For the first three weeks in July, every year, we are up at 5:00am almost every morning. We love to relax in bed and watch one of our favorite things: Le Tour de France. Ahhhh, guilty pleasures are good to have. Right?
I remember the first Tour that I watched that totally sucked me into the sport.
It was 2001 and it was specifically the climb of AlpeD'Huez. At one point, Lance Armstrong turns to make eye contact with Jan Ullrich and then works to drop him in the craziest attack ever. If you haven't seen it, you have to watch this video. Some of it is just training and shots from the race, but at 1:40 they show the look for the first time and then again at 2:19. Chills.
It doesn't hurt that cycling has tons of eye candy, in my opinion. One of my favorite pieces of eye candy is George Hincapie. Let's take a moment, shall we?
The view is nice. N'est pas?
My tour fanaticism isn't helped by the fact that I married a cycling enthusiast. At one time, my sweet husband had 4-5 different frames: 2 road bikes, a mountain bike, and a cyclocross.
In this shot, he is off the bike and going over one of the obstacles. What a man! :)
Now, with the kids, he tends to ride his mountain bike most of the time (even on the road----yes, sacrilegious in the cycling world). My super-nice and streamlined Bontrager has turned into a thick-wheeled Beachcomber. We still have tons of bike frames, but they are mostly kid-sized. *wink*
Yes, cycling has certainly changed focus in our family, but we still have fun.
AND, we still live vicariously through the hotties, I mean athletes in the Tour. :)
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776
I came across this sweet Singer 66 Treadle Sewing Machine on Craig's List and fell in love.
I have been wanting an antique sewing machine (partially for use and partially to match my decor, which is peppered with vintage and antique items). I have, however, not been searching actively and just happened upon this ad.
I can honestly say that I have experienced my toughest day of motherhood, thus far. There have been many difficult days, don't get me wrong, but this was by far the worst. I finally feel as though I have a moment to write about it and I think that I can do it without totally breaking down mentally.
A few months ago, I posted about my youngest daughter, Gabriela, and the fact that she needed strabismus surgery again. It wasn't the news that we wanted to hear, especially since her eye only misaligned intermittently, but we understood the risk of loss of vision, if she did not have the surgery.
Well, the day finally arrived: June 24, 2010.
Shiley Eye Center called to schedule the check-in time the day before the surgery: 12:00pm. What? Noon? For a five year old? *eye roll* It is hard enough to have a child fast, but to have them fast through the night and not have any food for breakfast or lunch is ludicrous. I explained the situation to Gabriela and she was amazingly mature and understood the importance.
So, first challenge accepted and met.
We arrived for the surgery and Gabriela gets dressed and ready.
She was in pretty good spirits, but eventually started to grow a little nervous. Who wouldn't? To alleviate some of her anxiety, as well as prep her for general anesthesia, the anesthesiologist gave her a dose of Versed.
Welcome to the Purple Haze! It took a few minutes, but she took a trip! She even pulled her cap down over her face to hide. I have three videos like this one, each one funnier than the next to me! :)
So, Dr. Granet and the anesthesiologist came in to take her to the operating room. Hard. I cannot describe how my heart was in my throat as they were rolling her away.
I'll take this minute to brag about Gabriela's doctor for a minute, plus show the surgery that she had. Dr. Granet was featured on an episode of "The Doctors" explaining his specialty. If you are squeamish, you may need to tune out of the following video when it cuts to the surgery portion. It is really hard to see, but totally cool to see if you are curious about things of this nature. Sidenote: This is the same surgical procedure that Gabriela had, except Gabriela's eye muscles were tightened and the little girl in the video had her muscles weakened.
So, hours pass. Finally, around 4:00pm, Dr. Granet comes out to tell us that the surgery was a success! He explained that he had purposely tightened the eye muscles so that the eyes would be (slightly) crossed. He also reminded us that the recovery would be far more difficult than the first surgery. We heard that, but I don't think we *understood* that. We were about to understand it completely.
Here is Gabriela Mae, just out of surgery: the calm before the storm.
As she started coming out of the anesthesia, she was inconsolable. She couldn't open her eyes; partially because of the ointment and partially because of the pain of the stitches. She was screaming and crying so hard, which exacerbated her dry throat from the oxygen. She couldn't catch her breath. :( We finally got her calmed down enough to try to open her eyes. (Now, the part that I get emotional over.)
She opened her eyes and looked straight at me, but didn't really "see" me. There wasn't a look of recognition that came over her face. There was fear and confusion. It touched my very core. She finally said, through sobbing heaves, "Mommy, there are two of you." Then, she looked around the room and started to cry heavily again because she couldn't make sense of what she was seeing. My heart hurt.
The doctor explained that the antibiotic ointment was obscuring her vision some, but that the crossed eyes were the root of the double vision. When one crosses their eyes to see things that are close, only those things are in single focus. Everything else is double vision and that is what she was seeing for EVERYTHING. Over the next few days, ideally, her eyes would begin to work together and her field of (single) vision would go from inches to feet, feet to yards, etc.
She was eventually stable enough to let me get her dressed and head home. The ride home was pretty uneventful, as she slept the whole way. I forgot to mention that her eyes are EXTREMELY sensitive to light, now.
When we got home, the disorientation and crying started again. Poor baby.
Let me say one thing about my children: they love each other HARD. They may argue and disagree, but an injury to one is felt among all of them. I love them so much for their compassion and kindness and this was no exception. They were truly hurting for Gabriela. At one point, Daniel (6 year old) came up on the verge of tears and said, "I just want everything to go back to normal for Gaby." Jake (12 year old) asked me if she was going to be ok and if there was anything that he could do help her get better. Cristina just kept coming up and telling Gaby that her toys were waiting for her. It was touching.
Gaby-girl finally calmed enough for some Tylenol and an ice-pack, which began a 12 hour cycle of the two. She slept on one couch, Rene slept on the other, and I slept in the chair with the ottoman pulled in front of it I made countless ice packs during the night and arose at every movement she made.
An amazing little thing happened during the night. Our cats, who are typically aloof, *needed* to be near her. They kept jumping on the couch and cozying up with her. (They were, of course, quickly shooed away.)
When she woke, Friday morning, she could open her eyes without excruciating pain. She did, however, still have a fair amount of double vision. She was just not her normal self. She did have a popsicle for breakfast. It is so hard to see her with this flat affect.
Time, Tylenol, and Ice were still the order for the day. Gabriela was able to hold down some lunch and she started to look a little more like my Cha-cha. She even played with the ZhuZhu babies that she picked out to open after her surgery. My friend, Karol, dropped by to surprise Gaby with all of the fixings for a banana split.
She made it by herself! My independent little lady! (Another sign that she was feeling better.)
Her double vision was pretty much gone by Saturday afternoon, except for extreme distances. Finally, by Sunday morning, my sparkly little girl came back. She was smiling and happy.
Yes, that is my wild woman! I obviously didn't fuss with her hair during this time. :)
As further proof that she was doing better and back to her normal self, I received this validation:
My response? Easy. I love my Gaby, because she is a good girl! :)
P.S. This is officially the longest blog post that I have *ever* created.
Well, we finally did it. Our family grew by four feet....well, four paws would be more precise. We bought a little puppy. When Edgar died, there was a hole left in our little world. :(
It took a while for the idea of a new puppy to grow on us. Our house is pretty crazy and, during the school year, could be described as chaotic. There is no way that we could train a puppy and give him/her all of the attention it would need. Except....summer. When school finishes, it is like a deep breath settles over the house. We are afforded time and quiet. So, without further adieu, meet Daisy Damita.
She is a Boston Terrier that we picked up from a breeder up in Costa Mesa.
We are having so much fun with her around. She never lacks for attention, because the four kiddos absolutely adore her. She has really responded to training and already has a pretty regular routine. She does a lot of this:
Some of this:
And she loves to hang here:
This is her "Lifestyles of the Bitch and the Famous" pose. :)
As of yesterday afternoon at 1:06pm, we are on summer vacation! We spent the good part of today in the pool, soaking in the perfect day. The last month or so has been such a whirlwind of activities and events, it was nice to do a lot of nothing.
I did not get a chance to post the quilt that I made for my dear friend Linda DiVerde. She was my teaching partner for many years when I taught Kindergarten. She has taught each of my sweethearts, and this year she had the youngest of them. Not only did she have the last of the babies (Gabriela), but she also was in the room when Gabriela was born and helped me sing Happy Birthday to her for the very first time! It was bittersweet, seeing Cha-Cha finish Kindergarten, but knowing that Mrs. DiVerde would not have any more of my little ones in Kindergarten. So, I did what I do...I made her a quilt.
Jake! I'm so proud of my BabyJake. He had a pretty big week! Chavez Middle School had their awards ceremony and Jake was fortunate enough to receive two awards: one for a 4.0 GPA and another for Outstanding Student in 6th grade math. He was chosen from all of the 6th graders to receive the math award. :)
Jake and Mr. Magnuson, the 6th grade math teacher at CCMS
Jake's cheering section: Me (taking the photo), Jake, Cristina, Nana, Gabriela, Daniel, Grandpa, and Rene
Behind us was Derek (Jake's dad) and Tina
Finally, here is a screen capture of Jake's grades from School Loop.
So proud of all the wrinkles in that brain of his. :) Love you, Jakey!
Happy day! Two very close friends of mine were recently blessed with a baby girl; however this story is so beautiful and means so much to me, that I feel the need to share it.
Four years ago, this couple adopted a beautiful baby boy. At the time of the adoption, they agreed to be put on a registry to accept babies that have been abandoned or given up after birth at any hospital in the county.
Years passed and they decided that their family had settled into a comfortable routine and they were happy with only one child. They decided that they were going to remove themselves from the registry.
Just before they made the call, they received a call from social services telling them that they had been chosen by a young mother to accept her newborn babygirl!
She chose them because they could not have children of their own and they both have careers in the education field. She wanted her little girl to have a better life than she could provide and she knew they would be able to give it her! *tear*
So, to help them celebrate I asked them to choose some fabric that I could use to make a baby quilt for their preciosa!
Saturday night, we had such a fun night! We went to the house of my best friends, Karol and Tom. They invite us over often and we always accept because they feel like family to us! Unfortunately, either Rene or I have to be the designated driver so that we can be sure that we get our precious cargo home safely. Well, Tom came up with a great idea for us to be able to stay as late as we always want, and both of us be able to enjoy some wine. He suggested we bring the tent and camp in the backyard. The newly renovated LawnJockey was definitely the hit of the night! The only downside was that Jakey couldn't go with us because he went to Legoland with his best friend.
The LawnJockey supervises the girls on the trampoline.
Look into his hypnotic eyes!
The kids showered the LawnJockey with LOTS of attention!
Cuteness to the third power!
The menfolk enjoyed the Lakers win!
Ready for action! (Sidenote: Rene and I were married in almost this exact spot in Karol's backyard.) *grin*
Cristina waking me up to tell me that she had peeked outside and that it was the most beautiful morning she had EVER seen!
The boys sleeping in, a bit!
On Sunday, we came home and spent pretty much the rest of the day out in the pool. Even Barbie caught some rays.
I finally finished my spool blocks! Woohooo! My friendship group is meeting tomorrow night to exchange our quilt blocks to make a spool quilt similar to the one pictured. I can't wait to see everyone else's spools! :) The simple things!
After Gabriela and Cristina watched "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel" at Del Rio's Family Movie Night, they decided to put on a little show.
Someone please rescue me from this inane song. Please. Anyone.
However, in the interest of full disclosure, I do have to admit that I adore the laughing and giggling of my girls!
For this quilt, I used A Breath of Avignon by Moda Fabrics. I just love the colors in this fabric line. Fun! I used a pattern called Charmed Star by Love Quilt Patterns. It was super-easy to make because it is almost entirely half-square triangles made from a charm pack. I did omit the top and bottom row of half-square triangles because I thought it was overkill. It just didn't seem to fit the pattern, in my opinion.
This is the second quilt that I will be donating to the raffle that will be held at the crop to raise funds for the Kaitlyn Vallery Memorial Scholarship sponsored by Kaitlyn's Promise. It will be donated along with my Twinkling Tessellations quilt.
I had such fun making this one, that I may have to make one to keep around the house. :)
I know, I know. It was Ides of March in Julius Caesar. I also am aware that it is only the 14th; however, I dread hearing about the May Revise to the California budget today. :(
How did I get so lucky? Why have I been so unbelievably blessed with this family of mine?
I am unable to give an answer because it is certain that I am not a perfect person. I have wronged people in my life and made many decisions that I regret. I have acted poorly and behaved selfishly. For those actions and times, I am full of shame.
Despite all of my shortcomings, I must have done something right along the way. I appreciate my life so completely these days, especially on days like today. On a day like today, I get to take a minute to take a mental picture of my babies. I am amazed at how they have grown and how different they each are. I cannot believe the kindness and love that my children show for others. I cherish the love they show for me and one another.
They are just the best! Truly. Being their mom is the best thing that has EVER happened to me, as cliche as it sounds. I am so thankful that they enrich my life every single day and give me so much happiness in the simplest of things. *sigh* All right. Enough with the sappy. Bring on the booty!
My family spoiled me terribly today. I was treated to breakfast! I got a goodie bag from my favorite quilting store, some handmade goodies from the kiddos, and some super-sweet cards. Also, not pictured are the hugs, kisses, and smiles that were showered upon me. (What is pictured is the quilt that I pin-basted today.)
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