I'm such a loser

• I have, like, one friend. 
• My husband doesn't want to do anything with me on New Year's Eve (except sit at home and watch football, which we already do all the time). 
• I haven't blogged in about two months.  
• I weighed in today at 113.5 in my bathroom, buck naked, pre-shower, which makes me a LOSER. in a good way.

Seriously, though, I have soooo much blogging to catch up on, for all the many people who don't read my blog. So, I will try to give everyone a really quick review of the last two months and then add in a couple of pics.

When I came back from NYC, I had to focus on school, school, school, and school. That would be Western Kentucky University, the school where I was a student, Perry Central Preschool, the school where I am the full-time teacher, Brescia University, the school where I was an adjunct professor one evening a week, and Tell City Jr.-Sr. High School, the school where I was completing 120 hours of Practicum experience. Sound exhausting? IT WAS! So that is why I haven't been all blog-happy in the last few months. At least not writing. I was still blog-stalking my favorites, like www.skinnyrunner.com.

I finished a 10K race on October 23; official time 1:14:37, last place in my age group. For me, as I have said before about 100 times, the victory is in getting out there. So last place is fine. really. I mean it. Some of you uber-competitive peeps out there cannot fathom being last, much in the same way that I cannot fathom other things, which for the sake of political correctness, I will refrain from sharing.

I will shout it from the mountaintops if I have to: all you runners out there who are not first, or even close to first, you should each be proud of yourself for being out there, off the couch, not eating a whole carton of ice cream. If I felt like re-naming my blog, it would be called "Slow is the new FAST" but that would take more effort than I can muster right now.

More catching up: On October 27 I came down with a sinus infection which lasted until after Thanksgiving. That is not my usual sarcastic exaggeration, either. That is for real. I went through two rounds of antibiotics, two steroid shots, one antibiotic shot, one trip to the emergency room, and an eventual mental meltdown in the doctor's office on the third trip. However, I am back using the Neti Pot twice a day, so I think I am infection-free, at least for a little while.

I finished requirements for my degree on December 10, 2010. Now I officially have a Master of Science in Library Media Education to add to my Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction. Whether or not I will ever actually become a school library media specialist remains to be seen, but I have done my part, knocked it out of the park (3.81 GPA), and will prayerfully put my future in the Lord's hands. Words cannot express how thankful I am to be done with school right now.

Today is my 13 year anniversary to my hubster.  Wow. Hanging in there through thick and thin.

I have realized that even though I am below my goal weight of 115 lbs., I don't like my body shape. I don't know what to do about it want to do what needs to be done to change it, which is hard cardio, push-ups, sit-ups, and weights. Guess I am going to have to work on getting motivated to do those fun things, too.

This semester I am going to concentrate on my preschooler's, who are so flipping adorable. Although the Christmas parties about wore me out, we survived, had fun, and are going to re-group before next week/month/year.

Tonight my youngest child is having his bff spend the night so he will be kindly asked to take some pics of our fam for our New Year's Cards (aka slacker Christmas cards). He will do great, despite being 10 years old. It should be fun and natural and hopefully will work. I have picked out a template from tinyprints.com, so the hard part is over. Given the year we have had, we think it fitting to look forward to the next year and let 2010 be history, forever.

Oh, and one more thing: I registered for the lottery to get into the NYC Marathon next November. The thing is, I also joined the NYRRC (New York Road Runners Club - or something like that) and if you are a member on January 1, 2011, then you are guaranteed to run in the 2012 ING Marathon. So whether a few months before or a few months after my 10th birthday, when I turn 40, I will become a MARATHONER.  I will just say it - I only plan to do it once. Only for NYC would I run 26.2. But I will! So stay tuned......

High Heel-a-thon Part I :-)

Okay, so the NYC trip is probably going to take more than one post. I'll try to start from the beginning, and spare everyone the boring parts.

I applied for the LIVE! with Regis and Kelly High Heel a thon back in July, when I was home with Whitaker, and I was just perusing the website and watching the video fashion blog like I do from time to time. Or every day. Whichever you prefer. And I had to write in 200 words or less why I wanted to run the High-Heel-a-thon, and I wrote something about how my son had just had brain surgery and it would be a great pick-me-up. I also added that I have been a huge (obsessive, borderline stalker) fan of Kelly for 20 years. Seriously. I didn't intentionally play the brain surgery card, but apparently, it worked, because a couple of days before school started in August, they called me. I mean, a girl named Courtney who is an intern for Regis and Kelly called me. She said they were interested in my story and I needed to send them a video that could be only two minutes. Wow! I was so pumped.

Problem: I don't know how to make a video! I spent about three nights pouring over the computer, trying to put together a slide show with voice-overs and music and all kinds of fancy stuff that I can not do. Finally, I decided to use my webcam and record myself talking into the computer. BORING. I also sent them a slide show with music that was two minutes long, which had pictures of the boys, the dog, our family, and Whitaker in the hospital, and his head afterwards.

During the first week of school I get a participation packet via email that said I had been accepted to run in the race. I was sooooo excited! I ran all around school, searching for someone that likes me to share the news with. Found a couple of people, who, despite liking me, still looked at me weird for being so excited to be getting to run in high heels. Still, I talked my friend Missy into going with me, invited my sister down from Vermont, and began obsessing over plane reservations and hotels near the race route in Central Park.

I searched for and found a pair of shoes that were awesome. Then I got them home and measured them and learned that they were too wide at the heel. Maximum 3 inch circumference and they were about 3 and 1/8 inches. Searched for and found another pair that were four inches tall - pretty spikey at the heel.

I began practicing. This is the part where it gets humorous. I would only practice in the middle of the night - like after 11 pm - and only on our road which is dark and country. How it makes sense that I was going to go on national television and run in high heels, yet I would only practice in the pitch black, I have no idea. Anyway, the practicing was tough! I could barely run 150 yards at a speed as fast as I could. I almost threw up after everytime. Not falling and not breaking an ankle was my ultimate goal......I knew I was never a fast enough runner to win, but I didn't want to end up bloody and scraped or an embarrassing last place. Plus, it was all about just getting to see Kelly Ripa in real life. and going to New York City. and seeing Kelly Ripa.

long time, no blog

I know, I know. Please don't be mad. both of you, who read this blog. I have been a little (or a lot) busy. Here are some of the reasons I haven't blogged in a while (since August 21):

• school started and holy crap, they suck the energy out of me!
• grad school started and I have been putting in mucho hours in the TCJSHS library (Tell City Junior-Senior High School)
• teaching my undergrad class started and I feel like I should be preparing/grading/studying for lectures
• mowing business is still in full swing, despite the recent drought, and I had to take care of all the bookkeeping
• the boys started playing all of their fall sports, for which there are practices, games, pictures, snacks, etc., etc.
• all of this adds up to one whopping pile of laundry, which I am very, very unmotivated to do

So, after this excuse-filled absence, I have now decided to chuck all my responsibilities and catch everyone up on everything in detail that I have been doing. Well, some detail.

Things that make you go Hmmmmm....

Remember Arsenio Hall? What ever happened to him? Well, when I was in high school, we would all stay up until 11:00 so we could watch the funny stuff he used to say in his monologue. Now here is my little version of things that make you go hmmmm, or more like, things about me that are just plain weird.

• born on the 29th of February - only have a birthday every four years
• had my boys one year and four days apart, and a total abdominal hysterectomy 14 months after.
• grew up in five different states.....went to 8 schools by the 9th grade.
• am a middle child, although my mother says I am not the middle child, but the oldest daughter (I am the second of three children)
• have never lived in any one house longer than 5 years
• love to eat but hate to cook
• will drink reheated coffee up to a week old as long as it has no mold
• have been told that I dance like Elaine from Seinfeld
• have an abnormally low temperature, so even when I have a fever, my temperature registers as normal
• had rhinoplasty at age 14, as a result of getting kicked in the face while spotting a girl doing a back handspring
• think the only things I do really well are play with preschoolers, get graduate degrees, and eat Blizzards
• have over 400 friends on facebook, yet I feel lonely most of the time
• love sports of all sorts - and I have about 15 favorite teams
• have high arches, TMJ, and scoliosis
• had Osgood-Schlatter's as a teen
• I love inside dogs, but do not like outside dogs at all
• think school uniforms should be mandatory for all schools 
• am allergic to ragweed, all other weeds, trees, grasses, cockroaches, dust mites, and mold, among other things
• believe that EVERYTHING happens for a reason, and that God is in charge.

questions? just ask and I will answer.

We did it!

Finished the Schweizer Fest 2-mile race this morning! My time was just over 24 minutes, which is faster than how I have been averaging according to Nike+ by about a minute per mile. My goals for the race were to finish with a time between 25 and 30 minutes, and to keep running the whole time and not ever walk. I didn't stop at all and walk, although I did get slower a little for awhile. But I never walked. Both goals met. :-)

Taking Beth Moore's advice, I "planned my victory" by meeting my running buddy, Emily, at her house and riding with her. That way, I couldn't chicken out if I had trouble finding a parking spot like I did last month for a zumba class. (Still haven't tried zumba, but my BFF, Missy who is a personal trainer, has it, so we are going to do it sometime in my living room and let the kids play upstairs.)

When we first got there, I felt kind of insecure, but then I got over it as I saw more and more friends, and we got excited about the start. There were lots, I mean LOTS of people there. Even though there were two distances, I didn't feel inferior to those doing the longer distance like I always used to in my 20's. This time I was just proud of myself for getting prepared and getting out there. Except for a 2-mile race in Gainesville right before the Homecoming parade, all the other races I have done were 5K's, but they were in Gainesville, Jacksonville, and Atlanta. I never knew more than one or two people at any of those races, and usually those were the people with whom I had ridden. I liked this sooooo much better, because I felt at home with all the people from school (at least 10 of my co-workers ran) a ton of my former students, the cross-country teams from several schools both nearby and farther away, running and non-running friends, and just a bunch of people I know because our town is so small. We parked in our church parking lot, right where I am used to parking. The girls who took my registration were my sons' teachers. The people giving out water are one of my friends' parents. This familiarity was both completely different and completely wonderful for me, and I am so glad I chose this as the first race of my second generation of running.  I would not have (obviously, as evidenced from last year's efforts) the courage, motivation, gumption, self-confidence - whatever you want to call it - to do it in a strange place.

I loved having people that I know on the sidelines cheering us on! I usually run in the dark or in my basement because I don't want people to see me. Today was a huge risk because I was going to be hanging out there for all to see. I don't think I felt uncomfortable one time about people watching me. I can't remember even thinking about it. That is shocking to me. (I don't have a therapist, but if I did, I am sure s/he would say that is progress.)

I think it is important on this journey to learn what works for each individual. Every runner has different needs, different strengths. I have learned that I run better and farther with a friend. This week I had to run alone a lot and I was lonely and bored. I know it is an individual sport, but I enjoy the companionship of others - and I need it to keep progressing.

People who inspire me: two moms that live in our community who both suffer from MS. I read once about Kristin Armstrong, Lance Armstrong's ex-wife, who is a distance runner, and how she says to herself, "I GET to run today." Instead of plodding along and thinking, "I HAVE to run today," she celebrates her health and wellness and the physical ability to run. I know these two moms would love to run - even if it were just up the stairs to get their children, and into the house with the groceries, or outside to the mailbox. They can't, or at least they can't very easily. I take so many things for granted and I have wasted too much time and energy hating my body instead of celebrating the physical wellness and functionality with which God has blessed me. I think of both of these girls on EVERY run and I carry them in my heart as I (relatively) easily put one foot in front of the other. They inspire me to push my body to be stronger, faster, healthier. They are the biggest inspiration I have. I told one of them that today after the race. I had never told anyone that before today - I guess I just kept it as my own little secret until now. I'll keep them in my heart on every future run, too.

After that, my sentiments go south fast. Vanity kicks in and I tell myself, "I just want to be skinny, I don't care how fast I go, or how far, as long as I lose 20 pounds." So far, I have only lost 4 pounds, apparently all from my left boob. Seriously.....

The girl who won the two-mile race ran it twice as fast as I did. For real. 12 minutes? Are you flipping kidding me? Here's the kicker: she is just as sweet and pretty as she is fast (darn it!) and she ran in Gator NikeTempos just like mine. Her body is nothing short of KILLER. She is right up there with Kelly Ripa, and she's my new hero.

Two of my youngest son's classmates and friends ran the two-mile in 13 and 14 minutes. Is that normal for 9- and 10-year-olds? I'm thinking someone needs to send that into Sports Illustrated.

Where do we go from here? Emily and I are going to take on a 5K next month - can't remember where she said.....I don't care as long as it is a little cooler than today.

I have to give a big shout-out to our uber-encourager, Joyce, who sets an example for all of us with her kindness as much as with her fitness. Thanks, Joyce, from all of us newbies! It was hot and fun, and we did it. and I am soooo proud of us!

Dear Kate:

Kate Spade, that is. I have a request. Please hurry and make a really cute cover for my iPhone 4 with pink and green and polka dots or stripes. I love the ones for 3GS, but all they have for the new ones are black and I don't want to look like a manly-man.

Chipper, I can't believe you hurt yourself. I am so glad we went to see you a couple of weeks ago. Will you come back? I say right now it is 50/50. I can see two scenarios. One, he is tired, loaded and doesn't need to prove anything to anyone. He can get his knee fixed and do whatever he wants the rest of his life, in or out of baseball. The other, he wants to go out in style. He wants to be announced loud and clear one last time at every ballpark in the Majors. He always enjoyed the attention, and I think he thinks he deserves it. However, if the recovery and rehab are really painful and hard, and he tries to come back but sucks really bad, he would be embarrassed and want to quit during his farewell tour. Trust me, people, I know these things. What do you think?

Running: I have been running A LOT lately. Like, oh, I don't know, 15-20 miles per week. I know, it is a lot for me, but not for some people. Yesterday I got a new pair of kicks - tried on Mizuno Wave something, a butt ugly pair of Nikes with memory foam in the insole, another pair of Nikes and a pair of asics that were comfy, but decided on the asics Gel Platinum 3. They feel awesome. First race in about 15 years is this Saturday.

It's only a 2-mile but there is a 6-mile distance as well. It is at 8:00 am which is stupid because it is so stinking hot right now. Humans are not supposed to live in this, much less run in it. I also think it is weird that we have 2-mile and 6-mile instead of 5K and 10K like the rest of the world. I think it makes our town seem podunk. Oh, wait, we are a little podunk.

Thankfully, due to a lot of help and encouragement and consistent training, I feel prepared. One of my running buddies wants me to run a half with her. The other one says, "I am not runnin' no half marathon, I just want to be skinny!" Who do I listen to? Well, how about myself?

The boys had back-to-school night. Thrilled with their teachers. W was a little bummed about some of his BFF's not being in his class, but he was excited about some of the kids that are in there. I am always encouraging them to make new friends, and after everything we have been through this summer, we are hoping that everything will go smoothly this year. Oh, who am I kidding? I was mad because the doors were locked when we got there and we had to walk around outside and it was HOT, the tables in the fifth grade classroom are TOO SMALL, the newly-adopted math textbook is NOT challenging enough, and T's high ability class is not cluster-grouped very well. at all. by academic ability or behavior. Come. on. There are some uber-bright kiddos in that class and they need to be encouraged and pushed, not distracted and punished (by special area teachers who out of necessity often evaluate the entire class as a whole). T had five migraines this summer as a result of getting yelled at in baseball by the toughest coach ever: dad.  So now back to that other comment, it's not brain surgery; it's just elementary school. Let's not freak out.

Except that I have in the last week gotten a huge, exciting reason to freak out. But you have to wait to the next post to find out what it is!

Oh, and one more thing. Dear Tiger: Karma's a bitch. You need to hang out with Tim Tebow, but not at his barber's.

Head's up! Whitaker is back in the goalie box!

I need to update on Whitaker. Last Tuesday we met with Dr. Charles Stevenson, the wonderful pediatric neurosurgeon that operated on Whitaker in June. He evaluated Whitaker's balance, strength, vision, coordination, and all the other neuro-functions that could be affected by the Chiari repair surgery. Dr. Stevenson said that despite the large size of the craniectomy that he executed on Whitaker, he thought W looked GREAT and he cleared him for normal activities after just six weeks of recovery. He cautioned against no trampolines or anything else that could cause him to get jolted in the neck/head area, but said that he could play soccer this year and he could even head the soccer ball. I'm not crazy about that, but hey, I'll take good news in any way, shape or form.

Last week both boys played soccer in a four-day mini-camp. Whitaker did awesome, had no headaches, and has increased stamina beyond what he had before the surgery. We are so amazed, thankful, and excited that he is doing so well. It is remarkable, if not miraculous, that Whitaker has recovered so fully, so quickly. I know that everyone's prayers and concern contributed greatly to his successful surgery and recovery, and John and I will never be able to express how much the support from friends and family means to us.

I have to give a big shout out to the Perry County Youth Soccer League for allowing us to register Whitaker for soccer way past the deadline for the fall season. Since we had been told he could not do organized sports for three months, we did not fill out the forms and pay the registration fee. However, we got the good report from the neurosurgeon just before the teams were rostered, and they were nice enough to let him get on a team. That means the world to him since he didn't think he was going to get to do any sports until basketball.

Things Whitaker can't do ever:
Lacrosse/field hockey
football :-(
wrestling
some gymnastics moves (head-stands, hanging upside down)
combative martial arts (non-contact martial arts are okay)
boxing
rugby

Things Whitaker shouldn't do ever:
trampoline
skateboarding
motorcyclying
rough roller-coasters
bungee-jumping
sky-diving
cliff-diving
race-car driving
pillow fighting
tubing on the river (because of risk of head injury when falling off)
intense weight-lifting (due to risk of CSF leak when straining)
space travel

Things Whitaker can do (carefully, of course):
baseball/softball
tennis
raquetball
basketball
soccer
golf
running
swimming (pool and river)
diving
kickball
fishing
hunting
dodgeball (only if balls make contact from waist-down)
volleyball
bicycling (not stunt-bikes, just distance riding)
camping
hiking
bowling
billiards
corn-hole
ping pong
zip-lining
mountain-climbing (with protective head gear and safety ropes)
snorkeling
surfing

As you can see, there are PLENTY of activities to keep us all busy that are completely safe and fun, and will promote wellness and fitness.  We choose to concentrate on all the things he CAN do, rather than those he can't or shouldn't. Most of the things that he shouldn't do are either not likely (space travel, race-car driving), or not recommended for healthy people (cliff-diving, bungee-jumping). However, since Whitaker was a wrestler, a football player, and a motorocycle-rider, there are some things on the list that will constitute some life-style changes. The more common activities such as trampoline, pillow fighting, and tubing will be more of a daily challenge for him, and therefore us. Thankfully - God made Whitaker a little afraid of heights and crazy roller-coasters, so unlike his brother, Whitaker will be completely content to keep his feet firmly on the soccer field, or the basketball court.

I'm grouchy

I am having a crazy day. I spent the morning in court and for the second time gave up 2 and half hours of my life without ever doing what I was supposed to be doing there. and I have to go back again. grrrrr

I have spent the afternoon working on paperwork for school, which is going really well, except for the blog part. I did the photo release form, and the parent newsletter, but now I am trying to create the blogs for each class really quickly. One problem:  I am not quick at these things. I am trying to plant my feet firmly in the 21st century and set an example as a media specialist, but neither of those seems to be working right now. I will post the link to the blogs whenever I get them going. Gotta get back to working on that.

Oh yeah - and I ate chocolate ice cream and pretzel m&m's for supper. On what planet is that a healthy choice? I'm hot and tired and I have sooooo much to do. later. See, I told you I was grouchy.

Kathy and Kelly make me laugh

Okay, when I was pregnant for two years and 17 months, I LOVED the Rosie O'Donnell show. That was before she went all 9-11-conspiracy-theory-psycho Rosie, and she was still funny-new mom-loves her kids-does-nice-things-for-people Rosie. I credit her with getting me through two first trimesters when I seriously didn't think I could deal one more day with my self-absorbed, anxiety-ridden, occupationally-unstable self. Thankfully that is all in the past, now. (ha ha!)

Then I continued my obsession with Kelly Ripa, which still goes on today. She makes me laugh and makes me want to do sit-ups and run five miles a day so my legs could look like hers. And I just love her....as we all know. 

So, Kathy Griffin is pretty much the funniest thing since Kelly. I first fell in love with her when she was on the show called THE  CELEBRITY MOLE with Anderson Cooper, before anyone knew who AC was. or that he is gay.

Anyway, I know sometimes Kathy gets a little raunchy (how do you spell that, anyway?) and I could do without hearing GD every 5 seconds, but she is so smart and witty and brilliant. Did I mention she WON that Mole show? She flat-out cracks me up. I don't know what I am going to do about missing all my Bravo when I go back to school. Maybe need to just set DVR to EVERY show on Bravo and HGTV. Here's my rundown:

Rachel Zoe - scary skinny, but still intriguing and I love watching her show. Hope she doesn't plan on having a kid, because it's not going to happen. Wait, Nicole Richie had two babies, so maybe there is hope for Venti Starbucks with three Splendas in her over-sized rings and vintage clothes.

Project Runway - Yeah, I know it moved to Lifetime, but it started on Bravo, so I still give Bravo props. It is super-fun, creative and I totally admire the talent. Can't stop watching!! Love it when they freak out and cry. Love me some Tim Gunn.

Houswives - OMG where do I start. Okay - OC housewives just make me sick and they are ridiculous. I used to watch it like a train wreck that I couldn't stop looking at, but then I gave that up. NJ - I like until it gets all ghetto-call-the-police-filing-protective orders-crazy, and then I don't like that so much.
NYC - MY ABSOLUTE FAVE - maybe because I love NYC, maybe because I love all of the shots of Manhattan, but I totally think those women are deliciously despicable. and you can quote me on that!
Atlanta - I tried to watch one season, but having been an Atlanta housewife myself once, I actually KNOW, rather than just suspect, how unrealistic it is......so I had to give it up. Go to Buckhead, Bravo. Check out Dunwoody, Alpharetta, and Roswell, then come talk to me with your show. DC remains to be seen....I do have to do that working thing in a few weeks, so TV may be off for a while (gasp!) (sob!)

Top Chef - stupid because the viewers cannot TASTE the food, we just have to take the judges' words for it. I can make my own opinion about PR, but I can't tell you if I like the nasty crap they make on that show or not.

Also - I love me some ACE of CAKES and I don't like Cake Boss because he's mean and he yells. I love any Challenge show on the Food Network which has anything to do with sugar, cake, chocolate, or anything that you can actually see. If it is lobster stew, save it for the judges and I will switch to ANTM. Cupcake Wars is AWESOME, as is Selling New York (HGTV), other HGTV staples Color Splash with David Bromstad, and Bang for Your Buck, and, of course, the Discovery Channel fave, Cash Cab - all versions: day, night, double-dare, whatever. Give me Ben Bailey straight up any day.

Yesterday while recovering from some horrible stomach virus, I watched a marathon of You're Cut Off!  More despicable people. Not quite as disturbing as the Toddlers and Tiaras show, but definitely not a fine example of people treating others nicely. until the end. the VERY end, which was too little too late for me.

Of course, no television list would be complete without the boys' summer hit: WIPEOUT! They want me to be on it. Last year I actually filled out the online application, but this year I am not doing that because it looks mega-hard. and painful. And since I started running, I am experiencing plenty of self-inflicted pain.

Today's weight is 122, probably due to above-mentioned stomach virus, but I'll take it. Peace out, peeps!

it's hotter than blue blazes in here....

My mom used to say that when I was younger and she was hot. It's my go-to simile for days like today.

It has been almost six weeks since Whitaker's surgery and he is doing super. He has no more headaches (yay!), he has more energy than he did before, but he still can't really do anything.  He cannot get hot, and it is about 101 in the shade right now. He can't ride a bike, run, jump, lift anything, exert himself, etc. Up until this week he has been fairly cooperative with all of that, perhaps because he tired quickly, and his energy levels were still rebuilding. Now he is starting to get a little frustrated. We are so thankful that he feels well, but still not allowing him to go to the baseball tournament tomorrow with a heat advisory. He is 10, and 10-year-old little boys just like to move around a lot! We see the doctor next week to find out what our parameters are for back-to-school and going forward. We remain thankful as ever that he has done so well.

Speaking of school, I am starting to freak out a little bit. Or a lot. There are some things up in the air right now, and I am feeling overwhelmed and unprepared for the year to begin. I am telling myself that since I was able to complete my High/Scope preschool training and earn an "A" in my killer online technology class, all while experiencing the surgery and recovery of my child, I probably can pretty much do anything. I am woman.

The best thing that has happened this summer is that I have actually started RUNNING!!! Of course, about a year ago, I started a blog about "running," but didn't really get the running thing to take off. Since last summer I have registered for and skipped two 5K races, purchased running shoes, Under Armor pants, two pairs of Nike Tempo running shorts, and a subscription to Runner's World magazine, but all that was just getting me prepared to become a rock star runner. (Truthfully, I was stressed-out, over-committed, and lazy; now God has blessed me with some great friends and just enough motivation to put my shoes on and get out the door.)

I am dedicated to doing at least three miles five times a week. I can't run it all yet, but I am getting better. I got my new iPhone 4 (awesome) and a Nike plus sensor for my shoe, so everything is calibrated for me. Everything means calories, distance, time, average pace, etc. I LOVE my friends who go with me. Even if we are not sharing enthusiasm or energy levels, we still encourage each other and we always have fun, and honestly, I would not be doing if it weren't for them. It is much-needed girl time.

Today's weight: 124.5, but that isn't really my focus. I want to eat right and be healthy. I am not saying I don't want that number to go down, but after spending six days in a children's hospital this summer, I realize how trivial that number is. I like to and need to think happy thoughts, and think about all my countless blessings, which would take forever.

So, no races in my near future, just gonna keep on trying at least five nights a week. and praying about school. and staying in the air conditioning!

I think that's it for now - stay cool, cyber-friends!!

Wednesday

Good Morning, World! This is a beautiful day! It is SUMMER! Since I just finished my graduate classwork last night, I feel like today is my first day of summer break! Here are the things I know right now:

• This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!!
• My house is going to get some serious cleaning up today.
• Celebrity gossip is a totally fun distraction and a great way to get some awesome perspective.
• My favorite celebrities are Kelly Ripa, Kelly Ripa, and Kelly Ripa
• I cannot wait until my new iPhone comes!!
• My husband is on the golf course again
• My sweet boys are going to have to help clean the playroom today. It's not going to be pretty
• I want to get rid of so much garbage in my house - I think I will call the Salvation Army.
• Pink will always be my favorite color
• coffee, chocolate and roses are three of my other favorite things.
• HGTV rocks....pretty much everything on HGTV.

Gotta go create the cutest thank you cards in the history of the world....using pictures of my child, of course!

have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!!

Finally - bird video is on youtube

Bird video - check this out!

you are not gonna believe this.....

Okay sorry for taking so long between updates. Major busy week last week. Except I can't tell you much what I was doing other than looking for my lost checkbook, which I still cannot find, taking Whitaker out for daily air-conditioned rides in the car, and working on a massive, annoying, seemingly endless project for my Library Media Technology class I am taking right now. Almost done. Thank God.

Other stuff: We went to see "Grown Ups" and the boys LOVED it. John and I thought it was really funny and not even raunchy at all. (how do you spell "raunchy" anyway?) Whitaker got his stitches out today and he is doing awesome. He only flinched a couple of times and I was so proud of him. I really like the Nurse Practitioner that worked with us today. She is super sweet. The incision looks a little bad today but it is just a step in the healing process. He is very excited about getting to swim tomorrow. Tomorrow is full of fun as the new Harry Potter Lego Wii game is coming out, and we are going to the Tuesday morning free movie at the theater. yee-ha!

I ordered iPhone 4's today for John and me, and they will be here in three weeks. So excited about that and really hoping we can drop our home phone - we are hardly ever here anyway and mostly it just gets messages, so I'm thinking it is on its way out. Plus, despite loving my iPhone, I kind of strongly dislike AT&T so I am all about paying them as little as possible.

John has played golf four times in the last week, so don't let him whine to you about never getting to play golf. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to play, and I know he works really hard all the rest of the time, but he has played OFTEN lately. Today we looked at new irons for him so he could get his old ones cut off for the boys. He won enough gift certificates in his recent scrambles to buy new golf shoes at the pro shop, so I guess it's all good. Right now he is watching a movie that I don't want to watch which will have repercussions for him later.

Whitaker still cannot get hot, get rowdy, run, jump, dive, etc. for four more weeks, but he can throw a ball in the backyard and dribble around as long as he stays hydrated. The risk of developing a CSF leak is almost completely gone, so as long as we keep praying and don't let him stand on his head while watching TV, we should be in the clear. We feel so blessed and so relieved that the surgery was successful and that his recovery has been as smooth as it has. We are so thankful for all of our friends who have brought food, presents, balloons, games, cards, candy, and smiles to us in addition to their prayers. You will all get a thank-you note eventually, but we can never thank you enough.

If possible, I am going to upload a video of what happened at our house yesterday while John was playing golf winning his golf tournament. It is amusing and might serve as more evidence that we should have our own reality show. Not in a crazy-balloon-boy-family sort of way, just a funniest home vidoes sort of way.

O.M.G.

Short update tonight because I can hardly keep my eyes open. Partly because one of them is highly infected.
Here's a timeline of today; happily reporting that it is rather boring other than the getting out part.

7:30 am Substitute neurosurgeon came in and said, if he eats he can go home today.

9:00 - We slowly get up and Whitaker does not want to eat.

9:30 John goes to my parents' house in St. Matthews to get Tretter ready to go to basketball camp at Franklin College.

10:00 My parents bring Tretter to see Whitaker and to tell me goodbye before he leaves. Uncharacteristically sweet and heartfelt exchanges between the boys showed that they will both be happy when things get back to normal.

10:45 My dad takes Tretter back to his house where our good friends are meeting to pick John and him up.

11:00 slightly bitchy nurse from yesterday comes in to ask if we are ready to leave. We tell her that Whitaker has only eaten A GRAPE, and that the doctor said we could go home IF he eats and feels well.

11:15 lunch arrives; Whitaker is not interested in it.

12:00 slightly bitchy nurse comes back to ask if we are ready to leave. We tell her that we are taking it slow and easy and not rushing him, and that he still hasn't eaten much. She says the paperwork is ready when we are.

12:15 Whitaker has eaten almost all of the grapes and eats a couple of bites of his lunch (which was awesome, because I ate the rest when he was done.)

12:30 Mom and I decide we are good to go, he says he feels fine, we pack up stuff and tell nurse we are ready for discharge papers.

12:35 she has finished going over the paperwork and made me sign everything and she was going to call a transport person.

12:36-12:47 I cannot find my car keys in the mess of crap we have frantically packed the last two days in anticipation of getting out. I start to freak a little, but only inside, of course, because I rarely freak out on the outside.

12:50 - find keys, go get car, load up Mom and Whitaker and go successfully (aka: puke-free) to my parents' home (only four miles from Kosair!)

the rest of the day went like this: eat a little sleep a little, eat a little, watch a little golf, John comes back, give father's day cards, load up stuff and go HOME to our house! (all puke-free....yay!)

On the way home, I called my nurse friend MG and asked her if she could come over later to look at my eye as it continues to swell and is painful. She says she will when she finishes eating. Later, I remember that today is her birthday and I feel like a total heel for calling her. I call her cell phone and tell her to forget it, but she came anyway and brought her daughter who is Whitaker's BFF since Kindergarten. She looked at my eye, said it was a stye that became what she believes is peri-orbital cellulitis and I need to see a doctor, but not tonight. This was wonderful news, because we all know what a great procrastinator I am.

So first item up for bid in the morning is a doctor visit to see what the heck is up in my eyelid and then a trip to the vet to get the dog. When the dog comes home, he is coming in the house, because dogs are therapeutic, so there.

I'm really tired, like I-came-home-from-the-hospital-with-a-new-baby tired. So peace to everyone, and thank you all for all your support.

I'll check in tomorrow and tell you about my lovely eye. ;-)

Ready, Set, NO!

Last night, Whitaker had a hard time getting comfortable and did not get very much sleep at all. Therefore, neither did I. When I woke up this morning, my eyelid which has been hurting progressively each day this week, was almost swollen shut. It looks awful and I took a picture of it and put it on facebook to request help from my nurse friends/family on facebook. I cannot understand why no one clicked "like" underneath that picture. It is so lovely. ;-) The responses were varied throughout the day, but the verdict is a stress-induced stye that might need medication to get better. I really appreciated everyone's suggestions, and have tried some warm compresses which may have reduced the swelling a tiny bit. It still hurts like crazy and looks "pretty gross" in Tretter's words.

Our day started like this:

Substitute Neurosurgeon comes in and looks at the back of Whitaker's head, says he looks good, and we can go home. Some student nurse comes in to take his vitals and takes FOREVER doing it. Nurses give him meds again, and he looks really tired and uncomfortable. John and I feverishly start to pack, excited to bust out of this joint.

The nutritional team brings breakfast, and Whitaker has no interest in it; he looks kind of nauseous and requests a bath. Then he says, "Sooner or later, I'm going to throw up." Great.

Nurse: May we help you?
Room 427: Can we get some more emesis bags, please?

Then we had some confusing exchange from a slightly bitchy nurse that was not keen on typing up discharge papers for us and told us to settle down because it would be at least an hour. Then we told her we didn't want to leave if he wasn't eating and doesn't feel well. We requested more zofran, because it is the reason he still has two IV ports in. Blah, blah, blah, we didn't leave today.

Whitaker refused to eat any lunch as well, kind of fell asleep, and John left to go mow yards in Tell City. My dad came and then my mom brought Tretter.

Here is where my day got MUCH more fun. I left the hospital, repeat: left the hospital, and went out to eat at Buckhead with my dad and Tretter. It was hot out there, but I didn't care because I got to see the sun, and the river, and Tretter. After lunch we checked on Whitaker (still asleep) and my dad took me to their house to take a shower and put on clean clothes. After a short discussion, I decided to take Tretter to the movies and dad decided to go back to the hospital to be with my mom and Whitaker, and John's parents.

We initially went to see Toy Story 3 because we have heard great things, but when we got there, Tretter wanted to see Karate Kid, so we did. It was great! The acting was awesome, the scenery was gorgeous, and yes, I liked it more than the original. Jaden Smith is absolutely ADORABLE. Two thumbs way up from us! Tretter let me hold his hand in and out of the theater, which means, he still loves me and he might have even missed me a little. He leaves tomorrow for basketball camp in Franklin, Indiana and it is his second sleep-away experience for more than one night, the first being this whole week he spent with our friends who graciously agreed to keep him and take care of him while we were at Kosair. When he comes home, we are going to have lots of snuggling to do. I feel like he has grown up all of a sudden, in a matter of days. I would likely go to pieces about that, if it weren't for the fact that I already have internalized enough stress.

When we returned to the hospital, some friends were here visiting, and John had returned. My parents were still hanging out and John's had just left. We visited for a little while, and Whitaker was feeling better. Shortly they all left and Whitaker put in a movie, which is just about over and we are going to try very hard for a better night than last night. Hope I find my house in one piece.

Peace out!

fun and full Friday

A very excited Whitaker eating a good lunch. Who knew how much hosptial food had improved? It actually is awesome here! He wasn't quite ready for breakfast today, but by lunchtime, he was holding nothing back.

He read magazines today and fussed at me for not giving them to him sooner. I'm pretty sure I offered, or I would have, if he had been interested. When I offered, he was in ICU, and he looked like this:

 

We obviously like it much better when he looks like this:

Whitaker's full Friday included  two meals with brownies for dessert, a bath, a development and disappearance of a rash, a visit from two neurosurgery nurse practiotioners, two physical therapists, one nutritional consultant, all four grandparents (who have been here everyday), two uncles, one aunt, three out of five cousins, the one and only special brother (complete with double-back-tap-bro-hug), a family of friends, the neurosurgeon, and one extremely nice Chaplain named Steve.

Highlights include a care package with balloons from the Lady Marksmen basketball team (super sweet!), the game ball from Wednesday night's baseball game signed by his entire team (sniff, sniff) and Granddaddy downloading a texting app to his iPod touch (watch out, world!)

(sigh)

I'm pooped.

We might get to go home tomorrow.

Thank you, God for all our blessings, our health, our insurance, and our Whitaker.

Much, Much BETTER Day!

We started out the day with more puking, but since then have made a huge improvement. He is off the morphine, has his bandage off, is out of ICU (in room 427!), and he is talking more, eating more, and tinkling more. He has been pushing my buttons again, which brought a big grin to his face, and he is currently trying to stay awake to watch the Celtics win.

He has been getting up and down out of bed some, not moving his head from side to side a whole lot, but has been tolerating food, drink and medicine, which is great. We really believe that the worst is behind us.

Not sure how much longer we will be here, but we don't really care since he is doing so much better. We will stay as long as they want us to.

At his request, I took a picture of his incision with my phone and showed it to him. He made me promise not to put it on facebook or the blog. So I won't. But in a rare moment of good-mommyhood, I took a picture of the front of him first and made him look at his face and how healthy and normal he looks from the front before I let him look at the back of his head. I felt that would be reassuring, and it sort of was. He decided he didn't look too amused in the picture, so that motivated him to play a trick on me, which was mean, and shows he is almost back to his old self. gotta love that! He thought the back of his head looked bad and that he looked like Frankenstein. We told him it looked really, really good considering what all was done to him.  Of course, we think he is adorable, but he is particularly adorable when he feels well.

Thanks again for everyone's kind thoughts, cards, and especially prayers. When he gets all better, we are going to have a huge "Well Whitaker" party to celebrate. Everyone is invited, and I do mean EVERYONE. Even if we don't know you or you don't even like us, you are still invited to come celebrate the wellness. It won't be for three months, because we have to follow doctor's orders, but I'll let you know.

Here are a couple of pics - not the ones I promised not to post, but a couple of others from our week.

above: pre-op with some happy juice. below: post-op and not so happy

 

 peace to all. 

better, better, better

Successes: lots of pee and no more pee problems. (Yippee!) Baby L got good news this morning and some more good news this evening, so prayers are working for her too!!!

Started off the day kind of rough - was awake from about three to six andhe couldn't get comfortable. We moved the pillows, the bed, and his head, but he just kind of grunted at us a couple of times. This morning he got really sick when the neurosurgeon's nurses were in there and asking him about trying to eat something. Just the thought of eating something solid mad him puke all over the place. Then they worked out some more zofran and less morphine to see if that combination would help. So far, so good. He has had two doses of liquid baclivan (sp??) by mouth, and one colace pill, some blue slushy and now some chicken noodle soup and all of that has stayed where it was put! Another huge success.

Still in a small cubicle in the ICU and not too hopeful that we are getting out of there. Got the bandage off this morning and did great - he didn't even whimper. The incision is awesome-looking - no infections, swelling, or drainage. He got in the chair two times and sat up for a while, once for an hour and once for about a half an hour. He had a pretty good nap and he hopefully will have a good night.

Thanks for all your continued thoughts and prayers.

baby "L" is crying

I don't know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing, but it is stressing me out. I also am slightly to severely stressed out because my child cannot pee. He has puked out more than what has been put in today, but they are still probably going to cath him if he doesn't produce something in the next three hours. I feel so helpless because he is just laying there.

Earlier today, he did get out of bed and sit in a chair. The doctor came in and explained some things to us, but basically just reassured us that anything kids do is acceptable because every kid is different. He asked Whitaker if he had been watching the World Cup and if he watched the US. Whit said no, so the doc asked him if he could remember what teams he did watch. Whitaker thought about it for a moment and said, "Japan and Camaroon." I was trying to remember and all I could come up with was a visual image of an Oriental guy in my head, so I am taking his correct answer as a great sign of his cognitive abilities.

Spending the night (or until further notice) in ICU. Can't sleep much due to lots of beeping and checking and children crying, but W gets really good care in here, so it's all good. Just hoping tonight is quieter than last night and tomorrow is a better day.

Summary: Couple of med changes, hoping for some pee, still waiting for a regular room, not even close to being ready for visitors.

and one more thing.....how ironic is it that they have a MCDONALD'S in a hospital?  I'm thankful for the coffee, though, and please say a prayer for baby "L". Her daddy just came over and gave us cupcakes and offered some movies for Whitaker to watch, but he's so not interested.  She's sleeping now, too.

another day, another bag of fluid

Whitaker is having a little bit of a rough day. The nurses are assuring us that he looks "good" and is doing "great" even though it may not seem great to us. He cannot sit up without puking, which he hates. The bed has been adjusted to where he is sitting almost all the way up and his incision is not leaking too much, but it is still kind of nasty. All of this is to be expected after such a surgery, but it is still hard to see him laying there and know he doesn't feel well. We have asked for a different medicine for nausea next time since that other one (Zofran??) doesn't seem to be working. Some one sent a gift and when they brought it in they asked he wanted it now or later and he said later. He is still in the ICU and we are hoping to move to a regular room later today.

Next to us they have moved in a baby who was born with half a heart. They are a young couple and they have been here for 27 days. She is so cute and if you want to pray for little "L" while you're praying for Whitaker to quit puking that would be great.

I am going to need so many spa treatments when this is all over. Luckily John is great with Whitaker, all the time, but especially when he doesn't feel well. Therefore, I am forbidding John to leave - at least today. If you don't get your lawn mowed, please understand.

He is sleeping now - says his pain is between a three and a five on a scale of 1-10, but he is not about to move unless forced to do so. The catheter is out (I'm sure he will love that I shared that) and his vitals are all stable and strong. We stroked him a little and told him that he will not feel like this for long - even though he feels bad right now. I think he wants to believe that.

I really, really appreciate how kind and supportive everyone has been and I would ask that you please keep the prayers coming. We know that all the love, prayers, and positive thoughts helped the surgery go well, so now we just ask the same for the recovery!! We are hoping things take a turn for the better very soon! This is a great hospital and everyone here is very knowledgeable and helpful. I know with each passing moment that we are closer to being out of here, so I am just trying to hang in there, one moment at a time.

More later.....lyons, out!

Thank God for parents

It has been a loooong day here at Kosair Children's Hospital and my Whitaker is blessed to have had four grandparents here the WHOLE time! Here at the crack of dawn with us, they have brought coffee, offered moments for laughter, been good listeners, worked sudoku puzzles, and shared their electronic toys all day. I cannot express in words how much this means to John and me and I am sure, one day, to Whitaker.

Even though we know there is a recovery road ahead, it makes it better to know that there are reinforcements supporting us as parents and ready to step in with a hand, or a sandwich anytime.

So, if you see Agnes or Gene Lyons, or Bonnie or Steve Johnson, you can say, "Hey, I heard you spent a day in the hospital!" and they might share their point of view. Any of us would have rather been the patient, but hanging out together made the day more bearable.

Out of surgery

Forgive me if there are typos, I am using my dad's iPad, and although it is awesome, the set up is a little different than my laptop.

We got the word that Whitaker was out of Surgery about three hours and forty-five minutes after the doctor made the initial incision. We went to a conference room and then Dr. Stevenson came in to talk to us. He said that Whitaker did great and assured us that he was doing fine before he went through the surgery with us step by step. Dr. Stevenson found that the first vertebrae, which was going to have half removed in the course of surgery, had actually fused to the base of the skull and therefore, the growth hormones would likely never have made enough room back there. Because of this, he removed all of the first vertebrae, after he separated the fused part from the skull. He told us this was not a big deal, just affirmation that the Chiari malformation was not going to be correctable without surgery. He said that he tried to see if the decompression of the brain would be adequate by only removing a portion of the skull, without going into the fluid-filled sack at the top of the spinal cavity, but it wasn't going to do the trick. Therefore, he went ahead with what he calls, "the full Monty". He did all the other parts of the operation, which included opening the pocket that protects the cerebellum, shrinking the tonsil that was descended below the base of the skull, and carefully, meticulously inserting an expandable patch to take the place of the missing bone pieces.

He also said that whitaker's neck is bigger than his, so he could absolutely not get away with dissolvable sutures. When the bandage comes off, he will have big black stitches for two weeks until he goes back for his post op check.

Whitaker is in ICU now and John and I went back to see him. He was trying to get comfortable and has wanting to lay on his face so the nurses/doctors/team of people back there in his room worked it out so he is laying flat, but still at a 20-degree angle. The risk of a leak of craniospinal fluid is greater if he is laying flat, so he has to be at a 30-degree angle until he gets out of he hospital. His incision is not bad, but the shaved part and the iodine make it look a little angry. He was asking for ice chips and John is giving them to him. There is only room back there for one at a time, and John is good at this part (which is code for "I don't want to be in there if he pukes") and John has to leave tomorrow to go to a conference in another city, so I am being "generous" and letting John be with him. I'll go check on him and give john a break after I update the blog!

dog update

Long story short....my wonderful friend Barb sent me links to two places:
here, http://www.softpaws.net/?gclid=CMjbltCClqICFYd-5QodsBxuGg
where I got some nail covers for the dog that are acrylic or plastic and you glue on over his own nails.......

and I got him some booties from here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_kitchen?ie=UTF8&search-alias=garden&field-brandtextbin=Ultra%20Paws%20Durable%20Dog%20Boots

Monday, John went to play golf, I picked the dog up from the vet and gave him a bath, flea/tick treatment and massage and brushing. Then I put the nail tips on him and I thought it helped a lot to keep him from scratching. When J came home, he was mad and grouchy for about two days. Then I whipped out the booties and they work PERFECTLY to make him not scratch the floors. I also played the sympathy card and told him that dogs are therapeutic in recovery and that we needed to do whatever we could to help Whitaker next week when we come home from the hospital. (No wonder he is such a maniputlative little guy!) Now the dog looks like this, happy and comfy in our house after his week of being an outside dog.

can you see the love on that face?Tebow is not totally crazy about the booties, but we are crazy about him, so this is how it is going to be. for a while. until the kids scratch the floor up so badly that the dog's marks will be unnoticeable. hehe

some great Chiari info

Found an informative and easy-to-read sheet about Chiari Malformation here.

http://www.conquerchiari.org/awareness/Chiari%20Patient%20Education%20Sheet.pdf

Breif details about Whitaker: his "tonsil" of the cerebellum is descended 23 mm below the base of the skull. It is attached to the top of his spinal cord and there is VERY little to no cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) between the cerebellum and the rest of the brain. He has been symptomatic with severe headaches in the back of his head during coughing, sneezing, exercise, and when he wakes in the morning. He also sometimes vomits in the mornings and has difficulty swallowing when he is congested.

Surgery outline: 4-5 hours, and from what I understand, the doctor will do the following:

• make an incision down the back of the neck at the base of the skull (about 4 or 5 inches)
• cut through the neck muscles and remove a section of bone from the back of the skull
• separate the top of the spinal cord from the tonsil
• shoot electrodes through the elongated tonsil to shrink it
• shrink the tonsil to the point where it is closer to if not all the way up to the base of the skull

this is where I get a little confused:

• he will carefully sew in an expandable patch that will be at the top of the spinal cord and the base of the brain and cranium.
• sew up the muscles and the fluid pouch at the top of the spinal cord
• seal the opening

Whitaker will have a neurophysiologist (I think ??) monitoring his spinal cord and nerve activity the entire time. He will have an anaesthesiologist with him the entire time as well to watch the levels of anaesthesia.  Yesterday he had blood taken so they could determine the levels and thickness of his blood in order to fully prepare for blood loss during surgery. We can give blood to be given to him, but it is only good for three days, so it would have to be Monday or Tuesday.  My blood pressure is too low to be able to donate, but I have O- blood, so we may look for an alternative method. We are hoping he won't need any, but John might give some on Monday if he can. I am pretty sure John and Whitaker are both A+ but I can't remember for sure.

He will be in intensive care for the first 24 hours. Other than bleeding, and infection, there is a risk of developing a leak of CSF after the patch has been placed, which might require a drain. We really, really hope this does not happen. We know that all the prayers will work for him to have no complications and a smooth recovery.

He should be moved to a regular room after he gets out of the ICU.  He will be there for a couple more days until he can eat and everything seems to be working well. Then we will come home and hopefully celebrate Father's Day together by being lazy and lounging.

The surgery will take place at Kosair Children's Hospital Our pediatric neurosurgeon is named Dr. Charles Stevenson. He is young and brilliant and we have every confidence in him. He went to SMU, then Vanderbilt, and is headed to Cincinnati Children's Hospital in a couple of months to become part of their team. We trust that God has put us in good hands.

Kosair Children’s Hospital

231 E. Chestnut St.
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 629-6000
KosairChildrens.com

If you need to contact any of us, for anything, our cell phone numbers are as follows:

812-449-8981 (amy)
812-719-0402 (john)
502-819-5387 (Bon Bon - amy's mother)
502-777-4944 (Granddaddy- amy's father)
812-630-8282 (Grandma and Grandpa Lyons aka Gene and Agnes)

I will try to update people on the website or on facebook. Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts and prayers. We are so thankful that this is a fixable problem and that he is going to make a full and complete recovery.

Here are some pictures of Whitaker's MRI scans. His chiari and his spinal cord are basically fused, so it is hard to see anything except a big blob at the base of his skull and the top of his spine.

Another view looks like this, but I probably couldn't explain it if I had to.....

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me. We have nothing to hide, but we also don't always know the answers. We know that this is a routine surgery for pediatric neurosurgeons and we know that his Chiari is a large one, but we still are so thankful for so much: the diagnosis, the total lack of neurological damage, the resilience of children. If you have any knowledge to share, please feel free to write us or call us, as we are certainly open to suggestions. If you are a nurse and we come home with a drain, we might be calling you!

this guy is going bye-bye

         Here's my crazy scoop for today: floors are finally done, dog has been scratching them up ever since we put them down. John says dog has to go. Neighbor said our dog had his dog down on her back with her neck in his mouth and he had to kick him as hard as he could to get him off. Then dumb dog went after next-door neighbor's dog and did the same thing. We told the boys we would have to give him away and it was the same week that Whitaker had the hour and a half MRI, a not-so-great doctor's appointment, and we determined an approximate date for surgery. Whitaker cried, said his life was falling apart, that every time we get an animal it either dies or we give it away, blah, blah, blah.

       So my dad escorted me kindly to Lowe's where we purchased an 8 foot long log chain to tie to his lead for him to drag. Not only does he not run as far, he doesn't go as fast either. This has helped with our outside problems, so I thought we were going to get to keep the dog. Until today. When John saw this absolutely gargantuan scratch the dog made right in the center of the family room. He said I have to think about where this dog is going, and then he slammed the door.

        I am also trying to grade a mountain of papers, pack up my entire classroom, complete an online training course for Preschool, earn three more hours for library media (even though I will probably never get a library job), and survive the last three days of school with seventh and eighth graders. Plus, we got the date for Whitaker's surgery and it is June 15, just three weeks from today. I am so stressed right now my chest hurts, but don't worry, I already have an appointment for heart tests on June 3. If I make until then, I am certain they will tell me there is nothing wrong with me. It is all in my head. I am just crazy.

         In addition to all of this, I am so fat that I am cramming myself into my fat clothes, which only constitute about 5% of my closet, so I have been wearing the same clothes for a whole semester now. I need a personal trainer fast. I hate my body. I don't think the timing is right at all to get rid of our dumb dog, even if that is the right thing to do. Now I gotta go watch baseball, and go eat with my in-laws. Our treat. :-)

        I am trying to think of an invention that we could put some sort of gel-caps or something on the dogs claws that would at least help with the scratching. I have finally decided to try to day-quil gel-caps, empty them out, slide them over the end of the dog's claws and fasten them with the little rubber bands they use for braces. It might not work, but it is a start. I love him and the boys REALLY love him, and I don't want him to go. Any ideas, please advise.

boys, baseball, and beautiful wood

Okay, so I haven't updated the blog in a while because we were busy doing this:

And then we went and did this:

and while we gone, my Tretter did this:

Yes, that is a nine-year-old, doing homework on a laptop, in a vehicle. Hello, 2010, where were you when I was in 3rd grade? Oh, yeah, it was 1980. 

So eventually, the floor progressed like this:

and finally, it looks kind of like this:

Only it is completely finished now in the downstairs and we have enough left over to do the hallway upstairs (yippee!) and then we will be done for a while. In all of that hullabaloo, we removed the wood floor from the dining room, ground off the nails, carried it upstairs, removed the carpet from the boys' room, laid the old dining room wood floor in the boys' room, and laid our new Acacia Brazilian Cherry floors in the dining room and family room. It's gorgeous if I do say so myself.

In the meantime, since that whole process took about 3 and a half weeks, we had baseball

If you have a magnifying glass you will see Whitaker on second base, Tretter up to bat, and John as the third base coach. If you don't have a magnifying glass, you'll just have to take my word for it.

We also had Mother's Day, and this is my present:

They cleaned, vacuumed, and washed my vehicle for me, which was adorable, and a very nice gift. It was much-needed and much-appreciated. Until they vacuumed up my charger-cover.....and John had to fish it out of the new shop-vac.

and I, of course, thought this was hilarious.

We also had a rainstorm that prompted large trash bags for a slip and slide,

and a triathlon at the boys' elementary school.

How cute is that? All those little healthy kids warming up!

Finally, we also had an MRI on Whitaker that lasted an hour and 15 minutes (followed by barbecue ribs at Outback Steakhouse) and met with the neurosurgeon again. His scans had not changed - no improvement, but no increase in severity either - in the four months that he has been taking growth hormone treatments, so it seems he will need to have his Chiari I Malformation surgically "repaired." That seems like quite a euphemism to me, but I am the mom. The surgeon told us all this other info too, that I will post later. maybe. if I feel like it.

check it out - new flooring!!!

Okay, first, I had to share to my super-cute little hunter. It was 4:37 a.m. and he was READY!

(haven't gotten a turkey yet, but we're still trying)

Now, to share my big news of the day: we FINALLY made a decision on the hardwood and here it is: this is a picture of the price tag:

and this is a picture of what it looks like when it is put together.

Here is the BEST part (which is what I would consider a "kiss from the King" as in Jesus, the King of Kings) and that is that I waited until John and I could make the decision together, so I took him back to this store the next day, after deciding that this was what I like. When we got there, the wood had gone ON SALE - to

$2.99/SQUARE FOOT! THAT MEANS WE SAVED OVER $600.00!!

How cool is that?