Testing a slideshow

I've been trying to figure out the easiest way to upload a slide show to the blog - we'll see if this works:

Happy Father's Day to my honey

I have been so tremendously blessed to have found (okay, stalked) my husband 15 years ago. Those that have known us since the "beginning" are amazed at 1. how good and strong our marriage is, 2. that we have not killed each other and 3. that my egg and his sperm create such beautiful children :)

He is a fantastic father - he takes the time to teach them the things that they will need to know when they grow up and are independent - he teaches them the things that I tend to do myself because its "easier". He's stern, he's gruff, he invokes the right amount of fear that a dad should have. He reads bedtime stories, he gives baths, he kisses boo-boos, he gives dinosaur rides. He does pig tails, underdogs and "funky monkey" dancing.

We've hit rough times along the way - infertility, death of friends & family, dirt poor, uncertainty in our relationship. Each rough spot has made us stronger, has improved our relationship (the only thing that hasn't improved in 15 years is my aim...lucky for him!) and has made us both stronger individuals.

He's the man that I would not want to live without and that my children should be so proud to call Dad.

Won't You Take me To...Funky Town

Actually it's Safety Town, but each time I say it the Funky Town song (which I've added to my Playlist below) runs through my head.

Here was the Funky Town week review:

Monday was an introduction to animals and animal safety




Tuesday was Fire Department Day - here's Ella that night in her fire hat






















Wednesday was Police Department day - Ethan and Ella posed by the police car. They also got to see the police helicopter and police dog. They loved it!





Thursday they practiced calling 911 (which Ella has known how to do, at least accidentally, since she was about 8 months old...) and took a Safety walk around the town.





And Friday was water safety day and graduation practice. Here is Daddy and Ella.















And tonight was graduation! They got up on stage and sang their songs.
Here is Ella's Lucky Limes group singing Red Light, Red Light - she 's 8th from the left - not moving a muscle



And here is her graduation walk

And an update on my REARend
all was fine - no issues - just a couple areas of diverticula and I need to increase my fiber intake (who knew, wine isn't high in fiber?!) By the way, the procedure itself is a breeze...cute doc walks in, starts the happy meds, makes chit chat and 20 minutes later you are waking up with a slight hangover, wondering what the hell just happened.
The worst part for me was not eating for over 24 hours (and the 15,000 trips to the crapper).

What's in Your wineglass tonight?

When 5 o'clock hits and it's time to cook dinner, I love to have a glass of wine. Tonight, 5pm hit and instead this is in my wineglass:

NuLYTELY^® with Flavor Packs is indicated for bowel cleansing prior to colonoscopy. NuLYTELY provides effective and fast cleansing of the gastrointestinal tract and is specially formulated for better taste.

YUM! but the 4 flavors are NOT Riesling, Merlot, Chardonnay or Pinot Noir :(

I will be having a colonoscopy tomorrow (yes, I know it's scheduled for Friday the 13th and I almost changed it about 5 times). Having a parent, sibling or child that is diagnosed with colon cancer before the age of 60 puts you at higher risk so my GP scheduled me for one.

Info from the Colon Cancer Alliance:

The most common symptom of colorectal cancer is no symptom at all. Nonetheless, individuals should pay attention to the symptoms of colorectal cancer. When experiencing these symptoms, understand that you are diagnosing a condition and no longer screening. Insist on getting a colonoscopy.

The following symptoms might indicate colorectal cancer:

• a change in bowel habits
• diarrhea or constipation
• narrower than normal stools
• unexplained weight loss
• constant tiredness
• blood in the stool
• feeling that the bowel does not empty completely
• abdominal discomfort: gas, bloating, fullness, cramps
• unexplained anemia
• vomiting

If you experience any of these symptoms for more than a few days, talk to your doctor about them to determine the cause.

As I've spent time on some of the websites and listservs, I've read stories of MANY 25-45 year olds that had some of these symptoms but the doctors told them repeatedly that they were too young to worry about it being cancer - that it was just hemorrhoids or something (and of course it was a later stage cancer by the time they got someone to listen). So insist on being taken seriously if you have these symptoms or think something is wrong.

Here's Dave Barry's take on the procedure:
http://www.miamiherald.com/dave_barry/story/427603.html


Okey-dokey...I think the medicine is about to kick in so I'll be signing off for now!

I'm SOO jealous!!

Sarah and Brian brought their pictures over from their Costa Rica eco-resort honeymoon - they got back very late Friday (or rather, very early Saturday a.m.)

Here are a few pictures

The beautiful view

Zip lining through the jungle!

Their private beach :)

Uh, the AIRPORT! No lie...

The newlyweds in 94% humidity

Glad they didn't get eaten by any of the crocodiles - like this guy!

And a collage of the flowers they took pictures of

Welcome home!!

Little Orphan Ella

Little Miss Sunshine when she woke up this morning!

See, we've got some serious jammy feety issues around here!

The kids had fun climbing in the tree this weekend

And swinging on the new swing set bar

And playing and watching baseball

We also had a fun time grilling out and wore the kids out with some swimming this weekend too!

Margie update:
Friday was her first chemo treatment (Folfox6 w/Avastin will be the cocktail for 6 months - no avastin this time though) - she was hooked up to the IV at the clinic for about 3 hours on Friday and then went home and had a 46 hour portable chemo pack running in through her port. So far she is feeling good - though some nausea could still hit for the next day or 2 - say a prayer that she continues to feel good and the chemo works its magic!! Next one is Friday, 6/20.

Brother can you spare...

A new pair of jammy feeties? (That is what my kids call sleepers). I have obviously been spending too much money on wine and not enough on pajamas.


When Ella and Si play, this is how Si fairs...



This is a picture of Si in the 7 1/2 minutes between when he wakes up happy and when he then melts down completely..