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Friday, December 31, 2010

NEW YEARS EVE, AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

I know what Auntie lil is doing....
having a few friends over for snacks, finger foods,
and game playing!!!!!!!
So excited to once again be feeling like I am
excited to have the house filled.
So if you find yourself in this area,
where I call home feel free to pop in anytime
between 6:30 and midnight
and you will be sure to have something
to make your stomach happy!
Remember what they say,
whatever you are doing when the new year
comes is what you will be doing the whole year.
Looks like I will be spending lots of time
with friends and family in 2011...

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Update on Develyn...

Last month I posted about a dear friend who
had cancer once again but was blessed to also
be pregnant for the first time.
To update this story is a sad one.
Unfortunately right before Christmas
Dev and her wonderful soul mate, Jeff
lost their precious baby, a little girl.
Yesterday she was able to finally get all the scans
that had been put off due to the pregnancy.
The cancer is quite extensive in her bones
and a spot on her brain.
Such as Dev. and Jeff are these strong, strong people
they, on their caring bridge site have
leaned towards the optimistic side to say
that the good news is there is no cancer invading
her liver or lungs. The single spot found on her
brain will not interfere with her cognitive state.
She now is awaiting her new course of treatment
and is not sure whether she will be able to be treated
locally in Baton Rouge or will have to travel to
MD Anderson.
Why do I post such news at the end of this year
we call, 2010?
Because it is in times like these, that we read
of someone else's misfortune that we are able
to come together for this cute little family
to pray for them but also to be thankful for
our own blessings, to remember just how
fortunate we all are.
If this family can see God and hope in
a situation such as this then we all need
to feel Hopeful and Love for our fellow man.
You can follow Develyn's story on
her caring bridge site:
www.caringbridge.org/visit/develynlee

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

SIMPLE ABUNDANCE part 2

Once before, I posted about a book my niece,
Rebecca had given me over 10 years ago.
SIMPLE ABUNDANCE
by sarah ban breathnach
4 years ago, to be exact I decided to not only
read the book but practice it for the whole year.
It is a daily reader but gives you lessons
and things to ponder daily to find
the simple things in life and enjoy them.
I remember it being 4 years ago because it
has been 4 years since I began on this road
of medical instability and this book helped
me so much that year.
I have decided that on January 1st I will once
again be following this book daily.
Sometimes I need to be reminded of
the simple things of life that I sometimes take
for granted.
Giving all of you a challenge.
Buy the book and go on the journey with me.
Although the book is more for women,
I do think men could gain much from the book
yet I doubt my BFOB will be on board....
HOBL even less.
This book is sure to get your spiritual juices flowing.
It begins every day with a quote so I am sure
this year, I will be sharing here lots of what I gain
from the lessons.
Go today on Ebay, you can probably get a used
copy for under 10 dollars.
Or go to Books a Million or Amazon.
Come on, all a-board!
Take the simple abundance trip with me.
You will not be disappointed, I promise.
It would make my year if I knew that
some of my blog friends were reading
what I am reading every morning.
It's a new year, buy the book
and instead of making New Years resolutions
that we rarely keep, lets do a year together
finding our
Simple Abundances!

Monday, December 27, 2010

I LOVE TO PLAY




LOOSEN UP.
YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD,
TOO PROFESSIONAL, OR TOO
ACCOMPLISHED TO LAUGH AND BE SILLY.
ALLOW YOURSELF TO PLAY.
LET YOUR INNER CHILD OUT AND ENJOY YOUR LIFE.
-tavis smiley
Yup, I love to play.
When I am asked by HOBL or the babies
what I am going to do or what I am doing in
my scraproom I always say,
"Playing"
Because isn't scrapping playing?
Isn't cooking if you enjoy it a form of playing?
Yes, I have much play time right now.
Some days I feel up to it and some days like
yesterday, I choose to let my playtime be
just laying and reading most of the day.
When we grow up we call it hobbies instead of playing.
However, I see it for what it is.....
The word hobby is a way for us to forgive ourselves for
acting like children and just to play.
Hunting, fishing, cross stitching, shopping, are all forms of play.
I rather call it playing because there is a part of me,
I say it all the time, that will never grow up,
will stay forever young.
Today, I believe I will play again....
Just not sure what form it will take yet.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

GETTING BACK INTO BALANCE


ALWAYS KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE PUSHED
BEYOND YOUR LIMITS,
AND THEN BRING YOURSELF BACK TO BALANCE.
-leon nacson
Why this quote on this cold and drizzly Sunday morn?
Because today will be a balance day for me.
Because of the balance needed today I am
breaking a tradition that I have had with myself
for some time.
Today is usually the day that I do the majority of
my Christmas shopping for next year.
Today is the day that all stores mark down
by sometimes 80% of the asking price.
However the month of December has been so hectic
for me. I probably have pushed myself to do more
than what I should have and because of this
I have made a change in my tradition and
have chosen to stay home and in PJ's today.
This is a good thing because the one thing
I love as much as shopping is a rainy day in my PJ's
Have the fireplace lit already,
drinking gourmet coffee from the
wonderful Keurig gourmet coffee maker
from BG and going to do some scrapping today.
Going to finally use my new Cricut expression from
HOBL to its full potential.
I am so thankful that I am one who likes the company
of myself, for as much as I love family and friends and
visiting, I also love doing things alone.
I welcome today- the day of balance.
I am proud of myself because breaking tradition is
usually hard for me but today I am full of excitement.
For you guys who are going to hit the "after xmas sales"
think of me home, in my pjs having the time of my life.
Love to all! Big wet, aunt Jeannie kisses!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Holidays


Just a short note to wish all who read
A Happy and Merry Holiday season.
As for myself, Jesi and Mumsie,
tonight we will attend mass with Mumsie at the Manor
(Yes, it may seem like cheating, a 40 minute mass
as opposed to 3 hours.... It's all about Mumsie;^)
Then will take her eat out and see the lights.
Early tomorrow morning us three
will head to Sister V's where most of her
clan will be and I will get to see some of the family.
Good food, laughter, and the happiness
of the little children as they share what Santa brought
is what I am looking forward to tomorrow....
Love to all, make the season bright!!!!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

THE SISTA CHAINS

There are two things that my Mumsie always wore proudly
to show the world she was the mother of 7.
One was her Mothers ring, a birthstone for each child.
The other was a charm bracelet that had many charms
but the important ones to her were the ones that
announced her children's names and birth dates.
I am not sure who gave her the bracelet maybe
one of the older siblings can help here.
Before Mumsie's mind was taken by dementia,
in a time that I called her just Momma,
she put much thought into birthday and Christmas presents.
When C turned 40 the sisters were at my house when Mom
presented her with her charm on a beautiful gold chain.
How thoughtful, to think that my Mother, took
apart one of her prized possessions, to give to us.
We were all so excited because we knew as each of
our birthdays came we would also be presented
with the same gift. Mumsie always made sure
to be fair and give us all the same thing.
We waited anxiously for each of our charms.
Because C's birthday is in February and mines is in August,
I had to wait a few months.
I couldn't wait, I had played with these charms attached
to her wrist many times when bored in church as a little girl.
She was observant enough to know that the two boys
would not want a chain so she made them keychains with theirs.
I pray that one of Larry's sons has his...
Eventually we all got our chains and began to call them the
SISTA CHAINS
Poor Taunt Mone lost hers but the rest of us try and always
wear it when we spend time together.
Sometimes we don't remind each other, just to see if
everyone will remember when we spend time.
Sometimes we remind each other to wear them.
For Mumsie's birthday, if you were at the party,
you may have noticed them around all the sista's necks
except for Taunt Mone...
This chain bonds us, it is a reminder of how important
we are to each other.
Somehow we have to find one for Taunt Mone...
However she will always be bonded to us siblings
just as the two brothers are.
We, as a family, has been blessed
with the very best Mumsie ever!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Is it really the week of Christmas?

It is hard to believe that this is the week of Christmas.
I have been so out of touch of the season this year.
Yesterday I made a short walk in the mall
just to be part of the hustle of the holiday.
Felt like just sitting there and people watch but
passed on that.
It doesn't help that the HOBL and BB are
both working for the holiday.
Baby girl and I made plans for
Christmas Eve where I will attend mass
with Mumsie at the Manor and we then
will take her eat out and ride to see the lights.
So different from the Christmas Eve's of
when the babies were young.
The anticipation of Santa coming just
doesn't live here in the Riera home anymore
and when the Riera boys are working, it seems
like half of us are gone.
We will celebrate the Riera Christmas long after
the holidays are done since HOBL doesn't come home
until after it's all done.
What is the message to those who read who are
right now blessed with youngsters in the home?
Oh enjoy the magic of the season,
Enjoy every minute, all the worries of whether
Santa will get the orders right,
the hustle and bustle of Christmas.
The minutes you are stressing over right now
"will I get everything done"
"will the kids get and be happy with what they get"
"how will I do all that needs to be done by then"
will be the same minutes you will wish you could have back.
The magic of putting your babies to bed,
kiss and tuck them in, that they are so excited
about what Santa will bring,
it will be over so soon.
Yes, just a little "empty nest syndrome"
right now from auntie Lil.
Thanks to the big family I am from,
on Christmas day we will all meet at Sister V's
house with the Mumsie in tow and get to enjoy
the magic with some of the kids I adore.
Next year the magic begins again for us when
we will celebrate our first Christmas with Jilly bean.
I know next year at this time I will once again and
for the next few years be shopping for the perfect
gifts that will light up our Jilly's eyes.
I will once again see the magic of Santa in her eyes.
Lesson from Auntie Lil?
Don't rush this week, these moments, if you are blessed
with little ones in your home.
Kiss them good night, tuck them in tight,
tell them you love them and they are the best gifts
you have ever received.
Then if you are blessed enough to have a HOBL in your life,
enjoy a moment, just the two of you.
Thank the other for the gift of your children.
Wrap the presents, await the arrival of Santa...
SAVOR THE MOMENTS

Monday, December 20, 2010

Nash Roberts...

I wake up this morning with an idea of a blog.
I turn on the TV, sit with the cup of coffee I won't drink,
and there on the Channel 4 news I hear:
NASH ROBERTS HAS DIED AT 92
and a different blog is created.
Another one of my childhood legends has died.
If you were a child of the 60's before
computers who told you where might a hurricane go,
you had Nash Roberts.
He was a forecaster who did not care where all the other
meteorologist said a storm would go.
He would get on that Gulf of Mexico map
with his marker and tell you where the hurricane was going.
His views were so different from others but down on the bayou
where I lived, no one evacuated until Nash said so.
I know Freddie Collins didn't.
We didn't talk of going to Donaldsonville until
Nash said to leave.
If I am not mistaken he was the only forecaster who
predicted Betsy right.
As channel 4 showed old clipping of him predicting
the weather, I was amazed at just how far we have
come in technology in my lifetime.
He really just had a bulletin board with a picture of
the Gulf and the coastal lands and a marker.
His drawing of a hurricane is what we all came to
know as a danger sign.
There was no weather channel or computers to
tell us differently than what Nash told us.
There was an outside antenna that caught
channels 4,6, and 8. When channels went off the air at midnight.
We in the Collins home, during hurricanes watched 4 only.
Nash, being the age of my own daddy gave us the
comfort of a parent when discussing a storm.
He was a father figure to me.
As I grew up Nash had retired but was brought back
to channel 4 for every storm.
I knew it was a storm we must watch and take serious
if Nash was called in from retirement.
I also hear this morning what a wonderful man he was
without the big black marker we came to know him by.
His channel 4 peers share this morning of
what he was to all of them.
The other New Orleans icon, Garland Robinette
shares that he was rich, famous and yet he lived
like he never knew it, a down to earth gentleman.
Rest in Peace, Nash
you will always be remembered with every storm
that enters the Gulf of Mexico.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

THE HEADLINE READ...


Yesterday while going through my Daily Comet
a small headline caught my eye.
Yes, right there in the local news.
ONE SIBLING ARRESTED FOR FIGHTING
of course my curiosity was there.
It seems as though somewhere in Houma
a 24 year old brother and his 21 year old sister
got together to spend time.
Evidently alcohol was involved
and the two began to argue to the point that it
became physical and the 21 year old sister had
to jump out of a window to get away from the knife
her brother was carrying.
Shocked me so much that I had to tear out the article.
This morning I can't seem to find it.
How does a relationship between two siblings get to this point
or is the key word alcohol...
Either way it made me very sad just as Dr. Phil did on Friday.
I love Dr. Phil as much as I love Oprah.
Friday was a mother of 7, 5 girls and 2 boys
they were there to solve what I think of as mild issues
that had them not talking for years.
When all were sitting there together
all of their issues seemed petty when Dr. Phil
spoke of how badly they would all feel for the time
lost if one of them died.
How even though his own father was far from perfect,
How sad he had been to bury him if he had not made
amends prior to his death.
I understand this.
I have been blessed with siblings just like the number
on the Dr. Phil show.
We have all had our issues with others in the gang.
I don't think you can ever have that many children
and not ever have issues. We were and remain not a perfect family
yet since loosing my brother, Larry we have all made
a large effort to remain close and try to put
whatever bothers us with the other aside.
It was in loosing "one of our own" that made me
realize what a true blessing siblings are.
Some of us are closer than others. Like
all families, some because of the history of childhood,
have shared more together.
Yet, when I think of each of them I feel blessed.
I also think often especially during the holidays
of my HOBL. He has one half sister and a step-sister.
They are not especially close, nothing in comparison
to the bond he had with his sister, Donna who died in
a car accident in 1986 at the young age of 26.
They were so close and she was the very best
sister-in-law ever.
The night she died she had been at our house playing
with Baby boy at 6 months old.
She turned him over to find his first tooth
and was so excited about it.
I will never forget that moment.
I often wish HOBL had had her many times through
our marriage. She adored her little brother.
Would have done anything for him and vice versa.
She would be so proud of all he had accomplished,
of the children we raised together.
She would have been a "hands on aunt"
as my own sisters have been to them.
My point this Am...
If you have been blessed with siblings.
Make this holiday season the one that you put
any animosity aside and call them.
If you have not spoken to them for some time,
make today the day you call or send a card.
My siblings and I were blessed this month
by celebrating Mumsie's 90th birthday.
We have spent more time together this year than most.
After the party we all just needed some time away
from each other, the joke goes.
Yet the memories of our lives are intertwined forever.
As Dr. Phil says often:
"Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?"
Put all negative issues aside and make this the year
you thank God for them.
May we all remember the blessings of siblings
during this holiday season.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Loosing my taste for coffee...

Gee you know it's been too long since I blogged,
my own site doesn't recognize me on the computer
anymore, had to log on!!!!
Okay, on to the topic.
I am upset with the fact that I have lost
my taste for coffee.
Since November and surgery I have tried
and tried and just cannot redevelop the taste.
You may ask, "And why is this bothering her?"
Well, it has been with me since I was a little girl
and understood that coffee was a staple for
anyone born on the bayou of Lafourche.
There are too many memories surrounded around
my first cup of coffee in the morning for me to just give it up.
I began drinking coffee as a very little girl.
It was the way we started every morning in the Collins home.
Of course, in the beginning it was more like what
we called COFFEE-MILK
Dad would have that pot brewing on the stove,
way before Mr. Coffee came to be.
It was the first thing you smelled when you woke up
and because the Daddy I had waited on the younger crew,
He had the coffee in our favorite cup waiting for us.
He had either the home made cigar biscuits in the oven
or the toast buttered and cut into threes the way we liked it.
Or he had the green box of crackers waiting on the table
for him to crush in our coffee cup.
My daddy had my Mumsie spoiled for her coffee,
he was not what you would call a romantic man
but every morning my Mumsie awakened to coffee in bed
if she had worked the night before at Randolph's.
It was a wonderful childhood.
As I grew, married and moved on my own,
it was the one thing HOBL and I always both did when he
was home. One of us makes the first batch of coffee and
the second person made the next batch.
We raised both the children around our cups of coffee.
It remained the one thing I needed before waking the babies
or fixing their breakfasts. I needed that cup of coffee.
While I was pregnant for both babies, I gave up coffee drinking
and longed for it so badly. Still making the pot for HOBL so
I could at least smell the aroma.
Now as a 47 year old woman, I looked forward to it every morning.
I now fix my coffee, sit on my recliner with my fav. doggie, Trixie
and drink, blog, and stalk facebook every morning.
When HOBL is home sometimes we have our cup together,
sometimes I just make his to wait for when he gets up.
If he wakes up before me he makes his then puts
mines to brew (well sometimes he remembers).
Now you understand why my loss of taste for coffee
if bothering me. Too much history and good memories
behind the morning brew to just give it up.
So every morning I awaken and put the 4 cup pot
to brew. This pot fills my favorite mug perfectly.
I continue to sit here, like now, with trixie on my side
and the cup to my left.
I know by the time I am done only a few sips will be gone
from the cup but the morning routine
will stay until I know for sure I just can't
drink it anymore because I am just
not ready to make my coffee drinking days
part of my history.


Friday, December 17, 2010

....AND SO TODAY, I BLOG...


THERE IS ONLY ONE REAL DEPRIVATION...
AND THAT IS NOT TO BE ABLE TO
GIVE ONE'S GIFTS TO THOSE ONE LOVES MOST.
-May Sarton_
So what have I been doing?
Puttering, I imagine.
Reading, healing, journaling, scrapping.
thinking.... thinking....thinking...
and today I blog.
I had been at crossroads.
Thinking a lot about my life and those I love.
Is sharing my life with so many a good thing?
I have decided that sometimes when my diarrhea of the mouth
takes over I may need to sometimes take a good dose of
Kaopectate. I do not want to become a person
who is looked at as someone who only cares or focuses
on herself, a narcissist....
because that is so far from who I am.
I have thought a lot about this.
Although I don't agree with the way this was brought
to my attention, I, like I always do, have to look at it.
I have come to believe that there is a time and place
that it is okay to speak of myself and there is a time
and place that I should take a step back.
I never want those two things to become clouded in my mind.
So I took a few days off to look at this.
I have come to this conclusion.
There is much I will not and cannot change of myself.
I cannot change the core of who I am.
I am happy, loud, talkative and like to have a good time.
I am a touchy-feely type of person and to change
those things about myself would have to be like
waking up one morning and not being Lilly.
If I am condemned for this because of embarrassment
of others so be it, I cannot change who I am meant to be.
Yet, there are times that I go on too much about myself.
Although in my mind, my intentions are clear,
in certain circumstances it may not look like that.
NARCISSISM-personality trait of egotism, vanity, conceit
or simple selfishness applied to a social group.
I do not want to become that.
So back to the topic.
What I have come to decide that when speaking on my
blog I can do and say as I please as long as I get permission
so as not to offend those who I blog about.
I thought of giving it up but I can't.
Because as my open quote says,
It would be a deprivation not to share my life with others.
I have learned that there is a time and place for everything
and here on my blog is the place that I can do that.
I have so much optimism, love, thoughts that I
cannot just bottle up. It is who I am,
part of why many love me, why I love myself.
So, in social situations, unless I am hired or invited
to do motivational speaking,
I will work hard not to give others the impression
that I care only of myself because that is not what I want.
I don't want the definition of narcissism labeled to my life.
My life, although a miracle in itself, has places it is to
be shared. On my blog is where I can do this.
It is a gift- the way of my words, to be given not to hoard.
Here people can choose to read or choose not to.
So the blog goes on, beginning today.
It may not be everyday
because if it is not to mean anything then it is just
hogwash.
(sorry Faye, there will be days you may have
to go to the bathroom before reading the blog)
I have a true gift of writing, of thoughts that must
be shared with the world. To keep these things
inside of myself would be to try and change the
core of what my life has taught me.
There is a time and place for everything.
Here is my space.
Good morning, sunshine....
Welcome back, auntie lil!



Monday, December 13, 2010

At a blogging crossroads...

I have thought often over the last few months
whether I want to continue the blog or not.
I am a journaler, a writer, a sharer of life
but I never wanted the blog to become one of
repetition and lately I find myself having trouble
with topics that have not already been covered,
things I have not already said.
I often wonder if the blog has become boring
or sometimes too personal.
Every time I think it is time to hang it up,
someone will say to me how much they enjoy it.
At Mumsie's party one of my cousins said
the first thing she does before even going to the bathroom
in the morning is to read "the blog".
Friends at my school have said that some days
my topic is exactly what they needed to hear
or it becomes a topic of discussion at TES for the day.
Others have told me they could never do it, too personal
but they enjoy reading it, just couldn't do it.
So I have decided I am going to give myself a few days off.
I am going to journal more and make a decision as to where
I am going with this blog.
I have decided it will continue.
I am just not sure what direction it will take.
My life is changing therefore the blog will also have to change.
However the name will never change...
lilbitofmyworld will always be just that
A little bit of my world.
The way I see the world, right or wrong,
it is how I see it.
My views of the world may not be the same as others
the way I feel about some things may be different than most
yet it is one of the wonderful things about having
your own blog. You have free reign to make it
what you want. Others have the privilege of
reading it if they choose or opting out.
I will continue to take others personal lives into
consideration and ask for blogging permission if I
feel the topic is too personal about someone else.
However, when
speaking of my views, those will still be my views.
It will remain honest, heart-felt without meaning to cause
harm to others. When it becomes that it will
close, when it becomes the same stories, no inspiration
often enough, it will be over.
Then lilbitofmyworld will live in my own heart and mind,
in my private journals left to my children, my HOBL, to share or not
share after I am gone as they see fit.
Taking a few days off, big days ahead where decisions
for my future, my career, my life will be taking place.
Much love to all as I take a break to make the
blog better than ever.


Sunday, December 12, 2010

There is no way to thank all...

I am not sure why this morning I am unable
to upload pictures to my blog
and it may be a good thing as there are so
many from Mumsie's party of yesterday
that it would be hard for me to choose just a few.
There is no way that I can thank all who
came with our family to celebrate such a
celebration as we had for Mumsie yesterday.
It seems as that no matter what I say
it will not be enough to show the true
love and appreciation my siblings and I
have for all who came out to celebrate her
90th birthday party.
There were many times throughout this year
that we wondered, us siblings if we should do
this party or not.
There were many things that seemed to come in
the way of canceling the party but once
we committed to it, we were in it.
We all worried about whether it would be
to much for her, as since her dementia, some things
tend to overwhelm her especially noise and big crowds.
It was a lot of work and like any big event we all
worried about the things you always worry about
for weddings and large gatherings....
would we have enough food,
would everyone be comfortable,
would it be a memorable event for us and our Mumsie.
Yet none of us should have worried.
It was the most perfect day for a most
perfect woman who deserved all she received yesterday
and even so much more.
HOBL and I brought Mumsie home last night
and she talked on and on about how special it
was to her. A perfect 90th birthday.
To each of you who came from close by or far away.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Celebrations such as this one yesterday
would have been little without all the participation
of all of you who came to celebrate.


Saturday, December 11, 2010

Today is the day...

Finally, after a year of talking and planning,
today is the day we have Mumsie's 90th birthday bash.
We are all so excited.
Last night my two of my brother, Larry's three children
made it in from Brownsville and Houston.
So actually the party began last night....
Oh today will be the best...
We are expecting anywhere
from 100 to 200 people, we are not sure...
Oh what a wonderful day it will be...
Cannot wait to see everyone and just like
every big shing-ding, you always worry about
how things will go but in the end
it always goes perfect.
I am quite proud of us siblings, how we have
put this thing together for the love of our Mumsie.
As she told me yesterday,
"You only turn 90 once, if you are lucky!"


Friday, December 10, 2010

Seeing Jillian Grace Riera




Yes, there is no doubt what the blog would be about this morning.
Our Jillian Grace....
We all were mesmerized by these 4-D ultrasounds.
Most amazing thing for all of us is just how much
this baby looks like her DeDa,
better known on this blog as Baby boy....
Even Kd's own parents couldn't find much that looked like her
Except of, course, her tenacity.....
After about two or three pictures and trying
to move the little child,
she started the drama stuff, by putting her little
hands over her face and even putting her hands
in front of the camera.
There is even a picture of her that looks like
her thumb is in her nose..... like her deda here
at Disney World when he was four...
That little nose is for sure Jillian Grace's.
The cutest little thing here at 4 months.
I wish I had baby pictures of KD so I can really see
if she is a combo. baby or really looks as much
as BB as it seems to us.
Here he is flying....
Yes drugs and a young father do not mix.
My poor little boy, HOBL before he was sober would
put BB in this little red PJ and fly him around the house.
I know, I know..... What was I thinking allowing this,
but hey, I was only three days past 22
and still had the camera in my hand.
Yes, he got fussed and threatened he better not do it again...
after I got the snapshot.....
Back to the point....
Have to go to Cathy's and scan some pictures of KD as a
baby.... I have none on my computer of KD as a child.
I also want to confess, I was not a firm believer of the
4-D ultrasound, believed the babies looked like
aliens, but I believe the ones I had seen before
were done too soon in the pregnancy.
I am now a lover of these things.
It was like being inside a day in the life
of this little miracle.
So if you are on the fence on doing this....
KD is 27 weeks so I would suggest not
doing it sooner than this date....
The only bad thing about the whole experience?
We all wanted to take her out now....
BB was saying jokingly,
"KD can we schedule a C-section tomorrow?"
I was like a baby when it came to the offer
of having a small bunny with a recording of
Jilly-bean's heartbeat.
The boys said no.... we didn't need that
but Cathy (KD's Mom) and I, we couldn't resist...
What makes me feel like a real baby....
Cathy wanted to give hers to KD
and I selfishly want to keep mines....
and did. It now lives in my scraproom where each
time I go in there I start my crafting by
listening to Jilly's heart.....
Thank you Frank for treating
me to the bunny...
Cannot wait for Jilly to be here
Thank you KD for taking such good care
of yourself to have this baby so healthy.
At just 27 weeks this baby looks so full and healthy.
A perfect day, meeting
Jillian Grace Riera

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Today 3-d ultrasound of Jilly bean!!!!

Yes, this post is being made at 3:50 am,
yes, I have been awake since 2:00 am.
No it is not because of the pups or HOBL that I can't sleep.
Seems like by 2 am every morning I have enough of the
bed but today I am going to after this post, lay on the sofa
in hopes of getting at least another hour of sleep....
Why? yes, I know you asked even if it was in your sleep.
Because early this morning we are heading to
Baton Rouge with KD, BB, BG, HOBl and the
Guilbeau grandparents for our Jilly-bean's
first movie production.
I am so excited to see my granddaughter on
3 or 4-D ultrasound, whatever it's called.
I am so glad and honored that we have been invited
to such an intimate part of BB and Kd's life.
If you thought I was excited before just wait until
I see her beautiful little face on that screen
So baby boy, he and KD brings this ultrasound
picture you see above to Hotel Thibodaux Regional
just hours after my surgery and insists that
this baby looks just like baby boy, KD agrees.
Through my Demerol PCA stupor I remember them
telling me that there were certain ways
that Jillian Grace would turn and she looked
exactly like BB...
So today we will get a better look at just what they are saying.
I am hoping that Kd allows me to share the pictures
with the blog world as this is quite a personal thing.
I cannot wait for the exciting moment
as well as spending time with KD's parents
who we consider very good friends of ours.
It all sounds like a perfect day with
our perfect
Jillian Grace Riera

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Yesterday in an elevator.


Yesterday was my appointment with Dr. Donner.
I love him because he is always the optimist,
what I want and try to be.
He shows me my xrays and we talk about how awesome
it is that already I have lots of difference in
my daily pain.
He shows me on the xrays how the plate and screws
are in place and then he tells me he is just
a little discouraged because after 4 weeks
there is not yet any calcium build-up
between the discs which would tell us
that the fusion was beginning to do its job.
This is seen and all it basically means is
that 4 more weeks of wearing this brace I hate
and doing basically nothing.
You can't be discouraged when having an appointment
with Dr. D. he just tells you to keep doing what
you are doing, wear your brace religiously and
see you in 4 weeks.
So I leave and get in the elevator and for one
minute I am self-involved with knowing
for 4 more weeks my life has been laid out.
I guess I am just a little discouraged because
I am ready to move on in this life of mines,
ready to make this part of my past.
As I get in the elevator, this 60ish cleaning lady
allows me to get in first and she follows me in
looking like Carol Burnette with all her mops and brooms.
I am not my normal talkative self, hmmm that is unusual...
She however wants to talk.
She begins to chit chat and I am listening but not really
participating much.
The elevator door opens and she wishes me a wonderful
holiday season. I wish her the same and she thanks me
but says she has a feeling this one will not be
good for her. She leaves the elevator
and I press the button to hold the doors open.
"Why" I ask...
then she sadly tells me,
"Yes, my husband died two months ago and
I am so lonely and I know that this Christmas
is going to be very lonely"
So I put my big girl panties on and stop myself
from being so self-absorbed and I spend a
few minutes with this wonderful lonely
little housekeeper and I then count my blessings.
So what if I have to wear a stupid
Ninja turtle brace as the great nieces and nephews call it.
They think it's cool and there will be no lonely
Christmas for me.
There is so much out there in the world
to think about besides myself.
Let us not forget that if we think we have it rough,
There are many who have a much harder life than we do.


Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Many thoughts on baby girl this morning...

In those early mornings I can't sleep these days it is baby girl I think of. Soon she will find out if she was accepted into a program called City Year where she will be sent to either New York or Rhode Island for 10 months to work in poor and underprivileged areas with children who have very little. Before we get into whether this is safe or not, let me just tell all that I have done my parenting homework, it is not only a safe program but highly sponsored and monitored by the program itself. I am excited for her. As much as I fuss about how messy she is and that she is a procrastinator, this child is also a dear friend of mine.
We are almost to the point that unless she asks for my advice we are more friends. I am proud of her tenacity. I am proud of how she is not afraid to try new things even if it means leaving those people and things you love the most. I am okay with this trip and even though I told her I am not going to be able to go to the airport because I will cry my eyes out and she said I couldn't cry, I am cheering her on because unlike many who wish they could or would
have done these types of things either now or when
they were young, my BG, she is a doer when it comes to trying
new things, far, far, away.
This would be for 10 months and I was really okay with it.
The part that has had me thinking a lot and making me
miss my little BG is the part that says to her mother
that no matter what, whether she gets the program or not,
She will have one more semester living at her home and
then she is feeling the need to move on.
As I was telling sister V. last night,
I know this has to happen and I know I have said
soooo many times, "Oh when this child goes, my house
will always be clean, I will always be able to find those
things that she borrows but never remembers to pick up"
I am proud of her decision, I am cheering her on.
I am so darn proud of the fact that she knows she will
be doing this with very little financial help from
her parents and that is part of her excitement,
to do it on her own.
I am encouraging her that by the time I was her age
I was already married and pregnant for her brother
and that there comes a point in time that it is time
to move on and become independent, to try
and make it on your own without anyone
to tell you how or what to do.
I tell her I don't blame her but I also
tell her how much I will miss her, how
easy it has been to raise her,
that aside from about 6 months of her 20 year
old life, she has been the easiest and most pleasant
child to raise.
Yes, she still doesn't do things the way I would
like her to, yes she still waits until the last minute
to finish things that I feel are important.
Yes, her mouth is sometimes a potty-mouth...
Yet I, without this child in my life everyday,
will be a different woman.
Not a bad woman, not a depressed woman,
just different because
she has been the constant in my life for the
last 4 years, she is my friend
and I will be one lonesome momma.
However, she is who I wish I had had the courage to
be at her age.
I fell in love too early, got married too early, had
a baby too early....
I do not regret the decisions I made and I
for sure do not regret the life I lead with my HOBL
who just yesterday I was thanking for just
how easy, because of all his and my hard work,
our lives are already at such a young age.
However, there were many things I dreamed of
doing before the whole marriage and kid thing
that I never got around to.
BG is living the life that she wants.....
That will not ease the days it takes for me to get used
to my life without her in it every day.
You, go BG and make a difference in this
wide, wide, world.
You have my support and most importantly
you have my heart.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Why I love Palo Alto...

I could say my very favorite part of Palo
is the scenery, all the wild animals hanging
on the walls of logs watching you wherever you go...
I could say my very favorite part is all the old buildings in the
woods that I love to explore and take pictures of...
I could say it's all about the fishing even though really
all you can catch in that little creek is fish that really are only
big enough to use as bait...
I could also say it is the great indoor and outdoor fires that
can be burned out there in the woods....
I could also say it is the fact that the boys always kill
and are happy with their hunts, especially the pheasants
which are some of the prettiest birds ever...
But you guys all know Auntie lil too good to believe all of
the above....
So I will break the news....
My favorite part, the reason I love Palo besides everything
else mentioned, is the time spent and the memories
made while we are all confined for just 24 hours in
the wonderful miraculous place.
The entertainment that baby boy gives us as he irritates his
daddy to no end, I do believe he is getting back for all his
growing up years when the tables were turned.
The silliness that baby girl and KD give me making me smile
big as I hold my camera in my hand and remind them,
"Now you guys do know that this will make it to the blog
and maybe even facebook"
Still they pose for me in silliness.
Kd decided, if Baby boy wasn't going to pose then Jew would have
to do...
This may be one of the only baby bump pictures we get
baby boy to give in to but this one he didn't even fuss about...
Please do not jump to conclusions, merely playing...
Why I Love Palo Alto?
It's all about family and memories made and the
fact that even though baby girl and Kd found
a newly shed snake skin on the steps going up to
the bunkhouse, they still were great sports and spent
the night sleeping on the sofas, downstairs, of course...
More wonderful memories....
It is why I love Palo,
Priceless!