BARF

You realize your kids have gotten older when they can actually throw-up into the bucket they’ve been given or make it to the toilet before everything hits the wall or the floor.

Poor CT spent the ENTIRE night throwing up.  I haven’t seen this kind of stomach flu in a long time around here and I hope it leaves quickly.  It was so nasty that I was gagging while rubbing his back.

As we were up throughout the night, it reminded me of when the kids were so much younger and that was just the drill.  Up every few hours feeding, changing and being their for them because they could not do anything for themselves.

I am so glad to be beyond that stage but the realization that they are still so young and the little reminder that they still need and want their mommies when they throw-up, is heart warming.

Girls Gone North

So when your dad’s health is failing, what do you do?

Go up north with your girlfriends.

Jen, Ellen, Ann and I have gone up north, every winter, for the past five years.  It is amazing to look back at what was going on dring those past years.  The joys, the fears, the changes within ourselves, our kids, our families, our jobs, our lives.

We were pondering this past weekend if we could possibly be lucky enough to still be doing this at 60.

Oh how I hope so.

The next step

I just wanted to give everyone an update on my dad’s health status.  As some of you know, he went into Methodist hospital on Monday night.  He was confused, had a fever and was unable to walk by himself safely.

The fever that was present in the ER was an indication that there was some sort of infection and the doctors have been trying to find the source since Monday.  Today they were able to do an MRI and the doctors came in to tell us that his cancer has spread to his skull, the dura mater around his brain and that the cancer already in his liver has grown a great deal.

That said, it looks as though the only option left is hospice.  Any options of chemo that we thought were plausible went out the window with this new information.  His prognosis at this point in time is one to three months.

I just created a CaringBridge site (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tomtremmel) for my dad and will keep it up to date as best I can.

Thank you to everyone who has already offered support, prayers and kind words.

Silver Holloware…married so long now no Traditional gift exists

Right this moment, when I look out the window, it looks just like it did when Adam and I walked down Michigan Avenue 16 years ago.  It was dark and the snow was falling in big beautiful flakes, as the light from the street lamps bounced off them.  We had decided at the end of dinner that night, that we were going to Vegas to get married, and literally…we were on our way.

That was 16 years ago.

We only called one person from the plane, our old roommate Pat, who we had just spent the night with after seeing a Paul Westerberg concert.  (Happy Birthday Pat!)

We didn’t give a moments thought to where we might sleep, who was going to marry us, what we were going to wear or where we were going to get married. Who cares about such details?

So we forged ahead.  Hours later, we found ourselves walking towards the alter, for all three of those steps, wedding music played out of a boom box.   A stranger stood before us with a bible, some words of wisdom and we exchanged vows with tears in our eyes, knowing THIS was it.  Knowing we could do anything, together.

Thanks for being my partner in crime babe…I love you!

Happy Anniversary.

Baking with Julia

Every Christmas, since I can remember, my dad has given me a cookbook.  In all those years I have only requested two, The Joy of Cooking and Baking with Julia.

The Joy of Cooking has become our bible or manual to cooking.  It truly has every basic recipe or how to guide you could ever need.  Not that you can’t go all fancy pants with it, but you know, if you were to only have one cookbook on your shelf, this is the one to get.

Baking with Julia, which is based on a PBS series Julia Child hosted with other great bakers as her guests, has become my own in home class.

Once the kids all went to school, I decided to take it and walk through each recipe.  Learning the foundations of baking.  I’m not a bad baker, in fact I’m pretty good, but again there are basics to learn and master before you hit brilliance.

Our Family Dinner’s have afforded me a venue to bake and to get feedback.  And feedback I get.  My family indulges me by going around the table and offering up their thoughts, which then get written into the cookbook, along with the date.

This week’s baking class was the perfect Genoise, in which I chose to make a French Strawberry Cake.

Family Feedback:  delicious, dry-coarse, not too sweet, like the strawberry shortcake my mom use to make

Midnight and beyond

To be honest, I am normally sound asleep before 10:30 pm.

But who could resist hitting the theater with a bunch of crazy woman for the midnight showing of New Moon?

And by the way, we were not the oldest people there but we may have had the most fun.

Climbing out

Good golly, I’m sot sure what has happened over the past few weeks or was it just a week or maybe a day?  Ok, I guess I might know what has gone on, but it is a little hazy so bare with me.

The trip to Ohio was great!  The highlight for the kids was the pool at the hotel on either side of the trip and the artificial hips and pace makers they got from my cousin who owns five funeral homes.  There was a good amount of time spent at funeral homes.  Oh yeah and then there was “Clyde’s Funeral” that the kids (and my parents) played out and we got it on CD.  How do you get that on CD do you ask? Well, I come to find out that people steel stuff off of dead bodies during wakes.  So what is a funeral director to do, but put in hidden cameras to catch all the sheenangens.

In all my great smugness of being THE BEST DAUGHTER ON THE FACE OF THE PANET for having brought my parents and three children on a 28 hour car trip to see The Relatives, on the way home I got sick.  And I remained sick, with fever and cough, for SEVEN days.  I just know it was God’s way of taking me down a peg or two, you know that smugness I referred to earlier?  However, PJ got sick too.  Upon reflection, she does need to work off some of her evil ways, so she wasn’t spared either.

During my week of ill, I was crawling out of bed trying to help Omar plan a fairly substantial event called Darkness Day at Surly Brewing Company.  If you did not make it out this year, you should certainly try it out next year.  The food, bands and of course beer were amazing.  So by Saturday, the sick was gone and the party was on!

This week has been filled with catching up on all the other things that happen when three weeks of your life have vanished and you actually forget what your name is and what day it is.

Hi I’m Mary and today is Wednesday Thursday.

Not even on the bucket list

Tomorrow I am leaving to go out of town.  I will be heading to Madison, Wisconsin to volunteer for the Ford Wisconsin Ironman.

Five years ago, as a stay at home mom, I decided I needed to find something for myself.  I was surfing the internet and decided I would try my hand at triathlons.  I just had baby number three and I needed something for myself.  So why not.  That was in January.

By June I was deep into training for my first sprint triathlon.  My mom would come over and watch the kids while I went running or biking or swimming.

There was one particular run on a path near my house that I clearly remember.  I was day dreaming that I was doing an Ironman race.  As soon as that day dream was over, I assured myself that THAT was never going to happen, because who in their right mind would do that?

Five years and several triathlons later, I find myself going to volunteer at the Ironman race ONLY because it will solidify a space for me in the 2010 Wisconsin Ironman.

Sunday I will volunteer.

Monday I will register.

Tuesday I will question my sanity.

First week

KP has been handling the adjustment to all day Chinese Kindergarten with a tremendous amount of grace.  Granted, he must go to sleep around 7:00 pm and if you push his buttons it is OVER, for everyone!

That all said, the cutest thing happened yesterday.

KP came running off the bus and ran into my arms for a big hug.  He turned his head and whispered in my ear, “Mom, I cried at school today.”

Me:  Oh noooo, what happened?

KP:  I wanted YOU!

And then I welled up.

Off to school

This was yesterday.

CT had just rolled out of bed and wasn’t ready yet.

PJ is set and ready to roll.  In fact, she ran onto the bus so fast that I had to go on after her to kiss her goodbye.

KP was all ready but had to wait another day for school to begin, but got to visit for an hour and hang out with his new class mates.

All in all, the day went pretty smoothly.

And today…KP headed off to his first day of ALL DAY Chinese Immersion Kindergarten (didn’t even want to stop for a photo-can you tell by the blur?).

With his big brother giving him ample instructions before leaving the door, his big sister taking his hand as they stepped onto the bus together and his wide anxious eyes waiting for all the new adventures to begin, I am sure this day too will be great.

Unless he goes insane because he has no idea what the teacher is talking about.

I’ll let you know if that happens.