Big Day!

So tomorrow's the big day! My surgery is the first one in the morning--a nice perk of being married to a doc. I have to be there at 6 am. I think I'm fairly well prepared, I've got new pajamas, most of the house clean, helped in my kids classes, received a blessing from Pete, many offers of service for food and family--I think I'm good! I'm sure all will go well, though, after reading the release form from anesthesia, you can't help but feel a little anxious! Anyway, I've given my kids big hugs and kisses and I guess we'll see how it goes! Thanks for all the support and friendship I've felt from so many friends and family members. I happen to be one of those people who tends to get a bit emotional, especially when I don't know what to expect. I feel very comforted after hearing from so many of you!

I definitely won't be sending pictures of my surgery, but I thought it would be fun to post a few from Pete's recent ski trip to Canada.







Our camera is not the best for action shots, so I'll post those when Pete receives them from fellow skiers. Pete had an amazing experience! I'm happy for him! Living the dream!! Life doesn't get much better!

A Much Happier Monday!

I am happy to report that after a somewhat emotional last few days, today has been great! I'm feeling ready for my surgery (mostly) and had a great day spent with friends and my kids.

This afternoon, I had an early lunch with some of my best and oldest friends, Julie, Liz, Francie and Kim. I have been friends with these girls since I was in junior high, and Liz and I have been friends since kindergarten. How nice to have friends like that--you know the kind that you don't care if you forgot to put on make-up or look kindof of frumpy, cause you know they love you anyway! I am grateful to have such great friends--thank you, thank you. Sometimes that's all you need to set things in perspective! A good lunch at Zuppas with friends.

Another great part of my day was helping in Mitchell's class. Part of our school curriculum is an art program centered around teaching the children about art and great artists. This time we taught about Monet. I love Monet--the colors make me happy! It was fun to pull out my prints and Impressionist art books from my honeymoon in NYC. We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on our honeymoon and I brought a book full of all the Impressionist paintings in that museum. It was fun to show the children the pictures and have them guess what season, based on the light and colors. Tomorrow I get to do it in Madeline's class, and hopefully it'll go even better (I could have focused more on warm and cool colors). Mitch was cute. I asked if it went all right and he said "Yes, mom! You are the best teacher ever!!" I'm sure he's a little biased and I may have been waving a piece of chocolate cake in front of his nose, but it still made me feel good!

I still have more to look forward to this evening. One of my very best friends, and the best neighbor I've ever had, is coming to visit from Michigan with her family. We're all meeting at the Mayan tonight for dinner. I always feel better when I look around and realize how lucky I am to have been blessed with so many great friends in my lifetime! Those types of associations have made me a better person.

Well, I best get back to the laundry so my kids will have clean socks and underwear when Pete's in charge!

An interesting day!

I've had a really strange day, some really great things have been part of my day, but it's also been a hard day emotionally. I am really grateful for friends and being able to connect through blogging, talking, emailing, all those great avenues of communication available to us. I thought it might be helpful to list all the great things that happened today to help remind myself how blessed I really am, even when I've had a hard day, so here goes!

1. I finally went grocery shopping so we have choices to eat! That's always a good thing for two reasons. Everyone is happier with the eating selection, and I don't have to hear all the complaints about how we never have anything good to eat.
2. I got to see and hear my cute Jake dressed as Andrew Jackson, deliver a very well prepared and LONG speech.
3. A very kind friend watched Tyler and then the rest of my kids after school so that I could do volunteer work at the school. It's so nice to have friends who help us in moments of need. It was especially nice just to chat for a few minutes and vent some of the hard things I've dealt with today.
4. I am now a Great Aunt. Jared and Erin had a baby boy, Sawyer, a little after midnight last night. It was nice to hear from a very excited Grandma Debbie.
5. I had Cafe Rio soup for dinner.
6. I had a very fun hour in Jake's class teaching music and movement for the 5th grade "Opera". It's called "America's Tallest Tales" and I've had a great time singing and dancing with the kids.
7. After laying lots of ground work, I will get to help Mitchell and Madeline's classes do a "Meet the Masters" art project next week. Once again, this is made possible by another cute friend who is willing to help with Tyler so I can teach about Monet in my other children's classes. This is my contribution to my kids classes--I'm not PTA President, I don't get to help on a weekly basis in my kids classes, but 3 times a year, I get to help teach about master artists which I really love.
8. There was a cute note left on my door that said, "Sorry I missed you. Consider this a big hug." How do people know when you just need a little something to help you through the day? I'm really grateful for little kindnesses that help me recognize my blessings.
9. I received two comments on my blog from two friends that were so well timed! When you need someone to talk to, it's nice to know you have friends who care. I also received an email from another great friend whose coming all the way from Michigan to visit.
10. This is my last night alone--Pete comes home tomorrow morning and I'm so happy he'll be home. I know he's had a fantastic, out of this world time, but I sure like when he's around. I'm really grateful for a cell phone when you've had a bad day and you can call your husband all the way in Canada to get a little encouragement!

I realize I have much to be thankful for--I'm even grateful for tears sometimes! I think it's nice to feel deeply, even if it's sadness. Then, when you feel extreme happiness, it's much more recognizable.

I liked ending on 10 things, but I really ought to add a kindness from yesterday evening. One of the things I enjoy most is being part of a book club. I am a ridiculously nerdy gal when it comes to my love of literature, fine and otherwise. Books make me very happy. With Pete being gone, getting to bookclub was not going to be an easy ordeal. My brother and sister-in-law offered to watch my kids so I could go. My brother came after work and picked up the kids so I'd only have to drive out to get them one way. I stayed much too long, and I didn't feel any sense of hostility about it from Don or Jodi. It's a blessing to have family so near to help me out! I'm just sorry I stayed so late--I'm still feeling bad about that!

And since I've gone to yesterday . . . did I mention the fabulous sales at the Park City Outlet Stores? Yesterday morning, my mother-in-law and I took a quick trip to Gymboree and Children's Place to buy a baby gift for my niece, Eva. It happened to be a great day to shop, both stores had racks of clothes, very cute clothes, all $4.99 and under. See how that works? I acknowledge a few blessings and more and more make themselves manifest. I guess it hasn't been such a hard day after all!

On my mind . . .

I think this is the most I've blogged in a long while. Must be that Pete's out of town again--lonely nights equal lots of writing and reading for me!

Jake and I just finished his President's project. He had to make a "President's box", write a speech, draw a sketch, and come up with a costume. There were a few other assignments, but those are the ones I helped with. I am amazed at Jake's ability to memorize. His President is Andrew Jackson, a perfect one for Jake. For his costume, he wanted me to buy a parrot to put on his shoulder, because apparently Andrew Jackson had a pet parrot that swore too much, and therefore, was not allowed into the White House. Anyhow, this type of assignment is right up my alley!

I've also had a couple of things on my mind lately. First, the state of our economy. I watched some yahoo video about how Americans are shifting from a society that spends 6% over what they earn, to a saving society. The discussion centered around what consumers will buy, such as food, since we're in survival mode, as opposed to luxury items in a mall. They also discussed the difficulty in borrowing, changing how we will live. For instance, more people may become renters or save to send kids to state colleges, rather than out of state schools. Pete is lucky to work in a field that isn't too heavily impacted by the economy. I think it trickles down to everyone eventually, but seeing what is happening around the nation has made me stop and reflect on some habits I've gotten into. We were so poor during residency (monetarily, not in blessings) that often times I'd call Pete around the 20th of the month and say, "Don't write any checks, we only have $20 left in our account." I got really creative with cooking--using what we had and improvising with different ingredients. Yet, we always had a light at the end of the tunnel. Now matter how bad it got, we knew it was only going to be until we were done with residency. I've learned since then, that you spend what you earn. With med. school debt, a larger home, newer cars, although we make more, we spend more. I've been trying to think of ways that I can take better stock of our budget. I definitely think our entire family will benefit from this, and maybe then, we'll have some savings put away for a "rainy day".

The other thing that has weighed heavily on my mind, and is a bit embarrassing to discuss, is my surgery next Wednesday. Part of me doesn't want to write about it on my blog, but then again, it's kind of a journal of sorts, so what the heck! I'm getting a hysterectomy next week. I've thought long and hard about it, and it's the best option for me and my circumstances, but it's also an emotional thing for me. It's one thing to decide not to have more children, it's another thing not to be able to any longer. I think I've worked through that enough to feel like the benefits to my lifestyle outweigh the emotional side of moving out of that stage of life. I really couldn't carry another baby--but there's something about having possibilities. I think it's funny that I even think about that considering Pete had no problem deciding to end that phase of his life. So, unless he got a reversal or I found a sperm donor, nothing was going to happen in that department anyway! Still, I do worry a little about how that might affect me after the surgery. I'm starting to feel like I'm revealing way too much personal information about myself. I might as well tell everyone what brand of deodorant I use! Anyhow, it's been interesting trying to talk around it. If I say I'm having "surgery" I get those, "hmmmm, boob job or tummy tuck" looks. So I finally decided to just throw it out there! Too much information, I know, so I'll stop. I hope you all have better things to do with your time than worry about the stuff I do!

That's Better!

As much as I loved the black and cream toile background, it was driving me crazy trying to read my own blog. So I did myself . . . and you . . . a favor and changed to another free background! Aahh . . . that's better!

Several months ago I wrote about redoing Madeline's bedroom. Have I mentioned that I have decorators ADHD? I can admit it because it's very true! Jake has moved bedrooms 4 times since we moved into this house and we haven't even been here 3 years yet. This is Madeline's first switch and although I've already changed her bedroom around again, this gives you an idea of how her bed (I made the slipcovers) turned out!



Tyler and I are off to Little Gym today so au revoir!

Toile Fiasco

So I love toile (that's the black and cream background now showing on my blog page). But what's up with all the pictures and writing extending over the edges? It took me so long to figure out how to change it--actually I changed it on accident--but still, I think I'll stick with it for awhile, but does anyone have suggestions as to how to make my writings fit on the page? I'd appreciate it!

Pete's off on another adventure, this time to Canada to heli-ski!. That means that a helicopter will drop him in the high, impossible to reach places to ski. He had to take an avalung incase he's caught in an avalanche, and some special beeper. I'm sure he'll have the time of his life--I just hope he comes home alive! Here's to being a single mom for the week! I think we're getting take out for dinner--pizza? chinese? maybe a movie and popcorn? We'll see . . .

Classic Jake story to relay. Since it's President's Day, all the kids are home, and social Jake wanted to play with a friend. I hear the phone ring, then Jake comes upstairs and says, "Hey mom, some kid named Timmy just called and wanted to play, so I told him to come over. Can you think of any of my friends that have the name Timmy or that sounds like Timmy?" So I say, "Seriously, you just invited some kid over and you don't even know who it is? What if it's someone you don't even know, or worse yet, a girl?" (Jake thinks girls are pretty lame right now, but girls keep calling him). Thankfully, when the friend showed up, he did know him, his name is Simi not Timmy. It's just such a classic Jake move--he'd rather take his chances on playing with someone he doesn't even know that go a day without hanging out with friends. So now I have Rami, Simi, Taylor and Jake playing basketball on the driveway. Happy President's Day!

More family pictures!

I finally uploaded my pictures from our California trip (others were from my friend Talli) and from kid's birthday's, so here they are!
Travels to Cali--thank goodness for modern technology!

All 14 of us at Red Robins. I'd hate to wait on this table! Megan and Tyler are just 3 days apart, so we love taking pictures as they grow up.


Our first day at Disneyland--all decked out with Christmas decorations. Can you tell we don't see the sun much?
Madeline's 8th Birthday!

Check out the sunset from our room!












Family birthday party for Grandpa Fountaine, Madeline and Jake

Happy Reading . . . and Valentine's Day!

I just finished reading a great book that I'd highly recommend . . . "The Guernsey LIterary and Potato Peel Pie Society." It was recommended to me by my mother-in-law and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's set before and during the German Occupation of the Channel Islands in WWII. The authors present the story in letters, a writing style I typically don't like, but that worked for this book. The characters are very endearing, plus it's an interesting look at what life was like for these people during WWII. It has all the great components of a good book-humor, romance, tragedy-plus it's a quick read. Read it and then tell me what you think! Happy Reading!!

P.S. I also finished reading my second Christopher Paul Curtis, my niece's favorite author, "Bud, not Buddy." Also a great book, great to recommend to 5th/6th grade kids to learn about black history.

Friday Nights

Yesterday evening I took my kids to the movie theater to see Coraline in 3D. That, in and of itself, was fun, but not what I'm choosing to focus on here. Instead, I'd like to figure out what the heck was going on 4 rows in front of me. We bought our tickets early, went to dinner and still were 40 minutes before our show. So early, in fact, that they hadn't cleaned up after the previous show. This gave me ample people watching time, so here's the scene I witnessed . . .

Two teenage girls, a teenage boy, sitting between the girls, and what appeared to be parents. The mom and dad left the theater to buy popcorn. The girl on the right of the boy, leans over and gives the boy a kiss. He immediately recoils, starts to cry (I can tell because he keeps wiping his cheeks with the back of his fist) and leans over toward the other girl, who quite possessively wraps her arms around the boy and comforts him. The poor girl on the right, speechlessly watches the couple as girl #2 hugs and pats his head, and gives him a kiss on the forehead. This girl on the right continues to watch the couple, still without talking, for about 5 minutes, when she gets up and leaves the theater, later coming back with the mom and the dad and acts as if nothing has happened. It was so strange, none of my business, but strange. I keep trying to figure out the relationships of the teenagers. I'm thinking the girl on the right might have been the boy's sister, but I don't kiss my brother like that!

Anyhow, as I'm watching this, it occurred to me that there may have been moments in my life when a situation was misinterpreted by an observer. Without all the pieces to the puzzle, I could draw any number of conclusions, but I'll never know the real story without the facts. When Pete and I were first dating, he used to tease me because I'd eaves drop on the conversations going on around us, at a restaurant, etc. He'd be talking to me and I'd be listening and half-participating in the conversation while I picked up tidbits of conversations around me. I found it very entertaining to try and figure out people's relationship to one another, etc. I haven't done that for years and I figured out why. It's because I have my own kids who I'm busily trying to make behave appropriately in public and I don't have time to worry about what's going on around me. It's good to know that my curiosity hasn't completely left me, although I should stay out of other people's business!

As for Coraline, what a strange children's movie. I liked it, but it was rather dark. By the end of the movie, Tyler took off his 3D glasses because he said they made the movie "all gray". He was right, the colors were more vibrant without the glasses, but I'm sure the film maker wanted it gray! Anyhow, I was concerned about my kids having nightmares last night, but thankfully, they all slept peacefully.

Pete is in Bryce Canyon with the Boy Scouts, snowshoeing. I think that sounds really fun. Anyway, I'm hoping he'll make it home by 6pm because we're signed up to play in a tennis competition. I'm planning on playing on my own, but it would be nice if he could make it.

I just realized I've rambled on about a whole lot of nothing so I'm going to sign off and try to do something productive today!

Guilty Pleasures

I have a confession to make . . . I love watching Desperate Housewives, but I rarely get to watch because it's on Sunday night and we typically have dinner with our families then. So I've come up with a fun way to get in my viewing. I've been renting the DVD's from the past seasons, then watching them as I ride my bike (I have one of those cool stands so I can ride my road bike inside) and as I do laundry. So far this week, I've done more laundry folding then I have in the past previous two weeks, and I rode my bike every day this week! I think that justifies my guilty pleasure!

I've also read a few interesting books this past few weeks--Mrs. Perfect (2nd time), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and The Alchemist. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn reminds me of my Grandpa Fountaine, who grew up in Albany, New York during the same time period before he jumped on a train and headed West. Apparently, he had quite the colorful past. He was a soft-shoe tap dancer, a bridge jumper and a bag boy for the mafia. It's believed in our family that he came West to avoid trouble. I know he enlisted and served in the military during WWI and then met my Grandma at a dance at Fort Douglas. He was 21 at the time, she was 16. My Grandma was swept off her feet and married him. I would love to do more research on what life was like during their lifetime together. I can't even imagine being married at 16 and having a child soon after. I was hardly ready to get married at 22 1/2! Anyhow, it's always fun to read a good book that you can relate to your personal life.

Oh yeah! I have a new favorite CD-Trouble by Ray LaMontagne. You'll have to check it out--very mellow, very retro 70's, very me! I totally dig it! If I can ever figure out how to upload music, I'll put some on--it's awesome! It's inspired me to compile a bunch of songs with Trouble in the title--there are some great ones! Trouble by Cat Stevens, Ray LaMontagne and Coldplay. Plus Trouble Me by Ten Thousand Maniacs. I've found several others and made a mixed CD. Pete thinks it's funny since I'm kind of the antithesis to trouble!