Come Monday, It'll Be All Right!

Every Monday on facebook and twitter everyone seems to complain about Monday mornings.  I have always worked Saturday and/or Sundays the majority of my adult life, so Mondays have always been just another day. I have never had a Monday-thru-Friday work week, with weekends off.  When I was in school I may have disliked Monday mornings because there was always something due or there was some kind of test or quiz, but again...just another day of the week.
Being off on my medical hiatus, Monday mornings to me now is the day that Eli goes back to work and all 3 girls are in school.....ALL day.  Today, I don't have ANY appointment, physical therapy or errand I have to run.  It's quiet, I have control of remote and I'm watching Ellen.  My house is mostly clean, the laundry is under control and I'm trying to behave until I get the results from the MRI/CT scan that I have to have done on Wednesday. 
No, our move still isn't complete...but now that my mail is finally being forwarded to our new house and all that is left to move is too heavy for me to carry, I am staying far away.  There is no reason for me to go there alone to cry and ruin my day.
The rest of the week is busy with appointments. Olivia's 9th birthday is on Friday, Halloween school parties...blah blah.  Why do I feel guilty that I'm sitting here enjoying 'me' time?  There are things that I 'could' do but when I get going....I end up doing things I shouldn't do. 
I need to update my BLS card.  I've been thinking about looking into alternative nursing jobs that do not interest me and does not require full use of my back.  Thinkin maybe more school??  There is obviously some plan for me but I can't quite put my finger on it.  I may need to change my future that I wanted up a bit.  I think that if I prepare myself for the possibility of having permanent restrictions and it doesn't end up happening, I will be better off.  I need something to fall back on...something to focus on right now. 
One thing I do know is that I'm changing the channel because having to listen to Kathie Lee Gifford is not gratifying.

La La La

'La La La' is a joke between Eli and I.  It is mostly used when we are hinting to each other that we are just done with the conversation, done trying to explain it, done talking about a a certain topic or done arguing about it....just ~ DONE ~.  Yeah, it's kinda where I'm at right now, but I'm pretty sure Eli's on board, standing with me this time.

Most of you know that we are moving, well technically we have moved but have crap here there and everywhere.  We are not exactly completely out of the Brighton house, but it is almost complete.  I am awaiting that day so I can have my full blown meltdown and THEN I can finally get on with life and put this behind us.  I would be sad moving even if it was a choice that we made.  Saying goodbye to a chapter that has impacted you in your life is usually hard.  Unfortunately this was a choice that we have been forced into or I guess, in a way, you could say we fell into..... really hard, which makes it that much more difficult to say goodbye to what we once called home.  Thank God for my spectacular memories.  Sifting through the proof of memories has been heart-wrenching.  Deciding what goes where, what gets thrown out and what comes with us has been really tough.  Setting fire to and BURNING some of that proof of the bad memories in our new fire-pit has been very therapeutic!

Eli, the girls and I had a 'family fire' a couple weekends ago and it gave me some peace in my heart.  We talked to the girls about life, asked them questions about how they feel, we laughed, and there were some tears but it was wonderful!  We played 'we're going on a trip' and Makenna owned it, Eli and I were shocked!  We had a great night together!

We're going on a trip and we are going to bring:
Apples, Bananas, Carrots, Dog, Elephant, Fergie, Gorilla, Happy Horse, Igloo, Jillian, Koala, Leopard, Makenna, Nana, Ostrich, Pepperoni, Quilt, Rhinoceros, Slippery Snake, Tent, Unicorn, Velveteen rabbit, Whistle, Xylophone, Yo-yo, Zebra.

The 4 acres and farmhouse that we now call home, has already brought us some pretty great, new and improved memories ~ unforgettable, laughing until your side hurt memories!  We had our first fire, Makenna had her first official friend sleepover and we celebrated Makenna's 5th birthday and Papa's birthday.

Pictures off all the fun are HERE in our online albums.

HERE are some pictures of the house before we started moving in.  We've been working hard and the girls are helping, loving it most of the time, arguing some of the time.  The girls started a new school and they couldn't be happier!  I love the school system, I love that the bus stop is at the end of the driveway and I can sit on my BIG porch watching them and waving as they get on and off the bus.  WE love the yard and MOST of the critters.  Not so much the spiders and the stray cat that is crapping and pissing on the driveway and bushes....but the great definitely outweighs the stupid little things.

Fresh Start

Back to School 2010

Changing the subject a bit, my back progression has taken a turn in the wrong direction, having some new and strange sensations, increased pain along with continued swelling in my legs and feet is beginning to piss me off a bit.  Being 34 years old and on Lasix is a little abnormal but I'm rolling with it to be more comfortable.  I am having a CT scan and a repeat MRI next week to check the hardware position, fusion progression and/or possible rupture/herniation of another level.  The doctor has discontinued physical therapy until we get the results and see the surgeon again in 2 weeks.  So LALALALALA....  is all I have left to say about that. 

All in all we're hanging in there together as a family.  Taking it day by day.  What else can we do?

Girls Weekend Away

I went away for a girls only get-away last weekend. I haven't left my family behind since Makenna was a baby. Cathie kidnapped Jen and I and we headed away from the chaos of what we call everyday life. The adventure started from the moment Cathie picked me up till the moment she dropped me off at home late Sunday night. 

It thunder-stormed most of the way up there, especially towards the end.  The lightning shows were beautiful yet creepy at the same time. It was so dark and we were in the middle of nowhere. Reminded me of a few scary movies.  We drove for miles without seeing another car, lights or signs of civilization as it poured down.  We only saw what was around us when the lightning decided to show us. 

All night long from the wind and the rain we could hear acorns dropping on the roof of the cabin.  It sounded more like someone was dumping them down at times and was a little creepy at first but falling asleep with the noise of nature was not hard to do after a nightly session of girl talk.

Saturday morning we woke up and chatted while drinking lots of coffee, eating lots of chocolate, and an entire entenmann's coffee cheese cake and lounged. We headed out for the day, getting lost a few times throughout the day (well maybe most of the whole weekend), which made the weekend that much more perfect. We went to the sand dunes, Lake Michigan, Fox Barn Winery and had the best bar food ever, along with a great big shot of nasty tequila (seriously must have been El Toro...blech, yes I'm a snobby tequila drinker), celebrating Jen's 40th birthday.

The weather was a perfect gift that was greatly received and enjoyed all weekend long!

I love the autumn colors in Michigan. The clouds were soft and white and the sky could not have been any bluer.  I got a little lost in the scenery and taking pictures!  I took tons of them to the point where my camera card was full.  I didn't want to miss anything.

I was barefoot and happy! The sand was so warm at the beach but so cold at the dunes.  The lake Michigan water was crisp, clear and as blue as the sky. I loved sharing these moments with some pretty special women!

This was my first trip to a winery (sad, but true). Very cute, small, off season and perfect. We bought some asparagus guacamole, pickled jalapeño asparagus, cherry garlic spread, cherry salsa and cheese. Which all made for a yummy breakfast Sunday morning, random.....but completely yummy :)

We had no expectations, we relaxed, we talked, and we celebrated. No movies, no books, no children, no yelling, no arguing and no have to's. We were lost, we laughed, we sang, we walked, we talked, we enjoyed silence (which didn't happen all that often) AND OH DEAR GOD WE ATE! We even changed Jen from a vegan back to a vegetarian!

It was a great getaway. I went by so fast. I missed my family but my weekend away was enjoyed to the fullest and I came back refreshed. It was great to forget about responsibilities for a couple days.

Thank you Cathie for kidnapping me, thank you Jen for a new friendship, much thank you to Will's Mom for loaning us the cabin in the woods to de-stress.  Most of all, thank you Eli for taking over so I could relax and enjoy my weekend away with no worries!!!

All the rest of the pictures are HERE. Or you can click on the album...

Girls Weekend 2010