Latest and (not so) Greatest

Yesterday was surgery day. Glad to finally have it over with. Unfortunately it was not the small simple tear the Dr. was hoping it would be. Had to actually cut him open. The scope was not enough. They say it was pretty nasty. He also lost some range of motion in his arm due to the injuries so they had to clean up some other stuff too. We now have 18+ physical therapy appointments ahead of us for the next 6 weeks. It feels like we are starting all over. But, maybe it's better this way. Maybe this recovery would have been too hard along with the other recovery he's had. Maybe the shoulder needed it's very own attention, with nothing else holding it back. Sounds good right. Either way, he is in a lot of pain and down from work again. At least this is hopefully it. For the injury part of recovery. We still have some plastic surgery in the future.

Grateful to be on the mend. Hope my poor husband feels better soon! He is amazingly strong and suffers through everything the doctors tell him to do. He is very motivated. We know there is light at the end of this long dark tunnel!

The SITuation

He won't sit in his high chair

He won't sit in his booster chair

Quite frankly,

He won't SIT in any chair!

On this day he chose this stance, but usually, it's just a full on stand.

Meal time is always a challenge when it comes to Jack. He tries to walk around with his food, ya know, towards my yellow couch. Really, the only time he wants to sit at meal time is in my lap when I'm trying to eat. Obviously, he is not lacking for nourishment though, so he must be getting something in along the way! He is our busy, busy boy!

School Days

The first day of school

YAY

We were all excited. The kids couldn't wait.

I had planned to walk them to their lines and get embarrassing

shots while in line (embarrassing for Nathan anyway), but with the

rain there were no lines. So I dropped them off along with the hoards

of other parents and drove away. I decided I would meet them after school

in their lines but apparently Nathans class doesn't line up after school.

Soooo....we couldn't find him. We were some of the last to leave the blacktop

thinking I was waiting for him. Then we checked his class room, then the office,

then the spot they usually wait for pick up. I kinda figured that's where he'd be.

He said he was about ready to start walking home. Well, at least he was

prepared to fend for himself!

They had a great day and I was the only one with homework that night.

All that fun paperwork to fill out

Photo Shoot

Kristen wanted to play photographer the other day. Here are a few shots she got of Samantha and I. Not too bad for a 7 year old. I guess it's a good way to capture my existence

in the family, use the kids :)

Samantha said later that day "Some grown ups call other grown ups sugar plum", and then she laughs! She cracks herself and me up with her little statements on the facts of life.

Nickelodean 'LIVE'

The infamous bucket-o-slime ** We were on the blue team

So, our community had a Nickelodean Live Event on Saturday. Doug and I have decided that if we were in charge, these community events we be way more successful. That said, this event did not go well for us. It was the typical mass of people squished on the grass, those in front begin to stand so everyone else has to stand, and no one can actually see. Except for the girl in front of my kids who stood on top of a stroller! The other huge problem, du! it's August. Only 150 degrees outside. We were too hot for words, squished and the kids unable to see very well. So we watched for a short time, they got there fix, and we were outta there! Along with a few other people who decided to ditch before it actually ended. If it weren't for the heat we could have tolerated the rest, but no. Sorry to say it was not the exciting experience the children were hoping for.

Feelin' Happy

I'm feeling really happy today. Actually, it has been building for sometime now. Sounds crazy, but I have never felt so loved and blessed by my Heavenly Father, my family, my friends and my ward. I know the experiences I've had could come in no other way. I think going through complete depths of sorrow and fear have made the joy and blessings in my life so much brighter. I just feel so grateful for everything. The blessing that was given to me has come to pass in many ways. That is overwhelming to me. It is very humbling.

I got to go on a date with my husband today. So fun. So grateful we can still be together. (thanks 'G'!!!!!!) Love the time we have together as a family. Love our home, it is a sanctuary to me. Love that the kids have such good friends. Love that they start school next week ;). Looking forward to the fall and all the fun that that brings. Looking forward to Doug's surgery next week, hope it brings some healing and pain relief for him. Feel like we are coming to a turning point in his recovery. Despite the struggles we have, I still feel blessed beyond our comprehension.

It's not to say I don't get frustrated. My kids fight, my baby makes me pay big time every time he gets left with a sitter. I could use a little more me time (that's coming soon enough). But hey, I'm also very aware that my path could have been so much worse. So I am grateful to be dealing with what I have and I know it is making us all stronger. I cannot wait for the day when I can be on the other side of things and be a little angel for someone else.

I challenge you, my friends, to find the blessings in your life and to be happy for what you have. To be grateful for the challenges you are given and the opportunity you have to grow from them.

A Tale of Two Shoes

Funny story about these shoes...Heather gave them to me last year. Apparently Lauren didn't like them and or they hurt her feet or something. I saved them for Kristen. Earlier this year I had her try them and she also didn't like them and said they hurt her feet. A few months back I gave them to my friend Stephanie for her daughter. She recently tried them on her and you guessed it, same story. Stephanie gave me a bag of shoes for Samantha and included these in the group. Kristen excitedly asked if there were any shoes in the bag that would fit her and so Samantha handed her these. Kristen was so excited and thought they were so cute, and guess what, they felt great! Do you think she doesn't remember them?? Either way, she has a lovely pair of "new" shoes for school!

Grandpa

Had a little visitor this weekend. The kids love it when grandpa comes. He is a good sport and will jump on the trampoline, play in the pool and is our own personal swing set! While Doug was in the hospital Jack took quite a liking to his grandpa. After some hesitation they were soon fast friends. Grandpa taught him a few tricks! Wish grandma could have come too :0)

Weekend Warrior

That's how I feel when I accomplish anything at all. But this weekend I tackled some very overdue projects. Spent the entire day Friday cleaning the house (by the way, it looks like crap now) and hung a few things.

Love this little art wire from Ikea. Finally got brave and put up some vinyl (textured walls are not so great for this stuff, but it sticks eventually...what I wouldn't give to have smooth walls, ahhhh) and finally, hung my little plant pots from Ikea, but obviously, no plants. I'm sure I could have come up with something cuter in my kitchen for these but for now they serve my scrapbook room.

The crowning moment of my weekend however was the tackle of the 'storage under the stairs'!

Friday, I simply could not take it anymore. I should have taken a before photo, but just picture ALL this stuff piled on top of each other with little room to spare!

These shelves make me so happy!

High School Musical II...

My kids said
"there is too much dramatics in this show"
"Ya, to much drama with Charpay (sp?). Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, Chad (and they name everyone else they can think of too)"
"And there is way too much singing"

But they still claim to have liked it. Apparently they don't quite make the pre-teen scene the movie was meant for, du!

Tag You're It!

Apparently I've been tagged by 'G' to answer a few questions.

1. If you were a season of the year, which would you be?
Easy one, Spring. Love spring, the feeling of winter leaving and new life starting. The Rain, the warm days and cool nights. Everything turning green, the leaves starting to bud, flowers, tulips, my favorite. Yes I know I live in Vegas, it's not quite the same but it still feels good to me, like a renewal of life!

2. Which of your children is most like you and what characteristic's do you share?
Another easy one, Kristen. But more so like me as a child. My family laughs at how much she is like me, letter pronunciations and all. She also looks just like me (as a child). In fact I told her one day that she looks just like me as a child and what if she grew up to look just like me now... pause...She says, "Well No. I mean your pretty and everything, but I don't want to look like you." LOL!!! Apparently as a child I was VERY stubborn and often wanted to be by myself. I could play for hours alone. She is the same way. Loves to be with friends, but likes to do her own thing too. Trouble with that, unlike me, she has a sister!

3. If you could hire one person, and cost was no object, who would you employ; a chef, a housekeeper, a nanny, a chauffeur, a gardener, a secretary, or a pool boy?
Ok, first things first...I have a pool boy, his name is Doug. A gardener, dude, I live in Vegas, I have rocks! I also have a pretty good chef, his name is Doug too, though not available to cook all day long, so that would be a consideration. But when it comes right down to it, house cleaning! If I wasn't in charge of that my house might actually be clean more often and it would allow me time to maybe cook more and do more fun things. Definitely the most time consuming chore. What I want to know though is this, is there someone who can shower for me and do my makeup and hair everyday so I look fabulous!!!

4. What was your last embarrassing moment?
Oh I don't know, maybe my last answer???

5. What is your dream vacation?
Definitely hope to tour Europe someday. Been to Norway, but would love to see Italy, France, England, etc., etc., etc., Just give me a month or two and set me free. I love to see old things, and major history and stuff like that and the way other people live.

Back to School

Took the kids shopping for school supplies yesterday. VERY exciting...for them. Not so much for me. Don't get me wrong, I love to shop, but when it takes almost an entire box of Dora fruit snacks to get Jack to be cool, not such a good thing! Then there's the kids thinking they need way more than whats actually on the list. Like Nathan wanting an 'index card holder' for his index cards, ya right! So anyway, 3 back packs later and lunch boxes to boot here is a pitiful pile of a serious chunk of change!

Fort...Knox??

The girls room....

Where they all slept last night... yes there are 3 bodies in there somewhere!

The boys room encompasses the bunk bed and Jacks crib

Jack, entering the maze of his room, he loved it to say the least!

This is what the kids did this weekend. Turned their ENTIRE rooms into forts. My entire upstairs is in unspeakable condition! I try not to look at that side of things but just know that they are having a GOOD time!

How may days do I allow them to have such good times I wonder???

And the Verdict is....

SURGERY. Tear in rotator cuff, (we could have told them that, in fact I think we did...) So yes, surgery it is, but I think that is ok. At least we have some resolution with the shoulder and a plan of attack now. We don't have a date yet, but hopefully within 2 weeks. You know, it all depends on how many hoops insurance needs us to jump through for this.

On a lighter note Doug has come up with several possible scenarios for the condition of his head:

1. Beauty school hair cut gone HORRIBLY wrong
2. Mole removal, gone HORRIBLY wrong
and last but not least
3. Bear attack!

#3 is the favorite, and possible reason he will give strangers when they asked "what the ?!? happened to you?

BRUTE STRENGTH...

Just give him a tan, some baby oil and he is ready for competition!!! Check out the muscles on this kid. The poor boy just wants to get on the trampoline. But he is an animal and with no net, dangerous! He cracks us up. Definitely our little dare devil with no fear. He loves to lunge, jump off of things, and all around be an animal. Watch out world!

A good mom today...

Grudgingly, anyway. But that still counts, right? Nathan has been begging to go to the Dinosaur Park lately. I always seem to have really good reasons why we can't. So, I made a plan for first thing this morning. For some reason you can't spring the park on me. I don't know why, but it is not something I enjoy doing. Maybe it's because I have 4 children who run off in 4 different directions and I can't keep track of any of them. Plus it's only like 150 degrees outside. Geez, where's the fun for me! But, being the "good" mother that I am, I sacrifice for my children (blah blah blah).

They had a good time and I got to put my zoom lens to good use and get shots from far away. I guess that was my fun. The picture of Samantha is up in the top of the tree house. They splashed, swung, ran, slid, and played in the sand. Hip Hip Hooray!

Update...

So here is just a quick update on how we are.

Still going to too many dr. appointments. Will find out on Friday about the shoulder. This process is too slow! So much waiting to be done. Another dr. has decided to run some new test and check a few more things. Great! The head continues to heal and Doug sports his surgery cap quite nicely!

Doug has made great strides today by driving for the first time in a month, despite the uselessness of his right arm! He is stubborn and determined to make it work. He is trying to work a bit this week. We hope someday soon he will actually be feeling better. He still doesn't feel very well but hope to find out why soon.

My little spare time lately has been spent engrossed in Harry Potter. SOOOOOO good! I'm almost done. That has been my little escape.