10 years

The Exuma Islands, a place we have dreamed about and talked about for over 10 years. We sat at Willow River State Park, drinking strawberry daquiries one hot summer day dreaming about sailing around the Exuma Islands. This was before we bought our sailboat and sailed for 2 months in the Florida Keys and realized that we were not ready for the cross ocean venture.... However, our 2 month sailing adventure on our teeny tiny sailboat made us both realize that we should spend the rest of our lives together. We knew we would get married near or on the ocean, a place we both love. So on Friday December 13th, 2002 we got married on the ocean pier at Sandals Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  It was the best decision and we loved every minute of it. I remember saying as we left the resort, "we will have to come back to Sandals on our 10 year anniversary!" 

December 13, 2012 we celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary not only at a Sandals Resort but a new Sandals Resort that happened to be in the Exuma Islands, a place we have been talking about for 13 years. We knew this was the resort to be at.  

The anticipation of leaving about killed me. I literally did not sleep the whole week before we left. I had never been away from the kids for more than 3 nights and we were going to be gone 7 nights and 8 days....it was so difficult. I cried about it, worried about it, stressed about it.... there was no fun part of the anticipation of this trip.  We had a good plan, detailed notes, friends stepping in willing to help and Grandma so we knew the kids would be fine. 

Once we arrived at the resort and handed our glass of champagne I was able to relax. We had a few hitches early on in communicating with my mom and the kids back home but we got that figured out with in the first few days. We spend the majority of each day at the beautiful beaches & fabulous pool drinking dirty bananas.  Man, they were yummy! We loved all the different restaurants and tried a lot of different foods we wouldn't normally try. We also took many many walks up and down the beaches, a lot of the talks would either end up being about the kids or about how we need to buy a bigger sail boat and so another sailing trip someday. Both topics made me smile & feel happy! 

We took one excursion, a boat trip to some of the outer islands to snorkel, swim, feed the iguanas & pigs and mostly get a glimpse of the beauty of the cays of the Exuma Islands. The water was amazing! We saw Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's private island and home. Stopped at a lot of islands and got to swim, hike and look for shells. We (mostly Jacques) also got to feed the wild pigs and iguanas,  I took pictures. Although it was cool to see them on these uninhabited islands, they were kind of scary and I stayed my distance. We hiked to the top of this cliff where on one side it was the Atlantic Ocean and the other was the Caribbean Sea.  While the Atlantic Ocean looked so deep blue and rough, the  Caribbean Sea was calm, beautiful and peaceful.  This day trip was definitely the highlight of our trip! 

 We went to the french restaurant at the resort for our anniversary and had a wonderful dinner and dessert. It was definitely our favorite night of the trip. We talked a lot about how our life has changed in the past 10 years but really how much it has stayed the same. We may have built 3 houses, moved 3 times and had 3 kids but we still have the same dreams and goals. This makes my heart smile. 

The time came to say good bye to this beautiful week and amazing island. And even though we had full bellies from all the food and drinks, a tan from all the sun, we were feeling a little empty with out our three favorite people. We got home at 9pm and when we pulled into the garage and waved at them with the door open, there were tears of joy! It had never felt so good to hug our kids.  It was great to nurture our relationship and have some "us" time but it was good to be HOME! 

~It's My Life

Still believers

I don't know if you know this but this is my absolute favorite time of the year, Christmas time. I love the decorations, Christmas cards, gift buying, wrapping presents, the whole shebang but mostly I love  living the magic of the season through my kids' eyes. Each year, I wonder how many more Christmases until the magic dies down and when one of the kids tell me they know about "santa" or "elfie."I think my heart will break. This year I was starting to question Wylie's beliefs about Elfie, (our Elf), until yesterday . . .

Our Elfie comes to us on December 1st every year, well this is his 3rd year joining our family.  Our Elfie is a friendly Elf who sits in places that he can be seen the most and in places where we spend the most time because he just really wants to be part of our family this time of year! 

So yesterday, Elfie was sitting in the plant on the window ledge behind the kitchen sink. Last night, Wylie said, "mom come here." He was in the bathroom crying. I said, "What's the matter?" and he answered, "mom I accidentally touched Elfie." He was devastated. I was so relieved that HE STILL BELIEVES. I just quickly said, "if it were truly an accident Elfie will know that."

A few hours later I am getting ready for bed and doing my nightly Elfie duties, I noticed a letter sealed in an envelope for Elfie. So I opened it and this is what it said:

My heart just melted. It was then that I noticed  there was another letter on the counter also. The other letter said the following and was from Kasey: This letter also filled my heart with smiles.

Fast forward to this morning. Elfie was in our dining table center piece with a little note of his own for the kids.

                                       Dear kids, I got your notes, Thanks! Wylie, it's ok! Luv Elfie

Wylie woke up and was so happy that Elfie said it was "ok" and also laughed that Elfie spelled "luv" wrong. A few minutes later Kasey wakes up, reads the note and started crying. I asked her why she was so sad and she said through some serious tears, "That note I left was for when we see Santa tomorrow, Elfie wasn't suppose to give it to him, I was!" Oh boy, one kid elated, one kid devastated.  So I quickly tell her that if she asks Elfie really nicely maybe he can go through all of Santa's letter and get the letter from you tonight and bring it back to us tomorrow. She is convinced that there are way too many letters and that Elfie won't find it.  Who knows though, our Elfie is one good little Elf! Until tomorrow morning. . .

                                                                 ~It's My Life
                                                               

Catching up

My last post was titled "Overwhelmed." Today I sit less overwhelmed and a tad more confident in our new gluten free adventure. It has not yet been 90 days, although it seems like it has been 190 days. It is definitely still a day to day challenge but the thought of going grocery shopping at three different grocery stores no longer makes me almost cry. The hardest challenge for us and for Wylie mostly is finding snacks that taste good and budgeting the expensive change.  I have baked a lot of breads, cookies, cakes, etc which all have turned out great. Most of our dinners are turning out to be good now as well. I still look up a lot of things as I am not confident in the "hidden gluten" list.  Most importantly is that we believe it is making a difference in Wylie's day to day living. He is not complaining and in tears on a daily basis from stomach pain.  This is why it is easy to keep going and going. I see progress and he feels better!

I guess I also missed a Halloween post.  Once I printed off the gluten free candy list we started celebrating. We realized he did not have to miss out on too many of his favorite candies and/ or chocolates.  The weather was great on Halloween and we all went trick or treating together while my Dad stayed at our house and passed out candy to the trick or treaters. It was a fun & tiring night for all.

Oh shoot, I also missed the entire month of November and now I am trying to remember what we were up to.  I must get my memory from my Dad (hehe).

I had a few personal highlights this month:  I had my Twilight party for the final Breaking Dawn movie.  It was a fun night, full of laughs and one that we all can look back on and laugh at our patheticness.  I also got the great news that Mister Jon Bon Jovi was starting his tour early on in 2013 and also bought some tickets to a few different shows.  So far to date, I will be going to Nashville with Jacques to sit 5th row. It will be his 1st JBJ concert and my . . . . 21st! I will also be going to the St. Paul show (sitting close enough to hopefully be sweat on) and to the Des Moines show.  More to be announced in the weeks ahead!

We also had a few things that were not quite as fun. Tori had another surgery to put tubes (3rd set)  in her ears and do some prep work for a potential future surgery to her ears. She did great and was so brave! I was very proud of her. We also hosted Thanksgiving again for my family, which turned out  to be a big flop. Wylie got the stomach flu the night before Thanksgiving, Kasey got the flu Thanksgiving night and I got it Saturday morning.  My brother, his daughter and his girlfriend went home early and I missed out on my black friday shopping that I had been looking forward to for the past year. On the bright side, the cousins got to spend some time together and we did get to  enjoy a good Thanksgiving dinner together which included with plenty of laughs and lots of wine!

~It's My Life~ 

Overwhemled

Well who would have thought, me spending countless hours reading about food and recipes, learning about a handful of grocery stores (which I normally hate) and spending hours upon hours grocery shopping (which I hate even more).  Who would have thought I would actually be "cooking" on a daily basis and baking almost as often? I have been known to speak of my displeasure of cooking in general. Just don't like it, never have.  I have been known to say, "I would rather clean toilets, than go grocery shopping."

Whether it be my punishment for not cooking all these years or just  a mean way of  showing me that I too can enjoy cooking, the time has come and it is now inevitable, I MUST LEARN TO COOK AND LIKE IT! Why you ask? Here's why.

 Wylie has been struggling for almost 5 years now with stomach, gastrointestinal issues that have progressively gotten worse over the years. He has gone through more tests in his short life than Jacques and I have both gone through together in ours. The last rounds of tests were done 6 months ago. He had a colonoscopy and endoscopy done along with more rounds of blood work. The doctor was almost certain that he would test positive for Celiacs Disease. Luckily, the test came back negative. Good news=no disease. Bad news=no explanation for his pain, lack of growth, skin sores etc. The doctor did notice several irritated spots on his intestines however. That combined with a variety of other symptoms made him think that Wylie may have a high intolerance for gluten.  After a second opinion of his tests we were advised to go on a 90 day gluten free diet.  I was instantly relieved to have a possible answer to his problems and for a chance for him to have pain free days. It wasn't until about the second minute that I realized that this would be a huge challenge for me, I must learn to cook.

Overwhelmed would be a great word to describe how I felt. It took me 4 days before I even moved forward with the planning because each time I would get reading, it would get more in-depth and more complicated. I needed time to process (aka whine) for a while.Thank you to all my friends who listened and were there for me to vent too.  After that, I got right down to business. Reading, reading and reading more to learn about what gluten was exactly and what foods it was in. To sum it up, I felt like I learned it was nearly in everything. Again, overwhelmed.

<-------- a list of things that contain gluten (OVERWHELMED)






Took it literally two days at a time that first week. Wrote down what we would eat at each meal and made grocery list. Oh, I almost forgot. Forget just running to Target quick to grab your grocery items. Oh no, now you need to run to Trader Joes, Target, Fresh and Natural Foods and County Market and even then you will not have found everything if you are just a beginner at this. I literally left Fresh and Natural in near tears the first time. It was last stop of the day, I had been to the above listed stores to get our items for the week.  I spent 1 1/2 hours at Fresh and Natural  the first time I was there and left with 3 bags (not even all the way full) and spent $149.  See picture below of what $149 got me. Again... overwhelmed.

Moving forward because we have no choice. We made some foods that were definitely NOT good, some foods that were okay, still not good but not terrible and a few things that were decent (good but not great).  It was a glum week and I had to try my hardest to keep my spirits up for Wylie.  He was being a trooper and trying everything, although not holding in his true thoughts for some of the foods. Week two went a little better. I have found baking is not too bad, now that I have the main 16 ingredients needed to replace flour (partially joking). I learned what xanthan gum is and where to find it in the store. Week two went a little better than week one. We had 2 or 3 meals that were good and only 1 or 2 that were bad. I baked cupcakes for Wylie to take to a birthday party and those were great! As was the pumpkin bread I made for the kids. I made a meal so complex (to me) that it took 45 minutes to prepare and another 45 to cook. Thank goodness it had wine in the ingredient list because I sure needed some to get through that meal.  No Kidding there.  

So anyway, we are making progress, slowly but surely. I am hoping this next week, week 3, will be better yet. Oh gosh, that reminds me, I better make my weeks menu and grocery list. It is my new Sunday night activity while watching football.  Wish us luck and most importantly hope that this will help Wylie feel better, which is ALL that matters. I will do anything for that kid! 

~It's My Life

Another road trip

We took another road trip this time to visit my grandma.  It is a trip that the kids look forward to from the second we leave the time before, "when are we coming to see Great Grandma again?" We get up early, drive 5 1/2 hours, visit with great grandma (3-4 hours) and drive 5 1/2 hours home. Each trip we seem to stay longer and longer at great grandmas as it gets harder and harder to leave. This time we didn't even leave  until 8pm, which got us home close to 2am.

Our trips in the past we have stopped at Treasure City, a store with "treasures" for all ages. The kids get $5 each and it takes them a good 30 minutes to decide what to pick.  This trip, I decided to change it up. I convinced them that it would be worth it to stop at Animal Land, in Bemidji, instead of Treasure City. Animal Land is advertised as a place to  being able to walk with the deer, feed the bears & kangaroo's etc. They quickly agreed that this would be a good trade off, if they could get a souvenir at Animal Land... Fair enough I thought.

The kids enjoyed feeding the bears, kangaroo, porcupines, raccoons, etc. but  I walked around so sad for these animals. It was a place that I was not proud to be at  and was certainly not happy to support. I had to explain to the kids that we would not be buying a souvenir from this place but would stop at the gift shop in Great Grandma's town and they could pick something out.  They were fine with that after I told them that, "mom doesn't like the way these animal have to live day to day and I don't want to support it." 

Almost to Great Grandma's and Kasey asked, "Mom are we finally going to get to go see where Great Grandpa is?" This is something they have been asking to do the last many trips up north.  My grandpa died in 1994 but the kids have recently (last year or so) wanted to go see his "stone." While we were there we talked about Great Grandpa and a little about death but mostly made it a happy experience and emphasized that great grandpa is so happy we stopped by.  Tori has always talked about great grandpa and has been emotional about how much she loves and misses him. Something I have not been able to understand since she has never met him and I don't talk about him often enough for her to have this bond. I have 2 pictures (one in my room and one is in Jacques' race room) of great grandpa yet she tells me "that does not look like "my" great grandpa." I think to myself, ya but it is and move on.  So we get to my grandma's and we decided to show her some pictures of great grandpa. When we ask her, "does this look like great grandpa? " She says, "no." She says no to the fist several pictures (all of which are him in his elder years).  Then we show her a picture of great grandpa when he was much younger and we ask, "does this look like great grandpa?" With a big smile on her face she says, "yes!" Tears filled my eyes.  

We leave the cemetery and finally head to see Great Grandma. We bring the rest of the bouquet to her. She is all smiles when Wylie, Kasey and Tori barge though the door and in unison say, "hi great grandma" in their loudest, yet calm voices ,(they know they get away with it here as she is so hard of hearing).  We visit with Great Grandma, show her the photo books and scrap books of recent trips, birthdays etc and have dinner together. She always treats us to dinner at Dairy Queen. I go pick it up and we have a picnic on her living room floor on a towel. It's perfect.  Time keeps ticking and it gets later and later yet we are not getting ready to leave. I don't know if the kids think about it (probably not) but I do and each time we go I can just only hope that  it isn't the last trip we take to visit Great Grandma. I think this is why I am not so much in a hurry to get back in the car and head home as I used to be.  

There is an endless amount of love for Great Grandma and it melts my heart each and every time we go visit and I  see my kids' face when they talk to her, hug her and say good bye.  I am so happy that my kids know this kind of everlasting love and have gotten to experience it with my grandma.  

~It's My Life~ 

Family Reunion

We ended July with another road trip. This time we headed to Indian River, Michigan, which is near Mackinac City.  Three years have come and gone and it was time for the Sieburg family reunion. I had to do this road trip alone with the kids since we had just gotten back from Hilton Head, SC.  Jacques could not take more time off of work.  We packed in the car and started east.  The kids did great, as always, in the car. Professional road trippers.

This was our first year at Indian River. Previous years we were in Brimley, Michigan in the upper peninsula. It was a nice change. I personally liked being closer to the shores of Lake Michigan.  The kids and I spent many of the days at the beach. You can never go wrong with the beach, sand toys and snacks! 

Our other time was spent at the lodge catching up with family and watching the olympics til midnight each night! One day we went putt putt golfing and did bumper boats with my 2 cousins and her son.   Tori was not a fan of either activity, Kasey LOVED the bumper boats and Wylie loved the putt putt and boats! My cousin, Philip, challenged me to a game of  putt putt and we tied.... 3 years.... REMATCH!  

One of the most memorable things for me was Tori's confusion with my Uncle Will. If only I had a video to capture the moment.  My dad was out golfing and my Uncle Will was sitting outside when Tori ran up to him, crawled up his lap and started hugging him and kissing his cheek.  I instantly knew that she thought it was my dad, her grandpa. She backed off a bit, took a real good look at Uncle Will and said, "Grandpa, where is your mustache?" Takes another look around at him then says, "You have a different watch." Then looks at his hair and says, "your hair looks different today."  I said, "Tori this is Grandpa's brother, my Uncle Will." She says, "no it's my Grandpa!" The confusion went on for a little while until my dad came home from golfing. I had my Dad and my Uncle Will sit next to each other outside and sent Tori out to see Grandpa. When she saw them both sitting side by side, she instantly knew which was her grandpa and ran and hugged him and then said, "he (pointing at Uncle Will) looks like you." At bedtime that night Tori said, "this was a confusing day!" The similarity between the two made it easy for Tori to be extra comfortable with Uncle Will, even calling him Grandpa Will! Such sweet memories......... PRICELESS actually!

 I enjoyed all my conversations and time with my Mom, Dad,  aunts, uncles and cousins. It is a week I look forward too!  Time came though to say good bye.  We gave out all of hugs and "see ya in 3 years," and got in the car.  Tori was in tears already,  I look back at Wylie and he just breaks down crying and as I pull out of the lodge, Kasey falls apart. So I pulled off to the side of the road down the street and we just all cried together. We talked about how special this time was and how lucky we are too have such a wonderful family that loves us all so much and that we love so much and that IT IS OKAY TO BE SAD.  Once we gathered ourselves, we headed home. . . . . and again they were great road trippers for the 11 hour drive!!

Until 2015.



                                         ~ It's My Life~

Road Trip

The day finally came to pack in the car and leave for our trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The kids could not contain themselves as they packed for the 9 day trip. After all, the packing and anticipation is half the fun, right?  June 28th, the day before we leave the car is packed full and ready to go. Time to go to bed and set the alarms for 4:30am with hopes to be driving out of the driveway at 5am and getting to Hilton Head at Noon Saturday.

June 29th, alarm goes off and we are up. No problem waking the kids up, I think they were sleeping with one eye open all night. They woke up full of smiles, grabbed their pillows, ran down the stairs, shoveled in their breakfast, went to the bathroom and were in the car buckled ready to go at 4:56am. I finished grabbing last minute things, phone chargers, my pillow, my book (like I would have time to read and relax), my laptop etc. I am in the car and ready at 4:59am. So we are all in the car ready to go, except Jacques. One would think that it wouldn't take long just to get yourself in the car, keep in mind I packed everything the night/day before. All he had to do was remember himself and get in the car.        ( hehe sorry Jacques) Well, last minute he decided that he wanted to bring the fishing equipment. So we all sit in the car while he get's the fishing poles. Of course they need to be tied down on the top of the car, but where are those extra tie downs?? That wasn't so bad but then he forgot where he put the tackle box, so we wait again. . . no it didn't take "that" long but when the kids have been waiting for 98 days and in the car ready to go...the minutes seem like hours..... But finally at 5:11am we are ALL ready and pull out of the driveway..... and in the end it did not affect of ETA, we arrived at noon, right as scheduled.

We are lucky that we got our kids accustomed to road trips early on in life. They are all star road trippers. We made it over 5 hours for our first leg of the trip with out stopping. Made a quick stop for gas, potty break and back in the car. Next leg of the trip we made 3 1/2 hours, fueled up, pulled out their lunches, which I packed the day before, and we are off again.  Point being, we are an efficient road tripping family- We made the 22 hour drive in 27 hours. That includes a 3 1/2 hour sleep break for myself and Jacques. Even though we are awesome road trippers and actually enjoy it we were still so excited to pull into our condo and see the ocean!!

We spent the majority of our trip at the pool and walking the beach looking for treasures, aka starfish, sand dollars, shells, crabs etc. We went crabbing a few times, got a lot on the lines but never was able to net any. Never did do any fishing, after all that last minute packing of the fishing stuff. Oh well.  The kids loved the pool and made leaps and bounds with their swimming skills.  We walked around Caligny Plaza, the shopping/dining/entertainment area on HHI. It was almost too hot to do anything but be in the water so some of our "other activities" were put aside. We enjoyed going out to dinner a few times (5 actually) since we rarely do that at home. Saw a band, magician and went alligator searching. Finding only one alligator in the water about 20 yards from us. Still pretty cool.  The highlight of the trip for Jacques and myself was the dolphin cruise. We took a smaller boat with just 4 other people out for 2 hours in search of dolphins. We saw many dolphins, got a great tour and got a good speed ride at the end. Lucky we had a good captain. He let all the kids take a turn driving the boat. Best quote of the trip came from Tori on the cruise, "I don't' see what the big deal is about these dolphins." The entire boat and the captain all got a good laugh out of it. The kids' highlight was probably meeting new friends (who are now pen pals) and the pool time. The 7 nights, 8 days went by so so fast.

The ride home went as smoothly as the ride there. We actually managed to make better time. Kids were so excited to see the pets and Grandma (who was pet/house/garden sitting).  We unpacked the car, checked the garden and updated Grandma on the trip!

The kids are ready to see where we pick to go next year- We are hoping to take the kids to the Florida Keys but we'll see.... another trip to Hilton Head Island isn't out the running either. Time to plan. And we all know, planning and anticipation can be one of the best parts of the trip!


                                    ~It's My Life~

Where does the time go?

I officially now have a PreK'er, 2nd grader and 3rd grader. Where does the time go? I can not believe how fast the year went by. It is always bittersweet when the school year comes to an end. We were so lucky to have another great school year with great teachers. I am excited for all of our summer activities and trips we have planned but also sad to end my year home with my baby. I feel so thankful that we decided not to send her to preK last fall. This is a year I could never get back and to have one whole school year together was something to cherish... priceless actually.  I embrace my kids getting bigger and growing more independent but I am not going to lie, it makes my heart sad somedays when I realize how fast the years go by. I am trying to enjoy it all and take it all in. (feel free to remind me of this in a week or two when I am partially ready for school to start again, haha)

On to summer though. Kids are excited for summer break. Wylie is in baseball two nights a week and is also starting on a tournament team too this week. Kasey is in soccer and tennis, she likes tennis a lot better. Tori's gymnastics is over and although she wanted to continue through the summer I have convinced her that "taking a break" is good too. We will also be doing swimming lessons.  They have been counting down since Christmas for summer break because this is the summer we are taking a road trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina for a week. We also have my family reunion which comes around every 3 years. Can't believe it is time for another one- where does the time go? We are spending a few weekends at friends cabins as well. So many fun things to look forward too.

It is not all fun and games though-- I have ordered some new books for the kids and we are starting our "summer reading program." Kasey is excited about the reward program, as I call it, Wylie, well he is more worried if it is going to interfere with his playing. I have hopefully convinced him that he will have plenty of time to play this summer.  So together we (kids and myself) decided on the best time to do our reading each day-after lunch. My goal, to persuade Wylie that reading can be fun and to not forget what they have worked so hard to learn.  Life is good when you have a plan and the kids are on board!

Good bye to another school year & hello summer break!

             


                                                              ~It's My Life~

things keeping me up

I lost a lot of sleep in April. No it was not the kids being sick or Jacques snoring after too many beers. We made a big addition to our house, we built a garden. It started off as "trying a small garden box" and grew from there. Jacques and I worked for two straight weekends together to put what we envisioned into a reality. We have talked about doing a garden for three or four years but I always get nervous about actually doing it because I can't even keep flowers alive so why on earth would I attempt to GROW vegetables? So we built a 4*8 raised garden box for our square foot garden of vegetables. Well, then I thought, how can I grow berries, I need a berry box . . . then I learned you can't grow certain vegetables next to other vegetables because they "aren't companions" -- didn't know vegetables had companions. So we built a 2*12 box for popping corn, sunflowers (cause they are pretty) and potatoes. The project kept growing and growing but all in all  we are happy with the result. Now if I can grow some food that would be fantastic. So you are probably wondering where the loss of sleep came in? Well, for one I was so sore a few nights from digging, wheelbarrowing etc that I didn't sleep well but secondly, once I finally planted the seeds it rained like crazy for days/ nights....so I lay awake worrying if my seeds got flooded out. So as I sit in bed on my phone looking at the radar hoping my kids stay asleep so I can finish googling, "too much rain day of planted seeds" & "can seeds get washed away?"                                             

We also had quite the scare a few weeks ago. Wylie was practicing baseball in our driveway and accidentally hit Finley in the head with his aluminum bat.  Wylie may only be 8 but he swings HARD.  Finley instantly was in a lot pain. I again realize I do not respond to emergency situations with calm and ease. *note to self not to go into a profession that needs emergency responses* Anyway, Finley came inside ran up the stairs crying in pain and laid down on her couch. I had a hard time waking her up but finally got her to respond to me. So I thought, this is good she is responding to me and I gave her a handful of food and she ate it. However, as the night went on (she was hit at 7pm) she got much worse. She fells asleep in the living room and at about 10pm when she woke up she could not walk, she couldn't tell who was talking to her or which way to go, her legs wouldn't hold her up, her balance was off and she was screaming in pain. So I called the ER vet and off we go.  They took her out of my car on a stretcher and there I sat in the waiting room for some news on my puppy. Yes, it was actually like a real waiting room. A room with other persons worried about their beloved furry friend. It was a long 2 1/2 hours before they came and gave me a real update. She had a severe brain injury and her brain was swelling. She needed to be up on an iv med and stay there for 12 hours for observation. If she responded to the medicine there was hope for a full recovery. Thankfully, when they called the next morning she did exactly that. She responded to the meds and was improving.  I stayed up all night worried sick about my baby but also worried about Wylie and how he would never forgive himself if something had happened to Finley. Finely came home the next day and was on two different meds. One for pain and the other to keep swelling down. Just one small catch. I had to wake her several times through out the night to check her vision etc. I didn't complain once (well maybe once) because I was so thankful she was okay. I love that dog.  

I may complain sometimes about how much work, money and effort go into these furry friends we love so much but when it came down to it I cried like a baby and was sick with worry over the possibility of losing her. SO thankful she is okay.  They ARE part of our family. *We also learned a good lesson about playing bats on the driveway*

Here is my baby the day she came home. 

So here's to keeping a dog and some fresh produce alive . . . 

~It's My Life

 

True love

This past weekend was Easter weekend and yet our highlight was our one day road trip to visit my Grandma, my kids' great grandma. This particular time we drove 2 1/2 hours to Treasure City, a large store that sells a bunch of crap but the kids always find their greatest "treasures" there, haha. Then we drove 2 more hours to Itasca State Park so the kids could see the start of the Mississippi River. Wylie even walked across the river. Then got back in the car for the last hour to Fosston, Minnesota. We visited and had dinner with Grandma/Great Grandma for 4 hours, packed back in the car and drove 6 hours home. I might also mention, this is one of their favorite things to do, going to see Great Grandma. They absolutely LOVE it, all of it. Got home at 1am and I had already decided we were hanging low for Easter. Just a day together, the 5 of us.

Monday comes and Kasey gets home from school and said, " Ms. Baumann was asking us what our favorite part of Easter was and I told her I forgot it was  Easter but I got to see my great Grandma who is 100." I spent one moment feeling bad that we didn't make a bigger deal of  Easter (we did the egg hunt/basket etc) but then once that moment passed it melted my heart. There is this undeniable love and bond between the kids and Great Grandma. I can't describe it, I wish I could.   As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words.





    FROM OUR HELLOS.....

TO OUR GOOD BYES . ..

These are times I will cherish forever and in the eyes of Wylie, Kasey and Tori the time spent with their great Grandma is priceless. This is true love for their great grandma. I love that they LOVE so much.

ps. A quote I will never forget.

Wylie when he was 4 he said, "Mom I don't even see Great Grandma very much but I love her so much."




~ It's my life

Countdowns

What is almost more exciting than the vacation itself? Answer, the countdown to the vacation.  This is true for kids and adults, I think. So as adults and parents you would think we would know by now not to tell the kids anything too exciting too many days in advance.  This seems so easy to do unless one parent is really impatient. That would be me. Over Christmas break this year we decided to take the kids to the ocean this summer. We found a condo right on the beach in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  We booked it for one week, 7 nights all 5 of us together on the ocean. Jacques and I  talked about wrapping a gift or something to surprise the kids about the trip but then decided we better not tell them so early. The trip is over 6 months away at this point. So Christmas came and went and one day over break I broke down and told them. I know, what was I thinking. Seriously, I am so impatient. I need major work on this topic.  There was a valid reason we decided not to tell them so early, the "how many days til the ocean?" started immediately and has continued steadily since. This is completely my fault and if I am annoyed at their "excitement" I have only me to blame.

The kids recently  decided that they wanted to make a countdown chain so they would know everyday how many days were left. I thought, "yes" this is a great idea. Then they would stop asking me everyday and of course from day to day I can't remember how many days it is so I have to get out the calendar and count.  So away they went making the chain, one kid folding, one kid cutting and one kid putting the chain together until they had 83 links. Yes there are 83 days until we start the 22 hour road trip to our 7 nights at Hilton Head!

After the chain was put together, I decided I would add little saying or writings to the inside of the rings so each day when they ripped on off they would have to check if it said anything. They would be things such as: get beach toys this week, buy new swimsuits this week, get beach umbrella, one day has LAST DAY OF SCHOOL etc. Now I get 83 days of no one asking me, " how many days til the ocean?"  . . . Instead I get, "Mom can you count the rings???"  shoot. I should have written the countdown on the rings . . . lesson learned.




*83 days til our family road trip to Hilton Head 

ps. an update on the NCAA March Madness pool we did (see previous post). Wylie won the $10!

~It's my life

March Madness

This is one of my favorite times of the year when it comes to sports. Brings back so many great memories. The NCAA basketball tournament is the best sporting event of all time, in my opinion. This year Wylie and Kasey both showed interest in basketball and loved it and I loved it.  Wylie is watching college basketball with me, taking stats at high school games and cheering on the teams in the ACC tournament that I wanted to win. "Mom, why do you like UNC?" So I get to tell him more about Michael Jordan and how I admired him since I was a little kid and how he is the best basketball player ever.  Or he asks, "why do you cheer for Duke?" And I get to explain the importance of a good school academically and also the importance of a great coach, a coach for life, not just basketball.

* side note. I know those of you who are reading this and follow basketball are probably going nuts that I like both UNC and Duke. I know. I know. I get it, but I do. *


Tonight was the time to tell the kids, all three of them about March Madness. When in reality only Wylie is listening.  We sit down at the table and I show them the bracket and tell them all I can that three little minds their age will understand. I think of my Dad and how I did this every year with him since I was a little girl. I even won his office pool a few times. Our March Madness challenge this year is for our family, winner takes all . . . . ten bucks!! 

So I fill out my bracket, Jacques fills out his and then I read all the games and fill in the bracket for the kids.  Wylie took the longest, looking at the seed, thinking about which team he has heard about on ESPN, which team mom likes etc...and then finally picks his team and we move to the next game until there is one team left. His final four picks: Kentucky, Michigan State, Syracuse and UNC.

Tori did her picks next.  Oh my gosh, Wylie and I had the giggles so hard listening to her pick her teams. Her final four teams: Lehigh(15), Long Beach State(12), Harvard(12) and Ohio(13).  She picked Lehigh because, "that is a pretty name," Murry State because she was convinced it was, " mermaid state and I like mermaids!" Long Beach state was a top runner because she "loves the beach." Still unsure how Ohio made the final four, I don't see the connection to anything there but she said it so there they be.

Kasey is now ready to make her picks.She goes a super fast barely letting me read both teams.  Her final four is Xavier, Virginia, Texas and Michigan! Not long after deciding her champion, she says, "what is this even for?"

Game on.


~It's My Life

My Girly Girl

When I was pregnant I remember thinking that I would probably be one of those mom's that had all boys. Why? Because, what the heck would I know about raising a girl. Sure, I am one but I am not the most girly of girls. Sure I like to dress up at weddings and wear cute jeans and shirts to concerts but that is about it.  I didn't even wear make up on my wedding day and  it is still questionable whether I know how to put it on . . .

I do have one very girly girl though and sometimes I worry about what might be in store for us.  Tori is ALL girl. Sure she goes through phases where she only wants to wear dresses and skirts, or only pink things but it is way deeper than that.  First off, a lot of examples I can't remember . . .shoot should have kept up with those baby books. But some that come to mind lately have reminded me that I better become more  open minded and also subscribe to Cover Girl and/or Cosmo.

At a high school basketball game this year; Wylie is so focused on the game and keeping statistics. Kasey, well she is our social butterfly saying hi to all her friends, teachers etc that come up the bleachers and is only worried about going to sit with her friends  at the top of the bleachers (of course). And Tori, well let's just say she is totally uninterested in the game and is only wondering about the cheerleaders, that is until the dance team does the halftime show. Then she is all about the "beautiful dancers" and is upset that they don't come back out again.

Tori constantly notices other girls (women's) shoes and accessories and compliments them whether she knows them or not. Hair accessories, scarves, shoes, and purses you name it.  This is a girl who matches her pony holders with her headband and stick on earrings. Worried that she will never play sports I am, of course, excited that she like gymnastics, you got to be athletic to be good at that, right? And it is NOT dance. So that is a plus for me. So the other day I dvr gymnastics on ESPN and we are watching it and I think she is really into it until she says, " momma will you go backwards I want to see that again, I think one of the girls headbands wasn't sparkly like the other girls and it didn't match." WHAT??? that is what you want to look at. Oh brother. Do I rewind it? Of course. And she was right, it didn't match.

We just had my niece's bday party at our house this past weekend so birthday parties were on the kids' brains. They love picking their theme. Wylie knows his alread and he has to wait til next January. Kasey, well she wants a surprise party. Haha. I told her you don't ask for one of those.  And Tori, what does she want . . . . a cheerleader party! Great. All I think, is 4 months to change her mind. Starting NOW.

Another example today, it was not a good day but a day none the less that at the end of the day I sat down and smiled. Tori has the stomach flu for the first time. I sat her on the counter to give her medicine for her high fever and she threw up all over me and herself. So I grabbed her quick and sat her in the bathroom while I grabbed "the bucket." She was still throwing up but she was so worried about my shirt and her "beautiful heart sweater got puke on it," she couldn't focus on getting "it" in the toilet. So just like the other stuff that goes in the toilet that has been a struggle for her to deal because it is "gross"  this was no exception.  "this is so disgusting, momma." When she went to bed tonight she wanted to wear the "pajamas I don't like in case I puke on them. I don't want to puke on my beautiful pajamas!"




~It's My Life

Fears & Togetherness

Fears? We all have them. Some are easy to understand and some you might wonder why on earth am I scared of that. . . It's like dreams- we wake up and wonder, "whoa what do you think that means?" Well, I have started to wonder that about fears. I have always, since I was a kid, had terrible nightmares and am slightly a big wimp when it comes to certain things: storms, being home alone at night, parking garages at night, parking lots at night etc. I think these are normal, or slightly normal fears-perhaps? Ya? No? Either way, this post isn't about me,haha.

Wylie for years has had the same reoccuring nightmare. He dreams of a bear, large bear, that is trying to attack him in his room and he can not get out.  So he can't sleep with his back to open spaces (for those who don't know his room, it is huge so this is a problem for the open spaces thing) and doesn't like sleeping alone. Luckily, I am always able to get Kasey to sleep in his room with him and that helps resolve the issue for the time being. Days and weeks go by and Kasey asks if she can go back to her room to her own bed and Wylie starts crying and Kasey says, "stop dreaming about bears then Wylie and you won't be scared." After a little "chat" we come to a compromise and move Kasey's trundle bed (bed under her bed) into Wylie's room. Kasey is happy and Wylie is happy. 

Months go by with the two of them sleeping together and Tori is fine and still loves going to bed in her overly clean, organized, perfectly situated room.  Until the drive to the Dairy Queen one night.  Tori looks out her window and sees the moon and literally FREAKS out crying hysterically.  It is a crescent moon and the only thing we can hear from Tori while crying, "the moon is so scary, it's smiling at me and keeps following me!" 

Kasey ( keep in mind never being scared of the moon before) says, " OH YEAH, Tori that moon is freaky!" Both Jacques and I almost simultaneaously yell, "KASEY!" From this moment on, we need to check on moon shape and location each night before bed.  And yes, now she is scared of her window in her room and sleeps in Wylie's room too, on the couch.  After a few weeks go by, we make it as a bed, sheets, real pillows, comforter the whole thing, she is there to stay a while.  

Kasey and Tori are on one side of Wylie's room and Wylie is on the other in his bed. You think we would all be happy right, well no, now the girls are on the other side of the room and Wylie is by himself . . . gosh, Mom what was I thinking. So we pull the mattress off his bed and pull it to the other side of the room, under the window between Kasey's twin trundle bed and the couch Tori is sleeping on. They are all happy and loving this time together at night and SLEEPING ALL NIGHT LONG nightmare free. Oh and still going to bed on time!! Nothing is worse than going to bed scared~ so glad they are they to comfort each other!! 

Kasey in the left corner.          Wylie (below) in the middle under window       Tori (way below) opp side

Love these kids to the moon (haha) and back! 

 ~It's My Life

My Persuasive speech

It's spring 1998 and I am about to give my first speech in college. A 30 minute persuasive speech to the class. I  was beyond nervous about the idea of speaking for 30 minutes about anything let a loan a speech to try to persuade my professor and classmates. I knew it had to be something that I was passionate about that I could speak mostly from the heart but with facts backing me up. My speech was: Why children should be involved in sports.

This was an easy speech to prepare for and there are so many facts statistically about the benefits of athletics to prove this to be a piece of cake. Benefits far greater than "it's just good for your health." I prepared well, presented it well and it was received well from my classmates, who had to fill out a survey on my persuasiveness. My professor, however, gave me a C. I was so upset and went to talk to him about it and all he said to me was, " I personally don't believe in the importance of sports growing up."

Why is this coming up now? Because this week has been a week of registering my kids for spring and summer activities. I look at my calendar figuring which kid can do which sports camp when and if I can make it from dropping kid A off and get kid B to their "thing" on time. Trying to figure out how to fit in our camping trip, our summer trip, family reunion etc. All of this and they are 8,6 and 4 years old. I have officially started to analyze my life as a VERY involved kid and it's importance. But my feelings of a Mom have set in.  I don't want to spend every night running them to different sports, not having dinner together and the three of them not spending quality time together. I am not ready to give up our family trips we plan every year and our camping trips that have brought us so many memories. For those of you who think, "you can still do all of that." Of course we can but I believe once you commit to a team, you show up. That's part of being part of a team and teaching commitment. I specifically remember my last summer of camping and going to Michigan to visit my cousins with my family, I was 8. I wish I had more of those summers with my family looking back now.

 Sports were so important, gave me something to work towards, goals to achieve, kept me focused, made me work harder at school, made me determined, helped make me make good decisions, stayed true to good morals, made good choices, had good friends all because sports were so important to me I was not willing to sacrifice my success to a poor choice in judgement. It had a HUGE impact on  who I am today. And I like who I am today.

 But as I sit here, sports are such a little part of my life now and life is good and as much I as love them I am not sure I am ready to give up my kids, my family time, my kids time together to sports. Do sports have to be everything, no. But they do consume a lot of your time, and then multiply it by 3 kids. So what do I do? Did I sign them up?  Of course I did because even though my heart is sad that this time we spend together every night will eventually have new meaning, I know there is nothing better than to give my kids the opportunity to succeed at something they love.  As much as I want our family time, our family camping trips, our summer trips to last forever I know that the new chapter of our life with them will give them great joy and give them something so important, teach them so many lessons that they can carry with them the rest of their life. ( insert tears)

So yes Wylie, I signed you up for spring baseball, summer baseball camp, summer bball camp, and a baseball training camp.  And Kasey you will get to do tennis lessons, basketball camp, soccer and  your art camp. And Tori, of course I will let you keep "playing" gymnastics because you love it so much.  Mom and Dad will sit there so proud of you as you find your passion.  (Well maybe we won't be sitting together because we will be too busy going back and forth but you get my point.)



~It's My Life~

New Year. New Blog.

New year, new blog & new title.

 Wondering where the titles comes from? There is more too it than you might think. 

JBJ- Jacques & JoLynn Baumer, how obvious is that. Well . . . it could also coincidentally be the initials of my all time favorite musician, Jon Bon Jovi.  It's my life because well, THIS IS MY LIFE.  And. . . .it could also be the title to my all time favorite song by mister Jon Bon Jovi. It was plain as day to me that there could be no other title.

A few weeks back we are shopping for a new pair of shoes for Wylie at Dick's Sporting Goods.  All three kids along on a busy day so it is loud as usual in the store. All of a sudden Wylie says, " guys (me, Kasey and Tori) be quiet!" And in unison Kasey and Tori scream, "It's Bon Jovi Mom!"

Love them & my life