Another "normal" week-night

Just a few days ago, I wrote about one of our "normal" nights - ordering pizza, watching hockey, and crafts.  Something that has become another "norm" with us are shifts at the hospital.  Tomorrow (the 23rd) marks one month since Buddy was admitted into the hospital :(  Those shifts are normally filled with making sure Buddy isn't pulling tubes out, talking to him about whatever crazy thing he has on his mind (not-very coherent), and taking really good notes (all for Grandma Stella!).  Buddy had a pretty rough day yesterday - totally confused and out of it, no smiles to share.  So, the first part of our time was spent dealing with the usual things.  Then, they gave him sleeping medicine at 7 (early for him), and he was out soon after (yes!).  He really needs sleep right now, so I'm thankful for his sake.  Here's a snapshot of what my view was last night - Daniel was on watch to make sure he wasn't sneaking a pull at his tubes, and I kicked my feet up and started catching up on Teen Mom.

Hope ya'll have a fun weekend planned!  We are celebrating Daniel's birthday :)

Finally, a smile!

So Buddy is plugging right along - slowly improving.  He's now in a regular room, working hard on getting stronger.  Here's a fun picture Katie sent to me last night, so happy to see a smile from him!

Normal week-night

On Monday night, Daniel declared we were having a "mini" date-night on Tuesday - since the Penguins were playing the Capitals.  Yep, obviously that is Daniel's version of a date night :)

We had planned on playing tennis after work, but it was entirely too windy, and we were both feeling a little lazy.  He started the grill for burgers and potatoes (there's a new kind of "grillers" potatoes that are yummy!), but we ran out of propane.  Alas, we decided on pizza, and found a new pizza place thanks to the Val Pack.  I would definitely order from there again - it was really tasty!  [The pepperonis are placed on top of the sauce, and cheese on top of that - I liked the change.]  While he was gone, I started preparing what's in our crockpot for tonight's dinner - Jumbalaya.  I sure hope it's good, I'll keep you updated.
Since I'm not a huge hockey fan, I decided to work on my "no-sew" blanket, that I've very much been looking forward to having in our room.  The good news is the Pens won, and I really enjoyed our night - a little slice of heaven.  Since our lives have been so busy and we haven't had much time to breathe, much less spend time together, it was such a nice change :)

my view

Germs

Buddy is still in the hospital.  He is slowly getting better, but it's certainly a long road.  Last week, Buddy's was moved to a "step down" room - yay, improvement!  His white blood cell count was dangerously low, so everyone who entered the room had to wear a mask.  During our shift last week, Daniel and I snapped a few pics to remember how silly we looked

Daniel & Kim: keeping germs at bay since 2004 <3

It's a little hard to kiss that way ;)

Easter/Spring Decorations

I made it a point to spend the weekend recouperating from our busy lives - clean the house and decorate for Easter/Spring.  I have a great husband, who is also a great cleaner.  It's so much more fun and easy when we're doing it together.  I love how it has turned out, so take a peek:



Organizing everything from my trip to HL and Michael's... ready to craft

Welcome to my Saturday night - making the yarn wreath and watching Biggest Loser :)

Here's the cute spring yarn wreath - love it!

spring/easter mantle

Here's a close-up of the picture - Abby at Easter last year, she was 6 weeks old.  We put her in her Easter basket, and you can tell how thrilled she is about it :)

This is by far my most favorite Easter decoration!  Copied from something I found on Pinterest






...another Pinterest project.  Hop like a bunny





Easter set-up under the tv <3

No More Car Payments!

Remember two years ago when we bought this little gem: http://thesinkfamily.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-toy.html

Well, I'm happy to report that today we paid it off fully!  Woo hoo!!  And hopefully, we will never, ever have another car payment.  Yep, that's our goal, and we are working super hard and being super frugal to get there.  There are more important things in life, if you ask me.

High five.

Robin & Co.

I was so honored when Robin asked me to be her Matron of Honor.  I know that role includes lots of support, keeping my best friend happy, and helping her keep her eye on the "prize" - a beautiful wedding day, and even more, a successful, happy marriage. 

When Robin told me she wanted to go to Burlington, NC to go wedding dress shopping - I was so giddy!  I couldn't wait!  She told me all about her entourage that would be coming - her mama, future MIL, wanda's best friend, all bridesmaids except one.  That's when I knew that my "support" part of my role would be crucial.  I went into covert mode.  We need to keep everyone happy (read: normal blood sugar, don't let it drop), we need to keep Robin the main focus (happy and with the dress of her dreams), and we need to have fun!  I did a little bit of Pinterest-searching, soul-searching, and thought about when I was dress shopping and what we needed to be successful.  I came up with the idea of a gift bag for everyone.  We all need tissues {for crying when Robin finds the perfect dress}, a notepad to take notes of which dresses are best, and lots of snacks, sugar, and drinks.  So here we go, two months of planning later...

Working on getting everything organized!

Found this amazingly cute idea on Pinterest - replace the water bottle label with duct tape, voila!

All of the bags are done!

And ready for their owners!



Here's a little something extra - personalized hangers for Robin & Wanda

I think they were a huge success!  Everyone stayed sugared-up, happy, and Robin found the perfect dress! 

The Robin & Co. bags contained:
-a personalized notepad with felt flowers in the wedding colors, and a pen
-good-smelling sugar scrub, with fancy spoon
-tissues
-a personalized candle
-hand sanitizer
-a chex-mix treat

I also had a "sugar" bag filled with candy bars, a "snacks" bag filled with crackers, and a cooler full of drinks!  We had a fun little tailgate in the parking lot of Bridal Mart at "halftime" (after Robin found her dress, but before bridesmaid dress shopping).  It was the perfect little break.

Oh, and I forgot to mention - Robin & Co. is AMAZING!  Everyone that went on the adventure had so much fun, we laughed and laughed! 

Crazy busy times

Whew, I'm having a hard time finding time to stop and catch my breath!  Let alone get some sleep :)

A few weeks ago, on Feb 23, Buddy was taken to the hospital for some infection issues.  His kidney infection, bladder infection, and inflamed gallbladder were making him a little under the weather.  Daniel & I went to visit on Sunday evening, just for a little bit.  Our short visit turned into us leaving at 4am, because his temperature spiked to 105, and he was transferred to the ICU.  We stayed there with Georgia to help her out.  Ever since then, it's been one thing after another - one step up and two steps back.  He's still in the ICU... and he's doing about so-so.  It depends on the hour of the day.  Sometimes he "loses it" (as grandma stella would say), and other times he knows exactly what's going on.  Today he has a swallow test and mini-colonoscopy.  Today is pretty crucial - the tests will reveal a lot about what the next steps are.  The Staley's have created a huge, amazing family.  There are a solid 25+ family members who have stepped up to help - taking shifts at the hospital - communicating to everyone what's going on - and keeping everyone sane.  It's been a tough road, but I'm so thankful to have been in this family for so long, and since day one (almost nine years ago), they've embraced me and we've been making fabulous memories this whole time.  I also have a really awesome family, and friends, who have stepped up with meals, hospitality, and moral support.  This has definitely been an emotionally (and physically) draining three weeks, but we're all in this together.

In between the craziness of shifts at the hospital, we also have a lot of extremely fun and exciting things going on.  You saw we finished up Abby's kitchen and celebrated Abby's first birthday.  This past weekend was the long-awaited wedding dress shopping adventure with Robin!  She planned a day where we would trek to Burlington, NC to visit Bridal Mart (I went there with no luck!) to hopefully find her dress, and the bridesmaid's dresses.  She picked me up on Friday, we enjoyed a delish DJs meal, and went down to Ebony.  We stayed up chatting with wandabear about wedding funsies and all of the decorating ideas they have.  [Let me tell you, this will be one beautiful and very fun wedding!]  After a good night's rest, everyone arrived around 8:30 and we we were on our way.  The good news is Robin found her gown - it is exquisite and she makes the dress beyond beautiful.  After we got the big task out of the way - she picked out all of the bridesmaid's dresses.  Check that off the list!  Not only did we get a lot accomplished, but we had sooo much fun doing it, the only thing that would make it even better if we made a trip over to Club Kryptonite.  Robin has a few really awesome girls standing beside her - and I'm very much looking forward to the next 6 months of planning & bridal events!  We laughed so much... and I'm still laughing today!  I'll have to post all about the Robin & Co. treat bags, sweets, and drinks I prepared for our trip - stay tuned!

Last night we celebrated my sister's birthday with our traditional birthday meal!  It was also daylight savings, and though we lost an hour, I love how light it is so late in the day.  That means we get to start playing lots of tennis after work, and spending time outdoors.  Yesterday, the weather was so delightful, we played tennis with our neighbors for about 3 hours.  The funny thing is, Daniel & I got sunburnt!  Ha!  I need to start remembering sunscreen

Keep Buddy in your prayers - and the rest of the family, as this is mentally draining.  We always hope for the best, but know that it's all in His hands.  xoxo

Abby's Minnie Mouse Party

So as you know, our sweet niece turned one last week!  Saturday was her Minnie Mouse birthday party, and it was a lot of fun.  There was good food, family/friends, and lots of laughs!  Here are some pictures I was able to snap :)

The birthday girl and uncle daniel - the two loves of my life!

Aunt Kim and the wiggle worm (notice the cute picture banner in the background)

That's right - Abby is one!

Happy Birthday to you!

...and that's about how messy she was

Abby with her momma and daddy

Feeding momma some birthday cake... so sweet

 

Opening her gift from aunt kim/uncle daniel/grandma/grandpa

a play kitchen!

Complete with a matching apron - sewn by her grandma!

An amazing year

Yesterday, our sweet, amazing, adorable niece turned one!  Can you believe it??  I certainly can't.  This year has absolutely flown by.  She has brought so much joy in our lives, it is unreal.  Everytime we see her, she's learned something new, she is growing like a weed, and we love her beyond words.  Happiest of Birthday's the most precious little lady!

Her minnie-themed party is Saturday, can't wait to give her the gift we've been working so hard on.  Updates soon!

It's my birthday!



...and I'll do what I want.  And that includes stuffing my face with all my pillow pets :)

Abby during her one year photo shoot in her Minnie outfit

Abby on the left and Kelly on the right - each are wearing the same dress, hugging the same bear, and wearing the same ring.  How special :)

O-N-E!

Cake Smash

Abby in her lovely lavendar tutu - from newborn to three months, 6 months, 9 months, and  now one year.