He's kind of a big deal...

Ellery's VP shunt surgery was performed by Dr Gary Mathern at UCLA. It was a miracle that we were able to get in to see him and that the surgery was performed so quickly. This guy is a big deal. Like, really.
Today I saw him on The Today Show. He specializes in Hemispherectomys (taking out 1/2 of the brain!!) to treat severe seizures. Obviously, this frequently gets him some media attention. Knowing that, I placed my daughter in his hands with great confidence. Her procedure was "cake" to a guy that routinely takes out half of the entire brain... craziness. When we met with him in his office you just get the picture that you are talking to an insanely brilliant person. The brain is such a fascinating organ and it has to be amazing to be of an elite group of people who understand it to such depths.

Here is just ONE of the many interviews/stories done about a patient with a hemispherectomy.

In case you can't get enough...here is another story. This is the same family featured on the Today Show but it is a local story done around Christmas.

It's perfect. Because E is kind of a big deal too...

 (looks like she knows it. we are in trouble)

Sleeping Beauty

The "beauty" thing was with E ever since she was born. The "sleeping" thing (particularly, falling asleep IN her crib rather than being placed in her crib already asleep) has taken awhile.
After 2 weeks of poor sleeping after her surgery, she has officially made up for any sleepless nights. She now officially puts herself to sleep (with just a little soothing "pet" to her forehead). It's wonderful. It's cute. We are so proud. 

Here she is today just seconds after putting herself to sleep. She is listening to a sophisticated soundtrack of James Taylor, Jesse Cook, smooth Jazz, baby/lullaby Bob Marley and other awesome tunes.

Jealous, much?

Wish you were here... I mean, Wish I was THERE!!

Surgery is never convenient...but it HAS to happen. Ellery's also had to happen ASAP... so  basically we had no choice, and we were thankful that everything was miraculously worked out so that she could have her surgery within a week of her diagnosis.

The only problem with that is that WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GO ON VACATION! I had been looking forward to taking Ellery to Park City, Utah ever since I found out we were pregnant. I had visions of cuddling my sweet E by the fire, enjoying a relaxing time in the warm living area overlooking snow falling down on the mountain. She even got a cute pink snow outfit for Christmas.
In case you are saying "oh just take her to Mammoth or Big Bear"... well, we can (and probably will) but it is just not the same. Park City as a resort town is amazing...so beautiful, so NOT California, and having gone every year since I was born, it's super sentimental. It just doesn't feel like winter unless I go.... I look forward to my "real winter" experience every year. Anyhow, the fam is there now. They come back tomorrow. At least it's an annual trip so its not like a once in a lifetime experience... but nevermind, I was really looking forward to it.

And as a nice slap in the face... its been sunny and between 70-80 degrees all week.


Enjoy some photos from last year... 
part of the main street (used to be an old old mining town)

Oh will I ever get my figure back? (Maybe it's a good thing we missed.... I'm not sure I'd fit in those pants yet). GRR

It was Sundance Film Festival so the stars flocked to the town... here is the only one I saw...

Oh and one of my favorite parts.... we saw the US snowboard team compete.... Mr. White himself up close and personal- and saw him debut a new trick he would later use in the Olympics, and Ellery Hollingsworth whose name we stole because we loved it when we heard it announced :-)

and finally... these are arguably the best hot tub experiences you will ever have. Imagine yourself: exhausted, sore, and cold after a long day on the slopes. You grab a diet pepsi (with lime) on ice, bundle up in a towel and uggs, and you scurry on down to the collection of hot tubs (6 of them) all nestled in the rocks, underneath snow flurries, with a huge open view of the lifts and slopes. It's pretty much amazing.
**hard to get my own pics, so thought I'd ad some other cheesy ones for your pleasure :-)

and this is us....you can imagine the freezing cold snow on an almost naked body scurry....

Dearest Utah,
   I miss you. Ellery wants to meet you. We will be back next year. It's not you, its me.
xoxo
Amy

Bathroom Re-Organization

I started the process of re-organizing the house this week. As I stated in a previous post, I actually DO have some good systems in place, they just need some sprucing up (putting things BACK where they belong ;-0) and some improvements. Each home we move to requires different systems.

I started on Tuesday with the MASTER BATHROOM.
Here are some "before" pictures. Disclaimer: I took these pictures BEFORE tidying up after the whole "get ready" process in the morning. SO it looks worse than it actually was because things weren't put back in their spot. BUT, that only makes for better "After" pictures, right??

Here we go:
top counter

 a small drawer- I used for all my hair supplies. It was "messy" but actually a great and easy way to just throw all my stuff in there.

left cupboard is mine. It actually does have some sort of system but it got messy and messed up. It looks worse than it was but it's even better now.
right cupboard is his. The green/white basket held "extra supplies" but there were too many and we ended up forgetting about what was in there. The clear plastic container holds all of his daily used products. It is one of the BEST systems I've ever created. He uses it and it contains his stuff but doesn't require being ultra organized...because we all know that wouldn't last too long. He can just throw his stuff back in after using it in the morning. Every so often I go in and clean/scrub it out.

AFTER
 I went to Big Lots (hate stores like that, they scare me and I feel majorly germ-y after leaving... but the fact is, they do REALLY have some cheap stuff). When I move into a more "permanent" home I will probably invest in some more expensive (read: Target haha) items.

Kept Adam's supply bin... it was from Container Store ($$) and it works great.
On the left I added a stacking shelf that wasn't being used in our current kitchen. On the top I placed a container for extra supplies like toothpaste, contact solution, toothbrushes etc. (I separated out all the hotel/travel sized items and placed those in their own bin on my side).  On the bottom of the shelf I put a small container with sunscreens. Occasionally Adam uses those for golf and so I kept them on his size, very accessible. To the left of Adam's container is a small container that holds JUST the facewash stuff- he uses those at night so I thought they didn't need to come out of the whole bin.

On my side, I added a variety of similar green bins.
In the back, is a container FULL of hotel and travel sized shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap... ahh, I think I have a problem. I just LOVE to take home those items with me. Confession: I will usually remove them all from the counter each day so that the maid will give more each time. :-)
In the front basket, I placed some of my daily (or frequently) used bottles such as facewash, deodorant, face lotion, spritzers, and some different varieties of body lotion.

to the right I placed all of my hair things in this new container. Top level are hairties (attached to a ring to keep them organized), middle level has bobby pins and clips, and bottom level has hairties! To the right of this container, I took a little "pen cup" from our desk that wasn't being used and placed my combs and hairbrush.  Behind this section is another bin with a collection of feminine products.

I reorganized the middle drawers a bit...
 (this is actually the same, and it's one of the best systems we've ever had).

The middle drawer now holds my makeup and nail polish. I had this makeup container and its awesome. I bought it at container store awhile back... (have I mentioned I used to live a few blocks away from one?)

bottom drawer: used to hold the cleaning products I used for this bathroom so I could use on a daily basis. Now it holds my blow dryer, straightener, and curling irons! Their pink travel case went in our closet until it's needed on a trip.

I put our cleaning products in the corner by the toilet in this little container. Easy access= frequent usage!!

and lastly, our perfumes & cologne are on the top counter, alongside a small glass jar of cotton swabs. This is pretty much the same... see? It wasn't TOOO bad, just needed some sprucing up :-)

AND... there you have it, folks! My low budget, use what you have and add just a few things... BATHROOM RE-O :-)

Doing THIS

 As a follow up to yesterday's posting... I found this website and am going to go ahead and do it. It may take me more or less days...the challenge already started so I am behind...and may do a few in one day or even miss a day or so. But as of now, I am energized. As I mentioned, I already do have some good systems in place...but they just need some sprucing up. So it shouldn't be SOOO crazy hard. I'm excited.
 
DO
THIS CHALLENGE
With ME!!!

Are you in?

G.O month: a challenge

Hey there,
   So we are back home after E's surgery. We are SOOO glad to have that over with. 3 month old + brain surgery is not so fun. The good news is that she has recovered well, it was a relatively short hospital stay considering all (short does NOT equal cheap! Yikes), and hopefully she will go on to live a carefree life with a normal sized head! Woo.
Anyways, pics and story to come...I think.


I read 3 magazines in the hospital. 2 of the 3 had lilac purple colors, and all 3 had home/life organization sections. The National Association of Professional Organizers is calling this G.O month- "Get Organized" month. I usually "get organized" whenever I move to a new place (which so far, has been 4 times in 3 years). The trouble is "staying organized." I actually have some pretty good systems in place (and I find that certain floorplans are more conducive to organization)... but they need a little pick-me-up.

I thought I'd post this to my blog.... and then in a week or two I will take pictures of, and show you some of my personal favorite organization systems in place here. It will give me some motivation to get everything back in "It's space"

Have you ever watched the show Hoarders? Well, it's weird... I can't take too much of it. BUT, that being said.... I diagnosed myself with what they call "compulsive pile syndrome" (or something like that)... In the effort to have the appearance of things being neat I will just pile things that don't have a real home (and some that do) in a neat little pile until I can really sort through and take care of it. I hate it... I hate little piles of stuff. I'll have to work on that.


So there. You can hold me accountable. Need inspiration to do it yourself? Here... *** NOT MY HOME... but LOVE LOVE LOVE ***

also, just stumbled on THIS blog... cuteness.

RESOLUTION: (noun) meaning: determination, strong will

Antonyms to the word Resolution are as follows: compliance, indecision, weakness...

SO... at first, I was indecisive about what resolutions to make this year. Indecisive, because I know maybe I'm weak... I don't want to set myself up to fail. I don't really like to do hard core, "do or you're a failure" type resolutions. I think of them as general improvements to aim for (with strong will and determination).

Last year, I became more and more like "Future Amy" - learning to bargain shop, cooked a whole chicken, successfully chose a ripe avocado, became more crafty, wrote and sent thank you cards (until after E was born... sorry if you sent us a gift after the birth, please know we are extremely thankful and you may still get one in the future :-0...I still have some work to do to really BE future Amy)....  My "Future Amy" is a housewife extraordinaire... organized and creative... she knows how to shop for bargains, does the dishes each night before she turns out the lights (still working on this one, it's hit and miss), keeps a consistently clean house, thinks of and gives to others (here is where some of the craft and cooking can come in handy), and most of all makes her husband proud!!

Last year my soft-core (can you use that in this context? haha) resolution was to be more DISCIPLINED.  It has never been a strength of mine. Sometimes I am too relaxed to be DISCIPLINED (read: lazy). I am still working on this... it's a general lifestyle and attitude change. But I think Present Amy is becoming more DISCIPLINED... slowly. Future Amy actually seemed so far off (hence Future Amy) that it didn't even make it to my resolution list. It was something I aspired to be but wasn't sure I would ever become. As it turned out, I was diligent in occasionally doing things that Future Amy does... and it became sort of a journey for me over the year.

THIS year, in addition to the lofty goals to continue of Discipline and Future Amy, I thought I would be a little more specific. These things actually fall under those 2 categories and yet it is narrowing them down so that there is something I can focus on.

Here we go:
1) plan a week of meals/grocery list the week ahead.
 Using this and this

and I bought this nice little sticky pad. It will help me visualize and also Adam will know what to expect each week.

2) Include vegetable sides in most, if not all the meals. Hopefully planning ahead will leave us with enough veggies in the house to use, but not waste. One of our favorite frozen veggie packs is Soycutosh from Trader Joe's... sooo good.

3. Clean our floors at least once a week, if not more frequently. Exciting, I know. Yay for laminate/wood floors where you have 2 steps to clean: sweep, then spray and wipe. But, they do look great and last longer.

4. Eat a real breakfast (with protein) every morning (Like I said, no hard feelings on "those days" but the general routine should include a nice breakfast. I better go scramble some eggs pronto).

5. (related to number 1) Learn to pre-make and freeze dishes (such as casseroles, soups, etc)- and implement as desired. 


Well, that's about it for now. All other things I can think of will continue to go under "future Amy" and "diligence" - these include household things, personal things, and spiritual things. So, just know that my goals are QUITE lofty this year. I'm determined....

What are YOUR "resolutions"?  (don't be weak!)

The mail is full...

with little goodies like these.

Happy Birthday to me. I feel so special. Adam is waiting for the Golden Spoon one to show up...
(trying to remember some of the best advice ever given to me: "you can go broke saving money.")

But you can also feel a lot better with some retail therapy. Boom.

(do you ever think about forging your birthday at other months of the year just so you can get an immediate coupon in the mail? ..... I don't either).

MIA!?

hi everyone,
  I have a few "mental blog posts" but don't have the mental energy or time to do them...  Most of you who follow me on facebook or know me closely know that Ellery is having a serious health issue which is causing her head to grow too large too fast. It's miraculous how it is all playing out but tomorrow we have a MRI of her brain scheduled. She will have to undergo anesthesia but I am sure she will be just fine! So, tomorrow we are off for the beginning of what will probably be multiple trips to UCLA... I will very soon update this sucker, if only for the sake of documentation.  :-)


And have no fear, SO far, although it is quite serious, she is developing completely normal and with the proper treatment will be just fine! I will give details and updates later!