thankful thursday: tune in radio

 many of us love the holiday season

and

i am one of them

one of my favorite parts of the season

is the Christmas music

back home

{magic 104.1}

plays Christmas music 24/7

from the day after Thanksgiving

to

the day after Christmas

and

it makes my heart happy

however

here in italy

they don’t believe in 24/7 Christmas music

they have no idea what they are missing

and 

if it wasn’t for my iphone

and 

the 

{tune in radio app}

i would be a grinch

during this holiday season

so thank you

tune in radio

and

magic 104.1

for keeping my heart full of Christmas cheer!!

what is your favorite part of the holiday season?

hemangioma 7 months in...

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inspired by a friend

who’s friend

found my blog on emmi’s hemangioma

useful

and inspiring

i am giving ya’ll an update!

we’ve been on the propranolol now for 7 months

and we’ve seen such a change

top pic on left 2 week after birth, top pic on right two months old and ulcerated

bottom pic on left 6 months old loving food! bottom pic right today at 9 months 

last month the base got a new dermatologist

and he was impressed

but added a new medication

{fluocinonide}

which is a topical steroid

the side effects of a steroid

are atrophy and reduce swelling

which of course is what we want this hemangioma to do

i’ve done some research on fluocinonide

and reviews are mixed on it’s effectiveness

however

it isn’t hurting her

so why not try

area measurements of the hemangioma are about the same

2x2

on average

however

it’s barely ‘swollen’

anymore

it’s almost flat against her face

the docs keep telling me to be patient

and it appears

this hemangioma is on a five year plan

but

overall the results are great

 we will continue with therapy

and

just be patient

hope those who have infants with hemangiomas continue to find hope

and inspiration

in other’s stories

love love from aviano!

thankful thursday: travel

happy thanksgiving

ya’ll!

to celebrate emmi’s first thanksgiving

one would think we’d pile her high chair tray

with turkey pumpkin pie and sweet potato casserole

but

we aren’t

we deserve the good parent award i know

we are running away

to Vienna

pic from {here}

then to slovania

so her first thanksgiving dinner will be brats and apple strudel

i am so excited to see the Christmas markets!

we went to Salzburg last year 

 

and it was

wonderful

 

sparking us to start a new tradition

of seeing different Christmas markets each year

so happy thanksgiving

and may your travels be safe

and you be surrounded by loved ones

love love from aviano

because there was no link....

 

i found this post on 

{pinterest}

but it didn’t have a link

so i thought

why the heck not

it looks simple enough

and it was

prep was easy

especially since i used all prepackaged goods

hey i am not ashamed with a 8 month old

i needs simple and quick

hence why i choose this recipe

line the bottom of your muffin tin with cookies

then add your reesee cups

make your brownie mix according to box directions

then add to the reese/cookie mix

 

cook time was simple

18 minutes at 350*f

and it comes out looking delicious

 

 

but i must have done something wrong

or

the recipe just sounds good

because the taste was mediocre

getting the brownie cookie mix out of the muffin tin was hard

i let it cool 

but still it was difficult 

and didn’t come out pretty

maybe in the future I will use cupcake tins

the bottom cookie tasted slightly burnt

and the peanut butter didn’t help the burnt taste either

so that is my review

try the recipe for yourself

let me know tips to making it better

world prematurity day

today is world prematurity day

so to celebrate

another fabulous preemie mom

and i

set up a booth at the bx

we had pamphlets about different issues regarding prematurity

that were donated from various agencies on base

we had purple ribbons for those who wanted to show support

we also had information on our new support group

thanks to the support and help

from some wonderful moms

we now have a  

{facebook page}

and

a bimonthly support group

for families of preemies

and those who have delivered off base

or received care off base for their little one

here is a recent

 {article}

  about it!

(they refer to me by my maiden name 

because it’s hyphenated on facebook 

and a lot of correspondence was done through facebook!) 

we met so many other families

who had preemies

it was a wonderful afternoon in aviano

and 

 

emmi discovered balloons!!!

  

love love from aviano

thankful thursday: smile!

thankful thursday is back!

i have so much to be thankful for

and it gives me a "topic" to guide a post!

today 

it's her smile

 

her smile lights up a room

and 

warms my heart

love love from aviano

 

 

unexpected packages

the mail has been 

sloooooow

well almost at a standstill 

because of 

hurricane sandy

(most of our mail goes through new york)

but today

i got an unexpected package

from a dear friend

one who i call my soul sister

one who always seems to find the perfect gifts

that speak to your heart

 

thank you devon

we miss you too!!!

(and we will hurry home!!)

  

new look new title

notice a change?

a new look!

a new title!

thank you holly!!!!

now i must try to organize 

and blog more...

 for today though

i leave you with this 

 

my two favorite veterans

God Bless Our Veterans