WOW! It's been too long

I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted on the blog. I guess I have a lot to catch up for those who are still reading this.

Um... let's see.. where should I start? I got my surgery in October and spent a couple of weeks up at my parent's house to recover, be with Maddie, and get a surprise visit from Phillip. Maddie dressed up as a bumble bee for Halloween this past year. I had a one month check post op check up. Things looked great. I did feel extremely tired and was pretty sure that I was anemic though. When I got back home, I had my doctor run a few tests and sure enough I had it. It was low enough that I needed a blood transplant. I was still feeling pretty week even though I had the transfusion and was taking iron pills daily. My doctor referred me to a specialist. I had an appt with him and found out that my body no longer processes Vitamin B or iron. So, I am on a high dose of both and going back in a month to see where stand and if I need, yet, another transfusion.

Anyway, on a happier note, Maddie is doing great and is growing way too fast!! She can get herself onto our couches now, can open doors on occasion and is in the works of being potty trained. She is so tall now and so smart. She picks up things so quickly. We have to watch what we do around her because she repeats everything we do right after. For example, our entire family has had sinus problems for a while now. Jeff went to spit before he got Maddie in the car to run some errands. I walk outside after gathering the rest of our things and Jeff turns to me and says, "I've done something very very bad." I asked him what he did and he informed me. I get in the car and Maddie is in the back seat trying to spit. I give him a dirty look. The entire ride to the store, we could hear her trying to spit. What happened tonight while she was playing? She actually spit. Thankfully, it was on the dish rag that is designated to clean her face and hands after she is done eating. Maddie is getting so big. She tries to clean whatever we are cleaning. She closes the dishwasher for me. Immediately after a diaper change, she wants to put her diaper in the diaper genie and either wash her hands or use hand sanitizer. As soon as I am done changing her, she wants to put her dirty clothes in the hamper RIGHT AWAY! I can't make her wait for a second( both are in the closet that she can't quite get open just yet). She always puts her shoes away when they are taken off. She knows where her jacket is and waits for me to get there when she is dressed and has her shoes on. Maddie, also, attempts to carry her diaper bag when we are heading out the door. LOL. She is one smart cookie. She isn't speaking very many words, so she has to see a speech therapist. She will go for the first time next week. She babbles all day long though. She even responds to questions... I just have no clue what she is trying to tell me.

Jeff has been busy at work. There is always something going on it seems. He is, also, taking college courses, too, so he is always busy. He did lose one of his responsibilities at work, so he comes home earlier and doesn't always get a ton of phone calls or texts from other marines that were under him. He did pick up one more responsibility at home though... being Maddie's personal horse. She absolutely loves it when he plays horsey... or buckin' bronco. LoL .. she laughs the entire time she is on his back. If he tries to quit or take a break, she pushes him down to the ground and gets back on. There is apparently no rest for the horse in this house. I have a ton of cute videos of them playing.

I have been really into trying to save money and coupon blogs. It is almost like an obsession for me. I check out several blogs a day just to see what the latest deal is. I think I need to go to an addicts meeting. Although, I am actually enjoying it and saving us quite a bit of money. There is no denying that. I have gotten into sewing, too. I made a few baby shower gifts and a few outfits for Maddie. I am currently working on a valentine craft that seems to be turning out pretty good. Hopefully, it continues that way. Maybe I'll post a picture of it when I am done. I should really post some new pics up here anyway. That's going to have to wait though because the laptop doesn't have any pictures on it. I am taking a sewing basics class and a quilting basics class next month that I am pretty excited about. I know some of the basics, but it would be nice to know how to sew buttons on and such. My friend made a quilt and that seemed pretty cool. So, I signed up for a class in hopes that I learn how to do it and actually continue do it. I love doing different crafts and learning how to do different things. It'll be exciting to actually get out and do something I am interested in.

Jeff and I celebrated our second year anniversary in the time of me being MIA . We had a friend watch Maddie while Jeff and I went out to dinner and a movie. We went to Tokyo for dinner and we were upset with how the food turned out. Everything had too much salt and soy sauce on it. The Fried rice had such small pieces of onions in it that I couldn't even eat it (which I was very bummed about because that is one of my favorite parts of going out for a good dinner). Then we went to see Little Faukers. We were warned that it wasn't as funny as it looked. I didn't even care to see it, but Jeff wanted to see it and thought it would be funny. We went and ended up disappointed. Don't get me wrong. It had funny parts, but it definitely wasn't worth paying so much money for. We could have waited until it came out on redbox and paid a dollar. Oh well! After we went out, we went to a friends house where Maddie was hung out with friends. It was really nice to get out with just Jeff for a night.

OH OH OH!! I completely forgot to write about Thanksgiving and Christmas. MMMM ! Thanksgiving was good. We brought food to the single marines and hung out at home. For Christmas stand down, we went up to Illinois for a few days. It was a lot of fun. Maddie got to see snow for the first time. She had no clue what it was. LOL Jeff threw a few snow balls at her and she just stood there and looked at me. Jeff actually got some snow in her jacket and on her face. So, he quit and helped her out. We got to see all of my family and had a few Christmas' there. Maddie made out like a bandit there. It was good for her. Maddie helped Aunt Shirley sprinkle some sugar cookies. Which ended up a funny story because Aunt Shirley ended up cooking them a little too long since we were opening presents. Haha! It was a good memory. Maddie had a lot of fun playing with her cousins and aunts and uncles. The time went by way too quickly. Mom and Dad came down here for the weekend. We cooked lots of food and played and then Mom and I went shopping. I actually ended up getting sick on Christmas and slept a lot that day. It wasn't fun. Jeff did most of the cooking. We, also, did the single marines meal again. Well... Jeff did. I was asleep.. Maddie, once again, made out like a bandit. She had so many presents. It was hilarious to see her open her gifts. If it was clothing, she would throw it out and go get another gift. I think that pretty much covers the Holidays.

Well, I am going to cut it off for now.. Thanks for reading... if anyone is still reading... Goodnight. :)