Life's not always a party... I had cancer.

This post is big deal for me.  

A really HUGE deal actually because it's about something that only a few people know because that's the way I wanted it.  It's been a secret that I chose to only share with my immediate family and a very small circle of friends.  

Forever friends who...

-said just what I needed to hear

-watched my kids on a moment's notice

-put an extra car seat in their car in case I couldn't get to school to pick up Sam

-delivered my favorite candy bar, jokes, and Dr. Pepper to my doorstep

-brought over many, many delicious meals

-drove 5 hours and called saying "Wanna go to breakfast?  I'm here." {LOVE that girl!}

-sent handmade cards in the mail

and so many more amazing things that I will forever be grateful for.

All I really wanted was to be a regular pregnant mama, experiencing all the excitement and anticipation of expecting a baby.  A baby whose name had been chosen years earlier, Luke. A baby who was in my heart long before he was in my belly.

But what I was in reality was a pregnant mama with cancer.   Just 12 days before Luke was born, my dermatologist called to tell me that the mole my OB/GYN thought needed to be checked out was Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.  When I asked him if I could wait a month or so before removing the margins around the mole {that had been removed already for a biopsy} he said NO.  I learned the scary facts about Melanoma from goggling it a couple of days later.  Someone in the U.S. dies from it every single hour.  And it surely was NOT going to be me.

So, those last 12 days before Luke's arrival were filled with Dr. appts, as we scrambled to find a general surgeon who could do the surgery at the same time as Luke's scheduled c-section.  And the last 5 or so days before Luke's arrival I spent in bed, eating way too many Oreos and trying to keep from going into labor because we did indeed find a general surgeon who was able to do the surgery on the same morning as Luke's scheduled c-section.  

And right after this picture was taken...

my sweet baby boy and husband went off to the nursery while I stayed on that operating table to remove any remaining cancer, which thankfully had all been contained in the original mole.  But they don't know that until they get a good margin around it, so now I have a "shark bite" scar {as my dermatologist calls it} across my stomach.

All I had wanted to be was a regular pregnant mama, and once he was born I just wanted to go through all the regular stuff you go through right after having a baby.  I yearned to just be able to stay home and cuddle him, without thinking of what was on the calendar for the next day.  But because I had so many Dr. appts. {between the OB, general surgeon, dermatologist, and Luke's pediatrician, we had 10 appts. in 17 days, each on separate days} I was anything but a regular mom.  Every time I went to an appointment, the ladies at the front desk already knew all about me.  I could tell that they had talked about me before I got there.  I was "that poor girl" that they felt sorry for. One even told me about how they had talked all about me, and I wanted to shrink into the corner of the waiting room.

So, why am I telling you now?

Because it's almost May and May is National Melanoma Awareness Month and I want everyone to know what to look for.  I was lucky that I was pregnant with Luke.  

Lucky?

Yes, I was lucky because I was seeing a Dr. regularly who noticed the changes in that mole and referred me right away to the dermatologist.  Had I not been pregnant, I know that I wouldn't have hurried to the dermatologist like I did.

So my friends {especially you fair-skinned, sun-loving ones like I used to be} here are the ABC's... ABCDE's actually of what to look for in a mole:

A=asymmetrical, one side unlike the other half

B=borders, irregular, scalloped or undefined

C=color, varying shades from one area to another; shades of tan & brown; black; sometimes red, blue or white

D= diameter, greater than 6 mm {size of a pencil eraser}

E= evolve, is it changing in any way over time?

If you notice ANY of these ABCDE's of a mole, pretty, pretty please make an appointment with your dermatologist!  And if you say "I don't have one" I'll find one for you :)  

It seriously could save your life.  

photo by heidijackmanphotography.com

I'm SO grateful for my little lifesaver, Luke.  And I do still even love the sun, but it's more about respect for it now.  You'll still find me outside on a sunny day with my three boys... we'll be the family lathering up our SPF 5000 under an umbrella wearing hats from now on.

Whew!  

So that's my big secret and it really was a BIG deal for me to let it out.  So if you want to leave me a comment, I'd really, really love it :)

Countdown to Summer!

Oh yeah, it's ON! 

29 days to go...

Yesterday the boys were talking about summer and swimming all day every day at "the pool house" {which is the house we're moving to and no, we won't really be in the pool THAT much... I hope}.  But we're sooooo excited for summer vacation.  

Me= ready to not drive back and forth to the school multiple times every day {and get us all dressed and ready for a 3 minute drop-off}.  

The boys= they just want to swim and hang out with Shamu every day {two separate activities of course!} 

Luke= poor baby just wants to have a WHOLE uninterrupted nap in his cozy crib.

Daddy= excited to move so he's not driving 150 miles every day.  Yeah, we've got quite a chunk of change going towards gas these days.  Ugh!

So we made a paper countdown chain, just like we used to make when we were kids.  You know, not like these days because you've gotta write the standard you're teaching to on the board and where in the world does that fit in?  Whoa!!  Former teacher just came out for a minute there... back to the countdown.

It's hanging pretty on the wall right next to "Command Central."  When Sam started Kindergarten this year and Jake started preschool, it quickly became clear that we needed a "system" so I came up with this...

I cut the letters for the boys' names with vinyl on the Cricut and used Command hooks.  I loooove those things because they are pretty, re-usable, and I don't have to beg the hubs to get out the drill.  Plus, now that we're moving I can just pull them off the wall and re-hang them at the "pool house!"  And now we always know just where their backpacks and school papers are.

Oh, and if you're {trying to} keep track of when we're moving... our move date has been moved all over the place.  For the crazy planner in me, it's been a bit of madness :)  The new {and it better not change again} plan is that our boys will be finishing out the school year here!!! 

But speaking of school, do you think it would be okay if I send their snacks to school like this when they're in high school?  Because I looooove writing silly love notes on their school snacks :)

I'm linking up here!

Luke {6 months}

Luke here. 

That's right.  Now that I'm six months old today {can you believe it?!} I'm just gonna blog for my mama today and tell you all about me and the cool stuff I do.

So, first of all... I am an awesome baby.  Seriously, I hear my mama tell people that ALL THE TIME.  And not to brag or anything, but it's pretty much true.

Even though I'm sleeping when I should be eating here...

And playing when I should be napping here...

I still pretty much rock because I LOVE Babyland {that's what my big brothers call these crazy contraptions}

And my family loves me soooo much.  It's kinda crazy how many kisses I get every day.  These people just can't get enough of me!

But when it's time for bed that's when I really shine.  

Listen up babies 'cause you're gonna want to know all about this.  My favorite thing to do is SLEEP!  Yep, I'm telling you... a good TWELVE hours straight is usually my style.  And skip the rocking me to sleep stuff.  Just turn on my music, give me a little smootcheroo and go relax because I just wanna lay down, cover my gorgeous blue eyes with my hands and sleep the night away.  

Last night my mama hung out with my buddy Trever's mama though and they stayed up WAY past their bedtime laughing about silly stuff so I was extra nice this morning and slept until 8:30 AM.  Told ya, I'm rad.  I even hear Mommy tell her friends that I'm the best baby ever.  But don't tell my brothers 'cause that might hurt their feelings, and I love those guys.

There's a super short window on boys being able to get away with wearing overalls...

so I told my Mama to snap this picture quick!  She thinks I can wear overalls 'til I'm like four, but I'm telling her that it's more like two years tops.  Got that Mommy? :)  

Oh, and you think I'm joking, but I really do talk.  I say "Dada" all the time.  But it sounds more like "DADADADADADADADADADADADADA!!!"  

Mommy loves it because she tells Daddy that I'm calling for him.

{I found my tongue one day... what a super cool thing!}

 

So just to make her day on Easter I said, "Ma-Ma."  Even though I only said it once and I was looking at my Grandma {aka Nani} when I said it, she still loved it and tells everyone about that.

I'm not really into sitting up by myself yet, but I love doing the worm.  You know what I mean, right?  I like scrunching up my little cutie bootie and moving all around the room.  My brothers think that's soooo funny when I do that.

Thanks for stopping by my Mommy's blog and letting me chat about myself.  If you leave Mommy a comment, make sure you tell her how cute I am, k?  She eats that stuff up like I eat up my rice cereal.

Love ya,

Luke

Lukers

Lukey Boo

Yukus {that's what Jake says}

Bubbas {can you give 'em a hint that I'm not crazy about that one?  Thanks!}

What's in Mommy's tummy?

  Let me tell you, I love babies, but it's NOT one of those.   

I love this picture, not because it is the only picture I got from that horrid JCPenney photo shoot when Jake was tiny and it was my free picture for doing the photo shoot, but because of what my boys think when they look at it. 

{Ignore the flash... I couldn't remember how to turn it off.}

Sam: Jake, see that picture of you?  It's the ONLY picture of you on this wall.  The rest of them are all of me.  {Considering that it's a whole photo collage on the wall and we now have three boys, I have gotten really behind on updating pics around the house... ugh!}

Jake:  Yeah, it's me and I'm a baby and I'm naked!

Sam: Yeah, that's when you were a baby inside Mommy's tummy and you were watching TV in there.  That's why you're naked."

So that's the reason... I've been trying {for 3 days} to get my flat tummy back and it's just not happening.  But that's okay, because clearly it shouldn't be flat because there is a television in there!

Oh, and speaking of that adorable little baby watching TV in my tummy, I'm loving that I'm finding these papers all over the house...  he's learning to write his name!

He's also learning to draw stick figure people, but this one drawn on the carpet isn't really my favorite. 

 Oh Jakers, we love you!! 

Sugar Cookie Truffles

A fun twist on Cake Pops and Oreo truffles... I made some Sugar Cookie Truffles this past weekend for a fun little birthday party {pictures coming soon!}  

 They were easy to make and so, so good.   All you need to make them is:

-a package of store-bought sugar cookie dough {I used Pillsbury}

-1/3 package of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened

-Wilton candy melts in whatever color{s} you like

Slice your dough into cookies and bake according to package directions {homemade sugar cookies would work great for this too, I'm sure but since I knew I was just going to crumble them up I didn't want to waste my time making my favorite sugar cookies!}

Once baked, crumble into fine crumbs.  I started out thinking I could get them into fine crumbs in a bowl with a potato masher...

but switched to the food processor so that it wouldn't take forever.

Once you have fine cookie crumbs, add in the softened cream cheese.  I cut it up into about 4 pieces so it would blend quickly.  {I actually used 1/2 a block of cream cheese, but realized it was too much so I would definitely cut back to 1/3 block next time... and there WILL be a next time. These were delicious!}

Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet.  Freeze the balls for about 15 minutes, until firm.  Take out of the freezer and dip each ball in melted {and slightly cooled} candy melts.  Tap off excess and place balls on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet.  If you're going to pretty up your truffles with sprinkles or decorate with another color of candy melts, do it now.  Refrigerate until candy is firm, about 15 minutes or so.  Keep refrigerated until serving.

Enjoy!

I'm linking up here!

 Frugal Fridays @ Shabby Nest 

1st Photo card made in PhotoShop!

I'm sooooo excited right now because after buying Photoshop Elements about 3 years ago and wanting to throw it out the window about 2,398,324 times since then, tonight I FINALLY created something with Photoshop!!!  Seriously, I have sat down and tried on my own countless times and about ripped my hair out, but tonight I gathered up some patience, opened up my new favorite blog, Twiddler House, and followed the step-by-step tutorial for beginners in Photoshop and waaa-laaa!!!

It's my 1st attempt and I see a few things I could improve for next time, and my photo card surely isn't winning any photo card awards {yet!} but the fact that I, with the attention spam of a gnat, could actually follow these directions without losing interest AND end up with a successful project {that I just sent off to the printers to pick up in the morning} is about the most exciting thing EVER!   

And waaaaay more exciting than the fact that the little cutie in the picture just came downstairs crying and has a fever :(  Ugh!

Looking for an easy to follow Photoshop tutorial?  Check out Jen's super thorough, but won't bore you and it's easy to understand tutorial on Twiddler House!  Thank you Jen!  

Oh, and if you're one of Jake's wonderful Trike-A-Thon sponsors, sorry for showing you the card you'll soon be getting in the mail... I was just TOO excited not to share :)

School papers

I LOVE my boys' school, but I had to laugh when this is what they brought home this past week...

If Jake thinks this is what he's going to grow up to be if he keeps eating chicken nuggets, I think I'd better stop feeding them to him.  {Actually, we're trying to eat healthier and I know that I shouldn't feed him them so often, but what do people feed their kids for lunch if nuggets are off the menu?}

And Sam brought home this from the cutest little girl in his class.  Would it be inappropriate for me to call her mom and tell her to wait about 20... no, 25 years and then come back??? :)

Happy Easter!

 {sign from the girls at eighteen25}

Happy Easter from The Gallamore Family!  

Even though the boys loved their little Egg hunt this morning, 

they love this song and all that it means much more...

"It's not about the candy, the candy, the candy, it's about Jesus and the cross."

My most favorite dessert: Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

If you know even just a tiny bit about me, you know I've got a HUGE sweet tooth!  And cheesecake... well, you either love 'em or you don't.  And I am a lover.  I have two really good recipes and I'll share the other one sometime soon too because it is awesome, but This Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake by Martha Stewart is my favorite and it makes a gorgeous, and delicious Easter dessert.

Here's the original magazine I found it in.  I like to think I'm pretty good at getting rid of stuff, but this beauty is from 2006 and it's not going anywhere.  I seriously love it THAT much that I'm keeping the original magazine... I know, that's weird.  It's one of the recipes in the "Readers' Favorite Sweets" section.

I don't know why the picture is a little blurry, 
but doesn't it just look amazing? 

If you make this, your friends and family will ooooh and aaaah over it and wonder how in the world you made it.  Every time I've made it someone always says that it looks like art... well, they don't have to know how easy it is to make those gorgeous swirls. We'll just keep that part between us, k? :)  

Oh, and I've made the cake version and the cupcake version and they're both awesome.  Go for the cupcakes if you like a little more of that buttery crunchy crust... go for the cake if you want more of that raspberry cream cheese heaven.  Either way, you made the right choice!

Here's the recipe via Martha Stewart  {and if you need some tips, Martha shares some tips on how to get a perfect, non-cracking cheesecake here}.

Ingredients

Serves 8 to 10

• 1 cup finely ground graham crackers
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 6 ounces raspberries {is that a 1 1/2 cups?  that's how much I use}
• 32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature {that's 4 blocks, right?  That's always WAY too much, but I've never tried with 3... just make some of the cupcakes with the extra!}
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• Boiling water, for roasting pan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap exterior of a 9-inch spring-form pan (including base) in a double layer of foil; set aside.
2. Stir together cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake until set, about 10 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
3. Process raspberries in a food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pass puree through a fine sieve into a small bowl; discard solids. Whisk in 2 tablespoons sugar, and set aside.
4. Put cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer; mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar in a slow, steady stream. Add salt and vanilla; mix until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing each until just combined (do not overmix). Pour cream cheese filling over crust. 
5. {Here's the FUN part!} Drop raspberry sauce by the teaspoon on top. With a wooden skewer or toothpick, swirl sauce into filling.
6. Set cake pan inside a large, shallow roasting pan. Transfer to oven. Carefully ladle boiling water into roasting pan to reach halfway up sides of cake pan. Bake until cake is set but still slightly wobbly in center, 60 to 65 minutes.
7. Transfer cake pan to rack; let cake cool completely. Refrigerate, uncovered, 6 hours or overnight. Before un-molding, run a knife around edge of cake. 

Let me know if you make it and if you love it as much as I do!

We have a winner! {Thirty One Gifts $20 gift card}

Thank you so, so much to everyone who entered my very 1st giveaway!  It's been fun checking in and seeing new comments, new followers {welcome to Gallamore West... hope you like it here!}, new likes on Facebook, and reading about your favorite Thirty One products!  

The winner of the Thirty One Gifts $20 giftcard {chosen using random.org} is comment #3, Jen Bradshaw!  Jen said:

And you KNOW I like Gallamore West! 

You were my first "like!" ;) 

Well, thank you Jen.  I like you {and your new blog} too! And thank you soooo much to Breanne Hamilton for sponsoring my 1st giveaway!  

I love Thirty One Gifts and sincerely appreciate it!

Jen Bradshaw, please email me at lauriegallamore@yahoo.com within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen. 

Cupcake Love

When I was waiting at a stoplight to turn into the parking lot to run an errand today, I was cracking up laughing because there were two signs on the corner:  one for the weight loss place in the shopping center, and the other sign was advertising freshly baked cupcakes for my destination, The Cake Cottage.  The Cake Cottage {in Murrieta, California} is FULL of cake making supplies, cookie cutters galore, chocolate candy molds cover every available inch of the space... plus a huge assortment of cupcake liners {that's what I went there for}, Americolor food coloring gels in every color of the rainbow AND they sell freshly baked cupcakes.  The cupcakes are delicious and inexpensive {$3.50 to $5.00 each for a HUGE delicious cupcake}.  Jake's adorable little eyes got all big as I bought one and I told him that we would share the cupcake when we got home.  

Then we ran more errands {including a dressing room experience at Old Navy that made yesterday's Target shopping seem like baby stuff... we're talking "Mommy I see your BOTTOM!" and other Jake awesomeness}.  We had a busy, full afternoon of fun and by the time we got home it was practically bedtime.  

Soon the whole house was quiet and I remembered this:

And then five minutes later it looked like this...

I better kick this crazy sugar habit ASAP or I'll be headed to that parking lot again real soon... for the weight loss center!

Target: My Happy Place

Today while Sam was at school, I brought my other two boys to my happy place.  

Is this your happy place too?

 I saw a couple of cute dresses that I tried on.  And while in the dressing room, my soon-to-be 4 year old treated the other shoppers to the usual dressing room conversation...

Jake: Mommy, are you taking off your clothes?!

Me: Yes Jake, so I can try on these dresses and see if I like them.

Jake:  Mommy, this says 2 {holding the little plastic number thing}.  Can I hang it here?  How about here?  How about here? {as he reaches towards the lock on the door} 

 

So I scream, in my softest yet firm "I mean it" voice:  

Do NOT open that door, sweeeeeetie!

Then I get the dress on.  It was white and had a little lace on it.  And I look like I'm trying to be a 15 year old.  A 15 year old marshmallow actually.

And then Jake says: Oh Mommy, you look beautiful!

And then I rip off the dress and wonder why I ever thought to try on that thing in the first place as Jake giggles and says:

Haaa!  Look at your undies, Mommy!

Oh yeah, good times at Target :)

What things do your cute little kiddos do that embarrass you while in public?  You know, like when they ask you RIGHT in front of the manly looking cashier woman "Is that lady a lady or a man, Mommy?"  

That kind of fun stuff.

p.s.  Not sure why my fonts/centering is all off in this post... and don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a $20 gift card to Breanne's Thirty One Gifts!  Winner will be chosen on Thursday!

Luke's Nursery Mobile

I love sitting with Luke and looking up to see his Nursery Mobile every night.  I found the idea on How Does She and wrote about wanting to make it last year.  And I DID make it last year, and every time I look up at it I remember that I forgot to post my finished project... well, here it is!

Luke's bedding is a sailboat theme from Pottery Barn Kids.  The mobile that {kind of} matched it was $65 and I didn't really like it.  Our other two boys didn't get much use out of their mobiles, so I definitely didn't want to spend that much on something that I knew wasn't worth the money.  So I gathered up supplies I already had and made this one for next to nothing!

Using scrapbook papers that matched his bedding, I cut the shapes using my Cricut {the sailboats are on the Life's a Beach cartridge and the stars & circles are from Platin School}.  I spray painted dowels silver and did a combo of hot glue & wrapped twine to secure the dowels together.  And then I just did hot glued the shapes to the twine and embellished the sailboats with buttons that I already had.   

The only things I bought for the project were the twine {I bought a sample pack of 6 colors from The Twinery... I use the twine from that sample pack ALL the time and still have a bunch left!} and the hook to hang the mobile from.  

This was such a fun, easy project and I love Luke's mobile way more than the Pottery Barn Kids one I considered getting!

I'm linking up here!

Frugal Fridays @Shabby Nest 

Homemade Crunchy PB & Chocolate Candy Bars!

Last night I realized that it was Book Club night in just two hours.  Everyone brings something to eat and I had forgotten.  There was nooooo way I was loading up my boys to run to the store for any ingredients to make something, so I opened my cupboard and came up with this...

Yep, those are generic graham crackers.  Don't judge.  And those Hershey bars... I accidentally left them by a sunny window and completely melted 36 of them.  What, you don't have 36 Hershey bars lying around your house?  Oh, that's just sad.  Just joking- my friend Jen bought them for a Teacher Appreciation treat we were working on together so I had to go buy 36 more.  So then I had to figure out what to do with these.  Jen made some adorable "S'mores on sticks" with hers.

And I made homemade crunchy PB & Chocolate Candy Bars with mine.  Super quick and easy... here's what I did.

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.  Carefully divide the graham crackers into rectangles {4 from each cracker}.  If they're breaking, use a knife to carefully cut them.  Spread a nice thick layer of peanut butter on one of the crackers and top it with another, making a little pb & graham cracker sandwich.  Then melt your Hershey bars {you could use milk chocolate chips too} 30 seconds at a time, stopping to stir.  Repeat for no longer than 30 seconds at a time until fully melted.  Dip your little pb & graham cracker sandwiches in the chocolate, gently shaking to remove excess chocolate.  I kind of slid each one on the edge of the bowl as I was taking it out because the chocolate was really thick.  Place your candy bars on the cookie sheet and immediately sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.  Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until chocolate is set.  Use a knife to pretty up the edges of your candy bars if needed.  

Cute, easy, delicious AND I didn't have to run to the store for any ingredients!   

I'll definitely be making these again.

Be my pen pal?

I love my boys' school.  Sam has the most precious Kindergarten teacher- the kind that we dream our kids will have.  She is kind, dedicated, listens to his sweet little stories, teaches him so well, inspires him, and makes him feel like a million bucks every single day.  And this morning I got an email from her saying that the class would love to be pen pals with Sam after he moves.  

And my heart melted... and I immediately went and found this.

I was a lucky kid who moved just once growing up.  It was during Christmas vacation when I was in 1st grade.  And I am praying every day that Sam handles it MUCH better than I did.  

Because I thought I was going to die. 

I cried at school every day for weeks and weeks.  They let me play on the "big kid playground" because my big sister was on that one, and if I stayed on the "little kid playground" I would just bawl my little eyes out.  Seriously, it was not pretty. AT ALL.

So I wrote my class a letter and was thrilled beyond words when I got this in the mail shortly after... a manila envelope full of letters from every single kid in my class, plus both of my teachers {Mrs. Johnson in the morning, Mrs. Collins in the afternoon}.

I can't even count the number of times I've pulled out that fraying manila envelope and read the letters.

Remember how important it was to be in the best reading group?  Skylights was the cream of the crop.  Looks like this guy was a little competitive... brat.  Yeah well, when I moved I was in Across the Miles.  Take that Jason H! :)

And this girl?  Read that last line "You were such a nice and pretty girl, but we got a new girl".  Clearly Little Miss Mollie moved on quickly.

Oh, but this one...

 Oh yeah, this letter was on BOTH sides...

First grade girl gets a letter like THIS from a 2nd grade by {it was a combo class}... I was on Cloud Nine for weeks. 

I haven't moved THAT many times in my almost 34 years, but every time I do, I run across these letters.  I used to wonder if I was silly for keeping these.  But I didn't care. There is no way I'd part with them.  And this morning when I pulled them out, they were extra special because I sat down with my soon- to-be-moving 6 year old and showed him my special letters from my big move when I was 6 years old.   

And it was precious.