Painting. Um, no thanks.

A blank canvas.

Seems so inviting.

We pick the color, and grab all the supplies. 

It's my girl's playroom.

She is so excited to help.

We get started. 

Painting is FUN!

Then, I find myself alone.

"Mom!" are you done yet? 

Where did my help go? 

It's just me now. 

I realize it's all up to me.

I absolutely despise painting, but my girlie wanted her new playroom to be blue. We talked about it, and I agreed to do it. I think I'd rather walk on hot coals than paint. However, the payoff was big. She loves it, and so do I. I wish I could bring myself to hire someone. I just can't. Maybe next time. 

'KETCHUP WITH US' - PROMPT #6  IN 57 WORDS OR LESS, TELL US ABOUT SOMETHING YOU'RE NOT THANKFUL FOR.

This time of year is the time to sit back and reflect on all the things you are thankful for. However, reflecting on what I'm thankful for usually kicks into full force in September around my daughter's birthday. We went through so much as a new family; from elated when she was born to the fear of me not being around to see her grow up. In the spirit of Thanksgiving I wrote about it here, and invited people to tell me what they were thankful for. I also offered up an autographed copies of New York Times Bestselling Author Todd Parr's  The Thankful Book. I'm so thankful for each of you that took the time to share a little piece of you with me. One comment really stuck with me, and hit home. For that reason, Dominique's daughter will receive the copy of The Thankful Book. It's one thing for an adult go through and process their worst imaginable fears, but to be faced with your child going through the unimaginable is not something anyone should ever be faced with. Congratulations! 

AGE

This post is from a friend that wanted to "Ketchup with Us" and tell us what she is NOT thankful for, but she does not have a blog. So Michele from ODNT kindly offered the keys to my blog for SGP to crash into while I was away. When a woman is dressed as a Ketchup bottle, holding tampons, gripping Midol in her teeth, and telling us she's not thankful her period . . . by God you listen. So that's just what I did. However, mi blog es su blog! Without further ado, here is a guest post from GhettoGirl2005 herself SGP! 

'KETCHUP WITH US' - PROMPT #6  IN 57 WORDS OR LESS, TELL US ABOUT SOMETHING YOU'RE NOT THANKFUL FOR.

I am not thankful for herniated discs! However, for full disclosure, I must admit that my "age" played a role in the herniation. So with that being said I am not thankful for the fact I am getting old! Thank you to @KBar3 for letting me crash her blog! xx



It went down one cold December morn. A 400 pound man, heart surgery to save his life. Large limbs flailed, Susan's discs resisted with all their might. Pop,  Pop, Pop! Unbelievable pain ensued. Was it just an accident or is all part of that evil aging game?

THANKFUL

As some of you know, we were blessed with our sweet baby girl Ryan in September 2006. Later in October 2006 when Ryan was nearly five weeks old, our world was turned upside down. We had just celebrated bringing a healthy, happy baby into the world. Then, that amazing high crashed down to the lowest of low. It was literally new life to near death. However, with the grace of God and one of the best neurosurgeons around, I was able to leave the hospital within five days. ALIVE! I was so excited to be able to spend my first holiday with my tiny daughter. After all, Halloween was only a week away. I had my costume, but still needed to get Ryan's together. Hers was sweet; which cracks me up now to see what she comes up with. She went from a sweet, tiny fairy, to Tinkerbell, to an Imagination Mover/Cat, to a ladybug, to a Vampire Bat, and this year a Zombie Shark. I can only take credit for the first two. Once she realized she could choose, it was all her. I love her imagination! My first Halloween costume with her was easy. It was a giant horseshoe shaped stapled scar on my head, and it was real scary. . .

Happiest Day EVER!

Crappiest Day, but glad to be alive.

Sexiest haircut ever! Too bad Brittany freaked out and shaved her head. She beat me to the punch.

With our first holiday under our belts, it was almost time for our next . . . THANKSGIVING! This year I knew I had two things to be thankful for, and I will spend the rest of my days being thankful that I have been able to see my girlie grow for the last six years. I always look forward to, and will always be thankful for all the days I have with her, and hope I will be around for a long time. It was a very memorable holiday. I was surrounded be friends and family at my house, and can remember sitting there thinking how different that Thanksgiving could have been.

The holidays were rapid fire at this point. We moved right into Christmas season. Your child's first Christmas is always special. As the parents, we get to go crazy and make memories that only we will remember. After all, Ryan was only three months old. She had no idea what what going on around her. She was happy just being held, fed, changed, and loved. Of coarse, we were more than happy to do so. Once again, I sat back and watched my new family. Completely thankful to be there. Later that afternoon, our family and friends came over to celebrate with us. It was so surreal. My hubs, my mom, my pops, my sister, my grandparents, my cousins, my aunts and uncles, and my friends all shared a special moment with me. Each one of them let me know how thankful they were that we had Ryan, and I was still here. It was truly the best Christmas of my life. At one point, I just sat back and watched. I had a quick passing thought of how I could have so easily not been there. Then, replaced with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and thankful that I was there. I will never forget that feeling. 

Which leads me to the point of this post . . . It was Ryan's first Christmas, and the hubs wanted to get her some special gifts for her on his own. I always did all the Christmas shopping, but he wanted to get her something special from him. He came home with a load of books. She was 3 months old, and this was her first Christmas. I was impressed. He spent hours in the book store picking out the perfect books for her. Two of the books were written by Todd Parr. These books were big, bold, and colorful. However, they were so much more than that. Behind these bright colors and kid-like drawings was a message. One of my favorite messages from Todd's books is the one that lets children know it's okay to be different, and teaches compassion. As Ryan has gotten older, I can see the impact of those messages.  One example that comes to mind is how she responds to someone in a wheelchair; especially someone young. My thoughts go back to a page in his book that has a child in a wheelchair, and it is made relatable. It was a subtile message, but one that I realize had sunk in. It was indeed okay to be different, because we all are; yet we are somewhat the same. The other messages I take from his books are how to be silly and fun. It's a great reminder for parents. After all, it is okay to eat macaroni in the bathtub every once in awhile, right? 

Ryan's journey into reading began early on. Those Todd Parr books her daddy got her for Christmas are very special to all of us. In fact, she reads them to us now. Even to this day, we do not leave the library without a Todd Parr book. She loves reading along with Todd on his audio books on her tablet, and loves to play the Underwear App game on my phone. She also has a special place in her heart for Bully, and loves Pete and Tater Tot!

These are just some of the many things I am thankful for. I would love to hear what you are thankful for this year as we move into this holiday season. It is a wonderful time to reflect, and be grateful for what we have. You never know what tomorrow might bring.

I'm excited about my first give-a-way!

Here's your chance to receive an autographed copy of Todd Parr's The Thankful Book.  Please leave a comment below, and tell me what you are thankful for. I look forward to reading about what you are thankful for this year. I will pick a winner on Friday, November, 16th at noon.

LOVE,

KARI

A Ghost's Story

 I make my presences known. 

To my dismay, people shriek and run. 

I try to talk to my loved ones I left behind, but they can't hear me.

I only end up scaring them.

It's hard being stuck in limbo.

I hope to rejoin those that preceded me in death.

Until then, I'll watch over you quietly.

Ok, so maybe I took a little liberty with this prompt, but it was fun. After all, ghost were people too. 

‘KETCHUP WITH US’ – Prompt #5

In 57 words or less, tell us a ghost story … real or fiction.

Check out Mel and Michelle to play along every 1st and 15th!

Mr. Deception = Mr. Candyman

CANDYMAN

Local legend, Candyman, the one armed hooked killer. A toilet full of bees with a message. . ."Sweets to the Sweet" written on the wall. Say his name five times. He kills, nobody believes her. She summons him. Candyman kills the doctor. The towns people angered, but she slays him. There's a new Candyman, a new legend.

I'll never look at candy the same way....Now who's giving out candy?

'KETCHUP WITH US' - PROMPT #4

In 57 WORDS OR LESS, retell the plot line of your favorite horror movie. And, if you can find one, be sure to include a movie clip of your own.

October 17, 2006 - Upsidedown

This time of year always gets me. No matter how hard I try. This year was no different.

It's been nearly six years, but still seems like yesterday. The joy. The fear.

Back in September 2006, we welcomed our baby girl into the world. My hubs and I had it all planned out. We were going to wait five years into our marriage before we started our family. Right on cue, I was pregnant. We planned. We tried. It actually happened. We were so blessed.

Then, October 17, 2006 happened. It changed everything. I was sitting in the living room feeding my precious baby girl. Out of nowhere, I felt something happen. Something scary. I knew something was wrong. As I was feeding her my left hand twitched uncontrollably. Thank god I had enough time to look over at my husband and tell him to take her and call 911. Looking back, I don't know why. I just did. She was barely five weeks old. Luckily, he grabbed her. My body took over, and went into a full seizure. I had never experienced this before.

Frightened.

I remember very little. I do however remember the chaos that took place. Kind of. I remember waking up in the hospital. Confused. All of my family surrounding me. There was at least fifteen people. I drifted back out of reality.

Finally, I awoke. I was told I had brain cancer, and had about six weeks to live. Who were these people telling me this? I cried. My husband cried. My family cried. I can still hear the haunting sounds of crying that night. I had a newborn baby. This could not be right.

He was wrong though. He had no compassion. He just had an arrogant way about him, and he was wrong.

Reevaluate. Deep breath. New doctor.

My new doctor reassessed my CATScan. It was a smudge. It wasn't cancer. You could feel the air in the room begin to move again.

Hope.

Many test later. Many evaluations. My surgeon knew what to do. It was a blood clot in the right frontal lobe of my brain. I had a stroke during child birth causing these events. Two days later I was headed into surgery. They would remove the blood clot, and give me my life back.

I was scared to death. I was a first time new mom. My baby was only five weeks old. She depended on me. We were bonding. We were getting into our groove. Then it was abruptly interrupted. I felt so much guilt, but I knew what I had to do. Even the breast pump taunted me. I still had to use it, but my child couldn't consume it because if the medication I had been given. So much gained, so much lost in an instant. But, I was still here.

I went in for my brain surgery. They gave me a rocking haircut and a horseshoe scar, but I was alive.

I woke up in ICU without the use if my left hand, but I was alive. Amazing. It was only two days before I was given a death sentence. Now there was hope.

I am so thankful to have made it through, and to hold my baby girl. It was a long road to recovery, and every October I'm reminded of it. I try to block it out, but my body and mind remember it all too well. It was traumatic. I will never take for granite the time I have with my baby girl and my family. Things could have turned out so differently. I'm thankful that didn't.

Death - Trifecta Challenge

What do you want from me?

Why do I always feel you are lurking around the corner?

Waiting for me.

Trying to rob me of everything I have ever dreamt of.

My family.

My newborn baby girl.

You had your chance on October 17, 2006.

You did not win.

I fought you.

I won that day. My new family won that day.

You did not take my last breath then, but you tried.

I know there is no escape from you, Death.

However, you must wait.

I have things to do. A little girl to raise.

I know there's no escape from you.

But for now. . . you must wait.

This week's word is:

DEATH
1a : a permanent cessation of all vital functions : the end of life
  b : an instance of dying <a disease causing many deaths>
2a : the cause or occasion of loss of life <drinking was the death of him>
  b : a cause of ruin <the slander that was death to my character — Wilkie Collins>
3 capitalized : the destroyer of life represented usually as a skeleton with a scythe