Having been married to Randy for almost 17 years now, I've come to acquire the gift of hearing little differences in his responses that allow me to decipher, in part, what he's thinking. While standing in line to check-in for Caden's CT scan on Friday, Randy gave a little "hm" with just the right decibel of surprise and excitement, that I knew he was pleased with the news he'd just read in his email.
In an off-hand, trying-too-hard tone, "Well, it looks like I got another signed contract this morning."
And just like that, Randy landed his second sale of the year. GO, RANDY!!!!
See, I told you he was pleased. It's a gift.
Friday, March 31, 2017
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Teeth
Poor little Tyson was born with a small jaw, thanks to the genes of yours truly-- his teeth have zero space between them. His baby teeth are so squished in his mouth, he has crooked, crammed teeth that actually shreds floss... when we actually floss. We are horrible flosser in this house, let's be honest. I can't remember the exact count at this very minute, but Tyson actually had a surgery when we first moved here- anesthesia and all- to get many fillings done at one time. The dentist told us that there is no hope, we're just going to have to get used to him having cavities, until his jaw grows, and he gets orthodontia. Imagine our excitement at that bit of information. Awesome!
The kids had their six-month check up on Monday. You guessed it: Tyson needed fillings. Three. Truly, we have been SO good at reminding our kids to brush. He even commented that it isn't fair that Brennon didn't have any cavities, since they always brush their teeth together. Tyson was the only one that had a cavity, besides both Caden and Keilie needing sealants. They had an opening for Tuesday to get them filled, so we jumped at the chance to just get it done. Tyson wasn't thrilled, but, like always, he just did what needed to be done without complaint. The rest of the night was not his favorite-- he did not like being numb! At one point, I rounded the corner to see him sitting on the last stair, head resting on the third, looking completely emotional. "Mom, I just don't feel well!"
The next morning, he was super excited to tell me that he'd brushed his teeth first thing. After he ate breakfast, he told me he was headed up to brush them again. I told him that once in the morning was sufficient, but he was so intense in his speech about not wanting to get any more cavities. Right before leaving, Randy asked if anyone wanted to try the breakfast burrito he'd made. Being Tyson, who is always up to try new things, he took a bite. And then another. We were literally walking out the door, when he stopped dead in his tracks, and with a look of sheer terror, exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, I just ate!!! I need to go brush my teeth!!!" Poor kid. I think he has PTSD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the move that took the kids from their school boundaries, there has been a lot of time spent together in the car. I actually kind of like it-- the kids use this time to talk about the funnest things. This morning on the way to school, Shelby told us that she'd dreamed that she was getting married, but that she wasn't getting married to anyone. She was all dressed in white, at the temple, but that she wasn't supposed to really be marrying anyone. Fulfilling his role as "annoying little brother," Tyson piped up, "Well, maybe the guy ran away, because he didn't want to marry you!" I had to hide my smile. And then, to make sure that Shelby "got justice," I had to talk with Tyson about being kind. I'm super proud of myself for not laughing out loud.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Listening to Tyson do his math packets is always so much fun. Most of the time, he flat-out blows me away with his knowledge and understanding, but today it was just funny. While blowing through a page of four-part addition, he wasn't reciting the answers, but instead "_____ is the answer. I know it, because I am the smartest kid in my class....." You better believe that I did laugh out loud at that one. "What? Mom, it's the truth!!" It's one thing to sing his own praises in front of me, I just hope he doesn't sing it in class! Not the best way to win friends!!
It will be a sad day, indeed, when this boy stops saying such funny things. Well, then he'll probably be like Caden, finding ways to purposely make people laugh. Here's the joke he sent me today (he sends one at least once a week): "What's red and bad for your teeth?" A brick.
The kids had their six-month check up on Monday. You guessed it: Tyson needed fillings. Three. Truly, we have been SO good at reminding our kids to brush. He even commented that it isn't fair that Brennon didn't have any cavities, since they always brush their teeth together. Tyson was the only one that had a cavity, besides both Caden and Keilie needing sealants. They had an opening for Tuesday to get them filled, so we jumped at the chance to just get it done. Tyson wasn't thrilled, but, like always, he just did what needed to be done without complaint. The rest of the night was not his favorite-- he did not like being numb! At one point, I rounded the corner to see him sitting on the last stair, head resting on the third, looking completely emotional. "Mom, I just don't feel well!"
The next morning, he was super excited to tell me that he'd brushed his teeth first thing. After he ate breakfast, he told me he was headed up to brush them again. I told him that once in the morning was sufficient, but he was so intense in his speech about not wanting to get any more cavities. Right before leaving, Randy asked if anyone wanted to try the breakfast burrito he'd made. Being Tyson, who is always up to try new things, he took a bite. And then another. We were literally walking out the door, when he stopped dead in his tracks, and with a look of sheer terror, exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, I just ate!!! I need to go brush my teeth!!!" Poor kid. I think he has PTSD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the move that took the kids from their school boundaries, there has been a lot of time spent together in the car. I actually kind of like it-- the kids use this time to talk about the funnest things. This morning on the way to school, Shelby told us that she'd dreamed that she was getting married, but that she wasn't getting married to anyone. She was all dressed in white, at the temple, but that she wasn't supposed to really be marrying anyone. Fulfilling his role as "annoying little brother," Tyson piped up, "Well, maybe the guy ran away, because he didn't want to marry you!" I had to hide my smile. And then, to make sure that Shelby "got justice," I had to talk with Tyson about being kind. I'm super proud of myself for not laughing out loud.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Listening to Tyson do his math packets is always so much fun. Most of the time, he flat-out blows me away with his knowledge and understanding, but today it was just funny. While blowing through a page of four-part addition, he wasn't reciting the answers, but instead "_____ is the answer. I know it, because I am the smartest kid in my class....." You better believe that I did laugh out loud at that one. "What? Mom, it's the truth!!" It's one thing to sing his own praises in front of me, I just hope he doesn't sing it in class! Not the best way to win friends!!
It will be a sad day, indeed, when this boy stops saying such funny things. Well, then he'll probably be like Caden, finding ways to purposely make people laugh. Here's the joke he sent me today (he sends one at least once a week): "What's red and bad for your teeth?" A brick.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Anger
Because so much time has passed (but not enough time, really), I feel that sometimes my frank and unfiltered remarks about Caden's cancer startle people. It is such a daily thing, so much ingrained in our lives, that I don't stop to think that hearing words like cancer, and chemo, and tumor are words that make others uncomfortable. Because no one knows what to say. Truly, there are no words-- I know that. I understand that it is hard to look into the faces of parents that are in the fight for their child to live just one more day. I understand, because though we are some of those parents, we have friends made along the way that are going through similar fights. Even then, we still don't know what to say. There are no words to fully encapsulate any, and every side of it. It is all just horrible.
I got onto Facebook today to make sure that I read, thanked/commented and "liked" all of the responses on our cancer page-- responses given to news that they themselves have never heard. Remember, Caden is the only one out of the 25 patients/family members that are a part of the Undifferentiated Embryonal Sarcoma of the Liver facebook page that has had a recurrence. The only one. In truth, I have thought about asking to be removed from the page. Because I am sick of giving bad news. I am tired of being their "scariest fears imaginable." I am tired of being the one that they read that leads them to fear for their next scan. I'm tired of scaring people and making them uncomfortable with our reality.
And, because I try to be honest, even when it makes me lookbad awful heinous, I'm tired of seeing their good news. I'm ashamed to say that today I saw that a little girl got a clean scan on her 2-year anniversary, and I felt jealousy, big and ugly and soul deep. This little girl was diagnosed when she was 9-months old, went through the same treatment and surgery that Caden went through those first six months, and has now been cancer free for two years. I literally went back and read the last four months of posts again, counting how many "clean" scans have been shared (seven), and then in a derisive, mocking tone, said aloud, "Well, good for you!" and turned off the computer. Reading their good news made me angry. And I mean ANGRY!! And then, oh, the guilt and shame. After I let my tantrum and pitty-party run its course, I felt like such a JERK! I did not celebrate with this family, cheering that this baby girl is cancer free!! I don't wish for someone else to suffer as we are, but it seems that I keep looking for someone else to say, just once, "our scans 'look funny', we have to wait five weeks." I just feel so alone in this Facebook page bubble- this inclusive, safe space where we unify for each other against the common monster, but that actually makes me feel wholly separate and alone. Sometimes it hurts so bad in the most random times. It reminds me of Quentin L. Cook's talk, Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time.
Sometimes looking for the good in the situation, looking for the silver lining, is really hard. I'm really struggling tonight.
I got onto Facebook today to make sure that I read, thanked/commented and "liked" all of the responses on our cancer page-- responses given to news that they themselves have never heard. Remember, Caden is the only one out of the 25 patients/family members that are a part of the Undifferentiated Embryonal Sarcoma of the Liver facebook page that has had a recurrence. The only one. In truth, I have thought about asking to be removed from the page. Because I am sick of giving bad news. I am tired of being their "scariest fears imaginable." I am tired of being the one that they read that leads them to fear for their next scan. I'm tired of scaring people and making them uncomfortable with our reality.
And, because I try to be honest, even when it makes me look
Sometimes looking for the good in the situation, looking for the silver lining, is really hard. I'm really struggling tonight.
Monday, March 27, 2017
Sundays
Sundays are always a low-key day for us. We don't use electronics, unless it is a Jesus/church movie. We color, play a lot of games, both human and non-human alike...
and we rip our teeth out with pliers...
Just another Sunday with the Dirks'!
That makes two- count them two- teeth lost by Shelby in as many days. The first was pulled before bed, just wiggling it herself. The second was a little harder, so she asked Randy if he'd just use the pliers. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the newest member of the Dental Association of America! Well, OK, maybe the newest member of the D.A.D- Dental Association of Dads; made possible by my Rock Star daughters that stand there while he yanks and tugs. They get their strength from him. I used to wait until they flew out of my mouth with one huffy breath.
That makes two- count them two- teeth lost by Shelby in as many days. The first was pulled before bed, just wiggling it herself. The second was a little harder, so she asked Randy if he'd just use the pliers. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the newest member of the Dental Association of America! Well, OK, maybe the newest member of the D.A.D- Dental Association of Dads; made possible by my Rock Star daughters that stand there while he yanks and tugs. They get their strength from him. I used to wait until they flew out of my mouth with one huffy breath.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
The Bronc
Randy woke on Saturday morning with an itch... an itch to take the Bronco to the sand dunes. Caden was all for it. I was lukewarm. Everyone else was a no. So Randy and Caden loaded up for some time alone. Truth be told, I didn't really want to go, but I would have, because it was so important to Randy. When he said that I should stay home with the kids, I almost did a cartwheel. Then I remembered my back and stopped myself. *My back is doing awesome, by the way. There is no more pain, with only a small pulling sensation every once in a while. But, other than that, I'm just taking it easy, just in case.
Because they didn't have a flag, and because there were so many people there, they didn't get as crazy as Randy would have like, but they still had a blast. From some of the stories, I think I should be grateful they didn't have a flag. At one point, Caden was telling Randy that, "Brennon would NOT like this!!" I imagine it was probably a pretty steep dune that Randy just had to go up. They bought a flag on the way home. And Randy started looking for Rzrs last night.
When they got home, they spent a couple hours working on the continued process of fixing it up. They took off the top, pounded out some of the dents, and washed it up nice.
I'm SO GLAD Randy found this. Well, I guess, technically, Steve found it. He called Randy, telling him he wished he could buy it, and then Randy bought it the next morning instead. They have spent so much time together either having fun, or working on it-- which I guess they also think is fun. Other than Randy, I think this is the best thing that has come from the year 1977! I can't wait to see the finished product!!!
When they got home, they spent a couple hours working on the continued process of fixing it up. They took off the top, pounded out some of the dents, and washed it up nice.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
2nd Story
I still have pictures to hang, and Randy's office to organize, but other than that, I think our main level is pretty much done. Well, except for the painting of that hideous orange room. I still shudder each time I get a glimpse of those walls. Ew. Oh, and we need new couches for both the front room and the living room. In time...
Upstairs is always the last thing to do. Really, I am lame and don't really care about decorating the kids' room. I once did, but that was when rooms were on the same level that most people would see. Now that we have exiled the kids' rooms to their own level, they will most likely be plain, bare, and messy. You'll see what I mean with one teenage girls' room soon.
Keilie's messy room. We still need to get her some window coverings. Those windows look great, but there aren't really blinds that cover those arches. We'll see what we end up doing. Let me draw your attention away from the Albertson's Monopoly game board and pieces to that second window peeking through the door opening. Below, you'll see what it is...
I love the layout of this house. I love the space. I love the storage. I love the yard, although we mowed it today and realized just how much lawn we have to take care of. I love the little extras that we have always wanted, but used for getting out of debt or investments instead. I love that my kids have their own spaces. I love that Keilie told me that she would be happy to live in this house forever, that it is kind of her dream house. I couldn't agree with her more. Being in this home makes us forget the ups and downs that felt so stressful. We are the luckiest family in the world.
Upstairs is always the last thing to do. Really, I am lame and don't really care about decorating the kids' room. I once did, but that was when rooms were on the same level that most people would see. Now that we have exiled the kids' rooms to their own level, they will most likely be plain, bare, and messy. You'll see what I mean with one teenage girls' room soon.
This is the 7' x 7' nook at the top of the stairs. I've got a six-drawer dresser at the top for jackets, winter gear, pool towels, and heirloom blankets. Directly to my right is the main bathroom. The first door on the right that you see is Keilie's room, the second door is the linen closet, the last door that you see is Caden's.
Again, that door straight ahead is Caden's (the one with the blue bean bag chair you can barely see), with Shelby's door hidden around that door/corner, and Brennon's and Tyson's that last door you see on the left. I am standing in the main bathroom doorway.
Main bathroom.
This is the one that I thought would be shared with Keilie and the boys, but they use the Jack and Jill instead. One less shower, toilet, and toothpaste riddled sink/countertop to clean.
Standing at the stair banister, looking into the boys' and Shelby's rooms.
Panoramic of the boys' and Shelby's from the other day. They have stayed clean since.
if you can tear your eyes away from her cluttered mess. That, my friends, is a closet of dreams for any girl. It is huge! It made me laugh, remembering a line from Head Over Heels, "Closets don't have windows!!" Apparently they do.
Caden's room. He always keeps his neat and tidy.
Standing in Shelby's room, looking through the Jack and Jill bathroom into Caden's.
They have a separate shower/toilet room from their sink area. This kids' bathroom has more storage and sinks than our Master and Main bathroom combined at the other house. That is one thing that this house has a ton of: storage. This bathroom is the reason that we had a debate (and tears from the girls) among Caden, Keilie, and Shelby-- they wanted rites to this bathroom. In the end, Keilie "settled" for that closet. They all have walk-in closets, but man, no one wanted Keilie's as much as I thought they would! That closet is wasted on my kids!
Friday, March 24, 2017
Six
Best news first: The questionable, "funny" spot in the bowels from February's scan really did end up being surgery healing. There is no evidence of cancer in Caden's bowels.
Not so great news: The spot that was clearly a tumor attached to the liver in February is still there-- it really is a tumor, just like I thought. With Caden's aggressive track record, this next bit of news is pretty incredible: it has not grown in the five weeks, suggesting that the chemo pill may be working. We were all expecting it to have more-than-doubled in size, so to see that it is still so "small" (plum) was amazing. Unbelievable, really. When radiation was added as a possible option, it was because we were expecting it to continue to grow super fast. Without the fast growth, and because it is so "small" and "easily" removed (all of this is totally relative-- it is still a massive surgery, where they cut through the entire stomach wall across the entire right side of his abdomen), the risks of radiation far outweigh the benefits, so radiation is no longer an option at this time.
Bad news: We found a small spot (plump pea) in the liver. It has always been told to us that if it ever metastasized back into the liver, it would be a Game Over sentence. As soon as she showed us the spot, I started to cry. She told us that she wanted Dr. Hawkins to look at the scans, and left the room. During her time away, my mind was going crazy, thinking that she didn't want to discuss things with him in front of us, because they were so dire. Not three minutes later, they walked back in together with options. Dr. Hawkins immediately told us that they would talk with interventional radiology about going in with a laparoscopic probe and burning that tumor out. He made it sound so easy, so doable. I just sat there in stunned silence. I'm still confused, actually. Until we are given the words that there is nothing else we can do, we're just going to assume that things are ok.
Cool news: Dr. Hawkins brought in two case studies that Caden may be eligible for. He told us that we could take time to think about each, but we didn't need time, we would love either option. One is an immunotherapy study that opened up in January. We have given permission to send a sample of Caden's December 8th tumor to see if it has a certain protein on the surface, one that they could target the immune system to find that protein and kill the cancer. Man, I would love that.
The Second is the one that Randy is the most excited about. Seattle Children's and Boston Children's are collaborating on a study that will do an entire genome sequence of both the tumor and his blood, to target the genes that are causing the cancer to relapse despite chemotherapy, so that they can give better suggestions for treatment options specific to your tumor's "weaknesses." Before 2008, this type of science cost $10,000,000. It has come down significantly in cost, with most costing around $35,000, but because Caden has been asked to be apart of this study, we won't have to pay a dime. It may not give us a definitive answer, but the knowledge they could possibly learn from this study may help them get closer to more first-line defense drugs for other patients. Since our first-line failed, this is what I am most hopeful for. Caden has asked our family to pray that he gets chosen for both studies. He wants them more than Randy.
So..... we WAiT to hear back from Sue regarding her conversations with the surgeons that will remove the plum size tumor attached to the liver, and the interventional radiologist that would take a needle with a camera through his stomach, pierce that tumor, and burn it to Hell where it belongs. Sue said the soonest the surgery would be is around April 10th. Two weeks prior to whatever date we are given, he'll go off the pill, to reduce the possibility of bleeding complications. Knowing that it isn't taking over his body as fast as we feared, I'm ok with this wait. Especially knowing that they're working behind the scenes to come up with plans to make my son whole.
"Yay there is no cancer in the bowels. Dang it, that really is a tumor. But, yay, that it hasn't grown much-- the chemo pill might be working... but not too well, since we found another tumor inside his liver. We'll get back to ya by the end of next week. Have a nice weekend." Up, Down, Up, Down, Up. It was all very numbing. We just don't know what to feel, what to latch on to.
We are confused, exhausted, drained, zombies. Going to bed at 9:30 on a Friday night. We. are. Party. Animals! I'm wondering if it will really hit me tomorrow, after a night of drug-induced sleep: we found our sixth tumor in three years today, our third in four months. How should I be feeling?!
Not so great news: The spot that was clearly a tumor attached to the liver in February is still there-- it really is a tumor, just like I thought. With Caden's aggressive track record, this next bit of news is pretty incredible: it has not grown in the five weeks, suggesting that the chemo pill may be working. We were all expecting it to have more-than-doubled in size, so to see that it is still so "small" (plum) was amazing. Unbelievable, really. When radiation was added as a possible option, it was because we were expecting it to continue to grow super fast. Without the fast growth, and because it is so "small" and "easily" removed (all of this is totally relative-- it is still a massive surgery, where they cut through the entire stomach wall across the entire right side of his abdomen), the risks of radiation far outweigh the benefits, so radiation is no longer an option at this time.
Bad news: We found a small spot (plump pea) in the liver. It has always been told to us that if it ever metastasized back into the liver, it would be a Game Over sentence. As soon as she showed us the spot, I started to cry. She told us that she wanted Dr. Hawkins to look at the scans, and left the room. During her time away, my mind was going crazy, thinking that she didn't want to discuss things with him in front of us, because they were so dire. Not three minutes later, they walked back in together with options. Dr. Hawkins immediately told us that they would talk with interventional radiology about going in with a laparoscopic probe and burning that tumor out. He made it sound so easy, so doable. I just sat there in stunned silence. I'm still confused, actually. Until we are given the words that there is nothing else we can do, we're just going to assume that things are ok.
Cool news: Dr. Hawkins brought in two case studies that Caden may be eligible for. He told us that we could take time to think about each, but we didn't need time, we would love either option. One is an immunotherapy study that opened up in January. We have given permission to send a sample of Caden's December 8th tumor to see if it has a certain protein on the surface, one that they could target the immune system to find that protein and kill the cancer. Man, I would love that.
The Second is the one that Randy is the most excited about. Seattle Children's and Boston Children's are collaborating on a study that will do an entire genome sequence of both the tumor and his blood, to target the genes that are causing the cancer to relapse despite chemotherapy, so that they can give better suggestions for treatment options specific to your tumor's "weaknesses." Before 2008, this type of science cost $10,000,000. It has come down significantly in cost, with most costing around $35,000, but because Caden has been asked to be apart of this study, we won't have to pay a dime. It may not give us a definitive answer, but the knowledge they could possibly learn from this study may help them get closer to more first-line defense drugs for other patients. Since our first-line failed, this is what I am most hopeful for. Caden has asked our family to pray that he gets chosen for both studies. He wants them more than Randy.
So..... we WAiT to hear back from Sue regarding her conversations with the surgeons that will remove the plum size tumor attached to the liver, and the interventional radiologist that would take a needle with a camera through his stomach, pierce that tumor, and burn it to Hell where it belongs. Sue said the soonest the surgery would be is around April 10th. Two weeks prior to whatever date we are given, he'll go off the pill, to reduce the possibility of bleeding complications. Knowing that it isn't taking over his body as fast as we feared, I'm ok with this wait. Especially knowing that they're working behind the scenes to come up with plans to make my son whole.
"Yay there is no cancer in the bowels. Dang it, that really is a tumor. But, yay, that it hasn't grown much-- the chemo pill might be working... but not too well, since we found another tumor inside his liver. We'll get back to ya by the end of next week. Have a nice weekend." Up, Down, Up, Down, Up. It was all very numbing. We just don't know what to feel, what to latch on to.
We are confused, exhausted, drained, zombies. Going to bed at 9:30 on a Friday night. We. are. Party. Animals! I'm wondering if it will really hit me tomorrow, after a night of drug-induced sleep: we found our sixth tumor in three years today, our third in four months. How should I be feeling?!
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Locked?!
I have never felt like the smartest person in the class, but I have held my own in the education setting. There are things that I feel I do really well, things that I feel I do ok, and things that I just don't do, for fear of failing. But, wow, oh, wow, tonight made me feel like a complete idiot!
Armed with the only mailbox key we were given, and without knowing which mailbox box was ours, I walked around to every single standing set of mailboxes that I could see in our neighborhood. I tried that key in over 50 boxes, getting more and more frustrated with each one. I even walked to one that I was fairly certain could never be ours three blocks away, but I could not find the box that our key would open. I sent an email to our agent, asking if she could contact the previous owners to find out what box was ours.
I got the answer back. Box five of the set across the street. You better believe I grabbed my jacket, that one mailbox key, and my stubborn attitude. I tried that set of mailboxes very first, no way that could be right! You should have seen mywalk strut-- all uppity and self-righteous. Man, I'm a brat. I stood in front of those mailboxes, inserted my key, turned it to the right, scoffed in disgust when it didn't open, turned it to the left.... and almost died!!! It OPENED!!!
For the past four years, I've had to turn our mailbox key to the right. If I could remember which way they turned in Bar Nunn or Casper, that number could even be higher, I don't know. Here's the clincher: it never occurred in my tiny little mind that I should have tried turning the key the other way! They all look the same, why would the last three mailboxes (2 on Jason Loop, and 1 on Canyon Avenue) turn right and this one turn left?!
Needless to say, my walk home was a bit more humble. And embarrassed. In fact, I couldn't eat dinner... I was so full from eating my humble pie.
How can I expect to raise humans if I can't unlock a simple mailbox?!
Armed with the only mailbox key we were given, and without knowing which mailbox box was ours, I walked around to every single standing set of mailboxes that I could see in our neighborhood. I tried that key in over 50 boxes, getting more and more frustrated with each one. I even walked to one that I was fairly certain could never be ours three blocks away, but I could not find the box that our key would open. I sent an email to our agent, asking if she could contact the previous owners to find out what box was ours.
I got the answer back. Box five of the set across the street. You better believe I grabbed my jacket, that one mailbox key, and my stubborn attitude. I tried that set of mailboxes very first, no way that could be right! You should have seen my
For the past four years, I've had to turn our mailbox key to the right. If I could remember which way they turned in Bar Nunn or Casper, that number could even be higher, I don't know. Here's the clincher: it never occurred in my tiny little mind that I should have tried turning the key the other way! They all look the same, why would the last three mailboxes (2 on Jason Loop, and 1 on Canyon Avenue) turn right and this one turn left?!
Needless to say, my walk home was a bit more humble. And embarrassed. In fact, I couldn't eat dinner... I was so full from eating my humble pie.
How can I expect to raise humans if I can't unlock a simple mailbox?!
Killing It!
Because everyone has received their gifts, I can now show off my {sarcasm} mad skills as a sewing lady!
Jamie opened a Quilt Class on Tuesday's at 9:30am. I was all for it. I planned to learn how to make my Mom's quilt at the class, and then come home to work on Kimberly's. It exploded from there. I loved it so much, I just went ahead and made them for the niece and nephew that I hadn't made a quilt for yet. There are a few flaws on each, with each step getting better and better with each quilt, but I'm happy with how they all turned out. I wish the colors came through true in pictures! The orange and green on Kimberly's aren't so bold, and the background of my Mom's is a navy, not black, and the orange-looking fabric is actually coral. But, I remember everything about each one. Some took more trips to the fabric store, fabric purchases, layout sessions, and eventual settling on fabric I'd already tried, but I'm in love with each for different reasons. I'm happy I tried my hand at quilting.
With everything that's going on, it was a mad dash to get them finished and shipped off before we moved. I've since packed my sewing stuff away, not really expecting to get back to it any time soon. Not to worry: with as many quilts as I've made, and as much extra fabric that I've already cut, I'll get back to quilting when I can. I probably have two more quilts of cut fabric upstairs:) They won't be pretty quilts, but at least they won't take extra time to cut!
(Top Right: Kimberly's expected son. Top Left: Drew, my nephew. Bottom Left: My Mom's Mother's Day gift. Bottom Right: Everly, my niece.)
Jamie opened a Quilt Class on Tuesday's at 9:30am. I was all for it. I planned to learn how to make my Mom's quilt at the class, and then come home to work on Kimberly's. It exploded from there. I loved it so much, I just went ahead and made them for the niece and nephew that I hadn't made a quilt for yet. There are a few flaws on each, with each step getting better and better with each quilt, but I'm happy with how they all turned out. I wish the colors came through true in pictures! The orange and green on Kimberly's aren't so bold, and the background of my Mom's is a navy, not black, and the orange-looking fabric is actually coral. But, I remember everything about each one. Some took more trips to the fabric store, fabric purchases, layout sessions, and eventual settling on fabric I'd already tried, but I'm in love with each for different reasons. I'm happy I tried my hand at quilting.
With everything that's going on, it was a mad dash to get them finished and shipped off before we moved. I've since packed my sewing stuff away, not really expecting to get back to it any time soon. Not to worry: with as many quilts as I've made, and as much extra fabric that I've already cut, I'll get back to quilting when I can. I probably have two more quilts of cut fabric upstairs:) They won't be pretty quilts, but at least they won't take extra time to cut!
(source)
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Main level and landscape
Welcome!
Family Office (left of front door)
Front room/Piano room (right of front door)
Entry from Family Office to Kitchen
Kitchen
Dining
Family Room
Master Suite
Randy's office is the last thing to do. He can work on it himself, so that he organizes it the way he wants it. Plus, I'm lazy, and don't want to do it.
Powder Bath. It is the center of the intersection where the hallway meets with the Laundry/garage entrance on the left and the Master Suite on the right.
Laundry.
The mudroom that holds the stinky shoes, stinky coats, and stinky backpacks.
Our fire pit area and pond.
It has fish. Maybe. They may have died, since my kids haven't left them alone since moving in!
Not wanting Mira to ruin our backyard like she's done in the previous two backyards, we built this area for her. She's doing really well, actually. I thought it would be more difficult, but as long as we guide her back there, she does her business and gets to play. One day we'll be able to just trust that she'll always do her business here, whether we guide her or not. For now, we're happy with her progress. Especially since we're tired and don't want the added stress of training her. She's a natural.
Things are not 100% done, hung, organized, or decorated yet, but as you can see, it's coming along nicely. I'll show upstairs tomorrow. I'm going to go take a nap. I'm so tired. Truly, my body is pretty much shutting down, I'm so exhausted. It will be nice when I know that I don't have to work so hard, just a few things here or there for upkeep. I love my house!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)