What a difference a month makes. Seriously.
The past 6 months have been challenging and emotionally draining to say the least. But we dug in, tackled that mountain, and dare I say, actually pulled off making it to the other side. It wasn't the first time. It won't be the last ... this I'm smart enough to know. But the one thing we are great at is rallying in tougher times and dealing with things head on. I'm the planner. Shaun's the cool, calm & collected one.
And laughing helps too.
Laughing and liquor.
Lots and lots of liquor.
But seriously ...
My boob scare ended up being nothing, hallelujah. I got to go to the Nancy Reagan Breast Cancer Center and have some nurses and doctors poke and prod my boob and take ultrasound images of it. They gave me some fancy name for it, but it basically translated to I just have lumpy boobs, and to come back when I'm forty. Done.
We found out my father-in-law is pretty sick. At first we were told it was lung cancer, and then that it wasn't, and then that it could be the early stages of lung cancer and then that it wasn't but it was sarcoidosis and the stage that it's in (Stage 3 or 4) is pretty bad. From what I understand (and trust me, I could have this wrong) - Shaun said it could be just as bad as cancer, and that they're giving him a 50-50 chance. If you've ever seen me in Vegas you'd know I'm a betting woman, so I'll take my chances on the first half of that 50. We're still learning what exactly that means and what his options are. Its our understanding that they will try and treat it with chemo, but to be perfectly honest stuff seems to change week to week. Being that they live in Texas and we're here, we're at the mercy of phone tag and hearing second hand what the doctors are saying. Sometimes it feels like not even the doctors are on the same page. What we do know is that he's in a severe amount of pain, so please continue to keep him in your thoughts. We're hopeful though. Sometimes, that's all you have to go on. And now we wait.
A week before Shaun was set to lose his job, an offer came in. Talk about throwing a Hail Mary out into the universe at the last moment. He started this past Monday and is officially a Market Analyst now for a Insurance Broker. He's still learning the ropes, but so far, he says everyone has been really nice. The best part is he was offered an increase in salary and is actually now working with a marketing department. After 3 1/2 years he finally felt like going back to school and getting his BA in Marketing was the right choice after all. Mama may get her new kitchen after all.
The other funny thing? Shaun's last week at his old job, his 1998 Honda Accord finally started to give out, bless the old girl. Her transmission started to slip and almost stalled out a couple times on Shaun. She needed work, more than we were willing to put into her. So the day after Shaun accepted the job, we went car shopping. He ended up with a 2012 Scion TC. Not too shabby. And now he can commute without worrying about her stalling, or *cough* catching on fire like his last truck did. What can I say .... we get our moneys worth out of our vehicles.
Everyone says its good to see us really smile again. A huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders these past couple weeks, and just in time for the holidays too. Looks like Santa knew just what we needed this year after all.
And here is everything else we've been up to in between ... (Warning: Picture dump ahead)
My boys and I at the Harvest Festival
Sully pic
ked a football uniform for his Halloween costume this year. Funny story ... I got slammed with a awesome case of the flu the night before out of nowhere. I thought I was dying, true story. My mom actually came and picked me up and Shaun met me there so he could just take Sully around my parent's neighborhood.
Daddy went as "Hockey Batman" as Sully called him and I went in my pajamas as
"Someone who has the Flu". Sully still talks about "Hockey Batman."
We couldn't believe he actually wanted to go alone. He told Shaun and I to stay on the sidewalk while he "Trick or Treated". We laughed as we talked about what shitty parents people probably thought we were seeing a toddler standing alone at the door as they opened it. But everyone loved him.
In my drug induced haze I left my camera at home, so all I had to snap pictures with was my crappy phone. (Santa, if you're listening .... iPhone's make wonderful stocking stuffers.)
This kid lives and breathes for two things lately, hockey & football.
Sully and I gave a go at making our first pumpkin pie from scratch.
We ate it all over the next couple days and nobody died so obviously it turned out good!
My amazing Mama got my sister and I Dyson vacuums just because with her winnings she scored when she was in Vegas with my dad for a convention. I've been wanting a Dyson for YEARS. Its a cleaning freaks dream. I LOVE it.
Sully giving it a spin ...
I told you, hockey & football, football & hockey. We actually had to hide the sports equipment for awhile because he actually started having "Hockey Dreams".
This is Sully's "Football Face"
And his touchdown dance in the playroom.
A 24 piece puzzle he completed basically on his own.
Yeh, I'm biased but basically my kid is a total genius.
Its nice getting to bypass child labor laws when the kid is yours
"Oh my gosh can I go play yet?!"
Sully and I on our date night after an extremely frazzled day of battling our wills against each other. He picked Jamba Juice and insisted on sitting outside. We agreed to let bygones be bygones and broke pirate booty together. I just listened & laughed a lot. Sometimes its a nice reminder to stop the craziness and just give him 110% of my attention and make him feel special. It was either that or leave him on the curb.
We hit up Michael's afterwards for some craft projects.
My awesome hoodie Jessica and her mom got Sam and I. Thanks you guys, love it! Be proactive about your boobs ladies, seriously.
I caught Buster sleeping with Sully's paci in his mouth.
Yes, Sully still uses them. Stop judging me!
We spent a lot of time here last month (the crabs at the doctors office courtesy of Sully)...
Courtesy of Sully
because this guy looked like this. Sinus infection, then the flu, then another cold. Awesome.
Feeling better and meeting up with Yaya and Uncle B for some sushi dinner.
My first homemade apple pie
Decorating Sully's Hockey Tree
Surveying his hard work
Putting on a few more touches
I found a bunch of hockey ornaments last year after the holidays after we did our very first Hockey Tree. Finally got to pull them out of the rafters!
Sully being pretty proud of his hard work
Couldn't find a wreath I liked and I sure as heck wasn't spending 60 bucks on the ones I did so I made my own this year for 10 dollars. Don't look at my awful fireplace. Its on the list of things to remove from the house. I hate it.
Despite my hate of the hearth, its starting to look a lot like Christmas!
Sully picked out a Lightning McQueen stocking this year. My giant man-child husband chose Buzz Lightyear. I picked the penguins which Sully has dubbed "The Happy Feet Stocking."
Amen to that ...
One of the projects Sully and I worked on - Yarn Christmas Trees. Sully picked out the yarn and the buttons and then we colored small potter plants with red paint. He had a lot of fun and they turned out pretty funky and cute.
Finished work on the book shelf
The yarn was too pretty to toss and I had a lot left so I decided to learn to knit. First time ever, so I decided to start by doing a basic scarf for Sully since he loved the yarn so much.
Sully modeling the final product (He's STILL sick. The pitfalls of first year preschool)
I'm not going to even front, I'm pretty frickin' proud of myself.
I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love good news!
ReplyDelete