In Sickness and In Health

Apparently I took those vows a bit too seriously.  And I worry that I am pushing my limits.

My health appears to the rest of the world to be lovely and sunshiney.  But, my insides are so goofed up, I scare most doctors and hence the reason why I stay with my docs so long once they been vetted.

Blood pressure, brain damage, strokes, cancer scare after scare, pregnancies that nearly killed me, periods from hell that led me to anemia and Raynaud's Phenomenon that leaves my hands blue and my toes numb. He has been here with me through it all.  He has held my hair through the morning sickness and taken me on a city wide search for mittens and hand warmers in April because my hands were so bad.

This round of trials was no different.  He held done the homefront and took care of the laundry while I was in the hospital.  He has been amazing.  My FF took city owed trades, which threw him into 48s,  he kept the kids quiet so I could sleep the day away and he sat with me in the hospital, each and every time. 

I don't give him enough credit for how amazing he is.  I find myself being too worries about the day to day stuff that consumes us if we are not careful.  While he is definitely the man taking care of the big picture.  J was amazing with the muppets and wonderful about running interference when I needed to sleep.

He did all of these feats of valor and patience, without complaint and always with a smile.  There is nothing better that I could ask for.

Last month, you know the week after I was diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary emboli, we had a funeral to attend in his hometown.  I had every reason to say we couldn't go and he had every reason to talk me out of it. The funeral was for the phenomenal teacher I student taught under at the high school level.  He was an amazing gentle giant and the teacher I am continuing to strive to be.  J took me up there, tending to my needs as we waited in the winding line to see his amazing wife, Grace.  He was patient as I struggled to breathe from standing a loving when I asked to stop for some selfies at all of the places that took us in our early life to where we are now.  They were all on the way home and he obliged, while still monitoring my breathing. No lectures, no eye rolls, all with a smile. 

Our Romance in Four Pictures or Less... First comes love, then comes marriage...

    

Simply put, this is my moment to gush.  Our rule with the kids is that if we fight in front of them we need to make up in front of them.  This is along those same lines.  If I am going to fuss when he drives me looney, I have to brag when he proves, once again, what an amazing husband, father and friend he truly is.  

He is the love of my life, in times of plenty and in want, for better or for worse.  The last sixteen years have been an amazing journey.  I can't wait to see what the next 50 bring us.  Happy anniversary to the most amazing man, teacher, father, and friend.  

Summer Mondays

I actually kinda enjoy summer Mondays.  Not the part of him going back to work, I am totally really for these "40" hour work weeks to be over, but the part where we can just be.  Last week was the start of football, a brand new brake job starting on fire due to the calipers getting stuck - that was fun, a bonus dog (every house needs a black bear to compliment their polar bear, after all), rearranging the living room furniture just because have been in this house a year and I have not done it yet - a new record, Despicable Me 2, a family renewal of vows - and all the drama that ensues, D caught the bouquet and has yet to put it down, there was a disco themed 60th birthday party and then of course all of the crazy last minute de-slobbering cleaning that goes with a birthday party at our house. I survived the double-super-secret lifting of the Lego ban that my hubby instituted - making my son's day and my other half cringe.  It really was a great week.

And now that it is Monday, there is nothing going on.  The bonus dog is home and the family has left.  There is no football, no menu planning, no nothing.  And it is a great feeling.

My husband has worked on the outside of the house for me since the middle of spring. The re-landscaping of the front, the patio...it has been a huge project on his part.  And I love him so much for making it happen for me.  He finally got to put the icing on the cake.  The gazebo is up, the lights are on and I heard plans of making it last through the fall with a patio heater and some Plexiglas.  We broke it in with some Wicked Orchard and our neighbors.  And he was so thrilled to make it happen - for me.   

My FF may be a gumba when it comes to the daily chores around the house (don't get me started on laundry again), but he does work very hard to bring me whatever my heart desires - usually through a lot of sweat equity.  And that is indeed why he has captured my heart.  Tonight, we'll sit on that patio...and just be.  It is Monday afterall.  And that is why I love summer Mondays.

He's a good guy...I guess I'll keep him no matter what day of the week it is.  

Hug those FFs, laugh with those muppets and just BE!  Happy Monday!

The Little Things...

Yesterday was one of those are days where we had NOTHING going on.  And it was so nice. Home from 8 o'clock mass and the day was  ours.  And was that an amazing feeling!  I made J run to Office Max with me to grab the penny and quarter school supplies - yes, I have started school shopping already.  But, I buy them when they are on sale.  Especially when the middle school muppets need more supplies than the kindergartner - things that make you go hmmmm...but I digress.  Not what my post is about.  The reason I made the fireman go was so that he could help where the limits got in my way.  So, I think we have a good start.

When we got back he decided he was going to clean my car.  And it took all afternoon.  My girl next door and I hit some of the other sales - $2.99 backpacks are good to have around when they die in January and all the backpacks are $30.  And when we got back from our second run, he was still cleaning my car.

But, let me tell you, when I ran an errand this morning, I was amazed.  Not only did he buff out all of the errant scratches and vacuum all the mini polar bears floating around my car, remove Toys R Us from my back seat,  he also cleaned the insides of windows. You don't realize how accustomed you become to looking through nose prints and slobber stains, until you have a clean set of windows. WOW.

And all I can say is that I have missed him cleaning my car.  He always did when we were in college and early into our married years.  But as the muppets came along, it became a bigger task to tackle, with less time in which to tackle it.  And it just got pushed aside and forgotten.  In the grand scheme of things, no big deal.  

But, for today...I am going to enjoy the bright clarity of this world through the front windows of my car. And it will take me back to our younger days...and make me smile.  Sometimes it is the little things that make the marriage amazing.  This is indeed one of those times.

Give those FFs some love.  Find a way to have some fun with your muppets and enjoy the beginning of this week.

Don't Tell Me, Show Me

That is usually my mantra. Words are easy, actions really show me what you mean. 

And my FF knows that.  We have been together for 17 years and married for nearly 15 of those.  He definitely knows what makes me tick. And he has been working his butt off to show me what he means.  His latest took nearly the entire week to complete - our patio.  I'll get some pics of that up here once the weather is nice and I can get a nice finished product pic.

But last night, after he spent the whole day back filling and moving dirt and cleaning up the tools and...and... and...

He was sitting on the couch, clearly wiped out.  He looked at me out of no where and said, "You know I love you, more now than ever before. I mean that."  And my heart just melted.  As if he hadn't done enough for me all weekend, this was indeed the cherry on the sundae. 

He is the love of my life. 

Happy Monday!

We made it.  We (collectively speaking) made it through the Boston Marathon, the West, Texas fire and the Boston lock-down manhunt.  We must take a moment today and say a prayer for the families, the victims, the amazing emergency personnel.  We must take a moment to remind ourselves that we are blessed to be here.  I found myself doing just this very thing this weekend.  I was grocery shopping with B.  The last motorized scooter was taken (in a snotty way) right in front of me by someone who "did not need it as much as I did" and I was FUMING!  For just a moment.  By the time I got into the produce section, which is literally right in the door, I reminded myself that I would walk again.  I reminded myself that the scooter was a luxury, but not a necessity.  My crutches and awesome boy served the same purpose and we rocked it - with some amazed glances along the way.  We need to remind ourselves of what we have and not focus on what we wish we had.  We need to say Thank You for what we have and not demand more.  

It is Monday.  The sun is shining - which is a big deal around here. My FF is off at his Fire Instructor I class. My cast comes off in a week.  Our veggies and flowers are starting to sprout under the grow lights on my hubby's work bench. (I am worried about a new knock on the door - one where they look at the lights coming from the basement and the increase in our electric bill!) My hubby picked up the patio blocks for our patio - I can't wait to sit out there.  My patio safe dishes came.  I am ready for summer in case you couldn't tell.  I just need to find a reasonable patio set, now.

My first marigold, in the early stage of its
bloom, brought such a smile...

Enjoy your life, no matter what stage it is in.  You are still here.  Fight through to find happiness, even if it is simply from the smile of a baby watching you or the waggidy tail hitting the door as you walk in.  Find the light in the darkness, even if you have to make your own light.  However, don't use a lighter under your bed for the light...I digress.  Hug your FFs and Muppets.  You never know what tomorrow brings, so enjoy the day.  Leave nothing unsaid...

Christmas has Exploded

I am not sure what got into my Firefighter yesterday, but he knocked out more of his Honey-list in one day than he has in MONTHS combined.   Some of these are things I have been asking for, for, I don't know, 6 months.  Silly things like putting up the screen door.  He did that without me saying a word.  I had just given up on it.  

The outside lights are up at the house (now I just need lots and lots of fluffy snow!), the village is up and just in need of some minor tweaking and skirting of the tables, the door is on, the TV is mounted on the wall (again I have been asking for this for months)...all done within 24 hours, with mom stopping by for lunch, while my dad was over AND the Packer game was on.  You have no idea how impressed I am.  

He even wore out the polar bears!


He is back to work today...

I will be missing him after having him home for almost 2 weeks.

So, what has your elf been up to??  I am in love with the Elf on the Shelf.  And my husband is amazingly patient with it.  I think he jsut happy that Christmas has really made its way back in to our home.  So, ours is named Max, after the Grinch's lovely, patient K9 unit. My girls LOVE looking for him and were so excited to see him make his appearance.  I think I will chronicle his shenanigans throughout this season.  It will be fun!

Hug your muppets and enjoy their eyes lighting up with the season that is upon us and love on your firefighters.  Happy Monday!

I Love My Birthday

I have no issues getting old.  That does not bother me.  I simply say thank you for every day and every year I am still here.  The old jokes, ehh I laugh at first, by the end of the day I have tuned them out.  I will never lie about my age.  36 is officially the prime of life.

In recent years, my hubby has made my b-day awesome.  Nothing too spectacular.  No amazing presents.  Just dinner of my choice and a birthday cake.  The cake is my favorite part.  Again, nothing spectacular.  I love the "Happy Birthday, Mommy!" in frosting.  It is the best time of the year.  The cake, the kids' laughter, the family time.  That is the best gift I could ever ask for.

This year was no different.  My birthday falls on a Blue Shift - shocking, I know.  My lovely hubby remedied that by taking his PO on my bday.  Sweet and smart, all at the same time.  Hearing the muppets sing happy birthday off-key with MONSTER smiles on their faces, makes my heart just melt. Balloons and brownies from my "other" kids, combined 200+ Facebook messages make for an amazingly humbling experience. Dinner, no cooking, no dishes - ahhhhhh, the angels sing. It must be heaven.  Dessert sundae from the restaurant - I think it might have been yummy, but I couldn't tell from the one bite I got. A T Plush tee from my hubby and a playmate for Bear on Sunday are the perfect gifts.  I really could not ask for anything more.

So, love and thanks to my FF.  You make my birthday something to look forward to all year long.  That is awesome!

Some perks of a firefighter's schedule

J has been off of work for the last 5 days.  In order to make sure no OT is earned unnecessarily, they have PO days (Personal Off days) to balance out the hours.  J happened to get one at the end of this past cycle and one first thing into the next.  That means he only has to work today.  His last shift was the 14th and his next after this will be next Wednesday the 26th.  That made life SO nice yesterday.

Being a teacher,  I have conferences 3 times a year - midway through each term.  Yesterday and tonight are conferences for second term.  Yesterday was also our youngest's birthday.  I was not happy with the idea of not being able to spend her birthday with her.  It is important to me that they have their special dinner (of their choice) and a cake on the actual day of their birthday.  J told me not to worry - she's too little to care about the calendar.  'Tis true, but still...  We always have a party for family, but the day should be remembered as well.  So, when J came down to pick up the boys (they were grateful not to have to hang out here all night) he brought McD's (her choice :D ) and a little birthday cake.  He kept my silly little traditions going, even when I had to work.  What a sweetie!

And that is why I love my fireman!