Looking from the Sides

A Farewell Season - Update

2012-01-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

I have picked up the blogging pen again. (didn't last long did it?)

I am being a little more private about my new blog.. Just a different place, different structure, different approach. My goal is to just WRITE, but I'm also not trying to hide anything.

If you are interested in reading my new blog, leave me a post, drop me an e-mail or contact me on Facebook or Twitter.

Love to you all.
Carrie

A Farewell Season

2011-10-11T23:22:00.000-07:00

For the last three and a half years I have written this blog (I originally said 'faithfully' written this blog, but hey, even *I* know that's a stretch). I have shared the good seasons and the bad- I have shared my life, my thoughts and my feelings. I've shared photos of my children, of my home, of my vacations (and don't forget the photo of my laundry room on one of it's worst days...).

I have come here during my darkest of times to ask you to pray for my husband and to help me make sense of all that was happening.

I have come here in my most challenging times to share my parenting struggles and to ask for your ideas, your support, and just the general acknowledgement that no, it ISN'T JUST ME OR MY KIDS.

I have come here in my loneliest of times to share my sorrow. To share my pain. To ask publicly for forgiveness.

I have come here in my lost times to openly talk about my eyes, about my fears, about the uncertainty about what the future may hold.

And I have come here in times of great joy. In times of happiness so profound that to capture it in words was almost impossible...

I have come here at times as a PROUD momma- to share my kiddos' accomplishments and to brag to all of you how amazing my kids are and just how much they fill my world.

I have come here at times as a writer- as someone who wanted to grow her craft, to try her hand at a different kind of expression- to convince myself that there was more to me than wife, mother, employee.

I have come here in the most joyous of times to celebrate my marriage, my family... my life.

And you were here. I have never had a ton of readers- I never set out to be a Nie Nie or a MckMama (for those of you who actually read momma bloggers, you know who these ladies are) and I definitely never became a momma blogger in the true sense of the word, but at the same time there are a number of you who have been faithful readers over the years... who have stopped in here to catch up on the news of the Furedy family, to catch a few photos of my kids, to have a good laugh or a good cry. For that I can only say thank you, I can only hope that you got some enjoyment from it, and that you in some way understand me better as a result of it.

I have often blogged about seasons- it is a reoccurring theme over time and over the years.

After much thought and prayer, I have made the decision that the time and season for this blog has come to an end. I am thankful for all that it has taught me, for all that it has brought to my life, for all the lessons I have learned. I leave blogging as a better person than I began, and to me that is the truest test of whether or not something we have done in life was worthwhile.

I will leave the blog as is for now, as I want to retain the rights to the blog title "Looking From the Sides"- as that is who I am and who I will always be... maybe someday, in some future season, I will return to the blogging world. But for now.... the season is over.

To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.

-Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, King James Version

Thank you my friends and may God walk with you and bless each and every one of you.
Night all-
C

PS Comments will be open on the blog for the next few weeks and then the comment option will be closed down. I will still see many of you on Twitter and Facebook and I look forward to keeping up with you there. As for my friends in the blogging world, I will keep reading and keep commenting as long as your blogging season continues.

A Little Like Sushi

2011-08-21T00:05:00.000-07:00

Life has been a series of ups and downs lately. More downs than ups for the last few weeks I would say, and all resulting in a great deal of personal reflection, acceptance, and lots and lots of prayer.

I think I've learned a LOT about myself in the last month or so- about my resiliency, my stamina, my strengths, my weaknesses, and my flaws. Above all else, I have been reminded in many many ways that I am simply human. Not super-mom. Not perfect. Not innocent. Not impeccable.

And, at the same time, I have been reminded that I am human. I am loved. I am cherished. I am imperfect. I am well-intentioned. I am prideful. I am overbearing. I am honest. I am learning (daily, if not every moment). I am loving. I am me.

I appreciate more than anything that I have been loved and supported through this entire process. By kids who don't quite know or understand adult issues, but know that Momma need some extra loves and smiles right now. By parents who are listening, and listening, and listening as I struggle through my uncertainty and my growing. By a spouse who has held me tight, who has reminded me who I am, and who has pushed me to be more than who I was before.

And all of this, all that has gone on, has left me a little raw (you know, kinda like sushi?).

Raw- a little tender to the touch...a little sensitive and a little over aware of all that is happening around me. I'm seeing gremlins around every corner, in every conversation, in every e-mail. And I've gotta get away from that. I've gotta keep healing those wounds, grow some new skin, and take on the world again.

I've gotta get back to me, the person who loves her body enough to not fuel it on gummy bears and diet coke, who knows she really does need 8 hours of sleep everyday to do her best at her life, who calls the doctor to deal with the backache that just keeps growing, who prioritizes her life better. So watch out world, cause I'm on my way back. (but be kind, 'cause I'm kinda like sushi still, and I don't think it would take too much to send me back to where I've been).

"To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8

I'm gonna get started right now. I'm closing my bag of gummy bears. Closing up my e-mail in-box. Heading to bed. If I go to sleep right now, I won't get 8 hours, but I'll be close.
Love you all.
C

Summer- Fabulous with a Side of Suck

2011-08-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

So, summer has come and gone.... and there are so many awesome things that we did that I NEVER posted about (despite my best intentions and despite my best efforts). Sometimes I wonder why I don't post more often, and I think one of the reasons is that I don't want my blog to just be about- "Check it out! We did this! We went there! Aren't my kids amazing?!? Aren't we having fun? Isn't life cool?"

Now, I will admit that I've done my share of posts on this here little blog that summed up to just about that (especially the amazing kid thing... I know, I know, but I think they are really cute!), but at the same time, I pride myself on writing about what is real, what is true... and not just spinning the happy stuff. 'Cause life isn't all pretty and it isn't all happy and sometimes life is really a struggle (and sometimes, just sometimes it is downright stinky).

On the other hand, sometimes I feel like I share too much- and I'm sure there are folks out there reading saying, "Yep Carrie, you are the major source of TMI in my life!" (and by the way, if that's you... you can stop reading at any time.... any time!)

So, in an effort to catch you all up... It's the good, the bad and the ugly all rolled into one post with a few pictures thrown in to help capture the events....

Our summer was an amazing collection of fabulousness combined with just the right amount of suck (I have to stop here and apologize to my mother, who happens to hate it when we say that something sucks. But, I think even my mom will have to agree that there was a strong suckiness factor that came into play this summer and will forgive me for the use of the word.)

We'll start with fabulous. We accomplished almost everything that was on our Summer Fun '11 list (if you missed that, read here.)

Hawaii was a vacation of a lifetime... I will never forget some of the moments from that trip.

The Oasis was fun as always.

Hanging out time with my kids was great- they are growing and changing so much and I just enjoy being with them. Julia found a sense of calm this summer. I don't know if it was snorkeling with the sea turtles or what, but she seems quieter in her soul. I am hoping and praying that this peace lasts as we enter the chaos of the school year.

Colin, is just Colin. Super chill. Checking out life. If anything, he got more verbal this summer... seriously... if he could tell a story in less than 10 minutes it would be a miracle. But, I know that the silent moments are coming.... so I'm enjoying all the words he has for me now.

Mr. Furedy and I got lots of time to reconnect this summer- and that was amazing as always.

Nana and Papa were a huge part of our summer and again... memories have been made that will be with us always and forever.

On the other side of the equation (in case you missed it, this is where we transition to the suck factor), we have spent the summer watching Grandma Miriam's (GG to the kids) health decline drastically. In addition, this means that Joe's mom Paulette has turned most of her life over to caring for her mother. It's hard to watch Miriam- the lady that we know as being so intelligent, so savvy, so kind- deteriorate as the Alzheimers eats away at her brain. And... hard to watch Paulette having to take on the parenting role for her mother. When you care so much about two people.... just painful to watch the process unfold.

(I love this photo of her and Fern because Miriam, in pink, is laughing...)

And, as many of you know (via my frequent Facebook posts) my dear friend Karen is currently battling breast cancer. I had no idea before this all began just what a major role Karen has played in my life, and just how hard it is to watch someone you love so much go through something so difficult. She is amazing. Positive, upbeat and fighting with all her might.... and I am embarrassed because some days I just want to curl up in a ball and cry about the unfairness of it all.

There's more on the suck side that I can't share here, but I'll give the general categories of family discord and work issues that have weighed heavily on my mind and heart. Seemed like I couldn't go anywhere or do much without these two issues rising up in my heart and my head and creating concern and a feeling of uneasiness. And a couple of people- they know who they are (and I know that they are reading this) hurt me badly either through their actions or their inaction or both. And we'll leave that right there for the time being....

I've prayed more this summer than I have in a very long time, and I've turned a lot of this over to God (or at least I've tried, but that whole surrender thing is a LOT harder that I ever dreamed it would be).

And now, this season of life has come to an end- and we begin a new season. I guess that's how life works, you go through seasons (that are just fabulous with a side of suck) and then that season is over.... only to be replaced by the next season. Who knows what fall will bring? I know in my heart some of the things that I am wishing for... and I've whispered those things in God's ear hoping, just hoping that he will hear my hopes and prayers- for my family, for my friends, for myself.

So... as we head off into this next season, marked as always by the start of school, let's pray and hope for as much fabulousness as we can all stand. Here's my munchies on the very first day of this new season...

Love to you all-
C

If Someone Had Told Me....

2011-07-23T11:10:00.000-07:00

(This post is really one day later than I wanted it to be.... but I had a few 'technical' difficulties. Warning... super sappy and picture heavy post to follow....)

Dear Mr. Furedy,
23 years ago- We spent a summer talking, holding hands (which at the time was quite shocking behavior for both of us) and sweating to death on my parent's front porch.

22 years ago- After a long year of ignoring each other, at at the urging (of more than a few) friends (who apparently saw something that neither you or I could see), we decided to give it another try. This time with real dates and MUCH more than holding hands.

(Yes, this is a picture, of Joe and I in Mr. Steiner's AP Physics class. That's Sherwood's arm to the right of us. And no, I don't understand why a teacher let us act like this in class, but from what folks say, this is pretty much what Joe and I were like all through high school.)

20 years ago- Our time in high school came to a close- Prom (remember the horse drawn carriage ride?), Graduation, tons of memories and fun- and you are part of every single one of them. It was a fun time, and a scary time as you headed off to Tucson for a new adventure (that I worried about because it didn't include me.) Little did I know how much you would be home, and how quickly you would transfer back to ASU.

(Ah, the awesome blue dress, the 3 hours at the beauty salon to achieve that hair do, the white carnations dyed to match... such memories!)

19 years ago- The accident happened. Overnight, I became a grown-up. And the only person who was here with me to hold my hand and tell me that it would be okay was you.

17 years ago- You surprised me (and our friends AND families) with a proposal of marriage. I'll never forget that evening and the ring box sliding across the table to me- when you told me that you couldn't imagine your life with out me in it.

16 years ago- We made it official and became husband and wife. And I didn't promise to 'obey'. Despite the fact that you didn't want or need the big ceremony in the church with all the people, you did that for me. Because of me.

15 years ago- Who knew a first year of marriage would involve us seeing each other LESS than we had ever seen each other before? But we made it through- my first year of teaching and your last year of college. We thought we had it made when that year was over... little did we know the job search that was ahead for you.....

13 years ago- Our first home. How glad we were to leave behind that apartment, the drug dealing neighbors (He stole my pot!) and that carpet that never really ever smelled right. It was a sign... we were becoming adults. Little did we know how much of my family would live with us in that little house!

13 years ago- We became parents. To a 6 lb. bundle of yellow-white fur. Nobody told us how hard puppy raising would be! And although she was never as good of a dog as Pogue was (our dog role model) Ellie was a good girl... and a part of so many of my memories of that time in our lives.

(This is the night I graduated with my Master's Degree... you have always supported my continued search for more education. I know that paying for this degree was a huge challenge, but I appreciate the support you gave me through the entire process.)

11 years ago- The stick had two lines. Life was about to change, and change for good.

10 years ago- Lots of bedrest and one missed Thanksgiving dinner later, Miss Julia Corrinne arrived (too many consonants!)- she was yellow and skinny and wrinkled and a little mad at the world, and we loved her just the same. You helped me do the two things that I wanted most... to have a natural delivery and to exclusively nurse (and I don't think we had any idea how easy the first one would be and how hard the second one would be...) You were such a trooper during those first few really hard months... you became a protector, a daddy, and we became a real family.

(This is one of my favorite pictures from Julia's christening. See how tired we look? We were REALLY that tired. When you don't sleep for 4 months straight... this is what you look like!)

9 years ago- Not planned (I know, I know, I don't know how to count) but the time had come and Miss Julia was going to be a 'big' sister. At the same time, I was going to school for my principal's certificate and you were studying for your PE. I remember working, caring for Julia, puking my guts out and you and I studying. That is all.

8 years ago- More bedrest, hospital time and being really scared- but in the end it all worked out just the way it should... and Mr. Colin James (not enough consonants!) entered our lives. His easy going nature was a good and welcome addition to our little family.... that was now complete.

(This photo was taken at Paige's baby shower.... we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first cousin to play with... Asher!)

7 years ago- My principalship adventure. I will say no more. It was the rockiest road that we ever walked together... and I wasn't sure by the end if we would still be walking side by side. But we made it through....

6 years ago- A new, beautiful home for our family to grow in.... that needed just a bit of love. And oh yea, a whole new kitchen please!

5 years ago- We sent the girlie off to Kindergarten. I'll never forget both of us walking to our cars after her class went in, holding hands and wiping the tears away.

4 years ago- I started a journey to a new me. A healthier, skinnier, stronger me. And you've supported me through every step of that journey. Which I know is not always easy, but you are always there, encouraging me to become what I want to be...

2 years ago- A swollen arm following a canyoneering trip that lead to one of the scariest times in our lives. I will never forget that first night, when you were in surgery and I was waiting for you all alone and I thought about what my life would be like without you. It was one of my darkest moments. I prayed so hard for God to leave you on earth with me because I couldn't imagine walking through this life without you by my side.

(What I love about this photo is that it shows what you looked at everyday that you were in the hospital... you looked at photos of your KIDS. Because that was your motivation to get better...)

1 year ago- An escape to Vegas to celebrate LIFE, health, and our marriage... and yes, somehow you convinced me to jump out of an airplane?

Today- Today, we celebrate 16 years of marriage and 22 (or 23 depending on how you count) years of a relationship. Our years together have been filled with so many joys, and a few sorrows. We have walked this road of life together, hand in hand. I've grown up with you by myside. We have changed so much over the years, experienced so many things, and loved each other through every moment.

If someone had told me, 23 years ago, that I would still be walking with you by my side every day, I would have told them they were crazy.

If someone had told me 16 years ago, that I would love you MORE now than I did then, I would have said it wasn't possible. But I do. Love you more. Everyday.

If someone had told me, 6 years ago, that we could mend what we had broken and that we would emerge stronger and better than we were before, I would have told them it wasn't possible.

If someone had told me , 2 years ago, that I would have you with me today, as healthy and as active as you were before the blood clot, I would have told them that it was a dream come true.

If someone had told me...
that our lives would turn out this way, that our story would grow and change like this, I would have told them it wasn't possible because stories like this only happen in books or in the movies.

Happy anniversary Mr. Furedy!
Your Carrie

The Summer of Our Lives (Totally!)

2011-06-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

If you follow me on Twitter OR on Facebook (or both, I know, I have a problem.. probably need an intervention, but who has time for that?) you know that I'm on a modified work schedule and I've squeezed in a few (just a few, but my consecutive two weeks off are coming... SOON) vacation days to stay home and enjoy my kiddos. I actually found myself refusing to let my dear daughter have a playdate this week on one of the days that I had with them because it was the first day all summer that I was going to have Colin and Julia *all* to myself. To just kick back, be their mom and ENJOY (now, after a few more of these days, I am wondering just WHAT I was thinking, but anyway...). Please don't be concerned. Mr. Furedy is still around (he loves us a lot...) but he's still working his normal schedule, so during the day it's just me and the kiddos.

We are doing our best to cross items off of our Summer List and we are making EXCELLENT progress (we are also making good progress on the list that I did NOT share with the world,the list that isn't written in pretty colors on a posterboard but rather scrawled on a ratty piece of notebook paper, the- decrapify the Furedy household list- not nearly as much fun for the kids or for myself, but at the same time very satisfying).

Here's some photo evidence of our recent summer fun for your viewing pleasure...

Of course, the first picture I want to share is NOT of my kiddos, but of some summer fun that I had with my bestie Karen when she went to see (the most awesome hairstylist in the world.. I can provide his contact info folks!) my dear friend Drew to get her locks cut. We had a GREAT time that night.... (and yes, for those of you wondering, she is practically kneeling in this photo so our heads can be close together- that's what happens when your friend is a foot taller than you are!)

Here's Mr. Furedy (see, I told you he's still around) and the kiddos on Father's Day at Olive Garden. Father's Day was rock awesome with an amazing breakfast with our amazing Papa (thanks to the amazing Nana), followed by some great family time (can you say pasta AND game night- can't believe my kiddos are old enough to play Dominion with us!)

The kids and I spent one very memorable and very awesome afternoon with their GreatGrandma Miriam (aka GG), their Great Aunt Kate (aka GAK), and their Grandma Paulette (no aka here, just Gramma). We hung out, ate Subway, and played games. I don't know how many more uninterrupted and relaxed afternoons we are going to have with our dear GG, so this was a wonderful way to spend a summer day.

Uncle Andrew and Aunt Stacy have a new house. And their new house has a basketball hoop. As soon as Colin saw that, he decided that he really *needed* to play basketball with Uncle Andrew (this is really shocking coming from my non-team sport playing son, but hey, maybe he's branching out). Their basketball 'smackdown' turned into a family barbeque. Only thing that would have made it better? Yeah, maybe that it wasn't like 115 degrees outside. Here's the competition....

Julia and Daddy even got in on the act (I think this would be considered *cheating*, but maybe I don't understand the rules of basketball either.. oh, and yet more photo evidence of Mr. Furedy!)

We even took a walk down to look at the lake.... here's the 'better' side of our family.... (he, he... I'm taking the photo of course, I would never share that 'end' of myself, but where is Colin you ask? Up the hill about 50 feet waiting for all us to hurry up and get done so more basketball could be played...)

This post is now SO picture heavy that I'm amazed Blogger is still allowing me to type... so I think I will close. We are (totally) having the summer of our lives (I don't know what words to use to fully describe the joy in my heart right now). There are so many things that we've done that aren't captured here... summer movies, outside dinners, many trips to the library, long bike rides (again, why do we decide that is fun when it is so dang hot?) and that doesn't even touch all the cool stuff that Julia and Colin have done with Nana and Papa while Joe and I are at work.

Hope your summer is going well... and that you are having a chance to sit back and enjoy your life as it is in this moment, because my friends *that* is what it is all about....

Have an awesome day. (and yes, you may be wondering WHY I am posting in the morning, when I never post in the morning and always at night? It may, just may, have something to do with exercise avoidance. But, I am going. Right now. Promise.)
C

Summer 2011

2011-06-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

I got inspired (yes, I got inspired after my last *uninspired* post) by reading this blog, and decided that we needed a 'Summer 2011' list at the Furedy household. The kiddos (with some strong suggestions from mommy) spent a few evenings brainstorming things that they would like to do this summer. I added a few things, and created our Summer List (I'll just say that I know there are things they added to the list without checking with the person who would do those things with them... so if you are reading this and you see you've been recruited to our summer list... I am very sorry, but ... you love our kids... right?)

Here's the list in all it's glory....

And of course, once you have the list, you need to start crossing things off... right? (you'll notice I didn't get the picture BEFORE Colin crossed something off.. I think he likes lists too!) If you have really good eyesight, you can see that on Sunday night we crossed off our first item by heading to Dave and Busters. We really enjoy this place, but it can be a fairly expensive night out (although we had a coupon for $10 of free game play and Joe and I's dinners each came with $10 of game play, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been), so it isn't some place that we go often. But... we always have a lot of family fun (where we all play and laugh and goof around together) while we are there. I noticed that this time the kids were providing the direction- 'there's a game over there I want to play' rather than Joe and I suggesting things. They are growing up way too fast... Here are a few photos of our first summer outing. We'll start with a happy Mommy and Daddy...

Followed by some happy kids...

Colin won about 500 tickets on this one game. He was SO proud of himself...

Overall, I think it was a good choice for the first summer thing... now we are just trying to figure out what comes next... and also trying to figure out how you check off something that you do more than once (for example the kids are more than half way done with the Summer Reading Program at the library... so do we check that off when they are actually done?). I'm sure we'll figure it out!

So, my friends, what's on YOUR summer list?? (if you noticed, I've got a little space at the bottom if you have a great idea!)
:) Night all.
C

Inspired Much?

2011-06-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

Earlier today I was at the Kyrene Karnival (the Leadership Team theme for 2011) sitting under the big top (that would be training rooms 4 & 5 at the District Office) hearing the sounds of the circus (music from Gina's i-pod) and smelling the wonderful aroma of popcorn (Really. Really. We had a popcorn machine!)

And while I was there I had the most awesome idea for a blog post.... I was inspired to come home and write and wax poetic about some topic....

But somewhere in today.... somewhere in the chaos of kicking off a summer program (huge hugs to Jo and Lexy for their handling of that situation), pulling off Leadership Team Karnival games (find the duck with a quarter on it's butt), PARS (how many PARS can you submit in 20 minutes? I can do 16!), interviews and other fun (we did have a lot of fun today!).... I lost track of that inspired blog post.

Check back soon.... I may find it again somewhere in the recesses of my mind (and then again, maybe not, but there is always hope!)....
:) Have a great evening.
C

Seasons

2011-06-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

Last night, Joe and I had the pleasure of having a dear friend and her (delightful) children over for dinner. Joe has been friends with JanElaine (aka JES) since 2nd grade... she and I became friends in 5th grade. There were lots of ups and downs in our friendship when we were younger, but as we've grown older, we've kept in touch. She flew in (and then flew back home less than 24 hours later) for Joe and I's wedding. We drove to California to see her marry her husband Andy on the beach. The last time we saw JES was about 10 years ago. Julia was a tiny baby, and her daughter Lara was a toddler. Since then, JES has moved to Hawaii. And she has added two more adorable munchkins to her family... Kai and Kiana (and when I say adorable, I mean adorable... these kids were cute, polite and tons of fun!)

Despite the fact that we haven't seen each other in 10 years and our only contact has been Facebook posts (me posting all the time, she posts rarely) and Christmas letters (mine always boring and predictable, hers are funny and light)- we picked up just like we had talked the day before. We had some really great conversation....

One of the things that JES talked about a lot during our conversation (as the kids partied in the pool) were the seasons of her life. She talked about her current season (raising kids, supporting her husband, and living in Hawaii) and the seasons to come (maybe a season in the snow). We also talked about lots of our shared past seasons... from childhood memories of her hanging out at my house after piano lessons, to double dates, to hard times that we've each experienced. We talked about families, and the seasons that we've experienced as daughters, as mothers, as friends.

All that talking about seasons really got me thinking... about the season that has just passed for Joe and I and our kiddos, and the seasons that are still ahead of us. Seems like we are really in transition right now- our last season was a hard one- but a new season is dawning and it seems to have the potential to be a wonderful season for us all....

That's all I've got for tonight folks (between weekend travels, family drama, work stress.. I am totally exhausted), but I have to say thanks to JES for reminding me that we are passing through seasons... and that each season will have good times and bad, joy and sorrow and that each season of our lives will be distinctly unique and different and should be enjoyed and experienced as it happens...

Here's some photos from two very different seasons of our lives... Joe and I with JES at her wedding (I know, what was with the glasses and the bangs?) and then Joe, JES and I last night (as captured by Miss Julia- she looked long and hard at the first picture to make sure to get the second one just right...)

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven....

Night all.
C

Family...

2011-05-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

Anybody who knows me, and knows me well (or even not so well) knows the high level of importance that I place on family relationships. My husband is my best friend (in the whole wide world), and my kids are the center of my universe (and that is not an exaggeration). My parents are involved in our daily lives (especially as part of the kid's lives). Joe swears that one of the main reasons (besides his handsome face and his loving nature) that I fell in love with him is because of his large extended family (and he isn't wrong).

I remember when Joe and I first started dating.... he would invite me to family gatherings. And I would be amazed (like open gaping mouth amazed) at the amount of people who would be there. See, growing up, our family was pretty tiny. Being in the military, we moved a lot, and didn't live near any of our extended family. So, if we had a *family* birthday party, it was just that, our nuclear family. 5 people. No criticism of that, we had a lot of fun as a five person family, and I remember my mom and dad going out of their way to make those family events very tradition filled and fun (if you aren't familiar with my love affair with traditions, you should read here). But at the same time, it did not prepare me for what Joe called a 'family function'. There would be aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents and friends and more and more and more. Joe's family has been in Arizona for four generations... and most of his family has chosen to stay in Arizona... so when they get together, they *really* get together. Even going to a 'nuclear' family birthday party for Joe included a lot of people- because his mom and dad were divorced and his mom remarried, resulting in a step-dad and half siblings. And I loved it. (Correction, I love it.)

Combine Joe's extended family here in the valley with the fact that my entire nuclear family is still here... and we end up with a LOT of family. And it is awesome. I love that my kiddos have had the opportunity to know their great-grandmother (especially now as her health is fading and I don't know how much longer she will be part of our lives). I love the fact that Grandma and Nana know my kiddos. They don't have to guess at what they would like for a birthday present... because they see them and interact with them enough to just know what is right. I love the fact that my kiddos count their cousins as some of their best friends (not Cora Jane just yet, but once she gets a little older...) I love the fact that when you look at our calendar each month, you see that it is filled to the brim with family gatherings, birthday parties, dinners together, helping each other move... all the stuff that you WANT to do for those you love.

Unfortunately (you knew there would be a downside to this post didn't you... couldn't you see it coming?), as much as I love the family that we have, as much as I cherish the relationships... it isn't always easy. In fact, at times it is downright hard. I'll say that it was harder when I was younger. I was a total control freak (okay, still am, but I'm working on it...). And control freak and LARGE family isn't always a good combination. You don't always get your way. You don't always get what you want. You have to compromise (and there have been some ugly moments, most of which I own the responsibility for, but I've learned well how to apologize). I will say having the kids has really mellowed me out about family... I think having kids just lowers your expectations about events and happenings. You realize that it won't be perfect, so you learn to appreciate when it is just good. But, sometimes, it just isn't good. In fact, sometimes it is downright bad.

Joe and I are faced with a bad family situation right now. I won't go into the gory details- that isn't the point. However, we are in this situation (unfortunately). We've tried. We've really, really tried to fix it. Gone above and beyond and out of our way to fix it. We've soul searched. We've tried to conform more to what we thought this person wanted. But, despite lots and lots of time and effort (over many years), we are now faced with the fact that it isn't any better (like not even a smidge). In fact it is worse. It's to the point that it's hurting more than we can stand... and we are getting worried about how it is impacting our kids. So, what to do?

What do you do when you've built your world, your existence, your kid's lives around the idea that FAMILY is what this life is all about? And then part of that family (a part that just happens to have been very important to all of us) starts to damage your nuclear family. What decisions do you make? How do you move forward? (I have to note here that this issue involves just a few people... and strangely enough, going through this experience has brought us even closer to other members of the family... so there is at least one bright spot in the middle of the darkness.)

This is destroying me. I want so badly to fix this, to fix this part of our family, to fix something that I cannot fix. And my husband, (that dear sweet guy I started this post by talking about?), yeah, he's hurting too... a lot. And I can't fix that either- which probably upsets me more than anything else.

So for now, I'll go to bed and hope that somehow, somewhere an answer to this current conundrum will emerge- if you have insight for me.... it's so welcome right now my friends.

Good night...
C

PS Julia just came downstairs to kiss me good night. She commented "You've been blogging a lot in the last few days. That's cool. I'm glad." Good to know even my kids have noticed that I've got my groove back.

Ch-ch-ch-changes....

2011-05-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Another school year has ended. And as always, there are mixed emotions (at least for the momma.) On one hand, I am looking forward to the summer (and since we left on a short trip to spend some time with the cousins, Poohbah and Grandma Sherry on Friday we've kicked immediatly into summer mode in a very quick fashion this year).

It's odd. I still work in the summer (I do work less, that is for sure, but 4 days a week I am still getting up and heading into the office). Joe works his regular schedule in the summer. So, life changes, but at the same time it doesn't. Regardless, summer brings about a whole change of attitude in the Furedy home. We are more relaxed, mellow- life runs at such a different pace. We love it. All of us. And we know it's fleeting, which I think makes us all cherish it just a little bit more. I love it when I tuck my kids in on summer nights and they smell of sunscreen & chlorine & sunshine & watermelon... and that smell can just make me pause. (a company should really try to capture that smell in a perfume, because I do believe they would make a million dollars)

On the flip side, we do mourn just a little bit at the end of the school year. The kids know that we are heading in to a summer where they won't see their friends very often. We live SO far from school, and it really is a bummer for the kids (especially Julia who is getting to the age where friends are getting really important.) The kids say good-bye to their teachers, which is always bittersweet. This was especially hard for Julia this year because she had to say good-bye to Ms. Munzinger- her gifted teacher- who she has been with for the last two years. Colin even had a hard time saying good-bye to his teacher this year... they had a really great relationship and I think he will really miss her. There is also something about the structure of school that keeps us all moving- and sometimes- despite the joy of summer, we all (especially Julia and I) miss the routines of the school year.

But, such is the ebb and flow of our lives right now.... and I am trying hard to live in the moment and enjoy the right now... because as I watch my kiddos I am only more and more aware of how fleeting these moments are... how quickly they are growning and how soon they will be gone. If you think that isn't true... check out the photos below. Here's a photo of my kiddos on the last day of school- last year compared to this year....

May, 2010

May 2011

Off to play some games, swim, pick Joshua Tree fruit (and avoid the horrific winds that have impeded our mini-vacation more than just a little bit).... have a wonderful long weekend everyone, and here's to the best summer ever!

So, It's Been a Little While....

2011-05-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a little while since I've been here. (okay, maybe more than a *little* while, but hey, cut me some slack). I'm not sure why I haven't written more in the last few months.... my typical mode is to write a lot when there is a lot going on.... and there has been a lot going on. But for some reason, the mood to write really hasn't struck me lately. (And that is unusual for me... often times when I don't post I'm just too busy to post, but I'm constantly thinking 'ah... now that would be a good blog post.') But for the last few months I haven't had even a desire to write... to the point that I was seriously thinking about closing up shop at this location.

But (as it always seems to happen) when I am ready to close down this little blog, retire the posts and close the comments section.... I get a little itch. Just a little itch. A need to write 'it' down. Whether it be a good 'it' or a bad 'it' or a this is just how life is rolling 'it', I have the urge to come here and purge the thoughts out of my brain (be afraid folks, what cruises around my brain at any given time can be very frightening.... be afraid, be very afraid) What's weird this time is that I don't have a post all ready to go... I don't have the specific 'it' that I want to write about, but at the same time there are lots of 'its' rolling around... some of which just aren't quite ready to make their way to the page and out for the public to read.

I've been fairly public during the past few months about the ongoing struggles that I have had with the pain in my neck (and no, you smarty pants, I'm not talking about a hypothetical pain in my neck, but the very literal pain that I have had in my neck and my back). I will not bore you with all of the details, but after several months of seeking relief, I believe that I am finally on my way to being pain free.

The lessons learned from this experience are:

1. Despite the fact that I am very proud of the fact that I gave birth to my two children naturally and without drugs, this accomplishment pales in comparison to the folks who live with chronic pain each day, and I promise to *never* reference this little accomplishment when someone talks about being in pain *ever again*.

2. When your gut tells you that you need to get a second opinion when it comes to taking care of your health, go with your gut. Even if your gut isn't telling you this, but someone close to you (or multiple someones- hey, I *never* said I wasn't stubborn) is telling you this... listen. Seeking a new doctor resulted in some fast action and much desired relief (that probably could have come a lot earlier and with a lot less drama).

3. Your friends and your family is what this life is really about. Not work, or money, or anything else. Family and friends. Friends and family. Awesome. No more words for this topic.

I think I'll wrap this up for the evening. But, I will say that coming back here feels good, so I think I'll give it a try again. As I mentioned, there are lots of little thoughts, little 'its' ready to wander right from the strange pathways in my brain to my little fingers and out onto this here little blog. Hope you'll come back and visit again...

And for now, off for an evening swim with my two lovebugs... can't believe it's the last Sunday of the school year. Guess that might be the next little 'it' to talk about...

Night.
C

For All Who Have Loved....

2011-02-19T19:27:00.000-08:00

I am currently sitting in the Denver airport with my brother Andrew killing time (also known as playing on our laptops- well, I'm playing, I think he is actually being productive) until our flight leaves to bring us home to Phoenix. We are on the downside of a whirlwind trip to Leadville, Colorado- a rather unscheduled and unplanned trip to our 'unofficial' hometown to attend our aunt's funeral. My Aunt Martie passed away earlier this week after a massive heart attack (there will be more about this soon... we all need to be so much more aware of how heart attacks present differently in women than in men). Words just can not capture the emotions that have flowed through our family during the past few weeks....

I've tried and tried to write something here that feels right- that captures who Martie was to me, to my mom, to her children and to her grandchildren, but I can't find the right words. She was only 54 years old. And that is just not old enough. Period. She wasn't done here on Earth- she wasn't done being a mom, a grandma, a sister or a friend. And to think of her kids living the rest of their lives without their mom... to think of her grandchildren growing up without her being part of their lives- it is incomprehensible. (And truthfully, I think this is where it really eats at me... to think of Julia and Colin losing either their Nana or their Grandma at this point.in their lives.. I can't even fathom it). I know there is a method to this madness- that there is a reason for all that happens in this world- but I am really seeking to understand those reasons right now. I know that the impact of Martie's passing will ripple through our family for years to come- she will be missed by so many.

My heart breaks for Nick and Emily (her children) and for my mom and dad. For all who knew and loved her, who held her dear, who laughed and cried and yelled and smiled with her. For all whose lives she touched (and that number is many). Martie.. You will be missed.

So, with that I will end. Not a lot of words, but words that mean a whole lot.
Night all-
C

P.S. I really can't end this post without saying how much I love and appreciate my brother (who flew on this trip so that I could travel despite my ongoing health issues), my mom and dad (who had to drive the pass TWICE at night and through ice to come to the airport to pick us up AND who had to listen to my craziness for the last few days), my friend Karen (who despite some reservations, took me to get an epidural under general anesthesia AND then put me on an airplane just 3 hours later), my mother-in-law Paulette (who took over Julia and Colin care when neither Joe or I could be there), my friends (who have prayed and listened and just been my friends during the past month) and finally, Mr. Furedy (who just as always is there for me- always, always, always in every possible way). I am so very blessed. Very very blessed.

Second Christmas

2011-01-31T18:18:00.000-08:00

Some of you may be familiar with the little tradition that we have among the Furedy/ Singer/ Woodard clan that we lovingly call... Second Christmas.

Second Christmas began about 6 years ago or so, when our collaborative clan started getting so large that Christmas shopping began in June and consumed at least one entire paycheck during the month of December (you think I am exaggerating, but seriously, NOT EXAGGERATING). The entire group got together and discussed what we could do to alleviate the shopping and budgetary strain (bet you wish you could have been a fly on the wall during THAT conversation). A couple of key ideas emerged from our talk that day... we decided that kids should all get gifts, but that the adults would draw names.... and that one of the key things that we all wanted most was to spend more time together. And we REALLY wanted to spend time together- away from the day to day routine of life in Phoenix/ Tucson (again, not sure what we were thinking at the time...). As one-quarter of the group is always gone for several weeks in December (the Furedy/Singer clan always heads back East to hang with Paige's family over the holidays) we also needed to find a time after Christmas that would work for us all to have an extended period of time together.

So, each year since, we have gone on a trip together over the long weekend in January that includes the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. This allows us to have a Friday evening through Monday afternoon extended weekend (enough time to enjoy each other, but not get on each others nerves... at least not too much).

Year One we all stayed in a hotel, with Grandma Paulette and Grandpa Steve's timeshare as our 'home base'. This was a nice first attempt, but resulted in a difficult weekend of trying to figure out who was where and what we were doing and when- all conducted by cell phone because we weren't in the same place (yep, not fun). We were also forced into eating every meal in a restaurant (and since Colin was a toddler at the time also means that I don't think I sat down to eat a meal even once while we were there).

Here's a picture of Vanessa helping Julia try on her flower girl dress for her wedding
(which would take place the following Spring)
during our inaugural 2nd Christmas...

Year Two upgraded to a bed and breakfast in Tucson- we ended up renting out the entire place. What can I say about that trip other than... yeah... bed and breakfasts are NOT made for groups of our size and makeup. I think the owners about had a heart attack before the weekend was over because we (hold on to your hats folks) used their kitchen to fix a dessert. They were also stressed out by our kids the entire weekend (and if our really well-behaved kids stress you out, well... you just might have a problem). We were also still tied to a lot of restaurant eating...

Here's Joe, Paige and Gundry enjoying our snow hike on Mt. Lemmon during Year Two....

Year Three upgraded us to renting a house in Flagstaff, which we have done every year since. I won't say that this has been without it's share of issues (and family disagreements and one major all out family war that I am still not sure that we've ever totally recovered from..) but over all, the house rental has been a successful approach that allows us to spend time together, cook our own meals, play endless board games and of course celebrate Christmas (yep, the whole thing, a tree, and presents and all).

Here are a few photos of our rather enjoyable 2nd Christmas of 2011.... (here I will apologize in advance for the lack of photos of Aunt Bic, Great Grandma Miriam (GG) and of course Joe, plus limited representation of Jason and Mike... not sure why, but they seem to be lacking in my photos. We do LOVE you guys...)

The house... a delightful rental from VRBO...

Let the Second Christmas Begin......

Grandma Paulette and Grandpa Steve

G-man

Aunt Paige and her camera...

Aunt Vanessa and the best part of 2nd Christmas #6,

The addition of Cora to our family...

Miss Cora enjoying some blueberries...

One of the best moments of the trip was getting to rock this little one to sleep. What fun....

Julia goofing around...

Celebrating Eric's birthday with apple pie

and one rock awesome card...

Asher catching some air...

And of course, a rocking game of Pictionary...

It is a great tradition, and one that I hope we will enjoy for years to come. Sounds like next year we will be checking out the Showlow area for a different house (Aunt Vanessa is already hunting for us...). Despite the ups and downs and ins and outs of getting 17 people together for a weekend, it's a weekend that I wouldn't trade for the world (and I'm happy that my kids just take 2nd Christmas for granted... like everyone in the world celebrates Christmas all over again in January...).

Night all...

PS 10 days to go. :)

I've Got the Blues.....

2011-01-30T19:35:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I haven't been writing cause I've been experiencing a grand 'ol case of the January blues. Between my neck issue (Nope, not any better, despite toradol shot, despite tons of drugs, despite rest and NOT working out, not any better. In fact, maybe worse as my hand continues to go numb, which makes typing and working and just in general being a human being slightly more difficult. Okay, enough on that..) and the LOVELY cold that I've had for over two weeks (Thanks a whole lot to my nephew Gundry who lovingly shared with his Aunt Carrie.), and the normal it's January and we're back to work and we have bills to pay (new tires for my car, pay the deductible to fix the dent in the back of my car, Julia's braces, my medical bills which keep piling up) my mood has been, shall we say, less than wonderful. My Twitter and Facebook posts sound like a medical journal... when I post at all (and yes, I know, I haven't been posting, I've been sparing you all my horrific negativity... you should be glad folks, very glad).

However, this weekend, I decided to at least try to change my mood- by still relaxing and taking it easy, but at the same time attempting to get a few things done around here.. and it actually made me feel a bit better. See, I worked on the taxes (and it looks like a refund will be coming to the Furedy home, which will be a welcome addition to the family checkbook), we lucked into a (slightly used but new to us) water heater thanks to an old high school friend on Facebook (which spares us the cost of buying a new one as ours has been acting a little out of sorts for the last few weeks), and I got started on getting my pictures organized again (which was a great reminder of all the fun times we've had in the last few months... life really is good.) The kids also had an awesome weekend- Colin got to have a sleepover at a friend's house (which necessitated an afternoon nap today... which he chose to take with me... it's been a long time since I got to nap with my little man and it was awesome). Julia had a night out with Momma, Daddy, Uncle Andrew and Aunt Stacy that involved at trip to the bookstore and a grown-up dinner at a sushi restaurant (she did awesome trying the sushi, but says it's just not for her...) which seems to have made her quite happy.

My goal for this week is to do some small posts that feature some of our 2011 adventures so far... 2nd Christmas in Flagstaff with the Woodard/ Furedy/ Singer clans AND the Chandler Children's Choir singing the National Anthem at the Phoenix Suns' Game. (I am really hoping I will be up to doing this.. you'll have to stay tuned in just to see...)

So, my mood is a bit better, my outlook a little sunnier, but my neck still hurts (guess I can't have everything..). So, I'm off to my bed... with my pain pills in one hand and my heating pad in the other. Catch you on the upside my friends.
C

PS First cortisone epidural in my neck is scheduled for Feb. 10th. That's 11 days from now. Doctor assures me that I will experience significant pain relief after this shot. Can you all pray for me? That I make it gracefully through the next 11 days AND that the pain relief is as significant as I have been promised? It would be greatly appreciated my friends.

The Glass is Half-Full, Or Maybe More...

2011-01-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

Those of you who follow my Tweets and Facebook posts know that for the last few weeks (make that 6, but hey, really who's counting?) I have struggled with neck and back pain. It started with a stiff neck in November, which was quickly alleviated with some muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatories, and yes, those crazy pain pills (that I have indicated may have, just may have impacted some of my rational decision making). It continued on in December with a stiff neck and pain that radiated through my shoulder and into my arm. (more and better anti-inflammatories and BIGGER more potent pain pills).

After a trip to the doctor over break, a set of x-rays and a lovely MRI (who wouldn't love laying perfectly still in a tube with a plastic cover over your neck while someone makes the machine sound like is is self destructing around you for 40 minutes?), the cause of all the pain has been determined.

When the doctor called and left me a message with the news, he actually said- 'This is not what I expected to find' (I think that is interesting.. don't know that I've ever had a doctor share news in quite that way).

So.... I have osteoarthritis in my neck and spine. (Yep, like what a typical 60 year old would have).

It's funny, if you read here, I talk about the other typically age related disease that I suffer from... so I've started teasing Joe that he has a 37 year old wife in a 67 year old's body.....

Of course, Joe and I's questions started right away... how do I get rid of the pain that I'm having right now (WITHOUT the darn pain pills preferably since they make me loopy and make me feel really tired and I can't take them during the day and the pain is so bad by about 6 pm that I literally am incapable of making decisions), how do I keep the disease from progressing, what do I need to do on the preventative end, what does the future likely hold?

I talked with my doctor on Friday and got some answers- will see him again on Wednesday for more. Here's the down and dirty... I will be going to a Spine Center/ Pain Management Clinic later this month to try to get this current 'flare up' under control. Other than that I need to: eat healthy, exercise regularly, introduce yoga to my exercise routine, avoid stress, and take more vitamins (gee, that sounds like what I need to be doing anyway folks... sounds like what we ALL need to be doing).

I think the initial diagnosis really threw me for a loop, but after thinking about it for a few days... this is a piece of cake. Gives me even more reason to take care of myself and my body. So.. that glass isn't half-empty as I felt right after the first message from the doctor. It is half full, well really, it's even more than that, I think it's like three-quarters full.

And as the Hunter S. Thompson says....

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, shouting GERONIMO!

Have a great day folks...

A Glittering Smile.....

2011-01-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

Today we made another step into pre-pubescence, adolescence, also known as THE TEENAGE YEARS. How is this possible (I know you are all asking) since Miss Julia just turned 10 and Mr. Colin is a mere 8 years of age...

Well.... see.... our kids have always been rather advanced. Julia especially. I mean really... she arrived on the planet 3 weeks ahead of schedule. And even if you ignore that rush to arrive, there are her teeth. Julia got teeth early, got teeth fast, and lost them just as quickly.

I will NEVER forget when she lost her first tooth (when she was still in preschool folks...) She was so excited to take her tooth to school and show it off that she would not (seriously, crying fit, blubbering hysterically would not) leave the tooth for the Tooth Fairy. Instead she wrote him a note explaining that she would leave the tooth the next night (she was really curious about how much cash she would receive), but she HAD to take her tooth to school. All well and good, but apparently NO other child in her class had lost a tooth, and some of the parents hadn't exactly explained to their kiddos that they were GOING to lose their teeth. Preschool teacher was LESS than thrilled when several of her students burst out crying over this little gem of information.(Leave it to my kids to ruin it for everybody else...)

I will also ALWAYS remember Julia's dentist telling me that the teeth that needed crowns (yep, my dear child got silver crowns at the age of five under general anesthesia) would (without a doubt) be in her mouth until she was at least ten. So... those puppies fell out at age 8. That was (a lot) of money for teeth that didn't really hang around for very long.

We've known since Julia's adult teeth started to erupt (seriously, that's the only way to describe what happened) that she would most likely need braces. One of her front teeth came in SIDEWAYS for goodness sake! The dentist would look at her at each appointment and tell me 'Well Mom, her mouth grew a little, so we'll wait another six months and see what happens.' Actually, he TOLD me that, until Julia's last appointment when he smiled at me and told me that she only had four baby teeth left and that none of those teeth had any roots anymore, so... IT WAS TIME. Julia was... shall we say, less than thrilled (I can only guess that the fact that she threw herself on her bed and cried about how life is unfair meant that she wasn't too happy).

A few months, a visit to the very cool orthodontist office, and some good coaching from her Nana, and she was ready to go.... her only request was to have it happen AFTER Christmas. So... Colin gave her bubblegum for her birthday (cause she should get to chew as much as she would like until she got her braces on), several pre-appointments were scheduled, and we were ready to go! Here she is, the final shot of her (pre-braces) mouth.

After a look of disgust (and a panicked question to mom about whether or not they had clear rubber bands) six weeks ago when they showed her all of the different colored rubber bands that they had, she was quick to select blue and teal rubberbands this morning. We had a bit of an adventure as not one, but two of her brackets popped today (one before we even left the office), but overall she seems happy. Here's Julia sporting her NEW glittering look....

She reports that her mouth and tongue are sore. She did however, just eat an entire can of spagehettios, edamame, an apple chopped into little pieces and some cheese balls (I know, I'm a STELLAR mom) so I think she is going to live.

In about six months, they will expand to the rest of the top teeth, and in a year or so we will enter the adventure of the bottom braces....
(Oh, and yeah, before you ask, of course Joe and I are now broke. Like the Christmas bills weren't enough.... and this will be a lovely new addition to the monthly bills as well...)

As for 'being present' (remember my non-resolution resolution?) this was an awesome day of memories for Julia and I. I don't think either one of us will ever forget this day... the nerves, the stress, the pain (and that was just how I felt!!)

Night all...
C

2011- A Non-Resolution Resolution

2011-01-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

Hello my friends (Yes. Yes. I know. I write. And then I don't. And then I do. And then I don't again. And if I am ever going to do anything with this blogging thing other than just fool around, I need to write. Consistently. You'll know if I ever get to more than just foolin' around. Cause you'll read. Consistently- right?)

Anyway... hello. Glad to see you again. Life in the Furedy household has been fun, chaotic, crazy, busy, funny and just downright strange for the last few months. Between birthdays (And yes, as a mother I *do* know that I have written a birthday post for my daughter for the last two years and haven't written one for my son. That's what he gets for being stubborn and not arriving until a week before Christmas.), Christmases (we've had 3 or maybe 4 so far and there's still one to go...), New Year's, choir concerts, work, drugs (yep, those pain pills for my neck kept me from doing much other than looking at the walls and muttering to myself for a few days), playing board games, and building Legos (and, well... maybe some laziness thrown in just for fun), I haven't had time to even think about writing on my blog.

Again, probably not the whole truth. I've thought about it a lot... (but thinking and *doing* happen to be two different things I've discovered). So, here I am. And it's a New Year. So, of course (please note the dripping sarcasm) I must join the world of bloggy mommas with a list of all the things that I am going to change about my life in the next year (those bloggy mommas can be a real pain in the *ss sometimes... I oughta know!), a list of my RESOLUTIONS....

I've actually decided that I don't want to CHANGE that much about my life. I really like my life. (Pretty cool- eh?) The only real thing that I want to focus on is really paying ATTENTION to the life I am living... and to be present in it each and every day. (Hmmm... I guess that could be considered a change, but since I'm not really gonna do anything different, and just gonna wake up and enjoy it more, I'm still voting that it's NOT a change. Go with me folks.)

There we have it. A New Year's Resolution. One I think should be pretty easy to keep. (Or will it? 'Cause I tend to get wrapped up in getting it done, rather than the doing, so this may be the hardest resolution ever to keep).

This does bring us full circle though, since if I am going to do this, I need at least one way to track my progress.... (come on folks... have you caught on yet?) Yep, that would be writing about it. All of it. The good, the bad and the ugly. (I usually try to at least spare you guys the ugly....). Writing about it here. On my lovely blog. Just to see. See what it becomes.

On that note, welcome 2011.
Welcome back my friends.
I *will* be talking to you soon.

Carrie

Double Digits!

2010-11-23T20:17:00.000-08:00

I know that I haven't posted in forever, but I promise I didn't get lost, it just seems like there are never enough hours in the day! (and lately when I do have time, I'm not in the mood to write)

Today Miss Julia Corrinne became a double digit kiddo.... 10 years old. Where did the time go?

Happy birthday to my girl..... I love you so much and I am so proud of the young lady you are becoming. You are my world. I would do anything to keep you safe, protected and loved.

Can't resist sharing this photo too... she got a new pair of roller blades for her birthday... when she has them on she is as tall as I am!!

That's all folks. I promise I'll be back and post more soon (you know I'll have to be back in December for Colin's birthday at the least!)

:) C

It's Official....

2010-09-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

We are IN. We are taking the gamble. We are doing something unlike us....

We are putting the house on the market.

Joe and I officially made the decision on Saturday (hey, it was something to do while the kids were off picking apples with my parents....). Actually, not having the kids around for a few hours was a true blessing, because we could sit in the den, plug the numbers in the spreadsheet (you didn't think we made this decision without a spreadsheet did you?), and talk it through. We weighed the pros, the cons, examined the dollar amounts, talked about all possible expenses (do you know how much a moving van, storage unit, appraisal and home inspection cost? We do.) and talked about the probable expenses (new appliances, fix up costs for the possible new house- lots of foreclosures on the market which = work and money). We talked about the overall budget and possible changes that need to be made (i.e. less clothes shopping for the momma and a little less 'just because' spending, and no trip for Fall Break this year). We also talked a lot about 'kreplits' (which is our little way about talking about time- there are only so many kreplits available and ours will be spent on house stuff rather than on relaxing and having fun). Joe is committed to selling one of his Fieros (yes, note I said one- he isn't ready to give up the dream- just shrinking the dream a little). We also talked about this putting us farther away from Nana and Papa as well as Grandma Paulette and Grandpa Steve....

And after all of that, all of the costs- we looked at the benefits. Commute shorter (this is a HUGE one for me- I will be so close to work- and will hopefully help me to balance my days better). Kids closer to friends and activities. Possibly living on a street with more kids (this is the biggest thing that my kids are wishing for... just to have kids close by that they could possibly be friends with because there are NO kids where we live now). Julia being able to stay with her friends and go to middle school (which, I am sorry to say, is probably going to be very... shall we say... angst ridden for her based on what we are seeing already).

So really, there was no decision to be made. I called the realtor. We rented a storage unit (so we can 'declutter' the house and have OPEN spaces...) We have some roof repairs that need to be done, and I need to have a garage sale (September 25th.. it's gonna be a biggie!). Kids need to clean out their rooms and some major organization needs to go on in our garage. But after that.... well... we are ON the market.

Cross your fingers for us. Pray that someone sees our house and feels that it would be the perfect home for their family (just like it has been the perfect home for us... I have so many wonderful memories in this house... we have grown and changed so much as a family since we moved in).

I can't resist a photo here.... these are our kids the day we moved into this house....

Hope that they can qualify for a loan (which is much harder than it used to be) and that they can come up with a down payment. And if all of that happens... pray that we can quickly find a home, in the right neighborhood, for the right price, that will be a good place for the Furedy family to settle (FOR GOOD!).

We are going out for 90 days for this first go around. That will take us to the new year. If the house hasn't sold by then, we will reevaluate.... but for now, the adventure has begun!!

Happy Labor Day everyone!
Carrie

Getting a Grip

2010-08-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

So... seems like a few 'big' things are behind us yet again (where does the time go?!?)...

Julia and Colin have successfully started another school year (They love school. I am SOO lucky for that.). I've transitioned into my new position and am not feeling like I'm in a *new* position every day (I still look around every once in awhile and wonder if I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but so far no one has told me otherwise so I must be okay). Joe has gone to a canyoneering rendezvous, had a great time, and come home healthy (cross our fingers and knock on wood). We're wrapping up another summer season....

And fall is around the corner. Although the weather here sure doesn't show us that fall is arriving (you still melt the moment that you leave your air conditioned car to enter your air conditioned workplace) it is. And with it all that fall brings... cooler temperatures, comfort foods (chili and stew and all the wonderful stuff that we enjoy during the fall), holidays (first Halloween, then J's birthday, Thanksgiving, C's birthday, Christmas..... hold on to your hats folks, it might be a bumpy ride!) And of course, the possibility of putting our house on the market during this time... (And no, no decisions made. Trust me, I'll let you all know... you'll be sick of hearing the regular updates I'm sure!) Normally all of this would have me brimming with joy and excitement. This is my favorite part of the year- my favorite holidays- my favorite weather- my favorite foods- my favorite clothes (it's so much easier to hide a couple of extra pounds in a sweater and a pair of blue jeans!) .....

But for some reason, I'm just dragging myself along right now. Maybe it is the weather- we've had a hot, long summer that isn't showing any signs of letting up- or maybe it's something else. I just can't put my finger on it. I find myself waking up on the wrong side of the bed more than the right one these days... I seem more tired than usual... quick to jump to anger and conclusions (especially when it comes to e-mail... tread lightly my friends).... I thought that maybe focusing on what is just ahead might shake my mood, but all it did was seem to make the dark mood a little darker.

I need to (as this post lovingly suggests) get a grip. So many wonderful things happening in my life and around me.... I am truthfully the luckiest girl and I just don't have anything that I should be this grumpy about. :) So, I'm vowing to find the right side of the bed this week, to take a moment to savor all that I have, and to find the joy in each (soon to be fall) day.

Night all.
C

Irrationality....

2010-08-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

11 months ago Joe took a trip to a canyoneering rendezvous in Zion National Park. He came home and less than a week later was hospitalized. And had surgery. And lost a rib. (yeah, yeah, you all know this story right?)

Since then, he's done great. He's fully recovered, is off the blood thinners, has a full release from his doctor to what ever he wants to in terms of physical activity, and has gone canyoneering several times. Let me edit that last statement- has gone for several one day canyoneering trips.

See... he hasn't gone on a long weekend (translation: cram as much technical canyoneering as I can into the shortest time I can) of canyoneering since... well.... since... yeah. Then.

I know he's fine. I know he is with a good friend and will do great. I know he is healed, that the likelihood of a recurrence is small, and that he will have an awesome time. My head knows ALL OF THAT STUFF.

But my heart (that total irrational part of me) is worried. And stressed. And I know I'm not gonna feel better until his rear end is out of the canyon on Sunday afternoon and in the car on his way back to me (oh, come on, let's be real... I'll stress about him driving all that way when he is tired too... I'll feel better when he is home!)

So... think good thoughts everybody- okay? Positive energy surrounding Joe. Prayers for God to watch over him and everyone else who is in the canyons with him this weekend. Think blood flowing freely throughout his body with no constricted places..... (and, I guess you could all hope that he was having a good time and enjoying himself too.....)

Thanks my friends. I appreciate it. (and if you see me losing it on Facebook, somebody buy me some chocolate or something okay??)

Night all-
C

PS Joe is in Ouray, CO right now. He'll be going to Zion next month. Basically on the anniversary of the 'event'. So, yeah, maybe we should start planning now for how I'm gonna cope with that one!!

Taking Chances

2010-08-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I wrote a note "25 Random Things About Me" (if this makes you curious... you can read the whole thing here- trust me it really isn't that exciting...). It took me a LONG time to write this document, and I've actually reflected on it several times since writing it (I've actually done #22, still fully endorse #5, #6, and #7, #24 is still on hold and I am working really hard on being more okay with #25).

Tonight I want to talk about #12 though...

I think Joe and I have often chosen the path in life that is safe,

rather than the path in life that was right when it comes to jobs, school, etc.

I think Joe and I have always been 'safe'. We've always taken the safe route, the conservative route, the 'for sure' route. And right now, for once, we are talking about doing something that maybe isn't as safe, isn't as comfortable, and isn't a 'for sure' thing....

If you have been following my Twitter or Facebook feed during the past few weeks, you know that Joe and I have been meeting with a Realtor and talking about the possibility of relocating. Several of you have asked why we would like to relocate or what we are looking for in a new house. Truthfully, I would love to keep our current house! It is perfect for us. We remodeled the kitchen and it is exactly what I want (well... except that it could use a little larger pantry and a few more cabinets, but really, it's mostly what I want...) I've also figured out in the last few weeks that there are things that I will be so sad to leave... we've measured our kids growth against our lemon tree and our fountain for years! However, we live approximately 30 minutes from where I work and where the kids go to school. With Julia now in 4th grade, we are at a crossroads. We will need to either transition her to a school near our house so she can make some friends before middle school OR we need to relocate near where her friends are, and have her go to middle school in Kyrene. I have gotten so used to the kids being in the Kyrene system and having them close to where I work, I can't imagine moving Julia across town for school. It is also really hard for our kids to have relationships with other kids outside of school... just a birthday party can mean up to an hour in the car going to and from.... And so we've decided to investigate the possibility of relocating into the Kyrene area.

This isn't a safe thing. The real estate market is bad right now. We still owe a sizable amount on our current home- and it isn't clear if we can make enough to cover all the fees, costs, commissions and walk away with a positive balance. We need to make some small repairs to our house as well- and that will be additional money.

The upside is that houses are at an all time low. We could get into the neighborhood that we want for the least amount of money- and get a fairly nice house in return. We will likely need to dig into our savings, our safety net, to make a down payment on the new house.

We have some time. 2 years until Julia goes to middle school. But who has the crystal ball that would tell us if the housing market will stay the same or get worse (we already know that it will likely not get better). Should we wait, hoping it will get better, and we can walk away with a little more? Or should we move forward, knowing that it is possible that in 6 months it will not be financially feasible AT ALL?

These are hard decisions, hard conversations... especially for the 'safe' folks. We want what is right for our family, but we are trying to balance the financial end with things that are less tangible like schools and friends and commutes. What is it worth to us to relocate? Is it worth part of our savings- our safety net? Is it worth the financial risk? What if we make the wrong decision? Is now the time? (and am I HORRIBLY LAZY for thinking that it is almost fall... when we have birthdays and Christmas and everything else and I really don't want to have to keep my house spotless for the 90-120 days it will probably take to sell our house?)

Wow... what started as an 'what about' conversation between Joe and I when we were at the Salty Senorita early this summer has suddenly turned into what could be a life altering decision....

What are your thoughts? Have you ever taken a risk like this? I'd love to hear your thinking... post a comment, please!!
C

PS I do want you all to know that Joe and I have a Realtor that we have a great deal of trust in. We have been talking to him for a few weeks, met with him tonight, and he is a great fit for us. He is factual and kind and willing to wait it out with us. We are going to see a financial adviser next week. That will hopefully put more perspective on the entire situation and provide us with more answers about just how much of a risk we may be taking.... (just wanted you all to know that we are still being 'safe' even if we are thinking about making a decision that isn't our normal style....)

Another Year Has Begun....

2010-08-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

The 2010-2011 school year has officially begun!

There are lots of traditions tied to the back to school season in our house (seriously, what isn't a huge tradition for us? I swear I can turn just about anything into a tradition...) Anyway, the kids always spend the last week before school starts hanging out with Nana and Papa. And, this week always includes a shopping trip. And, since Miss Julia was in preschool, Nana and Papa have always bought her a '1st day of school dress'. (note the word dress here, it will become important in a minute)

So... as traditions go, Nana and Papa took the munchies shopping this week. Colin dreaded the shopping (okay, so something has happened in the last few months that suddenly I have a BOY! B-O-Y, boy and he hates all things shopping or anything that could possibly in any way be thought of as girly. He has also mastered farting with his hands and burping loudly.) but Julia was kinda excited. I wasn't on the trip, so I only know what happened second hand, but rumor is that Miss Julia and Nana had a great deal of fun picking out and trying on, and Papa got stuck trying to keep Colin happy. Julia came home with three (count them THREE) new tops, a pair of pants, and nooooo dress. (Sigh. She is growing up.) Colin came home with two new shirts that he basically could have cared less about. (Sigh. He is growing up.) The only downside was that Miss Julia and I decided that none of her current shoes would work with her new beautiful outfits (and this deserves a whole post or something of its own, but let's just say that I'm not signing up to take that girl shoe shopping again anytime soon!)

With the Nana and Papa shopping trip over, and Miss Julia with new shoes, we were ready for Meet the Teacher Night. Mr. Furedy had pick up duty from Nana and Papa's house as I was already at the school pitching in to help get everything ready (I am really blessed this year that one of the programs I work with has been housed at the school where my children attend. This makes nights like Meet the Teacher much easier because I can be there both professionally and as a mom without a ton of guilt.) Mr. Furedy and the kiddos arrived right on time... and they were so excited. Both of the kids were thrilled to find out who their teachers were (although Colin was a little upset when he found out that I've known who his teacher is for most of the summer and I didn't tell him! Ooops....).

Julia will be spending her 4th grade year with Miss Umina
(who is getting married in June... for those of you who are following this teacher saga- her 2nd grade teacher had twins, her 3rd grade teacher got married, and now her 4th grade teacher is getting married too... I'm starting to think that Julia is a good luck charm for her teachers!)

She will also return to GR with Ms. Munsinger.
(these two are like peas in a pod... look how they are even color coordinated!)

Colin will be spending his 2nd grade year with Mrs. Corbett.
(I think this is the cutest picture of the two of them....)

And, as always, once Meet the Teacher was over, we had dinner out. Just one more tradition.

The weekend between Meet the Teacher and school starting was great. Joe took Julia to a canyoneering class. Colin went to karate. We all went over to Nana and Papa's house to celebrate Nana's birthday with swimming, pizza and brownies (sugar free for the Nana of course!). We spent Sunday cleaning, organizing, doing laundry and some last minute shopping (Julia's teacher requested a betta fish as a class pet, so we got the pleasure of picking him out!).

Monday morning dawned bright and early and the kids were very excited. Here they are in the traditional, in front of the fountain poses...

Miss Julia Furedy- 9 years old- 4th grade
(BREAKING tradition by NOT wearing the same outfit on the first day as she did at Meet the Teacher- we decided those pants would just be toooo hot!)

Mr. Colin Furedy- 7 years old- 2nd grade
(Keeping the tradition of the same outfit, not that he really cared in the least....)

They are both growing and changing so fast.... I think this is really going to be a year of change for both of them. Here's to a great one! (and pray, please pray for their teachers!)

15 Years Ago...

2010-07-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

15 years ago today, after seven years of dating (and what seemed like endless waiting), I walked down the aisle of Bethany Community Church (with my dad cracking jokes all the way), and married my love, my life, my soulmate. We had NO idea of the journey that we were embarking on, but I would have never wanted to have been on this journey with ANYONE else.

Mr. Furedy- I love you dearly. Our marriage has gotten better and better with each passing year. You are an amazing husband and a wonderful father. Happy 15th Anniversary... here's to a life time more....

Carrie

PS For those of you out there about to do it...
I know, I know... what was up with the glasses?
And yes, we were 12 years old when we got married- in case you were trying to figure it out!! :)

Just a Momma

2010-06-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

So, I got to be a Momma today. I know that sounds silly. I mean seriously, I have been a Momma since I dreamed of Miss Julia being in my tummy.... since Mr. Colin was merely a suggestion to Mr. Furedy.... but today, today I REALLY got to be a Momma.

Today, I got to be woken up by a little face peering over the side of my bed (rather than by an alarm clock screaming that it's time to get up, get up, get up).

I fixed breakfast to the sound of my little people chatting with me about the day (rather than throwing a bowl of cereal on the table to half asleep little people who are not coherent enough to speak yet).

I got ready to go by throwing on a pair of cut offs and a tank top, brushing my teeth and combing my hair (rather than the usual- blow dry, foundation, makeup, curling iron, professional clothes, high heel shoes routine).

We headed out the door in plenty of time to get to where we were going, just relaxed and moving at our own pace (rather than me yelling, yelling, yelling that if we don't go RIGHT NOW...).

I got to watch a whole movie (without falling asleep) with a certain little boy sitting on my lap, snuggled into my chest. A little boy who happens to just barely fit in that spot anymore, but who isn't ready to give it up just yet.

I got to watch a certain little girl order and pay for her own food (all by herself) at a very busy Subway in the mall. And I got to see just how proud she was of herself after she had done this. She even told me that the food tasted better because she got it on her own (me thinks it will taste even better when she pays for it with her own money too, but for now, for now it is enough).

I got to go to the library and wander the shelves while my little people did the same. I got to watch Mr. Colin 'test' books to see if he could read them (and I got to be surprised when he was able to read several that I didn't think he'd be able to read... I think I'm in trouble with that one...) I got to watch Miss Julia get sooo excited about the new books she chose and the fact that she will have something new to read ALL WEEK (all the while thinking about how much I loved the library at her age).

I got to spend time thinking about summer vacation and what we need to buy before we leave (and even started getting a few of those items, like a great new hoodie sweatshirt for those cool beach nights for Miss Julia for only $10 at Old Navy).

I got to exercise (and not feel guilty for not interacting with my kiddos for the 45 minutes that I was doing so, because we'd had so much good time together already during the day).

I got to PLAN, cook dinner, set the table, and generally have a complete meal done by the time that Mr. Furedy got home (rather than my usual routine of chucking something on the table as quick as I can- usually with a lot of help from the aforementioned Mr. Furedy).

I got to sing multiple songs from High School Musical into a Wii microphone, much to the pleasure of Miss Julia and the horror of Mr. Colin and Mr. Furedy.

I got to take the kids out swimming for half of an hour and just relax the whole time (rather than sitting out there worrying about all that needs to be done before bedtime).

And now, now I get to write this blog post before I head upstairs to listen to little man read, and challenge them both to a quick game of Mancala, before they both head off to sleep. And then I'll get to hang out with my other favorite guy- Mr. Furedy (rather than instantly falling asleep myself).

So yeah, got to be a Momma today. Not an Assistant Director. Not a MOM. Just a Momma. And it felt good....
Night all.
C

From One Weekend to the Next....

2010-06-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

The kids headed up north to the Rim on Thursday with Nana and Papa in 'uses RV'. Joe and I worked Thursday and Friday and then headed up to join them on Friday night. (someday, a very long time from now, I may tell the story about our drive up there and our inability to locate my parents and the children, but it will be a very long time from now...)

We threw up our tent and then settled in for a few days of camping, fishing, hanging out, campfire building, bb gun shooting, bug catching, good eating... you know the routine... just a relaxing weekend in the outdoors. A fabulous time was had by all- we laughed and relaxed and just generally enjoyed another weekend of what is turning out to be one of the best summers of my life.

As I sat and watched my kiddos who (for lack of any other appropriate phrase) were having the time of their lives- I thought about the joy that my kids find in life- every aspect of it. I was thinking back to last weekend, a weekend spent at a fancy resort- playing at a water park and eating crabs legs (Julia's FAVORITE!). Fast forward to this weekend, a weekend in the woods- playing in the dirt and eating hot dogs (Colin's FAVORITE!). And you know what, my kids had an absolutely fabulous time at both places... in both worlds... doing both things. And I love that about my kids and about our family. Joe and I set out to raise kids who would really enjoy life... and so far, I think we've been very successful. I hope that as they grow older and as our lives continue to change that they continue to find joy and happiness in whatever they do, where ever they are.....

Another picture heavy post... but there are some GREAT shots that I just have to throw out there... enjoy.

Here's Papa and Colin off for a walk to explore....

Colin with his prize slingshot piece of wood .
(that unfortunately broke not long after this photo...)

The teaching continues... Papa sharing his knowledge of tracks, animals, bugs, etc with another generation.

Here are the prized BB guns that the kids got for Christmas.
They shot over 300 BBs this weekend...
(and NO, nobody shot their eye out....)

Julia even gave the Momma some BB shootin' lessons.
(She really is a good shot. Momma on the other hand....)

Here they are checking out their homemade target to see how they did.....

Colin showing how the BB pierces the target.
(and kills the boy.... silly silly boy!)

Julia showing off her BB talent... check out those rootbeer cans!

Colin so proud of the fire that he started....

The heroes of the trip... my kids LOVE their Nana and Papa. What would we do without them in our lives?
(Don't they look so happy in this picture?)

One of Colin's quests for this weekend was to saw down a tree. Joe helped him find a dead one. Everybody helped him saw it down....

Here's Daddy helping out a little bit....
(So... Papa and Daddy really sawed the tree down, but made Colin feel like he did it. Again, in case you missed it, Mr. Furedy and Papa are my heroes.)

My lumberjack!

Another great weekend over.... 9 summer weekends left. Stay tuned...
Night all.
C

I've Fallen Off the Wagon...

2010-06-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

So, for the last 8 weeks I have been awesome (seriously, rock awesome!) about exercising and eating right. (Yes, I know, those of you who follow me on Facebook are tired of the 'I need to run. I did run. I should run." posts... I am so sorry...)

I have lost a total of 15 pounds and 4% body fat. I have worked out harder and smarter than I have ever worked out before. I have committed to a diet in a way that I never have before. And I am more than halfway to where I would like to be (I'd like to lose 7 more pounds and 3% body fat). I feel like I'm doing this the right way too... I've got a good food plan, I'm not working out crazy amounts- but I'm working out in a way that I think I can continue to do in a long term way.

But, in the last couple of days I have fallen off the wagon and I'm having a hard time climbing back on it again..... it started off innocently enough... just one beverage that wasn't on the plan... one meal that wasn't on the plan. (oh, and then there's the half of a bag of red licorice that I've eaten...)

One of the saddest things is that I wasn't even CRAVING stuff off of my food plan. So, I know I can get back on track and do this. Mostly, I feel tired and not motivated to exercise. And, since most of my friends are now off work, several plans to go out and do fun things are looming and I know I'll want to 'take a break' on those evenings too.

I need to get re-motivated. HELP!! :)
Night all....
C

Fun in the Sun....

2010-05-31T20:16:00.000-07:00

Dear blog...
What a wonderful, fun, fantastic weekend we had.... a serious departure from reality into relaxation.

Now, we are all to tired to move or think... and momma just can't pull together a blog post to save her life (seriously, I so dead that all I want to do is watch brainless TV while laying on my bed nursing my sunburn).

Here are a few photos for you to enjoy. I promise a real post soon.....

All I can say as a wrap up is that summer so far is about as awesome as it can be....

Night all.....

Something about... summer

2010-05-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

There's something about summer... something magical....

I've been thinking about this all day (no rude comments please, I do occasionally have deep thoughts..). Summer is here. You can feel it throughout our house, in every aspect of our days... summer has been absorbed into our lives and it is just so wonderful. Our pace is different. Our days are different. Suddenly there seems like there are 3 extra hours in everyday... and of course there is time in one day to accomplish a million things- from chores to fun stuff.

What I can't seem to figure out is WHY life feels so different right now- what the major shift could be....

I'm still working. If anything, my work schedule and work load are heavier than they've been in awhile- trying to transition to a new position, trying to close out the normal end of the year stuff, (of course) there are a million Kindergarteners who need to be screened, and I am working out of boxes 'cause I haven't yet found the time or energy to rearrange and unpack in my new office (I have been left with shall we say, interesting furniture, and I need to figure out how to make that furniture work in that space for ME).

Mr. Furedy is still working. He's got a lot on his plate right now with work, and it is really filling his days. Not to mention he's using his extra time working on his car (there is some issue with his car that he's been working on for about three weeks or so... every time he thinks he has it... foiled again), fixing the usual stuff around the house (just replaced the light in the pool- Mr. Furedy is SO handy!), and trying to squeeze in at least a little canyoneering when he can (and it has been very little lately, but now that the magical summer is here... hopefully it will be more).

The kids. The kids are going to be spending the next few weeks with my mom and dad. This means that their days are way more relaxed, but they are still getting up in the morning, still have a lot of the same routines, and mostly the same schedule (I'm sure the day is much more fun just hanging out with Nana and Papa than learning in school all day... I will concede to that point!).

Despite all of this, which seems to mostly be life as usual, summer seems to have seriously changed the mood in our house. We just seem to have more time in every day. Today I (make that we as pretty much everybody in house helped with some amount of these chores, especially Mr. Furedy and Colin) accomplished an UNBELIEVABLE amount... from karate, grocery store, cleaning out the fridge, cleaning the kitchen (including my plant shelf that needed some serious attention), doing all the laundry, cleaning the entire downstairs (and some of the upstairs.. still need to do Colin's room), putting the laundry away, packing for our trip this weekend (more about that later), packing the kids clothes for Nana and Papa's house next week, a Costco and a Target run, an awesome 5 mile run, front and back yard edged and mowed and some new plants planted... and after all of that we still had time for a nice long swim and a great grilled dinner out by the pool. My house is clean, my kids are clean, we are organized for next week AND it is only 9 p.m. AND I am not dead tired.

And I know that the whole summer will be like this. (and it will be simply amazing). It gets even better in late June and early July when I can take some time off work... that's when the real cleaning and real cooking gets started.

What I don't understand is WHY this happens only in the summer?? Is it because my kids are more rested and relaxed so they are more go with the flow? Does just removing the homework, backpack, lunchbox packing, etc. that invades our lives during the school year really make that much of a difference? Is it because the sun is up and shining when I get up in the morning and just fading when I put my kids to bed? Is it because this is just what we've made our minds up that summer will be like so we fulfill our own prophecy? Maybe the smell of sunscreen affects us in a way that we are not aware of??

I don't know. Truly, I don't. But I sure love it (really, love it, with every ounce of my being..).

Here's hoping that summer lasts a good long while this year....
Wishing all of you a wonderful summer as well...
C

A Letter to My Small Fry

2010-05-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

Dearest Julia and Colin,
On August 10, 2009, it was the first day of school and I was the proud momma of a first and a third grader. You both seemed SO grown up to me on that day...

Today was the last day of school and I am now the proud momma of a second and a fourth grader (so hard to believe, I'm even having a hard time TYPING it...).

Check out the pictures below and see what an amazing year it has been....

Colin, you are no longer a baby (although you'll always be MY baby). You are SO grown up now. I've watched you learn so much this year- you became a READER (holy cow, I can't believe the level at which you are reading!), your math skills grew so much (keeping going with that algebraic thinking my dear and you can be an engineer like Daddy and your uncles!), and you gained more confidence in yourself. You learned to stand on your own two feet and to stand up to your sister a little bit more (although the house was much more peaceful when you just took it....). You also grew some front teeth, which is always good....

Julia, I think you grew more on the inside this year. You went from being someone who just wasn't quite sure how much she liked herself to being a self-confident little lady. You took off as a reader and REALLY discovered the true JOY that can be found in a good book (I still can't believe that you are starting the Harry Potter books over again though!) You bonded with your teachers this year- I believe that Mrs. Collins (aka Ms. Stolfa) helped you discover your true self, and Ms. Munzinger helped you to understand that it was okay to just be who you are. And I fully agree. I happen to absolutely love the person that you are and I am looking forward to knowing you as you grow older. And the physical changes are coming as well. You know, the ones that you aren't quite sure how to feel about, the ones that are taking you from being my little girl to being a young lady. (Yeah, those. Well... momma could really stand for you to wait a LITTLE longer for all of that- K?)

Munchies- I am just so very proud of both of you! You are both great students, great people, and overall a lot of fun to be around. You both grew so much this year. You were lucky to have the best teachers who were matched (just to you) to help you grow in the ways that you needed to grow. You worked hard, played hard, and grew an AMAZING amount. This mom couldn't ask for even one more thing!

Happy Summer Julia and Colin... you have earned a GREAT ONE!
Love always, your momma

Dear Blog...

2010-05-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

I miss you my friend. I miss talking with you. I miss pounding out my thoughts on the keyboard. I miss long rambling posts with way too many pictures. I even miss surfing around other people's blogs to get post ideas (no, wait, I would NEVER do that...).

But here's the thing. I'm tired. Not sleepy tired, but dog-gone bone tired. WHY you ask?

WELL.....School year is coming to a close. Choir ends on Saturday. Colin just got his orange belt in karate. I am working out ALL the TIME (okay, not all the time, but it sure feels like it). Our house is cluttered. I went off like a crazy person for a fun weekend in Vegas and haven't caught up yet. I am moving into a new position at work and it is giving me lots to think about. Basically.... life is just nuts and raisins right now.

So, instead of writing the lovely post that is rattling around in my head about how proud I am of my two little kiddos and how they have both worked very hard this year at things that don't come easy for them (choir and karate) and how successful they both were and how we as adults could really learn something from them and how proud I am as a momma... I'm gonna write that I am T-I-R-E-D and I am going to go to bed.

Maybe in a couple of weeks when a few more of these lovely things wrap themselves up I will be able to return and write a post that does not contain strange phrases and run on sentences. Until then.... love and kisses..
Carrie

VEGAS Baby....

2010-04-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

So, you know the saying... what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I think I am going to embrace that philosophy for our latest trip....

(I know, you are SO disappointed!! I can hear the crying now through my computer.... oh, okay, alright, enough!! So we'll share just a LITTLE bit....)

We headed to Vegas Thursday night. It was a good drive, with lots of time for Joe and I to talk and laugh. (and yeah, so, um, I slept a little bit too... hey, it had been a busy week!)

Thursday evening was fairly uneventful, but we were up fairly early on Friday morning to head here for our skydiving adventure. (For those of you who don't know, Joe asked to go skydiving for his birthday. He has decided that life is too short, and you should just do the things that you've always wanted to do. Note things that 'he' wanted to do...) Unfortunately, after suiting up and waiting for a little over an hour, we found out that the winds were TOO high and we were not going to be able to jump that day. (this was disappointing, but also VERY reassuring because we knew that they were taking the whole thing very seriously and putting safety above all else!) They asked us to come back the next day at 7:30 a.m. for another try....

Friday night we went and saw Love at the Mirage. AMAZING. Seriously, AMAZING. I have NEVER seen anything like it. The music was amazing, the show was amazing, the stage was amazing..... I was blown away. We managed (at about 4 p.m. in the afternoon) to score FRONT ROW tickets to the 9:30 show. I had SO much fun.... and we stayed up soooo late.

Saturday morning arrived very early! But, we were off to try the skydiving thing AGAIN. Thank goodness the wind was calm this time and we actually got to jump.
Here's a photo of us pre-jump... (I look so AMAZINGLY calm....)

And here's the video of Joe's jump....

(No, we didn't buy my video. Trust me, the videos were WAY expensive, and so we decided that just one would be okay.... plus, Joe had bought me front row tickets to Love the night before.... )

I have to admit that I was not that excited about this whole experience... I was going to be with Joe while he had this 'once in a lifetime' experience... but in all honesty, it was pretty AMAZING. I was not a fan of the free fall, but once that parachute opened and I was just drifting down... looking at the beautiful scenery... there is nothing like it. If you have never done it... I would really suggest giving it a try! (We need to give a shout out here to Vegas Extreme Skydiving, and our new BESTEST friends... Jake and Brad. They took very good care of us.... and I don't think either of us have ever been "closer" to a strange man before...)

After skydiving, pretty much everything else seems a little, well.... boring. We did some shopping, I played a few penny slots, and we spent some time by the pool. We had a really good time Saturday night- we had a great dinner and then spent a few hours rocking it at the Bar at Times Square in the New York New York. I am a HUGE fan of dueling piano bars, and this one is the BEST. We had lots of fun (and... shh.. don't tell him I told you... but Joe actually DANCED with me!!) Here's the one requisite shot of me all dressed up.... (sorry, no couple photos, we just didn't think to ask someone to take our picture!)

Sunday morning we enjoyed a buffet breakfast and then headed home.... back to reality....

It was a great trip and just what the doctor ordered... for both of us! We needed to recharge our batteries, and this trip was just what we needed before the craziness of the last month of school hits.... now to look forward to our summer vacation in San Juan Capistrano!

Have a great one....
C

Happy Birthday Mr. Furedy

2010-04-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

Mr. Furedy turned 37 on Sunday.

We were pretty low key with the birthday celebrating this year... the kids and I (and Grandma Paulette) took him to The Keg (a very favorite restaurant) for a quite yummy steak dinner on Saturday night. His actual birthday was filled with a karate tournament for Colin, swimming, and taking a nap. Oh, and folding laundry. Poor guy! But it was a good birthday none the less...

Mr. Furedy's 36th year was an eventful one.... from the beginning to the end. It definitely had it's ups and it's downs, but in reflection, I think it was a pretty awesome year. Joe has always been a pretty easy going, reflective guy. But I think this year has given him a new appreciation for just enjoying this ride we call life by making the most of every day. I know that this year we grew together as husband and wife, that Joe grew as a father, and we all learned a lot of lessons along the way. (oh, and Joe picked up a new, pretty cool scar too... I don't think he'll be forgetting year 36 anytime soon!)

Here's a few highlights from Year 36
(I know, another picture heavy post. So sue me!).

Joe and Colin on his birthday, 2009.

Joe on our summer vacation in Colorado, white water rafting.

Joe and the kids at the Pointe South Mountain in August.

Joe in the hospital right before coming home- October.

Trademark Furedy Beard while recovering- October.

59th Annual Treasure Hunt- October.

New Year's Eve- Hanging with me during my recovery.

Magic Mountain with Colin- March.

Finally canyoneering again- March.

(okay, this pic isn't from March, but hey, it's a pic of Joe in a canyon).

I look at these photos and I am amazed at the man that I see. Even more amazed that I fell in love with him when he was 15 years old. That was 22 years ago (just in case you couldn't do that math in your head). And I love him more EVERY SINGLE DAY. (I am not quite sure how that is possible, but I know it is true. You'd think at some point there would be a limit or something... but not really.)

There is still more birthday celebrating to be done... Joe and I are heading off to Vegas this weekend, leaving our darling children (Sarcasm you say? You hear sarcasm in that statement?) in the quite wonderful hands of their Grandma for a few days. Should be a great trip... a chance to get away and reconnect. (Some of you remember our last plan to get away and reconnect... remember that cruise we were going to take? Well... we never quite got there, but Vegas... Vegas is going to be awesome.)

Happy Birthday Mr. Furedy. Here's to year 37. Thanks for spending the last 22 with me. I am looking forward to year 23 with you.... I know it's going to be FABULOUS!
Night all...
C

"Dam" Good Camping

2010-04-11T21:20:00.000-07:00

We spent this weekend- Friday night until Sunday afternoon- doing some 'dam' good camping near Apache Lake. (Warning, this is picture heavy post. Sorry. Had to be done.)

I have to admit that I was less than excited about this camping trip. We've had some pretty busy weeks lately between school, work, extra curricular activities, and Easter. I also know that we have some really busy weeks ahead of us (our weekends are booked through May at this point and I know this isn't uncommon for a lot of families, but we've found our family needs some down time or people get crabby. Mainly the momma.). So... when Thursday night rolled around and I hadn't shopped, packed or even thought about this trip... I was less than thrilled (I think there were even some curse words muttered under my breath....) But, this trip had been on the books for several months (ah, the joys of planning ahead), we had committed to Joe's brother and his wife that we were coming (and I had committed to bringing our share of the food, so we would have left them hanging without lunch goodies), and Joe and the kids were really excited (not that it takes too much to get our group excited about being outside), so I gathered my strength and got us ready to go....

We had the best time camping that we have had in a really long time.

First of all, we had an EXCELLENT camp site. All the thanks go to Jason and Paige (Joe's brother and sister-in-law) who went up last weekend and scoped out a good spot. This spot was just perfect. It was away from the lake, so we weren't TOO close to the other campers (all of whom seemed to have pit bulls? Seriously, there was like a pack of pit bulls at the lake. We saw SEVERAL dog fights while we were there), but it was close enough to the lake that we could take a short walk and enjoy the lake fully. When I say fully, I mean that we could crawl into the lake up to about our knees and then come out whimpering because it was SO COLD (I do have to brag that both Joe and I did get all the way in... for just a couple of short moments). Our camp spot happened to be VERY close to a small stream that was running... so the kids had access to the water the entire time that we were there. It also turned into a great science experiment (I know, seriously, can we do anything that ISN'T educational, but you gotta seize the opportunity while you can...) because the kids (with lots of support from Uncle Joe, Aunt Paige and Doug) spent a lot of time trying to dam (NOW you get the post title) and divert the water in the stream. They sure learned the power of water.......

The weather was also PERFECT. Seriously. PERFECT.

The next best thing was the company. We really enjoy camping with Jason and Paige and their kiddos. Although we are not exactly alike in terms of parenting style, there is enough significant overlap that the trip is enjoyable for all. For this trip, we were also joined by Karen, Doug and Nadine- some friends of Jason and Paige. Again, just great companions. The kids all got along well and enjoyed each others company. It was a good range of ages for the kids... everybody had somebody to play with... and if you got tired of the person you were playing with, there was someone else to explore with as well.

And then of course, there was the food ('cause what is camping without food?). We divided up the food responsibility as per our usual... and it worked out great. We had tons of great food to enjoy (and yes, for those of you who are wondering I did STAY on my diet, skipped the alcohol, and only had ONE diet Coke all weekend). Paige does a great camping dinner... and we all enjoyed the fruits of her labor. It was also nice to have three moms on the trip... so we could all help the kids get food, fix things, and have their needs met... which was a nice thing as well.

Our family left fairly early on Sunday... wrapped up the trip with a wonderful drive through the desert, a short hike at Fish Creek and lunch at the Canyon Lake Marina, which was a great end to a very wonderful weekend.

I am so glad I got my attitude in order and got my stuff together so we could go on this trip... now if some magic fairy could just arrive and take care of my laundry... the world would be a very happy place. Hope you all had a wonderful Spring weekend where ever you are.....
C

Honoring Papa

2010-04-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

**See, I'm getting caught up. This should have been posted in mid-February. I'll close the gaps eventually!**

Some of you who know me well know that I am very close to both of my parents. I love them both dearly, they are a HUGE part of my kiddos lives, and I am proud to consider both of them among my best friends. My parents are pretty different people- and I have taken pieces of each of them into my own personality. This apple didn't fall too far from that tree..... (here's a photo of the parental units... just for reference... you can skip the comments about inheriting their looks too... I know! I know!)

When I think about my dad, I always think about his work ethic. As long as I can remember, my dad has worked. And I know that this is true of most people- this is what dads do. They work. But I don't know if everybody defines work the way that my dad does. See, it's not enough to just show up to work every day, according to the book of Ted. You show up on time (or early), you work hard, you are thoughtful about the work you do, you search for ways to make the work better or more productive or smarter, you come home (usually after the time you were scheduled to go home) and you get up the next morning and you do it all again. You treat your subordinates well, and never as subordinates. You bring treats. Lots of homemade treats (I just wish I had my mom to bake them for me too!). You dress appropriately for your position, you present yourself professionally and you never ever EVER quit.

My dad has worked hard his WHOLE LIFE. He enlisted in the Air Force at the age of 17 and served his country for 22 years. During parts of the time when he was in the Air Force he worked two jobs (he worked at a gas station at night) to make ends meet. My dad retired with the rank of Chief Master Sergeant- which is the top level for an enlisted man in the Air Force. It is VERY rare for someone to achieve this rank in such a short period of time. But my dad did. After my dad left the Air Force, he went into the private industry- and he worked even harder. Through all of this he continually made sacrifices so that he could provide for his family. He worked hard, got promotions, got pay raises, and kept working even harder.

Then the lay-off came. I don't know if it was a surprise to him, but it was a surprise to me. Julia wasn't very old at the time, and my mom was watching her when I worked. All of a sudden- my dad- the dad who had ALWAYS worked- wasn't working anymore. But he approached that situation with the same determination that he had approached his career to that point. At the same time, he got a huge gift... the opportunity to be at home for a little while AND bond with my Julia- which was just amazing to watch. (this is also the time that my 'dad' became 'Papa' and hasn't been called anything else since...)

The next few years brought several different jobs- some a better fit than others- and some with some very interesting schedules- but he finally ended up at a company where he was back working with airplanes and airplane parts. Just his cup of tea. And the old dad was back again. Going in early, coming home late. Thinking, suggesting, and fighting when there was a fight to be fought.

And then the time came. Time to retire. The man who was born to work- who taught me about working- from whom I've gained my personal work ethic- hung up his hat and called it a day.

He's now been officially retired for about six weeks. I think it's going well. But, I think the whole process is going to be a transition. I think it might take a little while for him to find a comfortable place in life that doesn't revolve around working... but I ~~think~~ know he's going to love it.

See, in the end, I think that is why you do what my dad did. Working and having a good work ethic is amazing. It is challenging and you learn a lot by doing it. The work is exhilarating, it's hard and it fills you up. I know. I'm following my dad's footsteps every step of the way. But at the same time, I know that one day, my turn will come too. And I know that I will enjoy my retirement. Because I will know that I gave it my all everyday....

Here's a huge thank you to my dad. Thanks for all you taught me- both on purpose and just through example. I hope that you enjoy every moment of your retirement....
C

PS This post is about my dad, but it isn't fair to NOT mention my mom in this post. A LOT of what my dad was able to accomplish was made possible by my mom... who stayed home, raised us kids, fed him great meals, ironed his uniform, AND listened. Every day. She was his sounding board. I do not remember a dinnertime at our household that didn't involve my mom and dad talking about his day at work. She was there for him and was a huge part of what he accomplished. Sometime soon I'll share some of the great stuff I learned from my mom too.....

Catching Up & Cora Jane

2010-04-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

So it seems that once again, I have neglected my blog for OVER A MONTH.

Sometimes I just don't know where time goes... seriously... the month of March just passed me by.... and I have nothing to show for it except some wonderful memories. And, I guess, that is the point of life eh? To have wonderful memories....

But, I told myself that I would keep the blog so that I would remember the memories for years to come and so that my kids could go back some day and read about their mommy's (sometime) crazy thoughts (okay, always crazy thoughts) about all that went on in our house while they were growing up.

It's gonna take me awhile to catch up, but ONE of the reasons (I have to be truthful that some of the other reasons were because I was being kinda lazy and really liking sleeping more than anything else) that I haven't posted lately is because I just couldn't find the time to sit down and do a LONGGGGG post that would catch everybody up from the last time I posted.

So, rather than continue to procrastinate, I decided that I really could (since it is my blog and I can just make up the rules as I go along...) just do a few short posts that would close the gap of the month we will call Total Madness, aka March.

March brought lots of great and fun times to the Furedy household... and I promise to fill you in on those... Joe's first canyoneering trip, a great Spring Break in California, my latest and greatest adventures into the world of exercise and dieting... (oh, and I have some February stuff to fill you in on, like Papa's retirement and some other important days...)

But today, my post is about the newest member of our extended family.... Cora Jane.

Many of you know that I have a niece (Asher) who is the same age as Colin and a nephew (Gundry) who is 5. I have posted about them before and how much I have enjoyed watching them grow and change... and what great friends they are to my kiddos- which I think is such an awesome thing.

And now, we have a new niece, who I am sure will quickly blend into the wonderful family mix of cousins!

Mike and Vanessa welcomed their beautiful daughter into their family at 9:33 in the evening on March 10th. (what a cool birthdate 3-10-10 I think I'll actually be able to remember that one!)

Cora Jane (AMAZING name isn't it? I just love love love her name) is a beautiful young lady. She's giving her mommy and daddy a real run for their money right now (if memory serves correctly this is what all babies do...) but I am sure that she'll have them trained (I know Julia and Colin worked hard to 'train' me) before we know it.

We got a chance to meet the darling girl on Saturday. Here are a few photos. Joe and I both enjoyed holding her and loving on her (and then giving her back to her parents to take home!). Julia enjoyed holding her as well. Colin, well... Colin might be interested when she can run around and communicate. :)

Welcome to our family Cora Jane. We are so happy that you arrived safely and are here for all of us to love and spoil. Be a good baby and let your parents sleep at least a little bit tonight- okay?

Night all. I'll be back soon (really this time... I promise!)
C

SuperBowl at the Furedy House

2010-02-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

So I have a confession to make (are you prepared? sitting down?). We are probably the most un-American family out there because (I am warning you... you should sit down).... we do not watch the SuperBowl. I know, I know. You are now thinking that you need to stop reading this blog immediately and make sure that you delete your browser history just so no one knows that you EVER associated with our type.

Joe has never been that much into sports... and as for me... yeah. We are lucky that I know the difference between a basketball and a football. So, the desire to watch an entire game of football really isn't there. We don't watch football at all during the regular season... so we don't much see the point of watching it after the regular season. (In fact, Colin came home from school asking Joe and I who was playing in the SuperBowl this year and it took the two of us about 15 minutes to come up with the names of the teams...)

Then, there are the commercials. And truthfully, those little gems DREW us in to the game for a couple of years. See... since MOST normal (yeah, I know, again you cannot believe you are still reading this blog...) folks in our country DO watch the game... the commercials are SERIOUS water cooler fodder on Monday. And you know, we were trying to keep our little non-sports secret (ha ha, until this darn blog post) so we would watch the game for the commercials. (Well, watch the game might be a little bit of an overstatement... we would play a game or do something else and just watch the commercials... then with the advent of TiVo, we learned to record the game and just fast forward to see the commercials... totally backwards from our normal behavior.) But, over time, even this lost it's luster, and became not that important to us. See... the radio stations, the news stations, and the Internet all FULLY cover the commercials... so you can actually skip watching them and STILL know what folks are talking about on Monday morning (usually you even know enough to participate in the conversation).

Now, we have given in a few times in the past few years... occasionally we get invited to a party and we usually go to that because it is fun and our kids have a great time (and I usually still don't watch the game... I mean seriously, I sit in the kitchen and eat. Because there is NO better food than SuperBowl snacks). We watched the year that the Cardinals were in the game (because seriously, we would have definately gotten kicked out of the country for missing the SuperBowl when the hometown team was playing...) But, in general, we just don't watch.

So... what do we do? Well... here's a little known secret (and again, I'm blowing it on the blog!). You can get into basically ANY restaurant during the SuperBowl without waiting. You know that little bistro down the street that usually has a two hour wait? Yep, not during the Super Bowl. The new BBQ place that has only been open for a month and you haven't even been able to get near the door... yep.. no wait during the SuperBowl!

We chose Red Lobster this year. (I know, not TOO exciting, but...) The Red Lobster down the street from our house usually has up to a 2 hour wait on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. We have kids. We really don't wait to go to restaurants... 'cause that would be insane. I love Red Lobster when I am watching my caloric intake (because they have lots of grilled shrimp choices... which I can have!) and Miss Julia loves to eat there because they have crab legs on the kid's menu. So... Red Lobster it was. We walked right in, were seated right away, and got EXCELLENT service. It was nice. We lingered over dinner (hey, there was NOBODY waiting for our table...) and just had some great family time. I think we'll plan ahead more next year... I need to write down those restaurants that we usually can't get into as the year goes on, 'cause we really couldn't think of them today when it dawned on us that our dining opportunity had arrived again.

Now... (if you are still reading....) the only issue is this... I believe that we are raising a son who is sports 'challenged' due to his parents lack of Americanism. Anybody out there want to adopt Colin sometime so he can learn about football and be more of a part of society than his parents? Thanks. We appreciate your help!

I know this post is farewell to some of my followers. Please know I loved having you stop by, and if you can ever forgive me, I would love to have you back.
Night all.
C

The.Black.Cloud.

2010-02-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

So... some (okay, every stinkin' person who knows me or reads this darn blog) people might (okay, absolutely for sure) have noticed that the Furedy Family has had a bit (okay, one ginormous) black cloud hovering over our heads for the last six months or so.... four surgeries, two hospitalizations, one canceled cruise, two cases of strep, one case of pneumonia, one cracked tooth (that one hasn't even made the blog yet), two bouts of stomach bugs, one speeding ticket (oh yeah, that didn't make the blog either!), more hospital bills than you could count (how about over $150,000 in medical expenses... thank goodness for insurance... but if you think about 10%.... yikes!), and on and on and on. Overall, I think we have handled this with some level (okay, just a little bit) of grace... I mean.... the kids were fed, clothed and loved during this whole experience, the house remained standing (although not always clean), and we managed to stay married. :) But, it has been a rough (okay, totally traumatic and CRAZY) six months and we are ready for it all to be over.....

And I am having true faith that it is OVER. We have weathered this storm. The cloud is passing (seriously, because if it doesn't, I'm not quite sure that we can hang on to any sort of grace...). So, as always (okay, some of the time) after a, shall we call it 'experience', I try to reflect on what I have learned (better known as what slapped me in the face as I was going through the 'experience'). This time, since it was really my whole family, this post will try to reflect on what we (yes, that would be the 'royal' we) learned.

We learned that as a family, we are STRONG. That we can face situations head on (well, maybe not head on, but we can still face them even if we are cowering a bit in the corner...).

We learned (again, 'cause seriously we have learned this lesson before) that we have an AMAZING family (okay, not all of them, sorry to say it but a few of these folks kinda let us down while this was all going on, but that is a learning too) and an AMAZING group of friends (and now, I'm talking about all of them... and even a few 'acquaintances') who stood by us. Who comforted us. Who fed us. Who held our hands. Who cried with us. Who prayed with us. Who LOVED us. I even had a friend who just listened. That's all. I would just call her and she would just listen to me (not saying much at all). And then when I was done she would tell me she loved me and that everything would be okay and we would hang up. Amazing. Beautiful.

We learned that taking a deep breath is a very important skill. And slowing down a bit might really be a good idea. And that when you slow down... you do see more, experience more, and appreciate more the world that surrounds you.

Moving on to my learnings...
I learned (again) that Joe is a FANTASTIC dad. He really does know how to care for our kids, to meet their needs, to feed them nutritious meals, and to help them with homework. And maybe, just maybe I should back off a little bit and let him do that a little more often.

I learned that I really do love spending time puttering around my house. And cooking. And baking. And stitching. And reading. And decorating. And DIYing. And blogging. And I'd love to have more time to do that more often. And maybe, just maybe, I'd like to be defined more by some of these things than by my career. (and no, I'm not quitting my job.... but I think I need to redefine a little bit).

I learned that I want to be the kind of friend or family member that really reaches out. REALLY reaches out when someone is struggling. I learned how valuable it is to just be that friend who listens. I learned that it really isn't annoying when you call someone who is having a bad time... and if they don't want to talk at that minute that you can leave a message on the phone... and it WILL matter to them later. I learned that you do notice who calls you, who supports you, who prays for you. And those people become more 'your people' because of it.

I have several dear friends who are really having a hard time right now. Experiencing their own 'black cloud'. For some of them it is a mini-cloud.... and for others it is a cloud that dwarfs the one that we faced. And my heart aches for them. ACHES. But I learned... so I will be different for them. I will do the things that others did for me. And maybe, just maybe, that was what I was SUPPOSED to learn.

If you are the praying kind, can you keep our family in your prayers? (I'd just like the extra insurance that the cloud has passed...) And keep those around me in your prayers?

And if you aren't the praying kind... just think good thoughts for all the folks you love.
Night all. Here's to sunny skies.

C

Neglected.

2010-02-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

I know. I know. I have neglected you lately my dear little blog. Please know that this neglect was not in vain- I have been very busy....

Busy filling this*adorable* box with goodies for my sister-in-law Vanessa and my new little niece Cora (who should make her grand entrance sometime next month) because we will be 'showering' them with happiness and gifts this weekend.....

Busy glittering letters and digging through all my scrapbooking stuff to help Mr. Colin get ready for his 'Star of the Week' next week (which was thankfully postponed from the week that I had my surgery because his teacher is awesome!)\

Busy helping Julia with the math from this book... she's raised $145 in pledges for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for completing these math problems in her free time. (So proud of her dedication and desire to help others...)

Busy making this lovely wall art for Julia's room. (The idea came from this blog... and just for reference, I did hand embroider it and the level of cuteness really is about 1,495,282. By the way, I'm dying to make another one of these... anybody interested? You buy the supplies, I'll supply the labor! I will have to post a picture of this hanging later... it is cuter than this photo shows!)

Busy challenging my husband to round after round of this game.... (ah... Dominion. Thanks to Mom and Steve for this LOVELY Christmas present....)

Busy ordering photos to fill this photo frames in my house from our AMAZING photo session with this wonderful lady earlier this year.... (you know your session was amazing when you spend 3 hours trying to decide just which photos to order...)

Busy LOVING my new photos over my fireplace mantle (again.. from this AMAZING photographer... but really busy trying to figure out what else to put on the mantle to balance everything out...)

Busy trying to decide just WHAT to do with the 'art' area of my house (because the current state of things just cannot be... this is one of the few areas left to 'muck' out... suggestions are WELCOME!)

Busy trying to figure out just what I want to do with this awesome wreath before I hang it by my front door (I'm thinking hanging it from just a simple ribbon, no bow.. just a loop... and don't ask me why blogger INSISTS on rotating this photo, but it does...)

Busy trying to gather the courage to start this project (because I love it soooo much and I simply don't want to do anything to ruin it....)

Oh, and yeah, busy taking*more* of these... since my return to work last week lasted all of ONE DAY before I ended up with a serious case of strep and two and half days off of work.. (I think my immune system just might be a *little* off... and this means I'm back to really low energy too, which is really disappointing to me....)

So, I am sorry my dear blog. I promise that I will be better this week... that I will write more, post more, picture more, and keep you more up to date... (after I sleep and rest a little more...)
Night all-
C

PS What else haven't I been busy doing? Ah... well... these haven't been on my feet in 8 weeks (and I can sure tell by the way my pants fit ... or don't fit as the case may be....)

Operation Stay Awake

2010-01-22T20:13:00.000-08:00

So... since my surgery (and especially since the kids have gone back to school) I have either
a. slept in until 10 a.m. OR
b. taken a nap at some point during the day.

I know, I know... this is to be expected. I had major surgery. I am still recovering.

However, I am (if everything looks good at the doctor on Monday- cross your fingers!) going back to work on Tuesday... and I don't think that I will be allowed to come in at noon after sleeping all morning OR be allowed to lay down under my desk around 2 p.m. and take a little nap. So... in my attempt to get things back to normal, I figured I needed to start trying to stay awake all day and get back into a routine. Now, a smart person probably would have started that earlier than today, but hey, I never claimed to be smart....

Operation Stay Awake was my attempt today to get up with the kids and stay up all day without napping. I started the day by working on Shutterfly some more. (My pics are updated, I am now working on some old photos from 2005 AND working on the family yearbooks from 2008 and 2009.) I have to admit, I love Shutterfly and I enjoy getting caught up on my photos. I really get a sense of accomplishment by keeping this site updated.

Then I wrote a post for this here blog about overreacting to the rain....

Next, I made pie. Peach pie AND cherry pie. My dear friend Margie lost her husband this week, and the folks from work are providing some of the food for at her house after the funeral... thus the pies. (I also baked brownies last night... yummy!) Forgot to take photos though... sorry!

Then came laundry. (Laundry seems to be NEVERENDING these days. I think it's because we are wearing winter clothes and they take up more room...) About this time, I decided that I *might* like to lay down for a little while, but I hung in there and stuck with it.....

A shower was next (no photos... I know you are bummed about that, but hey, a girl's gotta leave something to the imagination right?).

I took the pies into work and then met Joe for lunch at Charlston's. Ohhh... heaven. Have you ever had their croissants? Out of this world. Their soup on Friday is Clam Chowder too.... let me tell you what, that was one good lunch.

Next was grocery shopping (oh wait, I had one *little* stop before that... Dress Barn was having a 'Closing This Location' sale and everything was 85% off. So I stopped in. Got a pair of dress pants for $3, a top for $4 and a top for $2). Okay, back on track to groceries.. I had found 6 or 7 new recipes I wanted to try, so I took my list and hit Super Target for a major grocery run.

Home then...and the desire for a nap was HUGE. I hung in there though... unloaded the groceries and started cooking. First two recipes out of the gate were Spicy Shrimp on Twice Baked Potatoes (Paula Dean) and Big-Batch Jambalaya (Taste of Home). We had the Spicy Shrimp for dinner tonight and we'll have the Jambalaya this weekend and Joe will have leftovers for lunch next week.

So, now, it's 9:00. And I'm goin' to bed. 'Cause Operation Stay Awake is OVAH. :)
Night all.
C

PS Think I can do it again tomorrow? :)

Rain.Rain.RAIN.

2010-01-22T06:58:00.000-08:00

We have gotten more rain here in the last several days than we've gotten in the last few years combined. Last night there was a Tornando Warning in our neck of the woods..... it has just been crazy. Tons and tons of auto accidents on the streets (seriously, folks DO NOT know how to drive when it is wet here... just because they never have to do it!). My pool has begun to overflow onto the pool deck. (I would take a picture and post it here, but that would mean that I would have to go outside in this rain... and I'm still in my jammies folks!). Here is a photo of the street in front of our house... doesn't really do the amount of water justice... there is about a foot of standing water next to the curbs.

And, even with all of this, the media response to this whole thing has been HYSTERICAL. Storm 2010. Seriously. Okay folks, it is rain. I know we don't get it often. I know we rarely get it more than one day in a row. I know that there has been a lot of wind too (my umbrella got turned inside out yesterday when I was going to pick up the kids from school!). And I think it is interesting and noteworthy (thus the blog entry). But, still, just rain. So, stop complaining about it, stop worrying about it, drive like sane people, and enjoy it. We probably won't see it again for another year or so! And get prepared... because a rain like this now... is gonna lead to LOTS and LOTS of these in a week or two.... (and yes, this group is ALREADY growing in my rock bed near the entryway... sigh.)

Have a great day all!

Resolutions

2010-01-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

Do you all remember my New Year's Resolution? Live more, stress less? Stay in the moment? Live life to it's fullest....

Well, truthfully been having a really hard time with that resolution during the past few days- even though I've gotten lots of reminders that that is ABSOLUTELY what I MUST do...

Seems that every time I turn a corner I hit a wall. Multiple family situations that I simply cannot understand no matter how much I try (to understand it OR change it), work that is PILING up while I am on leave (and my general nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe, this isn't the job for me anymore?), a darling daughter who gets frustrated so easily (gee, wonder where she gets that from?), medical bills that just seem to appear out of nowhere (especially when we thought we finally had it all paid).... it all seems to overwhelm me at times. And I get lost in all of that 'stuff' (this is a family blog or you KNOW what word I really would be using...) and I forget to remember my resolution. I forget to cherish my moments. I forget to take my daily picture. And I get lost.

A dear friend lost her husband several days ago to cancer. He started feeling poorly around the time that Joe had his blood clot. And now he is gone. Another family member has found out some health news that is not good (not life threatening, but yet, not good). And I know that I need to look at those events, support those that need supporting, and use them as reminders to appreciate all that I have- all that I have been given- and to (just like the darn resolution says) live life to its fullest.

But it's been a dark few days my friends and I'm having a hard time doing that. So, I'm putting it out there that I've had a hard time for the last few days. And now I'm MOVING ON. Because tomorrow... tomorrow just has to be better. 'Cause I resolved it. And I gotta do it.

Night all.
C

Love, Love, Love

2010-01-16T17:15:00.000-08:00

I ordered this on New Year's Eve and it arrived in my mailbox on Friday. And I love it!

If you love it too, you can visit Beki's blog here, and her Etsy shop here.

More love for these brownies! They are so AWESOME! Super gooey, caramely, chocolate goodness. Want the recipe? You can find it here.

Love for family trips and the spread that we all put out... here's the snack table. Yes, you read right... these are just the 'snacks'.

And last but not least, I love these kids (these aren't the only kids I love (note my Miss Julia is missing...), but the ones I caught on film today. Cousins Asher and Gundry as well as Mr. Colin enjoying the snow.

Who or what do YOU love today? I'd love to hear....

Legos, Legos, Legos....

2010-01-13T22:02:00.000-08:00

The kids got their report cards for second quarter this week. I have to say that I was VERY proud of both of them. They are working hard and it shows from what their teachers have to say about them.

The tradition in our family is that we do something special if the kids get good report cards. I don't believe in paying kids for grades, but I do believe in celebrating a job well done. If Joe or I get a promotion or have a good review at work, we often all go out and celebrate. Since I view school as our kids' version of work... I want to celebrate them as well. Our 'something special' has been all kinds of different things during the past few years....

So, of course, as we are talking about the report cards over dinner, the topic of what their 'something special' would be came up. And Colin jumped on it RIGHT AWAY. He was very clear that what he would like to do is go to the Lego store. And could we go right now? Tonight? As soon as dinner is over? (Julia didn't really have an idea of what she wanted to do... and she still doesn't. She tried telling me she could just take the money, but I explained that it doesn't work that way... and she's been thinking ever since. I can't wait to see what she dreams up!)

After crushing his little heart and letting him know that we couldn't go RIGHT NOW... I told him that we would try to fit it in later in the week.. which we did on Tuesday night (not bad- just had to wait one night). The funny thing is that I had figured that I would take Colin and Julia to the mall to hit the Lego store and give Joe a night off (he's had A LOT of kid responsibility lately as I have recovered and I figured he could really use a night to himself) but he REALLY didn't want to miss the Lego store either, so he met us at the mall so he and Colin could shop.

And shop they did. Colin started by just wandering around for about 20 minutes and looking at everything. They have these great displays with little round windows that you can look into- right at kid height. Colin really enjoyed looking at those. His favorite part of Legos is the guys.. so he enjoyed checking out what the guys were doing in each different window. Here he is, checking it out....

Then, Colin got a 4 inch by 4 inch 'fill your own' container (the real purpose for being there!). Bascially, this is just a container that you pay a flat fee for ($7.99) and you get to fill it from the Lego wall within the store. I don't think the Lego corporation plans on people like our family with this deal. Joe worked with Colin to pack the Legos in the most efficient way so Colin could get the largest number of Legos for his money. It took them OVER AN HOUR to fill this little container. Colin would talk with Joe about what he could build with each different piece. Then Colin would think and decide if he wanted some of that piece. Then Colin would need to decide how many he needed. Then he would give them to Joe and Joe would pack them in the container. It was great to watch... and I love seeing how Colin's brain is working these days. Here are my two guys at the Lego wall....

Obviously I was running around taking pictures while all of this was going on- that and talking to the sales people. What was Julia doing you ask? Well... take a look and see. :)

Colin also took some of his Christmas money and bought a Lego shaped container to hold some of his prized Legos in. It is pretty cool looking- has two layers inside that are divided into compartments, a handle and the little Lego prongs that stick up out of the top actually unscrew to create 6 little compartments. (I'm sure this will be showing up in a photo soon....) Now, this is right up Colin's alley... he spent tonight packing Legos to take with him when he sees his cousin Gundry (and yes, it took him OVER AN HOUR to select the Legos for his container at home too!). Gotta love that kid!

Overall, a great trip for all involved. I'll keep you updated if Miss Julia ever decides what she would like her 'special something' to be...
Night all.
C

Not Me! Monday!

2010-01-11T10:03:00.000-08:00

In all of my recent blog reading (okay, borderline obsessive blog reading- I mean seriously- when you get tired after being up for an hour- you need something you can lay around and do with little effort...) I stumbled across MckMama's blog. She does a 'blog carnival' (other folks post on the same topic and all link to her blog) each week called, Not Me! Monday! Here's how she describes this feature, 'Let's take our not-so-proud moments and spin them around in a delightful therapy session, shall we? This kind of therapy is free, funny, and oh so refreshing. That's right: It's time for Not Me! Monday!'

Here's my first go with Not Me! Monday!

I really did not wear the same pair of jeans every single day last week without washing them just because they are the only pair that fit right now. Nope, not me.

I did not allow my children to eat Krispy Kreme donuts this morning for breakfast (after eating them yesterday for breakfast too) just because I knew that if they didn't, I would eat them while they were at school today. No, I am a good mom and watch what my kids eat and I would never sacrifice their eating habits to keep me from eating something. Nope, not me.

AND then, I did not eat the last of the Christmas cookies for breakfast because the donuts were gone. No, I would make sure that my recovering body had good nutritious food to help it heal. I would never eat cookies for breakfast. Nope, not me. (and the fact that I only have one pair of jeans that fits has EVERYTHING to do with my surgery and nothing to do with the fact that I've eaten Christmas cookies for breakfast several times recently. Nope. Because I would NEVER do that more than once...)

I absolutely, positively did not sand my latest DIY project, my little red box while in the garage, creating a horrible mess of red sand dust all over everything. Nope, not me.

I have not spent endless hours laying in bed reading blogs recently. I am being productive with my time off, accomplishing lots of tasks like organizing my photos and going through paperwork, just like I planned that I would do. I would never waste my time off work while recovering surfing around the net reading blogs. Nope, not me.

I have not spent the hours that I have not been in bed thinking of cleaning/decorating projects that need to be done in our house that I cannot do just yet. And then made my husband do them. Like clean the top plant shelf around the kitchen, reorganize the furniture in the front room, put all the Christmas decorations in the attic, etc. etc. I would never make my husband (who has lots of extra responsibility lately with picking up and dropping off the kids at school) do extra chores just because I have all this time to sit around and think them up. Nope, not me.

That's all for this week's edition of Not Me! Monday! folks. I think I *might* make a habit of joining in on this one... it was fun!
C

DIY... The Beginning....

2010-01-10T22:54:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks I have been doing a lot of blog reading. And when I say 'a lot' of blog reading... trust me, I mean A LOT. I've found some great looking blogs (stay tuned- redesign of mine is in the works and thanks to Mr. Sherwood it's gonna be awesome!... some unbelieveable recipes (trust me on this, I am going to post a to-die-for brownie recipe later this week).. a lot of wonderful decorating ideas (coming in the next few months, my laundry room remodel)... and a lot of interesting do it yourself (DIY) projects.

Sooo... can you tell I'm not working right now and have lots of extra 'thinking time'. Joe can sure tell. And I think he's about ready for me to be healthy enough to go back to work. Because I keep thinking of jobs like this one for him to do.... (yes, that is Joe cleaning the plant shelf above the kitchen...)

Anyway... after reading post after post about DIY success and the ability to take things that look like junk and turn them into nice household decor, I decided... I can do that! (I think...)

We went to Savers the other night to look for Colin a heavy winter jacket for our upcoming trip to Flagstaff. That kid is so warm blooded, and we have so few cold days here, it really isn't worth the money to pay full price for a heavy winter jacket. He'll probably wear it in Flagstaff and maybe one other time before he outgrows it. We actually got lucky and not only found a nice, heavy, not horrifically colored jacket for Colin ($12) but we also found a pair of bib snow pants for Julia ($7). This will be great for her because she gets cold so easily (seriously, are my kids related?) this way she might be able to play in the snow a little more. After our success in the clothing department, I wandered through the household items just looking to see if I could find something to 'transform'. I found this great little red storage box for $2. Perfect size for the living room, perfect shape, and perfect price (especially since I'm pretty sure I am going to mess it up and it's going to end up back at Savers when I'm through...) My plan is to refinish the box in a dark brown color. Here's the storage box before I started...

First lesson learned regarding this DIY project: Even though you waited until the kids went to bed before starting, and it was cold and dark outside, you really shouldn't sand a red box in the garage. It makes a HUGE mess. Sanding should be done OUTSIDE.

Seriously, it took me longer to clean up than it did to sand the box.

Here are a few photos of me in the garage working. (And yes mom, I know that in addition to my glasses and the ear protection I should have worn a face mask. I will buy face masks next time I am at the store. Also, just for reference, I really do have to start watching what I eat again... I don't believe I can blame all that roundness in the mid-section on surgery swelling still!)

So, here is the box now.

I sanded the entire box (inside and out) using medium grit sandpaper. I then followed with a fine grit sandpaper inside and out. I washed the box well, and I believe that I am ready to spray paint the box tomorrow (slightly worried that I didn't get enough of the red off, but hey, that's what experimenting is about right?).

I may think about doing this while the sun is still shining... outside of the garage... when it is nice and warm (and I won't kill myself with the fumes).

I will keep you updated as this DIY project progresses.....

Night all-

Finally....

2010-01-08T20:57:00.000-08:00

Finally, finally, finally... all the Christmas decorations are packed up! I will say the one upside about the length of time that it took me to do this is that I actually sorted through everything this year, organized it as I put it in boxes, got rid of some stuff, and created labels so I know just what is in each box.

Yeah!

Now to cleaning/organizing the rest of my house..... sigh. Never ends does it?

Have a great night everybody!
C

The Good, The Better, and The Ugly

2010-01-07T20:46:00.000-08:00

THE GOOD

Joe found a recipe for cinnamon almonds here (one of our FAVORITE treats that we usually buy at places like the fair or the pumpkin patch) and we decided to give them a try tonight. They are good... but next time we make them (and there WILL be a next time...) we'll double or triple the cinnamon to bring out that flavor a little more. You can make these with stuff that you have in your pantry!

THE BETTER

Recently, the kids haven't been overly interested in listening to stories. Julia is reading pretty difficult chapter books and feels like she never has enough time to read, so she often wants to dive back into her book before she goes to bed at night. Colin reads to me every night as part of his homework, and then I would maybe read him a story... but before the holidays it got to the point that he was reading chapter books as well and he usually wanted to keep reading his book, rather than switch to another book. I didn't think that much about this... it happened pretty gradually... and as normal... life just changed. For Christmas, Joe and I gave the kids the entire set of Harry Potter books as a present. On Sunday night, I made a point of setting aside some special time to start reading the first book to them. And they were HOOKED from day one! And suddenly they are interested and excited about having me read to them again... which made me realize how much I had missed it. It also made me realize that the time for Momma to read to her kiddos is probably waning... which is making this time where they are so excited about it very special to me. I've realized that I need to treasure my time reading with them each night- their little bodies cuddled up to mine (well, except for Julia who is holding a tissue in the big gap in her mouth where her tooth had just came out... I can talk so lovingly about our life... but pictures tell the true story!)

THE UGLY

Julia and I bought this amaryllis about 3 weeks before Christmas. For weeks it did NOTHING. Then it grew about an inch. Then it bloomed. When the plant was only like two inches tall. And it only bloomed on one side. Amaryllis fail. Seriously... who can mess up a bulb that comes preplanted? Apparently ME!

Have a wonderful evening everyone...

Everybody ate Dinner!

2010-01-05T20:03:00.000-08:00

I had a rough 'recovery' day today... spent almost the entire day sleeping or watching HORRIBLE daytime television (I have now watched everything I had 'stored up' on the TIVO to watch). This could probably be a post of it's own, but seriously... is this what the world wants to watch? Are there really people who are home during the day watching this drivel?

Anywayyyyyy.... around 3:30 I decided that I needed to at least get out of bed and TRY to do something... and I chose cooking dinner as that something. I had stumbled across a recipe for lemon chicken with croutons last week when I was spending a lot of quality time surfing the net (at the time I thought I was really being unproductive, but I have realized that this is MUCH better than watching daytime television... at least I learned something from blog reading) and I thought it sounded pretty good. You can see the recipe for yourself here.I picked up a chicken, some lemons and some french bread yesterday when I was at SuperTarget-so I knew I had all the stuff to make this. It was SO easy to make. Not something I can normally make when I'm working because I would have to be home early enough in the afternoon to roast it (took about an hour and a half total- and when I'm working- I need dinners to be able to be prepared in 30 minutes or less) but for my stay at home mom friends out there OR for a Sunday dinner, it's quick, easy and so YUMMY!

Here's a picture just before I took it to the table.

One of my biggest frustrations recently is that I have been trying new recipes and it seems like usually only one or two people out of our family of four likes it... but I am so happy to say that everyone at my house liked this dish. I kept some of the croutons out (without the pan drippings on them- because that is 'just gross Mom') for Colin, but other than that one little accomodation... it was devoured by everyone at the table.

I even took the little bit of leftover chicken and made it into some chicken salad for Joe's lunch tomorrow...

That's all for me folks... cooking dinner (as easy as it was!) took it all out of me... so I'm off for some rest. Have a great evening..

Ummm.... what?

2010-01-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

Headed back to the doctor today for a little checkup on how everything is healing... without going into the gory details, I had a few spots in my incision that were NOT healing... the doctor was able to take care of those spots in the office (without a return to the hospital-yeah!)... and IF I take it easy and rest a lot, I should heal up just fine. :) This will probably delay my return to work until the 6 week mark... I wonder if our credit cards will hold up to the on-line shopping I seem to have entertained myself with recently...

I did talk to him about being SO tired... just doesn't seem normal to me. I even started crying when talking about that (don't think he was really prepared for that one). Totally feel silly about those tears now, but they just came out and I didn't have much control over them! He told me that he had something that would probably help the tiredness (even more than just taking it easy, resting more, etc. about this time I kinda zoned out because he was ahem- working- so I was a little distracted). He told me he'd bring them out to me before I left.

Here's what he brought me...

Did you see what they were? Yep, look closer.... those would be PRE-NATAL vitamins. Seriously. For the gal who just had her baby-making parts removed. Yep. I had a good laugh about that one. Then the receptionist said, "So, I guess congratulations are in order?" I just about peed my pants I laughed so hard. Isn't the picture on these vitamins a crack up? All those women leaning over the crib? Glad I have a good sense of humor...

On other fronts... kids seemed to have a good day at school today. Both were EXHAUSTED when they came home. Needless to say it was a short night of dinner, baths, more Harry Potter, and bed. Nice thing was I actually cooked (get out the red marker) for my family for the first time in weeks. :) There may be a light at the end of this tunnel after all (is that the pre-natal vitamin talking??).

I'll wrap this up with one last photo... my dear friends at work sent me flowers when I was in the hospital (yep, that would be December 16th folks...)... and the flowers are STILL alive! I have enjoyed them a LOT and I thought I'd share a quick picture...

Love to you all...

Last Two Days....

2010-01-03T21:38:00.000-08:00

Friday night, I asked the kids if they had done everything that they wanted to do during Winter Break. We made a 'list' of things that they had wanted to do, but that we hadn't done yet. Thankfully, the list wasn't TOO long... so we were able to accomplish most of it. (Note that we did not accomplish what Momma wanted to do, which was to get the house cleaned and all the Christmas decorations put away. But... remember the resolution, remember the resolution, remember the resolution.) Turns out our last two days were pretty awesome....

Colin spent his last two days: eating Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast, playing xBox, building Legos, playing games with Mommy and Daddy, getting comfortable riding his bike without training wheels (this took a WHOLE year to accomplish... but he's finally there), going out to dinner at Golden Corral with Nana and Papa (cause Julia was having a sleepover) and building the Propeller Racer that Andy, Amy and Kelvin sent him for Christmas. Here are a few photos... it was SO much fun watching him build the racer because he could read the directions on his own... it's a pretty cool little toy too!

Julia spent her last two days: eating Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast, playing Nintendo, reading, drawing, playing Poptropica on my laptop, spending the night at her dear friend Alyssa's house (remember the pneumonia at the beginning of the break? She had a sleepover planned that Friday night that didn't get to happen, so she was quite relieved that we managed to work it out before the break was over), and sleeping on the chair (this is what happens when you spend the night at a friend's house and choose giggling over sleeping).

Joe spent the last two days: sleeping in, playing xBox with Colin, playing xBox after Colin went to bed, taking down the (200 lbs.- he swears) Christmas tree, taking out the trash, doing laundry, and trying to convince Momma that she should just rest (and that she is still pretty, even though she doesn't feel that way right now).

I spent the last two days: eating Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast (the diet has got to start soon...), getting comfortable with driving again, looking at blogs, reading blogs, talking to some good friends about redesigning my blog, playing games with Colin, cooking with Julia, dreaming about a laundry room makeover (more about that soon), Twittering, Facebooking, taking the Christmas tree down, cleaning out the refrigerator, going to bed early, not sleeping well, trying to get us organized because school starts again (TOMORROW!) and trying to follow Daddy's directions to rest more (and feel pretty more- hopefully soon).

School and work start again tomorrow for everybody but Momma- who has about 3 more weeks before she is fully healed and ready to return to the rat race. I think being home alone will be VERY strange... I'll let you know how it's going soon....

Have a wonderful night all-
C

Another Try?

2010-01-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

So, with some great suggestions from Love (you can see her blog here), I've made a few modifications to my blogger account and tried a new piece of software this morning Picnik. Okay... LOVE LOVE LOVE Picnic. Very user friendly and simple. One of those pieces of software that you don't need to read the 'Help' section 22 times to accomplish a simple task... just by looking at the screen you know what you need to do.

Here's my next try at a photo collage... this one created on Picnik. I got more the effect that I wanted- in much less time. What do you think?

Have a wonderful day everyone!
C

Welcoming 2010....

2010-01-01T22:11:00.000-08:00

We welcomed the year 2010 today with some good old fashioned family fun. Here are a few pics of the highlights. If today was any indication... 2010 is going to be a GOOD year. Enjoy!

P.S. This is my first attempt at using Picassa to create a collage of photos. I think it's too small (and can't figure out how to adjust it). What do you think? Do you like it? Like the individual photos more? Fill me in.....

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T22:45:00.000-08:00

As you all know, it feels like the Furedy Family has faced a mountain of challenges during 2009... and we are ALL looking forward to the year 2010.

We spent New Year's Eve together as a family... and here is what everyone had to say about their resolutions:

Julia has resolved to keep her room cleaner, to put her boundless energy to use, and to be nice to other people. (She KNOWS what she needs to do... it's just that the emotions of being NINE, yes NINE, tend to get in the way).

Colin has resolved to put away the toy he is done playing with before he digs out the next toy he wants to play with. (I love this boy, and I know his resolution comes directly from words that come out of my mouth at least once daily... but... yeah... there is no hope for this one!)
Joe has resolved to get into shape so he can go back to canyoneering... and to not end up in the hospital even once in 2010. As he says, it's the simple things in life! (And my heart so desires this for him... just for his life to go back to 'normal'. I think it will be very hard for me to NOT support a LOT of canyoneering trips this year).

My resolutions are not as simple... and I know I will have to work on them EACH and EVERY day (and please, my blog and FB friends... feel free to remind me of them when I slip)....

To appreciate my husband and my children for the people that they are and the people that they are becoming (even if that doesn't match with my perfect ideal... and I'll note that this starts with this Blog post where I am actually posting the photo of my son with no shirt on, despite the fact that I hate to admit that he sleeps in just jammie pants EVERY NIGHT- if we are lucky)

To enjoy more and fret less, to play more and plan less, to relax more and stress less... to more or less live life to it's fullest each and every day.

Here's to a wonderful 2010 for all of you... may you have health and happiness in the new year!
Love to you all-
The Furedy Family!

PS On another note, this was the first year that BOTH of my kids made it till midnight... we really are entering another chapter of parenthood!! :)

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

2009-12-29T09:29:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Good news!

Joe went in at 5 a.m. this morning so that the doctors could take a 'peek' at the vein that previously held his clot to determine what, if anything, they needed to do in order to return him to full health.

He went into surgery around 7:40 a.m. and the doctor came to talk to me around 8:30 a.m. Dr. Seigrist said that the vein looked good- that there was still some small narrowing at the spot where the vein was compressed, but that overall it looked 100% better than it did when they removed the rib.

So... I asked the all important question at this point... when can he canyoneer again? Doctor says as soon as he physically feels up to it. No more drugs, no more procedures... and his doctor very nicely told me that he hopes to never see Joe or I again. :)

This is excellent, excellent news and we are both so relieved... the last three months have been a real rollercoaster ride, and hopefully our car has pulled back into the loading dock so that we can get off and WALK into 2010.

Thanks for all your positive thoughts and prayers. We are SO blessed. Happy New Year!!

C

Twas the Night Before Surgery (Again....)

2009-12-28T22:52:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are again... on the eve of another surgery. Joe goes in at 5 a.m. to Good Sam. for yet another procedure. They will use interventional radiology to determine if any repair is needed in the vein that held the clot.

If all goes well... this will be the end of our journey as it relates to Joe's rib. :)

Our greatest hope is that they will see a plump and healthy vein with minimal scar tissue... fingers are crossed! If this is the case, he will be off the coumadin and heading back towards his 'normal' life.

Just wanted to say thank you again to all of you who have supported us through this entire journey. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers (again!) tomorrow. If all goes well it should be a short procedure and Joe should be home by tomorrow afternoon.

On other health fronts... I am healing well and making good progress on returning to my usual self. I get tired very easily, but I can walk short distances, and can sit up for a few hours at a time... life is slowly returning to normal. Julia seems to be fully recovered from her illness... so in general the Furedy household is on the MEND!

Good night all. Talk to you soon!
C

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

"Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.

Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!"
-the Grinch

From our house to yours-

May you have a wonderful

& memorable Christmas.

May the joy and wonder of childhood

touch and warm your hearts.

Our love to you all!

The Furedy Fam

Virtual Christmas Tour 2009

2009-12-20T20:24:00.000-08:00

**Warning- very long and picture filled post**

I regularly read the blog, "The Shown Family", written by Shelly Shown. She created a 'virtual' Christmas tour of her favorite Christmas decorations this year, and encouraged those of us who read her blog to do the same. Here's my attempt at giving you a tour of the Furedy home at Christmas time. I did NOT take photos of all of our Christmas decorations. None of you have the time or patience for that experience! I would also like you to note that we are not a fancy 'decor' type family... so our decorations don't all match and aren't fancy. They are things that we have collected over the years- things that are special and have special meaning to us.

Here is the main tree in the living room. (yes, I will admit, this is on one of the 3 Christmas trees in our house...) We've had an artificial tree for the last ten years or so... turns out that I am allergic to Christmas trees... so the artificial is our only choice. We got this tree last year- it is a 9 and a half footer... and Joe is NOT happy every time that it has to come in or out of the attic. But I LOVE this tree. It is one of my FAVORITE things. The ornaments are ecelctic.. things that we have collected or made over the years.

Below is the "Kids Tree". This tree came into being about four years ago. The kids ornament collection was growing quickly, and they wanted something that was all their own. This tree is ugly. It came from Big Lots and it is really sparse. But, the kids love it. They love to decorate it. They love that it is in their play area. We keep the advent stories under this tree- we read up in the loft every night by this tree.

I didn't take a lot of photos of the outside lights. We didn't do a lot outside this year (we've had a few challenges in getting our outside chores done... can't imagine why!) but I did want to share these lights that the kids put up in the back yard. This is the first year we've done any lights in the backyard- these are on the kids playstructure.. Our house faces an open lot behind us, and can be seen from Baseline Road.

I really like candles during the holidays. This is one of my favorite ones. I bought it several years ago at the Decor Store. I fell in love with it that day... and I still love it. I actually leave this one out on a shelf year round, but it lives on the dining room table during the Christmas season. This will be the centerpiece for our very special Christmas Eve dinner.
Below are my lebkuchen tins. Lebkuchen are German cookies served at the holidays. These are a throwback to my childhood. I was born in Germany and my parents brought back a lot of German traditions when we moved back to the States. I have ALWAYS loved these tins. My parents bought me the two little tins- and the big tin was a gift from someone at work who was going to get rid of it and asked me if I would like to have it. She had no idea what it meant to me!

This is one of my newest decorations. This is another German decoration. My parents have something similar to this that they got while they were in Germany. You light the candles at the bottom and the rising hot air makes the center portion turn. The kids were amazed by this when we showed them how it worked. I found this decoration at Tuesday Morning. It was WAY more expensive than anything tht I would normally buy... but again, it just brought back a flood of childhood memories... and I just HAD to have it!

Below is a sign that hangs in our house year round... along with the beautiful poinsetta that Colin bought for me. He told Joe that he really wanted to buy me a poinsetta... and Joe took him to get it. I just love how beautiful and lush it looks- and the fact that my two favorite men bought it for me makes it even more special.

Next are the Christmas card displays. I send/ receive a lot of cards- truthfully it is one of my favorite parts of Christmas, and so I need more than one spot to display them. My mom made the snowman- isn't he cute? Normally I take a lot of time arranging the cards- but this year honestly- I've pretty much just plopped them in the holders.
This wreath is another new addition to the decorations this year. I made this Thanksgiving night. I got all the supplies 50% off at Hobby Lobby and put it all together. These are the first LED lights that we've purchased, and I have to admit that I really like them. I wish the bow at the top was better lit.. I am very proud of that bow! This hangs in the entry way of our home.
Here's the Christmas village. I have pretty much given over the arrangement of this part of the decorations to Julia and Colin. Thus, it is pretty cluttered! They love it though... and it looks different pretty much every day...

This shows what we do to the stair railings... this goes all the way up the stairs and also around the loft (you could see some of this in the Kid's Tree photo). I have done the lighted garland and the bows since we lived in our first house... this is typically one of the first decorations that I put out each year.

Are you sick of listening to all of this yet? Just want to share one last thing. This is probably one of my favorite decorations- the gum drop tree. One of my favorite childhood Christmas memories was doing the gum drop tree. And now, the kids and I do it each year together... and I know that it is becoming one of their favorite memories too... I know some people may think that I am NUTS for all of these decorations. I know Joe thinks I am crazy every year when he starts getting the boxes out of the attic. I really do enjoy looking at all of these things during the month of December. I think you can probably tell that from the length of this post- picking just a few favorite decorations proved impossible for me! I love being reminded of my childhood. And I know that I am creating those same types of positive memories for my own children. I am creating right now the things that will bring smiles to their hearts when I am gone and all they have are memories.

Alright, this post has gone on LONG ENOUGH. Have a wonderful night all....

Home... Colin's birthday and Pneumonia

2009-12-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

So... looks like blog writing wasn't high on the priority list for Joe... I think I can totally understand!

Surgery went very well! I was in by 3 p.m. and out by 4:30. It was so fast Joe missed the doctor coming out because he had gone to get a soda! Dr. felt that everything went very well and thinks that I will have an excellent outcome. I spent quite awhile in recovery (and they wouldn't let Joe back to see me, which was somewhat upsetting I think) due to my asthma and just some struggles coming out of the anesthesia. I don't remember much about that evening. I was in quite a bit of pain and on a lot of meds... so I was really in and out for most of the night. Grandma Paulette was wonderful and spent the afternoon and evening with our kiddos so Joe could stay with me until I was a little more settled. Joe went home around midnight....

I know some of you really appreciated my post about wearing Joe's ring... he posted this photo on Twitter during my surgery... he's got my wedding ring and my hair rubber band. As he said, thank goodness he didn't need to wear them nearly as long as I wore his....
Around 1:30 a.m. I was laying in the bed thinking about 7 years ago, at that exact time and location I was meeting my beautiful son for the very first time... how odd to be in the same place on the same day 7 years later!

Around 4:30 a.m. on the 16th, they got me up for a walk and I started feeling a little better. By 2 p.m. I was home... so glad to make it home in time to celebrate Mr. Colin's birthday with him. He had an AWESOME birthday- the XBox 360 was a FANTASTIC surprise AND has been a life saver during the past few days when he was the ONLY one in the house who felt like playing. Here he is with his 'big surprise'... not that he was excited or anything!

The 17th was a bit of a challenge- slept through my pain pill during the night of the 16th and so I was really struggling- but a day of rest, pain pills and lots of comfort from Joe made things much better.

Julia started feeling poorly on the night of the 17th- the 18th had her and I resting on Nana's couches... and a trip to the doctor confirmed that she had a sinus infection and borderline pneumonia. Joe made yet ANOTHER run to the drug store... check out our current medication counter!! We could be running a pharmacy over here!!

That brings us to today... I feel good enough to sit up for about an hour at a time and can sit reclined for much longer than that. Riding in the car is still a challenge- so I'm not going far from home these days! I've managed a couple of showers and I've started cutting down to just ibuprofen for pain meds, so all in all, I think things are going well.

We are glad that school is over and we can just spend more time 'hanging out' during the next week or so... getting ready to celebrate Christmas!

Thanks to everyone for your support, love, prayer and positive thoughts over the last few days... you have no IDEA what it has meant to us. We are so lucky and blessed to have such wonderful family and friends around us supporting us. We appreciate you more than you could ever know!

:) C

Twas the Night Before Surgery

2009-12-14T19:00:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before surgery and all through the house, not a creature was stirring.... not even the RATS!

Just wanted to keep everyone updated on the 'plan' for my surgery tomorrow.... I have to be at the hospital at 1 p.m. Surgery is scheduled for 3 p.m.- but odds are it will probably take place later..... Doctor says the surgery is 1.5 to 2 hours long if everything goes as planned.

I will hopefully be home on Wednesday in the late afternoon... my fingers are crossed that I get to come home in enough time to celebrate Mr. Colin's 7th birthday with him!!

Joe will be 'guest writing' this blog for a few days until I am back on my feet and ready to resume my writing duties. Check back here tomorrow evening for an update! :)

Have a wonderful week everyone!
C

Julia's Birthday

2009-12-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

I promised awhile ago that I would post some pictures of Miss Julia's fabulous 9th birthday... so here we go (just a couple of weeks later!).

Julia, as per usual, had SEVERAL birthday celebrations. We started on November 21st with a big friend party at Gold Medal Swim School. At our house, you only get a friend party every other year. (What can I say? I have two kids with birthdays between Thanksgiving and Christmas.. not the easiest part of the year in terms of time OR finances to have TWO birthday parties). Anyway, it was Julia's year this year... and she thought it would be A LOT of fun to be able to swim in late November. She invited a lot of friends... a nice mix of boys and girls (another reason why swimming made a lot of sense)... and the party was tons of fun! Here's the whole crowd after swimming and before they got a chance to enjoy their pizza and cake! :)The birthday celebration continued at home on November 23rd- her actual birthday! I cooked her requested birthday dinner... twisty noodles, raw veggies, garlic rolls and clementines. Except for the lack of protein- a pretty balanced dinner! She got to open the present from her Poohbah and Grandma Sherry which had come in the mail, as well as her present from her brother. (No wrapped present from Mommy and Daddy- our present was the 'redo' of her room to a big girl room.. that's another post!) She had ice cream for dessert... no cake since we'd just had cake at the swim party. Here she is on her birthday with the special plate!!The celebration just kept rolling.... Thanksgiving Day she got to celebrate with Nana, Papa and Uncle Andrew. We added cake to the traditional Thanksgiving Day pie... Nana bought her these AWESOME candles- and she had a turkey on her cake. This kid really DOES love the fact that she was born on Thanksgiving Day.
The final birthday celebration (I know, seriously, are we done yet?) took place the day after Thanksgiving. We headed to Papago Park with Grandma Paulette, Grandpa Steve, GG, Uncle Mike & Aunt Vanessa (and baby Cora was along for the ride too), Aunt Bic & Uncle Eric, Uncle Jason & Aunt Paige, and Asher & Gundry for a cookout, a hike and a generally good hang out day. It was lots of fun. Julia really enjoyed the stream and caught tons of snails and clams and other smelly stuff. We also walked up to Hole in the Rock- which Julia absolutely loves.We started the celebration of Colin's birthday on this day too... but seriously... that's another post!
Have a good one everybody...
C

Heritage Doll Projects

2009-12-02T21:12:00.000-08:00

So... my kids' homework this week was to create a 'heritage' doll that showed the heritage of their family. Julia has had to create a doll before, but now that Colin is in First grade, he had to do one too. Third grade brought the addition of a 'report' for Miss Julia.

We always look to Joe's side of the family for this one, because his great-grandfather (Frank) immigrated from Hungary and his great-grandmother (Julia) immigrated from Poland. We usually go with the Hungarian side of things as this is where the name Furedy (Füredi) comes from. Most of the Hungarian traditions within his family have fallen to the wayside- mostly because of his great-grandfather Frank who wanted all of his children to speak English without an accent and to become Americanized.

We had lots of family help with this project (how perfect is that?)! Nana provided all of the fabric and trimming materials that we would need, and Great Uncle Clifton provided all of the family research and details for Julia to use in her report. To both of you... thanks so much! Julia enjoyed this project more than almost anything else that she has done for school so far this year. She really enjoyed reading about her ancestors- especially her Great-Great Grandmother for whom she is named.

Here's the final product... pretty good I think!Night everyone..
C

Santa and the Tooth Fairy?

2009-12-01T21:18:00.001-08:00

So I am VERY behind on posting... I want to put up some pictures of all of Julia's birthday celebrations and Thanksgiving... I will get to it soon, I promise!

But in the meantime.... today is the first of December!

December 1st is always a special day in the Furedy household because it is the day that we start our Advent countdown. These traditions started the year that Julia turned one... and we've enjoyed them every year since! We count down each night with a chocolate Advent calendar AND a Christmas story book. Nana and Papa have provided the chocolate Advent calendars each year. Normally, I would not be a fan of giving my children chocolate right before bed each night, but during the Christmas season we tend to overlook stuff like that.

As for the Christmas story books... over the years I have collected a TON of holiday books (from my teaching years and from my addiction to picture books!). Each Christmas I pick out 24 of my favorites (and now the kids' favorites) and wrap them. Starting on December 1st, each night the kids pick a package to unwrap and read. This is a great way to have a LOT of excitement around reading- and now that the kids are older, it is a fun way to revisit stories that we have read over and over again. (I cannot claim credit for this idea... my dear friend Natalia Rojas did this with her children when they were young.)

So... December 1st... tons of fun and excitement! Colin is REALLY into all of this right now and he was SO excited to start the Advent calendars this year. Sometimes I question why I make myself so nuts trying to keep up with all of the holiday traditions- go to all of the effort- and then I see my little man's face and it is all perfectly clear.

Anyway, thought I would end this post with a little story about Mr. Colin. He told me this the other day.

"Mom, did you know that the Tooth Fairy and Santa work together?"
"No Colin, I didn't know that. What do you mean, they work together?"
"Well, you see, when you lose a tooth, the Tooth Fairy comes into your room to get the tooth right? And while the Tooth Fairy is there, she looks all around and sees what toys you already have. Then she goes to the North Pole and tells Santa what you already have and what you like. So then Santa knows what to bring you!"

Gotta love this kid!!!
Happy December 1st everyone!
:) C

Julia Corrinne

2009-11-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

Today, my oldest child, my beautiful daughter turned 9 years old... seems like there is no possible way that she is nine already... seems like just yesterday...

Julia's story really begins during Christmas of 1999. Joe and I had decided to take a trip that year and we headed off to Magic Mountain and Disneyland the week before Christmas. It was a great trip- we had so much fun- and really just enjoyed each other's company. We spent a lot of time talking about what the future was going to hold for us. We came home on December 23rd- just in time for all the Christmas festivities. On Christmas Eve, Joe gave me my present. He told me that he thought he was ready to 'start trying' for the baby that I so desperately wanted.

Needless to say I was over the MOON with excitement... I couldn't wait to go to my mom's house the next morning and tell her that we were ready to start trying!!!

It took a few months, but the green beer must have done it, because based on all calcuations, Julia was conceived on St. Patrick's Day! The due date was December 7th... I just couldn't wait. I was on the internet NIGHT and DAY talking to other pregnant moms, checking websites, and reading all that I could. Morning sickness was a huge challenge... I'll never forget the day I threw up all over myself in the car on the way home from work (it was like 115 degrees outside- not good!). The pregnancy was going along fairly well until I started having contractions- at 32 weeks. Since it was still a little early and Baby JC (we had decided not to find out the gender) wasn't quite cooked, I went on bedrest to try to keep him/her in for just a little while longer. Nana and Grandma Paulette stepped in to help out and keep life going. Everybody from work sent food and good wishes! About this time, we also discovered that the cord was wrapped around Julia's neck. This meant extra testing, extra monitoring, and extra concern. But we hung in there, knowing that the prize would soon arrive! I had two wonderful showers- one with folks from work and one with family. We got all of the the things that we would need (plus some!).

The doctor took me off of all of the drugs I had been taking to stop my labor on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving- telling me that the baby would be safe to arrive now- but not to expect anything to happen right away....

I woke up early on Thanksgiving morning and was having contractions. I moved downstairs to the couch and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and *thought* about waking Joe up- but eventually the contractions went away. Later that day we stopped by my mom and dad's house just to say hi and I told my mom about the contractions earlier in the day. She just smiled at me (she knew that I was probably going to have a baby that day, but didn't say anything...) We went to Joe's mom's house to spend the day. I was hanging out on the couch, reading a magazine and just generally being lazy when I decided I had to go to the bathroom. I stood up and .... my water broke. I went off to find Joe to tell him. He was sitting around with his step-dad Steve and his brothers talking math. (I know, only in our family). I stood at the doorway to the room for a few minutes, hoping to catch Joe's attention, but to no avail. Finally, Steve looked up and asked me if I needed something. I told them all that my water had broken and we were having a baby!

Having done Bradley classes, I knew that I didn't need to head to the hospital right away, so I decided that we should wait to go until after Joe had eaten his Thanksgiving dinner (figuring it was going to be a long night). I was having contractions- staying fairly relaxed- while the rest of the family just buzzed around. Paulette kept checking the turkey- and kept saying that she didn't understand why it wasn't done yet... till she figured out that in all the excitement she had turned the oven off! Needless to say it was a few hours before everybody sat down to eat. :)

I sat at the dinner table with everyone, but by this point I was having CONTRACTIONS. I remember just sitting there, looking at Joe, wondering if he really just couldn't chew FASTER. Eventually he finished his dinner and we were off to the hospital. My mom and dad met us there- after my dad had enjoyed his pie!

Labor with Julia was pretty quick and fairly hard. I was determined to skip the drugs and do it the natural way. Pre-eclampsia meant magnesium sulfate (which isn't pleasant) and that I had to stay in bed rather than walk around during the labor. My doctor was out of town and we ended up with a doctor who obviously didn't want to be working on Thanksgiving night. Let's just say that if I never see that man again, life will be wonderful. We had great nurses though, and Joe was a wonderful coach.

Around 10:30 p.m. things really started to change. Joe went out to get a nurse, but they were in the middle of shift change, and the nurse told him that someone would be in after awhile. Joe came back in the room with me... and a few minutes later I let out a scream that brought the whole nursing staff running. Joe had been right- I was in transition and ready to push.

It didn't take long to deliver Miss Julia- all 5 lbs. 13 oz. of her... and it was a her... so nice to finally know the answer to that question... I was so excited and proud to have delivered her without any drugs or intervention. I remember saying to Joe, "I did it!"

Julia had a rough go of it for the first few weeks... I just don't think she was really done cooking. She had jaundice and had some major breastfeeding issues. But... by the time she was about 6 weeks old she was growing and thriving and we haven't looked back since.

Since then I've had the joy of watching her grow and change each and every day. Julia can be a challenge for me sometimes... and truthfully that is usually because we are just a little too much alike! But I cannot IMAGINE my life without the blessing that she brings to it. So, on this 9th celebration of her arrival into the world... Happy Birthday Miss Julia Corrinne Furedy... you are loved more than you will EVER know.

Night all-
C

Furedy Family Update

2009-11-16T20:16:00.000-08:00

Thought it was time to take a moment and update you on the medical/ general status in the Furedy household...

Joe’s last (hopefully!) procedure is scheduled for December 29^th. During this procedure they will go in to look at the vein and determine if any further steps are necessary- i.e. balloon, stint, vein repair. The doctor seems very optimistic that we will have a quick and positive outcome from this procedure. This will be done on an outpatient basis. Joe continues to go to physical therapy which is helping to reduce stiffness and increase his range of motion. His Coumadin level is finally back in the therapeutic range (still monitored with blood work weekly) and we are hoping that it will remain there! Once he has his next procedure we can start talking about taking him off of the Coumadin… which he is looking forward to!

On another front… I am going to have surgery on either December 14^th or December 15^th (we are waiting for the final scheduling from the hospital). I have been diagnosed with a condition called adenomyosis- which explains why the surgery earlier this year was not successful. The only cure for this condition is a hysterectomy. Joe and I debated for a long time about whether or not to do the surgery in this time frame, but we have decided that the best thing for our family is to just go for it, and leave all of our health issues in 2009. I will be in the hospital overnight, and will be off work for 3 to 4 weeks.

Our other medical update is that we have now all been vaccinated against the HINI as well as the seasonal flu, so we are hoping to be spared THAT little event! :)

On other fronts... Julia is OVER THE MOON excited about her birthday party which is taking place this Saturday at Gold Medal Swim School... she simply cannot wait. Colin is jealous (we do every other year for the birthday party, so he had a big party last year)... but knows that he will get his turn again next year... and is planning his family birthday celebration with a great deal of zeal!

Overall, both of the kids are really excited about their birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and all that comes with it. :) Ah.. to watch little ones around this time of year... nothing better! I am trying my hardest to stay ahead of schedule and get as much done ahead of time as I can so that we can make sure in the midst of all that is going on that we hang on to our holiday traditions... I think I am doing pretty well with this, but then I always think that...

Okay, this momma needs some sleep. Have a good night all...

Giving to Others...

2009-11-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

One of my colleagues at work is currently holding a "Hygiene Drive". He is collecting toiletries that will be given to families in need along with their Thanksgiving food box. You cannot buy toiletry items like shampoo and soap with food stamps, and so for many families these items are a huge need.

I told Julia and Colin about the drive and asked them if they would be willing to help me shop for some items- so that we as a family could give to others. Normally, we would have just walked the aisles, talking about what the families might need, and putting things in the cart. But, I decided to really make it into a learning experience by giving each one of them a budget and allowing them to make their own selections.

Each child was given ten dollars to spend and was encouraged to get AS MUCH as they could to donate in the drive. We headed off to WalMart with the list of suggested items, a piece of paper and a pencil.

I was AMAZED at the thought that my children put into this project. They looked at prices, were thoughtful in their selections, sat on the floor and added up what they had spent so they knew just how much they had left. They worked together to try to purchase at least one of every item on the list, and in the end pooled their last few dollars to purchase the last item that neither one of them could afford on their own. At the end when we were checking out Julia commented that she felt good that she was helping another family be comfortable. I thought that was an interesting take on the situation... think about how uncomfortable it would be to not have the toiletry items that I am sure most of us take for granted.

For me, doing it this way took about 15 minutes longer than just zipping through the store and picking up some items to donate, but it provided my children with a true learning experience.

At the start of a season that can often become more about getting than giving- I think this activity set the right tone for our holidays. Now, I just need to keep thinking about other ways to keep that tone present in our minds and our thoughts as we move forward into the holiday season.

Night all-
C

Treasure Hunt Update

2009-11-04T20:15:00.000-08:00

I know you have all been waiting with baited breath to hear if the Treasure Hunt Committee answered Joe's concerns about the scoring and fixed our status.

Today Joe received this e-mail:

"Car 37 is correct. I checked their emergencies, and they only opened 3 (not counting the starting emergency). Somehow we missed this twice - the hardcopy results from Sat that I have and retabulation on Sun both have them opening 4 emergencies. We really need to improve the tabulation process. With the new results they moved from 16th to 10th place."

I hope everyone can breathe a sigh of relief now that this error has been corrected and the team n'Emisis' status has been corrected to 10th place.

So, the treasure hunt has been put to bed once again... until next year!
Night all-
C

Yellow Belt!

2009-11-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago, Colin tested for his yellow belt in karate. Colin has been working for over six months to prepare for this test... and he was very nervous! He hadn't been training a whole lot prior to the test because Joe was in the hospital and things were pretty crazy. On top of that, Colin struggled with gaining the skills that he needed to pass this test. Karate, unlike most things, does not come easily to Colin- he really has to work at it!

Anyway, he found out last week that he had passed the test! Yeah! At that time they announced that they would present the belts this Tuesday. Colin didn't go to school today (thanks Nana for taking care of our little man) because he has been a little under the weather, but he didn't want to miss his moment to shine, so we took him to karate.

Our karate studio is an awesome place- really like another family. On the day when the kids get their new belts, all the adults come and applaud for them. It is a neat experience. Colin was congratulated by all the moms and other kids on the way out... you could tell how proud he was of himself. As soon as he came out of the dojo, he wanted to put his new belt on!

Here he is wearing his new yellow belt!

I am proud of my little man for sticking with something that is hard for him. It makes the reward all the more sweeter!

Night all-
C

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Too tired to post all the details tonight, but I thought you would all enjoy Joe's pumpkin carving! Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!

(yes, that is a ribcage with one rib missing-
he may have lost his rib, but he still has his sense of humor!)

Night all-
C

59th Annual Arizona Treasure Hunt

2009-10-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

We competed in "The Magic of the Hunt" on Saturday. Some of you may be wondering just what the Treasure Hunt is, and the best way I can describe it is this... you and a team of five other people drive and run around the desert at night solving puzzles. Each puzzle (called clues) you solve sends you to another location where you must again run around, find and solve the clue. At the end of the night, you are judged based off of how many clues you solved, how many 'hints' you needed to solve the clues (they are called emergency envelopes) and how much time it took you. There are usually 26 clues total and you have approximately 5 hours to solve as many as you can. Yeah, it's nerdy... but it is a LOT of fun! Go here if you are really interested and you can read more about this year's hunt. Here are the archives where you can see the puzzles from the hunt going back to the year 2000.

Joe and I, according to our best 'remembering', started competing in the TH in 1997. The team at that time was usually made up of his Aunt Suze, his dad, and a couple of our friends. The team has changed a lot over the years- I think we've roped most of our friends into being part of our team at one point or another. For the last few years, the core of our team has been fairly consistent- Joe and I, Joe's brother Jason and his wife Paige, and Joe's brother Mike and his wife Vanessa. I seem to be the member who is most often missing- I was on bed rest before each one of the kids were born, I missed one year when I was working as a principal and was just too tired, and I missed last year due to Julia performing with her choir. We have a small crew of 'back-up' folks who have willingly stepped in and filled any holes in our team in the years that we've had them.

(Two members of our team... Joe's brother Mike and his wife Vanessa... and Julia and Colin's new cousin Cora was along for the ride... she'll be here with all of us in March!)

Joe's family has been participating in the Treasure Hunt since the very beginning... in 1952 Joe's Grandmother and Grandfather came in 3rd place. In 1979 his Aunt and Uncle came in 1st place (very bad... you'll see why in a moment...) and our team has come in 2nd place three times... 2002, 2006 and 2008. Which means our team has WON the TH three times. You may be wondering how we 'won' when we came in second. You see, second place is the 'winning' position in the TH because the FIRST place team has to serve on the committee to put on the TH for the next THREE years. Second place is wonderful. Second place is where you ALWAYS want to be.

(Here is Joe, ready for the hunt, sporting his 2008 blue shirt- they give you these when you come in 2nd place)

Joe looks forward to the TH all year long. This is his 'thing'. He really enjoys the whole nature of the hunt- the research ahead of time, the physical nature of searching for clues in the desert, the navigation through the streets of Scottsdale, and the actual brainpower of solving clues. We have done this long enough that we really pretty much have it down to a 'science' of just what needs to be done pre-hunt, what we need the night of the hunt... and our record keeper Paige provides us with great reminders to keep us on track from year to year. We were worried that Joe wouldn't be able to participate this year, but... he was there! He wasn't able to do the same amount of running and finding of clues that he has done in the past, but he was still able to participate, which was all that really mattered.

We didn't do very well this year... came in 16th place... however, Joe believes there is an error in the scoring and has contacted the TH committee to let them know of his concerns. If our stats/standing get updated, I will let you know! :)

So... if after you've read this post you are interested in forming a TH team of your own, let us know! We'd be more than happy to meet with you and give you some hints and help you prepare. TH information usually comes out in August/ September and you have to register as soon as possible because they only take 78 teams total. Fair warning... check out the picture below. This is Joe's brother Jason and his friend Josh. Josh put together a rookie team this year and this is how he felt at the end of the hunt.... :)

Night all...
C

The UPS and downs of Coumadin

2009-10-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

Joe has been taking coumadin since he before he left the hospital. Coumadin is basically rat poison. It 'thins' your blood, making it harder for the blood to clot if it encounters a damaged area in a vein or artery. (this is my medical degree from Google talking here...) Anyway, the goal for coumadin is to arrive at what they call the 'theraputic' level, which is between 2.0 and 3.0. The absorption of coumadin in the blood can be impacted by your diet. Dark green leafy vegetables prohibit your body from absorbing the drug. The doctor recommended that Joe not STOP eating green leafy vegetables, but instead to eat about the same level every day. Joe is required to go for weekly blood tests until he can show that he is consistently staying at a theraputic level. Joe, obviously, would like to not have to go every week and get his blood drawn, so he would like to get at that therapeutic level ASAP- then his blood checks can be every other week or even once a month.

Right after we left the hospital, Joe's coumadin was at 2.1. We thought this was great news (Joe especially, because this meant he got to discontinue the shots...) A week later, his coumadin had dropped to 1.9. The doctor upped his dosage to 6 milligrams on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and 5 milligrams on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This week his coumadin dropped again to 1.6 milligrams. So now Joe is taking 6 milligrams every day.

Here's the thing... Joe hasn't changed ANYTHING about his eating habits. If anything, he is eating less green leafy vegetables than he was when he first came home. So... we can't really figure out why the level is dropping... for now, he is stuck with weekly blood checks (he he, that's a pun!).

We have found out that the doctor is planning the vein 'repair' procedure for sometime in January. Joe's medical insurance is changing DRASTICALLY in January, so he has asked the doctor if there is any possible way for him to do the surgery in December. We'll see. Once that procedure is done Joe will only need to take the coumadin for three more months and then this entire experience will be OVER....

Have a wonderful weekend all!
C

FuredyBeard (TM)

2009-10-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this post got started with some friends that Joe and I regularly talk to on Twitter. They pointed out while Joe was in the hospital that he had grown FuredyBeard (TM). You have to understand just how FAST and how THICK Joe's beard grows in... give the man 3 or 4 days and you have a NICE beard. This would be good if Joe liked the feeling of a beard (he doesn't) or if I liked beards (which I don't).

Joe has grown his beard in several times during our marriage- one of the most memorable times for me was right after Julia was born- he took 4 weeks of work to stay home with Julia and I... and grew a beard that whole time. I have pictures of Joe holding Julia and he looks like Abe Lincoln. I did notice that this time the beard had a LITTLE more gray in it... that's what kids will do to ya!

Anyway, when going through the pictures, I thought I would post the with beard/ without beard photos. Which do you prefer?

With FuredyBeard (TM)?
(bonus, you can check out his cool scar in this photo...)

Without FuredyBeard (TM)?

Enquiring minds want to know!

Night all...
C

Fall Break

2009-10-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

So... the majority of the Fall Break plans that we had originally (cruise, day long trip to the Zoo, hiking, bike riding) had to be scrapped due to recent events, but the HUGE upside was that Joe got to spend the entire Fall Break with us when he normally would have been at work.

I set out to make the week fun for everyone... I knew we needed fun things that didn't require TOO much energy, take TOO long, or required TOO much travel in the car. So... here's what we ended up with....

We went and saw Toy Story I and II in 3D. This was lots of fun... and as long as Daddy had his pillow, he was fine! We never thought we'd make it through both movies, but we did! Here we are sporting our true fashion accessories....

We went and had dinner at Benihana. The kids had never been there before... they thought it was lots of fun! Colin even ate some chicken. :)
The kids really enjoy doing 'science' with Joe. Here they are trying out oobleck in a speaker (especially painted for the occasion) to see if they can make it 'dance'. It didn't work, but they sure had a good time trying (and they made a really nice mess as well!)

One of the days, we gave Daddy a break and went to As You Wish to paint pottery with Nana. Here's Nana and her kids...

Thanks to Grandma Paulette, Joe and I even got to go out on a date... here we are NOT sharing our popcorn. We saw Couples Retreat- it was cute and very light (just what the doctor ordered). Then we went to Red Lobster and had ENDLESS SHRIMP... can you say YUMMY?Great Auntie Suze helped out one day and took Julia and Colin for a day long excursion to the World Wildlife Zoo. Looks like they all three had a FABULOUS time. This gave me a chance to get some things done around the house, and gave Joe a chance to get some much needed rest.

More science later in the week... here's the Diet Coke and Mentos 'experiment'. Julia also learned how to burn leaves with a magnifying glass (sorry I didn't capture that on film). So, when you hear about a fire in our neighborhood....

We ended the week on Sunday night by eating at one of our favorite restaurants, Mi Amigos. It is a family tradition to stand on the rocks outside the restaurant... so I couldn't miss this shot!
And of course we did a lot of things that aren't shown here... I cleaned and organized the kitchen and the den, and prepped Julia's room for the remodel that is about to happen. Joe slept and rested a lot. The kids played outside in the backyard and walked down to the park several times.

And most importantly, we laughed and played together as a family. Which made it an AWESOME Fall Break... even if it didn't go quite as planned.

Night all...
C

Joe's Progress

2009-10-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to do a quick post about Joe's progress in the last week:

*He is done with in-home physical therapy. The range of motion in his arm is GREATLY improved. He is still struggling a little bit with his neck- and his neck is what seems to get tired easily- but overall he has made AMAZING progress. Even his doctor was shocked at his last appointment with how much movement has returned to the arm. ;)

*He continues with his coumadin. We are currently playing the 'adust the meds' until they are just right game. His level dropped below 'theraputic' this week, so now he's taking 6 milligrams on Sun., Tues., Thurs., and Sat.- 5 milligrams on the other days. His medical alert bracelet arrived, so he is sporting some fine bling that shares this information with the world. We have noticed that he has a series of new 'little' bruises that he just doesn't know where they came from... this is a side effect of the blood thinner and will likely continue until he stops taking the meds. He will need weekly blood work until he gets his levels adjusted, and then will be tested once a month. Our understanding of this process is that he should just about get the levels figured out about the time that he doesn't need to take the medicine anymore.

*The surgeon is scheduling his next procedure for either late December or early January. (We are pushing for late December as Joe's medical insurance is changing DRASTICALLY starting January 1st, and so we'd like to get it done before that happens). For this procedure, they will insert a catheter into his arm and use that to run the dye through his veins again, while taking live x-rays. This will allow them to decide if the vein needs repair and what type of repair it needs. If it needs repair they will do it during this procedure.

*He has been cleared to drive and to go back to work- in moderation. He has done some work from home during the past week- read e-mail and tried to get caught up again. The doctor has cautioned him that he is still recovering and he should be careful not to get TOO tired or try to do too much. Joe has found if he does too much his body kinda 'shuts down' and he gets really tired.... so I think his body is trying hard to take care of him.

*He shaved off the FuredyBeard(TM). I am SO glad... :)

*Emotionally, I think we are all starting to recover and be able to think about other things. The kids have lost that scared look in their eyes, and Joe is feeling better and better each day. We are all trying to spend some time every day counting our blessings... and trust me.... we have a LOT of blessings with regard to this situation.

Okay, will post more later today about Fall Break and some of the fun things that we've done despite our no travel, no strenuous exercise limitations. :)

Sleep... Or Lack There Of...

2009-10-13T22:04:00.001-07:00

Sooo.... I'm not sleeping really well. It's not that I'm having a hard time falling asleep... I can do that with my same 'as soon as the head hits the pillow' ability that I've had most of my life.

No, it's more like staying asleep that is the issue. I know that part of it has to do with a series of nightmares that I'm having (Trust me, if it's something bad, and something that could really happen to my family, it's been in my dreams lately. We've been robbed, we've been in a car accident, someone kidnapped my kids, etc., etc) And what's odd is that after I wake up I am able to go back to sleep (not typical for me), so it seems like it shouldn't be affecting me too much. But it is. I'm tired. I'd like to have a REALLY good night's sleep. One without bad dreams or waking up at least 15 times during the night. I've even tried some of the methods from the past- get really tired before going to bed, take a bath before bed, Tylenol PM before bed- but none of the old tricks have worked.

Any suggestions out there in cyber-space? I would sure appreciate them.
Here's to another night... let's cross our fingers that tonight is better! :)
C

Nesting Follow Up

2009-10-12T12:29:00.001-07:00

So, I found this on a friend's blog the other day... and I really liked what it said. My friend happens to be a member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, and this actually comes from their scripture. It is how I am feeling right now:

"Organize yourselves; Prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God."
(Doctrine and Covenants 88:119)

With all of the chaos of lately, I am taking this opportunity to regroup, to establish my house, to pause and strengthen my faith. Although I do not share the same faith as the person who posted this, it still really spoke to me...

Okay, off to organize a little more. Then off to Target... we are in need of some new storage bins! :)
C

Nesting

2009-10-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

Not sure if it is all of the recent events, or just my normal fall routine, but I am seriously nesting. I just cleaned out my kitchen cabinets (all but the pantry... and I'll be tackling that big boy tomorrow morning!) I think I might be trying to have control over something in my life... and I've decided that my cupboards and closets will be that thing!

Joe and I worked on the den for a little while today (this is the WORST room in our house, and a lot of it is Joe's stuff, so I don't usually work in there alone) but he got tired pretty quickly, so my guess is that we'll work on that room a little bit at a time all week.

The kids have been put on notice that EVERYTHING is coming out of their rooms and being gone through before they go back to school in a week.

Good news is that I am creating a sense of order in my house, which will be good in the upcoming holiday season. Bad news is that I'm driving my family crazy! :)

Joe update: Doing GREAT! I am amazed at how much better he is feeling... how much more stamina he has, how much better the range of motion in his arm is getting. Very exciting news that he is making such great progess. He was up almost all day today- we went to the movies, did a bit of cleaning and he played with the kids.... but now he is tired... so we are off to watch another movie and get some sleep!

Night all.
C

Bummer

2009-10-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I was supposed to be doing this....

Instead, I will be at work trying to balance a grant budget and Joe will be at home.

Bummer.

Even worse is that we still had to pay 50% of the total cost even though we don't get to go.

Bigger bummer.
Night all....
C

How I REALLY Know Joe is Feeling Better....

2009-10-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

Life is slowly but surely returning to normal.

Home health care nurse came on Tuesday... and after checking on Joe... decided that she didn't need to come back! (don't get me wrong... she was very nice... but it is even nicer for my husband NOT to need regular nursing care!)

Doctor called on Tuesday... Coumadin level is 2.1... so no more SHOTS! Yeah!! Levels will need to be tested weekly to ensure that the dosage remains between 2.0 and 3.0- the theraputic level for Joe.

Physical therapist came on Tuesday and on Wednesday... she is helping Joe feel much better. Joe is having lots of issues with stiffness in his neck and shoulders- mostly caused by the odd way he needs to hold his body to ensure that he doesn't move the areas that are painful. PT is helping to release the stiffness and start to move the arm and shoulder. Joe will have physical therapy three times a week here at the house until he has more movement and less pain.

Joe really is doing better- staying awake longer- moving around the house more. The doctor and physical therapist have encouraged him to walk more (they want to make sure that he doesn't develop pneomonia as a result of just not moving much). On Tuesday, he saved up all of his energy so that we could go to the costume store with the kiddos to check out some Halloween costumes. He quickly found a spot to sit down (in the middle of the aisle) but it was nice for the kids to have him be part of their costume selection. It was great for us to get out as a family and do something fun as well!

Here's everybody's favorite patient... I think he IS starting to look better (note he can finally wear a regular shirt now that all the tubes/drains/IVs are out).

Here's a Halloween preview of Cleopatra and Jango Fett...

And finally, I know that Joe is feeling better BECAUSE... he's decided that I should dress up as a nurse for Halloween and here's the costume he picked out! :)

Night all...

Slow Progress... But we HAVE THE RIB!!

2009-10-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

Today was a LONG day.... Joe had blood work done (spent an HOUR and a HALF waiting for that), then went to the doctor and got his drain removed (YEAH!). No word on the blood work yet, so we continue the dreaded shots for another day. Hopefully by tomorrow we will know more about his levels and will be able to stop the daily torture.

Joe is for sure off work for the next week and a half- maybe longer. I should be able to go back to work at the end of this week. Doctor says it will be months before Joe gets complete feeling back in his shoulder, but that range of motion does seem better already.

After all of that was done (and we got some food because we were starving) we headed back to the hospital to get the RIB. Let's just say it was a bit of a let down... One- you are not supposed to take it out of the liquid it is stored in. Two, it is tiny. Seriously. Tiny. Not quite what Joe had in mind I don't think! But, we have it. What we are going to do with it now... I'm not quite sure. But, it is back in Joe's possession. :) (I know, I know... SOME of you want pictures. I think I will post all the pics on Shutterfly- rather than posting them here. Some folks have sensitive stomachs you know! I will let you all know how to access those once I have them posted!)

Finished the day with a lovely pot roast dinner cooked by none other than the fabulous Nana. Let's just say I haven't seen a dinner get gobbled up like that one in awhile!!

Tomorrow brings home health care, physical therapy, and my wonderful cleaning ladies. So.. on that note, I should go pick up a bit so the cleaning ladies can at least FIND the floor in order to clean it.

That's all folks. And on that note... I am going to stop e-mailing everybody now when I post. I will keep posting, so if you are curious... stop on by. Hopefully soon we'll have some different stuff to talk about now that life is beginning to resemble normalcy once again. :)

Night all-
C

A Man and His Dog

2009-10-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

Uneventful weekend here, which was greatly needed! Joe slept a lot, got visits from the home health care nurse and the physical therapist, did some exercises, got his shots twice a day (which he did NOT enjoy) and took a (much needed!) shower. He has even graduated to going up the stairs and sleeping in our bed instead of on the couch.

Kids had a good weekend. Saturday was a long day with Daddy resting and Momma trying to hold down the fort, but we still found time to read, do some homework and build a pillow fort in the living room. Sunday was an AWESOME day for the kids... Uncle Andrew came and took them for the afternoon. They saw a movie, had lunch at the Olive Garden and even went to the bookstore! Colin came home with a much prized Pokemon book, and Julia got a Wimpy Kid book. Uncle Andrew is my hero today, as this time gave me a chance to do some housework and take a much needed/desired nap. Thanks Uncle Andrew!!

Sunday also brought the return of our beloved Ellie. Jason dropped her off Sunday afternoon. Paige, Jason and the kids did a FANTASTIC job taking care of our girl... she looks great. I swear, she's been off at the doggie spa or something... nails are trimmed, she's had a bath, and she is a very happy dog. Words cannot express how much it means to Joe and I that Ellie was well taken care of for the last week... there was just no way that I could have managed caring for Joe and Ellie at the same time. Thank you thank you thank you Jason and Paige!!

It does feel like the world is finally turning right side up again, now that I have all my loved ones at home. Here's a photo showing my two invalids. :)

Tomorrow brings bloodwork (pray that Joe's levels are up and we can discontinue the hated shots), and a visit to the doctor with the hope that they can remove the last remaining item attached to Joe's body- the drain (pray that the drain has done it's job and everything looks good enough to do this).

I think all of us are struggling with staying positive- which seems odd at this point in the journey- but I think we are all tired and all ready for life to return to 'normal'. Everybody in the family has taken their turn at a melt-down today.. here's hoping that things will be better tomorrow. I keep thinking how lucky we are- that this is a temporary thing, that there will be normal again, that we are all here together- and I can keep those thoughts going for awhile- but then I lose it again and get lost in all that isn't normal. I'm sure I'll wade through it eventually...

That's all for tonight folks. Have a good one.
C

There's No Place Like Home!

2009-10-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

Joe is home! :) Yeah!!!

We had to leave his rib in the hospital though. Pathology has been very busy for the past few days and they haven't gotten a chance to clean it yet. They promised to do so this weekend and said we could pick it up on Monday when we go back over to Good Sam for Joe's doctor appointment.

Joe will have a home health care nurse visit tomorrow (and possibly Sunday) and the physical therapist will come to our house tomorrow as well. I am responsible for his shots and emptying his drain. Hopefully by Monday his coumadin level will be high enough that we can discontinue the shots and the drain will be empty enough that they will feel comfortable taking it out.

Until then we have a QUIET weekend planned at home. I've managed to plan a couple of fun outings for the kids that will give them a chance to do something outside of the house- but I think Joe and I are in for the next couple of days.

I rented some movies this afternoon... I think we are planning on lots of 'vegging'.

That's all for now. Joe is SO happy to be at home. He will be even happier when he can take a shower. Have a wonderful, restful, enjoyable weekend everyone!
C

Wedding Ring

2009-10-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

When Joe went into surgery, they had him take off his wedding ring and give it to me...

I've given him my wedding rings a number of times- he's worn them each time I've had a baby and each time I've had surgery. He always actually wore them too... even though he might have looked a little funny with that diamond solitaire on his pinky finger... he would wear my rings until I was ready to wear them again.

But, I've never had or worn his wedding ring before. Until this week. And yes, I'm wearing it right now on my index finger. Seems like a simple thing, but it's amazing the power it has had. Just wearing his ring is like having a part of him with me. I've actually found it very soothing- especially when he was in surgery, or at night when I was here without him.

I am looking forward to giving it back to him though... to actually having him wear it instead of me... to not NEED to wear it anymore. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow.
He did have a good day today. We took several walks, and he promised to take a walk when his Aunt Suze came to visit him tonight. I've learned about the shots and the drain, so I am ready to care for him here at home. My dad and his step-dad came over to my house tonight to move furniture so that the reclining chair is in the same room as the tv. Looks like he and I will be sleeping in the reclining chair and on the couch for a few days until he's a little more stable. We've got the home health care and physical therapy scheduled. He's been weaning off the pain meds so he's a little more alert and ready to be home. My kids have gotten the 'we are going to really have to take care of Daddy' speech (and I spent the evening with them tonight, so I think they are feeling better and more connected.)

All that's left is to get him here... and to put the ring back on his finger.

As always, thanks for your help, prayers and support. I am in debt to so many folks right now. I don't think I ever knew or appreciated the sheer numbers of family and friends that we have surrounding us.

Love to you all. Will post tomorrow as soon as we are home!!
C

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow!

2009-10-01T14:51:00.001-07:00

Joe is coming home tomorrow! The doctor met with us today, and is going to start the process.... yeah!

He is having a wonderful day today, feeling SO much better....

Physical therapy went well, nurses taught me how to inject him with his meds.... we are moving forward!

He is supposed to take a walk every couple of hours, so we've been wandering the halls in the hospital. He says that it is nice to see the hospital from an upright position, rather than laying flat on his back.

Talk to you all soon!
C

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

2009-09-30T21:22:00.000-07:00

Soooo... right after I sent my earlier update, and about the time that they brought Joe his lunch tray, he decided to move his bed and sit up a bit. When he did that, he asked me if his neck looked swollen. I took one look at him and hit the call button...

Joe developed (rather quickly) a fist sized hematoma on his neck. The nurse came in, took one look at it and called the doctor. The on-call doctor came in and looked at it, and decided that he wanted the surgeon to see it. The surgeon came down as soon as he could and decided that Joe needed to have it drained. They were concerned for two reasons- he is still on high doses of blood thinners AND the location of the hematoma being so close to his airway in his neck. The surgeon did indicate that Joe could just wait and see what happened and see if his body would just resolve it, but that this would take 4-6 weeks. He also warned Joe that if it continued to progress he might need to have it dealt with on an emergency basis... where he probably wouldn't be the person to perform the surgery. Joe decided that it was making him very uncomfortable and he would rather just have the drain put in.

So, back to surgery we went. Again, we had great nurses, the anesthesiologist was excellent and the procedure went VERY well. Round trip from pre-op to surgery to recovery to back to his room was about 3 hours, which was excellent.

Joe is back in his room, with LOTS of good drugs. He did try eating some jello and some broth before I left tonight, and that seemed to go very well. Obviously he is EXHAUSTED (who isn't at this point?), but seems to be in better spirits now that his neck is not as swollen. That may be the morphine helping his spirits, but hey, I'll take it! :)

Tomorrow will bring a lot of education for me! I need to learn how to empty and clean the drain (it is possible he will come home with the drain still in, so they want to start teaching me how to care for it just in case), and I need to learn how to give Joe his injections. In an effort to NOT reintroduce heparin into his system at this point, they are going to use another drug that needs to be injected twice a day. Again, this will be a temporary thing, probably just for the first few days after he comes home, but they want to make sure I know how to take care of him properly... so we aren't ready to go home and just waiting for someone to teach me this stuff. Joe will also start physical therapy tomorrow... no excuses! The doctors are concerned about his range of motion and about muscle atrophy and really want to get him working that right arm!

On another note, I know many of you are wondering about my mom. The surgery on her eye went very well today. I talked to her several times throughout the day and she seemed to be in good spirits. She is looking forward to her appointment tomorrow when she will get the patch off of her eye, which will make seeing things much easier. She and my dad had the kids this afternoon/ this evening... which I can't even begin to thank them for, considering all that went on for them today!! Papa even did the bedtime routine at my house before I got home. Thanks Nana and Papa... you guys are amazing!

Again, hoping that tomorrow brings a little bit more normalcy for all of us- especially my kiddos. I know they are close to the end of their ropes, and so I've gotta find a way to balance all of this better so I can be there for them- and Joe. Prayers for God to show me the way to have some balance right now would be greatly appreciated. And as always, prayers for Joe to heal quickly and continue to have non-morphine induced good spirits.

Very tired, so I will close.
Until next time...
C

Hard Day

2009-09-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to update you all this morning... Joe is having a rough start to the day. He is just feeling lousy, sleeping a lot... and generally having a rough go of it. The nurse is having the physical therapist wait for a bit before coming in because she just doesn't feel that Joe is up to it physically or emotionally. Good news is they are managing the pain well... he just feels really cloudy and out of it.

I left for a bit... he seems to sleep better if I am not sitting there looking at him, and I finally found a place in this hospital where I could connect to the internet... yeah! I figured I'd take advantage of this time to post a quick update.

No rib yet... Joe has to be well enough to go to pathology to get it... and he just isn't there yet. But, I have done my wifely duty and reminded the nurses that he does STILL want his rib.

I was hoping that today might return us to a slightly more normal schedule... maybe tomorrow.
Have a wonderful day folks. Thanks for all your positive thoughts and prayers. :)
C

The Quest for the Rib....

2009-09-29T20:57:00.001-07:00

Rough start to the day this morning. Joe was feeling anxious... and therefore Carrie was feeling anxious. Day started getting better when they took him down to surgery an hour early... and when the anesthesiologist was there WAITING with anti-anxiety drugs. Amazing what drugs can do. Within a minute Joe was totally relaxed and cracking jokes!

Surgery took about 2 hours and 45 minutes. They were able to go in through the top of the collar bone, rather than through his underarm. His incision is about the same length that the clot was... how ironic.

Surgeon feels that the surgery was VERY successful... he managed to get in and get the rib without injuring the lung or, as far as we can tell right now, any of the nerves running to the arm. Yeah! The other EXCELLENT news is that after seeing the vein, he has decided to CANCEL the procedure for tomorrow. The vein was still soft (scarred veins are hard) and so he would like to see how much Joe's body can do to heal and repair the vein on it's own. In 4-6 weeks, they will do an ultrasound on Joe's vein to determine if further repair is necessary. If it is, they will likely do the repair at the end of the 6 months of coumadin....

Joe is resting comfortably. He is on a LOT of drugs... morphine, Oxycontin, etc. You name it, he's getting it. He has not really eaten yet- just jello and some broth, but they think he will be ready to try some more food at breakfast. When I left the hospital he was just laying in bed, totally relaxed and pretty conked out. I think he should rest well this evening!

Here's the funny part of today... Joe is INTENT on getting his rib back so he can see it and keep it. He talked to the doctor about this yesterday and the doctor said that he didn't care- but it really wasn't up to him. Then the nurses went on a quest to help us figure out who Joe needed to talk to... ends up that he needs to sign a consent and request it from pathology. You can't actually request it from pathology before pathology has the item, so this wasn't something we could do ahead of time. I guess tomorrow we will be taking a field trip (because I can't get it for him, only he can request it) to pathology to fill out paperwork so that we can leave the hospital with Joe's rib. However, we've been warned that this is something that is often forgotten, so we needed to make a big deal out of it to every person that would be in the surgery. Picture this: here's Joe, totally anxiety ridden, unable to really communicate a lot, and his CRAZY wife, telling every doctor that we see that he would really like his rib back after they take it out PLEASE. I'm sure the doctors thought I was NUTS. There is even a big yellow post-it note on the outside of his chart telling everyone that he wants his rib back.... and of course this has led to a number of jokes from all parties. The nurses on our floor are now calling Joe "Adam". Doesn't matter to me.... if Joe wants the darn rib back, then he is going to get the darn rib back no matter what I have to do!!

So... I am sure that you are wondering, other than getting the rib... what's the next step? Joe will go back on IV heparin tomorrow morning and also begin taking the oral coumadin. He needs to stay in the hospital until the coumadin in his blood reaches the 'therapeutic' level. Then he can come off of the heparin and COME HOME!!! (I would also like it if we could get him to the point that he can stand up without passing out before we bring him home. I know... I am SO picky!)

That's all for today folks. I'll keep you updated, but I am guessing (and hoping) that the posts will be getting shorter as we finally begin the uphill climb towards recovery. Tomorrow is new drugs, PHYSICAL THERAPY, and the quest for the rib will continue.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support... looks like they are working!! :)
Have a good night...
C