Trip to Boulder, Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park

View of the mountains over Boulder. I loved Boulder. It was gorgeous. The town was so quaint and pretty. We spent the afternoon walking along their riverwalk park.


As you drive into Estes park there is a sign that says "animal crossing on all roads". I thought that was a little strange and then a few minutes later mum and I saw a herd of Elk.


Rocky Mountain National Park is beautiful. Unfortunately, there was still a lot of snow of the trails and so we couldn't go hiking as planned. We did start on one trail, but three feet of snow in the afternoon snow translates into stepping in snow up to your knee. After we'd both fallen down, Mum and I decided to turn around. Wyatt didn't even want to walk because it was so slippery, so I had to trudge back to the car carrying him. Good exersize!

Butterfly Sanctuary

Sail Boat Cookies and Baby Blocks

I charged $60 for this order and it wasn't enough! Icing each individual cake was very time consuming and I was disapointed with the outcome. Luckily, the client was happy with the order. I will never do baby blocks again though.

Wyatt on His Riding Lawnmower

More Cake Orders...

Recent Cakes

Pics of Us

I won a mircoderm abrasion on the radio and this is my face after the treatment. Not bad for turning 35 in May. I could notice a difference in my skin tone immediately. It felt and looked much tighter and smoother. I think it has a much healthier glow to it as well. I have been enjoying the Spring weather with Wyatt, so I think the sunshine has also made a difference. I am contemplating getting Botox on my crows feet - you can see them really well in the pic below. Why not?! I've lost all this weight and I want to finally feel fabulous! My hair is growing out and I'm starting to like it again. I'm thinking about changing the color - either a darker, rich brown or a lighter, brighter red. It needs a dye soon though - those nasty little greys are peaking through!

Princess Cake and Cupcakes

Future Bases

Eric was asked to submit his choices for posts. We should be relocating Summer of 09 We submitted Ft. Riley, which is where the sqadron will be moving too and Savannah as they are on a similar deployment cycle. We want Eric home for at least a year before he deploys again. Any other base would risk him redploying sooner than 12 months. I really think its a matter of formality and that most of us will be going to Riley regardless of what we request.

I've done my research on Riley and am actually looking forward to moving there. Ooh! For you non-military or non-army people, Riley is in Kansas. It has a cute little town called Manhattan which pretty much survives because of a university campus and the base. It has Starbucks, Target, craft stores, cute cafe and bars and plenty of nice resturants. It also has a great climate (similar to Colorado) and a huge lake and recreation park close by. I really think it would be a wonderful place to raise our family. PLUS when Eric deploys again, I will have my girlfriend, Sandi, with me again. Without her, I would not know what to do with myself. We have to plan for these things.

I wonder who will win the next election and if we will escape another immediate deployment...

Eric also needs to further his career, which means more school. He's thinking about becoming an Instructor Pilot, which I think is 6 months at Ft. Rucker? I can't remember if its 3 or 6 months. So anyway, we're thinking that maybe we could go to Rucker as a family for the training and then go to Riley afterwards. Its a plan right?!

Half-Way Mark

April 17th was the official halfway mark. Well that's how I calculate it anyway - Sept 3, plus 7 months and 2 weeks. 2.75 months to go until Eric comes home for his r-n-r.

My Lastest Creation

Recent Cakes

This is How I Want My Hair

Recent Pic

Me at 134lbs.

I still want to lose at least another 15lbs by July 17th - my 1 yr surgery anniversary. I am not sure that it can be done unless I have a BIG loss here in the next week or so. I had my first therapy session today. We didn't cover much, just filled out paperwork and established that I wasn't a threat to myself or anyone else. I have to set goals for next week. I had already told her my weight loss goals and that I was there to figure out how to stop binging and throwing up. What other goals do I need? :-) She seemed nice, and I guess I'll have someone to keep me accountable week to week. I'll give it a month and if its just a waste of my daycare hours I will quit.

I hate my hair in the picture. I posted a few months ago about how my hair was falling out. Its stopped falling out, but it got so thin and scraggly that I had to cut it shorter to it would grow in thicker. PLUS - I had thinned it out a little, thinking it would help - it didn't. I'm growing it out to look like Posh Spice. I'll see if I can find a pic of her to post.

The Biggest Loser Season 5

Ali won! I am so happy for her! It has been amazing watching these people lose incredible amounts of weight and change their attitudes and lives. I cried all through the finale! I was just so happy to see the change in the contestants - they all looked amazing. Ali's team color was pink. I think I am going to go and get something pink to wear as my reminder of what can be done when you put your mind to it. GO ALI!

Hannah Montana Guitar Cake

Fox News Article

WASHINGTON — Taking the advice of his top commander in Iraq, President Bush will not order additional troop drawdowns beyond July, leaving open the possibility that about 140,000 U.S. servicemen and women will still be in the war zone when the next president takes office.

In a 12- to 15-minute progress report, Bush on Thursday will announce shorter combat tours, but troops already in Iraq won't be going home any earlier, at least for now. Senior defense officials said Bush would order Army units heading to Iraq after Aug. 1 to serve 12-month tours rather than their current 15-month deployment — a move that war critics say the president had to make to ease strain on the Army.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Another let down. My friends and I were all hoping that Bush would announce that all tours would be going back to 12 months and that the guys would be coming home in September. So I am just going to go and cry for the rest of the day.

Still Mulling It All Over

The geneticist's words keep playing over in my head "this could be the tip of the iceberg" and then when I try to think positive I keep playing the percentages over in my mind : cleft palates affect 1 in 700, Pierre Robin effects 1 in 32,000 SHOX effects 1 in 1,000,000? No one knows since its so rare. So then when I think about Wyatt's eyes, I try to tell myself its no big deal, its highly unlikely, but then...I think about Wyatt's history with percentages...ITS PISSING ME OFF!

Soo...I think I'll just put the appointment in my book and just forget about it!

What a Shitty Day!

The nurse came, I learned how to mix the growth hormone and load the syringe, add the needle and set the dose etc. Then came time to give it to Wyatt. He flinched, I flinched and scratched him with the needle. He was screaming, I was tearing up and the nurse was urging me to hurry up and do it again. So I repositioned Wyatt, the nurse held Wyatt down and I gave him the shot. You have to press the needle down for 5 seconds. 5 of the longest freakin seconds in the world while your kid is struggling and screaming. NOT FUN!

Then we had lunch and drove to Denver Children's Hospital (1.5 hours each way). Wyatt didn't want anything to do with the tech that was trying to look at his eyes. We had to get 3 drops in each eye to dialate them. More kicking and screaming and pinning down. Then after 30 mins in the waiting room. More kicking, screaming and pinning down so that the Opthalmologist could look at his eyes.

Good News: His short sightedness has improved - he doesn't need glasses for now.

Bad News: His optic nerves are still underdeveloped and small. The opthalmologist couldn't find the results from the MRI we had done last year to see if all of his brain was in tact. But I am sure I talked to someone that told me his MRI was fine. I have to get a hold of those results. Its a pain because Denver Children's asks Wyatt's pediatriction to order the MRI and then he orders it at a hospital here in the Springs and then the tests get lost. Its happend with a few things now. I AM SURE I got the results over the phone though...maybe Memorial called me and just didn't forward them on?

Anyway, I asked her what that meant. She said that if the optic nerves don't grow it could cause vision loss. I said "so can it be corrected with glasses?". She said "no" and I could tell by her body language and her tone that it was serious.

She said the optic nerve is like a cable bewteen a tv and a dvd. If the cable isn't working, you don't get a picture. Its something we need to monitor. She wants to see him again in 6 months.

So...what am I saying? The Dr told me there was a chance Wyatt could go blind. BUT! The optic nerves are functioning fine right now and since he doesn't have any parts of his brain missing (if he did have a cleft in his brain we'd be in trouble)...we should remain positive.

I'm not getting worked up over it. Its stressful since no one understands why he has Pierre Robin and a cleft palate. No one can say for sure if the SHOX deletion is related to the Pierre Robin and cleft palate and no one really knows much about SHOX in general. Soooo...I think we're in new territory here for the specialists. There's no evidence to say he'll go blind or that he won't. If he ends up like me, he wont. But I didn't have PRS or a cleft...

Weight Loss Stall

Is it a stall or is it all the consessions I've been making when I am around friends? I don't know? I haven't been working out as much - although Wyatt keeps me pretty damn active. I am serious!

I am still at 70 pounds lost. I thought by now I'd be at 74 pounds lost. I know! 4 pounds doesn't sound like much, but to me - its a month of nothing! No losses! I know its normal to plateau too, but...I don't know if its that or my intake?

Its tricky this far out - you begin eating more, and its a fine line between starving and overeating...today I had

Breakfast: grande nonfat latte
Morning snack: granola bar
Lunch: low fat torilla with 1/4 avocado and 2 tablespoons hummus
Dinner: 1/2 of a low fat burger (low fat meat pattie, an egg, 2% cheese slice, 45 cal bread, low fat mayo, ketchup and dijon) plus 2 Tablespoons baked beans.
Snack: cup of tea and granola bar

I feel bad about eating the baked beans and having 2 granola bars in one day - too many carbs. I probably need to start drinking protien shakes in the evening if I am still hungry. Wyatt and I eat dinner at 5pm so I get hungry by 9pm...protien shakes have so many calories though! I have to get an appointment with the nutritionist. I guess I've been dragging my feet becasue I don't think the base has a good nutritionist that really knows gastric bypass diets. I do have an appointment with a therapist for my "eating disorder". I'm skeptical about that appointment too. I'm interested to see what my labs will look like at my 9 month appt. They have been fine so far.

Genotropin

That's the name of the drug I will start injecting Wyatt with tomorrow...

I have visions of old PBS specials on medicine in the 50s and what Drs USED to think was good practice and I'm nervous...but there's no way to know for sure.

I have researched the drug and there have been deaths - but of children with a specific syndrome - not the one Wyatt has. BUT the one Wyatt has is so rare that its not even listed. Its crazy, that we're going to do this so that he'll be more socially acceptable. We are going to give him a shot every 6 out of 7 days for the next 15 years so that he'll be taller. Wow! Wow! Wow!

Pat Had His Hair Back Today.

So I guess it was an April Fools Joke. I thought it was awesome!

United Way Presentation

The presentation went well and the Director of Early Intervention gave me a $20 gift certificate for helping them with their presentation. Isn't that awesome! Hopefully they get the grant they need.

Are You Kidding Me?!

Today I put a small jar of pink food coloring into the shopping cart with Wyatt. The packaging requires that you twist of teh cap and then either pull off the tight foil cover or peirce it - which requires a knife since it also has a layer of plastic. I am rarely able to peel off the foil and most often have to use a knife to get into them.

I stopped to inspect a package of something and when I looked up it looked liked Wyatt was in a horror movie. He had managed to open the dye and empty it completely onto his hands and was finger painting with it.

I confiscated the dye and slinked away. I then began trying to clean his hands with wipes. Every time I would reach for a wipe, he would reach to touch something - there was pink dye everywhere! Plus the wipes seemed to water down the dye and spread it around.

I checked out using self check out so no one would see our hands. I was so embarrassed!

What Wyatt Eats

First of all, his favorite veggies are fresh green beans. Of course, he likes carrots and corn like most kids. He doesn't care for potatoes (he does like french fries though!). He loves asparagus, zuccinni, broccoli and cauliflower. He also likes lettuce, cucumbers, onions and tomatoes - he prefers grape tomatoes though. He's always eaten avocado, which is a fruit I guess. He's mad about mandarin oranges!!! I get the canned kind and I can't keep enough in stock. He'd eat a whole can in one sitting if I let him.

Wyatt also likes salmon - A LOT! and lamb! of course he likes chicken and steak. He's also been eating hummus on fat free wraps. He also likes vegemite on toast. It astounds me. It really does.

O.K. so after basically bragging about how well he eats, I have to admit to you that his favorite dinner is thin crust pizza - he loves it. He won't eat chicken nuggets or anything processed. I think its because he knows what real food tastes like. I know that has a lot to do with the "Super Baby Foods" book I read and used when he was a baby. My friend, Becky, used it with her child and suggested it since I wanted to make my own baby food. It was awesome. I am so proud!

April Fools?

I guess we'll find out tomorrow...check out my video bar. I L-O-V-E IT!

Speaking to United Way Staff on Behalf of Early Intervention

I've been asked to be a part of a presentation that Early Intervention is making in order to get more grants/funding from United Way. I am very proud and pleased to be speaking to them. All I have to do is tell them what life was like being anew parent of a cleft effected child and how Early Intervention has helped me. It'll be fun.

American Idol Update

David Cook was ON FIRE this week. I was blown away by his performance. He complately changed a very popular Michael Jackson song into a emo/rock song. It was amazing. Check out my video bar to see what I'm talking about.

Growth Hormones Approved

I can't beleive it! It has been just over a week since we visited the specialists in Denver. I got a call today from the drug company today advisinf that Tricare had approved 12 months of growth hormone therapy. It is standard proceedure to approve one year at a time. I was in total shock! I thought the cll was going to be to collect more information for the drug comoany to sumbit to our insurance. The lady I spoke with said that she was impressed that Tricare actually had Wyatt's condition listed as some insurance companies aren't even aware of the condition since it is so rare. So...once again, I have to thank my lucky stars that we are in the military and that we have Tricare insurance.

Incidentally, we were at Wyatt's regular pediatrician on Tuesday and he said that growth hormones are hard to get approved and that they cost between $15,000 - $20,000 per year. After our conversation I felt a little disheartend. BUT everything has worked out for now. So that is excellent news!

Guitar Cake

Well its been a busy and profitable weekend. I am truly ready to rest and do nothing tomorrow. I really like how this cake turned out. I used black fondant for the cake so that my client's mouths wouldn't be stained. They requested peanut butter icing for teh filling. I have to admit, the recipe they gave me was soooo good. I cursed them for giving it to me LOL.

Beautiful Snow

Spring in Colorado is weird. One day its in the 60s and gorgeous outside - you can literally wear a t-shirt and shorts because its so dry the sun heats everything up quickly. Then the next day its freezing as a high (literally 32 degrees)and snowing. Its sooo pretty! Especially when the sun is out and the sky is blue - it makes you stop, take in a deep breath and be grateful to be alive. These we taken from our front and back yards. Aren't the mountains amazing!

Latest Cakes

I had 3 bookings for this week end and have been up to my eyeballs in cakes and icing since Thursday. No, I am not posting the same cake twice. I actually booked another Transformer Bumblebee car plus Optimus Prime (red semi truck) cupcakes. I think I improved on the car. The next one is a Peter Rabbit cake with carrot cupcakes for a 1st birthday. Both mommies were very happy when I deleivered the cakes and that felt really good. Tomorrow I have a black acoustic guitar due...I'm resting right now.

The Rest of This Week

We have a genetics/endocrine appt tommorrow at 10:30am in Denver. It will be a long day because I also have an FRG meeting tomorrow night.

Did I post about being FRG co-leader? I don't think I did. Anyway, I am co-leader and I am really enjoying it. It keeps me busy, which is what I enjoy about it. Plus, I like being useful - that's a good feeling too. :-)

Then I have 3 cake orders to fill for this week end! Can you beleive that? I am making another Bumblebee transformer car cake with cupcakes, a Peter Rabbit/English garden cake (2 tiers, and an acoustic guitar cake. Luckily, the guitar cake is due on Sunday and will be easy to do as I will be exhausted after gettingthe other two orders done for Saturday. I should make $115 total. Yay! Momma wants to buy a Hoover Steam Vac! LOL! Can you beleive that's what I'm saving for right now? They cost $200 and I figure, at this point, the money would be well worth it. I've already spent about $200 on steam cleaning and my carpets needs to be cleaned again. I always feel like I could do a better job than the guys that come over do. So...momma wants a new steamvac! Where has my life gone?!

We got a nice tax return so you know what my first large purchase was? A new indoor/outdoor area rug for our living area. Our old one had taken a beating! What was the second purchase I made? A new carseat for Wyatt. It goes up to 50lbs and he is only 27 right now. Its a great seat - easy to clean (no having to unscrew the back to remove the cover etc) and easy to adjust! Its the Evenflo Triumph L-O-V-E it. We had a second hand model before.

Sooo...I'm working on my carpet, I've replaced the carseat. I haven't made any progess on my bathroom floor. I tried to fix Wyatt's curtains - but the new rods and tiebacks are cooperating. Eric just may have to deal with that when he gets home. I also got a bunch of locks for the doors to the pantry, the garbage can, the bathrooms and garage doors. Wyatt was able to remove the garbage lock, but the rest are holding.

American Idol Update

Carly was my favorite again. She was amazing! I've put her latest song on my video bar so that those of you who don't follow can at least see my fav. For the guys...I didn't really like anyone. They were all kind of corny or didn't sing well. Sorry! (Imagine that said the way Simon would say it lol). Although, Simon was WAY off tonight. I normally agree with him, but tonight he thought Carly chose the wrong song!

American Idol Update

Carly Smithson rocked it tonight. You can see her on my video bar. The other girl was o.k. I couldn't figure out how to just get Carly's video. My favorite guy was Chickezee.

A Hard Moment

Today I took Wyatt out the airfield on an errand. Wyatt was excited to see all the helicopters in the air and on the ground. Whenever we see helicopters (we live near the airport so that's often) I tell him that Daddy is in the aircraft flying around. Today, I didn't tell him that, Today I just pointed out the helicopters.

When I parked Wyatt got out of the car and ran towards one of the display helicopters that was surrounded by men in uniform. He started calling "Daddy? Daddy?" Like "where are you?". I was so shocked! I guess he put together the unforms and the helicopters and thought since the helicopter was on the ground, Eric was near by. It was heartbreaking.

I got teary, but held it in until I was done with my errand and got back into the car. Then I just bawled!

Wyatt in His New Sandpit

Dragon Cake and Bumblebee Transformer Cake

70 Pounds Lost!

I wasn't going to post these pics as I hate the old one AND the new one - neither are flattering. But its good to record everything and I just take bad pics normally so I can't wait fo the next good one to happen. Plus I hit a mile stone - I have now lost 70lbs or 32kgs. I still feel really yucky and fat and just basically unhappy with my weight BUT I don't HATE myself anymore. I am proud to get this far, but I am really determined to get the next 16 pounds off and be in a healthy weight range and then, possibly try for another 9lbs - I guess it will depend on how I feel.

Check out my new video!

I watched Jimmy the other night (while playing scrabble) and this was on his show. Hilarious!