Safety Brief

This IS your Safety Brief for the Holiday:

Have Fun , Be Safe, Wear a bright color to be seen at night & Thank a Veteran for your Freedom to gobble down all the Snack Size Candy your stomach can handle today!! LOL

 

 

Friday, Saturday, & Sunday

You my friends get a treat tonight instead of a trick! I have been running around like a mad women since Friday morning. I have finally just now sat down in my living room to rest & unwind. We started our weekend off with Jeremy's birthday/sleepover.I woke up bright & early for my 5k Mud Run, then ran home to cook all afternoon for the adult Halloween party Saturday night. Then got up & moving Sunday morning for church- oh & the all day Halloween Hopla events afterwards. We also stopped on the way home at some dear friends house to BOO them with Halloween goodies as well as just say "hi" as it had been a long while since we saw them all.

Now don't worry if you can't keep up with it all. I took a camera to every event! I chronicled all the action for Paul & for you. With out further delay here is our super busy totally hectic but fun  Pre-halloween weekend!!

 

Friday night Birthday Madness - I love their faces in this shot

All shiny & clean before the run....

Totally wet,muddy & freezing after the run!

Adult Halloween Party Saturday night as Frenchie with Rainbow Bright

The whole crew having fun

Some of the Church Gang taking kids to the corn Maze before the party

Jacob helped us decorate & set up at church

Costume Winners of the evening

The boys getting out of the van ready to surprise our friends with Halloween goodies

 

Happy Halloween You've been Boo-ed

Are you tired just looking through these few pictures? Imagine how this sleep deprived mom feels. It was loads of fun for us all but way to much piled into one weekend. Next time this girl will check her calender better before  saying yes to so many activities. I am honestly ready for the spooky season to pass so I can lay around for a while. I hope everyone has a safe & fun Halloween night-make it Spooktacular!

Fall Photos

Thanks to a good friend & Portraits of Love we where able to do a mini session by our lake of fall pictures . All of them turned out great! I know my husband is enjoying looking at them all right now. As soon as I uploaded them all he stopped chatting to look & I haven't heard a peep in a few minutes-lol If your in the Yelm/Lacey/Dupont Washington area & looking for a photographer for any special occasion then please look up Lily Patch Photography. She does R&R photos,Homecoming,Ball,Wedding, & like I said Portraits of Love session. The Portraits of Love session is free to anyone with a deployed spouse. She gave me all the pictures on a disk for my own personal use! I am so grateful & so is my husband. Here are a few of my favorites, it was hard to decide.

 

 

Day One of Birthday Celebrations

Jeremy turned eleven today & I can hardly believe he is that old already. We woke up early & opened one gift before school. After enjoying his favorite chocolate chip muffins he headed out to school. Late in the afternoon I took in some cupcake & juice to share with his friends. He had the biggest smile all day. I got the best picture of him at school with his eyes wide open. Here are a couple pictures from today. Tomorrow he has his friend sleepover & birthday cake. So day two celebration will be posted on Friday.

This is the first picture since Jeremy was a baby that he has both eyes wide open looking at the camera. I almost cried- his Glaucoma keeps him looking down during most pictures.

Our Birthday Picture together I love this little guy

 

Jeremy talking to his daddy on Skype- he was so excited to show him his new toy. This is the third year my husband has had to miss Jeremy's birthday. We hope it's the last.

Just Dance with a Tune

We had company over Wednesday afternoon & Jeremy had so much fun playing with his friend. At some point they stopped playing with the trains & put on Just Dance for the Wii. All the sudden I hear the music from ROCKY , that's right folks my boys are singing Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger". I jumped up to see what was happening & it cracked me up! I grabbed my camera & had Jeremy start over. I have to say for a little guy he had some serious concentration going on during the dance. I tried my best not to laugh super loud like I did the first time I saw the dance moves. Just so you all know he takes after his dad & must really focus on his moves. 

This leads me to it being Thursday & Song Link up time with Amber from Goodnight Moon. I am posting Jeremy's version of "Eye of the Tiger" then you can compare his moves with the video from Rocky. I have to say I am partial to Jeremy's moves. I mean he even does the shoulder moves! Have a great day & go link up at Goodnight Moon to post your favorite song of the week. Also feel free to share the adorable video from you Tube of Jeremy's awesome dancing-LOL

Did you notice the head & shoulder action...haha

Military Spouse of the Year 2012

It's that time again folks. If you know of an inspiring Military Spouse man or women take the time to go nominate them for the award. Here is the link to Nominate take a second of your time to let others know how great you think your Military Friend is to you! The nominations are open to ALL Branches  Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, & Coast Guard.

Fall Colors

Jeremy outside Madigan Hospital after an appointment today. We walked around to see all the gorgeous trees. This is truly my favorite Season .

Motivational Monday

We are now 5 days away from my next 5k Obstacle race -YAY!! I am super excited but well aware that it is going to hurt while doing it-LOL I am a realist. I know I am not the best runner so I will be working out four days in a row this week with a rest & yummy carb loading day on Friday! Just so happens that is the day we are having Jeremy's birthday cake so I get to eat a small slice  :0) 

With all that being said I have turned to GOOGLE my favorite friend to find some motivational pictures & quotes. I have been posting them a lot for my ladies who workout with me on a regular basis. I love to wait to hear their humorous responses to my 5AM posts on Facebook. They always moan,groan, & drag their heels to work out- then we laugh all the way through the workout! I started today's post with a fun picture then moved on to some motivation. Here's a little of what I have used over the past week to keep us going towards our last 5K goal. Happy  Monday everyone! Don't forget to get out & find time to MOVE today!!

I thought this was funny!

 Those who can't afford a GYM - No worries you have the great outdoors or in our case a Garage!

 If your not sweating your NOT WORKING!

 It wont become a HABIT unless You MAKE it one!

 YOU have to want to Change - only YOU can CHANGE yourself!

 

This is what my old trainer told me all the time- Now I tell my ladies this when they get to whining or giggling to much!

 

Hope everyone finds their motivation this Monday to get out & MOVE!!

We Took a Break

I slept last night for the first time in weeks I really slept! I was so happy to lay down at 9:30PM & not open my eyes until 7:15AM!! So rare for me & I felt rested! I was still completely mentally tired from just going & going for the past few weeks. That I told the boys today we stay close to home & we relax we regroup we CHILL!! When Paul is gone I often forget how to just be still at home & enjoy my family. I like to stay super over busy so the days go quickly . But not today!  I woke up laid around for an hour while the banana bread baked. Then I put on some workout clothes & met up with two lovely Army wives to walk/run the trail around our lake. Almost two hours later I came home sweaty & relaxed.

After a quick check-in on Facebook with my man we cleared the kitchen table to get pumpkins ready to carve. The boys are so big they did most of the work themselves this year- it was AWESOME!! For the first time in forever I had no slimy gooey mess on my hands!! I did help Jeremy carve his face after he cleaned his pumpkin out. They did a good job & thus got inspired to make a pumpkin patch in our back yard. Matthew & Jacob spent two hours clearing out the space that use to be our garden to plant some pumpkin seeds. I hope it works & they get some pumpkins next year. They even made a scarecrow-LOL It was great to see those two actually working together & not fighting like the normally do all day everyday.

While the boys did that I started on laundry & the great bed switch. We needed Jeremy to move down to the bottom bunk & Jacob to go up top. Since Jeremy has been seizure free for awhile we allowed him to be on the top bunk for quite awhile. But now that we are not sure what is going on at night he needed to be moved down to the bottom for his safety. I really anticipated a great big fight with Jacob over this but he surprised me. He said as long as all his blankets could go with him & pillows he would move! So I went about stripping sheets, washing them, pulling stuffed animals from the top to the bottom & remaking the beds. They ran in & where so excited for the new adventure- I thought "where are my boys? Did someone switch them out to easy children?". Sounds nuts to some, but Jacob hates change so this was HUGE battle for me that I didn't have to have!

Now we are watching Gulliver's Travels with Jack Black & just chilling out taking a break in the living room with popcorn. I know I should have gotten up early & taken the kids to church- but I honestly needed to sleep & just chill. I was on the verge of tears by bedtime last night & realized I needed a break for myself or I was going to loose it big time. That was how we have spent our Sunday & I am so glad we did. The laughter & calm is my house right now is so worth it! Some days you just have to say no more & lay around.

 

If you wondering why there are only three pumpkins it's because Hunter is waiting to carve his for me. I need a pumpkin to take to our Halloween party for a "special effect" so he is patiently waiting just for dear old mom!

Soccer Saturday Again....

Saturday morning came way to early for Jacob & I today. We where up and out the door by 6:25ish to head to the Recreational Cup Soccer Tournament. Our team was going in undefeated for our age group (9 &10 year olds). We where the underdogs playing boys that where 11 & 12 years of age with more experience alot more height!! The boys where excited even though it was pouring rain ,windy & cold all day long! They played hard against another undefeated team in the first game & lost horribly 10-1. But it was a great experience of playing with 9 players on the field, larger goals, & a longer field. But really, really hard for us parents to watch.

The second game was delayed a bit but once we got going it was a good match. We lost but we held our own at 4-2. They played hard even though they where soaking wet & cold! They still had huge smiles on their faces after both games & will be back better then ever next year. Our last regular season game is next Saturday. This will be the first time ever I have missed any of Jacob's games in three years. But I think he will survive as he get's to ride with a friend from the team. I will be running the 5k & praying they are WINNING as usual!

Now I am home out of the wet cold clothes . In my comfy yoga pants laying around for the rest of the night. Here are a few fun pictures from today. I hope everyone is staying dry & warm this weekend!

Smiling for Mom before the first game

The boys goofing around waiting for the 2nd game to start

Jacob playing Defender blocking a ball

End of the Tournament Cupcakes- where earned!

Service Dogs

Yesterday we had our check-up for Jeremy with his wonderful Neurologist who acts as his whole Doctor most times. She has seen Jeremy since we moved to WA & he was only 4 months old. She has been there for the very first seizure to telling me yesterday how rare Mr. Jeremy is on post. I knew he was a special little guy but apparently Madigan at the moment is not treating any other children 18 years of age or under for Sturge-Weber. He is also only 53llbs & turning 11 years old on the 27th of this month  :0( He is also a little shorter then the average eleven year old due to all his medications & SWS complications. At the moment we have been able to control his seizures for almost 5 years. We have only witnessed one in the past year & that was after he was coming out of anesthesia from surgery. They said this is quiet normal & they administered his medicine via IV to stop the seizure. His Doctor has made it quiet clear yesterday that puberty is coming even though my little guy looks more like an eight year old then an almost pre-teen.

I've done my homework I know SWS affects different people in such different ways that is why it is so crazy to treat. There is NO SET pattern to expect. So the doctor wants us to prep for the worst & pray for the best. Hormones can do quiet the number on SWS patients. They can trigger all kinds of seizures  that they may not have had before or they can have them start back. We just have no way of knowing if we are the rare lucky family that is able to control Jeremy's seizures as long as he is vigilant with his check-ups & medications. There is no way to know. His doctor also noticed his balance has deteriorated some & says this is most likely due to his Glaucoma /vision issues. He has little to no depth perception in his right eye but his left is 20/20. Going up & down stairs ,,curbs etc are a challenge for Jeremy. He has been on OT now since he was four years old & made a lot of progress but still is not "normal" whatever that is-lol


Anyway this is all leading up to the point of maybe getting Jeremy a full time Service Dog for his seizures & Vision. We know he could have a seizure at anytime including his sleep so a Service Dog would alert us to any changes in his body. The dog would also help guide him when the bright sun makes him close his eyes when he walks & need to hold a hand. It will give him independence from mom & dad basically. Right now the vision is the main issue as he has to a hold a hand on any type of light is bothering him. He closes both eyes not just the right so he can't see or balance. But if we are going to get him a Service Dog she would like him to be trained for seizure notification as well. It's a huge commitment of time & money. We already have two dogs we love and we would never consider giving them away. That would mean possible three large dogs in our home. I don't even know if that is possible as we are still doing research. Would a Service Dog be able to do his/her job with other dogs in the home?? Lots of questions remain to be answered. I am sorry for rambling but I am trying to sort it all out in my brain. Blogging helps with that. Cost is another issue. We have four boys & I stay at home. How do we possibly come up with the kind of money I am seeing listed on the Service Dogs sites to pay for his dog?


Anyway , if anyone out there who is reading this has any information or firsthand knowledge I would greatly appreciate the help. Thanks for listening to me ramble. Here is a picture taken yesterday of my sweet little guy. A wonderful volunteer from the SWS sews blankets for the kids who are in & out of the hospital a lot. She surprised us with a package yesterday. Inside Jeremy found the softest,fuzziest blue blanket ever! He took it to school with him today he loves it so much. So thank you to Miss. Anne for taking the time to make him a new blanket that he can take with him on his procedure days.It was very thoughtful & came after a day spent at the hospital getting pokes.

Tune Time/ Movie

I really had no idea what song I wanted to pick for this week's Song Link up over at Goodnight Moon ? Then I watched the movie Wednesday while folding laundry that I LOVE so much & it always makes me laugh everytime! Here is a hint for you all ....

 

BULL-$%*T   haha one of the funniest scenes in the movie.

Ok, Ok if you don't know yet here is one more clue for you all....

 "It's a little give & a little Go"  another great scene

But I love the music most of all through out the whole movie there are great songs to listen to & sing along with. I have two picks which I know is technically against the rules-lol But I can't help  myself.

So if you still don't know the movie it is "How to lose a guy in 10 days" with Matthew McConaughey & Kate Hudson- if you haven't seen it RENT it NOW!!

First up is Keith Urban with "Love Somebody Like You" Very catchy & makes me want to sing it to my husband  if he was home.

Next comes from the funniest scene- ok so there are so many favorite scenes in this movie I love! But this is towards the end at the Dinner-haha Gotta Love Carly Simon! But I love this clip from the movie just as much so here you go- a little snippet of the funny movie that keeps me laughing!

Now I hope you all had some fun & if you want to hear more music you head on over to see Amber at Goodnight Moon  and LINK -UP yourself while your there.

Garage Workouts

We finally got the garage rearranged & set up so that we can use it as the weather changes from nice to cold. Today there where six of us total with three children working out. It was GREAT! We had fun & worked up a good sweat running the hills by my house. We even had a little helper Miss. A who is two join us on our stretching & our squats. How did you get your workout in today? Remember there are NO EXCUSES , you can workout anywhere! So take the time to get moving & improve your healthy life!!

 

Pumpkins, Corn Mazes & so Much More

Today was literally THE ONLY day I had free left in October on a weekend to take the boys to the pumpkin patch. We planned to go right after church & thank goodness there was no rain. It was just gray & cool outside.We had a lot of fun petting the animals,shooting pumpkins from cannons,getting lost in the corn maze,riding a tractor train made from animal characters & picking out the perfect pumpkins! It was our 10th Annual trip to this particular pumpkin patch that we just love. They had changed up the lay out some & prices but we still had a lot of fun. I am glad my older boys indulged their mom a bit with pictures. Hunter my oldest actually got us un-lost in the corn maze after wondering around for thirty minutes. It was a fun way to spend our Sunday afternoon. We took lots of pictures so Paul could see everything. I think the boys missed him the most when we where lost in the corn maze. I am no map reader apparently that skilled did not rubbed off on  Hunter. It was a fun day ! Now we are enjoy popcorn & movies just relaxing. Nice way to end our weekend.

Heading into the corn maze.....

Jacob hugging Hunter who saved us & got us out of the maze.

10 years later & he is almost 6 Ft, our first year he was barely 3 ft tall

My handsome guys

They had some beautiful wild flowers as well

Yummy fresh Carmel Apples to devour

Last picture of the day. Jeremy got tired & just sat down so we called it a day.