Can this month get any rougher?
The unbelievable heart wrenching sadness I felt on Friday December 14th was so deep. All those first graders, gone suddenly. I just keep picturing what it would be like if that were MY first grader. 10 days before Christmas and suddenly one of the pride and joy's of your life is gone inexplicably? Too much, too painful. The sadness lasted for days, the praying went on and on.
But, just as time heals all wounds, each day passed and the pain and sadness got less and less. I don't think it will ever go away, but it lessens.
Following the footsteps of a friend, I started 27 random acts of kindness for the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting. Now, I regularly do Random Act of Kindness (RAKs), but this time it's bigger and better and more intentional. Yesterday I put a Christmas card with a $10 gift card in it to the local grocery store in the cart corral area. I have done 8 so far over the past few days.
On Friday afternoon my friend calls. She is crying. She says "Holly's husband is dead". What?!?! Our friend Holly's husband Dave went to go to work Friday morning and his car wouldn't start. So, as he often does, he decided to run to work. Except this time he didn't make it. Somewhere along the way he collapsed and died. The large assumption obviously is a heart attack. No one has any doubt that Dave is in Heaven.
But there is so much more to this story. Holly and Dave have 3 young children. Their oldest is the same age as Courtney (6), in fact his birthday is within days of Courtney's. Their middle one is 4, and the youngest is 3. The youngest was adopted from Ethiopia and brought home this past March. This is her first Christmas with them.
And their adoption story is LONG and painful. So many of us walked through that journey with her and Dave that had some heart wrenching twists and turns.
To know Holly is to have a light in your life. She always has a smile and a quip to make you laugh. Yet, she is tuned in emotionally to her friends and their needs. Once you meet her, you want her as a friend for life.
They are a young family. They were not prepared for the sudden death of the breadwinner. Thankfully she has a very large and amazing group of friends and family and an account is being set up for them that we can all donate too.
I know how sad I have felt the last 48 hours. I can not even imagine how Holly and her kids feel. For the past 48 hours they have not been far from my thoughts at any moment. She posted to Facebook this morning asking for her friends to help carry her. In any way I can, I will take part in carrying her.
I ask you reading this to keep this young family in your thoughts and prayers. They are deserving. They are a wonderful and amazing family. So many of us just want to hug them until the pain goes away. We are all grieving with her and for her. It's all so unreal.
So hold your family close and tight this Christmas. Be thankful you are together. It is a gift you have for today, but who knows how many more todays we will get together.
I love all of you and thank you for reading.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Christmas Letter
I was really struggling with writing a Christmas Letter this year. It has been a really tough year, so writing a positive letter about what we are thankful for this year. I was stressing about it until Hubby said "we don't NEED to send out a letter!". Right there and then I decided this was a no letter kind of year and I felt better. Then my friend sent me this link and I felt even better!!!
http://vimeo.com/8192170
Enjoy!!!
http://vimeo.com/8192170
Enjoy!!!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
November
It's been a tough month. It's hard to write about too. I try so hard to find the good things to write about, but when you have a tough month, it's just hard.
Hubby has been traveling a lot. That in and of itself is hard. But add on top of that a 6 year old who's behavior is... well... not so good, and things are really tough.
I have been wanting to update my blog, but I have been really struggling with what to say. Thanksgiving was nice. We went to my folks house. It was quite and peaceful.
Monday Kasey and I went to the North Pole with her preschool class. That was nice because A) we got in for free (the price to get in is ridiculously high) and B) there was hardly anyone there. But the downside that is just happen to fall on just about our only cold day of this month. So, it was a little chilly. But we bundled up and Kasey didn't seem to mind one bit. It was awesome being able to spend the day with her like that, just her and I.
Courtney is... well, Courtney I guess. Her behavior seems to ebb and flow, peaks and valleys. Recently there seem to be more peaks (not good peaks). Today I got an appointment for her to start seeing a psychologist. Yeah, my 6 year old needs a psychologist. But after a few incidents over the last few days, it's time.
So, that is where we are, that is what we are up to.
Hubby has been traveling a lot. That in and of itself is hard. But add on top of that a 6 year old who's behavior is... well... not so good, and things are really tough.
I have been wanting to update my blog, but I have been really struggling with what to say. Thanksgiving was nice. We went to my folks house. It was quite and peaceful.
Monday Kasey and I went to the North Pole with her preschool class. That was nice because A) we got in for free (the price to get in is ridiculously high) and B) there was hardly anyone there. But the downside that is just happen to fall on just about our only cold day of this month. So, it was a little chilly. But we bundled up and Kasey didn't seem to mind one bit. It was awesome being able to spend the day with her like that, just her and I.
Courtney is... well, Courtney I guess. Her behavior seems to ebb and flow, peaks and valleys. Recently there seem to be more peaks (not good peaks). Today I got an appointment for her to start seeing a psychologist. Yeah, my 6 year old needs a psychologist. But after a few incidents over the last few days, it's time.
So, that is where we are, that is what we are up to.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
School Conferences
Had school conferences today. Kasey was on the hot seat first. But as expected, her first ever parent teacher conference went very well. She's a good girl, helpful, cheerful, bright.... nothing unexpected!
Next up was Courtney. The teacher had sent home a sheet asking a bunch of different questions one of which was what we would like her goals to be. We wrestled with that one a long time! How do you set goals for a girl who blows you away with her knowledge every day! We finally just wrote we had no idea....
So, we went to her conference and as expected were blown away. She's on the high end of average in language and math for the nation (against all 1st graders). And for the district she is super high up there! She is reading at a 3rd grade level. Her handwriting has improved dramatically over the past month. Her knowledge of science and math is unfathomable to me! She did a science test where she wrote about solids and liquids. I didn't read all of it, but one sentence I read said that liquids are viscus. The teacher said they did not have the properties of liquids and gases available at the time of the test to look at. She remembered that all on her own!
Jeez, it feels like in 2 years we are gong to have to send her to MIT just to have her challenged!!!
Next up was Courtney. The teacher had sent home a sheet asking a bunch of different questions one of which was what we would like her goals to be. We wrestled with that one a long time! How do you set goals for a girl who blows you away with her knowledge every day! We finally just wrote we had no idea....
So, we went to her conference and as expected were blown away. She's on the high end of average in language and math for the nation (against all 1st graders). And for the district she is super high up there! She is reading at a 3rd grade level. Her handwriting has improved dramatically over the past month. Her knowledge of science and math is unfathomable to me! She did a science test where she wrote about solids and liquids. I didn't read all of it, but one sentence I read said that liquids are viscus. The teacher said they did not have the properties of liquids and gases available at the time of the test to look at. She remembered that all on her own!
Jeez, it feels like in 2 years we are gong to have to send her to MIT just to have her challenged!!!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Happy October!
Life around here has been unbelievably busy! We are now in the full swing of school and travel for Hubby. Hubby has been gone a lot recently, and out of country on top of that. So trying to get time for the girls to connect with him once a day is a challange due to time diffrences. He has been to Spain and London. Currently he is in Cypress and on to Moscow next. Next month it will be Switzerland.
Travel is good, it means business. But travel has been hard on us left at home. I barely have time to get errands, cleaning, school running around, etc all done. So the house has been quite a mess which is a stress me out.
Courtney is settled into school nicely. She is loving it! More this year than last year! She is also in Girl Scouts after school, which I help out with weekly. And she is currently taking a class after school on Thursdays called kid chefs. She is learning how to cook food. The kids cook the food and then get to eat it. She has made some pretty amazing dishes! Last week it was an orzo and ham mixture that was SOOOO good! I am thankful the lady sends home the recipes!
We have still been having a lot of struggles with Courtney's behavior. I don't know if I mentioned it before or not, but last May we had to put her on medication for it. She was starting to get violent in the house. The meds have been working really well for her, up until about 3 weeks ago. They we had to play with increasing the doses. Seems to be working! Of course this means that she is most likely an ADHD kid. We haven't done the official testing yet, but her neurologist, therapist and pediatrician are pretty sure. We will get the "official" testing done to confirm. It seems as if the last few weeks things have started to really come into focus regarding me seeing her behaviors more clearly. It's very hard to describe, but nothing was really consistent with her behaviors before now. In the last few weeks she has either started to be more consistent or I am finally starting to see things a little clearer. We shall see!
Kasey has also settled into school nicely. She too LOVES pre-school. She is excited to go every day! Yesterday we took a field trip to the pumpkin farm. We ended up running into our new neighbors there! It was fun! Kasey is starting to recognize her own name too! Of course every time she sees a K now, she thinks its her name...
I have been going along good, busy. Until this weekend. I suddenly had an attack of hives. I went to urgent care Sunday morning. With all the meds they gave me I was still struggling at night, so I went back to the doctor yesterday. He gave me some stronger over night meds and it really worked!!
Last week I took a girls night with my neighbor and we went to a place called Paint with a Twist. It was a lot of fun, they teach you how to paint a painting! Plus they have a bar so you get to drink while doing that. It was a wonderful girls night!
Well, I hate to keep this update so brief, but as usual I have lots to do! I will leave you with some pics:
Kasey at the pumpkin farm
Margaret and I with our finished paintings:
Travel is good, it means business. But travel has been hard on us left at home. I barely have time to get errands, cleaning, school running around, etc all done. So the house has been quite a mess which is a stress me out.
Courtney is settled into school nicely. She is loving it! More this year than last year! She is also in Girl Scouts after school, which I help out with weekly. And she is currently taking a class after school on Thursdays called kid chefs. She is learning how to cook food. The kids cook the food and then get to eat it. She has made some pretty amazing dishes! Last week it was an orzo and ham mixture that was SOOOO good! I am thankful the lady sends home the recipes!
We have still been having a lot of struggles with Courtney's behavior. I don't know if I mentioned it before or not, but last May we had to put her on medication for it. She was starting to get violent in the house. The meds have been working really well for her, up until about 3 weeks ago. They we had to play with increasing the doses. Seems to be working! Of course this means that she is most likely an ADHD kid. We haven't done the official testing yet, but her neurologist, therapist and pediatrician are pretty sure. We will get the "official" testing done to confirm. It seems as if the last few weeks things have started to really come into focus regarding me seeing her behaviors more clearly. It's very hard to describe, but nothing was really consistent with her behaviors before now. In the last few weeks she has either started to be more consistent or I am finally starting to see things a little clearer. We shall see!
Kasey has also settled into school nicely. She too LOVES pre-school. She is excited to go every day! Yesterday we took a field trip to the pumpkin farm. We ended up running into our new neighbors there! It was fun! Kasey is starting to recognize her own name too! Of course every time she sees a K now, she thinks its her name...
I have been going along good, busy. Until this weekend. I suddenly had an attack of hives. I went to urgent care Sunday morning. With all the meds they gave me I was still struggling at night, so I went back to the doctor yesterday. He gave me some stronger over night meds and it really worked!!
Last week I took a girls night with my neighbor and we went to a place called Paint with a Twist. It was a lot of fun, they teach you how to paint a painting! Plus they have a bar so you get to drink while doing that. It was a wonderful girls night!
Well, I hate to keep this update so brief, but as usual I have lots to do! I will leave you with some pics:
Kasey at the pumpkin farm
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Labor Day Trip
We are back from our Labor Day weekend trip to Connecticut for a Kirouac Family Reunion/Golf Tournament. Phew, what a whirlwind!
We got the girls up at 2:30am Wednesday morning to hit the road to get to Denver in time for our 6am flight. Even with hitting the road at 3am, when we got to the gate, they were already boarding and we walked right on. We landed in Connecticut at about 2:30pm that afternoon (Connecticut time). By the time we got the luggage and car and drove to Waterbury, it was just about 4pm. After getting settled at Aunt Dianne and Uncle Greg's house, which is where we slept for the 4 nights we were there, we headed over to Gram's apartment for dinner. Here is a picture of Courtney and Gram, who is now 93!
That was our first family gathering.
The next day Aunt Dianne, Gen (Hubby's mom), and the girls and I headed to a local amusement park. They boys all went and played golf. This amusement park was made for little kids and is very similar to the North Pole here in town. The girls had a great time. If you look close at the picture, you will see Kasey's face in the train!
The amusement park was right on a lake, so as part of the fun you could go on a boat ride! Which we did. Kasey fell asleep on my lap, poor kid was so tired. But her little nap was enough to get her through the rest of the day. Here we are on the boat!
The amusement park also had a water park and a beach that you could take advantage of a part of your entrance fee. The girls and I put on our swimsuits and headed into the "Saturation Station" at the end of the day to cool off. Aunt Dianne and Gen stayed on the other side of the fence and just watched.
The Saturation Station was like a huge jungle gym that also had water. At the top it had 2 water slides. Wouldn't you know the first time the girls got over to the water slide area, Kasey cuts in front of all the kids and dives down the water slide!?! She did get a talking to from the :Lifegaurd about waiting her turn. It was funny to watch from the ground where I was. I was yelling at her to wait in line, but due to all the water, she couldn't hear me. I was shocked at how much she loved the water slides. All though I shouldn't be, the girl has no fear. I took this picture from the Quassy website of the saturation station so you can get a rough idea of what I am talking about. You can see one of the water slides on the left (the blue one).
Here's another picture:
That dinner was a family dinner where we got to visit with more family!
The next day we went to the beach! We went to one in West Haven CT which I guess is actually on the Long Island sound and not the ocean, but its still a beach! Kasey ended up being very afraid of the line of shells along the tide line. I am pretty sure she thought there were crabs in them. But we got her to the water a few times.
The beach also had a jungle gym for the girls to climb on, which they loved. After they were done with the water and sand, we went and flew kites. Courtney really got a kick out of that!
That night we were given the opportunity for an adult dinner. Aunt Dianne and Uncle Greg watched the girls while we went out to dinner with Hubby's parents and another set of Hubby's Aunt and Uncle. That was very nice.
Next day was the big family picnic. Here are all of us at Patty and Dave's house:
I got to meet relatives I had not met at all before! And Hubby and I have been together for 10 years! It was great! There were no other kids, so it was a little tough for the girls, but they did really well.
Sunday we had to pack up and fly home. We got home about 10pm Sunday night. It was a fast, fun filled weekend. We are all trying to recoup still.
I love New England a lot. It's always hard to leave. I would live there in a heartbeat if it was possible.
The girls are now settling back into school. Courtney has finished all her assessments and they have her placed in the classes and levels they feel she should be in. She has been loving school this year. Its so nice to hear!
Kasey has also been enjoying preschool very much. Every day when I pick her up she tells me she had fun!
My 31 business has been expanding rapidly! I am certainly enjoying that! I need to start making some serious money so that we can go to Canada next summer for the Beaumier family reunion.
Well, time to go and try to catch up on the many loads of laundry to do!!! Hugs!
We got the girls up at 2:30am Wednesday morning to hit the road to get to Denver in time for our 6am flight. Even with hitting the road at 3am, when we got to the gate, they were already boarding and we walked right on. We landed in Connecticut at about 2:30pm that afternoon (Connecticut time). By the time we got the luggage and car and drove to Waterbury, it was just about 4pm. After getting settled at Aunt Dianne and Uncle Greg's house, which is where we slept for the 4 nights we were there, we headed over to Gram's apartment for dinner. Here is a picture of Courtney and Gram, who is now 93!
That was our first family gathering.
The next day Aunt Dianne, Gen (Hubby's mom), and the girls and I headed to a local amusement park. They boys all went and played golf. This amusement park was made for little kids and is very similar to the North Pole here in town. The girls had a great time. If you look close at the picture, you will see Kasey's face in the train!
The Saturation Station was like a huge jungle gym that also had water. At the top it had 2 water slides. Wouldn't you know the first time the girls got over to the water slide area, Kasey cuts in front of all the kids and dives down the water slide!?! She did get a talking to from the :Lifegaurd about waiting her turn. It was funny to watch from the ground where I was. I was yelling at her to wait in line, but due to all the water, she couldn't hear me. I was shocked at how much she loved the water slides. All though I shouldn't be, the girl has no fear. I took this picture from the Quassy website of the saturation station so you can get a rough idea of what I am talking about. You can see one of the water slides on the left (the blue one).
Here's another picture:
That dinner was a family dinner where we got to visit with more family!
The next day we went to the beach! We went to one in West Haven CT which I guess is actually on the Long Island sound and not the ocean, but its still a beach! Kasey ended up being very afraid of the line of shells along the tide line. I am pretty sure she thought there were crabs in them. But we got her to the water a few times.
That night we were given the opportunity for an adult dinner. Aunt Dianne and Uncle Greg watched the girls while we went out to dinner with Hubby's parents and another set of Hubby's Aunt and Uncle. That was very nice.
Next day was the big family picnic. Here are all of us at Patty and Dave's house:
Sunday we had to pack up and fly home. We got home about 10pm Sunday night. It was a fast, fun filled weekend. We are all trying to recoup still.
I love New England a lot. It's always hard to leave. I would live there in a heartbeat if it was possible.
The girls are now settling back into school. Courtney has finished all her assessments and they have her placed in the classes and levels they feel she should be in. She has been loving school this year. Its so nice to hear!
Kasey has also been enjoying preschool very much. Every day when I pick her up she tells me she had fun!
My 31 business has been expanding rapidly! I am certainly enjoying that! I need to start making some serious money so that we can go to Canada next summer for the Beaumier family reunion.
Well, time to go and try to catch up on the many loads of laundry to do!!! Hugs!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Back to school
Holy cow, where has the last month gone? We were busy wrapping up summer and preparing for school to start. Courtney started school on August 13th, which was earlier than the other schools in her district, but she was really ready to be back! Since we are actually starting the school year at the school this time (unlike last year) we were able to make it to the "Back to school night/orientation". Now I feel like we have come full circle. And listening to the director speak at orientation just made me so thankful that we found this school! We also met her teachers and they gave an overview of what Division 2 will be doing this year.
In Courtney's school they are broken into Divisions. Division 1 is just kindergarten. Division 2 is 1st and 2nd grade combined. And so on from there. There are 5 divisions in the school and divisions 2-5 have 2 grades in them. So Courtney's homeroom class is a mix of 1st and 2nd graders.
I was so excited for her when I heard what the teachers had planned for them this year! I was giddy for her to start school! She has been in 2 weeks now and has been loving it! The first 2 weeks they learned all about the brain, and I am so impressed by what Courtney can tell me about the brain. I have a feeling this is going to be an amazing year for her.
Kasey started preschool last week. She has been loving it! She has told me every day when I pick her up that she had fun. Of course after the first day she also told me she doesn't want to go back...but she did. And she hasn't regretted it.
So we have settled into our school routine. It feels so odd to me to have both girls in school. Granted, Kasey's is only for 2 hours and 45 minutes, 4 days a week, but still! Everyone asks me what I am going to do with myself. When I figure that out, I will let you know!
In Courtney's school they are broken into Divisions. Division 1 is just kindergarten. Division 2 is 1st and 2nd grade combined. And so on from there. There are 5 divisions in the school and divisions 2-5 have 2 grades in them. So Courtney's homeroom class is a mix of 1st and 2nd graders.
I was so excited for her when I heard what the teachers had planned for them this year! I was giddy for her to start school! She has been in 2 weeks now and has been loving it! The first 2 weeks they learned all about the brain, and I am so impressed by what Courtney can tell me about the brain. I have a feeling this is going to be an amazing year for her.
Kasey started preschool last week. She has been loving it! She has told me every day when I pick her up that she had fun. Of course after the first day she also told me she doesn't want to go back...but she did. And she hasn't regretted it.
So we have settled into our school routine. It feels so odd to me to have both girls in school. Granted, Kasey's is only for 2 hours and 45 minutes, 4 days a week, but still! Everyone asks me what I am going to do with myself. When I figure that out, I will let you know!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Defcon come and gone...
Well, it's been a month since the Waldo Canyon Fire's big day. The mountains just still look bald. I have taken a few drives through the fire zone and it's a different world!
Then of course we had the Movie Theater Shootings in Aurora. Poor Colorado, we have been hit hard the last few months.
Last week Hubby's parents came to town. They arrived on Tuesday, then Hubby left Wednesday for Las Vegas. He drove out with one of the other guys from the office. They had a lot of equipment to take to the conference in Las Vegas.
I flew out on Thursday. Grammy and Granddad were in control of the kids and pets. I was really looking forward to the trip this year. And of course it proved to be as fun as always. It was HOT in Vegas as normal. The day I arrived it was 107 degrees! Hubby and I did not leave the hotel the entire time we were there until we were leaving Vegas. Defcon, the conference we were there for, was fun as usual. Lots of entertainment in its own special way. Good seeing folks I haven't seen in quite some time.
It was fun, exhausting and wonderful. I went tired and came home even more tired! I ate lots of good food, drank lots of (good-ish) alcohol and made lots of good new friends!! I was trying to learn how to lock pick, but every time we went the lock-picking village was packed and there was no room for us! So, we are going to try here at home. Or we will go see some friends up in Denver who will help us learn.
The girls are doing awesome with Grammy and Granddad. Kasey refuses to call Grammy "Grammy" though, she calls her Gramma. Makes me laugh that she is so insistent on that one. Hubby and I came home last night. I flew home and he drove with the guy from the office again. I beat him home by about 5 hours.... We came home exhausted!
Well, I am tired and need to unpack and do laundry and such. So I am keeping this one short.
Hugs to all!
Then of course we had the Movie Theater Shootings in Aurora. Poor Colorado, we have been hit hard the last few months.
Last week Hubby's parents came to town. They arrived on Tuesday, then Hubby left Wednesday for Las Vegas. He drove out with one of the other guys from the office. They had a lot of equipment to take to the conference in Las Vegas.
I flew out on Thursday. Grammy and Granddad were in control of the kids and pets. I was really looking forward to the trip this year. And of course it proved to be as fun as always. It was HOT in Vegas as normal. The day I arrived it was 107 degrees! Hubby and I did not leave the hotel the entire time we were there until we were leaving Vegas. Defcon, the conference we were there for, was fun as usual. Lots of entertainment in its own special way. Good seeing folks I haven't seen in quite some time.
It was fun, exhausting and wonderful. I went tired and came home even more tired! I ate lots of good food, drank lots of (good-ish) alcohol and made lots of good new friends!! I was trying to learn how to lock pick, but every time we went the lock-picking village was packed and there was no room for us! So, we are going to try here at home. Or we will go see some friends up in Denver who will help us learn.
The girls are doing awesome with Grammy and Granddad. Kasey refuses to call Grammy "Grammy" though, she calls her Gramma. Makes me laugh that she is so insistent on that one. Hubby and I came home last night. I flew home and he drove with the guy from the office again. I beat him home by about 5 hours.... We came home exhausted!
Well, I am tired and need to unpack and do laundry and such. So I am keeping this one short.
Hugs to all!
Sunday, July 01, 2012
Waldo Canyon Fire
Phew! What a week it has been! I am going to recount MY story. My story is no where as scary as some things that others have been through this week, but I will tell you how my week went!
It started last Saturday, June 23rd. Zak was down visiting from Greeley. Hubby was in Cypress for work. Zak and I took the girls to the Renaissance Festival for the day. We got there about 10am and had a great time. Finally about 3pm, the girls were done. We were all dusty and hot and tired. We were making our way to the car when my mom called. Let me just say that the Renaissance Festival is up in a little town called Larkspur, about 1/2 way between us and Denver, out in the forest. So, it's pretty hard to see anything except straight up.
Anyway, back to my mom calling. She asked if we knew what was going on? Uh, nooooo. She explained that there was a fire in Waldo Canyon and that folks from Cascade were starting to be evacuated. Immediately I realized that one of the owner's of the business' houses is in the neighborhood being evacuated. And that owner is with Hubby in Cypress and his wife is here. I had been texting with Hubby and told him to call me immediately. He did, I told him about the fire and where is was located. He told me to call Ed's wife at home, he would find Ed (it was middle of the night in Cypress).
I hung up with him and called Ed's wife, she answered and said that she was heading out the door to her daughter's house right then and there. Her daughter only lives about a mile from us, so that was good! I spoke with Ed a bit later and he was anxiously awaiting his wife's arrival at their daughter's house. She did arrive safely with her 2 dogs and 2 cats as well. Because of where they live, their neighborhood was in direct line of the fire for about the first 5 days. Finally when it did become 5% contained, that 5% is where their house is!
We also had friends that day that had to evacuate from the other side of the mountain (our side, the COS side) up in Mountain Shadows. The fire was on the back of the mountain, but they made their evacuation mandatory.
Sunday and Monday the smoke plumes were very visible. As were spot flames, and aircraft that was fighting the fire. Lots of helicopters and planes. At that time we did not have the C-130's working on the fire. Tuesday they released the C-130's to come work on our fire. Our fire was the #1 fire in the country as far as getting all resources needed. It was so close to the city, they really didn't want it to come down into the city. The weather the first few days was around 100 degrees and just miserably hot. There was not a rain storm to be heard of. The smoke plume would move all over, so depending on where you were and which way the wind was blowing, you may be in a cloud of ash and smoke. I am so thankful we have AC, not just because of the heat, but because of the smoke too!
All this time, the 3 news channels here in town were having 24/7 coverage. There were press briefings at 8am and 4pm everyday. And I am pretty sure that entire city was glued to the TV for these days.
Also during this time, Courtney was supposed to attend VBS. Since our church is so large, they way they handle it is by breaking it up into neighborhoods. So, Courtney was to attend VBS at our friends' house in Rockrimmon. The husband at this house happens to be the chief meteorologist for one of the local news stations and was on the air for many many hours on end for this whole ordeal.
We got news Sunday night that Monday's VBS would be cancelled and that the rest of the week's VBS would be held at the church starting on Tuesday.
Tuesday morning came and went as normal. The normal amount of smoke, nothing too scary. I took Courtney and our neighbor's son to VBS down at the church. Throughout the day I started to feel a bit more anxious about my parents for some reason. I arranged with my parents and Hubby that we would pick up dinner and eat with my parents that night at their house. Courtney had her regular Tuesday appointment at 3pm with her behavioral therapist. As soon as we got in the car I had the news on as it was time for the 4pm press briefing. After the first few minutes of the press briefing nothing too exciting was happening. Suddenly someone stepped up to the mic and announced that all of Mountain Shadows was under a mandatory evacuation effective immediatly.
Of course Courtney and I were in the car and I could see the smoke plumes getting heavier and thicker. We went home, picked up Hubby and Kasey and headed to Rudy's restaurant to pick up dinner. I grabbed our good camera and asked Hubby to drive up Garden of the God's road and take the back way to Rudy's.
We started our drive as normal, but as soon as we got on Woodmen Road off Academy we knew things were not normal. We could see flames from that far away (probably 4 miles-ish). Not only could we see flames, we could see flames dancing, licking the trees. It was incredible. I started taking pictures. We drove down I-25 to Garden of the Gods, Garden of the Gods to 30th street and then down to my folks house. Here is a smattering of pictures I took in just that span of 15-20 minutes. My car thermometer read 101 degrees while all this was going on:
We got to Rudy's, picked up dinner and it was suddenly like the world changed. People were just standing in the parking lot watching. It is so hard to even put into words what was going on. A lot of people have used the words: it looked like Armageddon, it looked like a village being plundered....
We ate dinner with my folks knowing the fire was racing down the mountain towards the city, but not towards my parents house, nor ours. My neighbor started texting me saying: its raining large pieces of ash, the smoke is so thick you can't breath.
I started getting nervous about the large pieces of ash falling. After the girls ate their Popsicles we got in the car and headed for home. You could see the smoke plume. You could see us driving into it. Suddenly exits on the highway were closed off by police. The news was going crazy with trying to tell people which neighborhoods to get out of and how to get out. The air all around us was orange and Police were wearing masks to help them breath. It was unreal. The smoke and ash was so think they had to close the interstate for a while.
Grant, one of our Air Force Cadets was texting us. The fire was right on path to hit the Air Force Academy. They were worried the fire could shoot up the Front Range if conditions were right, and at that moment in time, they were. Hubby took us home, dropped us off and left to go to try to pick up Grant. They (they being the ones in charge at the Academy) kept saying: we might evacuate, hang on..... Hubby waiting outside the South Gate of the Academy for about an hour and a half. The whole time watching the fire race down the hill towards the city and towards the Mountain Shadows area.
Meanwhile I am at home watching the news which of course is insane. I am on both phones and the computer. People far and near wanting updates, wanting to know how to help. At one point I saw our neighbors' kids and grand-kids pull up. I know they live in the Mountain Shadows subdivision. I went running across the street. Krista and Shaun were in the driveway in tears. I just ran up to Krista and hugged her. She said it was worse than a nightmare, it was the scariest thing she has ever seen. She said "if people don't die trying to get out, it will be a miracle". The fire came so hard and so fast that it was more intense than anyone could ever describe. Their normal 15 minute journey to their parents house took them 2 hours.
We started calling friends who were now in evacuation zones, tying to let them know our house was open. Hubby finally returned home, without Grant. The Academy was insisting the Cadets would be fine, even though half of the base had been evacuated (Pine Valley and Doug Valley for those who know the Academy).
After we got the kids in bed, we were glued to the TV. Houses were starting to burn. More and more neighborhoods were being evacuated. I went up to the top of our neighborhood with one of our neighbors. I had been up there every night since the fire started. From the ridge up top I had seen smoke and some glow previously. Also there was always about 5 people up there with me on previous nights. This night there was anywhere from 20-30 people. And we were watching flames. People with high power binoculars and little telescopes were telling us the flames we were seeing were structures burning. It was unreal.
After returning home, we still just watched TV and stayed by the phone and watched FB. About 10:30pm our friends Glenn and Lex called and said: we are on our way. Their neighborhood was now under mandatory evacuation and they were coming to our house. Hubby and I ran and changed the sheets in the guest bedroom and got out fresh towels. Thankfully their neighborhood was not in direct path of the fire, and we are guessing to be on the safe side they closed their neighborhood.
That night we also got an email that VBS was cancelled for the rest of the week.
Hubby and I finally colapsed into bed about 1am I guess. I have no idea what time our house guests went to bed. They weren't sure they were going to sleep much.
The next morning the press conference was rough. They had no idea how many homes had burned at that point. They had no idea if there were any deaths. They were scared and didn't know how the fire was going to behave that day. Apparently the night before, thunderstorms were trying to build somewhere between here and Denver. When that happened the outflow winds came barreling down the Front Range, suddenly causing 65 mile per hour winds. That is what pushed the fire up and over the mountain and down into the Mountain Shadows subdivision. We did know at that point that the Flying W Ranch burned down to the ground. Which is a tourist attraction that many people who have visited Colorado Springs have been to.
Grant called to let us know that he was being released from the Academy for a few days. His summer program was postponed due to their airport at the Academy being taken over by the helicopters and small aircraft that were dumping water and retardant on the fire. So for those Cadets who didn't have anything to do, they got them off base. This way there was an extra 200 cadets out of the way in case there did need to be an evacuation.
We also had our new appointee flying in that afternoon. This is a guy who is just getting ready to start Basic Training at the Academy, a Doolie. Hubby picked him up at the airport at 2pm and he spent the night with us until Hubby dropped him off at Basic Training the next day.
Meanwhile, our vets' office put out a call for volunteers to walk dogs. They had taken in 20-40 cats and dogs for evacuees. Our vets themselves were evacuees! They had stayed at the clinic that night after they were evacuated, taking in animals as needed. So, I headed over there and walked and loved on about 25 dogs and about 10 cats. I did the same thing on Thursday and Friday.
Here we are on Monday, 9 days after this fire started. So far there is no news as to HOW this fire started, but they do know it was human caused. There had been no lightning, no weather of any kind (except for hot and dry) in the area for days. Weather it was arson or accidental is something yet to be determined. The odd thing is that for several days prior to this fire starting, arsonists had been setting fires all over Teller county. There had been about 20 fires set in a matter of 3-4 days prior. So, everyone (the public) is kind of assuming arson at this point. But it is yet to be proved.
It was approximately 350 homes that were destroyed. 2 people did die. Apparently they wife of the couple who perished was bed ridden and the husband refused to leave her.
Ed and his wife's home was untouched! They were able to return to their home in Cascade this past Sunday. Our evacuees, Glenn and Lex, returned home on Thursday night, no damage to their house. The fire didn't come near their home nor did looters get it! Our vets were also able to return home on Thursday night, again no damage to their house!
Our friends Kate and Seann, who were under some of the first evacuation orders last weekend, we finally able to get back to their home the other day temporarily. They let Mountain Shadow people in for the day during daylight to clean out fridges and get more items if necessary. Then they have to leave again. Kate and Seann were able to see that the fire came within about 50 yards of their house. Homes in their neighborhood did burn, thankfully none on their street. There is no visible damage to their house and the smoke smell isn't too bad in their home which they attribute to the newer double hung vinyl windows they had put in a few years ago. They were finally let back in tonight at 6pm, supposedly to stay! Last we heard they wouldn't have gas to the house for a day or two, so no hot showers...
Krista and Shaun and kids went back Sunday night. Same thing there, no visible damage to their house. They too have to wait a day or two for the gas to be turned on.
There are several other friends that we know that were evacuated. All have returned home, to their own home!
We are so thankful that all of our friends who had to live through such a scary situation had homes to go back to. 350 families do not. The community here has pulled together. People, including us, have been donating food and toys and clothing and anything that is needed.
This was our tragedy. We were the #1 fire in the country for a while. We still see plumes of smoke daily. We still have neighborhoods on alert. We still hope and pray this thing doesn't become a beast. Every time the wind starts to blow, which is just about every afternoon here, people start saying "uh oh, the wind is blowing". We all now know way to much about forest fires. We know that they tend to lie down at night. We know that if the flames are 25 feet + high, you need air support to really fight it. We now know that anything can change on a dime. We still smell smoke several times a day, until the wind shifts, which we all now know happens roughly 9 times a day here. We all still watch the mountain with apprehension.
But the good news tonight? It is now 80% contained!!!
It started last Saturday, June 23rd. Zak was down visiting from Greeley. Hubby was in Cypress for work. Zak and I took the girls to the Renaissance Festival for the day. We got there about 10am and had a great time. Finally about 3pm, the girls were done. We were all dusty and hot and tired. We were making our way to the car when my mom called. Let me just say that the Renaissance Festival is up in a little town called Larkspur, about 1/2 way between us and Denver, out in the forest. So, it's pretty hard to see anything except straight up.
Anyway, back to my mom calling. She asked if we knew what was going on? Uh, nooooo. She explained that there was a fire in Waldo Canyon and that folks from Cascade were starting to be evacuated. Immediately I realized that one of the owner's of the business' houses is in the neighborhood being evacuated. And that owner is with Hubby in Cypress and his wife is here. I had been texting with Hubby and told him to call me immediately. He did, I told him about the fire and where is was located. He told me to call Ed's wife at home, he would find Ed (it was middle of the night in Cypress).
I hung up with him and called Ed's wife, she answered and said that she was heading out the door to her daughter's house right then and there. Her daughter only lives about a mile from us, so that was good! I spoke with Ed a bit later and he was anxiously awaiting his wife's arrival at their daughter's house. She did arrive safely with her 2 dogs and 2 cats as well. Because of where they live, their neighborhood was in direct line of the fire for about the first 5 days. Finally when it did become 5% contained, that 5% is where their house is!
We also had friends that day that had to evacuate from the other side of the mountain (our side, the COS side) up in Mountain Shadows. The fire was on the back of the mountain, but they made their evacuation mandatory.
Sunday and Monday the smoke plumes were very visible. As were spot flames, and aircraft that was fighting the fire. Lots of helicopters and planes. At that time we did not have the C-130's working on the fire. Tuesday they released the C-130's to come work on our fire. Our fire was the #1 fire in the country as far as getting all resources needed. It was so close to the city, they really didn't want it to come down into the city. The weather the first few days was around 100 degrees and just miserably hot. There was not a rain storm to be heard of. The smoke plume would move all over, so depending on where you were and which way the wind was blowing, you may be in a cloud of ash and smoke. I am so thankful we have AC, not just because of the heat, but because of the smoke too!
All this time, the 3 news channels here in town were having 24/7 coverage. There were press briefings at 8am and 4pm everyday. And I am pretty sure that entire city was glued to the TV for these days.
Also during this time, Courtney was supposed to attend VBS. Since our church is so large, they way they handle it is by breaking it up into neighborhoods. So, Courtney was to attend VBS at our friends' house in Rockrimmon. The husband at this house happens to be the chief meteorologist for one of the local news stations and was on the air for many many hours on end for this whole ordeal.
We got news Sunday night that Monday's VBS would be cancelled and that the rest of the week's VBS would be held at the church starting on Tuesday.
Tuesday morning came and went as normal. The normal amount of smoke, nothing too scary. I took Courtney and our neighbor's son to VBS down at the church. Throughout the day I started to feel a bit more anxious about my parents for some reason. I arranged with my parents and Hubby that we would pick up dinner and eat with my parents that night at their house. Courtney had her regular Tuesday appointment at 3pm with her behavioral therapist. As soon as we got in the car I had the news on as it was time for the 4pm press briefing. After the first few minutes of the press briefing nothing too exciting was happening. Suddenly someone stepped up to the mic and announced that all of Mountain Shadows was under a mandatory evacuation effective immediatly.
Of course Courtney and I were in the car and I could see the smoke plumes getting heavier and thicker. We went home, picked up Hubby and Kasey and headed to Rudy's restaurant to pick up dinner. I grabbed our good camera and asked Hubby to drive up Garden of the God's road and take the back way to Rudy's.
We started our drive as normal, but as soon as we got on Woodmen Road off Academy we knew things were not normal. We could see flames from that far away (probably 4 miles-ish). Not only could we see flames, we could see flames dancing, licking the trees. It was incredible. I started taking pictures. We drove down I-25 to Garden of the Gods, Garden of the Gods to 30th street and then down to my folks house. Here is a smattering of pictures I took in just that span of 15-20 minutes. My car thermometer read 101 degrees while all this was going on:
We ate dinner with my folks knowing the fire was racing down the mountain towards the city, but not towards my parents house, nor ours. My neighbor started texting me saying: its raining large pieces of ash, the smoke is so thick you can't breath.
I started getting nervous about the large pieces of ash falling. After the girls ate their Popsicles we got in the car and headed for home. You could see the smoke plume. You could see us driving into it. Suddenly exits on the highway were closed off by police. The news was going crazy with trying to tell people which neighborhoods to get out of and how to get out. The air all around us was orange and Police were wearing masks to help them breath. It was unreal. The smoke and ash was so think they had to close the interstate for a while.
Grant, one of our Air Force Cadets was texting us. The fire was right on path to hit the Air Force Academy. They were worried the fire could shoot up the Front Range if conditions were right, and at that moment in time, they were. Hubby took us home, dropped us off and left to go to try to pick up Grant. They (they being the ones in charge at the Academy) kept saying: we might evacuate, hang on..... Hubby waiting outside the South Gate of the Academy for about an hour and a half. The whole time watching the fire race down the hill towards the city and towards the Mountain Shadows area.
Meanwhile I am at home watching the news which of course is insane. I am on both phones and the computer. People far and near wanting updates, wanting to know how to help. At one point I saw our neighbors' kids and grand-kids pull up. I know they live in the Mountain Shadows subdivision. I went running across the street. Krista and Shaun were in the driveway in tears. I just ran up to Krista and hugged her. She said it was worse than a nightmare, it was the scariest thing she has ever seen. She said "if people don't die trying to get out, it will be a miracle". The fire came so hard and so fast that it was more intense than anyone could ever describe. Their normal 15 minute journey to their parents house took them 2 hours.
We started calling friends who were now in evacuation zones, tying to let them know our house was open. Hubby finally returned home, without Grant. The Academy was insisting the Cadets would be fine, even though half of the base had been evacuated (Pine Valley and Doug Valley for those who know the Academy).
After we got the kids in bed, we were glued to the TV. Houses were starting to burn. More and more neighborhoods were being evacuated. I went up to the top of our neighborhood with one of our neighbors. I had been up there every night since the fire started. From the ridge up top I had seen smoke and some glow previously. Also there was always about 5 people up there with me on previous nights. This night there was anywhere from 20-30 people. And we were watching flames. People with high power binoculars and little telescopes were telling us the flames we were seeing were structures burning. It was unreal.
After returning home, we still just watched TV and stayed by the phone and watched FB. About 10:30pm our friends Glenn and Lex called and said: we are on our way. Their neighborhood was now under mandatory evacuation and they were coming to our house. Hubby and I ran and changed the sheets in the guest bedroom and got out fresh towels. Thankfully their neighborhood was not in direct path of the fire, and we are guessing to be on the safe side they closed their neighborhood.
That night we also got an email that VBS was cancelled for the rest of the week.
Hubby and I finally colapsed into bed about 1am I guess. I have no idea what time our house guests went to bed. They weren't sure they were going to sleep much.
The next morning the press conference was rough. They had no idea how many homes had burned at that point. They had no idea if there were any deaths. They were scared and didn't know how the fire was going to behave that day. Apparently the night before, thunderstorms were trying to build somewhere between here and Denver. When that happened the outflow winds came barreling down the Front Range, suddenly causing 65 mile per hour winds. That is what pushed the fire up and over the mountain and down into the Mountain Shadows subdivision. We did know at that point that the Flying W Ranch burned down to the ground. Which is a tourist attraction that many people who have visited Colorado Springs have been to.
Grant called to let us know that he was being released from the Academy for a few days. His summer program was postponed due to their airport at the Academy being taken over by the helicopters and small aircraft that were dumping water and retardant on the fire. So for those Cadets who didn't have anything to do, they got them off base. This way there was an extra 200 cadets out of the way in case there did need to be an evacuation.
We also had our new appointee flying in that afternoon. This is a guy who is just getting ready to start Basic Training at the Academy, a Doolie. Hubby picked him up at the airport at 2pm and he spent the night with us until Hubby dropped him off at Basic Training the next day.
Meanwhile, our vets' office put out a call for volunteers to walk dogs. They had taken in 20-40 cats and dogs for evacuees. Our vets themselves were evacuees! They had stayed at the clinic that night after they were evacuated, taking in animals as needed. So, I headed over there and walked and loved on about 25 dogs and about 10 cats. I did the same thing on Thursday and Friday.
Here we are on Monday, 9 days after this fire started. So far there is no news as to HOW this fire started, but they do know it was human caused. There had been no lightning, no weather of any kind (except for hot and dry) in the area for days. Weather it was arson or accidental is something yet to be determined. The odd thing is that for several days prior to this fire starting, arsonists had been setting fires all over Teller county. There had been about 20 fires set in a matter of 3-4 days prior. So, everyone (the public) is kind of assuming arson at this point. But it is yet to be proved.
It was approximately 350 homes that were destroyed. 2 people did die. Apparently they wife of the couple who perished was bed ridden and the husband refused to leave her.
Ed and his wife's home was untouched! They were able to return to their home in Cascade this past Sunday. Our evacuees, Glenn and Lex, returned home on Thursday night, no damage to their house. The fire didn't come near their home nor did looters get it! Our vets were also able to return home on Thursday night, again no damage to their house!
Our friends Kate and Seann, who were under some of the first evacuation orders last weekend, we finally able to get back to their home the other day temporarily. They let Mountain Shadow people in for the day during daylight to clean out fridges and get more items if necessary. Then they have to leave again. Kate and Seann were able to see that the fire came within about 50 yards of their house. Homes in their neighborhood did burn, thankfully none on their street. There is no visible damage to their house and the smoke smell isn't too bad in their home which they attribute to the newer double hung vinyl windows they had put in a few years ago. They were finally let back in tonight at 6pm, supposedly to stay! Last we heard they wouldn't have gas to the house for a day or two, so no hot showers...
Krista and Shaun and kids went back Sunday night. Same thing there, no visible damage to their house. They too have to wait a day or two for the gas to be turned on.
There are several other friends that we know that were evacuated. All have returned home, to their own home!
We are so thankful that all of our friends who had to live through such a scary situation had homes to go back to. 350 families do not. The community here has pulled together. People, including us, have been donating food and toys and clothing and anything that is needed.
This was our tragedy. We were the #1 fire in the country for a while. We still see plumes of smoke daily. We still have neighborhoods on alert. We still hope and pray this thing doesn't become a beast. Every time the wind starts to blow, which is just about every afternoon here, people start saying "uh oh, the wind is blowing". We all now know way to much about forest fires. We know that they tend to lie down at night. We know that if the flames are 25 feet + high, you need air support to really fight it. We now know that anything can change on a dime. We still smell smoke several times a day, until the wind shifts, which we all now know happens roughly 9 times a day here. We all still watch the mountain with apprehension.
But the good news tonight? It is now 80% contained!!!
Thursday, June 07, 2012
WILD weather!
Wow, we have had some incredible weather the last few days! Yesterday we had one of those "100 year storms". It hailed at our house
for about an hour and a half. It was mostly pea and marble with a few golf ball ones once and a while. But the rain was insane! It was pouring like I haven't seen in a long time. And it was coming in waves down our street. The hail was like snow. We had "the perfect storm" as the weather guy said. It was insane! It blew up our of nowhere and it was sunny most of the time it was hailing!
Tonight, it happened again. Tonight the hail was bigger and we had cloud rotation right over our neighbors' house it looked like. The news the last two night (local news) has been live on air for almost all of prime time just showing updates and such. Insane. There were a few moments of "do I wake my kids up who I JUST got to sleep to take them to the basement? I stood on the porch and watched a big thing of rotation happen and thankfully break up instead of forming and dropping a funnel cloud. Here's a picture of the hail from my grass tonight. Just a few of the many golf ball sized hail!
Just thought I would give you a weather update!
Tonight, it happened again. Tonight the hail was bigger and we had cloud rotation right over our neighbors' house it looked like. The news the last two night (local news) has been live on air for almost all of prime time just showing updates and such. Insane. There were a few moments of "do I wake my kids up who I JUST got to sleep to take them to the basement? I stood on the porch and watched a big thing of rotation happen and thankfully break up instead of forming and dropping a funnel cloud. Here's a picture of the hail from my grass tonight. Just a few of the many golf ball sized hail!
Sunday, June 03, 2012
Finally, summer!!!
Finally we made it to summer! It was questionable for a while! Well, not really, but the last few weeks have been a little rough. All of the other kids were out of school, Courtney's school went at least a whole week later! Some kids had been out for 2 weeks by the time she had her last day! And she will be starting earlier than everyone else too. Her summer is going to be short. And of course the last 2 weeks were just busy! As usual I had my
Wednesday volunteer days. On the last Wednesday of school the kids were
so unfocused! I can't believe they had them doing math stations
still. I mean they had all the fun stations out, but the kids simply
could not focus!
After the math stations on Wednesday we had the last field trip of the year. The two classes walked to a park about 5 blocks away and had a nature scavenger hunt plus lunch. It was a beautiful day, the kids enjoyed it!
Also that week, on Tuesday night, we had her kindergarten graduation. Here she is eating cake after the ceremony!
Showing her name on the sign of her class! Can you believe she is class of 2024? Seems forever away!
Then Friday was field day, since it was the last day of school. Courtney had a ball doing all the little activities. Here she is running back from dumping a glass of water in the far orange bucket. We have a lot of pictures on our gallery now if you wish to look at more!
Kasey spent the day with Courtney and I at school. She had such a ball, she thinks she is one of the big kids. She didn't get to participate in the field day activities, but she played on the playground and watched. It was very cute.
It's amazing how much it was a relief after the last day of school was finally over. Now I am looking forward to having a break too! No getting up super early and having to rush out the door every morning!
Also in the last 2 weeks, we went to Maddie's promotion ceremony. She is now a first Lieutenant. Funny thing is that technically her husband (that's Toby on the left) now has to salute her! Go Maddie!!
Yesterday Hubby left yesterday on a vacation of his own. He went with our neighbor and 2 other guys on a motorcycle trip. All the other guys are retired, so they will be gone for 3-4 weeks. Hubby doesn't have that much available time to miss work (or be away from his family) so he will be back in a week. Here are the guys and their motorcycles on Saturday morning before pulling out.
Ok, off to get some housework done!
After the math stations on Wednesday we had the last field trip of the year. The two classes walked to a park about 5 blocks away and had a nature scavenger hunt plus lunch. It was a beautiful day, the kids enjoyed it!
Also that week, on Tuesday night, we had her kindergarten graduation. Here she is eating cake after the ceremony!
It's amazing how much it was a relief after the last day of school was finally over. Now I am looking forward to having a break too! No getting up super early and having to rush out the door every morning!
Also in the last 2 weeks, we went to Maddie's promotion ceremony. She is now a first Lieutenant. Funny thing is that technically her husband (that's Toby on the left) now has to salute her! Go Maddie!!
Saturday, May 05, 2012
Rough two weeks
We are now in the midst of travel season. My least favorite thing. Hubby is home, gone, home, gone... you get the picture. He just got back from a 2 week stint in Texas. I don't know if it was because he was gone longer than normal or if something else is going on, but Courtney has really really been struggling with behavior.
It was a very long two weeks, could be why I got a sinus infection towards the end. I have never seen her behave some of the ways she has been, and I am not quite sure how to guide her back to proper behavior. Seems like everything I try just doesn't work. More than once this week I have thought 'I wonder how much boarding school costs?'
Summer scares me. At least now she is at kindergarten 8-12 M-F, feeding her mind that soaks up everything like a sponge. Everyone (doctors, therapists) always say to feed her intellectually, all the time. Really? How on earth am I supposed to do that 12 hours a day with everything else going on?! It's to the point now that I do everything I can to avoid taking her into public. I do all my errands while she is at school.
I have prepared for summer by getting her into camps, I also bought a few workbooks for her to work on. Of course the issue at home is that she doesn't want to focus on that stuff. At home she would much rather play and do what she wants to do. As you can imagine, homework is a very long chore around here. So it will be interesting to see how she handles working on the workbook every day.
I also plan on the girls starting swimming lessons again. Hopefully between all those activities and play dates and other things, the summer will fly by. 1st grade next year! A full day of learning! Right up her alley.
Oh, and Kasey got into the preschool down the street!!!
Here's to hoping her behavior changes soon, or you may find me in the looney bin....
It was a very long two weeks, could be why I got a sinus infection towards the end. I have never seen her behave some of the ways she has been, and I am not quite sure how to guide her back to proper behavior. Seems like everything I try just doesn't work. More than once this week I have thought 'I wonder how much boarding school costs?'
Summer scares me. At least now she is at kindergarten 8-12 M-F, feeding her mind that soaks up everything like a sponge. Everyone (doctors, therapists) always say to feed her intellectually, all the time. Really? How on earth am I supposed to do that 12 hours a day with everything else going on?! It's to the point now that I do everything I can to avoid taking her into public. I do all my errands while she is at school.
I have prepared for summer by getting her into camps, I also bought a few workbooks for her to work on. Of course the issue at home is that she doesn't want to focus on that stuff. At home she would much rather play and do what she wants to do. As you can imagine, homework is a very long chore around here. So it will be interesting to see how she handles working on the workbook every day.
I also plan on the girls starting swimming lessons again. Hopefully between all those activities and play dates and other things, the summer will fly by. 1st grade next year! A full day of learning! Right up her alley.
Oh, and Kasey got into the preschool down the street!!!
Here's to hoping her behavior changes soon, or you may find me in the looney bin....
Monday, April 30, 2012
never enough time
I am so sorry that so much time has passed since my last entry. Life has been so crazy! It's travel season for Hubby. He's been gone just about all of April. He was home for about 3.5 days a few weeks ago, and that was pretty much it for April. It's going to be like this for a while. Funny thing is that this means that work is going good. He didn't travel this much last year, and as we all know the last 1.5 years has been really tough on the business, which in turn is tough on our bank account. It's been a long road to get back to this point, and now I remember how much travel season really does suck.
On the other hand I have gotten really good just in the last month of dealing with things that typically I would make Hubby deal with. I set up new lawn service, got the sprinkler system fixed (had to have a valve replaced and line repaired, I hired the new lawn service to do this too). Dealt with a leaking regulator to our water heater. Figured out how to reprogram our sprinkler system box (the sprinklers just would not come on, Hubby couldn't figure out why, our neighbor couldn't figure out why, but I finally did it!) Plus many other things that have come up that I have figured out how to handle. Usually I find myself dealing with sick kids. This time it was house items plus being on a weight lifting restriction. I am amazing myself with the things that I am handling, learning, and dealing with!
I have been spending my time working part time at the office, doing MOPS and Ministry Team, driving Courtney to and from school, working out, and trying to take care of the girls, 2 dogs, 2 birds and one hedgehog. It may not sound like much, but it really keeps me busy.
Last weekend Courtney had her first performance ever. She was Tigger in a little Winnie the Pooh play at her musical theater school. It was very cute. We are waiting for the performance that was filmed to come in the mail. Plus the photos. Once we get it, I will try to post it on YouTube for everyone to be able to watch. It was very cute and I am sure there are many more performances to come. In fact I already have her signed up for a summer camp there, and they are going to be doing 101 Dalmations.
I also have her signed up for VBS and another camp at church, plus an art class with Bemis Art School here in town. I also am going to get the girls back in swimming lessons. Kasey is finally of the age that I don't have to be in the pool with her! I need to get Courtney tested to see what level of lesson to put her in and then I can get them signed up! I am hoping to keep the girls busy this summer.
I am waiting to hear if Kasey will get into the preschool program at the same place Courtney went, which is at the elementary school just down the street. The school that Courtney is attending currently does not have a preschool or a feeder preschool, so we have to find somewhere we are happy with. We know we like the teachers there, so we are hoping we get in! We should know in about a month. If she doesn't get in there, well then, I am not quite sure where we are going to send her to preschool...
Gosh, that's about all the highlights I can think of currently. I really need to get off the computer and work on cleaning. Somehow the house has turned into quite a disaster area!!!
On the other hand I have gotten really good just in the last month of dealing with things that typically I would make Hubby deal with. I set up new lawn service, got the sprinkler system fixed (had to have a valve replaced and line repaired, I hired the new lawn service to do this too). Dealt with a leaking regulator to our water heater. Figured out how to reprogram our sprinkler system box (the sprinklers just would not come on, Hubby couldn't figure out why, our neighbor couldn't figure out why, but I finally did it!) Plus many other things that have come up that I have figured out how to handle. Usually I find myself dealing with sick kids. This time it was house items plus being on a weight lifting restriction. I am amazing myself with the things that I am handling, learning, and dealing with!
I have been spending my time working part time at the office, doing MOPS and Ministry Team, driving Courtney to and from school, working out, and trying to take care of the girls, 2 dogs, 2 birds and one hedgehog. It may not sound like much, but it really keeps me busy.
Last weekend Courtney had her first performance ever. She was Tigger in a little Winnie the Pooh play at her musical theater school. It was very cute. We are waiting for the performance that was filmed to come in the mail. Plus the photos. Once we get it, I will try to post it on YouTube for everyone to be able to watch. It was very cute and I am sure there are many more performances to come. In fact I already have her signed up for a summer camp there, and they are going to be doing 101 Dalmations.
I also have her signed up for VBS and another camp at church, plus an art class with Bemis Art School here in town. I also am going to get the girls back in swimming lessons. Kasey is finally of the age that I don't have to be in the pool with her! I need to get Courtney tested to see what level of lesson to put her in and then I can get them signed up! I am hoping to keep the girls busy this summer.
I am waiting to hear if Kasey will get into the preschool program at the same place Courtney went, which is at the elementary school just down the street. The school that Courtney is attending currently does not have a preschool or a feeder preschool, so we have to find somewhere we are happy with. We know we like the teachers there, so we are hoping we get in! We should know in about a month. If she doesn't get in there, well then, I am not quite sure where we are going to send her to preschool...
Gosh, that's about all the highlights I can think of currently. I really need to get off the computer and work on cleaning. Somehow the house has turned into quite a disaster area!!!
Sunday, April 01, 2012
The Secret is Out
So, the last few months have been a bit insane for us. I have been laying low and staying quiet as we have been dealing with some heavy issues here. I guess I will back up a bit.
I had a medical procedure in early February where about half of my cervix was removed. Its a long road on how we got to that point, but basically it started with an abnormal pap smear about 2 years ago. And after watching me closely for the past 2 years, things progressed to the point that I needed to have that done.
After that was done they biopsied the parts they removed to ensure they got all the bad cells. But the bad news was that they found cancer cells on the pieces they removed, and it was the type of cells that were going to move up the glands into my uterus. Therefore next step was a hysterectomy.
I had to wait 6 weeks due to the risk of infection being higher than the risk of the cancer spreading outside the area. So, on Wednesday March 21 I had a hysterectomy. Wow, only 37 years old and having a hysterectomy. Good thing we are done having kids! We got the exceptional news 2 days after surgery that they got all the cells!!! I had clean margins all around! Couldn't ask for better news.
But backing up, from the moment the doctor called with the bad news in February, life has been so very different. My emotions went so many places I have never been before. I think I was on auto-pilot until we got the results last Friday. Looking back I feel like I wasn't able to think clearly for the last 6 weeks. Its so hard to put into words what the last 6 weeks were like.
One of the emotions that I was feeling was that I really didn't want many people to know. It was so odd. I am usually one of those people who live like an open book, especially with big issues because I feel that if I can help just one person with the things I have learned or gone through, then it's worth it. But this time I felt like keeping it private. I told those close to us, and I told my Sunday school class and ministry team for prayers.
But here I am after the event, healing, and I am okay being an open book again. Especially because it shows the importance of women getting yearly pap smears!!! My cancer was caught early and removed because my doctor and I stayed on top of it! And I do not have to have any more treatment (cancer wise) due to catching it early!!
How am I doing? Well, the hysterectomy was tougher than I thought. I mean the recovery has been harder than I expected for some reason. Everyone kept saying before that if I had already had a C-section that this would be easier than that. But for some reason, for me, this was worse. Maybe it's due to the fact that I don't have an adorable new baby afterwards, who knows.
So I have been taking it very slow. I learned a few days after surgery that I really have to be careful how many times I go up and down the stairs in a day. Of course the further away I get from the surgery the better I am. I am on lots of restrictions for a while. I am not supposed to lift anything over 10 lbs for 4 weeks!! That's a tough one. And I just have to take it easy for 8 weeks. This is all pretty tough stuff to do with a 2 year old and a 5 year old!
Thankfully this first week has worked out really well. It was already planned that Hubby was taking Courtney on a work trip to Florida with him for Spring Break. He dropped her at Grammy and Granddad's house for the week while he worked in Tampa. So Courtney has been gone most of my recovery time. It has helped immensely to keep me quiet.
My mom and my sister have been here taking care of me and Kasey. I am so thankful! And many friends have been bringing meals for us! I am so blessed! Soon this will all be a memory. I am looking forward to that day.
So to all of you who have sent cards, brought meals, visited, cleaned, called, etc, I can't thank you enough! I feel so very loved. And so very blessed.
I had a medical procedure in early February where about half of my cervix was removed. Its a long road on how we got to that point, but basically it started with an abnormal pap smear about 2 years ago. And after watching me closely for the past 2 years, things progressed to the point that I needed to have that done.
After that was done they biopsied the parts they removed to ensure they got all the bad cells. But the bad news was that they found cancer cells on the pieces they removed, and it was the type of cells that were going to move up the glands into my uterus. Therefore next step was a hysterectomy.
I had to wait 6 weeks due to the risk of infection being higher than the risk of the cancer spreading outside the area. So, on Wednesday March 21 I had a hysterectomy. Wow, only 37 years old and having a hysterectomy. Good thing we are done having kids! We got the exceptional news 2 days after surgery that they got all the cells!!! I had clean margins all around! Couldn't ask for better news.
But backing up, from the moment the doctor called with the bad news in February, life has been so very different. My emotions went so many places I have never been before. I think I was on auto-pilot until we got the results last Friday. Looking back I feel like I wasn't able to think clearly for the last 6 weeks. Its so hard to put into words what the last 6 weeks were like.
One of the emotions that I was feeling was that I really didn't want many people to know. It was so odd. I am usually one of those people who live like an open book, especially with big issues because I feel that if I can help just one person with the things I have learned or gone through, then it's worth it. But this time I felt like keeping it private. I told those close to us, and I told my Sunday school class and ministry team for prayers.
But here I am after the event, healing, and I am okay being an open book again. Especially because it shows the importance of women getting yearly pap smears!!! My cancer was caught early and removed because my doctor and I stayed on top of it! And I do not have to have any more treatment (cancer wise) due to catching it early!!
How am I doing? Well, the hysterectomy was tougher than I thought. I mean the recovery has been harder than I expected for some reason. Everyone kept saying before that if I had already had a C-section that this would be easier than that. But for some reason, for me, this was worse. Maybe it's due to the fact that I don't have an adorable new baby afterwards, who knows.
So I have been taking it very slow. I learned a few days after surgery that I really have to be careful how many times I go up and down the stairs in a day. Of course the further away I get from the surgery the better I am. I am on lots of restrictions for a while. I am not supposed to lift anything over 10 lbs for 4 weeks!! That's a tough one. And I just have to take it easy for 8 weeks. This is all pretty tough stuff to do with a 2 year old and a 5 year old!
Thankfully this first week has worked out really well. It was already planned that Hubby was taking Courtney on a work trip to Florida with him for Spring Break. He dropped her at Grammy and Granddad's house for the week while he worked in Tampa. So Courtney has been gone most of my recovery time. It has helped immensely to keep me quiet.
My mom and my sister have been here taking care of me and Kasey. I am so thankful! And many friends have been bringing meals for us! I am so blessed! Soon this will all be a memory. I am looking forward to that day.
So to all of you who have sent cards, brought meals, visited, cleaned, called, etc, I can't thank you enough! I feel so very loved. And so very blessed.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Happy Leap Day
Life has been crazier than normal recently! Courtney has been just loving her musical theater class. Did I mention before that she got the part of Tigger? They are having a small performance on April 21. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I also signed her up for a summer camp with them. I am so glad we finally found something that is perfect for her!
Kasey is starting to hit the terrible two's, or maybe almost terrible 3's? She is in the full throw herself on the floor tantrum phase. But her language is just exploding! Plus, she decided 3 weeks ago that she is done with diapers. And she hasn't had any accidents the last 2 weeks! We are potty trained! At least during the day, she still wears pull ups at night.
Hubby gets to go to the beautiful island of Cypress this month for just over a week. I am jealous! I wish I could go!
Life is keeping me busy. As usual I have MOPS, work, I rejoined the YMCA so now I am working out, plus all the stuff for kids. So, my days fly by!
We have had our share of illnesses this month (stomach flus, colds, etc). But everytime I volunteer at her school it seems that all the kids there have some sort of illness and shouldn't be there... So, I am not too surprised. Hopefully warmer weather will come soon and everyone will be healthy.
The other night we had a big Taggies making party at a friend's house. For the MOPS mommies who are pregnant or had a baby this MOPS year, we made a Taggies blanket for the baby. It was so much fun! And they turned out so cute. I can't wait to give them to the mommies!
We got our new bird, Kiwi. He is an Indian Ringneck and very pretty. He is also much louder and chirpier than Piglet. We just got him a mirror, he loves to make all kinds of noises at himself in the mirror! It's very cute. We currently have the 2 birds in seperate cages, Kiwi has a pretty strong beak and could hurt Piglet, but eventually we will get them in the same cage. We are just making sure the two of them get along. So far so good!
We are still very much enjoying Pinecones the Hedgehog. She is so cute! And pretty darn easy to care for. She is getting more and more used to us, so she un-balls faster and faster now when we have her out.
And that's about it. The dogs are pretty normal. The weather has been a roller-coster. Nice one day and snow the next! It's been a very odd winter.
Well, I am off to work out!
Kasey is starting to hit the terrible two's, or maybe almost terrible 3's? She is in the full throw herself on the floor tantrum phase. But her language is just exploding! Plus, she decided 3 weeks ago that she is done with diapers. And she hasn't had any accidents the last 2 weeks! We are potty trained! At least during the day, she still wears pull ups at night.
Hubby gets to go to the beautiful island of Cypress this month for just over a week. I am jealous! I wish I could go!
Life is keeping me busy. As usual I have MOPS, work, I rejoined the YMCA so now I am working out, plus all the stuff for kids. So, my days fly by!
We have had our share of illnesses this month (stomach flus, colds, etc). But everytime I volunteer at her school it seems that all the kids there have some sort of illness and shouldn't be there... So, I am not too surprised. Hopefully warmer weather will come soon and everyone will be healthy.
The other night we had a big Taggies making party at a friend's house. For the MOPS mommies who are pregnant or had a baby this MOPS year, we made a Taggies blanket for the baby. It was so much fun! And they turned out so cute. I can't wait to give them to the mommies!
We got our new bird, Kiwi. He is an Indian Ringneck and very pretty. He is also much louder and chirpier than Piglet. We just got him a mirror, he loves to make all kinds of noises at himself in the mirror! It's very cute. We currently have the 2 birds in seperate cages, Kiwi has a pretty strong beak and could hurt Piglet, but eventually we will get them in the same cage. We are just making sure the two of them get along. So far so good!
We are still very much enjoying Pinecones the Hedgehog. She is so cute! And pretty darn easy to care for. She is getting more and more used to us, so she un-balls faster and faster now when we have her out.
And that's about it. The dogs are pretty normal. The weather has been a roller-coster. Nice one day and snow the next! It's been a very odd winter.
Well, I am off to work out!
Sunday, February 05, 2012
Happy February
I just can't believe how time flies. Yes I can. I have felt like there just aren't enough hours in the day recently. Feeling like it's so hard to "catch up" on everything! From laundry, to house cleaning to talking with friends, I feel so behind.
Well, we went to the Gabriel Foundation last weekend to look at getting a new bird. In case you missed in, one of our birds, Muse, died suddenly and unexpectedly 2 weeks ago. Now we are looking for a new friend for Piglet. We think we have found him. His name is Kiwi, and he is an Indian Ringneck. He is very beautiful and does say some things. We are in the process of adopting him now. We were hoping we were going to be able to pick him up this past weekend, but apparently the Gabriel Foundation is moving 75 of their Macaw's to Florida for some reason. Then we got hit with a big snow storm. The Gabriel Foundation is located in Elizabeth, Colorado which is directly east of Castle Rock. They got over 2 feet of snow Thursday-Friday, so most people were home-bound for a few days. That also delayed our adoption process. Bummed us out, but completely understandable! Here's to hoping this week he is able to get cleared by the vet (their vet at the facility) so that we can bring him home soon.
We celebrated Hubby's birthday over the past few days. On his birthday the folks at work (including me and the girls) went out for a sushi lunch with him. That night for dinner we went to Chick-fil-a. Not because it was his birthday, but because Courtney's school was having a fund raising night dinner there. When you buy anything there on that day, you tell them you are there to support AACL and they will donate 15% of the total to AACL. So, we all went for dinner. Courtney saw 3 of her kindergarten friends there and one of the kindergarten teachers!
Friday night Hubby took Courtney out on "a date". They had tickets to a performance for kids downtown at the Pikes Peak Center. They had a great time together.
Saturday night, I had set up a babysitter, and Hubby and I went to a very nice dinner at the Craftwood Inn. This restaurant is unique in the fact that is has several items of wild game on the menu. From antelope to elk to some wild boar! I had veal, Hubby had a plate that had venison, elk and steak on it. It was a very nice quiet romantic evening for just the 2 of us.
Today we went to my parents house. We went out to lunch with them at Carlos Miguel's, a local Mexican restaurant, and then back to their house for cake.
In the midst of all this happening, on Thursday night it started snowing. (The storm that dumped 2+ feet in Elizabeth, CO). At our house we got probably 6-8 inches. But because it was a "blizzard" it was really hard to tell. We have some bare spots in our backyard, and then we have drifts 2 feet deep. School was cancelled on Friday, and Hubby started his day off by snow blowing about 6 inches off the driveway and sidewalks. The snow finally stopped Saturday morning. Funny thing is that down at my parent's house, they hardly have any snow! This think really hit us and north. The more north you went, the more snow you got.
Also on Saturday, our cadet Grant said that due to the snow their weekend training was cancelled and could he come over? Sure! So we picked him up on Saturday morning. His birthday is this upcoming Tuesday, so we celebrated with him today as well. My mom got the birthday cake changed to say Happy Birthday hubby and Grant! And she got him a gift bag of snacks and goodies, because the boy loves to eat. I had our gift mailed and he will get it tomorrow or on his birthday.
Courtney is loving her musical theater class. I really don't think there is a more perfect thing for her out there. I can't wait to see her first performance in April! Poor thing is also getting her 6 year molars in on top. She is miserable, and she has been stuffy since it started. I am guessing the teeth trying to come in are irritating her gums and sinus, hence her being stuffy. I wish these things would just hurry up and get here!
Kasey is just funny as ever. She really is a little clown. The other night, she was getting ready for bed, and was brushing her teeth in the bathroom while I was combing her hair. She shut one eye and said "look Mom! I a pirate!" She showed Daddy too. Have no idea where that came from, but man was it cute! She is so stinking cute I just want to freeze her right where she is!!
We are really enjoying Pinecones, the hedgehog. She is getting more comfortable with us, she starts to unall faster when we take her out. And we are figuring out what things she does like and which things she doesn't like. I am loving having her as a pet!
My 31 business continues to thrive. I have had a party every month for the past few months. I would really like to get the point of having more than 1 party a month, but I am still happy with at least one party a month!
Hubby's business is also becoming very busy. I don't expect to see much of him in March and April. It's going to be tough for a while on the family until they are just so busy and have gotten a good looking savings account until they can hire someone to help.
Oh, Kasey went and saw her pulmonologist again. He says that she looks great, and come Spring time when all the sicknesses start going away, we can try taking her off several of the medications she is currently on. She will probably always be on Singular, but getting rid of the 2 others would sure be a blessing!!!
I continue volunteering in Courtney's classroom at school once a week. And I am still amazed at the patience of a kindergarten teacher. Especially in the school that Courtney is in. It's very different then her old school in so many ways. Hard to explain....
Gosh, I think that's about the highlights of the last few weeks. I am glad I finally forced myself to sit down and write a post. Hope all of you are doing well!
Well, we went to the Gabriel Foundation last weekend to look at getting a new bird. In case you missed in, one of our birds, Muse, died suddenly and unexpectedly 2 weeks ago. Now we are looking for a new friend for Piglet. We think we have found him. His name is Kiwi, and he is an Indian Ringneck. He is very beautiful and does say some things. We are in the process of adopting him now. We were hoping we were going to be able to pick him up this past weekend, but apparently the Gabriel Foundation is moving 75 of their Macaw's to Florida for some reason. Then we got hit with a big snow storm. The Gabriel Foundation is located in Elizabeth, Colorado which is directly east of Castle Rock. They got over 2 feet of snow Thursday-Friday, so most people were home-bound for a few days. That also delayed our adoption process. Bummed us out, but completely understandable! Here's to hoping this week he is able to get cleared by the vet (their vet at the facility) so that we can bring him home soon.
We celebrated Hubby's birthday over the past few days. On his birthday the folks at work (including me and the girls) went out for a sushi lunch with him. That night for dinner we went to Chick-fil-a. Not because it was his birthday, but because Courtney's school was having a fund raising night dinner there. When you buy anything there on that day, you tell them you are there to support AACL and they will donate 15% of the total to AACL. So, we all went for dinner. Courtney saw 3 of her kindergarten friends there and one of the kindergarten teachers!
Friday night Hubby took Courtney out on "a date". They had tickets to a performance for kids downtown at the Pikes Peak Center. They had a great time together.
Saturday night, I had set up a babysitter, and Hubby and I went to a very nice dinner at the Craftwood Inn. This restaurant is unique in the fact that is has several items of wild game on the menu. From antelope to elk to some wild boar! I had veal, Hubby had a plate that had venison, elk and steak on it. It was a very nice quiet romantic evening for just the 2 of us.
Today we went to my parents house. We went out to lunch with them at Carlos Miguel's, a local Mexican restaurant, and then back to their house for cake.
In the midst of all this happening, on Thursday night it started snowing. (The storm that dumped 2+ feet in Elizabeth, CO). At our house we got probably 6-8 inches. But because it was a "blizzard" it was really hard to tell. We have some bare spots in our backyard, and then we have drifts 2 feet deep. School was cancelled on Friday, and Hubby started his day off by snow blowing about 6 inches off the driveway and sidewalks. The snow finally stopped Saturday morning. Funny thing is that down at my parent's house, they hardly have any snow! This think really hit us and north. The more north you went, the more snow you got.
Also on Saturday, our cadet Grant said that due to the snow their weekend training was cancelled and could he come over? Sure! So we picked him up on Saturday morning. His birthday is this upcoming Tuesday, so we celebrated with him today as well. My mom got the birthday cake changed to say Happy Birthday hubby and Grant! And she got him a gift bag of snacks and goodies, because the boy loves to eat. I had our gift mailed and he will get it tomorrow or on his birthday.
Courtney is loving her musical theater class. I really don't think there is a more perfect thing for her out there. I can't wait to see her first performance in April! Poor thing is also getting her 6 year molars in on top. She is miserable, and she has been stuffy since it started. I am guessing the teeth trying to come in are irritating her gums and sinus, hence her being stuffy. I wish these things would just hurry up and get here!
Kasey is just funny as ever. She really is a little clown. The other night, she was getting ready for bed, and was brushing her teeth in the bathroom while I was combing her hair. She shut one eye and said "look Mom! I a pirate!" She showed Daddy too. Have no idea where that came from, but man was it cute! She is so stinking cute I just want to freeze her right where she is!!
We are really enjoying Pinecones, the hedgehog. She is getting more comfortable with us, she starts to unall faster when we take her out. And we are figuring out what things she does like and which things she doesn't like. I am loving having her as a pet!
My 31 business continues to thrive. I have had a party every month for the past few months. I would really like to get the point of having more than 1 party a month, but I am still happy with at least one party a month!
Hubby's business is also becoming very busy. I don't expect to see much of him in March and April. It's going to be tough for a while on the family until they are just so busy and have gotten a good looking savings account until they can hire someone to help.
Oh, Kasey went and saw her pulmonologist again. He says that she looks great, and come Spring time when all the sicknesses start going away, we can try taking her off several of the medications she is currently on. She will probably always be on Singular, but getting rid of the 2 others would sure be a blessing!!!
I continue volunteering in Courtney's classroom at school once a week. And I am still amazed at the patience of a kindergarten teacher. Especially in the school that Courtney is in. It's very different then her old school in so many ways. Hard to explain....
Gosh, I think that's about the highlights of the last few weeks. I am glad I finally forced myself to sit down and write a post. Hope all of you are doing well!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
More Muse details
The necropsy was done the day after Muse died. It was very apparent once they took a look inside the little bird what had happened. First her heart was twice the size it should have been. Between that and the bruising that was apparent on her heart, it would appear that sometime overnight (Sunday to Monday) she had a stroke. That is why we found her lame on the bottom of the cage.
From there, it was just too much for her little heart. As the vet said "she had a cardiac episode that ended her life". So, I guess her poor little heart just couldn't handle it. Most cockatiels live between 20-30 years. We have no idea how old she was, but we don't think she was really that old. She apparently just had some genetic defects that caused her precious life to be short.
We do know that she was rescued from a breeder/hoarder situation. That probably had a lot to do the the genetic defects. Very sad.
Her presence is very much missed. One big difference is that when Hubby walked in the door form work in the evenings, she would cheep so loud he could hear her in the garage before he opened the door to the house! She would start as soon as the garage door opened.
Piglet is doing ok. She seems so lonely. I notice that now if we have the TV on in the room where the bird cage is, she watches it. She "peeps" for a few hours each afternoon now, and it's very sad and depressing sounding.
We are heading up to the Gabriel Foundation this weekend to see if we can't find a friend for Piglet. Cockatiels are flock birds, they like being with friends. So we will take Piglet with us to see if we can find someone she can get along with!
Well, time to go and feed our one bird...
From there, it was just too much for her little heart. As the vet said "she had a cardiac episode that ended her life". So, I guess her poor little heart just couldn't handle it. Most cockatiels live between 20-30 years. We have no idea how old she was, but we don't think she was really that old. She apparently just had some genetic defects that caused her precious life to be short.
We do know that she was rescued from a breeder/hoarder situation. That probably had a lot to do the the genetic defects. Very sad.
Her presence is very much missed. One big difference is that when Hubby walked in the door form work in the evenings, she would cheep so loud he could hear her in the garage before he opened the door to the house! She would start as soon as the garage door opened.
Piglet is doing ok. She seems so lonely. I notice that now if we have the TV on in the room where the bird cage is, she watches it. She "peeps" for a few hours each afternoon now, and it's very sad and depressing sounding.
We are heading up to the Gabriel Foundation this weekend to see if we can't find a friend for Piglet. Cockatiels are flock birds, they like being with friends. So we will take Piglet with us to see if we can find someone she can get along with!
Well, time to go and feed our one bird...
Monday, January 23, 2012
Muse
Our day was rather unexpected. During our morning routine Hubby and I noticed Muse was missing from the cage. We both walked over and noticed she was on the bottom of the cage, hiding in the corner. Hubby took a look and she was holding her leg up. So, we got her in the bird carrier, called the vet, and Hubby headed off to the vet while I took Courtney to school.
At the vet they took x-rays. They didn't see anything broken, or any tumors, that could cause the injury. The vet gave her a shot of anti-inflammatory. He instructed us to take her home, keeping her in the carrier so she couldn't fly or perch, and keep her quiet for 24 hours.
Hubby brought her home and set her up so she and Piglet could see each other. She was awake and settled when Hubby left. (that was about 8:30am).
I went to work, and after I picked Courtney up at school, stopped at my mom's work, and came home, it was about 12:30. As soon as I saw her I knew. Muse had passed away.
I called Hubby and told him what was up. He immediately came home from work. I called the vet to ask how to handle the situation. After we determined what we were going to do, we got the girls together to tell them. We got Muse out of the carrier and let them look and touch. We then wrapped her in a small fleece blanket and Courtney and Hubby took her to the vet. Courtney carried her the whole way.
We are going to have a necropsy done to try and figure out what happened. It was all so sudden. Last night we were watching her play with a toy. 12 hours later, she was gone.
Piglet seems pretty lost right now. She certainly wanted some attention this afternoon, and she got plenty. Hopefully soon we can get another friend for her.
Muse was such a great bird. She was the one who loved to be pet. I can just see her up in Heaven, sitting on God's arm, bumping her head against his finger to get petted, just like she did with us.
She certainly had a favorite human. That was Hubby. If she was out of the cage, and Hubby was somewhere on the main floor, she would somehow, someway, get herself onto his shoulder. It usually took her some doing because we kept her wings clipped, but she always managed. That is certainly where she was happiest.
I am so thankful I took the time to stop and pet her for a few minutes this morning before we headed out the door. I loved petting her, getting scratched under her neck was her favorite.
She will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
At the vet they took x-rays. They didn't see anything broken, or any tumors, that could cause the injury. The vet gave her a shot of anti-inflammatory. He instructed us to take her home, keeping her in the carrier so she couldn't fly or perch, and keep her quiet for 24 hours.
Hubby brought her home and set her up so she and Piglet could see each other. She was awake and settled when Hubby left. (that was about 8:30am).
I went to work, and after I picked Courtney up at school, stopped at my mom's work, and came home, it was about 12:30. As soon as I saw her I knew. Muse had passed away.
I called Hubby and told him what was up. He immediately came home from work. I called the vet to ask how to handle the situation. After we determined what we were going to do, we got the girls together to tell them. We got Muse out of the carrier and let them look and touch. We then wrapped her in a small fleece blanket and Courtney and Hubby took her to the vet. Courtney carried her the whole way.
We are going to have a necropsy done to try and figure out what happened. It was all so sudden. Last night we were watching her play with a toy. 12 hours later, she was gone.
Piglet seems pretty lost right now. She certainly wanted some attention this afternoon, and she got plenty. Hopefully soon we can get another friend for her.
Muse was such a great bird. She was the one who loved to be pet. I can just see her up in Heaven, sitting on God's arm, bumping her head against his finger to get petted, just like she did with us.
She certainly had a favorite human. That was Hubby. If she was out of the cage, and Hubby was somewhere on the main floor, she would somehow, someway, get herself onto his shoulder. It usually took her some doing because we kept her wings clipped, but she always managed. That is certainly where she was happiest.
I am so thankful I took the time to stop and pet her for a few minutes this morning before we headed out the door. I loved petting her, getting scratched under her neck was her favorite.
She will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Christmas and Pinecones
Well, the holidays are finally over and we are now officially done hosting parties! YAY! Now just need to get my house back in order and all will be well.
Let's see, Christmas Eve dinner was here at our house. We had purchased a prime rib (standing rib roast) a few days before and had been dry aging it in our fridge. Christmas Eve morning we put it on the smoker. I took the girls to the Children's service at church. They do a super cute service for the kids at 10:30am. They give out costumes to the kids attending, they have angel costumes, wise men costumes and shepherds. Courtney dressed up as an angel, as did her friend Hailey, we sat with her and her family. When it's time for the angels to come in the story, all the angels go to the front of the sanctuary, and when it's time for the shepherds and the wise men, those kids join in too. There were about 100 kids at the front of the church by then end. It was so cute. We sing a few Christmas carols and have a short service and then it's over. 30 minutes total, which is great for all the young kids!
From there it was a few errands (mostly delivering gifts) and then home. Once we were home and settled, I figured it was time to start preparing for that night's dinner. I got out all of the stuff to make cheesy zucchini. Hubby came over to help. He decided to slice the zucchini for me. He got out his new Pampered Chef simple slicer and began to slice. About 2 inches into the first zucchini he slipped and cut the pad of his thumb instead. Gave himself a pretty good slice. He immediately rinsed it off and once he did that, he applied pressure. An hour later, it was still bleeding pretty good. So, off to urgent care he went, by himself, in his car, which is a stick shift.
So, now Hubby is at Urgent Care and I am home with the girls, a standing rib roast on the smoker and the rest of dinner to prepare. Hubby finally decided that it probably would not be a good idea for him to try and drive himself home, so he asked me to call my mom or Zak and ask them to come drive him home. So, they left their house earlier than planned and dropped Zak off with Hubby to bring him home when he was done. Hubby ended up with 8 stitches. We figured out later that he should have probably had 9, so a steri-stip was added.
It ended up working out just right. Hubby and Zak arrived home just as I pulled the roast and other food out of the oven! Zak was able to assist with cutting slices of the prime rib for everyone and we all sat down and had a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner together.
After our fabulous dinner, we went caroling. Of course, only to one house, but Courtney had been dying to go caroling, so this appeased her desire. We went to John and Lisa's house across the street. They were having a large Christmas Eve party which we then invaded on as well (they had a heads up earlier that week that we would be caroling). We were there for the Christmas trivia game. We divided into 4 teams (Lisa divided us, so it was fair) and had to answer about 25 Christmas related questions. Good times.
We finally got the girls in bed and asleep, after cookies and milk were put out for Santa. I think we actually didn't get woken up until about 7am the next morning, not too bad! The girls had a ball opening all their gifts the next morning. Kasey had asked Santa for candy canes and so he had brought her a big box of them. Courtney asked her for several things including a large ball and some jewelry. Santa left those for her as well! She was very excited.
After the we all opened the gifts and the girls played a bit, they were ready to head out. So, as usual we headed to the zoo. We fed the giraffes, and saw a few other animals. I think we spent about an hour there. Then we headed to Nana's and Papa's house.
There we opened gifts, snacked and then had dinner. It was a great time. I think we finally headed for home about 8pm. It was a wonderful two days.
The next day was my birthday, and we had plans to spend the night in Denver, just Hubby and I. Our babysitter arrived about noon and we headed out. Our first stop was Ikea to get a new kitchen table. So, we wondered around for a few hours, enjoying the sites inside Ikea, and picking out our new table.
After we got our new table in the car, we headed to Park Meadows mall and I got myself a new pair of jeans that were pricy, but hey, it was my birthday! From there we checked into the Ritz Carlton. Yes, you read that right, we stayed at the Ritz Carlton. Of course, we used Marriott points so we didn't have to pay for anything. It was so nice, I told Hubby he was spoiling me and I am going to never want to stay in any other hotel.
We used their free car service to go to dinner at a nearby delicious sushi restaurant. And then they came and picked us up when we were done! Once we got back to the hotel, we had a nightcap in their bar before heading for bed.
The next morning we stopped at a breakfast place nearby. Apparently Guy Ferri from Diners, Drive-in's and Dives filmed an episode there. He apparently loved their green chili. I had some sort of dish that also had the chili on it, and it was very tasty. From there it was back home and back to reality.
When we opened out boxes to build our tables, we found the tabletop was cracked. So, the next day I drove back to Ikea to swap it out for a new one. It's a very long story, but we finally have a whole table, put together will all the pieces. Finally, as of about 2 days ago.
Anyway, we also had our typical New Year's party here. This year we invited more people and we had more people actually RSVP to come! So, we had 40-50 people here on New Year's. The next morning our house was trashed beyond belief, so we spent days cleaning up.
We had our first parent/teacher conference with Courtney's teacher. They say she is doing great! No complaints.
Life is back to normal; school, work, etc. Then 2 days ago, a slight change. Our family expanded by 1 hedgehog. Yes, we now have a pet hedgehog! I have wanted one for years. I have researched them, and was really hoping someday it would just work out right. Wouldn't you know on Thursday this past week, it worked out that we rescued a hedgehog. I would have never have bought one, I was waiting to rescue one and I did! Courtney named her Pinecones. Such a good name for a prickly hedgehog. She has only been in our home for 3 days and she has just wormed her way into our hearts. She is so cute! She is still getting to know us, and us her.
That is about the last month in a very small nutshell. Gotta go and work on cleaning and laundry. Hugs to all.
Let's see, Christmas Eve dinner was here at our house. We had purchased a prime rib (standing rib roast) a few days before and had been dry aging it in our fridge. Christmas Eve morning we put it on the smoker. I took the girls to the Children's service at church. They do a super cute service for the kids at 10:30am. They give out costumes to the kids attending, they have angel costumes, wise men costumes and shepherds. Courtney dressed up as an angel, as did her friend Hailey, we sat with her and her family. When it's time for the angels to come in the story, all the angels go to the front of the sanctuary, and when it's time for the shepherds and the wise men, those kids join in too. There were about 100 kids at the front of the church by then end. It was so cute. We sing a few Christmas carols and have a short service and then it's over. 30 minutes total, which is great for all the young kids!
From there it was a few errands (mostly delivering gifts) and then home. Once we were home and settled, I figured it was time to start preparing for that night's dinner. I got out all of the stuff to make cheesy zucchini. Hubby came over to help. He decided to slice the zucchini for me. He got out his new Pampered Chef simple slicer and began to slice. About 2 inches into the first zucchini he slipped and cut the pad of his thumb instead. Gave himself a pretty good slice. He immediately rinsed it off and once he did that, he applied pressure. An hour later, it was still bleeding pretty good. So, off to urgent care he went, by himself, in his car, which is a stick shift.
So, now Hubby is at Urgent Care and I am home with the girls, a standing rib roast on the smoker and the rest of dinner to prepare. Hubby finally decided that it probably would not be a good idea for him to try and drive himself home, so he asked me to call my mom or Zak and ask them to come drive him home. So, they left their house earlier than planned and dropped Zak off with Hubby to bring him home when he was done. Hubby ended up with 8 stitches. We figured out later that he should have probably had 9, so a steri-stip was added.
It ended up working out just right. Hubby and Zak arrived home just as I pulled the roast and other food out of the oven! Zak was able to assist with cutting slices of the prime rib for everyone and we all sat down and had a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner together.
After our fabulous dinner, we went caroling. Of course, only to one house, but Courtney had been dying to go caroling, so this appeased her desire. We went to John and Lisa's house across the street. They were having a large Christmas Eve party which we then invaded on as well (they had a heads up earlier that week that we would be caroling). We were there for the Christmas trivia game. We divided into 4 teams (Lisa divided us, so it was fair) and had to answer about 25 Christmas related questions. Good times.
We finally got the girls in bed and asleep, after cookies and milk were put out for Santa. I think we actually didn't get woken up until about 7am the next morning, not too bad! The girls had a ball opening all their gifts the next morning. Kasey had asked Santa for candy canes and so he had brought her a big box of them. Courtney asked her for several things including a large ball and some jewelry. Santa left those for her as well! She was very excited.
After the we all opened the gifts and the girls played a bit, they were ready to head out. So, as usual we headed to the zoo. We fed the giraffes, and saw a few other animals. I think we spent about an hour there. Then we headed to Nana's and Papa's house.
There we opened gifts, snacked and then had dinner. It was a great time. I think we finally headed for home about 8pm. It was a wonderful two days.
The next day was my birthday, and we had plans to spend the night in Denver, just Hubby and I. Our babysitter arrived about noon and we headed out. Our first stop was Ikea to get a new kitchen table. So, we wondered around for a few hours, enjoying the sites inside Ikea, and picking out our new table.
After we got our new table in the car, we headed to Park Meadows mall and I got myself a new pair of jeans that were pricy, but hey, it was my birthday! From there we checked into the Ritz Carlton. Yes, you read that right, we stayed at the Ritz Carlton. Of course, we used Marriott points so we didn't have to pay for anything. It was so nice, I told Hubby he was spoiling me and I am going to never want to stay in any other hotel.
We used their free car service to go to dinner at a nearby delicious sushi restaurant. And then they came and picked us up when we were done! Once we got back to the hotel, we had a nightcap in their bar before heading for bed.
The next morning we stopped at a breakfast place nearby. Apparently Guy Ferri from Diners, Drive-in's and Dives filmed an episode there. He apparently loved their green chili. I had some sort of dish that also had the chili on it, and it was very tasty. From there it was back home and back to reality.
When we opened out boxes to build our tables, we found the tabletop was cracked. So, the next day I drove back to Ikea to swap it out for a new one. It's a very long story, but we finally have a whole table, put together will all the pieces. Finally, as of about 2 days ago.
Anyway, we also had our typical New Year's party here. This year we invited more people and we had more people actually RSVP to come! So, we had 40-50 people here on New Year's. The next morning our house was trashed beyond belief, so we spent days cleaning up.
We had our first parent/teacher conference with Courtney's teacher. They say she is doing great! No complaints.
Life is back to normal; school, work, etc. Then 2 days ago, a slight change. Our family expanded by 1 hedgehog. Yes, we now have a pet hedgehog! I have wanted one for years. I have researched them, and was really hoping someday it would just work out right. Wouldn't you know on Thursday this past week, it worked out that we rescued a hedgehog. I would have never have bought one, I was waiting to rescue one and I did! Courtney named her Pinecones. Such a good name for a prickly hedgehog. She has only been in our home for 3 days and she has just wormed her way into our hearts. She is so cute! She is still getting to know us, and us her.
That is about the last month in a very small nutshell. Gotta go and work on cleaning and laundry. Hugs to all.
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