What's that? Did you hear that?

Was that the sound of a paper trimmer? The soft click of the revolution being used? Was it? Well...it couldn't be, could it? NO...it couldn't be, because she's a digi scrapper now. She is isn't she? That's what she said...then it couldn't be...but IT IS!!!


Yes! It's true! I've created my first paper page in months! I don't remember the last time I played with paper and wasn't making a card.

I was looking for something to create today...looking through card magazines for some inspiration. Nothing jumped out at me and I didn't feel like doing anything digital. So, I thought I'd pull out my box of photos and go from there. On the way to the box of photos, I found a sketch book of sorts with ideas I've collected over the years. Then I came across these 5 pictures with a sketch attached that I'd been meaning to get to before I started digi scrapping.

So...I thought I'd give it a shot! Pulled out some Stampin' Up! cardstock and Stampin' Up! paper and went to town...I even dragged out my acrylic stamps for good measure and to add something more to the cardstock. Even my revolution got to come out and play!

It's pretty simple by MANY standards (even mine, I think) but I had fun...guess this means I am not completely over my love of paper - LOL!

Thanks for visiting!

P.S. No, I have no idea what that giant scratch on Jonathan's head is...I can't remember how it got there...these pictures are at the very least 18 months old...

Written on Dec. 22nd at 12:59 a.m. (more or less)

So, today was the last day of school for two weeks...say it with me now...last day of school for two weeks...

Did you feel that? That was the feeling of parents across the nation going "ACK!" The kids are off for two weeks and two hours in, they were already making me crazy. It was a good thing I had to work tonight because I already needed a break! I'm working on Sunday too and that is probably a good thing...

On Christmas Eve, I will be VOLUNTARILY going to a mall. Scary thing I know. But Jonathan has a date with Santa Claus, so we need to be there. Once I recover from the shock, I'll let you know how it went.

Oh So Lovely!

Here is what I created last night with one of the new set of stamps that I purchased from the lovely and talented Caroline:

Stamp: Oh So Lovely
Ink: Soft Sky
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Sky, Groovy Guava, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Soft Sky Ribbon, Brads
Technique: Sponging

I stamped the image on a piece of 1 3/8" X 4 3/8" Whisper White cardstock, sponged with Soft Sky and ticket punched the corners. I mounted the stamped image on a piece of 1 5/8" X 4 5/8" of sponged and ticket punched Soft Sky which was further mounted on piece of 1 7/8" X 4 7/8" piece of Groovy Guava to which brads were placed. The mounted image was then adhered to a piece of 4 X 5 1/4" piece of Blue Bayou using dimensionals. The Soft Sky ribbon was slipped under the image and tied around the Blue Bayou before mounting the card face onto a Soft Sky card.

One of my FAVOURITE colour combinations!

Thanks for stopping by!

Been bugging my friend Mary...

...and now she's bugging me for an update! At least we'll keep each other posting - LOL!

So...today Jonathan and I headed down to Sick Kids to spread some Christmas cheer! We saw Baby Benjamin who looks absolutely AMAZING!!! Before his surgery, he had to be on CPAP every time he slept in order to "remember" to breathe. CPAP is a machine that forces air into the lungs in order to ensure they are functioning...not exactly like oxygen, but something along the same lines. Now? NO MORE CPAP!!! And he is SOOOOOOO pink! Just TOTALLY adorable!

Marilyn, Jonathan's cardiac nurse, was THRILLED to get her Christmas gift:

We chose it ESPECIALLY for her because it's called "Healing Hearts" and she really does! Not just her patients, but their parents too. I honestly don't know how I would have gotten through the 17 days in the hospital without her support. She is truly an amazing person...an angel here on earth.

I got some new stamping goodies from my Stampin' Up rep and I can't wait to start playing with it! She even had some of the paper that I wanted to play with so I didn't have to order it and wait...it was right there! I just LOVE her. I got something EXTRA SPECIAL from her too, but I can't tell you what it is. I'll just say I felt like Queen of the world (or something...) when she said I could have it. She is stamping awesomeness!!! Check her blog out here. She rocks my stamping world and is SO inspiring...can't say enough good stuff about her!

Been listening to some OLD stuff (Air Supply) while I am typing...I am, after all, an 80's girl and was very recently reminded by someone I found on Facebook after ALL THESE YEARS, how much I used to love that band. Want to hear something scary??? After ALL THESE YEARS I still can sing along and know MOST of the words - YIKES!!! Thanks to M. for bringing back some seriously AWESOME memories!

That's it for now...I want to get some creating done!

Just a little Cranberry Crisp Thank You

Today's card was NOT made using scraps - LOL!

Stamps: from Terrific Tags Punch Box
Ink: Cranberry Crisp and Buckaroo Blue
Paper: Whisper White, Cranberry Crisp, Buckaroo Blue

Recipe:
The "thank you" was stamped in Cranberry Crisp on Whisper White C/S and then mounted on Buckaroo Blue. A piece of twill was attached using a staple.

The card base is a standard 4 1/4" X 5 1/2". The Buckaroo Blue layer is 4" X 5 1/4" and the Cranberry Crisp layer is 3 3/4" X 5". The top layer is a 3 1/2" X 4 3/4" piece of Whisper White sponged with Buckaroo Blue. I ticket punched the Whisper White and added brads to the corners before mounting on the card base.

Thanks for stopping by!

Three posts in one day?

I know...but I had to share this with all of you! Or you know...the two or three of you that read this - LOL!


Took the pic this morning and then created the LO digitally while DS was napping (he still is!). If you're into that sort of thing, this picture is "as is", right from the camera, with NO editing! Go me! teehee!

Thanks for letting me share my passion with you!

Just the scraps, ma'am...just the scraps

I wanted to use up the scraps that I have been creating over the last little while and I succeeded!


Stamp: Sketch an Event
Paper: DSP Sample pack
Cardstock: Whisper White, So Saffron, More Mustard
Ink: More Mustard

The card is a standard size 4 1/4 X 5 1/2". I trimmed a piece of Whisper White to 4 X 5 1/4" and adhered strips of varying widths of So Saffron DSP. I used the ticket punch on the four corners and added brads for that finishing touch. (If it doesn't have brads or ribbon, it's not done - LOL!)

The image was stamped in More Mustard on Whisper White and matted with So Saffron and More Mustard. It was then mounted to the front of the card using dimensionals.

I want to send birthday cards to as many relatives as I can this year. This was the last card I had to finish to call January "done". Now I need to move on to February! I want to stay ahead of the game!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful winter day!

Not mine, but I had to share!

It's no secret that I love to stamp! Some days my stamps consume my entire day...well, not really, but you get the idea!

Today, I was over at my favourite stamping site SplitCoastStampers and came across this little gem. And it reminded me SO much of my stamping and scrapbooking friends and the way we are when something new comes out and we just NEED IT!!!


I did some creating yesterday and will upload some pics later on...or maybe tomorrow. For right now, there is LOTS of snow out there and my little boy wants to go out and play in it! Yes, there will be pics for that too!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

There's snow...oh my word! Is there EVER lots of snow! About 25 cm, I'd estimate...or 10 inches depending on where you're reading. It's - 20 with the windchill, that's -12 for my American friends. YIKES! They have NOT plowed either of our cross streets and the kids are in bed dreaming of a snow day - LOL!

Scott went out and braved not one but TWO malls today in order to get us a Christmas tree. We were having the real/fake debate and waiting for fakes to come down in price to see what we would do. So, today was the day! Scott hit Square One (the biggest mall in Ontario) and then Erin Mills Town Centre (our other local mall) and came up with this:



Now granted, you can't see the whole tree, but it's pretty good looking. I'm not usually a fan of coloured lights, but this is O.K. It has coloured and white lights and you can switch between both or have them all on at the same time. As a bonus, it's relatively "narrow" near the bottom, so the kids can still get into the playroom to retrieve anything they might need. All in all it's a good thing!

We decorated it a bit this evening with the decorations we had in the condo and we'll get the rest of it done tomorrow when we can get our hands on the other ornaments. We need to get a new tree topper too because the tree is pre-lit and there are lights right up near the top of the tree. I don't think it's a good idea to have the lights inside our Pooh Bear angel, so I'll need to do a search to find something else. I saw a pretty mesh angel the other day when I was out with Jonathan, but can't remember where.

It's just a pill...

...SERIOUSLY!

O.K., admitedly, Jonathan came home from the hospital with a lot more meds than he went in with. No big deal, I can do meds in my sleep. Most of them have been added to his morning cocktail which I deal with.

He takes one at dinner and one before bed. Yes, that's ONE at dinner and ONE before bed. And the one before bed is the same one he's been taking for at least two years at the exact same time - BEFORE BED. Why then, is it SO difficult for Scott to give him said med before bed? It's not like there is a change here: same med, same time = no problem.

Apparently there is a problem, because even though it's been the same med at the same time for over two years, he still can't remember the name of it. It's gotten to where I need to call home if I am at work to remind him to give Jonathan his medication before bed.

Now, this wouldn't be a big deal if we had added to his med schedule in the evenings, but we haven't. At the risk of repeating myself, it's the SAME MED!!!

Good thing that man of mine is so good looking...I might have to trade him in! *sigh*

Check this out - WAY cool!

YIKES! September 21st?

Clearly I need to spend a little bit more time updating my blog. You think???

Hmmm...so, I've been doing some more digi scrapping - here is my very own ATC:


And I've also been making cards. Here's one of my more recent creations (well, more recent than September 21st anyway - LOL!):


Other than that, I have been hanging out at the Hospital for Sick Children with Jonathan after his open heart surgery and getting ready for Christmas. SO much to do and SO little time!

I'm off to make some more cards! Enjoy your day/evening (depending on where you are reading from!

More Digi Stuff

Been MAJOR busy with CSC4K and haven't had a lot of time to do much of anything these days...of course, if I'd known how easy this was, I would have had it up AGES ago!


This is a template that just allows you to drag and drop all your elements onto the page...then just hit CTRL + G and it magically just fits! Got this layout done in less than 15 minutes...can you imagine? How SERIOUSLY cool is that???

And, speaking of SERIOUSLY, Grey's Anatomy season premier is on in 6 sleeps...SERIOUSLY! Six sleeps...I can't WAIT to see how this season is going to unfold! Word to the wise: don't call me on Thursday night...just don't do it! You've been warned...

Mid week Digi Assignment

Uh oh! She's gone DIGI!

O.K., seriously...if you know me, you KNOW how much I love paper...could open my own store with the paper I own...despite the fact that I donate regularly to the Hospital for Sick Children.

But, I've got PSE 5.0 and thought it would be kind of fun to try some digi scrapping. I did a LO a few months ago, using just the goodies in the PSE program and a few brushes that I downloaded off some freebie websites. Not bad, I thought.

Then I went to CKC in Buffalo, and I met Jessica Sprague and Jessica Sprague signed my Computer Tricks for Scrapbookers magazine and I was SO excited and I went home and I played with my PSE 5.0 following her directions and it was SO easy!

Jessica has her own website (follow link above) where she teaches PSE classes on line - OH JOY! By the time I found out about her June class, it was already full. :( But I signed up for her newsletter and her Photoshop Friday tips and when she announced her second "Up and Running with Photoshop" class, I was ALL OVER that! Signed up the first day and waited NOT so patiently for today to be here.

And it's finally here! And look what I did! Jessica takes you through an entire tutorial with video that you can pause to do whatever the next step is...and well, it's all just FABULOUS! And I'm bummed that I have to wait an entire week to get another tutorial...Oh well! She's going to email her students every day and I hope she has some more fun assignments for us before next week...I CAN'T WAIT!!!

So, it's not a card (which I have been enarmoured with lately and will make more of today), but I hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cool Caribbean - With Sympathy

Today's card features an image from the Happy Harmony set and the sentiment from the Warmest Regards set.

The base is Cool Caribbean layered with Whisper White. The main image is stamped on Whisper White using Marigold Morning and Close to Cocoa. The stems were coloured using Tombo marker # 228. The sentiment was stamped in Chocolate Chip on Whisper White and was matted on Chocolate Chip and popped up on dimensionals. The ribbon was wrapped around all the layers and knotted before the card front was adhered to the base. The ribbon is brown IRL even though it photographed black.

Thanks for stopping by!

SU! Punches...use them more often!

Seems this list is making the stamping blog rounds...originally it was on SCS but I'm posting it here on my blog, so I always know where it is!

Scallop Circle Punch: In the Spotlight, Glorious Garlands, Punch Pals, Double-Line Doodles, Wanted, Priceless, Big Flowers, Big Deal Alphabet, Looks Like Spring, Fabulous Flowers, Ginormous Flowers, Sweet Shapes, Illuminations, It’s Your Birthday, Warm Words, Pictograms, Short and Sweet, Sincere Salutations, All Holidays, Jumbo Alphabet, All About Occasions, Brocade Basics, Baroque Motifs, Sparkling Sayings, So Much, Fun & Fast Notes, On Board Blossoms and Basics

Tag Punches: Perfect Presentation, All About Occasions, Flakey Friends, Punch Pals, Be Happy, Tagger’s Dozen, Bundled in Love, Business Boosters

Designer Label Punch: Party Punch, Labelicious

Round Tab Punch: Party Punch, Office Accoutrement, Totally Tabs

1” Circle Punch: Sending Happy Thoughts kit, Perfect Presentation, Glorious Garlands, The Snowflake Spot, Perennial Favorites, Holiday Blitz, Double-Line Doodles, Polka Dots & Petals, Create a Coupon, Genuine Articles, Business Boosters, Calendar Cues, On Board Blossoms and Basics

1 ¼” and/or 1 3/8” Circle Punch: Simple Delights Simply Sent kit, Perfect Presentation, Batty For You, Holiday Tag Team, Sparkling Sayings, Be Happy, Figures of Speech, Double-Line Doodles, Polka Dots & Petals, Big Flowers, Stamp of Authenticity, Carte Postale, Think Happy Thoughts, Big Pieces, Seeing Spots, So Happy, Dots Are Hot, Brocade Basics, Labelicious, Genuine Articles, Circle of Friendship, It’s All Good, Sporting

½” and/or ¾” Circle Punch: In the Spotlight, Holiday Tag Team, Glorious Garlands, Cold Play, Snow Flurries, Merry Merry, Punch Pals, Forever in My Heart, Holiday Blitz, Double-Line Doodles, Sweet Thing, Wanted, Star Struck, Little Flowers, Little Pieces, Please Come, Dot Spot background, Alphabits, Art by Design

1 ¼” and/or 1 3/8” Square Punch: Simple Delights Simply Sent kit, Perfect Presentation, Forever in My Heart, Sealed With a Kiss, Be Happy, Figures of Speech, Tagger’s Dozen, Sweet Thing, Office Accoutrement, Stamp of Authenticity, Carte Postale, Glad Tidings, It’s All Good, Art by Design, Sporting, Business Boosters, It’s a Date

¾” Square Punch: Punch Pals, Calendar Cues

Large Oval Punch: I did it, many of the word sets

Star Punch: Wanted, Starstruck, Sporting, Wild West Alphabet, On Board Blossoms and Basics

5-Petal Flower Punch: In the Spotlight, Be Happy, Priceless, Simply Said, Looks Like Spring, Heartfelt Thanks, Ginormous Flowers, Office Accoutrement, Big Pieces, Cutie Pie Double Sided Paper, On Board Blossoms and Basics

Snow Blossom Punch: In the Spotlight, Simple Snowman, Wondrous Gift, Snowflake Spot, Merry Merry, Snow Flurries, Punch Pals, Snowfall, Be Happy

Spring Flower Bouquet Punch: Looks Like Spring

Three for You Punch: Three Thoughts Simply Sent kit, Punch Pals, Take Three, Three for You punch box

Word Window Punch: So Many Sayings, Block Party, Boatloads of Love, Fun & Fast Notes, Take Three, Everything Baby, Short & Sweet, Happy Everything, Wonderful Favorites, Warm Words, All Holidays, Everyday Flexible Phrases, Amazing to Zany, Fundamental Phrases

More creating going on! Blue Bayou Happy Harmony

I inked everything up in Close to Cocoa and stamped the image using Tombo markers on Whisper White. The image was matted on Blue Bayou and then again on Close to Cocoa and Soft Sky.

I'm too darn cheap to buy the ticket punch, so I used my 1/2 inch circle punch to "ticket punch" the corners. Just line it up with the corner of the paper in the center of the punch (you have to flip the punch upside down). Takes a little practice, but works like a charm. Plus, this way, I get to spend the money I saved on the punch on more paper - WOOHOO!

The card base is Blue Bayou and the ribbon is the white organdy.

Thanks for peeking!

Another Card! Or two...or three...

I love the challenges over at SplitCoastStampers! Sometimes, they really make you think and sometimes, they are just plain fun! I don't normally participate in the colour challenges, because I almost NEVER have the colours being used. But last week, I did and had SO much fun playing with the colour choices.

Here's a few I came up with:






I learned two things: I need to get my hands on some more Cameo Coral and I sure do LOVE that Cuttlebug! Thanks Crystal for sharing your toy with me!

Thanks for stopping by!

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge - Edition # 14

Had SO much fun doing this one! I think I may just have to make many, many more. Such a FUN sketch!

Card is 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 (standard size) and is made from Marigold Morning.

I inked up the image stamp (from the Happy Harmony set) in Marigold Morning (blooms) and Tombo marker # 228 (stems) and stamped it on Whisper White. The image was matted on a piece of Sassafrass Lass DP. Another piece of Whisper White was used as the matte for the sentiment and I tied a ribbon around that. I was lucky enough to find ribbon that is ALMOST exactly like Chocolate Chip and I LOVE it! I stamped the sentiment using the same Tombo marker as I did on the stems. It's stamped on Whisper White, cut out using the Coluzzle and matted on a piece of Chocolate Chip punched using the 1 3/8" punch.

Thanks for stopping by!

What season are you???

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

Here's another one I did..

I created this one using the card faces that I accidentally bought at Michael's, thinking they were actual cards. Oh well! I just need to be more creative with them!

So, one card face is actually the background and the card is attached to that. Another card face was placed on top of the card and the image was stamped on Whisper White using Tombo markers and attached to the front of the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Time for stamping fun!

I've been bitten by the stamping bug! Not that I wasn't stamping before, but it seems that these days I am a stamping maniac! One of my favourite stamping blogs and inspiring stampers, Beate, has a weekly sketch challenge. I don't always get to them, but they are GREAT for inspiration.

This weekend's looked like SO much fun, I had to try it out right away! So, go to Beate's blog, check out the sketch and then look at this! What do you think?



Recipe: I used an 8 1/2 X 5 1/2 piece of So Saffron and inked the edges in More Mustard. The image from the Happy Harmony set was stamped using Tombo markers and the water spritzing technique. It was stamped on Very Vanilla with the edges being inked, again, in More Mustard. The top edge was punched using the spiral punch from Stampin' Up. The image was then mounted on a piece of More Mustard with inked edges and the sentiment (also from Happy Harmony) was also stamped in More Mustard. The stamped images on the left of the card are from Autumn Leaves and the $1.50 stamps at Michael's. Ribbon is from my stash.

Thanks for peeking! Let me know you stopped by!

Look at what I did!

It doesn't qualify for any of our challenges, so I am putting it on my blog instead of the group blog...the good news is, I used my stash - WOOHOO!!! No new products were used in the creation of this page - LOL!

I knew it was coming...

...and yet, it's still a shock.

Jonathan's surgery package was just delivered by FedEx. UGH! I wasn't expecting it so soon...but I guess, since his surgery is about 7 weeks away, it makes sense to have it in hand at this point.

It lists all his appointments and his surgery date. His pre-op date is August 7th. That kind sucks, because it's a Tuesday, so all the people we normally see when we visit cardiology are not going to be there.

He has to have blood work done, a duplex scan (I have to look that up...) and a chest x-ray. We have to meet with anesthesiology...child life...physiotherapy...the pre-op nurse...cardio-vascular surgery fellow to sign off on consent...they always put "DEATH" in there and that TOTALLY freaks me out...the surgeon...and possibly research people if there is a study in which Jonathan can participate.

Can you imagine? We have to be there at 7:30 a.m. and may be there as late as 6 p.m. YUCK!

And if you think 7:30 is early...the following week, on his surgery date, we have to be there at 6 a.m. Now THAT'S gross!

Well...that went well!

I'm surprised really...I expected both Jonathan and I to be a bumbling crying mess 5 minutes in, but NO! We did it! And he was SO brave!

For those of you who don't know, Jonathan had a dentist appointment today. He had to have a filling done and a crown put in. YIKES!

He only cried a TINY bit while they were doing the freezing...honestly, it doesn't matter how much of that pre-freezing goo they put in there, you can STILL feel the needle. But as soon as Dr. Tracie was done with the freezing part, Jonathan was able to sit on my lap and we cuddled while to freezing took hold...oh yeah! That's the other thing - SO COOL! While they are doing the procedure, I got to sit right on the dentist chair, right there with him! The chairs are full size and because the kids are SO little, they have to scoot right the way up the top, leaving lots of room for mom! He got to use my lap as a foot rester and I got to hold his hand. VERY COOL!

All told, it took just over an hour to get the filling done and the crown put in. He's SO funny...he's showing everyone the silver crown in his mouth...repeatedly! He also keeps telling me, "Hey mom! I can feel my crown!" What a cutie!

Afterwards, we had some lunch, visited his cardiac nurse, where he said, "Hey Marilyn! I got a crown!" followed by a BIG open mouth - LOL! Then, he got to pick out a treat. He chose another Webkinz...that's a whole other story.

Thanks for stopping by!

This summer...

...is shaping up to be more and more interesting as we go along...and the kids aren't even done school till tomorrow. UGH!

Lauren came home from school today with a notice that she had been accepted into a summer school program. She requested to be in the program, so it's all good.

When the form came in, I read it, signed it and sent in the cheque. According to the forms, she is to be bused to and from the school where the program is - FABULOUS!

Turns out that yes, she will be bused, but not from home. WHAT? So, for the ENTIRE month of July and first week in August, she needs to be at school in order to catch the bus at 8 a.m. You have GOT to be kidding me...but no...no kidding. Every morning at 8 a.m.

So, that either means Scott gets the car for the whole time she is there and drives her in on his way to work. Or...I have to drag my butt outta bed and get her there while Scott waits at home with the boys, making him INCREDIBLY late for work. Or...I drag the boys butts outta bed and take them along with me...

Oh! This is going to be SUCH a fun summer - NOT!!!

Queen of Restraint

Brigit, Steph and I have all adopted new titles in an effort to NOT spend any more money on Scrapbooking supplies...it's official, we ALL have TOO MUCH STUFF!!!

I even admitted it to DH who told me that this was, quite honestly, an addiction. And he's right...I know he is.

So, as of this moment, there will be NO (and I mean NO) scrapbook shopping for the remainder of 2007. And yes, I get that we are talking more than 6 months here.

But, I need to get this stuff outta my space and into some albums. I've got the pics, I've got the papers and I've got the albums to house at least 100 layouts. So...I'm going to do this!

Brigit and Stephanie are in this with me and I think the rest of you should be too...let's pledge to USE OUR STUFF.

The new mantra of the P's and Q's is, from this day forward, "I WILL NOT LOOK!"

One of THOSE days...

UGH! Got up late...fortunately, still made it downtown to Jonathan's dentist appointment at Sick Kids, so that was good.

Not so good was that I realized while I was driving downtown, that Jonathan didn't have any antibiotics this morning...he needs antibiotics before getting his teeth cleaned because of the danger of bacterial endocarditis (don't ask). Fortunately, turns out he WASN'T getting his teeth cleaned today, just getting his mouth checked out before surgery in August...so that was good.

Not so good was that he has three cavities *sigh* so they need to get taken care of before surgery. We got an appointment for next week, so that was good.

Not so good is that he needs TWO appointments to get it all sorted out and because of the need for antibiotics he can only have the appointments two weeks apart. *sigh* This is a PAIN because if we get called early for surgery and he hasn't had both appointments, we have to turn down the earlier slot - DEFINITELY not good!

So, on the 28th of June and the 4th, 12th and 18th of July, you'll find me at Sick Kids...there goes the month!

Got home around 1 p.m. and had some lunch...that was good.

Not so good, was that after lunch Jonathan decided he needed a bath and dumped 3/4 of a bottle of bath wash all over the floor. *sigh*

Got that cleaned up, him duly chastised and settled in for some computer time...so that was good.

Not so good was that Colin was supposed to take the bus home and forgot, so I got a call to come pick him up...*sigh*

Can I not be a mom for the rest of the day??? Can I???

This girl...

...has been giving me a run for my money this week!

It all started on Tuesday afternoon...WHY does everything have to happen on a Tuesday? It's my busiest day of the week and this week was NO exception.

I got a phone call from Lauren on Tuesday saying she wasn't feeling well...I was JUST starting a cooking class with Jonathan, so I told her to get a drink of water and lie down in the office for a while...then I would pick her up when we were done cooking school. She seemed O.K. with that...

Then, I got a call from one of the Vice Principals and he said that Lauren didn't look so good and he thought it best that I come and pick her up right away. *sigh*

So, Jonathan and I miss cooking school (no refunds) and head out to pick her up...she looks like crap...so, I decide to pick up Colin from school and head downtown to Sick Kids. You would be AMAZED how quickly you get service when you present the ER with a cardiac kid who is short of breath...AMAZING!

We got a room and were seen RIGHT AWAY in the ER. Gynecology gets called in, because she has been bleeding quite heavily for a couple of weeks and they think perhaps this is the cause of her light headedness. On further investigation, they decide that her heart is not the issue (phew!), but that the bleeding is to blame...

Draw some blood (hemoglobin = 76 = NOT good), start an IV to push some fluids into her and hopefully make her feel better.

Gynecology decides that the bleeding MUST be stopped, so they give her estrogen by IV...and another dose 6 hours later, which makes her vomit, so they give her some gravol to sort that out...

Scott stayed with her over night, because I just simply do NOT function well if I don't get enough sleep. Add to that the stress of having a kid in the hospital and I would have been a complete basket case...they would have needed to get me a room at Mt. Sinai in the psych ward - UGH!

I headed back down on Wednesday afternoon as Jonathan had a "meet and greet" scheduled at the school he will be attending in the fall. I took over and Scott went to work.

Come to find out that gynecology really wants to consult with cardiology about mixing estrogen with Lauren's blood pressure meds...especially considering the possibility of clots associated with birth control.

Cardiology NEVER comes to see her, so I put a call in to her cardiac nurse, Marilyn, and she comes down to see Lauren...this of course totally confuses everybody who seems to think that Marilyn is the initial "team member" and prompts gynecology to stop bugging cardiology for the consult...yeah, I know...don't get me started.

It's a good thing I know my way around that hospital...I bypassed the cardiology consult and had Marilyn consult DIRECTLY with Lauren's cardiologist. Dr. Carvalle said there was no need for an echo or transfusion - FINALLY some answers...

Gynecology decides to keep her overnight AGAIN (but at least this time we're in a room) because her morning blood work revealed that her hemoglobin was now down to 71...DEFINITELY not good!

This time, I stay over night with her...not the best choice...everytime something beeps (even if it's not Lauren), I wake up...everytime her nurse comes in to check on her...I wake up...I think I may have gotten about 3 hours of quality sleep...Remember? I don't function well on a lack of sleep.

Call the cardiac nurse again on Thursday morning who by now has spoken directly to Lauren's cardiologist who still thinks that if gynecology can stop the bleeding a transfusion will not be necessary.

Another round of blood work...YAY! Hemoglobin is back up to 76. Still not good, but at least it is on it's way back up. And her bleeding has just about stopped, so we are good to go on that front.

Dr. Spitzer (gynecology) starts Lauren on a round of birth control to sort her out and to get her hemoglobin back up. And we are discharged - WOOHOO!!!

Gotta pick up drugs in the pharmacy and then we are outta there!!!

We went to see Phantom of the Opera (happy birthday to me!)...but that is a whole other post, because this one is already MORE than long enough!

It's party time!

My "official" birthday isn't until this Thursday, but today is party time!

I get to scrapbook with my best friends tonight and celebrate my birthday. I couldn't ask for a better bunch of friends or a better way to celebrate my birthday.

I'll check back in later with pics!

Have a Happy Day!

This is where you'll find me...

Welcome to my new blog! I do the typepad thing too, so will likely post to both places...not sure if the content will be the same or not...guess you'll just have to wait and see!