Vegas Here We Come!

We're in Vegas Baby!!!! So, I had the hardest time ever leaving my Catherine!!! But, I must say it was for the best. I have been able to catch up on my sleep and shop etc.... I didn't realize how much sleep I needed to catch up on! I slept all afternoon yesterday! That was of course after shopping, so I'm not sure which one it was? I have been to the Jimmy Choo shoe store, Ralph Lauren Couture and many fabulous art galleries all in our hotel!!!! Oh, I also went to Barney's NY and found a $1800 dress that was precious, but not much fabric for the price! The lady at Jimmy Choo's wanted to help me find something. I told her, "No, I just wanted to see a pair of Jimmy Choo's shoes in real life." She then offered to sell me a pair of sunglasses for $250! Oh, the life of Babylon! I must say, I do have an appreciation for well made tailored clothing, but right now I just don't appreciate the price tag.

Poor Johnny has gotten a stomach virus since we've been here! I've been giving him Tylenol and Advil every two hours. His fever has broken as of this morning. So, we are hoping he will continue to get better as the trip continues. He has to, because we have tickets to see "O" on Wednesday, and we still want to see the Hoover dam. Plus, he has to oversee me at the tables to make sure I don't overstep my gambling limit. I'm the one who leans more towards an addiction.

The best thing so far, is our hotel has a restaurant owned by the Cheesecake Factory! So, they sell their Cheesecake 24 hours a day, even for breakfast!!!! They have my favorite, white chocolate raspberry!!!! I was so excited to find it. Of course, I'm all about the food!

Finally a New Post!

Ok, Ok, Ok,!!!! So, I've been a little behind on the whole blog posting thing! A lot has gone on since Halloween to say the least! I had a birthday and am now 27. Catherine's first Christmas was wonderful! She really enjoyed opening presents much more than we thought she would! For New Year's we were so spontaneous! I went to sleep at 8:30 and Johnny went to sleep at 10:00! I must say this was the first year we didn't stay up to at least watch the ball drop in NY. We are officially boring! Catherine turned 1 in February and we had a family party for her! It was also her first time to have sugar. She did not like her cake at all. She threw a fit and cried as soon as she realized she didn't like it and the icing wouldn't come off her hands. She is definitely a girl who does not like to be dirty! We have it on video and it is hilarious! Since then she has started talking and recently walking a little. She has been saying Daddy for months now. Finally she is saying Momma! It is like, I went through all of what for you to say who first? She even said Dog before Momma! I mean come on! Oh well, I thought for the longest she was going to call me something like nunu or nene. You know some name that kids come up with that sticks that isn't what the name originally was suppose to be. As long as it wasn't Big Mamma I was fine! I don't have a lot of pictures to post, but you can look at Catherine's 1 year pictures online! Go to www.ashleycarsonphotography.com click on proofing and the password is catherine. Enjoy! Johnny and I are going to Vegas next month and I am so looking forward to it! It will be a nice getaway from things! Things have been very hectic with the two houses etc.... Plus come to find out I'm anemic and very vitamin D deficient! So, I'm dragging! There, those are my excuses for not posting! I now give the disclosure of making no promises for posting for another 6 months due to more chaos that I'm sure will come up!

Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch!

Hello out there! To say we have been busy would be an understatement! Here is the brief run down of what has gone on in the last month. Catherine has had a fever virus, Johnny had a horrible respiratory infection for over 2 weeks, I have been anemic, we put the house on the market, the new house is coming along really well, we got an offer our current house, then the buyers backed out and bought the fsbo down the street, and I have also been working! Whew! I'm tired again! Needless to say, I haven't had a whole lot of time to blog. I have had several comments from many faithful blog readers as to what is going on in the Brown household. I'm so sorry to disappoint, but so glad that you enjoy reading my thoughts! To also answer a much asked question, yes I am keeping up with the Bachelor this season and I do have many thoughts and opinions. However, I have been too busy this season to waste time on posting about the show. Here is the cutest pumpkin in the patch!!!!

The whole day yesterday she was either napping in her pj's or in that pumpkin costume. I took her to my office and to my mother-in-law's office to trick-o-treat. Then when Johnny got home we had dinner and went to a few neighbors homes. She had the best time. It always helps to take her out right after she naps and eats, then she is for sure in a good mood! It was also a lot of fun for the two of us showing her off. Johnny called today and had me e-mail him pictures so he could send them around at work and show her off. We are so blessed to have a father and husband who is so proud! Ok, I make no promises as to when I'll get to another post! I'm cleaning house and working on a million things all day everyday these days. Did I say the word "day" enough in that sentence? So, no hounding me when you see me! Happy Holidays, just in case!

Progress!

Here it is, our new house! They have framed the first floor. Hopefully, this week they will get the second floor and the roof put on. It is not suppose to rain, so there shouldn't be any delays. There are very few times you pray for it to not rain, but when building a house you do. Johnny and I are standing in our new living room. It was so much fun going over and seeing walls and placing furniture! Things are moving along very quick! March will be here before we know it! On the other hand, AT&T is still 6 feet under in our current front yard! Yes, that's right folks! I've told them they can't miss me until they're gone, but that didn't seem to work. They have been here for 5 weeks now. Frankly I could work for the phone company by now. All you have to know is how to dig a hole, how to scratch in certain places, and how to eat lunch on the curb of a street. I can do that without any training. It's almost like working for the government! Does anyone know how much they pay? Where do you get an application? I've made my yard entirely too comfortable for them. I think I brought them one too many bottles of Gatorade. Supposedly, they are going to be done this week. However, we are on AT&T's time table. That means they'll be done next week. As soon as they fill in the hole and give us new grass, then we are putting the house on the market! Lots of changes, therefore lots of prayer!

Lake Weekend!

Catherine is definitely her father's child! She loved the lake! The faster the boat would go and the more it bounced the more she liked it. This weekend we went to the lake with Johnny's boss. We were on the boat for about 15 minutes before it started to thunder. So, the rest of the day we enjoyed the rain and watched football games while Catherine napped. It was really nice to get away and not do any chores around the house and just relax whether it rained or not. I was actually kind of glad it rained. I'm not an outdoor kind of girl. I know that really sent shock waves through some of your computers. Something grosses me out about not seeing the bottom of the lake and swimming with other creatures that carry diseases. Don't get me wrong, I love to ride on a boat and I love to tube and ski!!!!!!! It's just getting out there to do it and then falling and getting back in the boat I don't like. Basically, I don't like the water, just keep me out of the water. I'm like a cat or stuck up or whatever you want to call me, but I don't like lake water. So, for sure don't expect me to go camping and bath in it! That is an experience I don't care to have. Anyways, Catherine loves the boat! Enjoy the pictures!

Catherine Update

A week ago today we went to the Pediatric Cardiologist. We were given good news and some not so good news. The doctor we saw was Dr. Dungan. He is literally 80 years old. He is the nicest man and very funny. Catherine's appointment was at 11:00 and we didn't get home until 3:00. When we checked in the lady at the front desk was asking a list of questions. She asked, "Does the father live in the home"? I replied, "Yes." Then she asked, "Are mom and dad married"? I then said, "Listen, I don't know what other questions you are going to ask. And, I know it takes all kinds, but we're the other kind." She started laughing so hard I thought she was going to fall out of her chair. My way of handling the day was with humor. I started cracking jokes with the EKG tech and Johnny started to get a little annoyed with me. He wanted the tech to focus on his job and Catherine, not on the next line I was coming up with, which he was right. Anyways, Catherine was extremely well behaved, would you expect anything less from my child? No seriously, Dr. Dungan asked, "Is she always this good"? I responded with, "This is because of a lot of prayers." Which is the truth. We could feel the power of God's strength all day. I sat at home during her nap that morning and just read my Bible and prayed. I have not felt God's clarity like that in a long time. Even though we got the news we got, I still felt a peace, which is totally God! Thank you to all who have had us in their thoughts and prayers. It has definitely been and will continue to be a growth experience.

Catherine has a 7 mm hole in her Atrial Septum. It is called an Atrial Septul Defect. If you go to the American Heart Association website you can learn more about the surgery and the defect at http://www.americanheart.org/ . This is otherwise known as a "hole" in her heart. The size of the hole is of medium size. It is bigger than a pencil eraser, but smaller than a dime to give you an image. Therefore, it will not close on its own. They will have to go in a repair the hole when she is around the age of 4 years old. They will do this with a catheter procedure. They will implant a mesh accordion like material in the hole that will expand to cover the hole. Heart tissue and scar tissue will then grow over it and secure it permanently in place. This should be the only surgery/procedure she should ever have to fix the problem. She will only stay in the hospital 1 night, and in 4 years it may be outpatient who knows? Our Arkansas Children's Hospital was the 2nd hospital in the nation to perform this procedure! However, just 7 years ago this was an open heart surgery procedure. If she does not have the hole repaired her life expectancy is to age 30. The doctors will monitor her once a year until time for the procedure with an office visit and annual tests to make sure the hole is not getting larger and there are no other complications. They have reassured us that Catherine is normal and should be treated as if she were a normal child without any type of condition. We are surprisingly very calm about the situation and making a long list of questions to call and ask the nurse practitioner. If there are any suggested questions to ask, please let us know!

Great New Recipe!

I got this great new recipe from my neighbor, Aunt Sunnee, that I had to share. I come from a long line of women who love to eat, but also love to cook. So, if it is good enough to pass along, then it is really good! This tastes just like the baked squash at a chain restaurant with the name Dixie in it. Enjoy!

Baked Squash Casserole

5 lbs. medium yellow squash (measure it at the store on the scale)
2 eggs, beaten
1 C. bread crumbs, plus more for topping
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
1 stick butter
1/4 C. sugar
Salt as needed
Dash of ground black pepper

Variation: Add 1-1 1/2 C. cheddar cheese and 1 jalapeno pepper diced.

Trim squash and cut into large pieces. Drop into a large saucepan with enough boiling water to cover. Return to a boil, reduce heat and cook until tender. Drain in a colander, then mash.

In a large mixing bowl, combine squash, eggs, 1C. breadcrumbs, onion, butter, sugar, salt, and pepper. Turn into a 3-quart casserole dish that has been lightly greased. Cover with a light layer of bread crumbs. Bake at 350 until lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Serves 10.

This recipe makes a lot! It also freezes beautifully! I usually am able to make 2 8X8 plus another smaller dish size with this recipe, and I'll freeze 2 of the dishes. It has become a household favorite!