Mom and I don't see eye to eye...but do you?

I remembered the other day that I never remembered to blog about this and a friend requested that I put on a poll about it.

My Mom and I agree on some things, kinda agree on other things, and completely disagree on others (it's a perk of having a Mom, I guess). A while ago, I was telling her that I cannot stand participating in fundraisers at the kids' schools. I hate toting around candy bars to sell, magazines with wrapping paper and tins of gummy bears, and every other crappy thing I ever had to sell as a child (deep down you thank me for not making you buy stuff that you don't need so don't sit there looking so indignant at the screen). So, in the spirit of being taking a stand for what I believe, I refuse to sell a single thing.

That's right. I'M AN AWFUL PARENT WHO REFUSES TO SELL YOU CRAPPY STUFF IN THE NAME OF GIVING MY KIDS A BETTER SCHOOL LIFE.

However, I'm also the parent that when the teacher asks for donations for a class project, I donate a large chunk of money toward it (just don't tell Aron that I'm the one that donates that much...you know what I'm saying). I'll also tell her to let me know if they don't have enough stuff/money/supplies from the other families and I'll give more. I would rather donate money directly to the cause then buy or sell crappola that I'm never going to use/just throw away/sell at my garage sale next year/store in my closet/etc ** I'll even donate money directly to the PTO before I'll sell anything.

When I told my Mom about my blatant rejection of school fundraisers, she looked at me like I had grown another head and told her I wanted to move to Canada to mud wrestle bears in the circus (I hear they allow mud wrestling bears there). She was fine with the donating of money toward projects because quite frankly, that's totally something she would do.

What do you all think? Is it ok to not sell or buy things from school fundraisers? Vote in the upper right hand corner of the blog.


**With the exception of my friend, Connie, son's fundraiser last year which was awesome. They sold Yankee candles. Super smart of those PTO people.

Recital pictures!

Here's Ella's To Do list for the day of the recital. I think you can sound it out.

Ella is on the right...


Luke apparently wants to be a ballerina, too (or his sister threatened to beat him up if he didn't pose for her)

Put this picture in mostly because it was the best pic of her hair. Yes I did it myself

There was a whole lotta hand holding with Auntie T before, during, and after the recital. She's a popular gal in our house.

I'm working on getting the video of her dance in here but Blogger is being a pain in my rear today. Will try again later.

Proof that he was there, Mom

Yes, Mom. Dad did actually go to the ballet recital on Friday like you commanded. He didn't just go home and take a nap.

Mom update--things are rolling along

I haven't updated in a while mostly because there hasn't been a ton to talk about. Mom's still in the LTAC (long term acute care) where she will likely be for a month or so. After that facility, she will be released to the nursing home rehab place where she was before.

She has gone for long periods of time with no machine helping her breathing but eventually, she gets tired and needs to use it again. She has a thingy (love that technical name) that she can use with the trach that helps her talk. Her voice is still pretty raspy even with the thingy but when you consider she hasn't really used her vocal cords since the end of March, it's not too bad.

She's still fairly swollen in her feet and hands which seems to come and go. Her renal function (kidneys) isn't awesome but is holding steady. It's complicated but the doctor thinks that the lasix they are giving her for the swelling is messing with her kidneys so hopefully, it's still just temporary.

She had a nasty rash last week but it's gone now. Who knows what the cause was but it's gone now (yay!)

She's in decent spirits but hanging out with Dad on a daily basis is taking a toll on her (KIDDING! Yeesh!). She's very thankful for all the cards--seriously it's a HUGE stack of at least 50 or maybe more--and I'm sure she'd love some more as she continues to plod on through recovery. Feel free to send more to her house or my house. Just let me know if you need an address by commenting or sending an email to me.

Who's missing from this picture?

Hey Gram! We saved a spot for you! XOXO

Trikeathon 2011

He's the one giving the "all systems go" (aka the thumbs up)
He's the goofball right in the middle with the brown Tom and Jerry tshirt on the red trike.

Yup, that's him.



Way out ahead of the pack. Speed? He is speed.


Luke did a trikeathon at his preschool on Friday. I was unable to go but Aron went in my place.
Luke did more laps than any of the other kids (16) and he had a BLAST!


Luke was seriously p.o.'d when he realized a couple weeks ago that Grammie would not be able to attend. Don't worry, she still managed to make a flat donation. Good thing she didn't pay by the lap!

Enjoy the video. I think you'll be able to pick him out by the speed he's going. You'll see what I mean...

She's out!

Mom was transferred from Riverside last night into her long term acute care rehab facility. Blogger (the thing that powers this blog) was having issues last night so I couldn't post this when she was released.

We're anxious to get her on the road to recovery even though it will be a long one. Please just let me know if you want a room number or any sort of specifics about how to see her.

XOXO to both Mom and Dad as they start this journey together.

Love me, love me (say that you love me)

With Mother's Day yesterday, I wanted to share something someone told me a few months ago about the kids. This person told me that my kids were the most well-adjusted and genuinely happy kids she had ever seen. Sure, I think the kids are superstars but it was nice for someone else to acknowledge their awesomeness, too.

As a new parent, you notice right away that people are very quick to be critical about what you should and should not do with kids in how you raise them:

Give them a bath every day? Shame on you that's too much; you'll dry their skin

Give them a bath once a week? Shame on you! Why would you let your baby be dirty?

Letting them cry it out in the crib? Shame on you! How could you not cuddle and love on that baby?

Letting them be held every time to fall asleep? Shame on you! How can you spoil that baby?

Believe me when I say this is just a small sample of the criticisms you will get. You can do nothing right to please everyone because everyone's style of raising children is different.

Too infrequently, do people stop to give you a sincere pat on your back. You really want to compliment someone for Mother's Day? Don't give them a card or flowers or a "Hey, Happy Mother's Day," think of a way to give them a personalized compliment about the job they are doing. Find something that you truly believe they are doing well and tell them you've noticed it.

Full disclosure: I am that weirdo that sees a crazy-eyed Mom with a toddler in full meltdown mode in a grocery store who tells her that it's ok, we've all been there, the tantrum phase will not last forever, and no, you're not crazy for wanting to give this child away to a band of gypsies.

Dude, my Mom is gonna be pissed it's Mother's Day

She's going to be mad because she has missed many occasions this spring season while she's been in the hospital. I saw her last night and told her I would not be visitng the following day for Mother's Day (bad kid, I know). I'm not even sure she realized it was going to be Mother's Day because you lose the concept of days/time in the hospital very quickly.
Here's a little recap for you, Mom, in no particular order:

~Easter. You didn't realize it had passed for a long time probably because you were sedated through it (but that's no excuse, Mom!)
~You didn't see the opening of the season for the Braves on TBS (viewing the Braves on TBS is a must for her in the spring/summer)
~Luke graduated from Monday School. His first major accomplishment as a 5 year old.
~Myles had a program at his elementary school.
~All this rain! Who am I kidding? You're lucky to have missed it all.
~Aron and I bought a new house. We had just started the process of getting everything together for the purchase when you went in the hospital. So far, there's been wallpaper torn down (Yes, yes, everyone is invited over to help us with this gloriously fun task. Please, no pushing or shoving to get in the door. There's room for everyone), carpet ripped out, and sub-flooring pulled up.
~Jeff was called by Archie Griffin to ask if he wants to be on a board at OSU. In Jeff's cell, Archie's cell number is now alphabetically flanked by Aron and me (Annie, Archie, Aron). He showed me Archie's number in a moment of showing off. Too bad for Jeff, I have a photographic memory...let the prank calls begin... I know you would want it that way, Ma.
~Ella started softball. First scrimmage is Tuesday. (As a side note, for those interested, I will get you a list of dates of her games.)
~Kirstie Alley fell on Dancing With the Stars. You would've laughed your butt off at this one because we all know you can't stand Kirstie.
~Chase turned three! The little guy's practically a big guy now.
~Dad's started texting. That's right. The man now has his own texting plan and he's not afraid to use it. Be afraid, Ma. Be very afraid.
~Your bills have started getting paid online, Mom, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Long gone is your weird system of timing bills being sent out a set number of days before it is due. Oh and I'm working on getting Dad to obtain an ATM. That's right, Mom. AN ATM CARD. Deal with it, baby.

Family Date Night~yay!

The troops and I went on a family date night. We saw the movie Rio (cute), ate some yummers food (Molly Woo's) and generally had a fantastic time. I highly recommend this to everyone periodically to rejuvenate the soul!

Updater

Sorry for the lack of updates on Mom but my computer got a virus and has been in the shop. She moved to "step down" today which is still within Riverside but is on the way out the door. She should be there a day or two then it will on to the LTAC which is still in Columbus. She's doing pretty well with her breathing and is mostly spontaneously breathing which means she is doing it on her own. There has been an issue with her kidneys but the doctors are hoping this has plateaued.

We are quite anxious to get her there so we can start the recovery process. Well, the recovery process plus we're hoping to get my Dad to leave the hospital to get a good night's rest once he leaves.

I feel like I could nap for an entire weekend myself so here's to recovery and rest for everyone!