I'm Comin' Home!

Tonight is New Year's Eve. I will be flying home tomorrow and I can't wait. My family has been missing their mom and ready for her to come home. So is Papa...
My mom is doing well. She gets alittle tired but still is on the mend. I hope she will stick to her re-cooperating instructions and stay low for alittle while longer.
Elise have you had the baby yet? Hang in there! I will call you as soon as I get back!

Just Checking In

Today was spent washing blankets, alittle grocery shopping and cleaners. My dad is hilarious. He is getting absent minded and looks so much like my grandma Elda every day. He forgets where he puts his wallet and doesn' t remember to close any door or turn off the TV. WOW! It's different watching your parents age. He also says to watch out because if you or anything hits the floor, you'll get thrown in the washer! He was looking for his favorite blankets today to take his nap and they were no where to be found. He was alittle upset about that. He He...
Mom is burnt out today. She obviously did too much the last two days and she is paying for it. I literally had to run around after her yesterday about not lifting too much, bringing wood in for the wood stove, which by the way is consistently 50 degrees here but rainy, going up and down the stairs, you just name it I'm trying not to let her do it. But... can't keep a good woman down. Her neck looks very good where she had her incision. She is starting to feel all the feeling coming back in her neck and chin. Today she sat 90% of the day and let everyone around her do what they needed. I'm hoping tomorrow she will feel and look better.
Things are quiet on the Douglass home front. Colt is in mild pain and doesn't want to take the pain pills anymore. They make him alittle irritable... :( Kenzi called and she has made dinners, done laundry, fed the animals and has been taking very good care of the men in our family. Love that girl. But she is in no hurry to get hitched. Being the mom is alot of hard work! Job well done babe.
I hope to come home this weekend. I miss my cozy living room and my hubby, snuggled up in the big chair he got for us to sit together while we watch movies. He's such a romantic. My life there is great and I can't wait to get back and be with my fam. Love you guys! Plus, I wanna open my Christmas presents!

Christmas Has Come and Went

Well things are never dull around the Douglass household. We have had an exciting holiday season. I was just getting back on my feet and feeling like I had everything under control. . .
When I received a phone call from my sister telling me that they had admitted my mother into emergency. She had had a mini stroke and they were trying to find out what exactly was going on. WOW! A few days went by and with MRI's, cat scans, sonograms they finally found that she had a blocked carotid artery. 80% blockage. Extremely serious for a woman at her age, 82. So Tuesday night at 10:00 pm my brother called from SL and said he was leaving Wed. morning for Cali, she was due for surgery Thurs. morning, Christmas eve. So...I thru clothes in my bag for at least a week and Wed. am Paul drove me to SL. Mom had her surgery Thurs. morning and everything went very well. She's very luckey she has had no side effects from the little stroke she did have. The doctor which BTW was a totally cool guy that grew up in my county and two of the four brothers are both outstanding heart surgeons between two counties. The hospital and staff are completely top notch and it was re-assuring that she had the utmost care all the way around. The doctor told us that was extremely lucky that she didn't die because of how severe the blockage was and someone at her age. We feel very blessed to still have mom here with us. She's recuperating well and really you can't even tell she was in surgery two days ago. We brought her home yesterday and she looks fabulous today. We had our Christmas dinner tonite 30 people here, I'm alittle tired. . . but we pulled it off with alot of help with family members. BTW the food was fab! I will stay here for another week just to be sure mom is on her feet and get her into some follow ups with the docs.
Here she is my cute mom two days after her surgery feeling great and ready to go! Crazy!

My husband has pulled off another fantastic job with my kids. He did Christmas eve, stuffed stockings and made sure everything was ready for Christmas day. Kenzi made a fabulous dinner and everyone enjoyed each other. I have never been without my husband or kids for Christmas. that was alittle heartbreaking. But we survived. Today all the kids went snowboarding and to our dismay Colton crashed and fractured his sternum. OUCH! He is out of c0mmision for a couple of weeks. Paul delt with that today as well without me. Whew! That guy is going to receive a halo for sure. He has really gone beyond the call of duty. I love that guy. :) Bless his heart.
So they say "things" come in three's, swine flu, my mom and Colton, so I'm hoping things are thru with the Douglass family and we can get into some nomal activites. Stay tuned though you never know! :)

I'm Back!

Whew! That was a week to remember... For those of you who don't know I have been sick with the "swine flu" and that name does it justice. I can see now why prego moms, young children, the elderly should not get this horrible bug that creeps up on you just because it tricks you every time you turn around. After the first 24 hours I thought ok, this can't get any worse but after lying on the floor into the wee hours of the mornings, get that plural... meaning, more than one hour and more than one day, I thought ok this is pretty bad. Between the horrible stomach pains and fevers, on the fourth day the exessive vomiting had subsided but the potty breaks just kept coming. Day five, yeh! I felt almost half human. Kenzi was coming home and I know she was ready to help out.
My wonderful, kind, patient husband has been hovering over me for a solid week, helping me in and out of the tub, which was sometimes twice a day because the aches and pains were so excruciating that not even Motrin would touch it. Giving me tiny sips of of whatever I thought I could keep down, and running the household. I did hear him comment that he felt he had done more in one day taking care of things amd hadn't even left the house. He really appreciates what I do daily.
Today is day 7 and I'm feeling at a 3 which 10 was the worst. I'm really weak, lost 8 lbs. :) but
I'm almost ready to get back in the saddle. Just alittle more shopping, Kenzi and I will bake on Saturday, wrap presents then we will be ready!
Thank you to my friends who called and text to see how I was. Don't feel bad if I didn't talk to you I Just couldn't talk. And thank you to Amy for dinner on Monday night. The boys loved it. I only hope you bring it again so I can try it!

Something Fun

If you like Vera Bradley bags go here now. For just a few more days you can get a 20% discount at check out. Some really cute things on sale, plus the discount you can pick up some fun Christmas gifts. Happy Shopping!

http://athriftymom.com/2009/12/vera-bradley-addition-20-off/