to ask Santa for a Princess light.

Last Saturday we went out to celebrate Samantha's birthday with the uncles and Donna - Sam's friend. It was a wonderful dinner - but we probably won't be going back soon - it was gourmet so that meant really good food but really tiny portions and big prices. :)

Then on Sunday (Sam's actual birthday - Sam had a couple of friends over and we had dinner and birthday cake.

This past week the big kids were with their dad. Normally it would be a bit quiet but Samantha was not feeling well so she stayed with us until Thursday night. I took her see Dr. Miller and it looks like she just had the normal crud that is going around. Nothing special ... We laughed about it. When Samantha found out that she didn't even have strep - she said, "nothing special or amazing? I don't know if I know how to handle that."

The infection in her ankle is looking a bit worse so we decided to see if Sam could have the surgery sooner than later. As of now it will be the week of December 15th. I don't know the exact day or time yet. She is happy and sad - she knows that she will feel better but she is still a bit angry that she has to do anything. She felt a bit overwhelmed last week and had a little breakdown. After things settled down, she said how she hates having the emotional outbursts. I just laughed and said - get used to it - with or without cancer/amputation, you are still a girl and that just is part of the package.

We finished up painting her room on Tuesday. Jeremy put her TV back up and moved some shelves. Once Samantha has it all put back together I will take a picture and show everyone - needless to say it is pink as well.

In between painting Sam's room and getting the shelves up in Isabella's room - we managed to get Isabella a haircut (short like Snow Whites was her request) and I had my eyes checked (I am getting old) and I also got a haircut. I did what Samantha recommended - she likes it but Daniel does not. I am still making up my mind. The haircut would make me look a bit younger if my eyes didn't have the dark circles and eczema around them. It actually made me decide that I need to start focusing on myself a bit more. I now have to fix my hair, I can't just put it in a pony and head out. I also need to drink a lot more water. My eye doctor commented on that as well as the lady who took my blood the other day. So I am trying to drink more water and less coffee.

The reason I had my blood taken was to check my thyroid levels again. It turns out that I am way out of whack again. The doctor was surprised that I felt as good as I did. She increased the amount of medicine I take and after a week - when most people start feeling good and loosing weight - I gained 5 pounds - figures! That combined with my haircut has motivated me to start focusing on eating better and exercising more. I found a website - livestrong.com - that is a lot like weight watchers just free! You can keep track of what you eat and how many calories as well as how much you exercise. I think I will try that for a while - we will see how long I can go...

The wonderful weather helps - I can get out and ride my bike. It is a 2 for 1 - I get some exercise and stress relief. :)

Until nextime -
Night and Love to everyone!