My New Motivation

I know today is Christmas, so Merry Christmas to everyone. But that's not what I am going to write about today. My favorite part of the day today was David's gift to me. He gave me a Garmin Forerunner 305, which is a running GPS unit and I have been wanting one for a long time. It gives me my heartrate, pace, distance, calories burned, and changes in elevation and a lot of other training features, all on a watch. I have been feeling really bummed lately because I have been gaining a lot of weight with this pregnancy. I have also been exercising minimally and eating terribly, so the weight gain is kind of to be expected, but it is also hard to take. So even though I won't be running for the next few months, especially outside, I am going to use this awesome new gadget to help me be motivated to keep fit and not put on another twenty pounds by April. I have a treadmill sitting about five feet from me. I have a Zune MP3 player and a music subscription to all the music and podcasts I want. I have no excuses.

I was just reading a fitness blog about not focusing on limiting the bad foods, but instead focusing on all the good things to eat. I think I will try this philosophy and see how I do. Wish me luck.

The End of An Era

It is amazing to think that almost three and a half years have passed since Jenna first got sick. There have been so many ups and down and blessings and miracles that I can't help but be greatful for everything.

To officially signal the end of her medical journey, she got her port removed this past Friday, December 12th. Paige stayed with Mom and we headed to Denver early on Friday to make it to her first appointment at 11:30, which was with Dr. Maloney, her oncologist. We knew she was going to have to be NPO, the medical term for fasting, after about 9:00 am, so we stopped at IHOP in Pueblo for Breakfast. That silly girl ordered a cheeseburger and apple slices for her last meal.

Dr. Maloney was very impressed with how well Jenna is doing and how much she has grown. The next check up appointment won't be until next December! Here they are together.

After that, we went down to radiology for a routine abdominal ultrasound. David went in with her while Jack and I went to get some lunch. They were checking for any neuroblastoma and everything looked normal, so yay for that.

Finally, we checked into the surgery center. After seeing nurse after nurse and getting her changed into the hospital jammies, we went into the play room to wait. Her surgery was scheduled for 3:45 and we had to wait about twenty more minutes for the anesthesiologist to get done with another surgery. Finally, it was time to take her back to the operating room. Jack stayed with a nurse and David and I put on all the required sterile jumpsuits and masks to be able to take her. She was nervous and scared and it was hard to watch her be put under. It breaks my heart every time she has to go through that. The surgery only lasted about twenty or thirty minutes and every thing went great. She woke up without having any fits, which was a big relief.

We are thankful to Kirk and Alyson for letting us stay with them once again. Jenna is always excited to play with Lydia and they have a good time together. We took our time going home on Saturday and did some shopping for snow clothes for the girls. Paige pretty much wears everything out now so there aren't many hand-me-downs for Jenna.

Walgreens Pays Me To Take Their Stuff

Here is my latest deal from Walgreens. I ended up making money on all of this stuff. I'm sorry the picture is kind of crappy, but I was in hurry to get it all put away. I got:

(4) bottles of Arm & Hammer Laundry detergent

(3) kid Colgate toothbrushes (Santa needed them)
(1) Reynold's aluminum foil (I'll be getting a lot more of these for free)
(4) bags Hershey's Reese's and York patties

(4) packages of gift tags

(4) gift bags

(2) 3-roll packs of Scotch tape

(1) Demet's Turtles

I spent: $13.70

I got back in Register Rewards (or basically store credit): $11

Total in rebates: $7.70

Net profit when it's all said and done: $5.00

I plan on doing a few more of these deals before the week is out!

Christmas Card

Deer in My Backyard

I had just clicked "Publish" on the last post when Jack started yelling for me to look at something in the backyard, so I went to see what he was excited about and this is what we saw:

Cooks in the Kitchen

I had been dying to try this Peppermint Bark Popcorn recipe from the Our Best Bites blog. It is the best cooking blog ever. So last night after dinner, we gave it a shot. It turned out sooooooo good! Crushing the peppermint sticks was the most fun for the kids, as you can see. Jenna is using the meat mallet and Jack is using his tiny, but real, hammer that Grandpa Johnnie got him.

Worst Vacation Ever

I can say this now because it's over. We went to see David's family for Thanksgiving and spent the entire week there. Don't get me wrong, it was great to see his family, but we ALL ended up getting the flu over the course of the week. And we couldn't just get it all at once and be done with it. Each day a new person had it. I happened to be lucky enough to get it on the drive home. But now that we are home, everyone is healthy again.

I was able to go Black Friday shopping with Marsha, so that was a big plus. We made it to Kohl's at 4am, Walmart by 5am and Target at 6am. I got most of the kids' presents and a few other things. I was exhausted from shopping and not sleeping due to kids puking, but it was a good day.