Author Archives: Amanda

Valentine’s Day ~ a little peak

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Our Valentine’s Day was THE BEST EVER!  I’m gonna do a little rundown here for ya ~

My husband proposed to me 9 years ago – the ring is pretty, but the diamonds are EXTREMELY small and it’s a two toned ring and for some reason my finger breaks out ~ so, I don’t wear a wedding ring.  I HATE it, because I always feel like when I go out in public people look at me like just another single mom. {not that there’s anything wrong with that… I’m just NOT a single mom} 

My husband rocks… he bought me THIS for Valentine’s Day 
Ever since the 3 stoned Past, Present, Future rings came out – I’ve wanted one!  And I FINALLY HAVE ONE!!!!!!!  On the inside it even has a P {diamond} P {diamond} F ~ I AM IN LOVE!!!!  I can’t stop staring at my finger.  Gino, you are my heart and soul.  I just want you to know that.  I wouldn’t have US any other way ~ so just always know that.

We woke up Valentine’s Day and packed into the car and headed to Sacramento.  Where we saw my mom and my most favorite, lovable little niece Alana {P.S. SHE’S COMING TO STAY WITH US AGAIN!!!}

And then we headed to Arco Arena {where my Sacramento Kings play} to see Disney on Ice.  We had SO much fun!  Yes, I cried, because I always cry at these things because I am literally THAT excited!  Here’s a couple pictures from our day there ~

I’m working on a little movie that has some video and pics of the kids and I’ll upload that as soon as I’m done… cuz there’s MANY more pics 🙂

We ended our Valentine’s Day night with a little mask party with Grandma and Grandpa 

OH and a little tattoo competition between Grandpa & Ella haha 

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Just a Motivating Monday – A Quote for YOU

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If you’re just joining in:
-Write a blog post about ANYTHING at all that inspires you, or something you feel will inspire others. 

-Please link back to Garibay Soup 

-Please snag my Just a Motivating button on your post.

-I hope that we can all go and visit each other’s blogs and read what everyone has linked up ~ I hope that this carnival can bring more traffic for you 🙂 So, spread the comment love!

I’m just downright extremely late here, but thought I needed to come on and share a quote for your week 🙂

“Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better”” Jim Rohn



Whatever any of us are going through in life ~ this quote is awesome. I love it.
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Praying for Caydence

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A lot of people in my life don’t “GET” my online world. They probably don’t consider my friends “friends” and probably just down right think I’m crazy. But I’m not. As wonderful as your friends in real life might be, they don’t always understand you, your situation, what you’re going through or know how to begin to support you in certain situations. And that’s okay. I love my in real life friends so much, but have met amazing woman online that sometimes understand what I’m going through a little bit more.

When I lost Mya, I had amazing, continuous support {and still do} when people in real life were there for the moment, but since they have never experienced such a heart wrenching thing eventually forgot about it ~ or just didn’t know what to say anymore. The support of certain friends online who went through this with me are STILL there, STILL talking with me about it.

None of my friends in real life understand what I go through with Ella and her heart condition, but I have a wonderful group of girls online that do, and are quick to be there just to talk or give advice for what they went through when their child’s heart was racing up to 250+BPM, and that’s okay ~ but maybe now you’ll “GET” my online world.

Every once in a while you get to meet one of these special friends that you’ve been through so much with, and I feel extremely blessed to have gotten to know my dear friend Carlee. Carlee was pregnant with me when I was pregnant with Mya. While my pregnancy ended in death, her’s ended EXTREMELY early with a very tiny baby with a whole lot of health issues. Caydence was born at 27 weeks. The fact that she’s 3 years old and still here is a BLESSING, and if you ever get to know Caydence you’ll quickly agree.

Caydence has not had an easy life. She has been in and out of the hospital more times than I could ever imagine, has had open heart surgery at such a young age and has constantly been on oxygen. I don’t know all the details on what’s wrong, but I do know that my little Caydence is in a hospital in Texas awaiting her lungs to show up so they can do a lung transplant.

I just got a call from Carlee as they are in the hospital waiting and they told Carlee on top of everything that Caydence has and is going through, they believe she has Wolff Parkinson White syndrome. That’s exactly what Ella has. My heart feels heavy today, because I hate that on top of everything else, they’re going to have to worry about Caydence and SVT.  

I’m going to share some pictures of Caydence with you and ask that you please keep Miss Caydence in your prayers ~ she’s such a vibrant little girl, and the surgery that she’s about to undergo scares that living crap out of me.  So please pray that these new lungs give Caydence a long, long, long life.  Please pray for strength for Carlee and the entire family as they will be split up these next few months

I feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know Carlee & Caydence, relationships that I have formed like this make me extremely grateful for the online community that is a huge part of my life.

A little, ity, bity Caydence
Brothers going to see their baby sister

After open heart surgery
She’s such a silly girl 

The Garibays Went all the way to Wyoming to see Caydence!!

Here’s Caydence at the hospital in Texas awaiting her lung transplant

Carlee & Caydence we love you and are here praying hard here!!  I feel extremely blessed to have been a part of your lives and if it wasn’t for Mya, I wouldn’t even know you….. crazy isn’t it?  The Garibays love the Brannamans!!  Go Caydence Go ~ you have overcome so much and we know this will just be another thing to add to that list.
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SVT during CHD Week

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With all this heart talk can you believe that since October 2007 we have lived like we do not have a cardiac baby. They put Ella on medication that regulated things, she never went into SVT. It was like the miracle drug until she got ahold of it. In July 2009 Miss Ella got ahold of her medication and drank it….. almost died. It was the scariest moment of my life! You can read all about that {HERE}. After her overdose we ended up taking her off of all medications to see how she would do.


Ella has had this horrible cold since Friday of last week. She had high fevers, horrible cough, and all around it has just down right SUCKED. Yesterday this cold took a different turn for us, and right now I’m just extremely thankful that I became aware in time of what was going on.


She came up and hugged me, I could feel her heart pounding out of her chest. I asked Gino where the stethoscope was and then listened. I told him to get up and come listen, and of course he thought I was overreacting, but her heart was FAST. He wanted her taken in immediately, so I went upstairs, got dressed, got Ella some clothes and called the doctor. They had me come down and Ella was still in good spirits and acting like nothing was wrong. This is why I believe we recognized this right away, because she finally started getting pale around the time that we got there.


The doctor checked her heart rate and with the first machine they couldn’t pick anything up, and that’s because that machine only monitors up to 200 beats per minute. Well, there’s a huge sign she’s in SVT. So they get another device and were picking it up at around 250 BPM. So, they were already prepared with 2 bags of ice and that’s when they suffocated her with them.


Oh, my poor, poor baby girl. The last time they did this she was only a couple of months old, this time she’s 2 1/2! She was screaming and saying COLD! My heart was breaking, but thankfully her heart was shocked back into normalcy.


In the event that the ice didn’t work, she would have had to be admitted, and IV stuck into her (which is EXTREMELY difficult to do when in SVT) and had adenosine pushed into her veins to try to kick her heart into normalcy. In the event that doesn’t work they’ve had to get the crash cart and shock her back into normalcy that way. The last time they did that she was 7 weeks old and her organs were shutting down, they had no choice.


I’m relieved that Ella is back on her medication, so hopefully we don’t have to go through this again. This time the medication is being kept up VERY HIGH. Think above the refrigerator high… there will be no more overdoses on flecainide!


So, during CHD week I was reminded that I do indeed have a cardiac baby.  And while most days she seems like the healthiest, most vibrant little toddler out there, she’s not.  But this condition makes her that much more special, and has helped me to grow even more as a mother.

Both pictures were taken after she was converted out of SVT ~ we are so blessed.
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CHD Week ~ Guest Blogger ~ Cora’s Story

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This week {2/7/10-2/14/10} Congenital Heart Disease (or defect) week.  You hear about this stuff but NEVER think it will happen to your child.  I unfortunately was almost too late with my little Ella on discovering that she had a heart defect, a heart defect that almost took her from me… but it didn’t.

Almost 2 months ago I met Kristine on Twitter.  The circumstances of why I started following her were not good, but I can’t begin to explain how happy I did get the chance to follow her.  Kristine has become a very special person in my life, and if it wasn’t for Cora, she wouldn’t be in it.

Kristine had to learn the extremely hard way all about CHD {Congenital Heart Disease}.  She didn’t get as lucky as I did with my Ella, because her Cora died at 5 days old.

Kristine and Cora are saving lives and trying to get heard on ways that we can prevent situations like what they had to go through happen.  They are saving lives one pulse oximetry test at a time.

I am so blessed and pleased to have Kristine guest posting here today at Garibay Soup ~ Enjoy, and please help her and Cora out by saving lives!!  




My defected baby. Looks can be deceiving.


I know, I know. She looks perfect.
She was perfect. No prenatal problems. Given a clean bill of health when we left the hospital.
But, then she died. Out of nowhere. In my arms. 
While breastfeeding.
Turns out my daughter, Cora, was born with a congenital heart disease. I’d never heard of it.
Turns out, congenital heart diseases, or defects, are the number one birth defect. That 1 in 100 babies are born with a defect.
But, their hearts aren’t tested. A simple pulse oximetry test to measure the baby’s oxygen level can screen for 
CHDs and save lives.
This week is Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week. Spend a few moments researching and reading about it. I sure wish I had.

Kristine Brite McCormick writes about Cora (almost) daily on her blog {http://www.corasstory.org} If not on her blog, she can be found on Twitter, {@kristinebrite} or Cora’s Facebook Fan page, {http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coras-Story/224020688142?ref=nf} telling Cora’s Story. 


Follow Kristine for more information about congenital heart disease or to learn more about the acts of compassion and kindness Cora has inspired.

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Just a Motivating Monday – Themed Edition ~ Marriage

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If you’re just joining in:
-Write a blog post about ANYTHING at all that inspires you, or something you feel will inspire others. 

-Please link back to Garibay Soup 

-Please snag my Just a Motivating button on your post.

-I hope that we can all go and visit each other’s blogs and read what everyone has linked up ~ I hope that this carnival can bring more traffic for you 🙂 So, spread the comment love!

THEMED EDITION ~ MARRIAGE


I wanted to do a themed edition of Just a Motivating Monday on Marriage, because Valentine’s Day is in 1 week! I think the best thing that we can motivate each other on is on marriage….

I’m going to talk for a moment on my marriage. We’ve been together now for 9 1/2 years, married for 5 1/2 years and happy for ALMOST 3 years. During these past 9 1/2 years we have truly been tested, we have truly prevailed and we can truly say we have defied all odds by remaining together and ending up happy at that.

I know that marriage is one of the hardest things in the entire world. Parenting is very trying and some might think it is one of the hardest things in the entire world to do, but MOST people don’t just walk away when times get tough. There are the few people out there that do do this {sad that they are parents} but most parents stick with it and fight with everything in them to ensure that their children have UNCONDITIONAL love. Marriage is not like this in most cases. It gets hard, promises are broken, you fall out of love and the towel gets thrown in… the marriage in most cases ends up being over.

We’ve been at the lowest points in our marriage.  Promises, vows were broken, being in love was non-existent, and divorce should have been immediately in the works.  But something amazing happened, we fought.  We chose to fight hard with everything we had, and the most amazing thing happened ~ we fell in love with each other, all over again.  THAT was amazing.  Now we know, times will not always be easy, but if we stick with it and fight together to grow back together, there’s a sweet reward.

“A successful marriage is falling in love over and over, always with the same person.”


I hope in some way this post will touch you and remind you that marriage is meant to be forever.  If times get hard, fight.  Fight til you literally have NO FIGHT left in you.  Falling in love over and over again with your spouse is amazing, and so worth the hard times to get there.  

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Beautiful Blogger Award

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I was given a Beautiful Blogger Award from {This Mama Has a Latte Love} you can also find her on twitter as @lattelovemommy  THANK YOU!!!!



Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and insert a link to their blog.
2. Pass on the award to about 15 other bloggers who you recently discovered and think are great!
3. Contact the other bloggers and let them know they have been chosen for this award.
4. Say 7 things about yourself.


~7 THINGS ABOUT ME YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW~


1) I have an obsession with picture frames. I buy them all the time and they sit unfilled in my room. If I would just fill them up and hang them they would be gorgeous. I buy REALLY cute frames!

2) I do not have a shoe fetish like most females ~ I like shoes, but would rather spend money on picture frames LOL ~ no, seriously though ~ I’d rather buy stuff for my house than shoes… I know, I’m weird.

3) I’m currently doing my first diet ever ~ I’ve never watched what I ate, and apparently my metabolism has changed…. I’m not extremely happy about this little fact!

4) I once googled Vampires hoping I could find real Vampires to change my husband into one. Hmmm… wonder if I should be telling people this.

5) I take at least 2 baths a day… could take more if Ella wouldn’t ruin it for me ~ I’m seriously obsessed with baths.

6) I am going back to school and will be getting my CPA degree, the odds of me using the a degree are pretty slim, since I own my own company and plan to become a millionaire off of it, I just want that degree!

7) I have 2 babies in heaven that I think immensely about on a daily basis. I don’t blog as much about them as I’d like, maybe I should ~ Pregnancy loss is something that is extremely excruciating and I really wouldn’t wish it on anybody.



And now I pass this Beautiful Blogger Award to:


@BrainofaMommy 
@Leste20
@Anothermomof2
@ThisMommyWorks
@ToBeThode
@Twinspirationz
@Madhattermom
@CarissaRogers
@KariewithaK
@KandJPlus5
@MyTwoSeason
@MandiMorgan
@Winey_Mommy
@GosFam
@Sahans

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Life, Family & What’s Important

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My life has changed A LOT these past couple of months.  Some for the good, some for the bad, but I’m embracing them all.  

The good ~ I no longer have a JOB (Just Over Broke) and have gone into business for myself.  I’m on a major life organizing kick, and strangely I feel like I’m cleaning and organizing my soul.  I’ve made my unfinished business list and have crossed quite a few items off…. I can’t wait until all the items are crossed off.

The bad ~ I lost another baby.  There’s no words for this.  I don’t get it.  By now I’d be close to feeling flutters in my stomach, instead I’m trying to figure out how to lose my stomach.

I’ve been thinking about a lot of stuff lately.  Maybe it has to do with all of the changes going on here, but my thoughts mostly have been about family.

I really don’t have a family.  I have siblings that come and go.  I’ve never had a healthy relationship with any of them, because not only did I have a dysfunctional childhood… I think they had a worse childhood.  I’ve noticed with my family that they come in and out in and out in and out and have DRAMA.  But it’s okay.  I’m coming to the realization that none of them matter.  It doesn’t matter if I have a sister that’s my best friend, because I have a husband that’s my best friend.  It doesn’t matter if one day they like me the next they are jealous of me, because honestly… they really don’t matter.  Sounds harsh right?  Trust me, with my family it’s just the way it has to be.

I’m okay with my dysfunctional family and whether they’re present or absent in my life.  I have the most STABLE (word I never knew growing up) family under my own roof.  We are creating a life for our children that is secure.  At the end of the day our little family here under this very roof is what matters.  There’s no drama, there’s no being cautious of what you say.  It’s just pure, unconditional love, and I can’t even begin to explain how happy I am that I Finally have a family.  A true, unconditional, loving family.

I need to let the hurt go.  The hurt of my father, the hurt of my grandmother, the hurt of my sister, the hurt of my brother ~ the hurt of my entire dad’s side of the family.  I NEED TO LET IT GO.  I need to realize I don’t need them, they’ve done nothing but give me conditional love, and that’s no family.

So, from here on out no more wishing, wondering, just appreciating, because I LOVE MY FAMILY ~ the Family we are creating.

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I’m gonna ramble here

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I’m here to ramble. To get how I feel out, so I don’t drive people crazy with it later ~ you’re more than welcome to stick around and hear me out 🙂


I think it’s kind of been hitting me lately that I’m not pregnant. Especially when I hear about other people expecting. It almost stabs me in the heart a bit, because I SHOULD BE THERE! I should be struggling with morning sickness, getting close to little flutters in my stomach. Dang it! I’m sad.


I feel so torn, because while I’d love to jump right back into the TTC action, I know that there’s a couple of things that need to be taken care of first.  

  • I need to get my hormones checked.  I really feel like my progesterone issues that I had with the Mirena might have had a little something to do with losing this baby.  SO I have to go in and get my hormones all checked and make sure that I’m okay in that department.
  • Next… I REALLY want to lose some weight before getting pregnant again.  I don’t want to go into this pregnancy unhealthy, so if I could drop even 20 lbs before getting pregnant I’d be THRILLED…. if I lost a bit more I wouldn’t be too sad about that.
  • I want to get finished with my Unfinished Business list.



Then I can make a baby ~ when it does happen though I think we’ll keep it to ourselves for a while ~ because if we have a repeat I dread telling people.

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Just a Motivating Monday ~ Unfinished Business

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If you’re just joining in:
-Write a blog post about ANYTHING at all that inspires you, or something you feel will inspire others. 

-Please link back to Garibay Soup 

-Please snag my Just a Motivating button on your post.

-I hope that we can all go and visit each other’s blogs and read what everyone has linked up ~ I hope that this carnival can bring more traffic for you 🙂 So, spread the comment love!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!  NEXT WEEK IS A THEMED JUST A MOTIVATING MONDAY  
~MARRIAGE~

This week I read in my motivating book I’m currently reading called The Power of Focus that we should make a list of our unfinished business. Then next to each item write how it will better our lives if we complete that item.


I decided to immediately write that list. I wrote things I’ve been procrastinating on, big things, little things, anything that’s been on my mind. So I have this list, and I have just dove into tackling it. I started with something small like cleaning off the top of the fridge, mailed off some much overdue items that needed to be mailed off. Today I tackled a couple of larger items, and I FEEL AMAZING AWESOME!


I’m challenging you this week to do this. Just make your list and put next to each item how it will positively effect your life if you complete this item…. and hang that list up where you can constantly see it. You want those items smack dab in YOUR FACE!  Then start small, and work yourself up to the big items…. get your brain feeling clear of having that nagging to do in your head.  Let’s get our unfinished business out of our life!

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