Halloweekend

Whew . . . it is 8:30pm on Halloween night, and I am all tuckered out! Our weekend was jam-packed with tons of ghoulish activities. Thank goodness Grandma and Grandpa Adolphson was here to help us accomplish everything. Here is a run down of the weekend:

Friday - We kicked off our Halloween celebration by carving some pumpkins. This is something I have always loved to do. It's a time when you get to work with vegetables that you don't have to eat, get messy and be creative all at the same time. When it comes to working with the pumpkins, my girls are at all different stages:

Jocie loves to dig out all the guts, and also designs and carves (under supervision) her pumpkin all on her own.

Ella won't have anything to do with the insides of the pumpkin, but does an awesome job drawing her own pattern (free hand) for me to carve when she is finished. She even went above-and-beyond this year by drawing two rows of bats all the way around the top of the pumpkin!

Claire was excited about everything! She even dug her little hand in to pull out some of the guts . . . and even went back for more!

Saturday - We started our morning by getting all dressed up for a Halloween Parade that was happening in downtown Monticello. Hundreds of children and their parents marched from Walgreen's to the Community Center in their adorable costumes. Inside the Community Center was a bunch of different activities that ranged from coloring contests to hula hooping to an arts and crafts table. It was total chaos, but the girls seemed to like it.

Sunday - was the main event. We started our tricks and treats early this year because of the holiday landing on a Sunday (not cool). We raced up and down our block and the next. After that, the little girls were ready to call it quits, but not our Joice! She joined some of her best friends in Monticello, and continued for another hour. At the looks of our girls' booty bags, I am going to have some major candy rationing to do!!

Happy Halloween to all and to all a Good Night!

The Gorgeous Griffins

Today I had the pleasure of meeting my newest nephew, Collin. When I arrived at the Griffin house, Collin's big sister Kiera was happy to show me into their beautiful home. His mother, Kelly, look radiant (as usual) and way too happy, awake and THIN to have a two-and-a-half week old baby!

Collin seemed very relaxed and laid back, which made him very easy to photograph. I was a little nervous, since I had never taken "real photos" of a newborn before, but here are some of my favorite photos of the day.

I can't wait to see Collin grow into the handsome little man I know he is going to be. On top of being cute, he had better learn how to hold his own . . . he has plenty of girl cousins that all have "strong personalities". The best advice I can give him is - Push Hard and Run Fast!

they know where I sleep

With bare tree branches, howling winds and cool temperatures creeping into our lives, one can only think of scary thoughts. In the next few days, we will be preparing for the up-and-coming Halloweekend by stabbing into and ripping the guts out of some innocent pumpkins. With the little goblins I live with, who knows what (or who) they might rip into next . . .

WHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

Ella the Indestructable

I am stumped. The doctor said 1-2 weeks recovery period. One week out of school. Pain with swallowing and talking. Drowsiness for at least 3 days. Diet full of soft foods. Pain medication every 4-6 hours around the clock.

Oh, contraire mon frere.

Ella's healing process seems to be in-human. Even from the first hour out of surgery, she was telling all of us that she was feeling very little pain. To be honest, I didn't buy it! I even pulled the nurse to the side and told her not to believe Ella (terrible, I know). The nurse asked Ella to show her how she was feeling with a chart full of faces. The chart ranged from a very smiley face (no pain) to a very sad face (a lot of pain). She proceeded to show the nurse the happiest face on the chart just hours out of surgery, so I became a little sceptical. To my defense, Ella has had a record of not being completely honest with us about her health because she is scared to "be sick" and scared to go to the doctor or take medicine. So as her mother, I felt as though I needed to protect her from . . . herself, and make sure she was getting adequate pain control - especially since she just had her neck cut into and had many things (including a portion of bone) taken out! But, maybe I was wrong?

For the past 2 days we have been telling Ella to:
"slow down"
"quiet down"
"put your sister down"
"are you sure you want to eat that?"
"stop dancing"
"stop running"
"stop yelling"
"stop jumping on the couch"

So we have surrendered to her super-human healing and are sending her back to school tomorrow. She needs it! Of course we will be careful with her and make sure she sits out of Physical Eduction and Recess, but this girl needs herself some school!!

All the prayers have been answered, my friends. Thanks to all!

one tough cookie

I am so happy to report that Ella's surgery went very well. I was nervous about so many different aspects of today, but so far, every fear has been put to rest.

We arrived at the hospital at 10:45am. Ella was in good spirits all morning and didn't even notice that she hadn't eaten anything since dinner the night before until we were about 10 minutes away from the hospital! Even when I told her she couldn't eat until after the surgery, she seemed pretty okay with it.

Once we got to the hospital, she hopped out of the van, and marched her cute little self through the door carrying a little bag and pulling her Dora suitcase. Her long blond hair was swinging from side to side with every step, and her smile was radiating as she greeted everyone who was watching her (it was hard not to watch her, she really was quite darling).

The nurse showed us into her pre-op room where she changed into her gown and slippers and answered a ton of questions asked by various doctors and nurses. Unfortunately the surgeon was over an hour late. It could have been a very uncomfortable wait if it wasn't for Ella's great attitude. We passed the time by playing "I spy", having a few Thumb Wars and watching some cartoons. When it was time to head back to the operating room, she hopped off the chair, gave me a quick hug and kiss and off she went with Carl and a team of nurses. Carl told me that once she was in the O.R., she took a few deep breaths into the mask, and fell fast asleep. Once asleep, one of the nurses looked at Carl and said, "You've got one special little girl here" . . . don't we know it!!

About 2 1/2 hours later, we were able to talk with the doctor. He said that the surgery went very smoothly. He even showed us a picture of the cyst, the duct and the piece of the hyiod bone he had taken out. It was actually pretty big! Carl has been showing the picture off to all the nurses, who have all been equally as impressed.

After meeting with the doctor, we headed back to recovery to see Ella. She wasn't quite awake, but the nurse said she was doing perfectly. She had quite a large dressing on her neck and an IV in her hand, but other than that, she looked like she was resting nicely. It wasn't long before we were wheeling her up to her cabin-themed room up on the pediatric floor. She wasn't talking much, but she said she wasn't feeling much pain. It wasn't long before the nurse came in with a movie and a grape Popsicle. After taking her first lick of the Popsicle she said, "this tastes awesome" . . . that is the most she has said all night.

Boppa, Grandma Barb, Grandma Judy, Jocie and Claire have all been up to visit, and with them has come a influx of gifts. Together with the gifts she has received from other family, friends and teachers, it seems as though Christmas has come early!

As I write, Ella is cuddled up with her beloved blankie and sleeping peacefully. Thanks to all of you who have sent prayers our way. It is appreciated more than you know. We are so thankful :)

gettin' ready

How can you get ready for something you have never had to do? Friday is the big day, and we have been trying to get Ella (and ourselves) prepared. Of course we have talked with the doctor and a few nurses. It seems to be a pretty standard 2 hour procedure - anesthesia, incision, removal(s), stitches, wound dressing, pain meds, 1 night stay in the hospital, recovery time, etc. But we all know there is more to it than just that. We also have to deal with the mental aspect of it all, especially when the patient is a child who is scared of "being sick" and is nervous about doctors in general.

We want to be honest with Ella about the surgery, but we also want to be very sensitive about it so we don't scare her. We want her to be "in the know" without knowing too much . . . if that makes any sense. So, we have been reading some children's books that talk about the subject in a kid-friendly way.


She has responded quite well to the books. They seemed to explain the details without causing too much anxiety. My favorite one has to be the Care Bear book. I remember them so well from when I was her age! Ella will probably be expecting Funshine and Cheer Bear in her room on Friday morning :) She was super excited when she heard that she can bring her toys, stuffed animals, books and DVD's with her to the hospital. She has already started a pile . . . we may have to edit a bit.

We know the procedure will go off without a hitch, and this will all be in the past in no time at all. But knowing that, and feeling that, are two different things. I saw a sign a few months ago that said, "Stay Calm and Carry On", and I think I am going to adopt this idea for the next few days (or maybe longer . . . ). I have certainly played this role in the past, but if I really believe it, I think it will make me feel much more relaxed on the inside too.

Ella will be fine. Everything will go well. And that's all that matters :)

Friends

Good friends are hard to find. Dependable, caring, honest and reliable are not characteristics that are found around every corner.



When we moved to the Big Lake area 6 1/2 years ago, we were all alone. We were unsure of ourselves and of our new jobs, and with our families over 4 hours away, we really had no one to lean on or turn to. I started at Pinewood Elementary as 1 of over 60 teachers in the building. I felt a little lost in the crowd in such a big building. As I started networking, I stumbled across Jenine. She had grown up in the community and had been working at Pinewood for a few years. Once we found out that our children were the same age (at that time, we only had Joc and they only had Gabe), we hit it off immediately.



Over the years, Jenine and I have seen each other through a lot. We have shared endearing stories of our children. We vented and grunted our way through a Masters program. We have laughed. Cried. Cared. Shared. Danced. Hell, we even did a garage sale together! I have watched her children grow and develop into awesome kids and I am so proud to call her my friend!



Jenine and her wonderful husband, Jerry, offered to watch our kids on Saturday night so Carl and I could have a date night. So before we took off, I snagged some photos of her gorgeous family. I can't tell you how much fun I had! Here are a few of my favorites.

The Whole Fam - Jenine, Gabe, Jerry & Mette

Oh, did I mention that Mette has a little sas in her? Love it!

And did I also mention that Mette and Ella are best friends . . . they don't take that term lightly!

Three words: Cute. Freakin. Kids.

Mette and her Mama

and of course with her Daddy, too

This girl is headed for the big screen, and she is ready for her close-up.

Thanks you guys, you being . . . you!

Say What?

This piece of dialog was taken from our walk just the other night:

Me - "Look Claire, there's the moon!"
Ella - "Yep! And right over there is penis."
Me - "Honey, I think you mean Venus"
Ella - "Oh. Yeah."

Fall-tastic

I am not a perfect mother (obviously). One of my imperfections is the amount I bake for my family. My baking sessions are few and far in between. We do Christmas cookies, and sometimes, those aren't even from scratch (parish the thought!!). On most Sundays, I make cinnamon rolls before church, but those pop out of a canister, so I don't know if I can count those either. Most of the cookies I bake are made from pre-made dough that I shamelessly buy from the grocery store. But sometimes, I do get a wild hair and decide I am going to bake with my girls. And since it is fall, I thought I would make one of my favorite desserts in the whole world (do I detect a selfish motive...?) Apple Crisp. And since I was feeling really good about my "wholesome" decision, I decided to make a double batch . . .from scratch!

I started by tying on my too-cute-not-bake-all-the-time apron that I got for my birthday (thanks, Nicole!)

Then I peeled and sliced 8 Granny Smith apples

While I started mixing the ingredients for the topping, Jocie mixed the brown sugar into the apple slices.

Once we got everything mixed together, in just a short 50 minutes later we had gooey yet crunchy, sweet yet tart, apple crisp goodness!

(I am unhappy to announce that this huge portion of apple crisp is already gone - largely due to my lack of willpower. Yesterday, I had giant slabs during mid-morning, mid-afternoon and late-night feedings. It also didn't help that the last two helpings were a-la-mode. I could honestly feel my ass jiggling when I finally walked away from the pan.)

After all that baking, we decided to head outside to help Carl and Ella rake up some leaves. After Carl made a few swipes with the "yard sweeper" we got this . . . Mount Leaf-a-lotis!

Of course with a pile of this magnitude, came a jumping show that I had front row seats for.

the free fall

the run in

the super-hero


the cannon ball

The meditation jump

Claire didn't think much of the leaves, but she sure had fun watching her sisters!

1-2-3-4 I declare a leaf war, let's fight!

Uh, oh . . . I think they are turning on me!

Seriously, how can this season not be a favorite! The fun just kept coming when we headed off to the 101 Market. This place just looks like a big green house from the outside, but on the inside it holds a HUGE corn pit, an exotic petting zoo (they even had a kangaroo!), tons of Fall decor, a go-cart race track, a corn maze, and the most pumpkins in the most varieties I have ever seen! We had a great time with all the activities and left the market with our hand-picked pumpkins.

I had such a great time baking on Saturday with Jocie, that I decided to bake some Pumpkin Bread with the little girls on Sunday. I must admit - I did not make the bread from scratch. I was gifted a cute little Pumpkin Bread Mix from Grandma Judy a few weeks back, so I bought a can of Pumpkin (Martha Stuart would be so unimpressed) and mixed everything together.

The recipe was supposed to yield two loaves of bread, but because I don't have two bread pans (probably due to lack of need) I made a dozen pumpkin muffins too.

If I had to write out a recipe for this past weekend, it would go a little something like this:

8 delicious apples

3 adorable girls

1 yard sweeping husband

3 cups of laughter

2 cups of sugar

2 much eating

1 pit of corn

Pumpkins - real and canned

Mix all ingredients together with all the LOVE you can find. Place in an 80 degree oven for two days.

Yield - a Fall-tastic weekend