Survival

Yesterday was the big day - a double tonsillectomy for our family! Steve and Ashton both went in for surgery and as of today they are surviving. I am getting to be the ultimate nursemaid to both while also attending to the "healthy" ones in the house. This new job of mine has literally kept me running most of the day. Steve is upstairs and Ashton is downstairs in the guest room (it has a TV and DVD player ... and she doesn't have to get on and off of the top bunk) so I am making trips up and down the stairs constantly. They are living on a diet of popsicles, sherbet, smoothies, soup, mashed potatoes, jello, etc. right now. The doctor said they could easily lose 10 pounds during recovery which neither of them can really afford :) They are both doing a bit better than I expected - guess I set myself up for the "worst case scenario" so I wouldn't be totally stunned. They are only taking pain meds occasionally and are both eating (if you can call it that) and drinking well. Both are pretty low maintenance people in general and are proving to be just as easy as patients. I'm having to remind Ashton to eat and drink so she stays hydrated but she isn't fighting me on it which is nice. Steve is taking care of himself more than I feel he should but that is his stubborn "I don't need anything" kind of way. I feel really lucky. Ashton keeps coming upstairs to ask Steve how he is feeling which I think is so cute and sweet! Steve does the same when he comes downstairs for more ice water. They are really keeping tabs on each other. I did manage to sneak in some "me time" today with a 4 mile run and took the non-recovering girls swimming while Cougar napped this afternoon - other than that it was up and down the stairs, making smoothies, filling water bottles, heating up soup, running to Sonic for slushes, KFC for mashed potatoes, warming the heating pad, dispensing medication, etc. If today is the worst it gets then I think we're in good shape!!

As for yesterday, we had to be at the surgery center at 6:30 A.M. My friend Beth (I would link you to her blog but she doesn't have one yet ... hint, hint, Beth) came over at 6 to stay with the sleeping kiddos until they woke up so she could take them to her house for the day. That was such a big help!! As we drove there we saw all of the damage from the storm the night before - more on that later. I was actually worried that there wouldn't be power at the surgery center because all of the street lights were out when we got off the freeway! Lucky for us they were open for business when we arrived :) Ashton was scheduled to go first so they took us all back, got all of the vitals, etc, got them into gowns, we met with the anesthesiologist and doctor, and she was off! While she was in surgery I got to sit with Steve while he waited. The doctor came in and said he was done with Ashton and she has been an A+ patient. Everything went perfectly and he said that her tonsils were so huge and disgusting that they should have come out long ago. At least they're out now ;) I headed into recovery with her and they wheeled Steve off to surgery. Ashton had a very difficult time waking up ... it was the hardest part of the entire day watching her and listening to her cry. You could see in her eyes that she didn't know what was going on - she looked panicked. She kept trying to get off of the bed and kept grabbing her throat saying how much it hurt. It was heartbreaking for me to watch!!! I kept putting my arm around her, rubbing her arms and legs so she would know I was there, telling her everything was going to be okay. She came around much better after about 10-15 minutes and could then talk to me, eat ice chips, and drink water. Shortly after they brought Steve out to recover. They moved Ashton's bed right next to his which was great. It was also by a window so I actually had cell phone service and could text message ... a lifesaver! Steve was out of it much longer than Ashton was - stronger more long lasting drugs, I'm sure. In fact, he was telling me the first thing he remembered after the procedure yesterday and I told him he had actually been awake for an HOUR before that!!! Glad he knew I was there ;) I went back and forth between them giving them water, ice, and popsicles. The hardest part was feeling like I was neglecting one at all times. It was easier knowing that Steve was pretty far gone and didn't want much. It allowed me to focus more on Ashton. She got up to go to the bathroom and walked over to give him 5 ... so cute! She kept looking over and saying "hi" to him and he would wave. I'm actually glad they got to share the experience together - I think it made it easier for her and gives her something "special" to remember. They had to stay in recovery for 2 hours so we got to go home around 11:00. I must add that the entire nursing staff was amazing ... we were so lucky to have them looking after us! We hit Jamba Juice on the way home for smoothies, stopped at Walgreen's to drop off prescriptions, and made it home around noon. Beth willingly kept the kiddos (minus Cougar who came home for a 4 hour nap) for several more hours so we could get them settled and give them some quiet time to rest. I was glad it was over and now just hope the recovery continues to go smoothly. Ashton will be out of school for a week, no PE for 2 weeks. Steve was told 2 weeks off work minimum, but in true Steve fashion he is taking a full week off and then has scheduled patients half-days the next week. If he isn't feeling up to going back it will be easier to reschedule half a day worth of patients than a full day ;) No basketball or running for 3 weeks for him which will be hard but I will make sure it is enforced! We are just hoping everyone is feeling well enough to go on the Daddy Daughter Campout on September 12th!! Here are just a few pics of the fun time yesterday ....

And the winner is ....

I put all of the names of those who commented on my blog facelift into random.org where it randomized the names into this list (please note there were a few that commented on the daddy daughter post after the "giveaway" post that I added to the list because they commented on the facelift):

1. andreamatrix
2. john knotwell
3. laurie
4. carol
5. the ridings
6. anna marie
7. jill knotwell
8. cameron family
9. latz
10. tezra williams
11. rosander
12. jeanne
13. carolyn hansen
14. jana
15. kimberly
16. tori
17. sarah
18. beckaroo
19. angie4th
20. natalie
21. suzy hicks
22. simple thingz
23. veevs
24. anne
25. jena
26. tiffany
27. amy
28. camille
29. heather
30. lois michael
31. triny
32. donna
33. katie
34. gina_farley
35. kasey
36. tammie
37. chrystal
38. rachele funk
39. julie l.
40. cherri

I then asked each of my daughters to pick a number between 1 and 40. Brinley chose 30, Ashton chose 20, and Kendyl chose 4. I added them together to get 54, divided that by 3 (since there were 3 numbers) to get to the magic number for the winner ... 18. BECKAROO!!!!! That's right, Beckie, you won! Thank you all so much for playing along with me and for complementing the new look and photo - it still makes me smile every time I open my page!! I will definitely be having more giveaways in the future because they are so much fun!

Maui Day 4 (June 16th)

Today started bright and early. Well, I guess it wasn't really bright since it was 2 A.M. when we got started. Who does this on vacation?!?! A lot of people do, we came to find out! We were picked up in front of our place by a very large, very long haired, very friendly local named Jengas. We decided we wanted to experience the sunrise and bike ride down Haleakala so we booked the "Summit to the Sea" sunrise package with Mountain Riders. We went to their office to pick up our gear, our guide, and watch a short informational video about the ride down the volcano in which they scare you to death with stories of accidents and deaths that have occurred on the mountain. Then we loaded up in a van and drove a few hours to the summit of Haleakala - "House of the Sun."We reached the summit somewhere around 5 A.M. ... I don't really remember due to sheer exhaustion. The summit is just over 10,000 feet (aka COLD). We stood along the railings that keep you from falling in the massive crater with tons of other people - remember I said that obviously a lot of people do this on their vacation? Oh, it was cold! The winds howl up there and it was probably in the 40's that morning. When you're not used to that kind of cold it is near shocking to the body! The view from the summit is gorgeous. You can see clear out to the ocean on a clear day. You can also see down into the crater a bit which looks like what I imagine the surface of the moon looks like. The amazing part was having the cloud line below us. Completely majestic. We stood in the cold, huddled together, waiting for the sun to peek out from the clouds. Just as it begins to break through you see a bright neon line along the top of the cloud. I wish I could have captured in picture just how spectacular it was. The sunrise was at 5:47 A.M. We watched as it rose a little higher and then headed back to the van before we froze to death!!After watching the sunrise we loaded back in the van and drove down just outside of the state park (about 6,500 feet) to begin our 28 mile bike ride. You used to be able to ride from the summit but after another person was killed back in October they made it so you can't ride within the state park area. I honestly can't for the life of me remember our guide's name now but he gave us all of the scary stories of death and carnage that had taken place over the years, basics on how to peddle, steer, and what to expect from the bikes. We got dressed in our windbreaker outfits and got ready to go.We started the ride with a bit of anxiety, of course, with all of the stories we had heard. Once we got the feel of the bikes it wasn't as intimidating as we thought. Except for "Grandma." We went just a little way before stopping to make sure everyone was comfortable and doing well. Our guide said he thought Teisha had been braking - which she wasn't - and he wanted to make sure she was okay. He talked about how we needed to keep our spacing just right so we would be more safe, etc. Teisha asked "Grandma" if she was slowing her down (G was behind T in line) to which she answered "YES!" Can you believe the nerve?! Not wanting to hold anyone back, Teisha decided she was better off riding down in the van. Such a bummer!! Just goes to show that the group you are put with can make or break your experience. The worst part was that "Grandma" kept the rest of our group back the entire ride - except for me because I was in front of her!!! We were all beyond annoyed with her and the others in her party. Moving on .... It really was a beautiful ride ... amazing to watch the scenery as we got closer to our beach destination. It was impossible to take pictures of the actual journey, obviously, but we did stop to take a few. We traversed the massive switchbacks all the way down the mountain, peddled (a few times) through Haleakala Ranch and Kula before ending up at Baldwin Beach in Paia. What a beautiful way to start our time in Maui (except for "Grandma," of course). After loading our bikes and gear back into the trailer it was time to head back to our place to enjoy our first "real" afternoon in Maui :)After we got back to our place we ate some leftover pizza from the night before and changed into our suits so we could head to the beach - YEAH!! With so many amazing beaches surrounding us we had to decide where to start our Maui beach journey. We decided to head to Ka'anapali Beach - one of the largest and most beautiful beaches on the island. It is lined by many fabulous resorts and is a popular place to be. It is on the west end of Maui fairly close to where we were staying in Kahana.

I don't know that ANY beach could disappoint when you are in a place like Maui. The entire surrounding and scenery is exactly what I picture when I think of a tropical vacation in Paradise. We set up our spot with towels, bags, and umbrella - perfect for an afternoon of sunning, playing in the ocean, and people watching! I find very few things as relaxing as laying on the beach listening to the sound of the ocean without a care for what the kids are going to eat for lunch, when the last time the toilet was scrubbed, how much laundry needs to be folded, or having to get anyone to an activity!! I believe if I could have a day at the beach once a week I would be a better person for it :) We spent a few hours watching our husbands act like boys in the ocean, running their best "Baywatch" run, writing in the sand, keeping an eye out for sand crabs, and laughing at "Teisha's boyfriends" who were just a short distance from our spot - no place like the beach to find some great people to watch!!!We packed up our stuff and headed back to the resort so we could shower and get cleaned up for dinner. We decided on a place called Kimo's in Lahaina based on a recommendation from a local. It was right on the ocean and the view from our table was gorgeous - the perfect spot to end our day. To say the food was fabulous would be an understatement!!! First you must understand that this is primarily a seafood restaurant and I am not a huge lover of seafood ... don't hate it, but don't love it. I decided on the Opah (Hawaiian Moon Fish) served "Kimo's Style" (garlic, lemon, and sweet basil glaze). Our server told me it was a very mild fish and that if I didn't like it she would bring me something different. Made it sound safe so I gave it a go. I ate every single bite and probably would have eaten more if it had been available to me (we'd had a long and action packed day and it was fish, right?). I've never had anything like it before and only hope to have something so good again. All of us enjoyed every last bit of our dinners. We even "had" to try their famous Hula Pie - Macadamia Nut Ice Cream on top of a chocolate cookie crust, topped with chocolate fudge, whipped cream, and macadamia nuts ... can you taste it?!?! Sadly, this is one of the few meals that I didn't photograph!! I did find a great picture of the pie, though :) Mike would not stop giving "props" to Kimo's the rest of our trip! It really was fantastic and I would recommend you go the next time you are in Maui :)After dinner we walked up and down Main Street in Lahaina looking at all of the fun shops (and spending a little $). Then it was off to bed after a long day ... knowing we had another early morning tomorrow :)

100th Post, a Facelift, and a Giveaway

Well, I finally made it to 100 posts ... what better way to celebrate than with a complete blog overhaul?! What do you think? I *LOVE* the Shabby Blog kits over at Shabby Miss Jenn's shop ... I've been eyeing this one for months now! She's got almost 30 different designs to choose from and even has a video tutorial available to help you install your goodies! I'm so happy with the way it came out - just like I pictured it :) In honor of my blogging milestone I'm giving away a gift card to her shop so you can pick one up for yourself!!!!! HOORAY for giveaways!! All you have to do is leave me a comment before Sunday, August 17th to be entered to win. If you don't feel like changing up your blog (or heaven forbid you don't have a blog) she's got loads of other goodies in her shop ... I own LOTS of them! Here's a sample of a "parenting" book that I made using her Wild Animals Bracket Album. I made it for Ashton's 1st Grade teacher who had a baby this summer. I interviewed all of the kids in her class and recorded their parenting advice.What if you aren't into digital scrapbooking or updating your blog? First of all ... you should be ;) That being said - I'll come up with something that you'll enjoy. So, comment away! Thanks for sharing my journey with me and helping me celebrate another blogging milestone!

P.S. The new photo on my header was taken by my brother-in-law, John, when we were in Utah a few weeks ago. He's got a great photographic eye and talent. Thanks, Johnny ... we *LOVE* the pics you took!!!!

P.S.S. I haven't tested all of my links to make sure they are correct but will do that over the next few days.

P.S.S.S. The next post WILL be Day 4 of Hawaii ... promise!

Daddy Daughter Date

It's official - Steve and Ashton will be having the Daddy Daughter Date to beat all others on August 29th. What could they be doing that would make this such an extraordinary date? They will be spending the morning at an outpatient surgery center ... having their tonsils removed!!! I've been told by the doctor AND several nurses that Ashton will be a MUCH better patient than my husband ... like that's a surprise ;) Any recovery tips you may have learned from your own experiences would be great!! Pray for our little family that all goes well and that I survive the recovery process (please note I am more concerned with MY survival)!! Having 4 others home for almost two weeks straight may very well push me over the edge ....

Crossing My Fingers

Me dear, sweet friend Deb has a daughter-in-law, Natalie, that makes and sells the most ADORABLE camera straps at her Etsy shop!! I've been wanting one desperately since I saw them in person on my day trip to Chicago (which I still haven't posted about but it's on the list ....) and now I'm crossing my fingers that today is my lucky day - she is having a giveaway on her blog for a free camera strap of your choice!!! You can go to her blog for all of the details. Only catch is that if you win the strap you really should send it to me for steering you in the right direction :) This is the one I've got my eye on ....

Honolulu to Maui: Day 3 (June 15)

*Make sure to keep reading after this for a post on the girls' first day of school yesterday*

Did you ever think we'd get to day 3?! The funny thing about it is that today was actually our least eventful day ... in fact I only took 1 picture the entire day (but it's worth it - promise)!!! Guess that's what you get when you island hop ;)

We woke up early so we could hit the Honolulu Swap Meet to get some souvenir shopping done. I wish I would have taken my camera - there were some seriously interesting things to be seen! There were more t-shirts, beach towels, luggage, jewelry, and ukeleles than you could imagine! There was one section of the swap meet that looked like the absolute WORST garage sale you've ever seen!!! We had a fun time shopping and got the goodies we needed ... and a few that I'm sure we didn't need ;) We made it back to the hotel with just enough time to get checked out so we could make it to the airport to catch our flight to Maui.

It was so refreshing to have a completely uneventful day of travel after our fiasco trip to Honolulu. We ate at Stinger Ray's in the airport before boarding our 40 minute flight - which left right on time. We arrived in Maui on schedule and called to find out where to pick up our rental car. We decided to rent from a company called Maui Cruisers based on a recommendation from a friend. Their entire fleet of cars are 8-10 year old Nissan Sentras ... SWEET!!! All the rust and plastic floor mats were included at no extra charge. It cost us just over $100 for the entire week rental including tax so we figured we couldn't go wrong! Mike & Teisha rented from them, too. Their car was at the airport parked and waiting for them, but since there were 2 of us renting cars that day and they run a small operation they had to drive us back to their "office" to pick our car up. Little did we know at the time that we were being driven to the most far removed DUMP you've ever seen!! There were literally broken down cars (not their fleet) all around and a completely disheveled trailer on the lot that they used for their office. It seemed like the type of place that someone would go to dump a body they were trying to hide. Lucky for us we felt a bit more "safety in numbers" since there were 4 of us there.

We got our sweet ride, signed our paperwork, and were ready to hit the road (if we could find it from this no-mans-land we were in). Mike asked if he could get a different car because the one that was waiting for him at the airport was pulling to one side pretty dramatically. He tried out a few others and settled on one. We headed out with our 1996 Sentras ready to conquer Maui. We went straight to Costco to buy fruit, muffins, water bottles, etc. to have with us since we had full kitchens in our condos and then we were off to Kahana.

The first thing we noticed about Maui was that it was exactly what we pictured when we thought of Hawaii. We had had a fantastic time in Honolulu but it is more of a concrete jungle than the tropical paradise that is Maui. We *LOVED* every minute of our drive along the coast as we made our way from Kahului to Kahana (just north of Ka'anapali and south of Kapalua for those of you familiar with Maui). The views were spectacular the entire way. Once we arrived at the Valley Isle Mike said that his engine had been smoking. We opened the hood of their car to see that the oil cap had not been replaced, the oil had sprayed all over under the hood, and he had oil smoking all over his engine!!! Long story made VERY short he FINALLY made contact with the owner of Maui Cruisers, they came to pick up the car and gave them a full refund - DUH! We decided to just share a car the first few days and it worked out great since we were always together. We got checked into our rooms, got ourselves settled, and decided to head out for some dinner and a few other groceries. We got pizza at a great place called Pizza Paradiso and took it back to our place to eat. We knew we needed to call it an early night since we were being picked up at 2 A.M. the next morning for our Haleakala Sunrise Bike Excursion.

One of our favorite things about Maui - that we got to enjoy each and every day - was the view from our room. We were on the 7th floor with an ocean view. We could see Molokai and Lanai, too. We didn't close our sliding door to our lanai at all while we were there ... the sound of the ocean was amazing and the cross breeze felt and smelled awesome. While I wish I had taken more pictures today (because there were so many funny things to photograph) I think the one photo I did take is one of my very favorite from our entire trip. It reminds me of how I fell asleep and woke up every day in Maui and why I will FOREVER *LOVE* this place ....

First Day of School 2008

Believe it or not my girls went back to school today ... it's August 4th in case you missed it ;) It seems so early for them to go back and yet when I taught school in Utah we went back the end of July with our year-round schedule so I'm not sure why it seems so strange. They have what they call a "modified year-round" schedule here and I actually like the spacing of the breaks and the shorter summer - my kids were beyond ready to go back to school and we've actually had a fairly busy and eventful summer!!

Brinley started 4th grade and Ashton started 2nd grade. It is unbelievable to see Brinley as a 4th grader when I taught 4th grade back in the day!! I was up late last night (or should I say early this morning) working on gifts for their teachers. I love to do a little something for them on the first day of school to let them know how much we appreciate all they do for our children throughout the year - and, of course, for more selfish reasons, I want them to like me :) I decided on goodies this year ... again for selfish reasons. I've been craving Chex Muddy Buddies (aka Puppy Chow) for a few days and thought it would make the perfect treat for back to school. I would load up some bags for the teachers and then have leftovers for us!! Ended up being a great solution! I made some cute tags to dress them up and ended up with this:I then decided to make some cute labels to cover Hershey's Nuggets that I had on hand to fill some clear top tins. I created 4 different labels, wrapped them around the nuggets, and filled the tin. The polka dot ribbon I had on hand was the perfect finishing touch for this simple gift!I think they went over well with the teachers ... I was happy with the way they came out!! Both of their teachers are fabulous and we look forward to a great year with them :)The first day of school is always hectic - hair has to be just right, the outfit has to be new and perfect, the backpack needs to be ready, etc. We do fairly well on most accounts but the dynamic of having 4 kiddos ready to head out the door (since Steve has to work early on Mondays) adds a bit of chaos ... especially when Cougar decides he needs a little extra sleep on the first day of school! We made it to the school on time but the traffic was unreal - as is the norm on the first day of school. I used to get so stressed about it but now I figure I'll find a parking space when I find one and they'll get to class in plenty of time. We made it to their classrooms before their classes had even come in from the playground (and we didn't have to stand in the 95 degree weather that is 7:30 A.M. this time of year)!!

It was so nice to pack only 2 kiddos to Target this morning to run errands and continue the hunt for school shoes for Ashton. We got our running around done with just enough time to come home, have lunch, and get Cougar down for a nap. The best part was the quiet time I had to scrap this afternoon while he was sleeping and Kendyl was playing on Barbie.com on the laptop. It's fun to share the space with her, talk, laugh, and watch her explore ... all while I'm getting to play myself! I haven't gotten to scrap in AGES so I felt pretty rusty but I was happy with the outcome. I've got so many albums I need to be working on from this summer that I will hopefully get to fine tune my skills again before my next digital scrapbooking class in October ;) Here is the outcome of "my time."

Credits:
Back 2 School Kit by Shabby Miss Jenn
Photo Edges & Frames by Rhonna Farrer
2Peas Stop Sign Font from 2Peas in a Bucket
Century Gothic Font

Yes ... those are the same backpacks they have had for the past 2 years. I just can't make myself buy them new ones when these have held up so well!! I know they're dying to get something different but that's what clothes and shoes are for, right? A backpack is all about function. Nevermind - if I use that reasoning then Steve will NEVER agree with my argument for wanting another purse ;)

Happy Blogiversary!

It's been one blissful year of blogging for me!! Sad that I haven't even reached 100 posts yet ... this is #95. I was hoping to make 100 on my 1 year but my summer schedule just hasn't allowed it (or I'm just plain lazy - you be the judge)! I am proud to say that I have posted every 3.84 days on average which is WAY better than any journal I've ever kept so at least I'm making progress :) I do have to say that my favorite part of this journey is the fun I've had looking at my life from a whole new perspective. I've noticed more of the "little things" and have found more of an appreciation for my life ... as crazy, joyful, frustrating, empowering, boring, and blessed as it may be. Add to that the closeness I have felt to so many of you as I read your blogs and shared in your lives and your stories. Thanks for sticking by me through it all - especially when I'm as far behind as I am right now ;) I love to read your comments and see who is stopping by ... friends and family from all over the world and from different time periods in my life. You all play a big part in this crazy little thing I call my blog and I love you all for sharing it with me!!

Now ... who's ready for Day 3 of Hawaii?!