A little TLC

Our vacation was all that I needed and more. We stayed at the "Twin Lake Chalet". It was perfect! The weather was perfect, the cottage was perfect. The memories and laughter were coming from all angles.

Every morning the kids were out in the water swimming by 9 while the parents were still waking up and consumed some......well lots of, coffee. Some parents, I won't mention any names didn't get out of bed till almost 12pm.



Mostly Jeff and Eli were recovering from all their late nights up with each other. Di and I retired early a few nights to read our books and a couple of times from pure exhaustion, but we did try and compete with them and stayed up late a few nights.

There was a game room in the walk out level part of the cottage. Complete with foosball, air hockey, card table, big t.v., and dart board. Of coarse they brought playstation 2 complete with Madden.

Eli and Jeff kept a running tally of how well they did, because if you know Jeff and Eli, they are so competitive with each other ~ bragging rights.


They even competed on how many fish big fish they caught, which was NONE. They both will CLAIM they almost snagged one, but had nothing to show for it. I would definitely give them an A for effort though.




Jeff and I didn't do as well on our euchre streak as well as we have done in the past. I blame Jeff and his alcohol consumption.

The water was great. We had the whole lake and adjoining lake all to ourselves. At most we saw 2 other boats on the water at the same time.


The kids had a blast tubing. I think Ryan enjoyed himself the most. He is crazy and reminds me of my little bro when he was little...FEARLESS. Makenna even tubed with her Auntie, Uncle Jeff, and Daddy. I was a little sad that I didn't get to do that with her, but was great to be able to watch her enjoy it.




























Everyday we would take the pontoon boat to the sandbar, the boys would fish, the kids would swim, and Diane and I would work on our tan, talk, read and make sure nobody drowned. Makenna would crash out on the ride to or from the sandbar.



Almost every night before dinner, the kids would fish off the dock for pan fish. There were so many fish. You didn't even need bait and they would jump on the hook. Makenna even caught some all on her own.




Speaking of dinners, the food was fantastic every night. We all contributed, but I think the best meal was the one we all did together. Eli and Jeff marinated the chicken, Diane and I cooked it (while the guys were trying to catch the "big fish") and Diane made this pasta salad that was out of this world. She outdid herself. Diane and I had taken a trip to Houghton Lake earlier that day and bought all the fresh veggies and fruit at a great little homegrown market. Fresh cucumbers and tomatoes with a little salt and pepper, mmmmm.

Diane, Jeff, Eli and I worked as a team the entire week and we all had our little jobs that we did and were in charge of. Mine was to keep everyone in clean clothes. I probably did 3-4 loads a day. There was so much sand and the kids went through so many clothes and towels each day. I think I was even called the laundry Nazi. Diane even made me wash all the rugs in the cottage because they weren't clean enough for her. We all managed work together to keep the children happy, fed, somewhat clean.

The scenery was beautiful. Just sitting on the deck, you get lost in a zone. There was a rainbow that came out in the evening two days in row, when there wasn't even rain. It was beautiful.


The moon at night would literally glow off the water. The stars were magnificent.

My parents were able to come out and enjoy in the fun and arrived on Wednesday. With 11 people you would think that things could get a little sticky, but it was nothing but fun!

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil ~ The 3 Stooges

My Mom even slowed down enough to enjoy the book I finished earlier in the week.

It was peaceful and calm with no noise at times, except of coarse when you heard lots of laughter or when one of the little ones were a little tired. Erika, Lauren, Olivia, and Ryan shared a room with two bunk beds and Makenna had a room all to herself until Nana and Papa came, then she bunked with Eli and I.

A few nights we had a fire with s'mores for the kids and did sparklers that Uncle Dave bought for the kids. They loved it. The kids enjoyed the rides in the fishing boat and the paddle boat. There was so much to do and there was hardly ever a dull moment!






Pictures just don't do this trip justice. You can see the rest of them HERE. Diane and I were a little camera happy!

Vacation 2008

Michigan Pain Institute

I had a doctors appointment last week and there is a new and improved (hopefully) plan of action. Dr Carbajo is sending me to the Michigan Pain Institute to be evaluated and have injections of cortisone put in the area that is causing all these shenanigans. They will do these injections 3 times, 2 weeks apart, under sedation. I will be doing these along side with 4 more week of physical therapy. My physical therapist thinks that it will enable me to handle the more strenuous exercises without causing inflammation and muscle spasms that is causing all this pain. Hopefully it help me heal faster so I can get my independence back and get me back to work faster. I also need to be ready to start my nursing rotations at the end of August. I am being optimistic and am going to work as hard as I can. My first injection will be on June 30th, the Monday we get back from vacation. I have been told that everyone has different results with this treatment, I am trying to keep my expectations mid range. That should be pretty safe.

Weekend with my big Sis

Makenna crashed out with both Mermaids in her hands.

Ryan reading Makenna a bed time story

A dip in the pool

Enjoying some popsicles

The girls, Titus and I packed up and headed over to Diane's house for the weekend because Eli was absent. The kids actually behaved for the most part. There were few temper tantrums and lots of fun for them. They played on the slip'n'slide, in the pool, rode bike, took the dogs for some walks, read books, played with puzzles, ate lots of food, watched some movies and played indoors during the tornado warning and thunderstorms. There was even a stressful game of scene-it, I can giggle about it now. Diane and I drank lots of coffee and were able to get in a few girly movies after the kids crashed from pure exhaustion. She had some adult beverages in the evening, as I stuck to my drugs and had to pull out the vicoden occasionally. Some of us got a little burnt and I worked on fading my farmers tan.
I am now completely excited for vacation, we leave a week from Saturday, but instead of a little pool, we have a lake. An added gift will be that our husbands will be there to help. It is a lot of work to keep 5 children under the age of 8 happy and fed and we won't be as out numbered. An added bonus is that we won't have 3 dogs running around playing with each other and panting excessively (which drove Diane absolutely nuts, she's a little sensitive). I missed hanging with my sister and I even joked at the end of the weekend that we would be a great team as a married couple. Diane worked harder than I did. I stuck to what I was aloud to do and helped out as much as I could. You can see the rest of the pictures here or click on the album.

Weekend at Dianes

Comin Back To You

The Crossroads Worship Dance Team

Erika and Emily, two peas in a pod

Erika and Olivia were so excited to dance on the worship team 2 Sundays ago (yes I'm late, sorry). Olivia especially because it was her first time. The whole team and Miss Jen did a great job praising God that morning!

His Voice

My cousin Kristen (on the right) from Florida, that now lives in Knoxville is a beautiful singer. She has even performed at DollyWood. Eli and I were even honored that she came to Michigan and sang at our wedding. She has made a few personal CD's. Her new project is making a new worship CD. She went to Nashville this past weekend to start on it and is so excited about it. The production company that has picked them up it Eddie Crook. Her group she is in is called His Voice.

Olivia's Spring Musical

Olivia had her spring musical a few weeks ago. It was very cute! She did such a great job! She's a pro at this because she did it last year with her junior kindergarten class. My Mom, Auntie Diane, and Ryan joined Makenna and I to see the performance. There are a few videos of Olivia and her class and some of Makenna. Not that anyone but probably Eli's family would be interested in watching. Just click on the pictures with the little video icon on the lower left hand corner when you get to the web album and it will play them. The video's didn't come out that nice but Olivia is the one with the light blue long skirt and shirt on.

Olivia's Spring Musical

WEB ALBUM

Gypsy Moth

Erika was a gypsy moth in her spring musical. It was all about bugs and spring time. It had a lot of cute comic relief lines and a bunch of songs. She had a quite a few lines she did beautifully!!! I was so proud of her. There were 2 classes that participated in it and they all did a great job, it was a lot of material to remember! I would've posted some of it but I have it recorded on my dinosaur video camera that uses VHS and couldn't record much because I had Makenna with me. Thank god a friend of mine was there to help me with Makenna, because she ate all the good suckers in the first 10 minutes of the program. I also wore my brace.

Shasta went to her new Mommy

Olivia and Shasta on their last night together

Shasta went to her new home yesterday. Erika, Olivia, and I took her to her new Mommy's house last night. Monaca's Mom saw her on my blog, fell in love with her and decided she was ready to have a new kitty in her house, she had lost her 20 year old cat about 2 years ago.
Olivia and Shasta were quite a pair and it was difficult to decide not to keep her and difficult to explain to Olivia why we couldn't keep her. After we dropped her off, Olivia did shed some tears but was very happy that her new Mommy had all sorts of toys for her when she arrived and that made her feel so much better. Carolyn (Monaca's Mom) sent Erika and Olivia an email last night thanking them for Shasta and thanking them for taking such good care of her. They both had huge smiles on their faces after I read them the email last night. Olivia is still missing her but she is also so very happy that Shasta and Carolyn get to be together.
AND Eli is happy we don't have 5 cats. I am just happy that I saved Shasta's life and could bring joy to someone else. She was so much fun and will be missed.

My step back

I think I am at the point in one's life that when I am older I hopefully can look back at all this and laugh. This whole situation will be a story I can talk about and say I went through it and tell someone who is in the same situation that YES they will get through it and one day it will be better. But right now I am loosing faith, hope, and my sanity.
Tuesday morning when I woke up I felt great, went to physical therapy and was so proud of myself. Frank (my physical therapist) was happy with my progress and I was ahead of schedule. I was a little stressed that Frank told me he didn't think I should go back to work for at least another 3 - 4 weeks, but he said "we will see how it goes". He even gave me new exercises and I kicked butt. Wednesday was ok, a little sore from doing so much on Tuesday but still....I was happy and had a great attitude. It was a good sore, a work out sore.
Thursday at the dentist, Makenna was being a good girl for the first 45 minutes, after that, she lost control. Dealing with hearing the news about Olivia's teeth, trying to understand the treatment plan and trying from keeping Makenna from tearing up the place I had to pick her up and hold her more then once. Long story short, my back didn't like it. A few hours later at PT my back was spasming and I spent about 2 1/2 hours with my PT crying and in pain. He told me that just because I feel better one day doesn't mean that I am healed, that I have to remember that this is serious and I have to take it slow. He reassured me that sometimes this happens and that I just aggravated it a little and this is just a little bump in the road, that I pushed it a little too far. I felt like a complete ass because I had one of the moments that when you start to cry you can't stop. I was so frustrated, my PT and his tech did everything they could to help relieve some of the pain. I felt that everything I had done and all the work that I had done at PT was just erased and I was back at square one.
Friday I went back to the PT and I am now off most of my exercises and back on just massage, traction, some sissy exercises and the tread mill, plus I am back to being on pain medication regularly. Depending on how it goes through the weekend we can start adding things slowly again next week.
I want to take a huge jump forward!!!!!

Our Olivia

Olivia has been having mouth pain again. I was referred to yet another dentist by another mom I know (this is Olivia's 4th dentist). They squeezed her in yesterday morning, as a new patient and off we went. The tooth she had a pulpectomy done on at the 3rd dentist (that had refilled 2 times already) has now abscessed along with 3 other teeth that are on their way to doing the same thing. Olivia, who is now terrified of the 3rd dentist, has to have a tooth pulled (by an oral surgeon under anesthetic), a spacer placed, 3 pulpectomy's, 4 caps, and 4 other cavities filled. There are nine teeth total that need to be worked on in 7 visits total. 2 at the oral surgeon and 5 at the dentist. We have appointments all set up until the beginning of August.
Olivia has been through hell already with her teeth, ever since she was 2, this is why the dentist recommends anesthesia with the abscessed tooth, she believes that Olivia would loose the only trust and cooperation she has left if they were to pull the tooth with her being aware of the situation.
Monday we go in to see the oral surgeon for evaluation and to get her set up to have the tooth pulled, which will probably be sometime next week. Once that space has healed, the dentist will go to work on the rest. Olivia did a lot of crying yesterday and she hates her medicine that she has to take every 8 hours.
I feel so bad for her but I am trying really hard to be ok with putting her under anesthetic again, for her sake.
I am happy with her new dentist and Olivia seemed to really trust her. The office staff worked really hard to make her experience yesterday a good one and they succeeded. So I feel that we are in good hands. I just can't believe that 9 teeth can go this bad in 6 months.
Hearing all this and dealing with all this along with finding out that blue cross blue shield will only cover $1000 and Makenna was running around screaming and acting a terd was a lot to take.

Queen of Hearts

Who's been painting my roses red?

I am no longer know as the Sea Witch. Now Makenna calls me the Queen, but not just any Queen, the Queen of Hearts. She says........

"YYYYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS, your Majesty!"

Sometimes she will even curtsy.
In my opinion, I feel more like the pot smoking caterpillar with all the drugs I'm on.

OFF WITH HER HEAD!!

(Gosh, I think I'd rather be known as the Sea Witch)

Nursing Orientation

Tonight is my nursing orientation. It is from 6-8pm smack dab in the middle of campus. My sister is driving me because I don't know how well I will do going 75 mph on I96 (ok so I really usually go 80 mph). Eli offered to take me but I thought he needs a break from me and needs a little Brad time. So I am excited to go and I have a starbucks gift card so Diane and I can get a coffee for our drive. The best part about it is that I have a handicap sticker. So I get a great parking spot, but I am leaving my walker at home.
Dave you will be happy to know that I will be sporting my fanny pack though.

Brad, Joann, and Sue

I love my bosses, well gosh, I probably have more bosses than I should because of all the hands in the cookie jar....but for the most part I am treated like family, sometimes too much like family, mostly better than family. We all bicker like old married couples. When my back injury at work happened Sue, Brad, and Joann were so caring and understanding. They love Eli and my girls like they love their own family and they are such giving people. I have had many ups and downs through the years and some of the dynamics with Jeffrey Animal Hospital were hard to handle but this is my home away from home and would never change a thing. To think of how good they have been to me over the years and that I will be leaving in the future brings tears to my eyes and was one of the hardest decisions I had to make.
There are clients and patients there that I have seen as a puppies and kittens, seen them grow and helped walk them to the grave and loved them with the all the love that I have in my heart.
Anyways.....Brad, Joann, and Sue have bent over backwards to take care of me during this injury. My family talks about Brad, Joann and Sue like they are family. They are great people and they will always be a part of me and who I am and what I will become in the future. Thank you Brad and Joann for giving me an opportunity to shine, show who I am, and deal with my....lets just say, dominating personalities!
Joann is also having a hard time with her foot right now, she just had surgery and will be going through PT as well. We actually will be going to the same place I believe. Please keep Joann and her family in your prayers, she needs prayers just as much if not more than I.
Also please pray for Eli and Brad that they can put up with us.......

Physical Therapy

So today was my follow up with my internist on my progression to the incident. I have finished the Prednisone and I am not happy about it. It was the only medication that was really helping and it gave me energy to kept me positive and kept trucking. I begged for more but it was a no go, she called it an immediate fix and not a long term fix. Instead I got more Vicoden ES and Valium, good think I am a happy drunk. It keeps me cool, calm, and collected. I am ready to start my physical therapy and I am going to go to the PT that my mother uses. The one my internist recommended couldn't get me in until June 2nd, and I was not about to wait that long to get back to work. I am going to Oakland Physical Therapy starting Monday three days a week for 4 weeks. I am going to be under the care of Frank Kava so off I go. If PT doesn't help the next step would be epidural injections, but I am going to be optimistic and work hard. I can do this!

We all need a nap once in a while

Kenna fell asleep on the toilet taking a "turtle poop" (that's what she calls it)

This is what happens when I can't run after Makenna anymore (she is much faster than me lately, my walker just can't move that fast), I slipped some of my Vicoden and Valium in her apple juice. (OK TOTALLY KIDDING, I don't need child services at my door, yet I could probably use a vacation) She always asks me "You back hurr Momma, oh poor Momma, you yet me wub it?"
And I don't usually post nasty pictures of myself (or frumpy as Jon would call them) but having Kenna in a peaceful quiet moment with me was too precious to pass up. If only she was this quiet.......

Kenna loves to play outside on the swing set and her favorite is the teeter tauter. She has a huge cut on her nose to prove it. She can get up pretty high all on her own...."LOOK AT ME MOMMA", yes Kenna I see you and please God don't let her fall. FEARLESS I SAY!

OK I think her name is "Shasta"

AH HELP ME!!!! Put me down so I can bite you!

Eli loves kitty cats.......

Erika is a PRO

I am so happy that Shasta is bottle feeding. It makes life so much easier. She is so much fun especially when she bounces around and bites you. Well actually it scares the S#&* out of you. She loves Titus, but Titus just runs from her. Anyone want her? I have strict regulations and there with be a home visit.....

Bed Rest

On Monday I was sent from work to Botsford hospital by ambulance because of a back injury. It took 3 doses of Fentanyl and 4 men to move me from the kennel room to the ambulance. I would take childbirth any day over what I felt. After being at Botsford for almost 6 hours, they couldn't tell me anything and/or control the pain properly. In my opinion Botsford ER sucks! Tuesday I had an MRI and yesterday I went to my internist for my results. I have a bulging disc between L5 and S1 with degeneration and arthritis in my sacrum, she said that it wasn't really normal for my age, but hey nothing ever is in my case. The good news is that the the disc is not completely herniated and cutting off the nerve supply but the inflammation that all this has caused, intermittently puts too much pressure on my nerves. So she has also started me on Prednisone (yeah so I get to gain 10 pounds). After the pain and numbness resolves I will be starting rehab. So as of right now I am sporting this baby.......
Having a quad level house doesn't make life any easier, but I am starting to master the stairs. I have only fallen once and Eli (thank God) was there to catch me.
Erika helps me get dressed in the morning (what a big girls she is). Olivia loves to do anything for me. She has even been doing some laundry. Makenna has picked up on things and tries to help as much as a 2 year old can and she keeps me smiling through the day. I have the greatest friends and family. My Mom and Dad have been here almost everyday. Kimmy is taking over the mommy role for my sick kitty. Jen brought dinner over Monday night, Cath came over and spent the day with me, folded laundry for me, took me to the doctor, made dinner, and made me laugh. I can't even begin to tell everything Eli has done, some things I cannot elaborate on. He has been my sole support system and I can honestly now say he has seen me at my worst.
I am a control freak and relying on other people is very difficult for me. I feel helpless and useless. Thank God for the all the important people in my life, I just hope one day I can return the favor.
So to make a long story short....I am in pain, highly medicated, and very bored. So if anyone is bored and wants to be bored with me, come on over and you could bring me some people or star magazines. I love the gossip smut magazines. I want my independence back and I am trying to find the humor in all of this.

Ryan's feminine side

Erika, Lauren, and Olivia were born one after another. They have pretty much been raised together treat each other like sisters which includes sibling rivalry. All girls included a lot of whining and foo foo stuff. We had a little break, then we saw a light....A BOY. Poor Ryan. He has been with girls girls girls. He has adapted well. He likes to play dress up and princesses with Makenna (as you can see above). Eli and Jeff are constantly chasing him around telling him to put that down or take that off..."be a man". I love Ryan and I think he is perfect just the way he is. He definitely knows how to play like a boy, he is just in touch with his feminine side. He will make some woman very happy one day. Makenna and Ryan are great together and it's a nice break from the constant bickering that Erika, Lauren, and Olivia do.

Vesta

Vesta is an orphan kitty that I have been taking care of since Saturday. She has had her good days and bad days. She has a severe upper respiratory infection. So I have been tube feeding her, medicating her every 4 hours and being her Mommy. Yes I am falling in love with her. If I put her down she finds me and follows me all around the house. This is the reason why I already have 4 cats. I cannot Mother something and then give it away. Eli is trying to remind me that we don't live in animal kingdom.

A visit with Sophia and Marina

Erika and Sophia

Makenna, Olivia, and Marina

The Dennis's came over last Saturday night and the girls were up and cheerful until 11pm. Bobby and I were dwindling before they were. Marina and Makenna are so fun to watch. It is nice to see Makenna interact with children her own age. I can't believe Marina and Makenna are growing up so fast. I hope they stay the best of friends. It seems like yesterday that I was still watching Marina and my days were filled with diaper changes and bottles. I don't miss the babies crying and needing to be fed at the same time or waking each other up from their naps, but I do miss all the precious moments. Marina was like my forth child and I feel like I don't even know Sophia because of life's busyness. She is a happy baby and has big beautiful blue eyes.

My Big Sis

Diane is graduating tonight from U of M Flint. She will now hold a bachelor's degree in social work with HONORS and will be moving on in the near future for her Masters degree. I am so proud of my big sister. She has worked so hard! Diane is a huge inspiration to me! Great Job Di!!! Wish I could be there to see you tonight, but I will be with you in spirit! YOU DID IT!!!!