weekend cakes...

i had 2 cakes to make for a joint baby shower today

one for a future little hunter




and one for a future Steelers fan



both are 100% edible

thx for looking!
sharon

back 2 our regularly scheduled program...

ok, enuff about doctor appointments, tests & scans & blood work....let's get back 2 our regularly scheduled program :0)

i don't have anything exciting & new to report....just wanted to post some random things to perk up my blog a bit - i'm getting bored with all this medical mumbo, jumbo - how about u? ;0)

after our long day yesterday, we came home to find a package waiting for us....it was that wonderful gift that the Grimes family had sent us!

my kiddos r sooooo happy to see this familiar face again

~lol~
ok, maybe happy isn't the right word...but believe me, they don't exactly mind getting their picture taken!

also included in the box were lots of fun notes to our fam - many handmade by shanna herself - what a talented, sweet, creative little lady! ;0) she also made this beauty for me - so my style too!


corinn was psyched about this book....she "read" it to me about 10 times!

gabby got an early birthday present (she turns 6 on thxgiving) - a tinkerbell diary, complete with lock & key! and matching tinkerbell pen necklaces (she even shared 2 of the pens with her sister)....this gift was right up her alley too! she teased jaden later saying, "you might find my diary, but you can't get into it unless you have the key!"

here's what she wrote inside the front cover...
thx guys!

jaden couldn't wait to draw one of the monsters in another fun how-to-draw book that The Grimes sent!

what great friends!
:0)

here's another cute pic i took with the camera last eve....gabby was checking herself out in the mirror, while trying on mama's glasses....she said "whoa, these are making me kinda dizzy!"
~lol~

and here's what happened on my way to work this morning....snow again!

it's already done & long gone - we only got a light dusting....but the temp is definitely staying low around here! brrrr!

i'm soooo glad it's friday! the girls were supposed to have a sleepover at a friend's house tonight, but the plans fell thru....so instead, we're having our own sleepover....mama & the girls! well, jaden might join us - not sure if he'll b interested or not...we'll see

i hope u guys have a great weekend!
enjoy time with ur families & try not to get too overwhelmed with all the holiday planning and shopping....take time to just "be" - not so much "do"!
:0)

update...

first, thx for everything guys!

for the phone calls, the emails, the comments, the blog posts, the support, the love

and most of all - thx for the prayer!

today was a long day...it started with my 6 hour fast for the PET scan...only "clear, unsweetened liquids" were allowed (uh, aka water)...by 10am, i was wishing i had gotten up at 5am to eat & have my morning joe

the scan was easy peasy...long, but painless

i had to go into this just-off-site-mobile-unit, that was connected to the cancer center of the hospital by a small tunnel-like hallway...u entered the long narrow trailer thru a garage-style lifting door...it was kinda weird...but once inside, i was laid up in a reclining chair, covered in a heated blanket & had radioactive material pumped into my veins
~lol~


seriously tho, all the "radiation area" & "radioactive materials" signs hanging around were kinda creepy...other than that, the lighting & seating was perfect for an hour long nap while i waited for the glucose laced injection to travel throughout my body

they hooked up my IV, quickly injected the "stuff" & unhooked me...told me to relax (aka. fall asleep) & shut the door

u can see my feet in this pic...and my view of the room on the opposite end of the trailer that held the scan-machine-thingy....when my hour was up, i was sent to tinkle & put on scrubs - then i took a 30 minute, up & down ride, in the scanny thing tunnel

i know u're totally jealous of my vast knowledge of medical terminology !
;0)

the scanny thing will not only take a CT scan, but it will also detect the radioactive glucose - more of a tissue scan....apparently, cancerous cells eat up more glucose than regular cells - so u get the idea

unfortunately, there wasn't enough room in the trailer for curtis....this is what my amazingly patient hubby did all day...

i thank God for this man!

we had a rough night, last night....a lot of deep/emotional dialog & i saw my husband in a rare moment of vulnerability

i thank God for this man!

after the scan, we grabbed lunch & i filled him in on my experiences

i was under the impression that my biopsy would happen this afternoon - whether it was a "fine needle extraction" or removing an entire node....but after the surgeon checked me out & reviewed all my blood tests, he decided that he definitely wanted to remove a whole node....he said that the neck is a "busy area" and that administering local anesthesia is riskier than going under full anesthesia for this procedure....that the surgery would have to happen in the operating room & i'd have to go under....i'm cool with that

the surgeon also repeated a lot of what the pulmonologist told me yesterday....the same thing about for someone at my age, with these symptoms (or lack there of) & the findings they have - it's likely lymphoma, Hodgkins or some other form of this type of cancer....there r many variations & it's very hard to predict which one it is....that the fine needle extraction probably wouldn't give them enuff info & that a full depth biopsy of the node would give them "the right answer, the first time"...it may not b speedy (he said they're currently waiting 10+ days for some genetic engineering type stuff to b done on one biopsy - again with the awesome medical terminology), but that it was worth finding out for sure - making our plan for treatment, easier to map out

again, it's not for sure cancer - we don't know what it is yet....so there's no need in guessing

i'm cool with that

we're scheduled for thursday, december 4th at the hospital....curtis is taking off work to go with me....the surgeon says it'll wipe me out for a couple of days - not just from the effects of having surgery, but the stress of it all will make concentrating on reading a book, watching tv or working difficult....thankfully, my job is extremely understanding & flexible....& our health insurance rocks!

for real, all these scans, tests & appts. were cramping my schedule....we've got thxgiving coming up, and a certain little girl turns 6 that same day....so it'll b nice to have a break from all of this, and get back to everyday life with my kiddos, until my biopsy....then we can nail down what the problem is & get it taken care of - simple as that

pulmonary consult

i had my consult with the pulmonologist today...and let's just say, this doctor wasn't as nonchalant & laid back as the last (if u're not sure what i'm referring to - i explain it here & show u the swollen nodes in my xray here)

we went thru all the health history questions & he examined me....then he laid it out on the table...

he said "this is very serious", and that we needed to have a biopsy done ASAP (today if possible) - to start figuring out what's going on & how to proceed....he said that considering my age, the fact that there are multiple nodes popped up in my neck, plus the one in my chest, and that i am not experiencing any other kind of health problems - it's most likely lymphoma

needless to say, that threw me for a loop!

of course, it could not be lymphoma too....he said it's probably not infectious lymph nodes, because that would most likely be caused by either HIV, tuberculosis, or some kind of fungal infection (that would be caused by me either working in a mine or traveling to mexico or some other foreign country & picking it up)....or it's possible it's another kind of cancer that is showing itself now thru swollen lymph nodes....or there's even a chance it's associated with my thyroid - but unlikely according to the doc

or it could b none of the above....maybe it's some rare disease that's completely harmless - who knows?! (the doc didn't mention this - just my wishful thinking ~teehee~)

it's really hard to tell at this point (again, the waiting - grrr!)....but i felt like the doc was preparing me for the worst....making sure i understood what it could b....in his words, he said that lymphoma would b the "#1 most common diagnosis" for someone in my situation

he said he would have liked to have done a biopsy right then & there, but that he doesn't have the right tools....but that we needed to have it done either today or tomorrow

so i sat in the waiting room for an hour, while a nurse got my appointments scheduled:

-immediately following my pulmonologist appt, they sent me to the hospital's cancer center for bloodwork - they drew 6 vials of blood (above photo - taken with my cell) to rule out the HIV, tuberculosis, thyroid stuff, etc. - i'm told those results should b on the doc's fax machine in the morning

-tomorrow at 11:30am, i have a PET scan, back at the cancer center - a full body scan to see if there are any enlarged nodes elsewhere in my body (since all i had xray'd was my chest)

-tomorrow at 2:45pm, i have my biopsy at the hopital's surgical associates - the doc said it'll b up to the surgeon as to whether he uses a needle and goes in for a sample, or if he takes a whole node out

-then i'll go back & meet with the pulmonologist on monday or tuesday to get the biopsy results

once again, i'm not the type to worry unless there's something to worry about....i recognize the power of prayer & positive thinking....so i'm optimistic

on the other hand, my mother, hubby & BFF are total wrecks....mom cried (and told me to imagine how i'd feel if it were gabby or corinn & i was getting this news, when i asked her not to cry), curtis is calling me like every 15 minutes from work - cussing (cause of course, he isn't gonna cry) & asking tons of questions that i don't know the answers to....and misty is also asking the million unanswerable questions, plus texting me things like "i love u so much!"....i totally understand their worry - i'd probably act the same way if it were them....i'm so grateful to have people in my life that care so much about me! (u too shanna - thx for the phone call!)

i just keep telling them - i'm not dying yet!!!
~lol~

or at all, for that matter!
even if it is lymphoma or another kind of cancer - i'll b ok!

cause...
i'm young!
i'm healthy!
and i'm one bad mamma-jamma!!!
~lol~

u ain't gettin' rid of me that easy!
;0)

as always - prayer is most appreciated! i know that i'll b fine regardless of the official diagnosis, but the power of prayer is amazing! i feel safe in my Father's arms....He's never taken me thru anything that i couldn't handle with Him by my side....and i know He ain't gonna leave me now! ;0)

thank you Obama!

jaden says "i'm Barack Obama's biggest fan!"

(i swear, completely unprompted!)

now, he has even more reason to be a fan...

----->CHECK THIS OUT!<-----


just like in his campaign promise to address autism issues, President-elect Obama has introduced a Senate bill to mandate insurance coverage for autism-related services! this could require insurance coverage for occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy!

if you're interested in emailing Obama & his disabilities staff - whether to show ur support for the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act of 2008 or to voice ur reservations about the bill's inclusion of ABA among the covered therapies...do u have other concerns not being addressed? let the government know!

there's tons of info here on how to do that & who to send it to

or to read Obama's disability platform, you can check it out here

look what we got last night...

SNOW!

the first snow of the season...it came as a total surprise, in the wee hours of the night...there was a forecast of flurries, but no accumulation

and of course, it's just about all melted away already....no school delays or messy roads....just the kind of snow i like! ;0)

weekend recap...a photo shoot kinda weekend

i got a call friday night from the mother of 2 little girls that my girls used to go to daycare with - they're the same ages as mine & the 4 of them have the best of friends for years....unfortunately tho, they go to a different school, so the girls don't see each other very often....she said she knew it was last minute, but wondered if i could bring the girls by the next day for a play date on their horse farm....she was inviting 2 other girls that also ran with our crew back in the day (they all attended the same daycare before starting school) & wanted them to all hang out there for the afternoon...SIX girls between the ages of 4 and 6 - for FOUR HOURS?!

hey, who am i to judge? ~lol~

we didn't have any plans made for saturday, and it just so happened that she wanted the girls dropped off around the same time that i had to deliver this cake....so, the girls were gone for a good part of the day, jaden was consumed with either his 4 kids tv or some drawing for the better part of the morning

saturday was strangely quiet

when it was time to go pick up the girls, jaden said...
"maybe we shouldn't go get the girls ma. maybe we can be a family 3."
~lol~ feeling the love jaden, feeling the love! ~lol~

the girls were wiped out when they got home! they laid down for a nap & i finally had to wake them up 2 hours later! we spent the rest of the evening inside - it was rainy & cold all day....we played some board games together, made homemade pizza for dinner & then the girls decided to dress up....they came downstairs & asked that i take their picture

next thing i knew, we were having a photo shoot....and i swear, i never ask them to pose - they come up with all this on their own! what can i say? they're nuts! :0)

later, the girls found a new cool toy...

~lol~
they sat & drew all over this cut up box for about an hour....then toted it up to their room....i caught them laying down & reading inside of it the next morning too!

maybe i should have empty boxes lying around more often! ;0)

while daddy cooked breakfast on Sunday, the girls finally got to decorate the purses that my friend Shanna sent them....gab's whistling while she waits

jaden's also been working with the book he got from Javi - how to draw monsters, dragons & other mystical creatures ;0)


later, they were outside playing and asked me to come look at how tall they are!
they had created their own way of measuring each other...


i asked them to gather together for a pic....what started out like this

quickly turned into this

see? they're nuts, i tell ya!
~lol~

sunday evening, we attended a birthday party for our friend Xavier....the kids had a blast!

we ended the evening with children's choir rehearsal....i burned a cd of the Christmas program that they're working on....we listen to it just about every time the kids r in the van with me....and they really enjoy it - they ask to hear it over & over again....and since the girls can't read yet (well, gabby is reading - but not fast enough to keep up with the program), it's really helping them with learning the songs & their parts - it's a 37 minute program, so that's a lot of words for their little brains to remember

overall, we had another chill weekend - not too productive....laid back & fun - just the way we like it! ;0)

not ur ordinary car cake!

the cake wrecks blog (one of my fav blogs ever!) has a "sunday sweets" post every week - featuring cakes that are NOT wrecks at all!

today's was this car commercial from the UK...


and here's how they made the commercial - too stinkin' cool!

my 1st cake since Halloween!

last fall, i made this cake for Amy, who was throwing a baby shower for her good friend

she wanted me to not only incorporate the baby's nursery theme of monkeys & blue/brown plaid (she emailed me a pic of the crib set)....but since it was a fall shower, she was decorating the party with white pumpkins & mums - she also asked that i tie those in....the cake above is what i came up with :0)

well, little baby Brock celebrated his 1st birthday today!

his mommy is still going with the monkey & blue/brown theme & requested a cake similar to several others i've done

this cake is an 11X15" - half is spice cake & half is almond....i decorated the base cake in my butter cream icing & accented it with fondant bananas & polka dots

i made the 3D monkey & tiny gift from rice krispie treats & decorated both in fondant....the standing letters & bow are gum paste

the matching smash cake is yellow cake, iced in butter cream & decorated in fondant

it was nice having a break in my cake schedule these last couple of weeks....and it was really nice only having one cake to do this weekend - my first weekend getting back to decorating

the rest of 2008 is looking similar....i've got a few requests here & there, but no crazy insane weekends that will force me to pull multiple all-nighters....i planned it that way - sooooo glad i stopped taking requests months ago - otherwise, i'm not sure i'd be enjoying the holiday season too much ;0)

i am thinking about offering small Christmas cakes & cupcakes in a jar in December (u know we can all use some extra dough this time of year!)....but this will take some planning & i'm going to have to sit down & figure out if it would really b possible for me to do, or if i'd b biting off more than i can chew....stay tuned for the verdict
:0)

artist, stephen wiltshire

check out this video!

this man is simply amazing!
i pulled this from the 'about me' section of stephen's website...
"As a child, Stephen was mute and did not relate to other human beings. Aged three, he was diagnosed as autistic. He had no language, uncontrolled tantrums and lived entirely in his own world."
"At the age of five, Stephen was sent to Queensmill School in London, a school for children with special needs, where it was noticed that the only pastime he enjoyed was drawing. It soon became apparent he communicated with the world through the language of drawing; first animals, then London buses, and finally buildings. These drawings show a masterful perspective, a whimsical line and reveal a natural innate artistry."
"Aged eight, Stephen started drawing cityscapes after the effects of an earthquake (all imaginary) as a result of being shown photographs of earthquakes in a book at school. He also became obsessed with cars and illustrations of cars at this time (his knowledge of them is encyclopaedic) and he drew most of the major London landmarks."
"The teachers at Queensmill School encouraged him to speak by temporarily taking away his art supplies so that he would be forced to ask for them. Stephen responded by making sounds and eventually uttered his first word - "paper." He learned to speak fully at the age of nine"

i'm in awe at stephen's talent!
not just in pencil, but check out some of his oil paintings (on canvas & velvet)

what an amazing, God-given talent!