Labor Day Appendectomy

I woke up in the wee hours Labor Day morning feeling terrible. And so began the debate of whether I should go to the ER. Despite fearing the potential walk of shame back out to the car after being told nothing was wrong, I decided to go in. Hours and hours later (it was a LONG day of waiting), my appendix was removed. I may have set the record for quickest discharge after an appendectomy as I was home just hours after the surgery. Leo refers to it as 'the power of Lucas.' There is NO WAY I was going to miss seeing my boy off to his first day of kindergarten!

I am so thankful for family who drop everything to help take care of the boys, feed / water / walk the dog, and assist around the house during times like this. Thank you!

Apple Season

Nothing says fall like a trip to the apple orchard. Minnetonka Orchards has become our apple picking destination of choice. The boys were completely and utterly happy for four hours. Yes...four hours! This orchard has so many activities to keep a family with two young boys who seem to need constant stimulation entertained...rides on the Apple Express, a corn maze to explore, barn animals to observe, hay bales to jump on, tractor rides, the best apple donuts to snack on, face painting, live music and the primary reason for the visit...apple picking. We stayed until closing time, and if the sun weren't going down, the boys would have stayed longer.

Camping at Cross Lake

We had our first camping adventure of the summer mid-June. The boys loved it! Apparently, you need to make reservations months in advance if you want to camp in a state park anywhere near the metro area. So, we decided to head to Brainerd and check out Cross Lake Campground. We showed up around lunch on Friday and got one of the last three sites available. Seriously...camping is such a popular activity!  

It was a great weekend...perfect weather, a nice swimming beach, a rip roaring dam where the boys could watch the "fast water", fish to feed, and play structures for the kids to climb on. Lucas especially loved sleeping in the camper (and peeing in the woods). William got to try S'mores for the first time, but after getting his hands sticky decided they weren't his favorite treat.  Other things the boys loved - being able to pick out their own little box of cereal to eat each morning from the multi-pack we brought with and eggs.  They never eat eggs for us at home but gobbled them down in the campground. I guess eggs taste better in the great outdoors!

A Recent Trip To South Dakota

Just two short weeks ago I was in South Dakota for my cousin Brian's wedding. I learned a few things on this trip. My Dad likes to drink coffee, especially when he has a 10-hour drive ahead of him. Many cups of coffee means many rest stops. There isn't a whole lot to look at from a landscape perspective when driving from Eden Prairie to Rapid City, SD.  I don't sleep well in hotel rooms.  Being able to FaceTime with my boys when I am away from home is pretty darn awesome!  Wine is definitely not my drink of choice, although I didn't dislike the sweeter wines offered at the Red Ass Winery. Raspberry Asiago is the best.cheese.ever. Cherry by Neil Diamond is my favorite song to dance to at a wedding. I definitely do like to dance when I have had a few drinks. My cousin Brian and his new wife, Julia, are a really, cute couple. Spending time with my family (both my parents and extended family) is a lot of fun (but I already knew that)!

Good Boy, Fergus!

Before bed tonight, we read the book Good Boy, Fergus!  Fergus is a little, white puppy that looks and acts much like Lily...barking, chasing loud vehicles and getting into all sorts of mischief.  William seemed to enjoy the break from Brown Bear, Brown Bear and would excitedly exclaim, "puppy, puppy, puppy," with each page turn.

Sunday In Review

We cleaned (in our winter jackets), we ate, we napped, and we baked.

Second Annual Grazzini Halloween Party

Last night was the second annual Grazzini Halloween party. We donned our costumes and drove down to Lakeville for the festivities where there were kids, costumes and candy galore.  Tony and Shannon  even had a few voting games prepared.  Last year, Leo was a contender for the "worst costume" award. I don't remember what he was anymore.  Leo did not win worst costume this year, but as a couple Leo and I tied the Grazzini's for the honor of another award, the specifics of which I won't mention here. Hmmm...I'm not sure the crowd's reasoning for voting for us, but Leo believes there is the perception we are so busy chasing our boys we have no time for anything else in our lives! 

Pumpkins and a Pot-Bellied Pig

We enjoyed our second annual trip to Eveland Family Farm on Sunday morning. Calvin and Lucas thoroughly enjoyed checking out the farm animals and feeding the goats and pigs handfuls of hay. William wasn't overly excited about sitting in a field of pumpkins but did enjoy watching the rather large pot-bellied pig that roamed freely throughout the farmyard.

Arboretum

On Sunday, we spent a few hours at the Arboretum, enjoying the warm weather.  My goal was to snap a few pictures of the boys playing in the leaves.  Unfortunately, they weren't all that interested in playing in the leaves.  Lucas' favorite part of our Arboretum adventure seemed to be checking out the many different scarecrows on display, while William enjoyed chasing the geese.  Leo and I could have spent several more hours walking the grounds, but our little people were ready to leave by the end of the morning and asleep within minutes of our car ride home. 

Six Years

Happy six years to my wonderful husband. I would choose you all over again.

Mother's Day

This was our best attempt at a Mother's Day picture. The boys don't like to cooperate when it comes to things like sitting still, looking at the camera or smiling. Regardless, my little sweethearts surprised me with Mother's Day cards and flowers. Plus, I got to spend lots of quality playtime with them on Sunday.  I kept throwing hints at Leo that a day off would be a really nice Mother's Day surprise but truthfully know that after an hour or two "off," I would be itching to get my hands on these little guys again. 

Photography

I took my first photography class this weekend and loved it! While it didn't make me a better photographer (hopefully that will come with practice), it certainly did leave me with a number of tips and tricks to think about and an appreciation for what professional photographers make look so easy. Much to Leo's dismay, I also left class with a nice list of spendy photography gadgets I would like to buy.

Here's to better pictures with more practice!

Loving William

My New Glasses...and Conversations with Leo

I picked up my new glasses on Friday. Even though I only wear glasses for a couple of hours each night, I was excited for the new pair to arrive. My previous pair of glasses were old and outdated. Plus, one of the rods snapped off a couple of weeks ago. It's not fun to wear glasses with only one rod! When I told Leo I needed to order a new pair of glasses, he questioned whether I could just wear the old pair with one rod from now on. I know he was kidding, but a part of me also knows that a part of him was serious when asking this question. Oh Leo...

Mother's Day

Oh Lucas...at 21 months, you've already figured out how to work the system (with a little help from Dad). I was awakened bright and early Mother's Day morning by my little love repeating, "mama, mama, mama" over and over. I peeked over the edge of the bed to spot Lucas proudly holding the Mother's Day card he had signed for me with a little note that read, "Mommy, I think what makes you most happy is spending time with me. I like monkeys, puppies and learning...so I'd really like it if you played with me."

Lucas, being the smart little guy he is, had gotten a gift for himself to play with alongside me. We spent the day reading Curious George and the Puppies and looking through his new alphabet flashcards. Although I didn't get breakfast in bed, I did enjoy spending time with Lucas yesterday. And I especially enjoyed seeing the excitement on his face as we played with his new toys. I wouldn't have minded being able to sleep in just a tad later than 6:30, though!

Well Weekend

I am in need of a well weekend. Last weekend was consumed by the stomach flu. This weekend has not been much better. I woke up early on Saturday morning with pain in my right side. It hurt...a lot, although Leo says I have a low threshold for pain. I finally called my doctor, and she recommended I go into the ER for some tests.

An ultrasound was performed to view my appendix and gallbladder. The doctors were concerned I may have early onset appendicitis as that was the area causing me the most pain, and my appendix was slightly inflamed. However, while performing the ultrasound, they also noticed two cysts on my right ovary. One of the cysts is a simple cyst, which the doctor said is very normal and will most likely go away on its own. The second cyst is a complex cyst, which means the cyst has both solid and liquid components and is currently the size of a golf ball. Apparently, these cysts can cause a lot of pain.

About thirteen years ago, I had a complex cyst removed from my left ovary. It was very large when removed, between six to seven pounds. Because the cyst was so large, it had damaged my ovary, which needed to be removed as well. So, my concern with this new development is that I only have one working ovary and would like to keep it for the time being if at all possible.

The good news is that I am feeling better today...still very sore but much more manageable than yesterday. Only time will tell what happens with the cysts, whether they decrease in size on their own or need to be surgically removed. I have a feeling there will be more doctor visits in my near future.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that next weekend is a well weekend. I am in need of one.

A Good Day

Today has been a good day. I have been eagerly awaiting the start of Biggest Loser Season 8 since this morning. Leo and I do not watch much television these days and have an unspoken rule that the television will not be turned on while Lucas is awake. Thankfully, our little guy went to bed early tonight so I have been able to watch the contestants working out and sweating guilt free...well, guilt free except for the fact that I should be working out too.

I was able to preview Lucas' one-year pictures tonight and LOVE them. Our photo session did not go well because the Bug was very crabby and whiney the entire hour we were there...sort of like this picture, although we didn't have a green, plastic bucket on his head.



Needless to say, I left the session feeling quite dejected because I was sure Jessica wasn't able to get even half a smile out of our little man. I was wrong! I'm pleased as punch with how they turned out and will be posting a few soon.

For those of you who love free things like I do, Shutterfly has the best deal going on right now. If you create a Shutterfly Share site, which takes mere minutes, you get free pictures. And every week you add pictures or videos to your Share site, you get more free pictures. For scrappers like me, this is an opportunity that should not be missed.

Finally, I will end with a couple of Lucas tales. This past weekend, Leo and I hung a couple of pictures in our bathroom.



We've been in our house since November 2005 and still had a bare bathroom wall. We finally found pictures we both liked and decided to finish what we started many years ago. Lucas must have been tired of staring at the bare bathroom wall too because he continues to crawl into the bathroom, point at the pictures and make funny Lucas noises.

The other funny (painful) thing Lucas has been doing this week is pinching me. He crawls into my lap, grabs just a little bit of skin between his chubby fingers and squeezes tight. Then, he will look at me for a reaction. It's so cute that I usually pretend to fake cry, which makes him laugh and laugh. I hope I'm not teaching him that pinching is an okay thing to do. It seems I am the only one he likes to play this game with so far, though.

Come On Get Higher...

...is my favorite Matt Nathanson song. So, I was pretty excited when I got a call from Cities 97 saying I had won tickets to see him live in Studio C for a private performance. Even better was scoring first row seats!

Scrappy Scrapper

It was a fun-filled weekend of scrapping and eating (thanks, Dad!). Between marathon scrapping sessions, a little fun was enjoyed with Lucas and Calvin too.



Thank you for the use of your scrapping supplies, Mom, as well as your input on the many pages I was able to complete. Thanks also for attending to the little bug!!



Calvin attacks Lucas with a hammer on Sunday morning...he is tired of sharing Nana and Papa with his cousin.



My Dad was at his wit's end by the time Sunday rolled around...Lily can be a handful, and he was on dog duty much of the weekend! After much unnecessary barking, TV attacking and one or two "accidents" in the house (she is almost 3 years old and still feels the need to go in my parent's house!), he kindly asked if I would please bring her back to the cities. The plan had been to leave her in Fergus while I travel for work next week. Poor, Lily...she doesn't know how high maintenance she is.