My Momma's Surgery

For those of you that don't know, my mother had surgery yesterday. She has had problems with her left shoulder since I was 5 and we got in a car wreck. She messed up her shoulder pretty bad, had to have surgery on it. Recently though, it has been hurting her terrible. She is in tears most of the day from the pain. Her left thumb and first finger were also numb constantly. The doctors told her she had a bulging disk pressing a nerve that was causing the pain, or something like that.

Anyway, they went in yesterday and put in a cadaver bone and cleaned some stuff up in there. They went in through the front of her neck. The surgeon came out afterward and showed my dad and I pictures of the x-rays with the new bone and the screws in her neck.

Today, she is tired, but her fingers are no longer numb from what she can tell. That is a great sign. She isn't in much pain, just sore from how they had her laying on the surgery table (it was a 3 hour surgery).

My beautiful momma, waiting to go into surgery.

The staff here at Oklahoma Spine Hospital has been awesome. Incredibly friendly. AND I took some pictures yesterday before she went in. :)

She has tiny veins, so this was a pain to get in.

My concerned dad.

Her chart.

Again, concerned Dad. 

She is doing great. Should be out tonight or tomorrow. Hopefully this surgery will provide the relief they are saying it should. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers!

UPDATE: She went home this evening. She is doing ok, just tired. So glad it went so well for her. Love my mom!

Shay

Hannah's Barbie House

We asked Hannah (our 4 year old) what she wanted to ask Santa for, for Christmas. Her answer? Fourteen story Barbie house. Thats a little extravagant... but Bill and I decided a new Barbie house would be a great "big" gift from Santa for her. I started looking at the Barbie houses available to buy. None of them were very big, and they were all pretty lame. Just saying. So, when google or amazon fails, I go to my next best tool - Pinterest.

On pinterest, I saw this:

This one wasn't nearly as large as I wanted, but I thought it was a great idea. Using an old piece of furniture and turning it into a barbie house with storage. I decided I wanted to go larger. On my FIRST thrift store trip to find something, I came across this gem,

which, by the way, was the ONLY piece of furniture in the entire thrift store. It was meant to be!

So here it is as after I took the doors off, and started painting it.

  I didn't have a definite plan, just a basic idea of what I wanted to do with it. My mom helped a lot. She hepled with the painting, the ideas, found the flooring, and the trim we ended up using. She is where I get my craftiness from!

We put a base coat on some of the rooms, and put some of the Barbie furniture in to make sure it was going to look good. So let me just skip to the finished product...

And there it is, the finished product. We used real carpet in the bedroom and office, vinyl sticky flooring tiles in the ballroom, bathroom, and kitchen. Used a smaller wooden trim form Lowes on all the edges to give it that finished look. The nice guy at Lowes gave us some samples of the green grass turf, which I used on the outdoor area. And I velcroed some little push lights to the ceilings, so I can change out the batteries. 

Hannah woke up to this on Christmas morning, looked at it, and started jumping up and down. She loves it. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Miker's Bithday

So I love planning parties. I didn't realize how much until I planned Ashley's baby shower. For Hannah's birthday, I asked Bill if he would mind if I planned it, and of course, he let me. Boys don't like that stuff. So I gave her exactly what she asked for, a baby kitty party. I was pleased with how everything turned out, and the kids had a good time.


So Mikey turned 3 last saturday, and when we asked what kind of party he wanted, he said robots. I have had a lot of fun looking at robot stuff online. Here is what I have so far.

Bill's brother, Jenkin, is a ridiculously talented designer (jenkindesign.com). He is responsible for those amazing robot invitations, which I designed the entire party around. That is one of Mikey's presents in the background, wrapped to match.


Up front was something I kept seeing when googling "robot party decorations." Parents would label snacks as various robot-ish parts. i.e. memory chips for chips, wire for twizzlers...etc. So of course, I made it way cute, and matchy matchy. I took the box off the front of the invitation, and with the same font (thanks Jenkin) I printed labels for the food, and also put what it really is. Cute huh? I know. 


Finding robot decorations has been a little harder than I thought. Sara found this...

Which was definitely the cutest out there. So retro and adorable. Its in 3D! The kids will like it. Adults get boring, noD paper plates. I ordered it online, and *fingers crossed* it will be here tomorrow. 

Then! I found these on amazon.

Look at that smile. and Bubblebot 2000? come on. Doesn't get any cuter than that.

Other than that, I have streamers, balloons. The usuals. and *SPOILER ALERT* I will probably do one of those cheesy stand up things, where the kid stands behind it and put their head in for a picture. I love cheesy. I'm really excited. I will definitely be posting way too many photos on facebook come saturday evening. :)

Happy Birthday Mikers! Can't wait!

Negative Nancy

Ephesians 4:29


Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.


I needed to read that today.


It is so easy to get caught up in the negativity that surrounds us these days. From constant complaining, worrying, and arguing, to having the best, and being the best. Jealousy can be overwhelming. and when you see someone that has everything, and you don't believe they deserve it... bitterness can creep in.


I'm one trillion percent guilty here. I've made fun. I've talked trash. I've not stood up for people when I felt like I should. I've joined in on the gossip. I've wined about what I thought I deserved, and I have done a ridiculous amount of pouting. I was so busy pointing out everyone else's faults, I didn't realize the severity of my own. They are even more dreadful than the ones I was going on about.


Negativity is like a bad habit. It becomes part of your daily routine. Until one day, you decide you want to quit. If you want to quit drinking, dont hang out in bars. If you want to quit smoking, don't hang out with smokers. If you want to stop being negative, don't hang out with negative people.


1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”


I don't want to simply cut back on negativity. I don't want to ween myself off of it. I want to stop completely and abruptly. I want to lift my friends up, help them out. I want to focus on the good, and realize the bad could always be worse. I want to be thankful for what I have. I want to love without conditions. I want to see the good in everyone. I want to set a good example.


This does not mean I am going to start spouting off positive reinforcement every 3 minutes or anything. It does not mean I am going to bite my tongue and just say something else. I want it to be a genuine, inside-out change. I want to change my mindset, rather than JUST the words I choose to say aloud. I am going to have a change of heart, and in turn, retrain this brain of mine.


If you hear me being unjustifiably negative, flick me or something. Even if its justified complaining, smack me.


oh. boasting is out too.





“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.” Buddha

Patience

I would like to say I'm a patient person. I am fine with waiting in line. I rarely curse in traffic. And I usually realize everyone is Human. However, it would be an understatement to say my patience has been tested the last 5 months. 


Like I mentioned in my last post, 6 months ago, I was a totally different Shay. Hardly any responsibilities. My answer when anything got too tough? Walk away. That is how I have always been. A defense mechanism I suppose. Whatever it is, I hate it. This latest challenge, taking care of two kids, is something I haven't walked away from. And something I refuse to walk away from.


I started babysitting Bill's kids to help him out. Started with a few nights a week. Turned into a few days a week. Then it became my full time job. Then Bill and I started dating. Hello random-series-of-events-that-I-never-saw-coming-in-a-million-years. 


Taking care of these kids has been the most challenging and, although hard to remember sometimes, rewarding job I have ever had. At times they are emotional, demanding, cranky, and stubborn. (I am too). Other times they are sweet, thankful, polite, and just want some attention and love. I often find myself losing patience with them when they ask me the same question over and over. Or when they scream at the top of their lungs while I am on the phone. So many times I have had to remind myself, "they are just kids." I am terrified of failing. Scared that these kids will not like me, or I will somehow ruin their lives. But with constant reassurance from Bill, and the kids just out of the blue telling me they like me, or getting upset when I leave, I know that I am doing better at this than I realize. 


Now to the heart of the message. 


Even though I am not their mother, I care about these kids. I spend a lot of time with them. I want them to succeed. I want them to make friends easily, and for schoolwork to be a breeze for them. I hear everyone I know with kids talking about how "advanced" their kid is. And how they just can't believe so-and-so's kid isn't talking/walking/potty trained yet. And it is easy to get caught up in that. Its easy to want to purchase MY BABY CAN READ! and show off your kiddo's talent at the next family get-together. I get it. We live in a competitive world. 


But yesterday, whilst Googling, "What a 4 year old should know before preschool," I stumbled upon this.


"So here, I offer my list of what a 4 year old should know.

1. She should know that she is loved wholly and unconditionally, all of the time.
2. He should know that he is safe and he should know how to keep himself safe in public, with others, and in varied situations. He should know that he can trust his instincts about people and that he never has to do something that doesn't feel right, no matter who is asking. He should know his personal rights and that his family will back them up.
3. She should know how to laugh, act silly, be goofy and use her imagination. She should know that it is always okay to paint the sky orange and give cats 6 legs.
4. He should know his own interests and be encouraged to follow them. If he could care less about learning his numbers, his parents should realize he'll learn them accidentally soon enough and let him immerse himself instead in rocket ships, drawing, dinosaurs or playing in the mud.
5. She should know that the world is magical and that so is she. She should know that she's wonderful, brilliant, creative, compassionate and marvelous. She should know that it's just as worthy to spend the day outside making daisy chains, mud pies and fairy houses as it is to practice phonics. Scratch that-- way more worthy."

(http://www.magicalchildhood.com/articles/4yo.htm)

How true is that? What I wouldn't GIVE to go back to a time when I didn't know my numbers or letters. When I didn't know how awful people can be. When I could crawl in my moms bedroom after a bad dream and she would hold my hand until I fell asleep. When my dad would buy me surprises, simply because he loved me.  

Not saying I don't want to help these kids learn. But I am not going to rush these kids into anything. They learn something new everyday, without my help. They say please, and thank you. And what they teach me from day  to day is even more impressive. I am going to be more patient with them. At the end of the day, I remember how much my parents loved me when I was young. Not how quickly they got me to learn my numbers and letters. Not how well I spoke when I was 3. I am so grateful to them. 

An intro-Blog. Blog-tro.

Blogging. Blog. What a strange word. I googled it to make sure it was the right word, thats how weird it sounds to me now.

blog

 noun \ˈblȯg, ˈbläg\

Definition of BLOG

: a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer; also : the contents of such a site

moving on.


For those of you that know me, and those of you that dont.... let me fill you in.


My name is Sharayah, but I go by Shay. After 20 ish years of being called Sarah, or ShaRYEuh, or Sahara, I decided on Shay. 25 years old. technically unemployed. The youngest of 3 girls. I'm emotional, terrified of awkward situations, and I love a witty comeback (mostly when it's mine). I love crafting. and antique shopping. I love taking pictures. I've never done any real traveling, but I hope to. I love HGTV. I played Fable 3 and let over 6 million people die, because I didn't want to make an evil decision. That HAS to say something about my character. 


A year ago, I was working at Best Buy, struggling to get by, couch surfing friends couches, and doing a lot of karaoke. I was dating. I was having fun. Worrying about myself, and only myself. I was wanting more.  


Today, I am the happiest I have ever been. Genuine, sappy, ridiculously happy. I have had time to slow down, and realize what is REALLY important in life, and just how fragile and short it can be. I met the type of guy my dad always told me I would find someday. And along with him, came his two kiddos. There will be plenty more on all that later. :)


That is seriously all I can come up with. 25 years of life, and you get a few paragraphs.  


In this blog, I will be telling of my new adventures in life. Giving opinions, asking advice, and sharing thoughts. I am no english major. And I am not a fan of proper punctuation. I like more of a free-flow, random stream of consciousness  type of thing, so keep your red ink. :)


more soon! I know, you're on the edge of your seat. 


I said blog way too many times in this blog.