Father's Day Fun

What a wonderful Father's Day weekend we've had...

We started the whole adventure on Friday night, when the kids and I took Joe to Dave and Buster's for a little family fun. Having never been to Dave and Buster's, we weren't quite sure what to expect... but it did not disappoint. I know some people don't think it's a kids place, but let me tell you there were A LOT of kids in there. I think the key is to play and then leave early. Joe and the kids played lots of games and racked up lots of tickets. Colin was thrilled to come home with a stuffed frog, and Julia came home with a stuffed dolphin. Overall, Joe AND the kids had a great time...
Saturday morning had us at my mom's house for breakfast. And what a breakfast it was... I could NOT believe the spread that my mom had prepared for Joe and my dad. Homemade cinnamon rolls, homemade french toast, fresh baked bread, homemade biscuits with gravy, eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit salad- it was UNBELIEVABLE! My mom REALLY knows how to do breakfast! Following our carb consumption, we all hung out- Andrew and Stacy, Joe and I and the kids, and my mom and dad. We visited, hung with the kids and just generally enjoyed ourselves. Joe got a tackle box to use when we take the kids fishing on our Colorado trip, as well as a great 'Beer Brat' kit from Andrew and Stacy- with everything he needed to make yummy beer brats on the grill. It was a great morning- mostly because we had the chance to just hang out and enjoy each other.
Saturday afternoon found us all napping- it's been awhile since we took a Saturday afternoon nap, and we all really enjoyed it.
Saturday evening was dinner at the Outback. Joe loves the Outback- and the rest of us aren't that crazy about it- so we took Daddy there to enjoy a nice meal. He had steak and stuffed shrimp and CLEANED his plate! :)

Sunday started with breakfast in bed for Joe.This was followed by a visit from Aunt Suze. We had a nice swim, followed by the WONDERFUL beer brats from Schreiner's that Andrew gave us along with all the supplies (I will post this recipe later... so yummy!). I also made some excellent fried potatoes as well as some yummy pasta salad. After lunch, we played Scrabble with Aunt Suze. She also brought some delicious (OUT OF THIS WORLD) cupcakes from Karsh's Bakery. After this total food fest, we hung out on the couch and watched Kung Fu Panda. The kids enjoyed giving Daddy the cards they had picked out, and Daddy is excited about getting a new cell phone and about the new fishing pole that Julia and Colin gave him. The only downside of Sunday was that Julia started to not feel very good- so she spent a good part of the day just hanging with Daddy.
It was an unbelieveable weekend from beginning to finish. I know it was Father's Day, but I know that I sure enjoyed every minute that our family spent just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Our weekend was enriched by all of our family- Nana and Papa, Andrew and Stacy, Auntie Suze, and by Poohbah who Joe called on Sunday. We are SO lucky and blessed to have the life we have.... hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day with all the dads in your lives..
C.

Nana and Papa Time....

For those of you who don't know- my mom quit her job after Julia was born so that she could take care of her when I went back to work. In the weeks prior to Julia's birth, I think she thought this was only for a short period of time and that when Julia arrived my view of working would completely change. She was the first to point out however, after spending a lot of time with me during my maternity leave, that I *really* needed to go back to work.

And so Nana's daycare began... and then before too long, Papa was laid off from Honeywell and what was originally Nana's daycare became Nana and Papa's daycare. And then I was pregnant again (Nana pointed out quickly that we should have consulted the daycare providers before that happened, and I quickly pointed out that maybe we should have thought about it ourselves...) and the daycare expanded to include adults who were on bedrest. :) Once Colin arrived safely, Nana (by this point Papa had returned to work) was in charge of two little ones three days a week while the Momma went to work. And then I became a principal, and Nana was the primary caregiver 5 days a week... and this continued until two years ago.. when Julia was in first grade and Colin was in his final year of preschool and I brought the kids to Kyrene with me. Needless to say, this 'daycare' situation created a HUGE bond between my parents and my kids. Nana and Papa's house is truly my kiddos' second home- they are as comfortable there as they are anywhere (plus, the food is always better!)

During the past two years, Nana has graciously provided 'sick' care, and is always willing to help out on no school days and during summer vacation. My kiddos spent the last two weeks since school got out hanging out with their Nana (and their Papa when he wasn't at work) just enjoying the beginning of their summer vacation. They will spend the last two weeks of their vacation there as well- seems to be the perfect way to start and end their summer.

Nana and Papa ended their two weeks with the kids with a trip to Woods Canyon Lake in the RV. They all took off on Friday morning to head up to the cooler weather- then Daddy and I joined them on Saturday. The kids had a FABULOUS time... there were tons of crayfish (crawdads, crawfish) in the lake- and Julia took quite a liking to fishing for the darn things. Papa taught her all about how to catch them, and even created a jug to keep them in. Nana kept everybody going with good food and fun times. We all got to spend a nice couple of days hanging out, playing games, eating good food and relaxing. It is so great to watch my kids around my mom and dad. To see the relationships they are building- to see the love and affection that they all have for each other. To see how all of those things are growing and changing as my kids get older and more mature.

Julia fishing for crawdads with Papa fishing in the background.

Putting the crawdad into the 'crawdad' jug.

And everybody camps in an RV where you can watch a movie at the end of the night- right?

Sometimes I feel really guilty about being a working mom- I feel like I failed my kids by not being there every day with them. And then I look at the relationship that my kids have with their Nana and Papa and I wonder if that relationship would be the same, be as deep, be as connected as it is if they hadn't been such an integral part of their daily lives from the very beginning. Maybe it would be. (I know my kids are also very close to Joe's mom- and she wasn't their daily caregiver) Maybe it wouldn't. All I know is that whoever said it takes a village to raise a child was so right on the money. And my kids' village definately begins with their Nana and Papa.....

'Till next time..
C

What a Week!

I've thought about posting to my blog about a dozen times in the last week or so, but have never had energy AND time simultaneously... so it has just had to wait!

This last week has been amazing, chaotic, awesome, difficult, sad, and stressful week I've had in a long time. So much went on that I'm gonna have to break this up into several blog posts just to cover everything!

Let's start this whole thing with the dog update. It all started last Friday by dropping Ellie off at the vet for surgery. See, the girl is getting pretty old- she turned 11 on May 12th. (seriously, that's 77 in dog years!) The vet has been 'encouraging' us for the last year or so to have her teeth cleaned and do some other general 'maintenance' work before she gets to the point where we don't want to put her under any more. We decided that the time is now... so we took her in. She had two rather large tumors- one on her neck and one on her side. We knew that the one on her neck was just a fatty tumor and was not dangerous at all, but the vet was unable to determine the nature of the tumor on her side- he would have to take it out in order to know for sure what it was. She also got a tooth extracted, her teeth cleaned, her glands drained and her toenails trimmed. Things went well with the surgery and we were thrilled to find out that the tumor on her side was also a fatty tumor. I picked her up Friday night and brought her home. Apparently Friday night was not totally pleasant for her (I was actually gone and Joe stayed home with her and the kids- that's ANOTHER post). In fact, I guess Joe even had to show her how to lay down because she was SO out of it.

By Saturday she seemed more like her usual self- wandering around the house with her cone knocking into every wall and doorway. The rest of the weekend went well- so Monday, the kids and I took her back to the vet to have the drains removed from her rather large incision on her side. They took her back and before long the assistant came back to let us know that they could not get the drain out. After much discussion, we decided to leave Ellie there overnight- and have the vet look at her in the morning.

Tuesday, the vet calls to let me know that he has tried 3 times to remove the drain and is unable to do so... and will have to put her under again and go back in through the incision to see what is wrong. He does that... is able to get the drain out... and she's back on the road to recovery.
She's doing well now... still a bit groggy, the cone annoys her to no end and she is really bummed that she can't swim, but I think we accomplished our purpose in making these last few years of her life more comfortable and enjoyable- even though this week probably hasn't been the most pleasant week of her life! Joe and I are a little poorer after this whole event... but it was worth it to keep our girl feeling her best.

She'll need two follow ups to take out her staples... one for the ones on her neck and one for the ones on her side (since they were taken out and put back in- they need a little more time to heal)... so the drama will continue for a couple more weeks, but soon she'll be back to her 'old' self.

Have a wonderful Friday....
C