So I'm trying to get back on the blog bandwagon. It's been a long time & I apologize for that. Hopefully I will be good about posting... fingers crossed!

Donald officially graduates in 2 weeks but he 'walked' back in June. (To give you an idea about Donald's feelings about my 'lack of attention' to this blog he just walked by, stopped cold in his tracks & said 'Are you blogging?' **over exaggerate the ? **) Anyways back on the farm... He has been working so hard & has been doing really well despite his need to take at least 20 units each quarter. I don't know how he did it but that chord around his neck means he graduated with honors, Cum Laude, yeah he's pretty smart. We are just so glad that it is almost over! I think Payton more than anybody. She really misses her daddy when he's gone. Yesterday & today she's only gotten to see him for about 30 minutes in the morning & he doesn't get home till she's asleep. I hear 'I nee nee nee daddy' more times than I can count throughout the day. Donald is going to be able to more than make up for it because he has 3 weeks off between school & starting his new job.

Oh yeah details.... He will have a double major, Bachelors of Science in Finance & also Computer Information Systems. I don't know if I said it right but there it is!

It was fun to be there & support him. We are so proud.

His JOB! I mentioned it but didn't say anything else about it. Donald was offered a position at Merrill Lynch as a Financial Advisor (formally known as a Stock Broker, kinda). He will be in training for 3 years or until he hits a certain production level, that's the simple explanation, or at least the one that he has given me but I'm okay with that. He is so excited & I'm excited for him. It is out of the Pasadena office so it looks like we will be managing for a while longer... "& there was great rejoicing in the land"... yeah

Payton... Difficult... not my daughter...

Since we got back from Texas... a trip that I have yet to blog about... Payton has been a pain to get to bed & stay in bed. She dosen't always like to be held to go to sleep & so I've had to lay with her & that is not comfortable in a toddler bed. Adult + Toddler Bed + Toddler = Adult hanging 1/2 way off the bed. Also she's been waking up & will usually go right back to bed if we are in there with her. So after a few nights in a row of sleeping in her toddler bed with her & my back aching like never before, we decided that we needed to adapt. We are borrowing a twin mattress from my parents for a while & here is what happened the first night.

This is how we found her when we went to go change her diaper. Yes I think that she fell asleep praying too! :)

Dr.'s Appointment -

Also staying with the difficult theme she had a Dr.'s appointment this morning. She would not let Dr. Burke touch her!! She completely broke down in the waiting area. We were in front of the fish tank which I thought would give her something to be distracted by but as soon as Dr. Burke came close it didn't make a difference. So all we were able to accomplish was to get her O2 sats, which were 80/81, which I actually did myself. Dr. Burke said that it was okay that we didn't get a look today (an echo on her heart) but that next time, in October, we would need to get it done. Of coarse if I feel like she needs to be seen earlier than that I will take her in.

Her next surgery will be sometime in the first 6 months of next year. We've been talking about mid April but we'll see. We'll be keeping a close eye on her & see what happens. I'm so glad that she is doing so well & that Dr. Burke gave her a pass today... or should I say gave me a break today, I was prepared to battle with her.
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The reason for my recent sanity!

As some of you know I have moved apartments within my apartment complex. The apartment is layed out the exact same expect for 1 important feature... the GINORMOUS patio!! Here are a few shots of the patio the week after we moved. We've cleaned up a bit since then but you get the idea.

A bit hoot & holler for Darin, THANK YOU SO MUCH... You & Donald really did do all of the hard work. The top went on very quickly.... t.h.a.n.k.y.o.u!!!

It's a fun place... see even Ryan thinks so... so it must be true.

9 Volt Batteries

So I was surfing the net trying to find fabric for my nephews b-day quilt & I hear a scream & something was dropped/thrown on the floor & I went running. Payton kept pointing to her mouth & I could not figure out what happened. I kept asking her what happened & she would just cry & point to her mouth. Since that wasn't getting me answers I just decided to hold her & we watch Finding Nemo for about 20 minutes. Once she was calm again I asked her to bring me what hurt her mouth. She went over to the side of the couch but would not go any further. I asked her to bring it to me & she wouldn't so I got up to find this....

No the batteries were not my first thought because she puts keys in her mouth & gets in trouble for it all the time. I picked up the keys & asked if this was what hurt her & she kept pointing to the ground. That's when I realized that it was the 9V batteries that I bought for the smoke detectors. I didn't realize that they were able to give off shocks still, thinking there was a design improvement made since I was a kid. I'm not willing to try it out but I have to assume that's what happened.

Payton loved the Boo-Boo Buddy & is still carrying it around. Lesson for the day... not everything should be put in your mouth!

Grandmother Grant's Quilt

Between school semesters for Donald we took a week long trip out to Texas. It was fun seeing everyone & I'll have more pictures to post later... I made this quilt for my Grandmother Grant. I was able to get everything done by the time we got to her house but I forgot to make a label. I have never done one & I've been told that I should label all of my work so this is my first attempt. Also I was told to I should name it too. I am satisfied with the name but the label... not so much. So I have something to work on for the next one.

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Pst... Melissa I did mean SweEt Meditiation! I.D.I.O.T! I was so concerned with how I spelled Meditation that the easier of the words... well you can see. Just more proof that I am not perfect!

I <3 Shaklee

I usually don't get into these types of things but I have not yet regretted my decision. Shaklee, for those who don't know, is a cleaning product company (among other things) that is environment friendly... I'm not talking global, I'm just talking inside my apartment. I like for things to be clean but I don't need to smell chemicals to be convinced that it's clean, although it helps to prove that something has been done. Clean shouldn't smell like anything!

So I bought their H2 concentrate which comes with 3 spray bottles & the concentration is SO low. I'm just glad because now I have a little helper that can help me clean the windows & mirrors & I don't have to worry about fumes.

Disneyland...

A while ago we were able to go to Disneyland. One of my tenants works for Disney & was able to get us in. Yes sometimes my job has it's perks... actually this might be the only one so far... in 2 years. Anyways that's a soap box that I don't need to get on.

First we went on Indiana Jones (Payton didn't go obviously) but we did the stroller pass. We went up to the Fast Pass entrance & they gave me a pass that allowed two people to enter the Fast Pass line who waited with the ineligible rider. Then when Donald, Christine & Andy came back Christine & I went & basically waited 10 minutes to get on. I'd never heard of it before so it was pretty cool for the 1 ride that we went on that she couldn't go on. Below is Payton waiting for Donald to get off the ride at that lake by Pirates of the Caribbean. She loved the ducks & there were some baby ones too. Isn't Disneyland wonderful!The next ride we went on was Pirates of the Caribbean... Payton took it pretty well... I covered her ears but still she was tense the whole time. I don't think we will try it again for a while but since we hardly ever go I don't think that will be a problem. I did feel bad once I saw the look on her face... See her hand how it's holding on to me... Dad I know, I know! :(
We headed over to see our friend Pooh Bear. She loves him & seemed to recover from our bad mistake! I took her on the Pooh Bear Ride while Donald went on Splash Mountain. That went a lot better.
We decided to get our profiles done. It turned out great! Well at least Payton's is cute, ours I'm not too thrilled with but at least hers was cute. They were so good & I'm glad that Payton cooperated, for the most part. We had to get a little creative toward the end as you can see.
Yeah it's kind of embarrassing siting there while the whole park walks by & stares at you. Hi! Yes I am sitting here for your enjoyment... just watch where you are walking. Someone almost tripped while I was sitting there. I was good, I didn't even laugh... on the outside!
The passes we got turned out to be park hopper passes so we went over to check out California Adventure. Payton thoroughly enjoyed this park. We saw Sully from Monsters Inc & also saw Mickey. We went on the Monsters Inc ride that she enjoyed & didn't hold onto me like she did in the other rides.
Notice her relaxed demeanor in the picture below... A big contrast to the one from Pirates! See Dad I can make good decisions... sometime!
We also went to see Mickey Mouse Playhouse Live Show & I thought she would love it because she loves the show... NOPE!!! We were in the front & she only stopped squirming to get away when Mickey popped up right in front of us but I think it was too loud or it was too far past her nap time. I thought it was cool & next time, if the show is still going, we will go there first!
After the Live Show we left, made a bee line for the exit & this is what we found while waiting for the tram back to the car. (It's about 10 minutes, maybe less.)
In the car we propped her head with the baby Pooh Bear that this spoiled little girl's daddy bought for her. She slept the whole way home which was perfect because she was still tired when it was time for bed.
I'm back & hope to catch up on posting. Coming up to a busy week I don't have high hopes but I'll give it a try.
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