February with the Ferrante's

Hi folks! Here's what we have been up to so far this month:

The boys finally got haircuts:

That means no more Chuck Norris (Grayson) and Bruce Lee (Weston):

It snowed (but not nearly enough). I got to hang out with my handsome godson. I got to eat this at a Superbowl party. Yum!

I made this headband for my mom and am currently working on another bearded hat for a friend. Also, Grace rocked this outfit at the Goodwill.

And that's our month so far.

365: Not Working Out...

Well, it looks like I'm slacking big time on the 365 and since I already have enough on my mind, I've decided not to stress over taking a super awesome cool picture every day and instead try to share on a frequent basis some pictures that sum up the week (or month depending on how often I post) we've had...So here are some pictures from the end of January:

I've been working on my knitting and crocheting skill because I saw something like this online and had to make one:

We had a few amazing days of sun so we took advantage and went to the park:

We also got to spend some quality time with our nieces this month. I was able to watch Paisley a few days one week and we had the amazing privilege of dedicating our niece, Mateja at church one Saturday:

I placed this bin against the wall to dry after being washed and the cat thought it was a good hideout:

A frozen rosebud and some sweet pictures of Paisley and my boys:

So that was our January. Weston is on break right now from preschool and doesn't go back until the end of February. Until then we are trying to stay busy and attempting to potty train Grayson. Stay tuned. :)

365:Week 3

Since I'm in the "catching up" mood, here is Week 3 of my 365 Project!

1.15.12-Wedding Dress Shopping!!! My sister Tara is getting married in May! I'm so excited for her! We went to David's Bridal on this day (during the Ravens Game!!! I must really love her...) and she found the perfect dress! Of course I'm not going to put a picture up but here she is with tears of joy! :)

1.16.12-Happy Birthday Mike! This was Mike's 31st birthday! We didn't do anything for his birthday but we do have some fun planned after the fast is over. Instead, my picture is of butter! Homemade butter! Last week I observed Weston's preschool class and they made butter. I thought it looked like fun so we did it home so little brother could see how cool it was. The butter was actually pretty good and only took about 20 minutes to make. So neat!

1.17.12-More experiments! Since Grace missed school on Monday, we tried to recreate the science experiment her class did on that day. She had to build a structure and then place it on Jello, shake it around to simulate an earthquake, and observe how her structure held up to the natural disaster. Our Jello slab didn't turn out too well, but apparently it was tasty! (Disclaimer-I do not recommend eating Jello-It's slimy and gross.)

1.18.12-Grace taught me how to knit. I am really enjoying it for the most part. It can be a little tedious but that's probably because I'm just starting out. This is the beginning of a scarf I am making for Mike, which he WILL wear. :)

1.19.12-Weston's last day of preschool for 4 weeks. Since the high schoolers are changing semesters, his preschool takes a month off for the new class to get situated. Of course, Weston had to go out in style!

1.20.12-I had some errands to run on this morning, and Mike sent me this picture. I love my boys!

1.21.12-SNOW!!! It finally snowed this winter! I am hoping for some safer snow (this was really icy) in the near future so we can make snow angels and snowmen. The boys probably would have stayed out all day playing in the ice (snow) if we'd have let them.

365:Week 2

I know I'm a bit behind but with my computer being dropped and what not, I just haven't been feeling like dealing with it (the computer) lately. My computer is now fixed; however, it's just not the same. :/ There are apps to be re-downloaded, and software to be updated, etc...which is too time consuming when you have 2 boys running around the house like mad men.

Something I'm making time for (at 12:55 a.m.) is Week 2 of my 365:

1.8.12-I made these Daniel Fast friendly cookies on this day. I got the recipe from this site. They were ok but not quite what I was hoping for (can somebody say chocolate chip cookies!!!??)

1.9.12-The boys went through a MAJOR Thomas & Friends stage already. I was actually considering packing up some of our train tracks (since we have about 10 million pieces) but now, guess what? Grayson has decided Thomas is his favorite again. They both are loving building tracks and watching Thomas (as shown below).

1.10.12-This is what happens when you inherit a 13 year old who puts off a Science project until the night before.

1.11.12-Netflix got Never Say Never and I'm not ashamed to say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching. I love the Biebs!

1.12.12-Another favorite activity right now is the Super Why ABC Game. Weston insists that we play at least once a day. I actually like playing with him. It's great to see how much he is learning at preschool!

1.13.12-My new favorite picture of the family! Go Ravens!

1.14.12-On Saturday nights I get to teach the little ones at church. I really enjoy the laid back feeling of our Saturday night services. On Sundays I'm usually so busy, I can't really get into teaching like I would like to. I'm thankful for all my teaching opportunities!

Floor-top? & 365: Week One

Yea...I dropped my laptop on the kitchen floor. :( Mr. Mac is on his way to the repair shop at some point this week...I am going to attempt to do my 365 post from my phone so here goes nothing...

UPDATE : The post from my phone did not go well. I'm now fixing that (1.24.12)

1.1.12-Our newest kitty, Buzz, hanging out in Mike's new wok. Tsk tsk Buzz.

1.2.12-Weston got to put on the Christmas star this year and also take to take it off when we put away all the decorations on this day.

1.3.12-I hold a small group for moms on Tuesdays. I had admire these beauty's from afar on this night. We are doing the Daniel Fast until January 21st.

1.4.12- While Grayson sleeps through the night 99% of the time, he still weasels his way into our beds some nights.

1.5.12-You can check out my previous post about Weston's visit to the Cardiologist on this day.

1.6.12- I got the privilege of keeping my beautiful niece for a few hours on this night. She was a big hit!

1.7.12- The boys, at church, rocking their new DC shoes and shirts that Aunt Fawne got them for Christmas.

Super Why! at the Cardiologist

Hi friends!!!

About 3 weeks ago, I happened to notice that Weston's heartbeat was a little odd. It seemed as though he was having extra beats. Instead of the usual "thump-thump", his heart song was "thump...thump, thump". This was something new that I had never noticed (Yes, it's weird but I've made a passive habit of feeling his heart beat on occasion. It's something I've done since he was born. Weird? Maybe...but it did come in handy or else I would have never noticed the irregularity)

Of course I was worried but I thought maybe it was my imagination. After a few days, I had Mike and then a friend, feel his heart as well, and it was confirmed-something was definitely off. I made an appointment that day and we went in to see our favorite nurse, Pat. At the doctor's, they did an EKG (which Pat promised wouldn't hurt, and then accidentally clamped his nipple...OUCH! She's still our favorite though!) Look how brave my little man is...

(BTW...it was Hanukah day at Weston's preschool...hence the blue and yellow attire)

The EKG confirmed that something was definitely going on. Dr. Uggowitzer explained that it looked as though Weston's heart was throwing extra beats often, and this was known as "PAC" or Premature Atrial Contractions. Because there were no other symptoms (i.e. fainting, shortness of breath, wheezing), our doctor said there wasn't really anything they could do at the time, and that we should come back in March for a follow up to see if there was any change.

After some thought, I decided I didn't want to wait. Maybe I'm crazy but it is my three year old we're talking about and I didn't want to take any chances. So I called our doctor back and asked for a referral anyway, and then made an appointment with University of Maryland Pediatric Cardiologists.

Today was Weston's appointment. I wanted him to feel comfortable so I let him take a toy with him to the doctor's. He chose Super Why! (of course).

I know I should have been panicked and worried and out of my mind, but truth is I was at peace. I knew that whatever was to happen was under God's control and we would be able to handle it.

The nurse came in and took Weston's blood pressure:


The we got another EKG (no nipple clamping this time!)

The nurse even let him take off his own "stickers":

Then Dr. Baker-Smith came in:


We sat and talked to her about the results and she basically said the same thing that our PCP said, except that she was kind of concerned because of his age and the frequency of the extra beats. She had us wait to get an echocardiogram of his heart to make sure that there was no enlargement of the atrium or anything. Weston had a lot of fun waiting...

During the echo, the Tech asked Weston what he preferred to be called, (meaning either "Wes" or "Weston"), and he replied with "Super Why" so she called him Super Why the entire time. I don't think that she realized how much she made Weston's day. He talked up a storm during the entire process and was so patient. He thought the "goop" and the wand were pretty cool.

Praise God! The echo was fine! Everything measured normal-so no problem there. After those tests, the doctor came back in and said that, as of now, we shouldn't worry. She explained that this could be something that just goes away over time, and that we will keep an eye on it. She wanted to monitor the frequency of the extra beats so she sent Weston home with a 24 hour monitor on. The one we got sent home with stopped working so I had to take it off of him early. We are awaiting another one in the mail and once he has it on for a full 24 hours, we will send it back for the results. Once I hear something, I will update you all!

I feel better about the whole situation but I hate that I don't have a reason for the irregularity. I'm trusting God to know that this will work itself out. We go back to the cardiologist in 6 months and so I will definitely blog about our appointment once it happens, and any appointments/developments that may follow. In the meantime, please just keep this situation in your prayers! I know God has amazing plans for Weston and this is not something that is going to hinder that! :)

As for now, Weston's busy kicking butt at Super Why's ABC Game!