In Times of Sickness...

2016 Started out pretty rough for the Shackletons

First Kinley took a pretty bad fall hitting her head on the edge of our wooden bed frame.  It looked pretty awful for quite awhile - poor girl!

 We took a little trip up to Big Bear to experience the record snow fall up there while we stayed in Dan's Aunt's cabin.  It started out fun building snowmen and enjoying the view but Dan quickly became very sick.  I ended up taking care of everyone and soon Dan's head was hurting so bad we decided to go back home.  Once there we became increasingly concerned about Dan's condition.  It was the worst pain he had every experienced.  The girls were asleep and he was debating if he should go to the ER.  He decided to drive himself which ended up being a big mistake.  He passed out in the ER and was promptly admitted after many painful tests for Viral Meningitis.  He is looking fairly perky in this picture after spending nearly a week in the hospital. 

A few weeks later just as Dan was getting back on his feet, Lena's fever shot up to 106 degrees and she couldn't breathe and was throwing up everything.  We dashed her to the CHOC ER where she was admitted for complications from asthma.  She stayed in the hospital for two days getting care from the pulmonology department.  We had the hardest time getting her to eat...ANYTHING!  We tried everything from hamburgers to M&Ms.  Finally she began to eat and drink little by little and she was released.  Since she has been on her new medicine regimen her asthma as been much better.

Getting the IV in was a pretty horrible experience!

The Child Life Specialists were great about giving Lena fun activities to do.

Lena called her stay at CHOC the "Doctor's Palace".  Despite the fun activities she would rather not go back.

When she returned home a kind neighbor who bakes brought her double chocolate princess cupcakes to continue to tempt Lena to eat.  It worked. 

Valentine's Day 2016

Valentine's Day 2016

As usual we celebrated Valentine's Day as a family with fun food and treats including cheese and chocolate!  Lena had a special Valentine's surprise from her new friend, Max, at church.  They have become best buds and so have Dan and I become good friends with Max's Mom and Dad. 

Special flowers for Mom!

Lena is excited for her cookie and upcoming playdate with Max!

Lena and her best buddy, Dad!

Kinley and her best buddy, Mom!

Our Valentine's Feast

Treats for the girls!

My adorable Valentine girly girls!

Our Little Nursery is No More

Grandma and Grandpa's guest room is now up and ready for visitors!

 We finally took down our nursery and moved the girls into the same room together.  It was bittersweet to say goodbye to the room where so many memories were made.  I rocked my babies to sleep in that room and prayed for my unborn girls in that room.  It sat empty for so long when our FETs would fail and now it will be empty once again.  We are glad to have a nice space for visitors though!  We got a set of bunk beds for the girls off of Craigslist.  Lena is on the bottom bunk for now and Kinley will stay in her crib a little longer. 

The last remnants of the nursery are the Dr. Seuss prints which were soon replaced by some of Lena's paintings.

The girls enjoying their new bunk beds!

Fall & Halloween 2015

We always have lots of fun in the fall.  This year we went to the LA County Fair with the cousins!

Delivering our BOOED gifts..shhhh!

 Halloween 2015

Attending the Chino Spectrum Trick or Treat

Making Halloween Cookies for our neighbors

Little is making a mess as usual

Time to Trick or Treat!

Kinley as "Pumpkin Patch"

Lena is Rapunzel

I did a pretty good job on her hair!

The mustashe came about because Aleia had make up whiskers and Lena wanted some too.

Lena enjoyed passing out candy

My Halloween Buddy the "Rufferee"

Spooky Lena

Daddy's Tables

The finished table

My Dad is the hardest person to buy presents for.  So for his birthday this year I was super excited because I finally made time to finish a surprise project for him that I had intended to finish a decade ago!  When my Dad was in junior high welding class he made two little side tables.  They originally had cream colored vinyl with gold metallic flecks and black and white check mini tiles- the perfect little mid-century modern pieces that stayed in my Grandma and Grandpa's house until they passed away.  I inherited these tables and held on to them for years before I finally decided to redo them as a surprise gift for my Dad.  First we removed all the old rotten materials until just his welded frame was left.  I re-painted the metal in a rust proof hammered metallic finish.  Then Dan cut plywood to fit in the frames.  I painted the wood with a sealing weather proof primer paint.  Next I broke slate tiles and layer out a pattern on the wood boards and secured the patterns with mastic.  When it was dry I applied a nice neutral colored grout to the tile.  This is where I hit a big snag in my project that almost ruined the tables.  The grout wouldn't come off the tiles!  I urgently called my neighbor who is a professional tiler and he told me I had selected grout that had epoxy in it and once set it wouldn't come off.  He tried his best to get it off the slate but it had been too long.  I was bummed.

 Since it was night I decided to quit for the day and clean up.  My finger nails were covered in cement-like grout that wouldn't wash off.  Then I remembered my Jamberry lacquer remover and to my surprise it took the grout right off.  Later that night I was lying in bed and had an idea.  If the lacquer remover took the grout off my nails maybe it could take the grout off the slate!  The next morning I used one and half bottles of lacquer remover to clean up my grout job on the tables and they looked perfect! The last step in making the tables was sealing the grout and tile.  After that they were ready to put in my parents' yard for my Dad's birthday surprise.  It turned out great; a nostalgic set of patio pieces redone in natural and timeless finishes that matched my parents' house.

Luke and Grandpa at Grandpa's birthday party!

Mother's Day 2015

This past weekend I celebrated Mother's Day with my two special girls and with my Mom.  Poor Dan had to work so we had a fun afternoon at Grandma's house.  A few days before mother's day though we took a spontaneous trip up to Big Bear to get in on a rare May snowstorm so that our little "snowflakes" could see snow fall for the first time.  We had a great time doing a puzzle, teaching Lena how to play Sorry, eating fun snacks, playing in the park, and Dan and Lena had a ton of fun playing in the snow making mini snowmen and throwing snowballs.  It was such a fun little trip and we can't wait to go back sometime. 

Mother's Day Flowers from Dan

The Girls - May 2015