Teeball

I never know whether teeball is one word or two so forgive me if its wrong. Garrett started playing teeball last week. Its an informal class through the rec center that meets twice a week and they just play with who ever shows up. We tried it last year and one of us always ended up in tears. He had no interest and would get in trouble with all the free time during the slow moving game. This is year is different though. He pays attention during the game (slacks a little during the last 10 minutes but its progress) and has really become competitive. He goes after every ball and even gets upset if he doesn't catch one. He does better each time he goes so hopefully he will stay interested in it. My boy is finally calming down and following rules!!! Just in time for kindergarten!!!

Fourth of July!!

Here are some pictures of our 4th of July. My niece is the one twirling and my nephews Scott and Alex are carrying the banner. We went to the parade, went to a party and watched fireworks with friends. It was a nice the day and the kids had a great time!

Its Official.....

Doug was given his new assignment last week and its......Cleveland! We are a little disappointed but also relieved. We are not sure yet whether they want us to relocate and if we even would want to relocate if given the choice. He starts there on Monday so he'll be getting more information. The position will be a lot more challenging and easier to advance in so we are thankful. We are also thankful of the location because some of the other ones out there were a lot less desirable.

I Got A Button!

KC gave me a button, that was so sweet!! I will pass this on.

Castaway Bay

I had the chance to chaperone 18 Brownies at Cedar Point's Castaway Bay Resort on Monday and Tuesday. We had a great time and it was really fun to get away. There were four rooms and four moms spending the night. There were 5 girls in each room except mine, I just had 3 including Robyn. I went on all the water slides and the water roller coaster with Robyn. Not bad a week after heart surgery. The troop leader was a paramedic so I wasn't too worried. I was a little sore Monday but was back to 100% on Tuesday. I have even gotten back on my treadmill at home.

Wordless Wednesday

Beautiful Flowers!!

I just realized I've been blogging over a year! June 21st, ironically the Norwalk Flood, was my first day. Anyway, I think I am fully recovered now! I had a little scare on Friday and Saturday with pain and a fever but now I'm fine. Here are some pictures of the beautiful flowers that were sent to me.




I had so many people helping me through this week and it was great. I believe all the prayers made this as smooth as it was.

This was also the longest Doug has been with us in a while so he was able to bond with the kids again. I took him to the airport for his final training week! I think he was relieved since he worked so hard taking care of us this last week. This should be the week we find out the exciting news of where we will be living.
Now that I'm recovered I will going with the Brownies to Castaway Bay. I'm not sure today if I'll be up to any rides but I can at least chaperone.

Slowly Recovering

I guess I pushed it the first few days because now I feel worse. I'm having a little more trouble getting around. I just showered and I plan laying down the rest of the day. I was really expecting to be back to myself today. I'm bored!!! Poor Doug, he just can't keep up with me, the kids, the dog and the house. He has also had some minor house repairs that had to take place on top of it (the sink, the garage door opener, the truck, and luckily our friend Jake fixed the air conditioner for me).

The funny thing about the garage door happened yesterday. We walked on the porch to say goodbye to my parents yesterday morning. My mom forgot something, went back in and the came out and shut the door which locked it. They drove away then we realized we were locked out. Luckily Doug was able to lift the garage door enough so Garrett could roll under and push the garage door button to let us in.

Okay, I'm worn out so I'm going to rest. This is frustrating when your body can't keep up with your mind. Pray for me, I have to be up to chaperoning Brownies at Castaway Bay on Monday and I'm concerned at this point.

Recovery Wednesday

I came home from the hospital around 1:30 yesterday afternoon. I feel much better now. I just have a little discomfort getting around and some dizziness due to one of my medicines. I was sitting there amazed that I just had heart surgery. Its amazing what they can do these days. I'm a little sleepier than usual but I'm getting back to normal. I'm even going to attempt to eat at Damon's tonight.

Heart Surgery Monday

I couldn't help it, I crack myself up. My surgery starts at 11:30 today. The procedure is only an hour long but they are keeping me overnight for observation. Please pray for me. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again. I'm supposed to take it easy for a week.

Safety Town Graduation

I have another Safety Town Graduate in the house!!! I can't wait for some of my friends to have this experience (Jenn, Rachel, Amy). You send them for a week to learn about safety and they come back to tell you what you do wrong and explain the correct way. Really, its amazing they have survived for this long under my supervision.

Garrett had a great time with his friends in the class, Lance, Josh, Sam and Dylan. That is the last time he will be in class with them. Even if we stay here they will be in different elementary schools.

Best Buds!

We decided to have another beach day and this time we brought along friends. We went with Josh, Caleb and Jenn. Here is a picture of Garrett with his best bud Caleb. In honor of this I use my Thursday Thirteen to list great things about having friends.

Friends are for:
1. talking
2. laughing
3. crying
4. understanding
5. calling
6. confiding
7. visiting
8. celebrating
9. sharing
10. encouraging
11. helping
12. keeping
13. a lifetime

Scary Wordless Wednesday

Tackle It Tuesday

Once again I don't have pictures of my tackle. I worked hard though. I painted the ceiling of Robyn's closet to fix a problem and I also painted the bathroom ceiling.

I also went to the beach with the kids today. We had a lot of fun but had a little too much sun. I was thinking about how much I love living near a beach. I really hope we get to move somewhere close to one. I love sitting there with the cool breeze hitting me while the kids are off playing in the water NOT fighting. I love the feel of the warm sand on my feet and the peaceful setting. We are hoping to go back on Thursday but only if our sunburn heals quick enough.

Thursday's Adventure

At one point yesterday I had all four kids helping me weed. They were extremely excited to find a toad. They played with it for a while and even took it across the street to show the other kids. Then it was time to set it free. Garrett cried for a very long time because he loved that toad even though he didn't want to touch it. I can't believe Robyn wanted to carry it around. She even asked if we could cut it open to see what was inside since she will have to do that in high school anyway. She is so sensitive!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things that are scary about a doctor's office:
1. Quiet (The feeling like no one is around)
2. Flourescent Lights (Migraine inducing and nauseating)
3. The Artwork (Tranquil artwork makes me feel like they think I'm gonna die)
4. Stainless Steel trays (Like they are expecting lots of blood)
5. Stirrups, especially when its not one of THOSE offices
6. Having two doctors explain a surgery at different times (why make me feel sick twice?)
7. Those places in the wall where you can plug in for oxygen (what do they do to their patients that would make them need oxygen :))
8. When they forget something in your chart (what else are they overlooking?)
9. The Smell (need I say more)
10. Cardiologist specific - just being somewhere where it says cardiac rehabilitation
11. Cardiologist specific - being the only young patient around and having everyone stare at you
12. Being there alone and having to make a big decision

As you can tell I was at the doctor's office yesterday. It was a very difficult time for me. Just being in that kind of office brought tears to my eyes even before they called me back. The took all my information and looked at my results. They gave me two options. I could take medicine which they would suggest if I was 60 or 70 years old or have the Angiogram/Catherization for the PFO closure. They said since I have already had a mini-stroke that they suggested the second option. The second option may also help with my migraines. I am having this procedure done on the 18th of June. I have no restrictions until then. The have to go in each side of my groin. On the one side they will send up an ultrasound machine that will look around my heart and verify the hole and look for other problems if they exist. The other side is the catherization that will go up and open like an umbrella and seal the hole. They will keep me in the hospital overnight and I will be restricted for a week after that. It will be hard for me to just sit around for a week. I do have some books I'd like to read though. Doug is going to take off for the week and my parents will be coming out. I would like visitors though and I definitely need people to pray for me!! It will take six months for the heart to adjust and grow over the closure so I will be on blood thinners. Hopefully I will heal easily because a week after my procedure I have chaperone Brownies at Castaway Bay. We will also be moving soon too and it looks like its going to be Norfolk, Virginia. It was an informal talk from the person who places him so we are waiting for the definite word.

Not Wordless Wednesday Here

My helmet

This is our 2005 Yamaha R1. We decided to sell it during the winter but have now changed our minds and want to keep it. Doug is going to use this back and forth from work and we are using this for our dates. This forces us to get babysitters and spend time together. Hopefully my cardiologist will approve of this when I visit him today.

Bra Quiz

I'll join Tina, Heather and Michelle and take the test too.

You Are an Animal Print Bra!

Wild, zany, and even a little crazy. You make every date an unpredictable adventure. You want a guy who will constantly surprise you. A relationship that's the most insane ride of your life.

What Kind of Bra Are You?

Garrett's Baptism

This was an exciting week for Garrett. He has been asking us a lot of questions lately and awhile ago he prayed to ask Jesus into his heart. We weren't sure how much he understood. He asked to speak to the pastor starting on Monday, then kept putting it off saying he would do it tomorrow until Thursday came. Then he told me he was ready and went and prayed with the pastor and asked him to be baptized. This was really big for him because he is scared of having water in his face and still wanted to do it. I was thinking he would get scared and change his mind this morning. I knew that if God wanted him to be baptized today he would help him through it and he did! The only sad thing is that Doug had to fly out early in the morning and he missed it. Garrett was too excited about it to put if off longer. Luckily my brother-in-law was able to take pictures so Doug will be able to see them.

Wordless Wednesday

Tackle It Tuesday

My tackle it area today was our art bookshelf. A few months ago I put all their arts and crafts there so they would be more accessible. I tend to put messy things up high and they always forget about them. They have been using this heavily as you can tell and they really seem to like it.

Health Update

Since many of you are asking I figured I would give an update from my medical tests last week.

For those of you that don't know I had an episode at the end of April where I lost feeling in my right hand and I couldn't control the movement of it. It was followed immediately by a migraine. When the feeling came back in my hand I had a warm sensation going up my arm like I had in my legs when I was diagnosed 3 years ago with nerve damage in my legs. I called and made an appointment with my neurologist. He thought it was a complicated migraine (migraine preceeded by stroke-like symptoms) but wanted to test me for clots and previous strokes just in case. Last week I had a TCD test. This test involved an ultrasound that looked for blood clots. Another part of the test was injecting me with tiny bubbles to check for a leak or hole in my heart. There has been a strong correlation between migraines and a hole in the heart. If the test was negative I would just hear my normal heartbeat and if it was positive I would hear a little chirping. The test was off the charts with lots of chirping and for a long period of time. The doctor doing the test was amazed that I had two children without any health issues. My neurologist reported the results and said that it was strongly positive. He also said that the episode with my hand may have been a mini-stroke. He prescribed an anti-seizure medicine to prevent the migraines and an aspirin to prevent blood clots that could go through the hole. There is a cardiologist that is doing a study on this with the Ohio University of Medicine (I think that was the one) and he works out of a local hospital here. He referred me to him and thinks he will need to do a cardio catherization. I am also having shortness of breath and on two different, random days my heart kept racing. They will need to look and see if there is something else going on too. To make matters more fun my doctor thinks I should have my tubes tied but of course I can't do that until I meet with the cardiologist. I am waiting on the nurse from the neurologist's office to set up my cardiologist appointment.

I was shocked to find all this out. I have had a lot of migraines but didn't think much about them since Exedrin migraine usually takes care of them. I have been using that a lot lately. So now I'm trying to take things a lot easier and TRYING not to get upset with my children. I can just feel myself getting worked up sometimes and I'm a lot more likely to get migraines when that happens. I've cut back on my exercising too until I see the cardiologist.

My Graduate

Here is picture of my little preschool graduate with all his buddies (except Lance). I can't believe my youngest will be entering kindergarten this fall. I'm sure I'll need a lot of support on that day, his graduation was hard enough.

Anyway, I have to apologize to KC for not getting around to the Frog meme. I haven't had much time to blog lately because I am trying to take it easy. I will write about that in a later blog. It was hard for me to not get around to a Frog meme since I am a big frog person. Stacey is to frogs as Tina is to palm trees!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I'm looking forward to in the summer:
1. NOT using the alarm clock
2. Time with my kids before I start working in the fall
3. Days at the beach
4. Family water gun fights (last year they all teamed up against me!)
5. Doug will be finished his training!!
6. Vacation Bible School
7. Picnics
8. Playing tennis with Doug (He loves to get beat and keeps asking for more!)
9. Not wearing coats
10. Trips to Dairy Queen
11. BBQs
12. Drive-in movies
13. Walking on the pier

Wordless Wednesday

Tackle It Tuesday

Here is my great 1st time bush trimming job.

Mother's Day Adventure

Today started with presents and breakfast in bed just like I hoped. We had to take a trip to the airport so we took it easy in the morning and picked up lunch so I wouldn't have to cook. Later we started our trip to the airport with a stop at the drugstore which made us run a little behind. When we saw the 2 mile sign for our exit we noticed that we had a flat tire with 50 minutes until the flight would leave. We called Doug's parents since Doug had to leave for his flight and didn't want me to deal with this problem alone. They left right away to start the hour and twenty minute trip. We tried to ride it as far was we could but came just short of the exit. The tire was now shredded. Doug got out (on the turnpike!) and put the donut on. Wouldn't you know it, the donut was low on air! We rode slow and luckily made it to the airport parking lot. Doug made his flight with 35 minutes to spare. The people that worked in the Limo/taxi service took me to get air in it. By the time we were done Doug's parents were there and we made it to Walmart to get a new tire put on. That took an hour so the 5 of us wondered around Walmart. How exciting!!! All in a day's work.

Anyway, we had these cute questions in our MOPs newsletter and I thought these were cute so I asked my children at different times. These are their answers:

1. Why did God make moms?
Robyn: So kids can be alive.
Garrett: So children can have moms to kiss'em and hug'em goodnight.

2. What ingredients are mothers made of?
Robyn: Sugar and spice and everything nice.
Garrett: Hair, freckles and shirts.

3. Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
Robyn: Because she's REALLY nice.
Garrett: Because he loves me very much.

4. What kind of little girl was your mom?
Robyn: A good little girl.
Garrett: Little girl with red hair.

5. What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
Robyn: If he was really good at being a dad.
Garrett: Make sure he's cute.

6. Why did your mom marry your dad?
Robyn: Because he was cute and she liked him.
Garrett: So she could have children and because he was very cute.

7. Who's the boss at your house? (Trick question since Doug has been traveling so much)
Robyn: Mommy
Garrett: Mommy and Daddy.

8. What's the difference between moms and dads?
Robyn: Dads have short hair and moms have long hair.
Garrett: Their hair color.

9. What does your mom do in her spare time?
Robyn: Reads to me and Garrett.
Garrett: Cleans up the house.

10. What would it take to make your mom perfect?
Robyn: Stop yelling at us.
Garrett: She needs new shirts.

11. If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
Robyn: Stop yelling at us.
Garrett: Turn lipstick into blue lipstick.

I Feel Healthy!!!

The last few weeks have been a little hard on me since I found out some news about my health. I may write about that another time since I won't know more until after May 22rd. Anyway, I was able to start working out again this week and feel so much better. For those of you who don't know I started exercising a little last fall and in January I found out that if I couldn't lower my cholesterol on my own that I would have to start prescription meds. I really took it seriously and changed my diet and focused on my exercise. I was able to significantly lower my cholesterol and since last August I have lost 18lbs and went down two sizes. I am two sizes smaller than I was in high school! That is amazing considering that after each of my pregnancies I was a size 14. The best news is that I feel healthier and more energetic than I have in my life. I found some things along the way that helped me get there and thought I would share them.

1. Stretchy pants are evil. I can eat a lot more when my pants don't get tight.
2. Exercise in the morning. During the course of a day I can talk myself out of exercising.
3. Shower afterwards and put on makeup and do your hair. If you look better you will feel better.
4. If you are going to feel guilty about eating it, don't eat it.
5. I drink a minimum of 32ozs a day of water. I'm not a thirsty person so I have to force it.
6. Force yourself to eat vegetables and fruit. The more you do it, the more you crave it. Different dips help me to get vegetables down.
7. If you are bored find something to do instead of watching T.V. I have become an organizing freak and it keeps me from oversnacking.
8. Snack at least 2 times a day in addition to 3 full meals. It really does keep your metabolism up.
9. Spend time outside. It does wonders for mental health.
10. If you have trouble getting motivated come over to my house. We can go for a walk or you can use my treadmill or exercise bike.

Tackle it Tuesday!

I don't have pictures of it, does it count? Yesterday I started edging my sidewalks and got about halfway through. Today I finished the other half. I was doing it with a shovel and it doesn't sound like much but I live on a corner so I have double the work. Next week my goal is cleaning and moving toys into the basement and edging my driveway.

Busy Week!

We had a really busy week at my house and I wasn't able to blog or email. My father came out to visit for the week, Doug was home and working nights (means I have to have dinner ready at 4!), our basement flooded again, I had some medical tests, I attended my first grandparent's day with my father at Garrett's school, had a sump pump put in our basement and set up and worked at Robyn's school fun fair. I thought I would be able to rest yesterday but had to deal with grocery shopping, hair cuts and working the fun fair. I thought I could rest today but realized Doug's scheduled changed again and he will be working days through Friday so I needed to cut the grass and went to church in the morning. I'm resting now, finally. I'll be shopping for Mother's day gifts tomorrow and that is really fun for me so I'm excited. This week should be a little more normal and less stressful.

7 Favorite Songs

I have looked at Tina's, Heather's and KC's music lists and I still can't come up with mine. I can't narrow it down to 7 songs. I like too many different songs from too many different categories. Now I mostly listen to Hip-hop and rap and Christian music (I know how strange that sounds together). I like a lot of the modern stuff with Justin Timberlake, Gwen Steffani, Nelly and Avril Lavigne. I also like some older stuff with Missy Elliot, Ice Cube and the Beastie Boys. My favorite band that I used to go to concerts for was Third Eye Blind back when I was 20. My all time favorite romantic song is Chris Isaack - Wicked Game. For country I am absolutely in love with Toby Keith. My all time favorite song is I'll Fly Away in any version. That song really puts things in perspective for me and helps me to stop worrying.

Wow, all those different types of music and time periods. Am I mixed up or what?

My Little Girl

I had a great opportunity to spend time with Robyn yesterday. She was supposed to have a Mother - Daughter dance for Brownies but it was cancelled. Since I already had Doug's parents set up to watch Garrett we decided to go out anyway. We ended up having dinner and ice cream at Dairy Queen and later we went to the beach and walked around. I love spending time with her and she was extremely excited about having time alone with me.