Sunday, November 30, 2008

deck the halls

It is so much fun to wake up to see the Christmas tree. So much excitment for the holiday season and so much to look forward to with the kids.


The tree is in a spot where, when Madelines door is open and she is in her crib, she looks right out at it. A huge smile came across her face when she too was reminded of the beauty of our tree this morning. Emma came up from her room to see Hermie, our elf, hanging from the drapes. That kid doesn't miss a thing!


Mom called this morning with an offer to adorn our dingy, gross stair banister with some garland and other festive items. Of course we took her up on it. It really adds a nice look and an attempt at sophistication to our house.


We left for church. Emma is always eager to get to Sunday school. She just loves learning about God and the bible. Today and next week they are practicing songs that they will perform at the upcoming Christmas show - I CANNOT wait for that! Madeline on the other hand, is not too interested in hearing Pastor Dave talk about Isaish and the Messiah. Sitting in the pew for more then a couple of minutes is too much. Understandable when you are 1 1/2. I think, reluctantly, I will look into the nursery care that is available. I have a tremendous complex against anyone besides me and very, very few others watching my kids. . . So, we will see.


After church we went to brunch with some friends. It was a lot of fun, service sucked, food was great. The kids -ours and others - lost it about 1/2 way through. Thankfully we were with everyone who is kid friendly and it didn't phase them. We decided next time we will look into an all adult happy hour.


Made it home just in time for naps. We all layed down. I slept so hard. I have been fighting a cold, so sleeping hasn't come easily. This nap was an exception. When I heard Madz wake up, I actually looked at the clock and thought "why is she waking up at 4:53 in the morning?" Before I realized that it was not the morning, it was the beginning of the evening.


Emma, I think, is going to fall on the more "artsy" side of the spectrum. She loves all kinds of art things. Actually, last summer, we went on a tour of the Minneapolis Museum of Art. She loved it and asks about going again. Her new thing is taking my digital camera and taking pictures of everything. But, it is hilarious how she tells you how to pose and that you look "extraordinary". I, of course, think she does a pretty good job. Here is one of her shots from this evening.


After a fun filled dinner, we starting decking our halls. Actually 99% of all the Christmas stuff ends up upstairs. It is so nice and cozy. We got the snowbabies put up, the tree decorated and the rest of our little items randomly put around.


The wonder in the girls eyes at all of this stuff and the questions that Emma asks make every around you even more amazing. There really is something unbelieveable about seeing the world through a childs eyes. There isn't many things more amazing then that.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

We have candy and a tree!










8:00am brought about two little girls who were eager to play. We did so the best we could while trying to be quite enough for a sleeping daddy. He strolled out around 9:00 with a happy little Madeline squeeling "daddy, daddy, daddy". Kids always bring a smile to any morning.



Daddy was ready to start the day, so we threw on some clothes and were out the door. We had been alerted to a sale on pre-cut Christmas trees at Bachmans. Yes, the practice of buying a precut tree is against all that I hold dear about Christmas. Ever since I was very young, I have cut a Christmas tree (except for a few years in an apartment when we could not have a real tree). And, God forbid that I EVER, EVER have a fake tree. However, with schedules as they are this month, we would not get to go and cut our own until about the 20th. That would be no good. And this was a bit more economical, all things considered.



So off to choose our tree. They actually had them hanging from the ceiling so they at least LOOKED like they could have been there to be cut. We found a nice one and were out the door $38 poorer, but all the more in a holiday sort of mood. The girls had fun running through the faiser forest and so did we.



Ate some lunch and put a couple of reluctant girls down for an early nap. We had to get to candy making on time!



The girls woke up and we wisked them off to Uncle Brad and Aunt Beths house. Everyone from my dads side was there. This is a tradition that I just love - an awesome way to officially kick off the season. We dipped, covered and rolled a miriad of things. Everything from caramel to potato chips, from flavored center peices to peanuts. We have it all. Emma and Madeline were in hog heaven. They had all of their cousins to play with. Ranging in age from 7 1/2 to just under 1. Lots of little ones. What a great time!





When we got home, Jay got a wild hair up his ass and decided that we needed some christmas lights on our fence. Soooo, at 9:30 at night he was putting nails into the fence and hanging lights. I love how much he gets into the holidays. That has always been such a big part of me, so glad that it is also a big part of him. Love my guy!


I have been feeling really great! A very small amount of tingling in my fingers, but really not much anywhere else. If there was a way to will it out of my body, I am pretty sure that I did that. This disease picked the wrong chick to "F" with! Dr. Parry brought to light so many more aspects about this shit then most others had. No way is this the end of anything. As "they" say, there is a reason for everything. I am sure that I will find it.



A really nice day, a really nice family, a really nice life!


Friday, November 28, 2008

No shopping for me

Watching all of the commericals for the great deals going on, shopping was on my mind. However, since we have over 30 - yes, 3 - 0 - people to buy for during the holiday season we need to plan accordingly. Unfortunatly, that means taking Jay's whole "bonus" check and spending it on gifts for others. I know that he does love to make them happy, but I always feel sad that he can't spend it on what anything that he would like.


Sure, we could slim down on our buying list. People like grandma and grandpa say they don't want anything, my dad only wants a picture from the kids, and with most of the rest of the family we usually just buy for the little kiddos. Jay and I both agree that we are really blessed with everyone in our family and we would like to be able to give them something nice and special on Christmas.


So today, Jay shot off to quell any car wash emergencies that came up over the holiday and the kids and I went to the gym. I cut out one coupon for the day, but of course it was sold out already. Next stop was GNC. I had to pick up the Vitamin D tablets that Dr. Parry told me that I needed to start on. 400mg 3x per day until April. There is a lot of research coming out about the lack of vitamin D and MS. Then to Byerlys to walk around aimlessly trying to find something for dinner. Left with lunch, nothing for dinner. Home for naps.


Jay got home before the girls even woke up. He delivered to me all of the love notes for me that arrived today in the mail. I get a lot of them lately. My main admirer is Blue Cross/Blue Sheild. Today my envelope arrived STUFFED full of paperwork. I thought perhaps this is my walking papers or they were sending me a condolence letter. Neither. It was filled with about 8 sheets of paper billing me for ever little damn thing that I did at Methodist during the day of all of my tests at the end of Oct. The genuises at BCBS haven't yet streamlined their billing to include it all on one peice of paper. I am certain that I could cut down on their overhead with one swift move of less paper.



The girls got up and we ordered Thai food - one of Jay's favorites. Plopped down in front of the tv to watch the awesome Polar Express. Emma was just enthrawled with the movie. As you can see from the picture above, Maz would take a few minutes to watch the movie, then experiment with other ways to use her toys.

So glad it is the weekend to be togther as a family!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Don't bother getting out of bed today

That is what Jay said as he was headed out the door this morning. Why? Well, there was snow on the ground. Almost everyone knows that some of my favorite things are chocolate, watching Tiger Woods golf, HOT weather and Prince. On the other hand, some of my least favorite things are folding laundry, cleaning my bathtub and least of all COLD weather.

Yes, the first snow of the year is nice. It is the thought that about six months from now I will want to jump into a snow bank and not come up. Ugh. Although one thing about this morning that made it different was the fun and giggles that came out of the girls when they saw the snow.

After a quick meeting this morning for a council that I am on, I took the girls to the health club that I recently joined. It is not one of the fancy clubs, and very, very inexpensive, so it is just bare bones. I mean really, some of the other places are really grand, but who the hell wants to put full make up on and have to lose 20 pounds BEFORE you even go to the club. I dropped the girls in their care center, which was very hard for me to do, and worked out for an hour. Nothing too tough, just enough to make my ass burn. I started to hear Madeline cry, so I quickly changed clothes, gathered my kids and headed for the toy store.

We quickly chose a gift for a birthday party tomorrow and headed home for lunch and nap time. Whomever came up with the old addage "terrible twos" never had to partake in constant negotiations with a 3 1/2 year old.

The girlies slept for a record amount of time. I was able to rest and to get some things done around the house. I had to field a couple of calls today between the Avonex manufacturers and the "specialty" pharmacy. The novalty of all this special attention wears off so very quickly. Although the pharmacy did tell me that I will have to pay approx $35 per month for a drug that costs just over $2400 per month.

Jay got home and asked if I paid a bill that was due. I said no and he wondered what I did with the money that he had left for that this morning. Well, bought a birthday present for the party, of course! I say that tongue and cheek. He did leave cash this morning, however he neglected to mention that it was to pay for this bill. I suppose I should have known better. Jay having to take 3 1/2 days off last pay period put things even more tight around the castle. Such is life.

Made a delicious, gourmet dinner of Crunchy Taco Hamberger Helper, scrubbed up some messy girls in the tub, read books and put them to bed.

There are always reminders through each day, when you look, how lucky you really are. This evening gave me a reminder that there are people out there who do not have a place with those who work hard to be good people. That is why us good people need to work just a bit harder to stand out sometimes.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

The neurologist says. . . .



Yesterday was the day that we had been waiting for. It was to kind of give us a basis for things to come with my MS.


We dropped the girls off at my friend Jane's house. She is so great! Never a hesitation in her mind for helping out. A terrific friend. Jay and I headed off to Dr. Freking's office.


This man has such a quiet yet smart demeanor about him. Do you think that comes when you make over $500k per year? Perhaps. I don't think I will ever know.


We went over the results of all of my tests that had been done the couple of weeks before. Basically, all of the test were "abnormal". What that really means is that they are "normal" for MS, "abnormal" for those without. Not surprising, that is what we expected.


With MS, there is no test that you take to tell you that it what you have. It is really more that you are put through the rigors and tests to make sure that there is nothing else that you have. Testing against all other possiblities.


Dr. Freking said that this is the time to start discussing treatment options. He had a couple of questions to get us pointed in a direction of which treatment would be best - do we plan to have more kids, what are my days like, and something else that I don't remember.


I am still not really clear about the differences in the different meds. There are only six approved drugs for MS - some are once a week, some are 3x per week. All of them are injectable and all of them make you sick. Yeah. It is not bad enough to live in MN where getting sick especially this time of the year is the norm, but I will now purposefully be making myself sick.


We found that at this time Avonex will be the best treatment for me. I will have to inject it once per week, for, well, forever. After you take the meds, most people are found to have all of the flu like symptoms - puking, sore musles, fatigue, etc - for 24 hours after. So I have to find a cherished weekend day that I can give up to be sick, so that Jay can take care of and have fun with the girls.


I have now been fielding calls from the drug company, the off-site pharmacy and the nurse that will come to my house to teach me how to inject myself. jay is hoping that I have to get them in the ass cause he wants to administer. I hate to dissappoint but since it has to be given into the muscle, I would hate to see how big the needle has to be to get to the muscle in my ass.


Yesterday evening I went to dinner with Cathy. A great friend of mine for 20 years, we figured last night. She is one of those gals that no matter how long it has been since we have seen each other we always have so much to talk about. We left the evening swearing that we will be getting together much more often. I hope that we can follow through.


Coming home to the girls, and Jay, was sweet. I love my little family more then anything in the world. As Dr. Freking told me yesterday, I will be around to watch my kids and grandkids grow up. That is priceless and with all hopes, I will have the ability to run and play with them all too. I will keep praying.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

"I approve this message" day



Yep, that is what Emma called it. The kid doesn't even watch much tv, but those political types even have a 3 1/2 year old calling it that! Since I am writing this the day after, I can officially say that no matter what the outcome was of the election, I know that I can say that I am glad the ads are over!




The girls and I did some last minute running around for our election schmorg with the Ballsrud family. I am still thinking that perhaps Mary and I were making more out of this election then anyone else inthe country. To even find any red, white and blue items was to be asking a lot. We called it a day and layed down for a nap. After everyone was awake, we loaded into the car to make the most of the evening.


As always, the schmorg with the Ballsruds was a smashing success! At least, that is what Mary and I think. The menu consisted of red, white and blue bread, Arizona chips and salsa, Deleware shrimp and dip, lipstick pigs in a blanket, moosemeat pizza and victory Chicago style pizza and the kids loved the red and blue jello. For dessert was a deliscious cheesecake with cherries and blueberries.


We called it an evening just before the big announcement was made!

Monday, November 3, 2008

lots of running


Ever feel like you are just shoving too many things into a day and that you just can't get into your car fast enough to get to the next spot. Who am I kidding? I think that everyone feels like that these days. I am not a "sitter", I go, go, go . . . although I do cherish sitting on the floor and playing with my girls.



That is how most mornings start and today was no different. Then we were off to run some errands and to Madeline's class where we dropped Emma off at her sibling care room - I have told her that she is there to be a teachers assistant. That helped to ease her into being ok with going there. Then Maddie and I were off to sing songs and do little people things.




After class we were off to meet Super Mary and Robby for lunch and shopping for our schmorgasboard that we are going to have on election evening. What is a schmorgasboard you ask? Well, it is something that Mary and I first experienced in college. UMD thoughtfully put together an evening full of a large, buffett style dinner full of all sorts of food. Super Mary and I have now brought it back and forced our spouses and kids to be part of our goofy ideas. We always must have a theme. Our theme this time is "Election 2008". It will be held on election night.




We were off to all the stores that we were sure would be filled with Obama/McCain paraphanalia. After being shut out at Pary America (all of the costumes had been sold out for a long time, we were told) and Byerlys we were thinking that perhaps we were taking this election thing more seriously then most. I mean, is it too much to ask that Byerly's have a cookie or SOMETHING decorated with a black man or an aging white guy? Heck, even a flag cookie would have suffice. Nope. Nothing. So, we have had to work our magic and perhaps our imagination. No matter what, the schmor will be great because we always have a great time with Mary, Jason and Robby.




Back home with the girlies, and down for a nap. Called Jay to find that he is stuck in Eau Clare (sp?) WI for the night. So Emma called on the chef of the house to make some Jambalaya. Done. We cleaned up, scrubbed up in the bath, and now here I am. Looking at how damn late it is.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

What time is it?

The sound of the youngest baby crying after a night very little sleep can be tough. When Madeline woke up, I rolled over, looked at the clock. 7:22am, not so bad. Got up and stumbled out of the bedroom. On my way, Jay takes a minute to raise his head up and say, "It's not 7, it is 6". What? It takes a minute to realize that Madeline must not have gotten the memo that says she needed to adjust her sleeping. Jay rolls back over to continue his beauty rest. To see Madz little face smiling at you, so eager to start the day puts aside lingering thought of the of snot running out of each nostril all night long.
The Viera family was up and dresses appropriatly to pick up our friends for a nice brunch by 10:30. Not long after, we all rolled ourselves out the door and back home to enjoy some of this goergous day.
Today, we had to say good-bye to Dorothy, our goldfish. She passed a few weeks ago, but Emma was reluctant to bury her. After some urging today, we decided to bury her under the swingset. It was very sweet when Emma talked about her worries of Dorothy getting dirty. But, she felt content when we talked about Dorothy being in heaven with God, Grandma Pat and Lucy - our kitty. I assured her that God would make Dorothy some nice dinners.
The rest of the day was spent doing what I like doing best, being a happy little family. Nothing could be better!


Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween and the next day


What a fun "holiday" when you have kids! Halloween brings about so much excitement from the little ones. The day was filled with a lot of running around, with the highlight coming from our trip to Cub Foods where they gave out free trick-or-treating baskets. The girls chose to test them out as hats first.



After short naps, in anticipation of the big evening ahead, the girls got into their costumes and set out for the mother load. I can hear my ass and thighs getting bigger already.


We made our way around the neighborhood, visiting with all of the great people who were so excited to see the girls. Watching the girls traverse between the houses was so much fun.
We ended around 7:15 and headed off to Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don's for some yummy tacos. I think that the sugar was beginning to go directly into the veins of the girls and they were a little bonkers. After a couple of hours we called it a night and headed home with two very exhausted little babes.
Saturday morning we were directed to get out of our house by an eager Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don. They offered to come and CLEAN OUR HOUSE since we have had a lot of other things going on lately. Ahhhhh! The sound of angels singing! That is probably the best gift I could have gotten in a long time.
Jay and I packed up the girls to go out for a few hours while the transformation on the house was to begin.
Before nap time we got back home and found our house sparkling more then it was the day we moved in. Oh, what a great feeling!! Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don packed up, most likely to go home and take a nice shower after digging in our dirt for so many hours.
Spent the rest of the evening enjoying the clean house. I must go and drug myself with something to help clear my sinuses. Winter colds have taken hold of Emma and me.