Friday, September 3, 2010

Are you still here?

Are you still here?  You're missing all the fun! 

Welcome To My Chaos has a NEW home.

PLEEEEEEEEEASE come visit.

I have some fun giveaways coming up and I want YOU to win.

There's a "subscribe" button on the top right corner of my new site.  Click it so you don't miss a thing!

See you there!
~Veronica

Monday, August 23, 2010

Change is good.

Up until now, I haven't owned my blog name.  Someone else already has it in blogger, so I decided to buy my domain name and use Wordpress.  It's a big step for me, but so far it has been good.  I won't be posting new things here after August is over, so PLEASE, if you subscribe to my blog in a reader or by email, hop on over and subscribe to my new address.  Then you won't miss a minute of all the things we did this summer and all the fun new stuff ahead.

Winston Churchill said:
“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction”. 

So I'm hoping that you'll follow me to my new address and subscribe.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Top 10 from Toy Story 3

Yesterday I took my 3 youngest to see Toy Story 3.  I work from home and Mondays and Tuesdays are crazy busy working days for me so by the time Wednesday rolls around the kids and I are due for some R&R.  This movie was the perfect choice!  I laughed, I cried. (I almost cried, but "almost" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Right?) I also ate TOO much movie popcorn.  You know the kind, with extra butter.  And too much Diet Dr.Pepper. Wait, is that really possible?

If you haven't seen this movie yet, I brought something back for you.  But you won't really understand it, until you've seen the movie.  So you should really go.  Then come back here and read this again.  But first, Let me 'splain...No there is too much. Let me sum up:
You see, I have this problem.  I collect useless information.  If you could see all the crap floating around in my head you would call TLC and have me signed up for a Hoarders intervention.  I'm sure of it.  I have so many useless facts, silly stories and pieces of quasi-important-yet-highly-irrelevent information in my brain that frankly I'm surprised there is room for anything else.  I gather this stuff from books, tv, music, movies, conversations and of course, the internet.  I usually don't mean to remember it, but it just sticks in my head.  Did you know that in German they use the term "ohrwurm" (or earworm) to describe something (a song for example) that sticks in your brain? Did you know that I am also prone to side-trips? Although I don't know how to say THAT in German, I will look it up and inevitably it will become a permanent addition to my font of useless information...I can't help it. I just can't.

Where were we? 
Oh, yes!  I brought something back for you!  What good is all this useless information if I don't share it with you, my friends?  I know, I'm too kind.  Without further rambling and endless chatter, I bring you my:

TOY STORY 3
 TOP 10 QUOTES: 

  •  Baron Von shush.

  • I gotta kink in my slink.

  •  In the sand box? Yah, I don't think those were Lincoln logs.

  •  Return of the astro-nut.

  • Yes,sir well groomed man.

  • You can't hit each other. That's MY job!

  • Ahh you're a sight for detachable eyes.

  • *sniffing* That wasn't me was it?

  • The claaaaw!

  • I told you kids, stay outta my butt! 
*photos courtesy of Google

You're welcome!

If you've seen the show and have lines to add, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Sassy Sccops!

Meet The Sassies!

This group of fun, fabulous and yes, SASSY women are all about
supporting local businesses,
strengthening the community
and making connections! 

I can tell you from personal experience that these ladies also throw a great party!

You must go hear what they have to say.   From Acupuncture to Red Velvet Cake they'll give you the scoop on the best local places to shop!

Click on over and meet more than just their feet!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Real Men Wear Pink

You KNOW you've made it when you find your photo on Kristina's blog. 


I showed this to Spencer & Easton and this was their response:
Easton:  {Grins sheepishly and turns away.}
Spencer: "What the CRAP mom?"

Click on over to her blog to see it live and in person! 
(But hurry because it's the picture of the week and you wouldn't want to miss it.)

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I Was Featured!

I was featured on Make It Work Mom's blog!  She's a hardworking mom of two beautiful girls.  She inspires mom's everywhere to break out of the routine of everyday life and make great memories with their kids.  Go check out her blog




Monday, May 24, 2010

Part 2 --- No More Monkey Bars

By Tuesday afternoon Josie was feeling a bit restless.  She wanted her hair fixed since she had what we lovingly refer to as "Scaggley Hagatha Hair".  So we came up with something that would be comfortable and would stay nice when she slept.


Once she was satisfied we comandeered a wheel chair and went for a stroll.  We found all sorts of awesome things.....  Hello Spidey! Who is your handsome friend?
We also found the Forever Young Zone.  It's a pretty fun place filled with toys, musical instruments, crafts, video games and lots of volunteers whose main job is to see that the kids have a great time.

She was pretty easily worn out, so we spent a lot of time snuggling and just hanging out. 

One of the highlights of our stay was when the Service Dog, Diva, came for a visit.
What sweetheart!

The food at Primary Children's is actually quite good.  I went to the cafeteria and got food to take back to the room, but Josie had room service from 7:00am-7:30pm.  She could order whatever she wanted, whenever she wished.  Too bad she didn't eat much!  One night we had some special visitors meet us down in the cafeteria.  Josie's Uncle Brett, Aunt Ash and "the cousins" brought us Cafe' Rio for dinner!

By Wednesday she was feeling pretty good and we got the "all clear" to bust outta there!  But not before winning a round of Wednesday morning BINGO!  They broadcast a live Bingo game every Wednesday at 10am  on channel 8 within the hospital.  Since many of the kids can't leave their rooms this is something everyone can play.  The kids call in when they get a BINGO.  They can also call in and tell a joke or request a specific category if they are close to winning.  After the game, the volunteers bring around a cart full of prizes so the winners can choose a prize.
Here's one of the jokes:
Why do ducks have webbed feet?
(to stomp out forest fires)
Why do elephants have flat feet?
(to stomp out flaming ducks) 

Our stay was as good as we could have asked for, but we were EXCITED to go home!

Medical side note:  The reason for our extended stay had to do with the artery in her arm.  Due to the severity of the break, there wasn't a pulse at her wrist.  During surgery they got it flowing and they wanted to make sure it stayed that way.  Whenever they came in to her room to check her vitals, they brought in a little doppler machine because although we still couldn't feel a pulse, we could hear it with the machine.




Tuesday, May 18, 2010

No More Monkey Bars

Sunday night after dinner, my 7yr old wanted to show us some tricks on the monkey bars.  She spends half her life hanging from those bars.  This time it didn't turn out so good.  She fell as we all watched and none of us were close enough to stop it from happening.  It still makes my stomach hurt to think about it.

She immediately started screaming.
My husband ran to her and scooped her up.  Her first actual words to him were, "I think I broke my arm." He took one look at her arm and headed straight for the car.  
She was right.


We headed for the nearest hospital emergency room.  They got us right in.  With all the clenched teeth screaming going on, they could tell there was a problem.  The Xray machine was brought into the room and even my untrained eye could tell without a doubt that it was broken.


Once the orthopaedic surgeon at that hospital saw the xrays, he declared that he wanted nothing to do with the situation and we should go immediately to Primary Children's Medical Center in SLC.  So far she had already had a dose of morphine and it wasn't touching the pain.  So they re-dosed her and sent us on our way.  It was a rough drive, and  I was certainly glad we didn't live any further than we do.
The other hospital had called ahead and told them that we would be coming in.  So when we arrived, the ER staff checked her over and confirmed that she needed to have surgery. 
 They then proceeded to tell us that there had been no less than 5 injuries like hers just that night.  So this meant we were 3rd in line. (Later we would learn that in a 3 day period, our surgeon had repaired 15 elbows.)  There was currently one patient in surgery and another waiting in the wings. 
Enter, another dose of morphine.
They put us into a room in the RTU (Rapid Treatment Unit) where we could wait.
She was highly medicated, but still managed to eek out a smile for the camera.
At 2:50am we were finally called down to surgery.  We met the surgical team and they reassured us they were all practiced up and ready to fix her.  We watched as the anesthesiologist gave her something that put her out and then we watched them wheel her away.  This is an emotional moment for any parent, but honestly I was so relieved that finally someone could ease her suffering that I was ok with it.  Weird.
Over 2 hours later we were finally able to see her.  Normally this procedure can be done in as little as 45minutes and without an incision.  Her case was different.  Once the bones were set and pins put in, they check for a radial pulse to make sure the blood flow is sufficient.  She had no radial pulse.
Long story short:  they ended up making a large incision in the arm to free up the traumatized artery and give it plenty of room to do it's job.  Once it was free and there was still no blood flow, they used some medication and were able to get it to function.  The next option would have been a bypass using a vein from another area of her body.  We are so grateful that it didn't come to that.  She came out of anesthesia slowly and vomited 8-10 times over the next few hours. 
We were not sent back to the RTU. 
Instead they put us in the Neuroscience Trauma Unit or NTU.   
She slept through most of Monday afternoon from the Morphine with plenty of Zofran (& some other drug) to help with the vomiting.  
By the next morning, she was doing much better and was happy to see her Doctors who had, incidentally been up for at least 36 hours yet were still gracious enough to smile and pose for a picture.  They checked on her Monday evening, and decided it was best for us to stay a little longer to make sure the artery continued to do it's job. 
Wednesday morning is our goal for getting out of here
In the picture below: Josie was cheery because of the copious amounts of painkiller in her system. 
The other two were most likely delirious from lack of sleep!
The resident: Dr Phillips (on the left) and the awesome and amazing, attending: Dr Woiczik (on the right). 
Dr. Woiczik looks like she could easily be 23, but I found out later that she is actually 35.  (Sorry for outing you Marci!)
I am completely (and non-creepily) in love with Josie's doctor.  She is friendly, thorough, easy to talk to, funny and brilliant.  She spends part of her time at Primary Children's, but Shriner's is her home.  We are lucky to have her taking care of our daughter.

With the exception of the triage nurse in the ER, our stay here at Primary Children's has been pretty positive.  It's a great atmosphere and the nurses and tech's are attentive and kind.  They are great with kids and that puts the parents at ease.

More about our adventure tomorrow. . .

Friday, April 23, 2010

You Really Should Join Me


Tomorrow morning there's something fabulous going on!  You should join me!

 It's a Baby Shower!!!!
Presented by the
to benefit
The March of Dimes
Teddy Bear Den Program

The March of Dimes Teddy Bear Den Program (TBD) gives low income women incentives (in the form of diapers, wipes, new baby clothes, etc.) to participate in pre and post-natal care and to avoid high-risk behaviors during pregnancy, resulting in fewer infants with life threatening birth defects.

Come enjoy food, games, fun, prizes, and the company of some fun women as we collect baby items and donations for this wonderful charity.

Saturday April 24th, from 10am - Noon
at the beautiful Noah's Event Hall
located at 322 W. 11000 S. in South Jordan

Bring a gift/donation of diapers, wipes, baby clothes, blankets or other new layette items. We have door prizes donated from MANY wonderful area businesses, so there's a good chance you won't leave empty handed!

Event Sponsors:
The Vintage Pearl
LaCaille (donated by PC Laptops)
Rod Works
Blush
Watch My Style
D'lea Designs
Cherry Hill
Wishes and Whimsy
Mod Podge Rocks
Wonderfully Wordy
Leatherby's Grat Clips
Famous Dave's
Platinum Car Wash
Hollywood Connection
Classic Skating
The Pie Pizzaria
Chick-fil-a
Garden House Floral

In addition to our door prize sponsors, the following businesses have donated money or items:
Dear Lizzie, Walmart, Western Family, Target, Salutations Etzy Shop, Baby Steals.com, Mobile Airbrush Tanning, Great Clips and the Jordan River Family Medical Center.

Noah's generously donated the space, Zurcher's donated the party supplies and Garden House Floral donated the centerpieces.
Thank You to ALL of these people/businesses for your generosity.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Easter


Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Devil's Food Cake by Josi S. Kilpack

I love to read.  There's nothing more relaxing than getting lost in a good book.
  Lately I've been so busy that I hardly find time to read anything but emails, and sometimes not even those!  My latest read came to my mailbox through the Good Reads.  I recently discovered the First Reads section  of their site and it could be a dangerous thing!  Children could starve (mine), toilets could go unscrubbed for days on end (what else is new) and schedules interrupted (schedule? I had one of those...once.)

So I bring you....
Devil's Food Cake ~by Josi Kilpack
This is the third book in the Culinary Mystery series.  First was Lemon Tart, then came English Trifle, and now we have Devil's Food Cake.  It's really not surprising that this would be my favorite of the series because, you know, I love chocolate.

(from the back cover)
     It's been years since Thom Mortensen has been back to Garrison, Colorado.  As part of the committee that invited the bestselling author to speak at the library fundraiser, Sadie Hoffmiller wants everything to be perfect--right down to the homemade devil's food cake she baked herself.
     Murder was not on the menu.
     When Thom's manager ends up dead on stage, Sadie immediately offers her guidance and expertise to investigators.  But when the police refuse to take her seriously, Sadie has no choice except to pursue justice on her own.

I have been saving this book to read on my jaunt to St. George.  I don't really like car trips and this book was a good distraction. It was also a great poolside read.  As I mentioned I've read each book in the series.  One of the coolest things about these books is that they are sprinkled with delicious, tried-and-true, homemade-tasty-goodness recipes.  I could also list this as a bad thing.  I may have gained a pound or two during this series.
The story line was easy to follow, and the characters were relatable.  I liked the plot, and just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was a twist or a turn.  At one point I actually gasped out loud (and had to check and make sure no one noticed the crazy lady in the lawn chair with the book).
It's a fun, light read that will keep you guessing until the very end!

This is us by the pool.  It's kind of hard to read AND watch a 5 & 7 year old in the pool, but I managed.  In between all of the "Hey Mom's" and the "Watch ME's" I really enjoyed this book!

The next book in the Culinary Mystery series will be Key Lime Pie
You can bet I'll be eating reading it as soon as it's released!!!



Legal Schmegal Disclaimer: I received one copy of the book to read and review. 
Other than that I received no additional compensation for my time or review.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Bounce a bounce a bounce.....

As an onlooker, I want to say, "Wow! Impressive!"
...As a mother, I don't even know WHAT to say.

(Click on the photo to appreciate it fully.)
I'm assuming the idea behind this stunt was to see how many consecutive bounces he could achieve
without falling off the yoga ball, breaking a bone or hurling himself through the TV.

(For the record, he just informed me that his record is 156 bounces. Sheesh!)

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Blessed

This past weekend I made an executive decision. 
I decided to take the weekend off. 
Partly out of necessity, but mostly because I wanted to.
So I borrowed a baby...
And I did a little of this.
And a little of this.
And some of this.

And I didn't even look at my dirty kitchen.
Or the piles of laundry.
Or the un-vacuumed carpets.

And you know what?
One of the kids eventually cleaned the kitchen.
My husband did a whole lot of laundry.
Another kid vacuumed the family room.

I checked out and life went on. 
The world continued to turn on it's axis. 
The sun rose and set without my giving it a second thought. 
The internets kept on internetting. 
I could complain and say that I'm not needed. 
That everyone's just fine without me.

Instead,
I'm grateful.
Grateful for kids who know how to clean.
Grateful for a husband who knows how (and more importantly is willing) to do laundry.
Grateful for a nice home where I am warm and safe and cared for.
Grateful for sisters who bring dinner and lend babies.
Grateful for good books and 3G networks.
Some might say I'm a lucky girl.
I'm not lucky.
I'm blessed.


Speaking of blessed...that sweet baby is Haizyn May and she was blessed on Sunday. Isn't she cute?

Friday, March 5, 2010

Recap of the past 48hrs

It's been a rough couple of days around here.  They say that if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.  Well, mama (that would be me) has been ANYTHING but happy lately. 
I have a health issue that requires that I undergo a certain medical procedure every year or so.  I'll spare you the gory details because frankly, I wash my children's mouths out with soap for saying "potty words" and any detailed description of the last 48 hours is sure to be full of them.

Long story short, I usually manage to make it through the prep and the procedure without too much of a problem.  Actually the prep phase is always the worst and the day of the procedure is mostly a blur.   But hey, since it's my 6th time around this particular block, why not spice things up a bit?
The prep was pretty much how it always is, lengthy and torturous, but I didn't throw it up so that's a win!  Also, I didn't have trouble during the scope since I was out like a light.  Once I was in the recovery room, I actually woke up from anesthesia a lot quicker than I usually do.  I thought I was doing pretty welll.
We came home and I slept for about 4 hours, then Kevin brought me a jamba juice so I took some sips and went back to sleep for an hour.  This time when I woke up, I got up and went into the bathroom and from there into the kitchen.  I set my drink and some pills on the counter  and then all of the sudden I was REALLY tired.  So I put my elbows on the counter and layed my forehead on the nice cool countertop.

--That was the last thing I remember.--

Suddenly Kevin was yelling my name and everything was black except for a little circle with his face in it.  He caught me before I hit the ground and took me to the couch where I proceeded to hallucinate.  I was convinced that: My mouth was huge and my teeth were falling out.  My skin was covered in fur...on the INside.  Also, there was a whooshing sound in my ears and I just kept saying "something's wrong" over and over again. Only, I don't know if I was saying it out loud.
Once he decided that a return trip to the hospital was not necessary, Kevin grounded me to the couch and babysat me for the rest of the day.
Today I feel alot better but my hands are shaky and my head is still a little fuzzy.

I'm not sure exactly what went wrong, but I'm thinking it was a reaction to the anesthetic (propofol & demerol) coupled with the fact that I was dehydrated from the prep.
All in all, it has been a pretty eventful couple a days.  Days that I don't want to repeat any time soon.  But I will have to. In 18 months (insert wailing, whining and gnashing of teeth).  Poor me.

The good news is, the Dr said everything looked good (I'm pretty sure that's a relative term considering where his camera was at) and there's no sign of anything cancerous.

For now...I'm just taking it easy.


Saturday, February 27, 2010

Happy Birthday

This strapping young man is my first born.
He turns 15 today.
He's taller than me.
He has a wicked sense of humor.
He's a High Honor Roll Student.
He's a great cook.
He can sing. But he won't.
He has a killer cut fast ball.
He eats me out of house and home on a regular basis.
He's never met a sport he wasn't good at.
He's fun to hang out with.
He's not afraid to hug me in front of his friends.
I'm proud to be his Mom.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
~I LOVE YOU~

Friday, February 26, 2010

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Love Notes:

Saturday, February 13, 2010

World for Haiti

You may have already seen this video, but it's worth watching again. And again.
Mashable quoted an answer given by Quincy Jones regarding the decision to distribute the video through YouTube “… with the stroke of a key on your keyboard or cell phone, images and messages can be transferred all around the world to hundreds of millions of people in seconds. That’s an enormous amount of power. How can you not try and harness that resource to help people in need?”

That, my friends, is Social Media at it's finest.



What an enormous amount of talent they have gathered together for a great cause. (And how nice it is to see Michael in his semi-normal days.)

All proceeds from sales of the song on iTunes will go to Haiti relief.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Was That My Out Loud Voice?



Another edition of things I probably shouldn't have said.

Of course I knew what you were talking about. I just chose to mock instead.

I want the sandwich WITHOUT the wingnut.

Where's Madam Pomfrey when we need her?

I walk into a place like this and I can't help but wonder what time they dance on the bar.

He followed you into the restroom? Did he tap his foot under the stall?

Naughty doesn't get anyone anywhere!

You're funny. I'll be sure to share that one with my next husband while we're spending all your money.*

I'm melting.

While I do not currently have a scathing retort, you check your email periodically for a doozy!*

You can give them back the key to the mini bar. Just tell them we don't need it because your wife is a recovering alchoholic. (husband looks at me like I've lost it) What?...They won't even question you. But if you tell them you don't drink because you're a Mormon they'll look at you funny.

Let's go around the block once. Then maybe they won't remember that we're the ones who drove on their sidewalk.

*These two were actually lines from television shows. I made it a point to remember them so I could use them later...and of course, I did.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Heavenly Choirs....do you hear them singing?


This is one corner of my office. This shelf is built in and frankly it's not very pretty. So I've tried to make it a little less ugly less conspicuous by covering it up most of the time. But am I the only one who hears heavenly choirs sing when I see a well organized space?

Do you hear them? The angels....the singing?
Things like this make my heart go pitter-pat.
It makes me weak in the knees.
It soothes me.