Sunday, May 28, 2006

Thank You!

I feel so blessed. Thank you to everyone who has written and posted their prayers and best wishes for our Allie. She's doing fine, as a matter of fact, she's absolutely "normal", but we still don't know what caused this, or if it will happen again. She'll be following up with various doctors next week, and we're scheduling her for a sleep apnea test at the local university hospital.  Hopefully we'll have some answers soon, but in the meantime, she's back to her happy-go-lucky self and we don't harp on it anymore.   THANK YOU so very much for all the lovely cards, blog posts, emails and phone calls!  We are all so grateful. I cannot tell you how much it means to us that you all care about her well being.

Susan, you're an angel! Thanks for giving MMCA a heads up on what was happening.


Love, hugs and blessings,
Cris

Thursday, May 25, 2006

A Very Long Day

Allie_1 Yesterday was probably the longest day of my life.  At 7:00 am my youngest daughter Allie came staggering into our room. Her hand was beating mechanically against her chest, her head was jerking uncontrollably, and she sounded as if she was hyperventilating. Sean tried to talk to her and get her to tell us what was happening, but she could not respond.  He grabbed her and held her and kept telling her to take deep breaths while I grabbed the phone to call 911.  We all stood in shock as we watched her come out of it. She was completely herself within a few minutes, and actually tried to convince us that she was fine. We weren’t sure if she had a bad dream or was sleep walking, but I couldn’t get the hand and head movements out of my mind and was convinced that she had a seizure. So we rushed her to the ER where we sat from 7:30 am until 7:00pm.




Initially the doctors weren’t sure if she did have a seizure, because she was able to walk and could remember what was happening to her. They decided to do a portable EEG which showed abnormal activity in her right temporal lobe, consistent with some sort of seizure. Thankfully, her Cat Scan and MRI came back normal, so they were able to rule out the worse case scenario, which would have been some sort of lesion. Needless to say, the most tense part of the day was waiting for the test results. The current diagnosis is partial benign seizure due to sleep deprivation. Seems that although there is no familial history of seizures, adolescents can be prone to them when they are sleep deprived. Allie has been going to bed late, waking up late and experiencing lethargy and drowsiness during the day. Her seizure was local, not general, and she was able to remember what was happening…so it’s not exactly a textbook scenario. I'm also thinking that her severe allergies and sinusitis may have caused her to experience some breathing problems, which in turn may have precipitated this in some way.




Nevertheless, it all comes down to a process of elimination as to what the cause was.  They did not prescribe an medications yet because they want to investigate her sleep patterns first. She'll have to go in overnight for a sleep apnea test and to see a pulmonologist. We appreciate your collective prayers. Sean and I are doing fine, although I doubt I'll get any sleep tonight.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Sweet 13

Untitled3_4  Well, it's official! I've been making a big deal out of this long-awaited event and now that it's over,  it feels bittersweet. I am officially the mother of a...a...a...TEENAGER!!!!! Amanda turned 13 this past weekend and life will never be the same.  She's a great kid, and not your stereotypical teen, but I still feel so OLD!! I remember vividly the all the "firsts" of her life: the moment she was born;  her first smile;  her first tooth; her first step; her first day of kindergarten; and now, she's 13. Unbelievable!


Her dad and I were looking forward to having a big party to mark this milestone, but my daughter, being of sound mind, chose to keep things simple and invite a few friends to the movies and a pizza dinner (pics are coming!).  We gave each girl a goodie bag with a "Littlest Pet Shop" toy (I know, not very teenager-ish, but my daughter loves them!) and a big Hershey's chocolate bar with handmade wrappers that she made herself (see below).  Afterwards we all enjoyed cake and ice cream at home, and Mandy's best friend Eva stayed over.  The girls talked and giggled (along with little sister Allie) all night long and woke up way too early. It was a very fun-filled and exciting weekend for everyone.  Love you Amanda Rae!


Mandycandy_4



 

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Two Beauties

The weather is glorious, so I've decided to take a break and head to the beach for an hour or so.  I'll bring Gayle's book along and pray that I make some headway in my reading commitment. It is a fabulous novel, but there are only 24 hours in  a day!! I had fun completing these two collages this morning. The first one I've dubbed "Bathing Beauty". Don't ask me where the quote comes from, I just dreamed it up! The second is titled "betwitched" , but has no magical connotations. It's actually one of my favorite quotes from the new movie version of Pride & Prejudice; which by the way, is not a stellar remake according to many Austen purists, but has excellent performances. The scene from which this quote is taken appears at the end and is one of the most beautiful moments in the entire movie.  Ah...I love romance. Enjoy your day!


Bathingbeauty Bodysoul_1

Sunday, May 14, 2006

What's In a Name?

The kids are in bed and DH is busily preparing for work tomorrow, so I thought I would take advantage of this "alone time" and finish a canvas I started last week.  My oldest daughter is reading Shakespeare's early tragedies for a school assignment, so I took my inspiration from there. The image is a Waterhouse painting of Juliet.  The quote is from the second act of the play:


" What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet."


Juliet4web_1 


It's simple, but it's DONE!

Happy Mother's Day


Mom_1 
I love you Mom!


My Mom is Afro-Brazilian and a real firecracker. I think she looks pretty darn good for a 65-year old grandma! You should see her dance the Samba:-)

Friday, May 12, 2006

Gayle Lynds

I used to write book reviews for Amazon at least once a week.  I love to read suspense and thriller-type books.  Although I haven't had time to read contemporary fiction lately, and I'm not at all pleased with the language some authors are able to get away with,  I do try to keep up with what is happening in the industry. I recently received an ARC (advanced reading copy) of Gayle Lynd's newest book The Last Spymaster, which I hope to review within the next week (I'm already two weeks behind my scheduled commitment! - so sorry Gayle!).   So far, it's a winner.  If you like international thrillers, you may want to grab a copy for yourself when it is released on May 30.


Lastspymaster_7   

Meager Helpings

Made this last night not knowing what it would eventually become ( a collage, a card, another piece for the garbage?).  I'm trying my best to work with what I feel are limited supplies.   I have a ton of stuff, most of which is packed away in the basement because I don't have the room now for a dedicated space.  It's frustrating to know that I probably have what I need,  but can't even begin looking for it because I don't want to spend two hours rummaging through boxes to uncover it.  Usually I end up buying the same stuff over again and pray that I use it before I forget I have it,  but I'm tired of doing that.  So, here is the result of my efforts.  It's "missing" a few things (where's that music note paper?...And all my stamp pads? And my blender pen? UGH...)   Ok, I guess I can't complain. I'm learning to let go a little and just have fun. 


                              Sing4web3         

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Carpe Diem

I made this board book for my Mom.  She lost two brothers (the oldest and youngest) within one year and has a third undergoing treatment for colon cancer.  I'm hoping this little book will help with the healing process.  What's cool about this piece is that it basically created itself. I wanted to do an old world-type of book filled with gorgeous paintings and type, but was led to create one that contains three basic statements about life.  Once it was complete, I knew exactly who it was meant for.  I love when that happens!!       


Carpediem_4                                   Spread2a_4 Spread3a_4

Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Blogging, Rabbits & Spiders...OH MY!

Can you believe I've had this blog for a year and never posted to it?  What a riot.  I have my die-hard blogging buddies to thank for the inspiration. I love reading their posts and hope they will visit mine. Special thanks Maija, for encouraging me to pick up my blog and start typing!






So, about our new house...Home_046 it's a blessing, in many ways, (it's so nice to have a basement and a separate laundry room) but it needs a LOT of TLC (Sean and I always tell everyone that we're on a "rescue mission"), Thank goodness my hubby is handy, and also knows a lot of people who can help. I love the neighborhood.  It's so peaceful, and the water is right down the block.  We also have two cute bunnies ( I have affectionately named them Flopsy and Mopsy) Home_058 that run around our backyards and visit at least twice a day.  I could get used to this. My only complaint is that we have a lot of spiders in the house.  Every time we turn around there's one dangling from the ceiling or sprinting across the carpet. Gives me the heebie-geebies!   But I guess they have just as much a right to seek warm shelter as we do!