Happy Halloween!

From the moment Jackson saw me bring out the pumpkin carving kit from the Halloween bin, he had asked every day if we could carve a pumpkin.  When we went to Hillridge Farms last Sunday (more on that later), we picked out of a couple of nice, carvin' pumpkins.  Then finally, after I came home from work on Tuesday, we finally got to carving!  Jackson wanted to use all the tools so bad -- even though he had no idea how to use them.  Poker?  Sure, I'll poke it.  Saw?  Sure, I can do that.  Kitchen knife? Um, no Jackson.  I'd rather you didn't. I had a better job for him.  Cleaning out all the gunk.  All the slimy, stringy, seedy gunk.  Ewwww.

After we got him all cleaned out, Jackson helped me tape on our pattern.  I looked through the patterns that came with the kit, but none of them really looked kid-friendly-fun and easy.  So a quick google search later, I had the perfect template for Jackson!

Mickey is all poked out!

All done!  All we need now is for darkness to fall to light him.

Jackson was very excited to see him all lit up.  He NEVER wants his picture taken, but this time he sat proudly next to his Mickey Mouse jack-o-lantern.

I must admit that I was quite proud of my carvin' too!

Daddy gave the kids a little trick-or-treat on Saturday.  Jackson got a fun new trucks and tractors book w/ stickers.  Kate got her first pair of sunglasses.

When Jackson woke up from his nap Sunday afternoon he knew exactly what time it was!  Time to put on our costumes and go TRICK OR TREATING!!  Jackson chose who wanted to dress up as all by himself.  At first he said he wanted to be Cookie Monster again, but then he decided he wanted to be Oswald.  And for Kate, he decided she should be Oswald's friend, Daisy!  I looked around a bit for an Oswald costume with no luck.  After talking to Mamma, I decided that it would be easy enough to make.  We used a cardboard box, a cheap blue t-shirt, baseball socks, poly stuffing and some felt.  A few stuffs and stitches later we had us an Oswald!  I found the perfect tiny hat at AC Moore to complete the Oswald look!

Kate's costume seemed like it would be pretty easy, but turned out to be the most challenging.  Mostly b/c she'd never let us try it on her, so it took several tries to get it to fit right.  I used this daisy headdress instructable as a guide, but had to modify it quite a bit.  The instructions called for tall, skinny petals and Daisy needed short, fat petals.  Since the petals were big and heavy, we had to use hot glue to help keep them up and together.  I also added some drawer liner into the top to help it stay in place and sewed ribbon on the back for tying it to the back of her head.  Since she had no interest in wearing it all along, I figured I may as well take as many steps as possible to try and keep it on her head.
To my surprise, all it took was a sucker to distract her long enough to get it on her.  And once it was in place, she didn't seem to mind it at all.  Either that or she was way too distracted to know the difference!  I think both of their costumes turned out perfectly!

I tried my best to get a good picture of the two of them together.  I suppose I could photoshop the two of these together and I'd have a good one.  Keeping them as they are is more symbolic of our life though.  Two kids, doing their own thing, not listening, more interested in their own agenda than mine.  (Check out poor Mickey over on the left.  I guess maybe it was the rain, then sun, that caused his face to sink in.  Oh well.)


Once I had my breath back from chasing them around for pictures, Mamma and me loaded them up in the wagon to make our rounds through the neighborhood.  Sean had somehow managed to doze off during all the costume chaos and didn't even know we left.  He and Mom-Mom had planned to sit on the front porch and greet the trick or treaters, so Mom-Mom stood command for the one or two that stopped by while we were gone.

Kate may not have really known exactly what was going on.  It didn't matter to her b/c she was outside, going for a ride in the wagon.  It's a good day!

First stop:  Our wonderful neighbors, Glen and Betsy.  They loaded Jackson and Kate up with all kinds of treats -- animal crackers, cookies, and candy.

Kate just couldn't wait to try something out.

By the time we made it down a few houses, we caught up with some of the other neighbors.  I'm sure some of the folks who answered the door thought it was a candy blitz!

Kate seemed quite content riding in the wagon.  Since it was just more work for me to get her out and help her to the door, I just pulled her up and let her watch Jackson do the knocking.

We didn't even make halfway through our neighborhood before Jackson already had a bucket FULL of candy.  He'd pick one treat from some of the baskets, before having a whole handful dumped into his pumpkin.  Seriously folks, we don't need all that candy either!!

The treat Jackson was most excited about was a blue ring pop.  He asked after every stop if he could open it.  Finally, when we were on our way back to the house, I agreed.  But by the time we'd made it home, he decided he wasn't as excited about it anymore and was ready for the next treat.

The first thing he did when he came inside was dump out all his loot in the middle of the floor.  So much candy!  I made sure to brush his teeth extra good before bed!

Kate was pretty intrigued by all the candy, too!  She wasn't quite as feisty about eating everything she could though.  She doesn't know much about chocolate yet, however, I have a feeling that may change with all this candy in the house!

She sat in the middle and checked it all out before finally deciding on another lollipop.

She didn't even try to get it open.  She knew exactly how to get the job done!

Happy Halloween!!

A Month Ago

Exactly one month ago, Sean and I started our day bright and early at Wake Med North hospital.  Sean was scheduled for a routine knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.  Going into the surgery, the orthopedic surgeon had explained that the type of repair he performed would be dependent on the severity of the tear.  There were two options -- an arthroscopic procedure where the torn tissue is removed or open surgery to repair the meniscus by stitching it back together.  We knew that the recovery time would be significantly different, depending on the procedure.  With the arthroscopic procedure, it would take about 45 minutes and he would essentially walk out of the hospital.  With open surgery, it would take about an hour and fifteen minutes and he'd be non-weight bearing and on crutches for six weeks.  We were hopeful that the more minor repair would take care of the problem, but we both had a gut feeling that it would require the more evasive procedure.  Before Sean went back to the OR, I asked the doctor if he would have someone notify me once he knew what he was going to have to do.  I spent the next 45 minutes or so waiting, as patiently as I could.  When the front desk lady called me over to take a call, I knew what I was about to hear...open surgery was required.  So back I went to wait.  And wait.  And wait.  Then finally, after a couple of requests for an update and over 2 hours later, the surgeon came out to tell me how it went.  Sean's tear was very significant and it was his opinion that removing the torn cartilage would have resulted in severe, early onset arthritis.  He felt that repairing the cartilage with 6 stitches and an anchor was a more long-term repair.  The surgery took longer than expected because Sean had what was known as a 'bucket handle tear', which meant he had to retract the tissue away from the bone in order to go in and flip the cartilage back into place.  When I went back to see him the first time, he was in excruciating pain.  The nurse was doing her best to make him comfortable. His blood sugar was over 300, because he had taken his pump off before the procedure.  After an hour or so in recovery, Sean's blood sugar and pain were relatively under control.  We came home and got him set up on the couch for some rest.  At that point, we knew the next 6 weeks would be a challenge, simply because he'd be on crutches.  What we didn't know?  The pain he was about to experience would be unlike either of us had ever known.  Pain that I can't even begin to describe because I didn't physically feel it.  Pain that I wished so badly to take away.  Pain that broke my heart to watch him go through.

Update on Sean

Today was a really good day!  Sean had another sympathetic nerve block procedure this morning.  This was the same procedure he had in the hospital on 10/19.  The idea of the block is twofold.  The doctor uses x-ray guidance to inject numbing medicine into the sympathetic nerve region of the spine.  The numbing agent basically puts the nerve to rest for a bit which reduces the pain signals it sends to the brain.   This only provides very short term pain relief.  The first time Sean got about 12 hours of relief.  This time we were hoping for a bit longer b/c his doctor put about 20% more numbing medicine in this time.  But as time crept closer and closer to 12 hours, you could really tell that the pain was coming back.  The second goal of the block is more of a 'hope'.  The doctors 'hope' that by essentially turning the nerve off for a bit, when it wakes back up it starts functioning normally again.  They even say that the pain may not be as severe, even if it's not greatly improved.  Unfortunately, Sean didn't get that lucky the first time and we'll have to see tomorrow how his nerves are feeling after they're little nap.

The most exciting part of today, aside from seeing Sean feel good (which was such a blessing!), was his accomplishments at physical therapy.  Flo, the owner of the PT office, has really taken Sean under her wing.  She has been very, very involved in his therapy and stays in very close contact w/ his orthopedic surgeon and the pain physician.  She even worked out today's appointment so that he could come in shortly after the block procedure.  Obviously Sean wasn't nearly as excited as she was, but nonetheless he went and took all Flo had to offer.  And today, he didn't even work w/ his normal therapist, Beth.  He had Flo all to himself and she had him on the table for 1 hour and 10 minutes!  All his hard work paid off b/c today he reached a major milestone.  He was able to lift his leg off the table on his own and with no help for the first time!   I was so excited when he told me what he did, but he followed it up with, don't expect to see me do it again tonight or anything.  Well, what did he do tonight?  That's right - lifted it up again!  I'm so proud of him b/c I know he has worked so hard these past few days to reach that milestone!

For me, the best part of today was seeing how confident he felt in Flo and PT.  These sessions have been very painful and I know he's had some doubt about whether or not they were doing the right thing.  Today though, I think he left with a much better feeling.  He was able to see and feel progress and that made him feel good.  He still has a long way to go, but it's important to note that he's taking positive steps and moving forward.

As all the progress takes place over the next few weeks, I'm going to be sharing updates here on Good Times.  (This may not be good times as we'd like it, but nonetheless it's our life.)  Not only do I want to share his journey with all those closest to us, I also want to document this journey for us.  It's been a very challenging 4 weeks for us all.  Everything we know has been tested.  We have to constantly remind ourselves of all that we are blessed with and remember that the trials God places before us will only make us stronger.  As individuals.  As a couple.  And as a family.  We'll get through it and we know we'll never be alone.  Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers.  Keep them coming!!  :-)

I'm still here.

I know, I still haven't posted Part 4 from Kate's 1st birthday weekend.  And I still haven't 'told' you about The Cake.  You see, Sean's knee surgery on the 29th has turned out to be yet another curve ball.  The pain and recovery has been unlike anything any of us expected.  Including his doctor.  He's getting better for sure, but we are both having to remind ourselves often that he was on the operating table for 3 hours, with what should have been about an hour surgery.  It's going to be slow and take some time.  Fortunately, we've had wonderful parents to lean on lately...and to especially help with the kids.  Things will be better this week.  For sure!

It's so funny how times like this get you thinking.  I now have more appreciation for single mothers than I've ever had.  I even cooked on the grill today!  Seriously -- that's the first time I've ever manned a gas grill by myself!  Stevie did come over today to take care of the mowing, so I haven't had to operate a push mower yet, but I will, if need be!  The yard may not look very good when I'm done, but at least the grass would be shorter!

This may sound odd, but my new favorite song is If I Die Young by The Band Perry.  At first listen it may sound a bit morbid.  But when you listen and really think about it, you see that it's not morbid at all.  To me, it's a reminder of how fragile life is and how easy it is to take things for granted.  And to be thankful for all that we have.  God has blessed me with a wonderful life and an amazing family!  There are so many simple things that I wake up to every day that some people never know in a lifetime.  Little challenges like Sean's knee surgery may be inconvenient and unfortunately cause him a lot of pain, but at the end of the day, we know it will get better.  And before we know it, we'll be right back to the everyday craziness that we're used to.  Hot water will still be on the left.

Go…er… Oh, no Pack!

This State game has been asterisked on the calendar for a while now.  It was the first game of the year that would work out to bring the kids.  When Sean went in for knee surgery on Wednesday, he was still planning on the game.  We were prepared with a wheelchair and everything.  I’d even asked him about pimpin’ it up for him.  ;-)  However, when the surgery didn’t go quite as well as we’d hoped, his plans for the game changed.  Instead of watching from a wheelchair in the handicapped section, he watched the game from the comfort of our couch.  And that couch has been his bed/chair/eating area/etc. for the past 4 days.  It’s been a rough few days for him for sure, but hopefully (hopefully!) tomorrow will be the beginning of better days ahead. 

Since Jackson has been pumped up for a football game for a while now, we decided that I should still go with the kids.  It wasn’t like I was with them alone or anything – our seats are w/ Mamma, Papa, the Stolariks, and Jen(&Don).

One of Jackson’s favorite parts of going to see the Wolfpack play is the marching band.  They march right by where we tailgate and they’re so energetic…and loud!  
 
Right as we were getting there, my aunt and uncle, John and Chris walked by.  John and Jackson have this running game where John tries to get Jackson to say ‘Go Heels’.  So, when John and Chris walked up, they waited on Jackson to recognize them.  When he did, Jackson yelled “Go Heels”.  Oh no!!!  Apparently, after being bribed with a dollar here and there, he’s been bought in.  Only temporarily though (we hope!), and we’re working on it with him.  Any anti-UNC fans out there who want to help us out, feel free.  He does have a sweet spot for shiny coins – he likes having a little jingle in his pocket. 

Kate seemed intrigued by the marching band, too. 
 
When we were pulling up, Jackson saw Mr. Wuf in the parking lot and yelled, “Come back, Mr. Wuf!”  It was cute.  Once we were parked and settled, Papa and me took the kids over to the Fan Zone to see if we could get a picture with him.  Jackson told me that he wanted Mr. Wuf to pick him up like he picked up another kid, but once he did it, I don’t think Jackson was as sure.  And Kate…she was pretty freaked out.  But then again, she also got freaked out by the elevator a couple of times, so her uncertainties of Mr. Wuf are not surprising. 
 
We were a little late to the party, so Jackson didn’t get to ‘win’ a football, but he still got to toss one in.  He wasn’t all that impressed. 

Once we were inside, he stuck close to the Stolariks.  For the most part, he was pretty content just enjoying the game.
 
Of course he had to get some time in w/ his buddy, Jen!

Jackson can be a little pistol when it comes to taking his picture.  I did manage to get a good one with Mamma and Papa though. 
 
Of the kids and me??  Not so much…

At least I did get a good one of just the two of us. 

And a good one w/ Kate, too! 

So how was her first game as a toddler?  Eh, she wasn’t thrilled with sitting still/being in the sun/watching football or much else in our seats.  It was so hot and sunny and she was not happy about sitting down there, so I ended up calling Chris to see if she wanted to hang out with her up in Vaughn Towers.  Chris was happy to help and Kate was happy as could be.  She had nice shady seats, some cheese from the salad bar, a nice carpeted area for running/staying busy and lots of other kids to watch.  I’m thinking she may have gotten a little spoiled.  And Jackson too!  When Jackson and I met Chris at halftime, we walked up and Jackson was treated to his fill of ice cream and chicken nuggets.  His ‘fill’ mostly consisted of ice cream, but hey, it was a fun day out for him.  He deserved a few special treats!

Back at our seats during the 3rd quarter, I put Kate in the seat next to me for a few minutes.  She loved it, sitting up there like a big girl!  Can you believe this was just last year?  And look at her now!
 
All that fun took it’s toll.  We weren’t even out of the parking lot before she was zonked. 
 
** So that post title?  Yeah, the Wolfpack could have gone 5-0 today.  However, the Hokies were just too much.  :-(  Dang it.  I was really hoping for Hoky Poky as the title of this post.

Kate’s 1st Birthday -- Part 4: The Party

{After a five month delay, I’m finally taking the time to post the oodles of fun pictures from Kate’s 1st birthday party, which makes this Part 4 in a series of 1st birthday posts. If you want to go back and reminisce with me, you can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.  And since I may be a little type A (you think?), I’m going to back-date this post so it actually fits in closer to where it belongs.} 

I couldn’t share the party pictures without first sharing the invitation.  I was soooo happy with how it turned out!  Of the few cards I’ve designed this one is, by far, my favorite.  I discovered digital scrap packs while creating this one and I’m in love with them now!  They are so easy to use and work with several different design programs.  You don’t even need Photoshop!  I see lots of people talking about Memory Mixer, so it must be a pretty good choice for digital scrapbooking software.  There are tons of online shops selling scrap packs -- Scrapdish is just one. 

Now back to Kate!  Isn’t she just a little angel sitting on a cloud!

As is probably the case for most 1 year olds, I was way more excited about her party than she was.  She did get pretty excited when I showed her the balloons though!

I made sure to get a picture of the birthday girl with her grandparents before everyone got caught up in the excitement.  She still wasn’t quite awake yet from her nap, so you can definitely tell she wasn’t real sure what to think about everything. I wake up from a nap only to find all my favorite people are at my house.  At the same time.  Is this real life?

Emma tried to do her part to get Kate in the party spirit by sharing her Capri Sun.  Such the little mother – looking out for the little one. :-)

Kate wasn’t the only little one at the party.  Our friends Matt and Beth came up from Columbia with their handsome little guy, Mason. 

And our friends Jason and Tricia brought their sweet little 3-week-old, Molly.  I just loved that Kate’s was Molly’s first party was one of her very first outings!
And then there was this little one, Ryley’s friend Olivia.  Okay, maybe she’s not little little.  As a matter of fact, THAT IS ONE BIG BABY DOLL!  That’s right, that there is a baby doll!  She was certainly fun to have around at the party – gave us lots of laughs!

I was so happy with how Kate’s party outfit turned out!  I ordered the shirt and bloomers from a wonderful Etsy seller, Stitcheroos.  I actually ordered plain monogrammed bloomers, but she ended up getting carried away while doing the embroidery and made the matching birdie bloomers.  I’m kinda glad it worked out the way it did, b/c these were so cute! 

The shirt was perfect!!  The little bluebirds were my favorite and turned out to be the perfect design for the cake!  The birdie theme came together so well!
I just love this picture of my 1 year old big girl! 

She was still a little overwhelmed by all the attention she was getting.

But definitely had time to chat on the phone.  This little girl loves the phone!!  And she’ll just jabber away when she gets a hold of it!

Once we tried to get Kate to open her presents, she was all over the place.  Good thing she had Jackson, Ryley and Emma there to help her out!

Isn’t this hand-painted bulletin board just the cutest!!  Sarah and David gave Jackson one for his room, too…with a dump truck, not birds. 

Look at the hot mamas with their babies!!

This adorable little ‘going to grandma’s’ suitcase that my cousin, Andi, gave Kate was more than just a piece of luggage to Kate! 

It was the perfect spot to sit in!
 
And open more presents in.

And to share with Emma, so she could fit in it, too.

And to get in with Emma and sing ‘Row Row Row Your Boat’.  Who would’ve thought a suitcase would provide so many opportunities for play!!  I guess it’s just like kids with a cardboard box.

Once Kate realized she could fit into the push buggy that Aunt Amy gave her, she decided to climb in there.  But she knew this one had wheels, so she really really really wanted someone to push her around!
 
I had to reel her back in to make sure Jackson was able to give her the present from him.  He even made this little card for her with lots of animal stickers!

And look!  Now she’s back in the suitcase reading books! 

Pause for another sweet picture of sleeping Molly – with Sarah!

Now it’s time for The Cake!  The cake we had worked so hard on!

Betty and Duncan had to get a picture with the birthday girl and our fabulous creation!
 
And a quick pic of the family!

Sing along with me…  Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear Kate, 

Happy birthday to you!

As much as Kate likes food, I expected her to dig right in.

What I didn’t expect was for her to have no interest in actually eating the cake!  I don’t know if it was the texture of the icing or what, but she was not a fan!

One last shot of the bluebird cake before she’s enjoyed by all.

And one last shot of my partner and me with the fabulous bird!  Can you tell we were proud of our work? 

If Kate wasn’t going to tear into the cake, Jackson sure would! 

I’m telling you, she was NOT at all into the cake.

She seriously refused to eat it! 

But give the girl some ice cream and she’s all in! 

That’s more like it, birthday girl!  Shovel that ice cream in!

The newest member of our crew was definitely loved on by all!  She and Mason were the highlight of the party!

Oh yeah, and Olivia, too!

Look at us parents with our babies!  The boys have come a long way since their days at Lake Park!  You know, settled down with some good women and made babies!!

And finally, at the end of the day, I was able to get my hands on little Molly.  And nope.  Still no baby fever here.  

I was so glad that Matt and Beth were able to spend the weekend with us.  It was great to spend some time with them and especially Mason.  The kids loved on him lots, too!  Can’t you tell??  I couldn’t even hold Mason without the two of them right next to me!