Matt Loves Mom

We were at a steakhouse the other night that provided these Wiki sticks for the kids to play with while they waited for the food.  One by one, Matt handed me one and asked "can you make an M...can you make an A...?"  I wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing until he had asked for M A T T M O M, and he asked for an L.  After the L I heard "Mom, how do you spell love?"  That is when I looked down and he was working on the word "love" in between Matt and Mom.  One of those "Awwww" moments!

World's Tallest Man and Other Odd Things

The world's tallest man...the kids thought it was pretty neat to see a life-sized replica of the world's tallest man.  We thought we would pause for a picture just for fun.  There was a lot of things in the Ripley's believe it or not museum that was interesting and exciting to see.

There are a few visual learners in our family and to see the actual size of a man who was 9 feet tall really made an impact on us.  We also got to see things like art made out of rubix cubes and cool optical illusions as well as getting to play with giant Lite Brites!  There was a little something to interest everyone.  I was even able to read a few of the interesting facts as we walked along the way...my kids are growing up!

One of my favorites was right at the beginning of our journey through the museum.  I have very vivid memories of gum wrapper chains.

I turned the corner yesterday during our tour and there was the world's longest gum wrapper chain.  That brought back memories from my childhood.  My mom made gum wrapper chains when she was in high school.  She still had one she was working on when I was a little girl.  She kept it in a light blue bucket the size of an ice cream pail.

She would get the chain out and let me look at it and show me how each link was a gum wrapper.
Imagine my surprise to have those memories jogged by the worlds LONGEST gum wrapper chain!  My first thought was "man, I wish that Mom was here to see this" and I took a picture from every possible angle so that I can show her when we get home.  It is a memory that may seem silly, but was surprisingly vivid to me.

Family Time

It has been a great day.  A great week so far actually.  We are celebrating Thanksmas with Auntie Chelle and it has been a long time since we have been in Gatlinburg.  In fact, the last time we were able to book a condo here, I was in my first trimester of pregnancy with Zach.  (Eight years!)

The last three weeks have been so busy at the house, and I have a lot to catch up on and I have all kinds of pictures and blog posts in my head that I haven't sat down and typed up.  I am hoping to share some of the moving moments and new house adventures as I get a chance but for today, we played mini golf!

As the kids get older, the family dynamic is a lot different.  Going mini golfing without a stroller, this mom was able to hold a warm cup of coffee and take some pretty fun pictures.  Zachary has improved tremendously since last trip and Matthew is learning how to hold the club.  Ripley's believe it or not was pretty great too.

Cancer Files: Surgery #4 - Hopefully the Last!

I am having a hard time keeping up with the blog lately with all of the things that are going on around here! The new house has been wonderful this past week as we have gotten used to new things and figured out which light switches go with which lights.  I could do without all of the boxes but I know that it won't take too long before they won't be here, at least in the main living areas.

Doctor said this week that we can try to schedule the last surgery before the end of the year to save the deductible once January hits.  I am all for that!  Who wants to drag cancer treatments into a whole new year?  I am ready to get this behind me and move on in 2014!  So, December 12th will be the next and final surgery to get the cosmetic aspects taken care of.  Not super thrilled when he said it would be a 3-4 hour outpatient surgery, but if it is the last one, it will be good to get it behind me!

I have some fun pictures to share from the last week or so, and our moving experience so I will get to those fun posts over the weekend, but for now, this is where I am on the journey.  Grateful to be here and that the cancer was found when it was.  I will deal with the new me and find the new normal.  Maybe this upcoming surgery will move me closer in that direction.

Suppertime at the New House

Last week was such a whirlwind.  In 36 hours we went from living in one house to eating dinner in a new house on the other side of town.  Lots of things happened that I would like to document but I have not had time to sit down and make that happen.  This coming week when I need some down time, I will get a more detailed update.  Life is a little crazy right now but God is oh so good!

Fall Fest 2013

Here I am about an hour before Fall fest last Wednesday.  I spent the morning in my recliner with the urge to throw up every time I moved.  I was a little frantic about how the kids were going to be ready with costumes for the big event later in the evening.

It was about 1:00 p.m. when I was finally able to eat a little bit of yogurt and move around a little bit.  It was an early dismissal day and after the kids arrived home, we all got into the car and made a quick trip around town to the places where we usually have luck finding costumes that we need.

This year, I was looking for a Robinhood or a Peter Pan costume for the little boys.  Matthew wanted to dress up like "Little Link" from the video game Zelda and Zach decided being "Big Link" would be fun.  It made me smile so that is what we set off to find.

The only thing I could come up with in the three places we stopped was a Robinhood outfit for Zach.  We bought a couple of swords to make Link complete and went home.  Matthew was beside himself because he didn't have anything.  I couldn't believe that something as classic as Peter Pan wasn't in a little kid size.  Funny how you can find all of that stuff in adult sizes, I don't get that.

After dropping the kids off (the girls already knew what they were going to dress up to be, and I told Ryan I would find something for him, he was having trouble making up his mind), I went back out to JoAnn's.  Thankfully I still had my sewing machine at the house.  I bought some brown and green fleece and traced around Matt's top so that he had a tunic.  The hat was a little trickier but it came together just great.  David helped the big kids with the cardboard shields and we were set to go.

Still feeling somewhat green, I tagged along and everyone enjoyed an evening of fun at Fall fest.

Snow After All

It was sometime last week when I heard one of the kids yelling from behind the iPad (where they love to check the weather forecast regularly) "Hey, Mom, it is going to snow next Tuesday!  Yes, I am sure it is, I remember thinking in that passing moment.  Well, low and behold, we get to see one last snowfall on 27th Street after all.

It started slushy and then the white flakes fell nice and steady for an hour or so.  Not too much, just enough to put a little dusting here and there that will be gone by the time the kids get home from school unless another round comes through before then.

As you can see, the termite infested pile of wood is still sitting in the corner of the patio waiting to be hauled away.  I should be running around the house packing things today but something about this softly floating snow makes me want to just put in ONE MORE DAY of resting and crafting from my recliner.

I will fill the five boxes I have left today and jump in with both feet tomorrow and go room by room.  Laundry/sewing room first tomorrow and then it will be bedrooms and un-necessary kitchen items.  We are looking forward to the move and being able to reach into the closet again for winter clothes!  Guess who packed ALL of her husband's sweatshirts back in July when we were trying to declutter.  Yep, that would be me!  OOPS!