Never underestimate the power of a freshly cleaned house. You can say you dont think like that, you can say you dont get it, but id call you a liar. There are few things in life that make you feel like you have it all together. It goes: Clean house, clean car, matching ginch. In. That. Order. Ok maybe your order varies- but having all those things makes you feel successful. Complete. Satisfied. If you have them all done at once- heaven help you- nothing can stop you.
Today I had the desire, mixed with necessity, to clean something in my house. I wasnt too sure what I'd tackle, but I knew I wanted to do something. I have found myself with extra hours in a day, since Grace is at school. And with a brain like mine- you need to keep it busy!! So I tackled first, my main floor bathroom and Laundry room.
I hate clutter- but I have so much of it. I like to hide what I can behind closed doors. If at all possible-eliminate it completely. So I moved cleaning supplies to under the bathroom sink, made use of some decorative storage bins my sister left me to half hide/make pleasing to the eyes, and stacked some towels neatly on the shelf for convenience sake for the hot tub. Then I found I had a whole ledge free.. I went down to the basement for a hunt and found pictures I wasn't currently making use of and displayed them..I got rid of the stuff I toss on the dryer from the "things"that I find in Geoff's pockets and wiped down the washer and dryer. And although that room is still far from what I want it, I gotta say, I dont hate it.
Next, I moved on to my pantry... If you're picking up anything from reading this, you realize, we like to hide our mess.. For one, its the fastest way to clean up and two, out of sight out of mind... right? Well at least for a little while.
I found expired foods, that I obviously took with us when we moved. What a waste of money and space and energy. I hucked all that. I found a extra shelf under my sink and used that to stack all the spices I don't use but refuse to throw away(who knows when you'll need them) I sorted, rearranged, and purged some more. You wouldn't believe how much room I now have. Maybe Ill get more spices, who knows.
Last but not least, I moved to my fridge. While Geoff and I had did a cleaning on it last week, we really didn't "clean"it. So after hucking old left overs, old juice, and such, I wiped it down. We loomk less disgusting now. HAHA
Man, if you dropped in right this second, you might actually think I have it all together. Mind you, there's stacks of laundry around the living room and piles of clothes in our room, my counters could use a good wipe and my floors a good mop. But those 3 things, well you'd be sorta impressed.
So yea, never ever underestimate the power of a clean house. Trust me. It'll change your day.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
School days...
Well, I made through Graces first week of Grade One. Some of you were going through that whole process with me. Some of you are just starting this week. Of course its nice to have "free time" (HA), but its so hard to watch them go. Why is that?
The school supply list is way more immense and detailed then when I was her age. You need so much more things and they aren't cheap, I'd like to add.. but I got every last thing, just hoping it makes her experience that much easier. But you know what, I wish I could send Gracie with a lot more things than what can fit in her back pack...
I hope she knows that there will always be mean people in this old world and they can say hurtful things, but we are better than that. Let it go. Be so much better than them. Dont let those words reach your heart- theres no room in there for that.
I hope she remembers all her pleases and thank yous. Her kind smile and her big heart. I hope she goes out of her way to make sure her others are ok. I hope we instilled that in her by now.
I hope shes as funny at school as she is at home. Its ok to speak up and say your funny little things. Oh, I hope she doesn't take herself too seriously. I know, last year she really struggled with her voice. I hope she knows its ok to get caught talking too much. Her mama would get it. Theres just so many things to be said, haha.
I hope when shes tired, home is her first thought. I hope she knows that everything her dad and I have made together has been exactly for her. Every throw pillow she cuddles up on, every blanket we throw on her and all the comfortable stuff in between, is waiting for her at home, exactly how she left it.
But I really really hope that she remembers that she was once all mine. I guess she doesn't need to know that right now, but if in a few years she can look at me and say- You gave me some of my best days- well- there'd really be nothing better in life than that. I guess even if she doesn't- Ill know she gave Geoff and I, ALL our best days.
The school supply list is way more immense and detailed then when I was her age. You need so much more things and they aren't cheap, I'd like to add.. but I got every last thing, just hoping it makes her experience that much easier. But you know what, I wish I could send Gracie with a lot more things than what can fit in her back pack...
I hope she knows that there will always be mean people in this old world and they can say hurtful things, but we are better than that. Let it go. Be so much better than them. Dont let those words reach your heart- theres no room in there for that.
I hope she remembers all her pleases and thank yous. Her kind smile and her big heart. I hope she goes out of her way to make sure her others are ok. I hope we instilled that in her by now.
I hope shes as funny at school as she is at home. Its ok to speak up and say your funny little things. Oh, I hope she doesn't take herself too seriously. I know, last year she really struggled with her voice. I hope she knows its ok to get caught talking too much. Her mama would get it. Theres just so many things to be said, haha.
I hope when shes tired, home is her first thought. I hope she knows that everything her dad and I have made together has been exactly for her. Every throw pillow she cuddles up on, every blanket we throw on her and all the comfortable stuff in between, is waiting for her at home, exactly how she left it.
But I really really hope that she remembers that she was once all mine. I guess she doesn't need to know that right now, but if in a few years she can look at me and say- You gave me some of my best days- well- there'd really be nothing better in life than that. I guess even if she doesn't- Ill know she gave Geoff and I, ALL our best days.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Our Hardest Year
As many of you know, the end of last year was very stressful. To this day- over 9 months later- we are trying to process what happened. While it is a success story, it's one of the scariest kinds. Because it happened to us. It's heavy to tell. I've said the story many times in the last six months, but the agony is fresh on the surface. And this story didn't just happen to me or to my little family. Like any true battle story, it took a small army to survive.
In December of last year our little girl got extremely sick. She had been throwing up for days and couldn't eat and got so little rest, to the point where we had to take her to emergency. We armed ourselves with a blanket, iPads, chargers, water and hunkered down in emergency for the entire night. We had been there so long I made Geoff ask if we could check out. We were so tired and almost delirious, an she'd been up for days being sick. The nurse strongly recommended we stay, so we did. Not long after, they had us in A room. They quickly gave her I.V's to rehydrate her, as she was seriously lacking and they gave her something to to stop the vomiting. After a time, they figured she had a urinary track infection and sent us home. But we turned right around and brought her back when the vomiting restarted.
Well this time in the E.R. they x-rayed her belly. And we immediately realized she swallowed something. When I questioned her, she told me she swallowed a bunch of magnets. 14 to be exact. 12 of them forced to connect in different parts of her bowels and burrowed tiny holes throughout trying to attach. Her bowels had started to shut down in the process.
Upon seeing the X-rays I started to bawl. Friends- I was so tired. And now we had an answer. Without the doctors saying, I knew we had a scary road ahead. No one had to tell me we needed surgery, although they did. My poor baby. 15 minutes after taking her X-rays we were in the back of the ambulance on out way to one of the greatest hospitals. Now I can't hear sirens and not think about my baby.
I should tell you, by this time, by request and by fluke, we had a small group of friends that met the ambulance at the hospital. All they could do was wait. And let me tell you, they were key to surviving this story.
We had to wait out the night for our surgeon. So they admitted us to a room. And we waited and dozed. But six a.m. Comes around quickly, and before we knew it we were being wheeled into the operating room. After being grilled about the blood situation and us refusing to allow it, Geoff took her in, while I waited In the hall. When he came out, we felt so done, and, trust me when I say, we were just starting.
Again, when we came around the corner, there were our friends, waiting with hot coffees and warm breakfast. They were life savers, or at least they made the next few hours bearable. I wouldn't replace them for anything.
Well, as I said, a few hours later, they brought our baby back to us. Albeit, one nasty battle scar, but I'll take every little piece of her. We ended up having to stay in the hospital a week before they released us. She had to not eat for days, then it was Ice chips. It didn't appease our little girl, she'd look at us and say- can I have something? Anything? Throughout this my heart- our hearts- found a million different ways to shatter. But at least we had our baby.
We weren't home two days when I realized something was wrong with Gracie again. She was acting extremely lethargic and walking was near impossible, so after another evening in our e.r. And another long night at home we were back to strollers having more x-rays. Not hey did find a small fluid sac, that could be normal in her abdomen just below her incision. We had an extremely good doctor and pushed to keep her in For observation. Can you believe we ended back in our exact same room? Although I was tired, I was so relieved to be right where I knew we'd be looked after, should we need it. And man, did we end up needing it.
The next morning, on Grace and I's way back from a play room, she told me she couldn't walk any more. We had little choice and I pushed her to make it back to our room. When I tried to help her to the washroom, all I saw was blood. I panicked and made her get to bed and I called for a nurse. Within a few minutes our entire room was filled with all nursing staff in our room. I was a new kind of scared. The kind of scared where you know the horrors that exist and being well aware we were right In The middle of an on-going nightmare. Luckily, within all this mess, two of my good friends showed up. I don't know what I would do without them. I really don't.
No one was really telling me what was going on- they just said get your husband her as soon as possible- we we're going back In For emergency surgery! It seemed she was infected and she came undone from he inside out. Her insides fell out, essentially. The nurses said we should be happy this happened her or we could have lost her at home. If I tell you anything ever in life and you listen, it's gotta be this: always always always go with your instincts. They can never go wrong.
Well, Geoff got there in time and this time I took her into the surgery. Never have a prayed so desperately before to be strong. In a room surrounded by surgeons, interns, and nurses, I smiled at our baby and told her she was so brave, and I'd see her soon. And just like that she was out. And I was a mess. I was escorted out. Time to wait while someone else took care of our baby. That's a special kind of torture.
And AGAIN, when we rounded the corner, there were our friends waiting with hot lunches and hugs. Some one to play the waiting game with. We waited and waited, finally our doctor called and said we were all in the clear, they'd be wheeling her up any minute. We could breathe again. welll, sorta.
That night, I layed awake and listened to her monitors go off... Her heart rate with go up and then drop so low. She'd moan and groan and sigh. The nurses checked on her all night and I filled the gaps in between. I'd talk to her and her heart would balance out. If that doesn't show you how important a parent is to a small child, I didn't know what would. I was so relieved when morning rolled around and we made it. Actually we had a lot of people relieved, including a few nurses.
That was our last HUGE hiccup. It wasn't smooth sailing but it wasn't so tragic. We made it it but had a long road ahead of us. In amongst this all, we had visitor after visitor, car loads of gifts, meals made or paid for, coffees bought and brought and the best of all, many many prayers. If you texted, called, sent a card, a gift, or visited, know you were an answer to our prayers in some way. Don't ever down play that. As much as Gracie needed those doctors, we needed you. She needed you, too.
Well, I know that story was long and sad, but it feels good to get it out there. Holding it in is hard to, I feel if I just got it out, it wouldnt sit so heavy on my shoulders, ya know!? Thanks for listening. It's exactly what I needed!
In December of last year our little girl got extremely sick. She had been throwing up for days and couldn't eat and got so little rest, to the point where we had to take her to emergency. We armed ourselves with a blanket, iPads, chargers, water and hunkered down in emergency for the entire night. We had been there so long I made Geoff ask if we could check out. We were so tired and almost delirious, an she'd been up for days being sick. The nurse strongly recommended we stay, so we did. Not long after, they had us in A room. They quickly gave her I.V's to rehydrate her, as she was seriously lacking and they gave her something to to stop the vomiting. After a time, they figured she had a urinary track infection and sent us home. But we turned right around and brought her back when the vomiting restarted.
Well this time in the E.R. they x-rayed her belly. And we immediately realized she swallowed something. When I questioned her, she told me she swallowed a bunch of magnets. 14 to be exact. 12 of them forced to connect in different parts of her bowels and burrowed tiny holes throughout trying to attach. Her bowels had started to shut down in the process.
Upon seeing the X-rays I started to bawl. Friends- I was so tired. And now we had an answer. Without the doctors saying, I knew we had a scary road ahead. No one had to tell me we needed surgery, although they did. My poor baby. 15 minutes after taking her X-rays we were in the back of the ambulance on out way to one of the greatest hospitals. Now I can't hear sirens and not think about my baby.
I should tell you, by this time, by request and by fluke, we had a small group of friends that met the ambulance at the hospital. All they could do was wait. And let me tell you, they were key to surviving this story.
We had to wait out the night for our surgeon. So they admitted us to a room. And we waited and dozed. But six a.m. Comes around quickly, and before we knew it we were being wheeled into the operating room. After being grilled about the blood situation and us refusing to allow it, Geoff took her in, while I waited In the hall. When he came out, we felt so done, and, trust me when I say, we were just starting.
Again, when we came around the corner, there were our friends, waiting with hot coffees and warm breakfast. They were life savers, or at least they made the next few hours bearable. I wouldn't replace them for anything.
Well, as I said, a few hours later, they brought our baby back to us. Albeit, one nasty battle scar, but I'll take every little piece of her. We ended up having to stay in the hospital a week before they released us. She had to not eat for days, then it was Ice chips. It didn't appease our little girl, she'd look at us and say- can I have something? Anything? Throughout this my heart- our hearts- found a million different ways to shatter. But at least we had our baby.
We weren't home two days when I realized something was wrong with Gracie again. She was acting extremely lethargic and walking was near impossible, so after another evening in our e.r. And another long night at home we were back to strollers having more x-rays. Not hey did find a small fluid sac, that could be normal in her abdomen just below her incision. We had an extremely good doctor and pushed to keep her in For observation. Can you believe we ended back in our exact same room? Although I was tired, I was so relieved to be right where I knew we'd be looked after, should we need it. And man, did we end up needing it.
The next morning, on Grace and I's way back from a play room, she told me she couldn't walk any more. We had little choice and I pushed her to make it back to our room. When I tried to help her to the washroom, all I saw was blood. I panicked and made her get to bed and I called for a nurse. Within a few minutes our entire room was filled with all nursing staff in our room. I was a new kind of scared. The kind of scared where you know the horrors that exist and being well aware we were right In The middle of an on-going nightmare. Luckily, within all this mess, two of my good friends showed up. I don't know what I would do without them. I really don't.
No one was really telling me what was going on- they just said get your husband her as soon as possible- we we're going back In For emergency surgery! It seemed she was infected and she came undone from he inside out. Her insides fell out, essentially. The nurses said we should be happy this happened her or we could have lost her at home. If I tell you anything ever in life and you listen, it's gotta be this: always always always go with your instincts. They can never go wrong.
Well, Geoff got there in time and this time I took her into the surgery. Never have a prayed so desperately before to be strong. In a room surrounded by surgeons, interns, and nurses, I smiled at our baby and told her she was so brave, and I'd see her soon. And just like that she was out. And I was a mess. I was escorted out. Time to wait while someone else took care of our baby. That's a special kind of torture.
And AGAIN, when we rounded the corner, there were our friends waiting with hot lunches and hugs. Some one to play the waiting game with. We waited and waited, finally our doctor called and said we were all in the clear, they'd be wheeling her up any minute. We could breathe again. welll, sorta.
That night, I layed awake and listened to her monitors go off... Her heart rate with go up and then drop so low. She'd moan and groan and sigh. The nurses checked on her all night and I filled the gaps in between. I'd talk to her and her heart would balance out. If that doesn't show you how important a parent is to a small child, I didn't know what would. I was so relieved when morning rolled around and we made it. Actually we had a lot of people relieved, including a few nurses.
That was our last HUGE hiccup. It wasn't smooth sailing but it wasn't so tragic. We made it it but had a long road ahead of us. In amongst this all, we had visitor after visitor, car loads of gifts, meals made or paid for, coffees bought and brought and the best of all, many many prayers. If you texted, called, sent a card, a gift, or visited, know you were an answer to our prayers in some way. Don't ever down play that. As much as Gracie needed those doctors, we needed you. She needed you, too.
Well, I know that story was long and sad, but it feels good to get it out there. Holding it in is hard to, I feel if I just got it out, it wouldnt sit so heavy on my shoulders, ya know!? Thanks for listening. It's exactly what I needed!
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