tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63171012024-03-05T05:13:29.135-08:00Pez BlahgThe blah-blah life of a stay at home mom and wife.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2031125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-71398048384609828132017-02-04T11:34:00.001-08:002017-02-04T11:34:14.918-08:00Two thousand and seventeen has been ok. I am trying to be more positive about things since 2016 sucked so much. However, given the political climate, it is easy to be disheartened. I do march in the Womxn's March in Seattle on January 21, 2017 to march for peace and love. I know some were protesting the President but that is not while I was there. Carried a sign saying "we are all one" and a second sign that said "seriously?". So many pro-science people and a LOT of Republicans how cannot believe the circus that is happening.<br /><br />Anyway, life is good for us right now. Jax seems to be less stressed about eating. Academically he did awesome in his first semester at university. He now has a 10 hour/week job making videos for the university's news service and he seems to be doing well with his food issues (anxiety) surrounding the dining hall. Dex is working hard in his junior year. He is doing SAT prep classes so he is pretty busy with that and his training (track season starts soon). He did drop French after the first semester because he was overwhelmed with homework and that is the class that made the most sense to drop. Cars is captain of his hockey team this year. He is having a spectacular year in hockey! He has also gotten serious about school and is doing well in his classes, rarely misses turning in assignments and he interested in math and science. Hurray!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-60127455143631751182016-12-28T00:12:00.000-08:002016-12-28T00:12:14.700-08:00Christmas has come and gone. We are just days away from the end of 2016 and I can say GOOD RIDDANCE to it. It was not a fun year and we had some sadness, some heartache and a lot of little shitty things happen. My MIL passed away, Jax had that allergic reaction and is now suffering the consequences of that (high anxiety). My identity was stolen and a MasterCard was opened in my name. Now I will have to place a freeze on my credit which will be PITA every time I need to apply for credit.<br />
<br />
Mid-year I had a root canal which turned out to be a fractured root so an aborted root canal lead to an extraction and dental implant (still an ongoing process).<br /><br />The daughter of a good friend was diagnosed with leukemia. While she has "won the lottery of cancers" according to her doctors, treatment still has not been easy for her or her family. Six months down and two years to go.<br /><br />A very good friend of mine was diagnosed with some uber rare form of breast cancer. She has had a mastectomy and is still awaiting word to find out if her insurance will cover the cost of the treatment and genetic testing.<br />
<br />
My FIL is feeling lost without my MIL. I think it is so very sad that he put up no Christmas decorations. I know he was not feeling it but it breaks my heart a little.<br />
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The list of celebrities who have passed away this year has also been shocking. Maybe it is that most of them are all of a certain age but so many seemed to have passed prematurely. The ones that hurt me the most were Prince, Alan Thicke (I know you are thinking WTF?) and Carrie Fisher.<br />
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I have not been able to keep up with regular exercise or diet and it really has affected my mood. Or maybe it is (peri?)menopause? Whatever the reason, I am grumpy and have no patience for people. I have unfriended dozens of people from Facebook for infractions such as me believing they owe me an apology, to their politics (sorry but I do not believe that Trump's business "acumen" is just what we need in the White House), to people slighting other friends.<br /><br />Let's hope that the remaining days of 2016 are not completely awful and pray, hope and wish that 2017 will not be nearly as bad as we fear.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-63768005809071638502016-12-07T15:34:00.001-08:002016-12-07T15:34:20.381-08:00Jax called me this morning to tell me that he thought he was having an allergic reaction and he was at the hospital. It seems it was not an allergic reaction but an anxiety attack. He told me that he had been struggling with eating from the dining hall since his reaction in October. When he called he was in the waiting room. Clearly they did not think he was having an allergic reaction because he had been waiting for over an hour. He was much calmer, had NOT taken epinephrine and had decided it was probably just anxiety. <br /><br />He hasn't been sleeping much and yesterday was his big project where he was producer on a live TV show that the school of broadcasting put on (he did an awesome job). However, he stayed up very late to finish some work that he got behind in in the days leading up to the show and then he had a big cup of coffee (he rarely drinks it) and then started questioning whether the food he ate may have had peanuts in it or not. So the lack of sleep and the caffeine heightened his anxiety.<br /><br />So after that hour and still siitng in the ER waiting room, he told them he was leaving and headed to the school's health and counseling office and was checked out by a nurse who said he was physically fine but she helped him make an appointment to see a counselor and a nutritionist. He also mentioned that he is not going to eat in the dining hall for a few days until he is less worried. He will go to the grocery store and pick up some food. I hope he remembers to get some protein! He is good about eating enough veggies and fruit.<br /><br />I am so worried about him. Thankfully he will be home in just over a week and he has a month off school. Also, he has an appointment with the allergist scheduled for the week after he gets home just to talk to her and see if he needs to get additional Rx to maybe carry some prednisone around with him if it happens again.<br /><br />He had some (a lot!) of anxiety around his allergy when he was 9, which is the age when children realize that death is real and permanent. He had stopped eating outside of the house and lost a lot of weight. I took him to counseling for a year where he learned some great techniques to calm himself down. To this day I know he uses those techniques but this is different since it stemmed from a REAL reaction. I am so worried about him!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-39558937044339494132016-11-17T23:04:00.001-08:002016-11-17T23:04:19.465-08:00Overwhelming sadness has enveloped me. I am sad about the election. I mean of course I did not want Trump to win but the vile discourse that plagued the whole process and the promise to build a wall and do something about Muslims makes me feel so disheartened. I did go to a peaceful "assembly" on Saturday and I made a sign that read " In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends" MLK Jr. It was just a small thing but it was good to be in the company of others who want people to love their neighbours and not kick them out of the country.<br /><br />Last week I had a call back on my mammogram, which lead to additional pictures and an ultrasound. The radiologist said "well looks like nothing but come back in 6 months" then I received the letter that stated that it is is "probably benign" has not filled me with a lot of confidence. Especially after hearing word today that a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. A very aggressive form of breast cancer. That fucking sucks!<br />
<br />
Maybe I just need to keep these words in mind...<br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. Desmond Tutu</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-22115239817079085592016-10-26T17:28:00.001-07:002016-10-26T17:28:05.514-07:00I am in a ROTTEN mood today. Not sure what is going on but watch out! My kids got the brunt of it today when the toilet got clogged. Our "uncloggable" toilet. This is probably the 10th or 12th time is has clogged since it was installed during the bathroom remodel 3 years ago (or was it 4?). In any event, it got clogged and I got blamed for buying the wrong toilet paper. Uh-oh. Not a good day to blame me for something that I did not do. I probably owe them an apology for my choice language but I am not there yet. In fact, I am cooking dinner and as soon as it is ready I am out.the.door. I think I might go to the gym or out shopping. We'll see how much worse the mood gets in the next 30 minutes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-28729269170529123072016-10-15T12:50:00.004-07:002017-02-04T11:34:50.453-08:00<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="dchtm" data-offset-key="44d5t-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="44d5t-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Well, it finally happened. Jax had an allergic reaction to peanuts last night, while 270 miles away at university. He did not (yes, you read that right, did NOT) use his EpiPen because he did not initially realize that it was an allergic reaction and then he thought might not be ~that~ bad. So he took Benadryl and waited but it got worse so he had a friend drive him to the ER. Once there, he said he was having an allergic reaction to peanuts and they took him in straight away. His symptoms started with an itch throat a sore stomach. Then a cough and pressure in his ears. By the time he arrived at the ER his face is beet read and he had hives on his face.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They admonished him for not using his EpiPen. He was given epinephrine, a steroid, Benadryl and pepcid and he stayed for observation for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, in the middle of the night, he had a biphasic reaction and he called me at 4:30AM and asked what he should do! OMG! I told him EPIPEN then 911. He told me he was going to try to wake someone up to get a ride. I wanted to reach through the phone and grab him by the throat. Anyway, he did end up calling 911 then using the EpiPen (wrong order!!) and his roommate waited outside with him until the ambulance arrived. Again, he was treated with antihistamines and released after a couple of hours. He has to fill 3 Rx for steroids and the antihistamines.</span><br />
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d3hd8-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, he thinks he reacted to either corn bread or the dressing on a shrimp salad from the dining hall at the school. His plan is the meet with the chef to find out if there would have been any chance of cross contamination. He has an app from the school that lists all ingredients of all of the food and thus far (7 weeks) he has been eaten everything else safely. Oh not! What if it is a new allergy to shrimp? Hmmm... **edited to add on 10/161/6 that he found out the salad had peanut oil in it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, I just cannot believe that it happened yet I knew it was bound to happen sometime. I am so happy that he is ok and pray that he never has another reaction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lots of to-do's now to be done (transfer his EpiPen Rx to a national pharmacy so he can refill it, contact the university's health and counseling services to let them know what happened, contact the chef at the dining hall to determine what he reacted to, review his emergency plan and most of all, always use the EpiPen first).</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-59615394027465692452016-10-15T12:50:00.003-07:002016-10-16T14:25:38.741-07:00<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="dchtm" data-offset-key="44d5t-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="44d5t-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="44d5t-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Well, it finally happened. Jax had an allergic reaction to peanuts last night, while 270 miles away at university. He did not (yes, you read that right, did NOT) use his EpiPen because he did not initially realize that it was an allergic reaction and then he thought might not be ~that~ bad. So he took Benadryl and waited but it got worse so he had a friend drive him to the ER. Once there, he said he was having an allergic reaction to peanuts and they took him in straight away. His symptoms started with an itch throat a sore stomach. Then a cough and pressure in his ears. By the time he arrived at the ER his face is beet read and he had hives on his face.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They admonished him for not using his EpiPen. He was given epinephrine, a steroid, Benadryl and pepcid and he stayed for observation for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, in the middle of the night, he had a biphasic reaction and he called me at 4:30AM and asked what he should do! OMG! I told him EPIPEN then 911. He told me he was going to try to wake someone up to get a ride. I wanted to reach through the phone and grab him by the throat. Anyway, he did end up calling 911 then using the EpiPen (wrong order!!) and his roommate waited outside with him until the ambulance arrived. Again, he was treated with antihistamines and released after a couple of hours. He has to fill 3 Rx for steroids and the antihistamines.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="dchtm" data-offset-key="d3hd8-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d3hd8-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, he thinks he reacted to either corn bread or the dressing on a shrimp salad from the dining hall at the school. His plan is the meet with the chef to find out if there would have been any chance of cross contamination. He has an app from the school that lists all ingredients of all of the food and thus far (7 weeks) he has been eaten everything else safely. Oh not! What if it is a new allergy to shrimp? Hmmm... **edited to add on 10/161/6 that he found out the salad had peanut oil in it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, I just cannot believe that it happened yet I knew it was bound to happen sometime. I am so happy that he is ok and pray that he never has another reaction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lots of to-do's now to be done (transfer his EpiPen Rx to a national pharmacy so he can refill it, contact the university's health and counseling services to let them know what happened, contact the chef at the dining hall to determine what he reacted to, review his emergency plan and most of all, always use the EpiPen first).</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-37297353771303327062016-10-15T12:50:00.002-07:002016-10-15T12:52:47.437-07:00<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="dchtm" data-offset-key="44d5t-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="44d5t-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="44d5t-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Well, it finally happened. Jax had an allergic reaction to peanuts last night, while 270 miles away at university. He did not (yes, you read that right, did NOT) use his EpiPen because he did not initially realize that it was an allergic reaction and then he thought might not be ~that~ bad. So he took Benadryl and waited but it got worse so he had a friend drive him to the ER. Once there, he said he was having an allergic reaction to peanuts and they took him in straight away. His symptoms started with an itch throat a sore stomach. Then a cough and pressure in his ears. By the time he arrived at the ER his face is beet read and he had hives on his face.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They admonished him for not using his EpiPen. He was given epinephrine, a steroid, Benadryl and pepcid and he stayed for observation for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, in the middle of the night, he had a biphasic reaction and he called me at 4:30AM and asked what he should do! OMG! I told him EPIPEN then 911. He told me he was going to try to wake someone up to get a ride. I wanted to reach through the phone and grab him by the throat. Anyway, he did end up calling 911 then using the EpiPen (wrong order!!) and his roommate waited outside with him until the ambulance arrived. Again, he was treated with antihistamines and released after a couple of hours. He has to fill 3 Rx for steroids and the antihistamines.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="dchtm" data-offset-key="d3hd8-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d3hd8-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, he thinks he reacted to either corn bread or the dressing on a shrimp salad from the dining hall at the school. His plan is the meet with the chef to find out if there would have been any chance of cross contamination. He has an app from the school that lists all ingredients of all of the food and thus far (7 weeks) he has been eaten everything else safely. Oh not! What if it is a new allergy to shrimp? Hmmm...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, I just cannot believe that it happened yet I knew it was bound to happen sometime. I am so happy that he is ok and pray that he never has another reaction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lots of to-do's now to be done (transfer his EpiPen Rx to a national pharmacy so he can refill it, contact the university's health and counseling services to let them know what happened, contact the chef at the dining hall to determine what he reacted to, review his emergency plan and most of all, always use the EpiPen first).</span></div>
</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-1276056968177381942016-10-08T12:45:00.000-07:002016-10-15T12:45:47.772-07:00My mother-in-law passed away on October 2nd. We knew it was coming. She had cancer that was spreading and no chemo was keeping it in check. She still passed away sooner than expected and it is always hard, no matter if you know it is coming or not.<br /><br />Here is her obituary:<br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #524439; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Peacefully at home on Sunday, October 2, 2016 in her 78th year. Mary, beloved wife of Gerry for 54 years. Loving mother of son M and his wife M, son S and his wife Pez, and son G and his wife T. Cherished grandmother to L, S, Jax, Dex, Cars, A, and V. Daughter of the late Frank and Agatha Pocisk. Dear sister to A. Predeceased by her twin J and siblings F and E. Aunt to E, E, B, P, J, A-Marie, and M. Mary will be sadly missed by family and many friends from her years of teaching, service, faith, and travel. With passion and enthusiasm, Mary inspired friendships that lasted over 50 years. Mary loved teaching as much as she loved learning. She cooked from scratch to celebrate family and friends with food and libations. She read voraciously and coached her students to develop self-confidence through books. Devoted to her faith, she turned compassion into service her whole life. She practiced humility but took pride in her family. Mary took bridge seriously and played it loudly. She traveled, enjoyed bread and cheese on the Champ-Elysees, pasta in Rome, sampled spices in Turkey and partook Pina Colada in Hawaii. She was a joy to family, friends, and everyone she met. Visitation</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #524439; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15px;"> at the FUNERAL HOME, on Wednesday October 5, 2016 from 3-5 & 7-9pm. Funeral Mass on Thursday morning at 10:00am in St. Catholic Church. Interment Cemetery. Reception to follow at the funeral home after the burial.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-64492673965715274342016-08-22T15:50:00.002-07:002016-08-22T15:50:23.210-07:00Home from our holidays at the Oregon Coast. Great weather - no rain and not nearly as cold as usual. One bummer was that Spy and I were lectured by a park ranger for climbing past the fence to hike out on the cape. It is not against the law per se but in the past few months many teenagers have died or had to be rescued by doing dumb stuff so they are really discouraging people from hiking past the fence. Anyway, the park ranger told us, as we returned from our hike, that we were setting bad examples for the teens and young people around. It was kind of funny, especially if you knew what a scaredy cat I am and how I never, ever climb anywhere that is anywhere close to dangerous or go close to a cliff edge. So, we will abide by the park ranger's request and no longer hike out that way. It is too bad because it is so gorgeous out there!<br />
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R.I.P. Hiking Cape KiwandaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-374691618500684912016-08-06T21:33:00.000-07:002016-08-06T21:33:20.480-07:00My baby turned 13 yesterday. I am the mom to all teenagers now. They are all so grown up!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-55803122770640706232016-07-09T19:36:00.002-07:002016-07-09T19:36:23.455-07:00We returned home this week from a 12 day visit to Toronto and Chicago. We went to Chicago for my niece's wedding and we made the trip to Toronto to see my mom and my MIL. Originally I thought I would be flying with my mom to Chicago for the wedding but then my mom asked another one of my niece's to take her. In the end, my mom was too medically fragile and confused to travel at all. She was upset but I think also relieved that she did not go.<br /><br />My MIL told us while we were there that she was considering ending her chemo treatments since they make her very ill and chemo is not curing her, only keeping her alive. When it was time to say goodbye, it was very hard because we knew it was for the last time. It was so devastating seeing that realization on my children's faces too.<br />
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The wedding was lovely and it was so nice to see the family who was able to travel to Chicago. However, 12 days away was too long. Glad to be home.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-76677056792426750222016-05-29T17:47:00.003-07:002016-05-29T17:47:50.922-07:00Toothless wonder...The tooth saga continues. I had a consultation with the endodontist and scheduled the root canal for Thursday of this past week. He did say there was a slight chance that the root was fractured but he would not be able to tell until he "got in there". So, 4 needles to numb my mouth and lots of drilling later, I heard him say "Dr. E" and I panicked because I *know* that Dr. E is an oral surgeon (some of my friends have sent their kids to Dr. E for wisdom teeth removal. Then the endodontist stopped and told me that my tooth root was fractured on both sides (distal and lingual) so he was stopping the procedure and referring me to the oral surgeon to have my tooth extracted. WTactualF!<br />
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I was stunned and shocked. Only *really* old people lose their teeth. Ok, really I know this is not the case but that is all I could think at the time. Old people who do not take care of their teeth! Yes, I have a lot of fillings but that is because I have weak tooth enamel. I brush my teeth religiously! The cavities that I have had have always been on the chewing surfaces, not between my teeth so it is not a flossing issue. I guess I should have been more diligent about wearing my night guard since I clench my teeth hard at night. Would that have prevented this one from fracturing?!<br />
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So, he put a temporary filling in and sent me (conveniently) across the hall to the oral surgeon's office. I could not get an appointment until June 6 - 11 days from Thursday and here I was, with a temporary filling that had a 2 week lifespan! And the June 6 appointment is only a CONSULTATION! I asked to be put on a cancellation list and fortunately they called me back the next day so now I get to go in on Tuesday for my consultation.<br /><br />And of course there is the vanity factor too. I will have a f*cking HOLE in my smile. Yes, a hole! Yes, it is near the back but it will still be visible when I smile. It seems that implants are the standard treatment for this but they are a h*ll of a lot of money. In the meantime, I will have a hole in my smile while we go back home on vacation. OMG, I will have a hole in my smile.<br />
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The good news is that I hope to lose a pound or two (or 10) while all this goes on because my mouth still hurts (apparently the ligaments around the tooth is what is hurting, not the nerve since he killed it). It hurts to chew most foods. Thankfully, I can suck on chocolate.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-40872225974228276682016-05-11T08:02:00.000-07:002016-05-11T08:02:00.508-07:00Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happenedI went to a new dentist yesterday. I changed dentists because the dentist I had been seeing for 17 years brought in another dentist to help out and I cannot stand the guy and for the past several visits, he is the only dentist available.<br /><br />Anyway, yesterday was a new patient visit for me where they reviewed my previous records and x-rays, looked at my teeth, took photos, and asked if I were having any problems. I had been experiencing some cold sensitivity on one tooth. Looks like the tooth is cracking (I *should* be wearing my night guard for clenching) so he said I would need a crown (no surprise, the other dentist had been trying to "sell" me on that for a while - even before I started having problems but just to replace the amalgam filling with a porcelain filling or full crown. However, after further investigation, he thinks I might need a root canal first so I have been referred to an endodontist.<br /><br />I left the office and by the time I got to my car, I was in tears! Off all of the problems I have had since turning 50 (chronic pain from hip bursitis and arthritis, thyroid nodules with recommendation of having my remaining thyroid removed, acid reflux, etc), this problem with my teeth make me feel the OLDEST! Or maybe it was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I sat in my car and sobbed! Maybe I need to add emotional instability to the litany of old age problems?!<br />
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The only bright spot in all of this is that I am genetically pre-disposed to NOT have plaque build-up on my teeth so despite my infrequent flossing, my gums are healthy...for my age.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-12725150189393187452016-04-15T13:14:00.001-07:002016-04-15T13:14:18.400-07:00My Baby is 18!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jax turned 18 yesterday. I have so many mixed feelings about it. I am sad that he will be gone from home soon. I am proud that he is a fine young man. I am happy that he survived to adulthood (how many times over the years, especially the early years was I sure that he was going to die from his peanut allergy?!). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since it is his first birthday as an adult (and last birthday spent at "home"), I wanted to make sure it was special. I went to the party store to buy a #18 candle but t<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.32px;">he lady at the party store talked me into buying this musical blooming candle instead. She said it was very impressive. She said I should be sure to light it in front of Jax so he'd get the full experience of the the centre lighting the other candles as it "bloomed".</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ok, as you can see, there are FLAMES shooting out of the centre, not a candle. Jax ha<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">d to lean back to stop from getting burned. The candle also rotated around and played "Happy Birthady". So he blew out the candles but the thing kept rotating and playing Happy Birthday. I took it off the cake (Oreo pie actually) and the spring broke so it stopped rotating but kept playing Happy Birthday. We pulled it apart to get it to stop but on and on it played. DH pulled the electronics out of it and yet it played on! Finally, we had to rip the battery of out it to make it stop! OMG!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, if the lady at the party store in Redmond tries to talk you into this candle, beware!</span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-71909488976216840222016-03-28T16:09:00.002-07:002016-03-28T16:09:53.899-07:00Miss Me?Dear Reader (J), thanks for leaving a comment and asking for an update. I appreciate that you asked and are out there.<br /><br />We had a really, really busy hockey season this year. Cars' team had so many away games the last few weeks so it seems that we were rarely home on the weekend, neglecting Jax and Dex! Anyway, it finally finished two weekends ago but now we have him on a Spring team that will practice in April and May and go to a tournament near the end of May. I did enjoy the season because I saw a lot more of Spy than in the past because her youngest was also on the same team. Cars had a great year and really enjoyed playing - more so than any other year.<br /><br />Jax starts High School hockey shortly. One or two games/week and no practices. Easy peasy!<br /><br />Dex did conditioning through the winter and Track season started two weeks ago. He is running longer sprints (400m) and is doing very well. He loves being part of something bigger than himself and he won the cross country "most spirited" award at the end of the cross country season in November. If there is a similar award for track, he may win that too!<br /><br />Jax has been accepted at 6 universities. Two gave him no money at all and are both out of state so he has crossed those off of his list. Well, he was actually eligible for a "legacy" scholarship of $1250/semester at one of them (dh went there for his masters) but that barely touched the out of state fees. So this coming weekend, Jax and I are off to one of the remaining 3 universities for a weekend of activies to see if that is where he wants to go. He is definitely leaning hard that way. He did get a scholarship at that place but it is still a bit pricier than a state school however, he was accepted directly into the program that he wants to study whereas he cannot apply to the program at the state school until after his first year. So being in the program is very attractive to him (understandably). Anyway, he has to commit to a school by May 1st so he just has a few short weeks to decide.<br />
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My mom is doing remarkably better than she was. The week she moved into the nursing home, they put her on an anti-psychotic medication and within a couple of weeks she stopped sounding so crazy and paranoid that people were out to steal her "essence" and frame her for crimes. She is mostly back to her normal self which is really wonderful. She is still blind, of course, and it makes me so sad that she is living in the nursing home and cannot see. She still has her opinions though and told me the other day that my hair "looked like crap when it was long and grey". I reminded her that it was long and grey now and she told me that it was different now (different because I do get a few blond highlights in it to try to blend the grey).<br /><br />We will be going to TO to see my mom, and my MIL. My MIL's cancer returned and chemo has not stopped it from spreading although it did stop what was there from getting bigger. Cancer is in her stomach, liver, kidneys, everywhere. She tried to get into an experimental treatment but found out last week that she was not accepted. So she will probably try another chemo drug as they look for another test for her. I feel so badly for her. And for DH. He is pretty mum about the whole thing but I know he is shaken up. Cancer sucks!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-2859471328342598262015-12-28T22:40:00.003-08:002015-12-28T22:40:38.212-08:00HiRemember me?<br /><br />I think this is the longest I have ever gone without posting. Clearly I have lost interest in my blahg after all of these years.<br />
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Anyway, quick updates on everyone...<br />
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We took a vacation to Hawaii in August and it was wonderful! We went to Oahu for a couple of days because I wanted to boys to see Pearl Harbor (and I wanted to see it as well). Jax and Dex went parasailing and Cars and I SUP'd all though it was really, really hard to stand up on the ocean so I did it from my knees. Then we flew to Maui and stayed at a posh resort and did a lot of very fun things like seeing the sunrise over Haleakala then rode mountain bikes down the mountain. That was so fun! Stephen took Dex and Jax zip-lining the next day while Cars and I rested by the pool. Lots of boogie boarding and body surfing. It was a really good time.<br /><br />A couple of days after returning home, I flew to Toronto to help my brother, Wally, clear out my mom's assisted living apartment and go through some of her things. I spent a lot of time with my mom and she was acting strange but a bit better because she was put on an anti-psychotic medication. She was sure everyone at the nursing home was trying to steal her "essence" and trying to poison her. Now, 4 months later, she is much more with it, less suspicious. She is at home there although it is still really sad to me that she had to move into a nursing home. I cried so much on Christmas when I talked to her because she awoke and was just waiting around until Wally came in the early afternoon to take her to her sister's house. My poor mom.<br />
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Jax is a senior this school year and spent a lot of time and effort applying to college. He has so far been accepted to a few universities and no rejections so far. He has received scholarship offers ranging from $2k-$9800/year which is awesome (although that $9800 is for a private university and still pricey). He is spending a lot of time with friends playing music and making videos. I am so proud of him!<br /><br />Dex did cross country this fall at school and really improved his running skills and made some great friends. At the end of season banquet when he received his letter for participation, he also received a "Student Scholar" award for maintaining a minimum 3.5 GPA throughout the sport season and he also won the "Most Spirited" award. He is a good kid and very kind and considerate to others (except for to Cars, who drives him nuts!).<br />
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Cars made a rep team for hockey this year and is doing well, Not sure if it is just that he is more interested in hockey this year or just more playing time, but his skills have greatly improved and he is probably the 3rd highest scorer on the team. He is also the tallest! This kid is going to be a giant. We had to buy him new shoes in August, October and December because he kept outgrowing his shoes! He got a new hockey stick at the beginning of the season (September) and a new one for Christmas because that on is already too small. He is taller than I am and I won't be surprised if he ends up 6'3" or taller. He is struggling a bit with school but is doing so much better than last year. Moving into middle school was a challenge for him (academically and socially - he was in the middle of all of the drama!) but this year he is hanging out with new friends and spends a lot of time biking and and making customized Lego Minifigs.<br />
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DH and I had a really rough patch. Things had been tense between us for a while then a big fight (on our anniversary) led me to think that we might not make it. We did not talk much for a few weeks but have worked a few things out. I know much of the stress for both of us have been over our aging and ailing parents (my mom and also my MIL who has been going through chemo again since her cancer is back). I still think we need to go to counseling but he is reluctant. Life is busy and it is so easy to not find the time to do that. Hoping to bring it up again in the new year.<br /><br />So, that is my update. I cannot promise I will blahg more but I am not ready to completely stop. For now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-6105825520952354202015-08-07T23:56:00.002-07:002015-08-07T23:56:42.990-07:00My mom moved into a nursing home a few days ago. I am glad she will have more care but I am still not sure how she will do. She has been finally diagnosed with dementia by a psychiatrist who will put her on some anti-psychotic meds. I don't have a lot of hope for the meds and recently read a news article that too many nursing home residents in Ontario were on these types of meds.<br />
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It is just a sad situation all around. My poor mom.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-76563942909369900982015-07-10T21:33:00.001-07:002015-07-10T21:33:59.837-07:00I was delighted to get some feedback from the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6317101#editor/target=post;postID=8689156849637764756;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=2;src=postname" target="_blank">message I sent to Mrs. Read</a> for her 80th birthday:<br />
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From her daughter, Sam, who is my age (almost literally - we were born 10 days apart) and we were very close friends forever:<br />
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June 13:<br /><br />
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ok....this is me
bawling my eyes out! That is such a beautiful tribute to my mom and I know it
will mean the world to her! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You know that we feel
the same for your parents and your family and the history we share! I LOVED
when it was your birthday and there was that familiar fun banter among you and
your siblings that felt like xmas to me. We love your family so dearly and there
are so many times in a day that I think of you and your dad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thank you for taking
the time to share these memories. Love you Deni Doll.......i want to call you
that all of the time and well....i try to hold back cause it might not be your
favourite but my mom often refers to you that way and she sings when she says
it because she loves you and your family as though you are her own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There won't be a dry
eye in the place!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Xoxo<br /><br />A text from her youngest daughter who lives in Seattle - so close to me but sadly, we rarely see each other:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hi Deni! I just read what you wrote for my mom on her birthday. So teary! It was very beautiful! Thank you so much. I know she was very moved as was my dad. Sam said there were few dry eyes. Such a beautiful tribute!!<br /><br />From her eldest son:<br /></span>Please send my note of love and thankfulness for the Fauberts to Mrs Faubs and "Dennie".<br />Denine or Dennie as I ever called you. Thank you for the wonderful and kind words sent on moms 80th. Loved the photo of you and your Mom.<br />I know that all the sharing and caring we did as families were our earliest training grounds for all lifes lessons. Times spent together and together within the togetherness was incredible. Things Marc and I would do trips travelling the subway to every stop imaginable and down to the maple leaf gardens as kids for open practice; grass fires; tree carving; fort building; model building and destroying; army men playing and burning; sand pit playing; broken bubble gum machine free gum chewing and some less than flattering remarks for construction workers and parks staff were not our finest moments.<br />Trips to Ottawa were especially memorable for no other reason than we got together after a period apart.<br />Seeing you all as grown ups however infrequently at Christmas has also been a blast.<br />Thanks for the memories one and all.<br /><br />And from Mrs. Read herself:<br /><br />Dear Denine,thankyou so much for your wonderful email message, we had a wonderful family party at Sandra and John's for my birthday. Sandra read out your message until she could not see for tears, and had to pass it on to my nephew to finish, I was in tears so i could not have finished it, I think it was so kind of you, and i will treasure it always. The whole family appreciated your memories and thoughtfulness Denine, love you dear. Sue and I went to see your mom today but just had a few minutes as EV had just come to picked her up to take her home , for Matts birthday party. happy summer holidays to the boys! love Fread<br /><br />---------------<br /><br />We do not tell people enough how much they mean to us. I am going to make it my goal to tell people more often just how much they mean to me, what an influence they had on me and most of all, how much I love them.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-46041820925771041972015-07-05T10:00:00.001-07:002015-07-05T10:00:53.107-07:00Yesterday we went to a friend's house for the 4th of July (for the first time in about 10 year we did not have a party ourselves. I just did not have it in me to put one on for so many people). Anyway, my friend's MIL was there. I have met her several times over the past 15 years but it had been a few years since I had last seen her. She kept going on and on about how much weight I had lost. I really don't weight a lot less than I did the last time I saw her - maybe 5 pounds and only 10 pounds less than my heaviest since I met her. Makes me wonder just how fat she thought I was.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-86891568496377647562015-06-28T21:58:00.001-07:002015-06-28T21:58:21.032-07:00
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This weekend was the 80th birthday of the lady who lived up the street from us. Her daughter asked me to write a note to her to share at her birthday and this is what I came up with but really it does not even really touch my feelings:<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dear Mrs. Read,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You have always been in my life. I really do not have a
memory from my childhood that was before you were there. You were always Fread
(Michael's name for you). I always love to hear that story where you were
babysitting and he kept saying "Fread, go home! Fread, go home!" then
"Fread, you still there?!". <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mrs. Read, you were there when I hit Michael with a belt
(the buckle end) and sliced his head open. You were there the time I came home
from school and the doors were wide open and the house was cold and no one
answered when I called out. I ran up the street to your house and you braved our
house to find Marc asleep (passed out!) downstairs. You were there every day
when I went to your house for lunch while I was at G.B. Little. Sandra and I
would race each other home to be the first so we could arrange for the largest
pieces of dessert (brownies or date squares).<br />
<br />
And of course there are the wonderful memories of vacations at the twin
cottages, the picnics in Morningside Park with our families. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am certain I do not have an actual memory of
Sandra and I fighting over the water pump and throwing sand in each other’s
eyes but hearing that story told time and time again over the years, I have
imagined it and have made up a memory. It is indeed Faubert/Read lore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are so many other memories. Mrs. Read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You were always one with a quick smile,
quicker wit, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>loads of empathy and a big
heart. I remember once you told me you were worried sick and stayed up all
night wondering how my drive home from Windsor (after taking the train home
from visiting Stephen in Minnesota) was because you had heard that the fog on
the 401 was so bad that night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mrs. Read, I really feel as though your family is my family.
I love hearing about everyone and how they are doing and what they (or their
children) are up to. It is wonderful that even though they are spread far and
wide, you visit them often and they clearly adore you. It warms my heart when I
see photos of your family on Facebook.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have a friend who once, when I was explaining about “The
Reads” who lived up the street, said she also had a family like that who lived
on her street. But I know that her “that family” was nothing like our “The
Reads” because they did not have a “Mrs. Read”.<br />
<br />
Mostly, Mrs. Read, I remember you as my mom’s friend. You were her closest
friend and her confident. I used to envy the times you would come over and sit
in the Mrs. Read chair and talk to my mom. I always wanted a friend like that
when I grew up. As the years passed, you were always a constant in our family’s
lives and in my mom’s life. And now, when she is failing and frail, blind and
confused, you are still there and I cannot be more grateful or thank you enough.
And it is not just your shared history that makes you be there for my mom. It
is because you are such an exceptional and generous person. And a wonderful
friend. Thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, on your 80<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> birthday, I would like to wish
you the happiest of days to a remarkable lady.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You will always be my Mrs. Read. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-80757658012939835332015-06-22T22:34:00.001-07:002015-06-22T22:34:18.860-07:00Nothing much is new. The boys are out of school. My mom is having problems remembering names (she hasn't forgotten mine so far and she always recognizes my voice) but she has forgotten Wally's wife's name and called my other SIL "Marie". At least she got the first three letters right.<br /><br />It is heartbreaking how sad and bleak my mom feels. I am at a loss about what to do. My brother is growing more and more stressed and less and less detached towards my mom and her situation. He is counting the days to when she is accepted into a nursing home so he can quit worrying about her not just day-to-day but hour to hour. Gah, there is so much more to it and it is hard to write. My poor mom.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-7693361580559020422015-06-10T15:10:00.000-07:002015-06-10T15:10:06.586-07:00I have barely been able to speak to my mom since I have returned from Toronto. She cannot answer the phone unless she has someone there to help her so when someone is there and she answers, she always needs to go because someone is there (like my aunt, my mom's friends or my brother). <br /><br />I am coping with this by eating. I am supposed to be taking a "Summer Shape Up" program at the gym. Well, I go to all of the classes but I am stress eating so my summer shape has become rotund. Next week is the last week and I am so mortified thinking about weighing in and taking measurements when I have gone UP on everything. I think I will email the trainer in charge and tell him I would like to skip that bit and just go for the workout. I am even a bit too chicken to do that. I suck.<br />
<br />
The kids are out of school in a week. Dex starts driver's ed the week after that so our summer days will be spent driving him to/from his classes. DH is super busy at work and cannot take any vacation until August so we won't be headed to Oregon this year. That makes me really sad because I will miss vacationing with Spy and her family.<br /><br />Jax wrote the SAT on the weekend and there was a misprint in the packet for the time on one section so College Boards are going to throw out the results of that one section (the kids had 5 minutes extra time to complete) so it will be interesting to see what his final score will be. If he does not score as good as or better than he has on the practice tests I am going to be pissed. I am sure a lot of other parents will also be pissed (something like 500,000 kids wrote the test on June 6 in the USA). I guess we just wait and see what his results will be...<br />
<br />
Cars is continuing to not do well in school. Math tutoring is in his future.<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-45887969697084994072015-05-20T13:28:00.004-07:002015-05-20T13:28:41.925-07:00I was in Toronto again this past weekend for my mom's 80th birthday. I drove to Vancouver then flew from there with JP. There was a small party for her at her sister's and then we left on her actual birthday which was Monday. It was a hard trip.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317101.post-43106072123050154892015-05-01T20:53:00.000-07:002015-05-01T20:53:45.486-07:00My MomI flew to Toronto last week to visit my mom. It is almost too hard to put into words how she is. She has some weird compulsions that she must do which is very odd. She admitted that she hears people telling her to do things in her head. I am surprisingly undisturbed by this. I mean it is awful but knowing that she is hearing voices is more reassuring than thinking that a real person is telling her to do this odd things (making sure her napkin is on the left then on the right, running her cane across the floor and then up in an upside-down letter J, stabbing her plate with a knife, etc.). <br />
<br />
She had an MRI the day before I arrived and she was in such a good mood and so "with it" when I flew in. It was exciting to have an actual conversation with her. She said she felt as though she had awoken from a dream and that the past several weeks were so weird to her. Then the following day, she forgot I was there and asked me my name. And then it went downhill from there. It kind of makes me wonder if the strong magnets in the MRI did something to her brain and helped her be back to her old self for a short time.<br />
<br />
I am going back in a couple of weeks for her 80th birthday. It is the original trip that I had booked but then I was convinced by my aunt, my cousin and my brother to go sooner. I am glad that I went. I hope my mom is able to get into a nursing home soon (long wait lists in Toronto). She really needs more care than the assisted living provides.<br />
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