Sometimes life throws you a curveball...

Last week was an absolute nightmare.

Two weeks after Summer was born, I had a horrible violent pain in my stomach.

 It lasted for hours and I pretty much was stuck, crying in pain with no relief.

It finally went away and I thought it was either a 24 hour stomach bug

 or extremely bad gas pain from surgery.

It happened again two weeks later...and then again a week later...and then every other day.

 It was horrible! The pain could last half an hour or six hours!

 I was living in fear of it happening again.

Last week, I finally let my husband talk me into going to the ER.

 (I'm pretty darn stubborn when it comes to doctors!)

I was admitted into the hospital and was stuck there for six days!

I could go on and on with stories of just how horrible that hospital was.

(I seriously think all the nice staff are reserved for the maternity ward.)

I was stuck more last week than I have been in my entire life.

My poor arms are all sad and bruised.

 I was on a liquid diet for four days.

 I was so homesick and missed my kids more than I can even describe.

The problem?

Gallstones.

 I was one of the lucky 3% that had gallstones that managed to escape my gallbladder

and cause a blockage

 (why my pain kept coming back so frequently.)

 I had to have a procedure to have the escaped stones removed,

then a surgery to have my gallbladder taken out.

Like I said, one long long nightmare.

(I should note, the only time I've ever been in the hospital was to have my two babies.)

The worst of the worst from that week:

-The nurses stuck my FIVE times trying to get my IV back in.

-One nurse was determined to make me feel bad for leaving my kids with my mother in law

 and went on and on about how much trouble it must be for her.

-I was given pain meds that made me zombie like.

 My husband, in his rush to leave for work, accidentally left one of the lights on (it was 6 am).

 I was completely embarrassed having to ask for a nurse to come turn it off.

I heard her griping about how ridiculous my request was as she came down the hall to my room.

 I was stuck, lying in bed, sobbing and desperately wanting my kids and to be out of that awful place.

I am so SO happy to be back home now.

 I cried and cried when Alex and Summer were brought back home.

I'm pleased to say I'm recovering very nicely and as long as I stay on top of my pain meds,

 I'm a pretty normal person. :)

Anyway, obviously no crafty updates this week, but how do you guys like the blog redesign?

 I'm so happy to finally personalize the place!

Sock Monster #5

I was so happy with how Miss Monster came out,

I decided to make sock monsters for all the kids in my family for Christmas.

I was all excited to have this small army of sock monsters hanging around that I could photograph hanging out together....

and on Christmas day three of them scurried out the door

 before a single picture was ever taken!

*sigh*

Luckily, this little girl stuck around long enough to have her picture taken...

She told me she loves the color pink, big swirly lollipops, and fluffy bunnies.

Like all these other sock monsters though,

she decided to keep her name a secret until she found her permanent home. :)

Miss Monster

I had a lot of fun making Cookie,

but there were a few things I wasn't crazy about with his design...

So Miss Monster was born:

She told me her favorite color is blue and she loves horses.

More than anything, she wants to learn to skateboard.

I sent her to live with my husband's seven year old cousin,

who just happens to love all of those things also!

She never would tell me her name, but I'm hoping she whispered it to her new friend. :)

Sock Cookie

Back in October,

I really wanted to come up with a plushie that would be simple for me to make.

I decided to try my hand at making sock monsters...and so Cookie was born:

Poor Cookie only has one picture...taken with the cell phone on a messy, messy table.

Why does he have such a silly name?

Well, I showed him to Alex to get his approval and he immediately named him Cookie.

 The two became best of friends.

I was amazed!

Typically, I show Alex what I'm working on and he'll smile and laugh,

then hand it back to me.

This little guy was the first plushie that he ever given a name

(and since then, he has decided all monsters are called "Cookie.")

Anyway, Cookie was originally going to be a birthday gift for my boss,

but that plan quickly changed. :)

A Very Special Little Doll

Well, I've been meaning to write this post for a few weeks now,

but I'm sure you guys will understand why it has taken so long. ;)

On January 30th at 1:02 p.m., a very special little girl came into our life!

I'm so happy to share with you our precious little Summer:

She weighed in at 8lbs. and 21" at birth!

As you can see, Alex is a very proud big brother...

and I'm pleased to report he still likes her three weeks later!

A New Friend

Now that we have our very own art room

(which is the size of a walk-in closet, but it's way better than the kitchen table!),

Scribble and I have been having a blast making things together.

Lately I've been working on several little projects, and Scribble has been more than happy to lend a hand.

Scribble kept acting like she heard a noise from the bowl filled with paints.

I figured she was just up to her usual silliness though...

She kept worrying over the noise, so I told her to go investigate.

Imagine my surprise when she actually discovered someone lurking in the paint!

Scribble, being as friendly as she normally is, didn't take long to coax her onto the desk...

"Can we keep her?"

Apparently, her name is Pastel and she decided to join us because I needed "more color in my life."

She's quite interested in seeing the world around her

and was excited when Scribble said she could take her place is my "traveling muse."

(Pastel is a 11cm obitsu with the nano Gretel head. I'll have to make a more detailed post about my thoughts on these obitsus, but I must say, I'm quite smitten with her!)

In baby news, I'm due next Monday!

We went to the doctor today and it looks like Summer is going to be just like her brother

and require a c-section to be convinced to join us.

I was so hoping to hear from the hospital today to schedule it,

but hopefully tomorrow I'll know when she'll be joining us!

Happy New Year!

"We bless this year for all we learned,

for all we've loved

and lost

and for the quiet way

it brought us nearer to our inevitable destination."

- John O'Donahue

I thought that quote summed up the year perfectly. :)

2011 has ended with an unexpected twist for me

(a crazy move that was unfortunately a step backwards for us...

but I keep telling myself sometimes we have to step back in order to move forward).

My new year's resolution?

I hope that one day a long time from now,

I can look back at 2012 and say,

"That was when it all began...when I finally started to become the person I always dreamed of being."

I'm really looking forward to starting this new year and the plans I have for it.

Best of all, in a month or less, our family of three will be a family of four!

I can't think of a better way to kick off a new year, can you?

I hope you guys all stay safe on this new year's eve...

and of course, happy new year!!

(Now that the dust is finally starting to settle around here, I'll soon share with you guys a few of the things I've been working on.)