December 26, 2008

All Christmas’d Out

I intended to write a post either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, wishing everyone the happiest of holidays, but time got away from me.  I had last minute shopping to do, more presents to wrap and other miscellaneous tasks to complete before the Christmas festivities began so blogging was the last thing on my mind.

We went to Doug’s parents’ house on Christmas Eve, and his sister, brother and their spouses were in attendance, as well as his aunt and uncle and his niece.  Dawson was thrilled to see his cousin Brittney.

We only see Brittney a few times a year, and honestly, the last time we saw her was last Christmas. She’s gotten taller and even more beautiful. She’s going to be nine years old in January and I keep wondering where the time has gone. It seems like only yesterday she was a chubby-cheeked baby. (I’d love to post a photo, but I want to respect her privacy.)

Dawson received some wonderful gifts, too. Grandma T. bought him a set of Lincoln logs, and Dawson was so happy when Uncle Chris helped him build a log cabin.

Aunt Gail and Uncle Rick bought him the most obnoxious guitar on Earth. She instructed Dawson to play it at top volume and I laughed when we discovered the loudest volume was actually tolerable.

“Ha ha! Joke’s on you! That’s as loud as it goes!” I exclaimed happily.

And then Dawson opened the Fisher-Price NASCAR racetrack from Uncle Chris and Aunt Kelly, a battery-operated toy that is so annoying I’m already thinking about hiding it in the basement. The thing is just….obnoxious.  Aunt Gail was more than happy to put together that noisy toy and I think she had fun playing with Dawson, too.

We had lots of great food and drink and everyone had a wonderful time.

Christmas Day was held at my parents’ house. We drove over there a few hours after church, and we had a wonderful ham dinner with my family.

My brother Nathan was there with his girlfriend Becky, and my mom’s brother Paul came over, too.  My mom’s sister Judy stayed home this year because she wasn’t feeling well.

I sent some presents with Uncle Paul, one for him and one for Aunt Judy.  I’m sad she didn’t make it this year.  I think it has a lot to do with her sadness about Grandma Alice’s death.  She died December 6, 2005 and I don’t think Christmas will ever be the same with out her.

After dinner, my family ended up watching some movies on Dad’s big screen TV. We watched The Temptations mini-series on VH1 which turned out to be a four hour show. (It was a good movie, despite how long it was.  I love Motown artists and I’ve always been intrigued about Berry Gordy’s legacy and the musical acts he cultivated — like The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Temptations and so many more.)  The show ended at 10 p.m., and when Doug went outside to start the car it was snowing heavily. Had we known about the mini-blizzard, we’d have left hours before.

The meteorologists predicted a “light dusting” but by the time we were ready to leave we’d already gotten 3 inches of snow and Mother Nature showed no signs of letting up.

My brother Nathan was leaving at the same time we were and the roads were so slippery and full of fluffy white crap that he got sucked into the ditch just past my parents driveway.

Thankfully, we were behind him and stopped to help, and Doug ran to the house to get my brother Frankie, my sister Rachel and my Dad to come help us shovel and push Nathan’s car out of the ditch.

I wasn’t very much help with my bum knee, however. I couldn’t push because I couldn’t find any solid footing, so finally I decided to use a shovel to clear some snow away from the tires.

Unfortunately, after nearly twenty minutes of shoveling, pushing and maneuvering we weren’t able to budge the SUV very much, and we were covered in snow (and my hair was frozen to my head because I didn’t wear a hat that day), so Dad ran back to get his 4-Wheeler and a chain.

Nathan crawled under the car, hooked the chain around the axel, and the rest of us pushed (I steered) while Dad tried to pull the car out. Sweet Lord, it worked! After a few minutes of the push/pull combo, Nate was out of the ditch.

It was Christmas chaos. But the drive home was worse. We got about 4 inches of snow that just came down all at once and caused our windshield wipers to freeze up constantly. Nathan followed behind us (since my parents live in the country) and we kept stopping to clean off the wipers on our cars.

Once we got into town and had the help of street lights, driving conditions were better, but we were still only driving at 20 mph, and that was almost too fast. It really was a miracle that we all made it to our homes safely.

This morning I was so tired from all the insanity and I awoke with a pounding headache. I spent the day lounging around the house and reading blogs. It was actually very relaxing.

Overall I’d say this Christmas was a mix of fun and crazy.

Check out some of my favorite photos from the two days of family togetherness:

I hope your Christmas was as exciting and wonderful as ours! Even though I enjoyed the holiday, I’m ready for 2009.  What are your plans for the New Year?

November 1, 2008

It’s My Mother’s Birthday

Today is my mother’s birthday.  I would tell you how young she is, but she might read this blog and get really mad at me.  Instead, I’ll tell you that her age rhymes with the word nifty-heaven.  Happy Birthday, Mom!

For the last few days, I’ve contemplated what to write about my mother on her birthday.  I just don’t know where to begin.  In fact, I’ve deleted many versions of this post because I just can’t find the right words.

You see, my mother and I have a complex relationship.  We’re so much alike that we get on each other’s nerves, a lot.  If you asked her if I annoy her, she’d tell you I’m crazy.  She’d tell you how much she loves me, and that I don’t talk to her enough, that I don’t spend enough time with her, because I’m too busy with my own life.  She’d probably say that when I turned 18 years old, I couldn’t wait to move out of the house, to get away from her.

I’d tell you she’s crazy, because I love her very much and without her I wouldn’t be the woman I am today. My mother taught me to read and write.  It was my mother’s influence that fueled my love of reading and writing stories and journaling.  She taught me the importance of prayer and attending Mass on Sunday.  She kissed my elbows after I fell off my bike.  She read to me whenever she had the chance.

It’s true, when I grew up I couldn’t wait to be on my own, but it’s only because my mother taught me to be independent.  Her support for my decisions throughout my life has been dear to my heart.  Even when she hasn’t always agreed with my choices, she makes her voice heard and ultimately lets me be the ruler of my life.  Of course, like all mother/daughter relationships we have had our disagreements and I often endure more nagging than I’d like on occasion, but when it gets down to the brass tacks, my mother is always in my corner.

My mother is very special to me.  Not only because she spent many hours in a delivery room to bring me into this world, but because she taught me how to be a mother.

Thanks, Mom.  I can only hope that I’m as wonderful a mother to Dawson as you have been, and continue to be, to me.

Happy Birthday!

August 17, 2008

I’m Taking the Day Off

Just a few updates:

• Dad is awake and I was able to speak to him on the phone this morning.  I called the ICU for an update and his nurse passed the phone to me.  It was wonderful to hear his voice, and he still sounds congested due to the surgery on his sinuses.  He will be in ICU for today and will be moved to his regular room tomorrow, mid-morning, where he will recuperate for at least five days.  Looks like he won’t be home until the end of the week.
• Our family reunion went well yesterday.  I think everyone had a great time, despite the fact that our fearless leader was not present.  My aunts and uncles — each and everyone of them and their spouses — were so wonderful.  They took charge even when I was drifting off into space.  I’m forever grateful.
• Today, I believe I’m coming down with a cold, or I just suffer really bad allergies.  Because I’m afraid it’s a cold, I’m staying away from the hospital.  The last thing my dad needs is to catch an illness while recovering from brain surgery.  It’s breaking my heart, but if it turns out to be only allergies, I’m going to visit him tomorrow.
• I’m having a Party Lite candle show tomorrow and I’m afraid no one will come because of all the chaos that’s happened the last week.  I wanted to cancel, but I totally forgot I was having it until this morning.  Kind of late, right?  This is what happens when the mind is focused on other things.
• I’m so exhausted that I overslept this morning and missed both masses at church.  I’m feeling very guilty about this.
• In exactly one month, my little boy will be turning four years old.
• Here’s how I feel about that:

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

• I’m so tired, I’m taking the rest of the day off. I need to sleep. Happy Sunday, y’all.

August 13, 2008

I’m Not Here… *Updated

I’ll be spending my day at the hospital.  My father was injured in a minor accident, but it’s scary just the same.  He was changing a tire on his truck when the jack slipped, causing the vehicle to fall on his face.  After being transferred from our local hospital to St. Joseph’s in Marshfield, doctors say he’ll need reconstructive surgery after the swelling goes down.  I’m hysterical.  I keep imagining things turning out worse and I can’t bear the thought of losing my father.

And I’m angry because the accident happened last night, and my mother wouldn’t let my sister call me until this morning, because she claims she didn’t want me to worry. Yeah, that really makes me feel better.

I’ll give updates as soon as I know more, but in the meantime, please head over to the Imperfect Parent.  I’m talking about work flexibility in scheduling.  Now that the kids will be off to school, many parents are looking for work hours that accomodate their child’s school schedules.  Have any ideas on this subject?  Please leave a comment.  I love to see all the great suggestions you all come up with.

And if you’ve been dying to read The White Trash Mom Handbook by Michelle Lamar, the White Trash Mom, head over to Dana Reviews to see what I have to say about it.  Believe me, it’s good.

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My sister and I have been at the hospital since a little before 11 a.m.  It was a 45-minute drive to Marshfield and we couldn’t find Dad’s “room” in the ICU because they moved him.  Once we got there, I broke down into tears upon seeing him.

Dad is in a neck brace to keep from moving and causing more fracturing and he is so uncomfortable.  For so many hours the doctors wouldn’t allow him to drink anything, and he is so thirsty.  He can’t breathe out of his nose because of the swelling and his mouth was drying out from breathing through it.

He doesn’t look so good.  Which I expected, but actually seeing the extent of his injuries and realizing how much pain he is in, I started to cry.    Then I frantically tried to regain my composure.  The last thing I needed was to scare Dawson. 

Doug thinks I’m traumatizing our son by allowing him to see his Papa in this condition.  I don’t know what to think.  I would have taken him to daycare this morning, but after I freaked out when I found out what happened, there was no way Dawson would go to Renee’s willingly.  Leaving me to worry about another thing in this difficult time.

Dad’s doctors say that he has a fractured eye socket, a broken nose, fractured cheek bone and his sinus cavity is caved in.  The neurologist says there’s no brain swelling, which is a blessing, and his eye is fine.  Once the swelling is relieved, he should be seeing normally again.

The scariest part of this is that he can’t have surgery until the swelling is reduced and this could take 7-10 days — and they’ll have to do a craniotomy.  Part of his skull will be cut and removed to correct his injuries from the inside out.  I nearly lost my mind when I heard that.  It sounds risky and for the first time I saw the fear in my dad’s eyes.  It breaks my heart.

The hardest part for me is not showing how freaked out I am.  My dad is my rock and I can’t bear to let him worry about me worrying.

Dad’s got a great neuro-surgeon and oral-maxillofacial surgeon.  Think McDreamy and McSteamy but not dreamy and steamy at all.  I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch that damn show again after this. 

Now that they won’t be performing any surgery for awhile, they are finally feeding him soft foods like mashed potatoes, and he might be able to go home in a couple days to rest until the surgery.

My mind is racing, but I’m trying to hold myself together.  Lots of things to do on Dad’s behalf.  I’ll update that later.  We helped him fill out disability forms from his job, but we’re waiting for the doctor to complete his portion.

Thankfully, Marshfield Hospital has computer I can use to check e-mails and file his insurance claims online.

I’ll try to update later, but right now I’m fuzzy as I try to navigate all of this information.

Thank you all for keeping my father, my family and me in your thoughts and prayers.  It means the world to me.  I can’t express the gratitude I am feeling, but I love you all so much.