Fall portraits

I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day! I know we sure did! It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone and fall has almost left us! Although, for those of us here in SC, I think it's safe to say that we haven't had much of a fall this year. We've gone back and forth between hot and cold weather for all of October/November, so much so that the leaves barely even changed color this year! They just died and fell off the trees. I think they just got so fed up with the weather they didn't know what else to do. Ahhh, how I miss fall. Anywho..

This past weekend we had the pleasure of having a photo shoot with the very talented Kellen, of Third Eye Wide Photography. We wanted some fall shots of the 3 of us and some good pics of Bryson for our Christmas card. We got some great shots and I was so excited to see how well they turned out! Here are a few of our favorites:





Thanks Kellen! :)

FREE Christmas Cards!

Yes, I said FREE! Shutterfly is doing a special promotion for bloggers where you have the opportunity to get 50 FREE Christmas cards! Interested? Keep on reading.

For those of you who are not familiar with Shutterfly, it's a wonderful website where you can upload and print all your pictures, create holiday greeting cards, calendars, mugs, etc. You name it, Shutterfly does it. I personally do all of my uploading, printing through them and have always been thoroughly pleased with the speed of processing, as well as the quality of the pictures/products I receive.

One of my favorite things about Shutterfly is their huge selection of Holiday Greeting Cards. You can choose from folded greeting cards, flat stationary cards or flat photo cards.

I personally love the flat photo cards the best, because not only do they look great and have a huge selection to choose from, they are EXTREMELY affordable, much more so than most store bought cards that I've seen (and much cuter!). I know that last year I was able to buy all of my Christmas cards from Shutterfly for less than $20. That's INSANE! For less money, you can get CUTER cards that are of HIGHER quality. Once I received my order, I knew I would never buy store bought Christmas cards again.

I also love that, depending on the layout you choose, you can put several pictures or just one picture on your card, whatever you choose. Shutterfly makes it easy for you to design your card the way YOU want it to look. You're not limited to just one style/template. Some of my favorites this year are:

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There are SO many cute ones to choose from!! It will take me hours to decide which one I want to use for our Christmas card this year!

Another great product that Shutterfly offers are Personalized Wall Calendars.

These make a wonderful Christmas gift! I made one last year for all the grandparents, and everyone absolutely loved it. It's a great way to show off how your kids have grown throughout the year, or just a cute way to display family photos. Here's what mine looked like last year:


Another gift idea are the photo books Shutterfly offers. This is a great way to document the first year of your child's life, a wedding, a special vacation.....really anything! I made one shortly after Jeffrey and I were married for our parents/grandparents. It was a great way to compile all of our photographs from the wedding into a nice little keepsake book that they can keep forever. They look so professional once they are all finished. I HIGHLY recommend making one!

So take some time to check out Shutterfly this holiday season! I promise you wont be disappointed!

For all you fellow bloggers, sign up to get your 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly here: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

And a big thank you to Melissa for posting about this on her blog!!

Trick or Treat!

Howdy Partners! This year for Halloween we had a little cowboy in our midst. We celebrated by briefly visiting a church carnival and then some good old fashioned trick or treating with his very best friends Haileigh and Grayson.
Bryson had a great time and got so much candy he could barely lift his little pumpkin by the end of the night. Candy is a rare treat for him so he has really enjoyed being able to have 1 piece of candy at the end of the day. He usually chooses a Dumdum and says "YUMMY!!!" over and over while eating it!


Reading his Bible he received at the church carnival

Checkin out the goats

Still hangin on to the Bible

Best friends

Random pics

Playing his "bams"

A construction worker/musician

Serious pose

Loving/torturing Joey

Favorite time of year

Well, FINALLY my favorite time of year has come along. FALL. I love the changing leaves, the chilly (not cold) weather, the smell of fires burning in fire places....oh, and the SC State Fair! The fair is an annual tradition for most of us living here in the Columbia area and once September rolls around we anxiously wait for our chance to take a trip out to the fair grounds. This year was no different for us and as soon as we got the chance, Jeffrey and I took some time off of work and took Bryson out to the fair to enjoy some sights, sounds, and most importantly FOOD. Unfortunately Bryson was not big enough to ride any rides this year, but he was perfectly content riding around in his stroller and people watching. In fact, he didn't want to get out of his stroller at all! We enjoyed a nice lunch of Fiske fries (with vinegar of course), a Greek gyro for me and a polish dog for Jeffrey. (Bryson snacked on both of ours but mostly enjoyed the fries) We grabbed a bag of cinnamon sugar donuts for dessert which I think Bryson liked the most.
I didn't get a whole lot of pictures but I did get a few shots of my boy hanging in his stroller!

Another year gone by...

Well, I'm a few days late but my sweet little boy turned 2 on the 30th. I can't even believe how fast these past two years have gone by! It makes me sad to know he's getting big so fast, but excited to see what the future holds for him..and for us as his parents!

To My Sweet Bryson,
These past 2 years have been full of smiles, giggles, screams, and tears but I can promise you they have been the best years of mine and your Daddy's lives. You are our pride and joy and we couldn't be prouder of the little boy you are becoming.
You finally have a head full of hair (very blond hair) and it's starting to curl up at the ends. You're still not ready for that first haircut though. You LOVE to talk and say all kinds of things to us every day. You are very outspoken and have become a little bossy but you're just so dang cute it's hard to stay mad at you. You love to play very rough and are often tackling Mommy and Daddy on the living room floor. You love to hide in the pantry and think this is a very fun game. You love to play ball, swing, slide, run, scream, ...... pretty much anything and everything.
You're favorite movie is Shrek and you ask to watch this every single day. You always say: "I watch Fweck Mommy!" You even know most of the movie by heart and like to quote the lines. You love to sing songs like "Ring Around the Rosey" and "5 Little Monkeys" and the ABC's which you know very well. You can count to 10 and we are still working on your colors and shapes. You are not potty trained yet but you ask every day to go potty and really like sitting on your new froggy potty.
While you do have your not so wonderful moments, you are a very happy, sweet little boy who never fails to bring smiles to those around you. You are loved by SO many and I hope you always know that.
Daddy and I love you SO SO very much. Happy Birthday Baby.

Love,
Mommy


Sitting on the potty while watching Shrek (had to have the glasses)

Sacked out after birthday festivities

CHEESE! (after bath, sitting on the potty)

Cheese again! I'm 2!

As promised....

Well here I am, just as I promised with pics to share! The house is still a work in progress and we haven't gotten everything hung, decorated, etc but you'll get the idea. I also don't have any pictures of Bryson's room (he's currently asleep), or the backyard since the fence was put in. Also, the 4th bedroom and Jeffrey's music room are still nowhere near being completed so there are no pictures of these yet. I wanted to wait to post until we had pictures of everything but I figured that could take weeks, even months knowing me and my blogging habits! So here's what I've got and more will come eventually!

Very excited to have a laundry ROOM and not a closet!

Master


Bryson's bath


Soooo there's obviously a lot that's not pictured, but hopefully I'll be able to post more pics soon!

Movin' on up!

I know I know I know...I'm a terrible blogger! But what's new? Let's see...what has been going on in our little world...hmm...oh yeah, WE MOVED! Last Thursday was the big day. We closed on both houses without any major issues and began the long, tedious process of moving out, cleaning up, and moving IN. Thanks to several of our closest friends we actually got EVERYTHING moved in the new house Thursday night! (THANK Y'ALL!!!) Thanks to me and my somewhat OCD-ish self, we got everything unpacked and put away by Saturday. I would however, like to give credit to my mom for graciously unpacking and setting up our kitchen because I'd probably still be working on that had she not done it. Thanks Mom! :)
We are SO happy to be in the new house and to finally be all settled. Bryson loves the new house and enjoys running around all over the place, as well as climbing the stairs-with the assistance of Mommy and Daddy of course. The dogs have also adjusted well to the house and especially enjoy their new yard! We are all very very happy here. It still doesn't quite feel like "home" just yet, but I know that it will very soon.
I will definitely be posting some pics soon, but I wanted to wait until we get our new couch and dining set, which will be delivered on Saturday. So check back in a few days for some pics!
In other news, Bryson is still growing like a weed and getting smarter and smarter each day. He's now officially moved into the 2 year old room at daycare and I think he really enjoys being in there. He now speaks in short, somewhat broken, sentences, instead of just one word phrases. Some examples: "Me eat it. No touch it! Where it go? Dere oo (you) are! Me do it! Sit down!" (and many many more) And can I just say that his little sentences are so cute?!?! You just can't help but giggle sometimes at the things he says.
He's also been cutting his 2 year old molars (which I didn't even know existed until recently!) so that has been a pain for everyone. I was hoping our days of teething were over but that doesn't seem to be the case. Poor little guy.
Well I think I've covered about everything going on right now! I will definitely be posting pics within the next few days so stay tuned.....(and YES I really will do it!!)

ABC's

Well we FINALLY got our Flip video camera back after we sent it back to the company about 2 months ago! So, expect to see a lot more videos uploaded on the blog.
Here's one of Bryson singing (with a little help from Daddy) his new favorite song....the ABC's.

He already sings it so much better but of course he wont cooperate and let me video it. Oh well! Hopefully we'll have more to come soon!

Reflections of a Mother

I had a rare moment in our house last night.  Those who live here know that in the summer, thunderstorms are an almost daily occurrence.  Last night was no exception and we had several storms go thru the area right before Bryson’s bedtime.  The TV eventually went out so we were left sitting in the living room just listening to the rain.  Instead of putting Bryson to bed, we decided to just let him stay up until the storms passed over so the thunder wouldn’t wake him.  I figured he would take advantage of the extra play time, but instead of being his normal rambunctious self, and running around like a mad man, my little boy crawled up on the couch and curled up on my chest.  He never spoke a word, he just laid there silently, snuggling with me for a good 30 minutes.  This rarely happens in my house and I couldn’t believe that my wiggle worm, busy body boy was being still and snuggling with me.  I kept looking over at Jeffrey and grinning proudly saying “Look at him! Look how sweet this is! I can’t believe it!”

In those moments, just sitting in the living room quietly listening to the rain, I realized something.  I kept thinking in my head “This is it!  This is what life is all about!”  Forget work, forget all the stress, forget new houses, forget EVERYTHING else. It’s the little things that really matter.  Being right there, in that moment, with my precious child, is the only place I wanted to be and nothing else in the world mattered. 

As a mother, the best parts of life are the little things.  When your child looks into your eyes and smiles for the first time, when you hear that first giggle, when they reach up and their tiny little hand grabs yours, when they first say “I wuv vu”…..the world just stops and you know that that little person is your reason for being. You know that this is what you were meant to do and who you were meant to be….a mother.  Its times like those that make every second of every day worthwhile. 

My advice?  Cherish the little things.  At the end of the day, these things are all that matter.  These are the moments that you will hold in your heart forever.  It doesn’t matter how many hours we work, how much money we make, what designer clothes we have, how big our house is, etc….what matters is spending time with the ones we love and making memories that last a lifetime.  Those are the most priceless possessions we could ever own.  We aren’t promised tomorrow…so why don’t we start living for today and make the most of the time we have?

SOLD! To the highest bidder!

That's right, you guessed it, our house is officially under contract! After many many months of patiently (well, maybe not always so patiently) waiting, our buyer finally came along and made an offer. After some negotiating, we agreed on a price and signed our house away! HALLELUJAH! Of course we still have to pass the house/pest inspections, but if all goes well, we will be closing on August 19th.
Once we got the signed contract on our current house, we hit the pavement once more to look at even more houses. We had a list of 3 houses to view and were in our second neighborhood when the agent took us to an unexpected house. We were told that the house was previously under contract but that those buyers' financing fell through and it was about to be put back on the market. As soon as we walked in, we knew this was the house for us. We fell in love immediately. It's a new construction in a brand new DR Horton neighborhood and it is absolutely beautiful. There are so many things we fell in love with- the large windows all throughout the house, the high ceilings, the yard, the lot...there wasn't much to NOT love. We ended up making an offer and in our offer we asked for the following things: a privacy fence, blinds throughout, ceiling fans in every room, a refrigerator, a garage door opener, and $3500 in closing costs. Believe it or not, the offer was accepted! We couldn't believe that they came off of the asking price AND gave us all of the things we asked for! We really feel like this house was meant to be and everything has happened at the right time.
With everything that's gone on with us over the past few months, I've really come to realize that God had a different plan than we did all along. Had we sold the house months ago like we'd wanted, I know it wouldn't have worked out financially and we most certainly wouldn't have found the house that we both love. God definitely works things out in his own time....not in our time.
Anyways, if all goes well we will close on both houses on the same day and move the next. I think Jeffrey and I both are very anxious to get things going. Strangely enough, I'm actually ready to start sorting thru things and packing up! (Crazy, I know!) We are just more than ready to get on with the next chapter in our lives. Let's get this show on the road!!
Here's a pic of the new house

Wish us luck! :)

Happy 4th of July!

Since it's late and I'm tired, I'm not going to take the time to write a whole blog post but I did want to post this very cute video of my little man at the park yesterday. Nobody makes him giggle like his daddy does!
Enjoy!


Happy 4th everyone! And thank you to all the men and women who serve our country daily!!

Oopsie!

Just wanted to post a little note that it was brought to my attention that the videos posted in my last blog were set to private so DUH no one could see them! (Thank you Kristen!!) For those who tried to view and couldn't, I'm so sorry. Everyone should now be able to watch them, although it seems that they are still having the weird speed issue. The video appears to move much faster than the sound for some reason? If anyone knows why that is, and how to fix it, please feel free to share.
Anyways--enjoy!

Wild Man

Well, I feel like I haven't talked much about Bryson in recent posts so let me update you on the wild man. He is talking more and more each day and is starting to repeat everything we say. He is slowly starting to put sentences together, but mostly he speaks in 1-2 word phrases. "No, no Mama!" "Eat, eat!" "A nack (snack)" "I seepy! (sleepy)" "Elmo!" "Peeaase (please)" ...to name a few. It took us a long time to get please down. We are still working on it but he says it pretty much on a regular basis now. What I find so funny is, when we ask him "What do you say?", he responds with "Say!!" Silly boy.
Aside from talking, Bryson is becoming quite the man's man. He is rough, tough, and rowdy to say the least. We often times find him wrestling with stuffed animals or just rolling around on the floor for no good reason. You would think the child watches WWE with the body slams and floor dives he does. He seems to be absolutely fearless and getting hurt isn't even a thought in his mind. Fortunately, I have caught a little of his fearless self on video wrestling a ferocious lion.

Aside from wrestling wild animals, another favorite past time of Bryson's is trying on his many different hats. Some would say he's got quite the hat fetish. He likes to try on different hats and then ask everyone in the room to wear a hat of his choice as well. Every day is a hat party in our house! As you can see from the below video, he also enjoys dancing around the house while wearing a hat. Admit it, the boy's got some moves!

Even though life in our house can be wild and crazy, I love every minute of it. Despite the crying, the tantrums, and the absolute pandemonium, he still has the ability to melt my heart each and every day. There is nothing in the world like getting a big hug and kiss from my little boy. I wouldn't trade this life for anything!


***Added later****
I have had one heck of time adding these videos to the blog. When I've gone back to watch them, it looks like they are playing in fast forward or something?? So- just wanted to say that if this is happening on your computer, my child really doesn't move at the speed of lightening. It's entertaining nonetheless.

Father's Day

Well it's that special time of the year where we celebrate all the fathers in the world. You know that old saying, "A good man is hard to find"? Well I happen to believe this is very true. Not only is a good man hard to find....but finding a good man who is also a good father? Even harder. Fortunately I lucked out in both areas. Jeffrey has been a wonderful husband these past 3 years. The usual complaints I hear from other women regarding their husbands never seem to apply to mine. He and I both share the housework...he doesn't expect me to do all of it myself just because I am a woman. He goes out of his way to make me happy...ice cream craving at 10PM? He makes it happen, even if it means going out to the store or to Sonic for a late night treat. In other words, he selflessly takes care of me, never asking what's in it for him...he does it because he loves me and he cares about making me happy. I find that to be a rare trait in a man.
Not only is Jeffrey a wonderful husband, but when Bryson was born, I found out he is also a wonderful father. He is probably the most "hands on" dad I've ever seen and he has been that way from day 1. Late night feedings, poopy diapers, early morning wake ups, bath time, play time, etc....he's there for it all. In fact, he's changed more poopy diapers and given more baths than I have....how many women can say that about their husbands? Bryson and I have truly been blessed to have such a wonderful man in our lives. God knew EXACTLY what he was doing when he brought Jeffrey and I together and for that I am so thankful!
13 years ago, I lost the other great man in my life, my dad. He was my world, my rock, my hero. If there ever was a Daddy's Girl...it was me. My dad was a wonderful man; he was funny, kind hearted, even tempered...and boy did he spoil me rotten. I miss him every day, and it hurts my heart so much that he's not here now- to share my life, to be a grandpa to my son, to bond with my husband. We never got the chance to talk about my first date, to pick out my first car, to dance at my wedding. But--for 12 years I got the experience the love of a wonderful father and for that, I am grateful. For those 12 years I had the most wonderful Daddy a girl could ever ask for and I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for him. So, Daddy- I love you, I miss you, and I honor you on this Father's Day. Thank you for being the man you were and for showing me what a father's love should look like. We will be together again some day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Well fortunately I have some good news to share since my last post! I spoke with my surgeon yesterday and the good news? No more surgery for me! Woohoo! Basically after talking with my endocrinologist, they both decided that removing the remainder of my thyroid is unnecessary at this time. The area of cancer that was found was extremely small and fortunately it was removed during the surgery. The doctors went back and reviewed the thyroid ultrasound I had done a couple months back and could see no evidence of any nodules or abnormalities of the right side of my thyroid so there's no reason to believe there is anymore cancer left. So basically I will just be followed extremely closely by my endocrinologist and have thyroid ultrasounds every 6 months to check for any new growths. I'm confident in my doctors that they are making the right decision so I feel really good about the situation...and of course I'm glad to not have to have any more surgery at this point. Yay for good news!!
Now, on to the bad and the ugly. Wednesday afternoon I got a call from our bank's fraud department about some suspicious transactions on my debit card. Come to find out, someone got their hands on my debit card number and went on an online shopping spree totaling in more than $1,000!! So we instantly had the debit card canceled and I even went as far as to pull my credit report and put a fraud alert on my file with all the credit bureaus. (Credit report was fine fortunately!!) I just couldn't understand how anyone got their hands on my debit card number!
I racked my brain thinking of instances of where someone could have looked in my purse or stolen it online....but I kept coming up short. Last week I stayed in the house all week and didn't use my debit card at all. This week I did normal things: Monday- bought groceries and paid 2 bills online (nothing abnormal), Tuesday-bought gas, Wednesday-nothing. While going over my week with a coworker she told me about a news story she had read about criminals who put a device on gas pumps where you swipe your card that actually steals your debit card number when you buy gas and also when you use the ATM. WOW! This was not something that I had heard of before but it made sense...I got gas on Tuesday afternoon and by Wednesday $1,000 was missing from our account. I called the police department to file a report and asked if this was something that happens often in the area and the lady told me they have had several cases of it lately. GREAT! Fortunately we caught the activity early enough and I believe we were able to cancel the card quick enough so that the charges never ended up clearing and the criminals were not able to actually receive any of the stolen stuff. Whew!
I would just warn all of you to be very careful when buying gas at the pump or when you use the ATM. Take the time to inspect the card swiper and if you notice anything unusual, or if you notice that you are able to actually move the swiper, call the police immediately! I would also advise you to pay inside when you can to avoid possibly becoming a victim all together. Take the time to research this online. It is called "skimming" and we all need to be aware of what's going on and how we can protect ourselves. It just amazes me what people do sometimes.
Well that's all the updates for now! Hopefully this is the last of the bad news for a LONG time!

Bryson at a fireman themed birthday party! He loved the hat.

What a pain in the neck....literally.

Well my dreaded thyroid surgery was on Monday and I'm happy to say the procedure went smoothly. I was in and out of the operating room very quickly and before I knew it, I was recovering in my hospital room. My surgeon said the procedure went well and she took out the majority of my left thyroid, as well as the massive nodule that had taken up so much of my neck. She said that the nodule didn't look suspicious and everything else looked healthy so she was very optimistic. After one night in the hospital, I was sent home to rest and recuperate. I must say that my experience at Palmetto Richland Hospital was absolutely wonderful. I had the best nursing staff anyone could have hoped for and I really can't think of one single complaint! They were great.
The recovery hasn't been too bad...I've had quite a bit of soreness and some pain but nothing that isn't tolerable. (and nothing some pain meds can't fix!) I have a decent sized incision on my neck but instead of stitches, it's held together with skin glue. It's really quite lovely! (note the sarcasm.) Other than not being able to lift, and no driving until I'm able to turn my head comfortably, there are really no restrictions. I've been able to eat normally which is good. This week has really given me a chance to catch up on daytime TV, watch a few movies, and learn the joy of not showering regularly. (oops...was that TMI? .....I HAVE showered by the way!) I'm taking pain medication less and less and am now able to pretty much turn my head normally with only minor discomfort so I think I'll be back to normal in just a couple more days. Hallelujah!
Anyways, although my doctor thought everything looked pretty healthy during the surgery, it was still necessary for everything to be sent off for a pathology test. We got the results yesterday afternoon. The good news- the large nodule that was removed was completely benign. The bad news- there was a small area beside the nodule that came back positive for thyroid cancer. Those were pretty scary words for a 25 year old to hear and I think I spent several hours in shock. But, while cancer is very scary and no one wants to hear that diagnosis, the good news is this is an extremely curable cancer. My doctor is confident (as am I) that this will be completely treatable and, as she put it, this will only be a minor speed bump in my life. The affected area is very small apparently and from what I understand we can either leave it and monitor it for growth, or we can go back in and remove the rest of the thyroid and be done with it. My surgeon wants to go forward and remove it, however she wanted to confer with my endocrinologist before any decisions are made. I'd imagine we'll have some answers some time next week about the next course of action.
Now that I've had time to internalize everything and accept it, I feel good about the situation. I know that everything will be fine, and like my doctor said, this is a minor speed bump. The worst thing that can happen? I'll have my thyroid completely removed and have to take thyroid medication for the rest of my life. Not too terrible and it could definitely be a lot worse, so I'm very thankful for that.
I appreciate those of you who have been praying for me...it means so much to have friends who care. I will definitely keep everyone posted on any new developments.
Now- off to the shower..as I am suddenly very aware of the length of time it's been since my last one. Ha!!! :)
Love Yall!

Because I'm bad..I'm bad...come on

I'm not talking about me...I'm talking about my wonderful, sweet, beautiful little boy......who has turned into a very BAD boy. We now have a very opinionated, hard headed, mischievous, rebellious little boy on our hands. We are constantly being tested and "NO!" is something we hear on a regular basis. I was even told today that Bryson got in trouble and put in time out several times at daycare for throwing things. After he got out of time out he apparently went right back to what he was doing before hand....which of course landed him back in time out. Ayyy yi yi! (not sure if I spelled that correctly...a big SIGH would be appropriate too.) The only thing I keep hearing from other parents is "just wait til he's two!". Ummm please don't tell me that because he's already bad enough now! I'm really hoping this phase will be short lived and before too long we'll have our sweet little baby boy back. (I'm not holding my breath)
Now don't get me wrong, Bryson still has his sweet moments and he can give kisses and hugs that will absolutely melt your heart. He also keeps us constantly laughing with all the silly stuff he does. One of his favorite things to do is chase the dogs around the house and call them. "Dinder!!" "Oey!!" (Ginger and Joey) So cute. He also loves to run from one end of the house to the other back and forth back and forth. He will giggle and laugh the whole time he's running. It is exhausting just WATCHING him. He is one little ball of energy.
We are also hearing all kinds of words and some partial sentences which is really neat. It seems like every day he's learned a new word and is able to communicate something else to us. The most recent words/phrases we've learned are: Lets go! Outside!, Milk (mulk), Truck (shuck), Water (wawies), Flowers (fowies) (sometimes water and flowers are interchangeable when he wants to water the flowers "Mommy! Wawies, wawies!!") ...that's just some of the many. In a nutshell we have a crazy, silly, rambunctious, wild little boy....but I'm still loving every minute of being his Mommy! And NO we will not be having any more any time soon!!! :)

Here are some pics from earlier tonight:

He was cheesin big time!!!


He likes to talk to his reflection on the shower handle

Hiney shot!

This was when he decided screaming at the top of his lungs would make bath time so much more fun....


Got toys?

One more time...on a more personal note..

I figured I'd let all of you faithful bloggers know what's currently going on with me personally. A couple months back, I noticed a large lump on my neck about the size of a golf ball. Understandably alarmed, I immediately called to make an appointment with my family doctor. Meanwhile, I did what anybody would do in a situation like that....I googled it. I realized that it was mostly likely a thyroid nodule, which my doctor confirmed. I had some blood work done to test my thyroid, which came back normal. I then was sent to have a thyroid ultrasound done, which further confirmed the presence of a 4.5 cm nodule, and then was referred to an endocronologist. After 1 visit with him, he suggested a needle biopsy be done to test for the possibility of cancer. I went in for my biopsy and the doctor took 4-5 samples from the nodule and sent them off for testing. The biopsy results came back suspicious and overall inconclusive. There wasn't sufficient evidence to say whether it was benign or malignant. Because of the suspicious biopsy report and the large size of the nodule, surgery was recommended. Fortunately for me, one of the recommended surgeons just HAPPENS to be Bryson's ENT who we absolutely love and trust. (YES PLEASE, I'll take her!)
After meeting with the surgeon, we found out exactly what we're looking at. I'll be going in on May 10th to have a thyroid lobectomy. She will remove the left side of my thyroid (which includes the nodule) and will then send it off for testing. If it comes back to be malignant, then she will have to remove the rest of my thyroid and I'll be on thyroid medication the rest of my life. If it comes back benign, there shouldn't be any other treatment. The right side of my thyroid should continue to do it's job and I wont need any kind of thyroid treatment.
So, in a nutshell, I'll have a little surgery and have a week off of work to relax and hang out around the house. Not too bad! I'm just really ready to get this over with. I feel like I've been going in circles for the past 2 months and am finally ready to get some answers.
So wish me luck! I'll definitely keep everyone posted on the outcome.

House for sale!

As many of you already know, our house is currently up for sale. We were hoping to appeal to some first time home buyers who were looking to sign a contract by April 30th, but that didn't work out for us. As of right now, we have one person who is very interested but no offers yet. Selling a house is one of the most stressful things I think I've ever been through. It's definitely been a roller coaster ride for sure! On the bright side...our house has never been so clean! Maybe we should always keep it on the market so it has to always be clean? Hmmmm, food for thought.

We've picked out a couple of neighborhoods that we really like and will most likely choose one of these to buy in. Both have the same builder so it's really just a matter of which location we like best. We are just so ready to move on from this house and this neighborhood. Hopefully we'll be able to do that soon. Until then, keep your fingers crossed for us! I'll keep you posted.

Oh...and PS, if you're interested in buying a lovely 3BR, 2 BA home...just let me know! ;)

Trips galore!

Well, as my husband pointed out to me recently, I really needed to update this blog!! A lot has been going on over the past couple of months and finding the time to blog just hasn't happened. Oh well...better late than never!
I experienced two firsts in my life this past month. 1- My first trip to NYC!!! 2- My first trip away from Bryson!
My mom and I ventured up to the Big Apple to celebrate her 50th birthday. We had a blast! It was a first for both of us so it was fun to see everything together. We did about everything we could squeeze in during our 3 1/2 day trip...Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, 2 Broadway Shows, Double Decker Bus Tour, a few celebrity sightings...etc etc etc. And.....I survived being away from my baby boy! I actually realized how good it is to get away sometimes and how I NEED to get away from time to time. It sure was good to come home and see his smiling face though! Here are some pictures from our trip:
Top of the Empire State Building


Loooooooved it!!

This may look like a blurry pic...however it is Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise getting out of their car at our hotel! Pretty cool!

Me and Mom

A visit to the Today Show:

Ann is my fave!

Saw Phantom too!

Picking Lady Liberty's nose


First cab ride in NYC...a little scary.


Pickle? Yes please.

There are soooo many more pictures from our trip, however, I'm getting so frustrated with Blogger uploader that I'm going to quit while I'm ahead.
After returning back from my trip to NYC, Jeffrey and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary with a trip to Gatlinburg, TN for a long weekend getaway. We had such a nice time just relaxing and doing NOTHING. (2 trips away from the baby in one month?! I'm getting good at this!) It was definitely a nice way to celebrate our 3 years together.
I think this may be our last trip for a little while! Fun fun times!