by Sarah | Jan 31, 2014 | 45 before 45, All About Me, All of Us
*It should be noted that if my mom knows I put this out there, she’ll probably kill me. So mom, on the off chance you’re reading my blog today, so sorry–but it had to be done!
My wish for ink started when I was young. From the time I was sixteen I knew I wanted a tattoo, even if I was afraid of how much it could hurt. However, I always said I would not get one at 18, no matter what. I didn’t want to get a tattoo I might one day regret.
My brother, being older and in the military, beat me to the ink. He started with a panther (high school mascot) on his shoulder. I’m not sure just how many he has now, but he didn’t stop there.
My mother? HORRIFIED! How dare he get a tattoo? How could he do that to himself? OMG, it was awful.
Two and a half years ago, on my 35th birthday, I finally got my ink.
It’s a butterfly, a running theme on my website that I use to represent my kids growing beyond their labels. It’s purple, my favorite color. It has all three of my kids initials. Can you see them?
My only regret with this tattoo is that because of the location, I actually forget I have it sometimes. I love it. I’m so glad I waited until I was 35.
My mother by now? Her reactions were not as severe as they were years ago when my brother got his. However, I got the chastising glance and the disappointed shaking of the head. The heavy sigh of “Where did I go wrong?”
Fast forward to two months ago. My dad brings by their dog so we can dog-sit while they go on a cruise.
In casual conversation the subject of tattoos comes up. I mention that I’m itching for another one and he just throws out the statement:
“Well, your mother has one.”
Said like it was no big deal. I screech to a halt and say, “WHAT?”
“Yeah. She got a flamingo.”
(Side note-my mom has been obsessed w/ flamingos for years).
Of course, I had no choice but to confront her the next time I saw her. She tried to deny it with a shocked “Who told you that?” And then I got “Well, you’ll never see it.”
I just shook my head and I’m still shaking my head. After all the fuss she threw over my brother and I getting tattoos?
I don’t know how to take it. My friends mom? Sure. She’s getting a full on sleeve, and that’s cool. I mean, I’ve met her mom and this doesn’t shock me.
My Mom?
WHAT?
by Sarah | Jan 30, 2014 | All of Us, Blogging Life, Random, SITS Girls, Sponsored
*This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Home Run Inn Pizza
This past month has been a crazy chaotic sort of month.
Foot surgery, insane weather, school closings/delays left and right.
Dinnertime has suffered the biggest blow in the midst of all of this. Namely because I’ve been laid up. I did pre-make a bunch of dinners, but once those ran out, Erik was left holding the bag.
Oh, who am I kidding, even at full strength, there are days when getting food on the table is more of an accomplishment than status quo.
On the days when dinner is a rushed affair, last minute, our favorite go-to meal is freezer pizza. The girls scarf down cheese slices (and face it, anything I can get them to scarf down is awesome). The boys and I totally dig the meaty pizzas.
The past few days I’ve been working really hard on finishing & editing my next book, so dinner has been more of an afterthought. So tonight I made Erik stop on the way home at Kroger and pick up a couple of Home Run Inn pizzas.
I know, I know–you think “Ew. Cardboard.”
Ah, but if you think that you haven’t tried Home Run Inn Pizza.
The taste of this pizza is so delicious, I even eat more than I usually do. I’ve even compared the crust to puff pastry, it’s so flaky.
No cardboard here.
Best part? My kids eat more dinner (which, in this house, all the kids have weight issues and need to eat more)–and it’s not bad for them. In fact, Home Run Inn pizza is all natural. Real meats and cheeses – no preservatives! So I’m still managing to feed them healthy when time is tight.
So far we’ve only had the pepperoni and cheese, but I know Erik’s itching to try the sausage. I’m sure he’ll have plenty of chances to try.
After all, around these parts, quick dinners are needed more often than not. And as far as I’m concerned, Home Run Inn is the only frozen pizza out there anymore.
Seriously, doesn’t that look good? Which one do you want to try? Pepperoni, Sausage, or cheese?
*~*
*This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Home Run Inn pizza
by Sarah | Jan 24, 2014 | All About Denver, The Teenager
As a teenager, Denver refuses to get his picture taken…So this post is a nearly identical repeat of the last two years and chock full of embarrassing baby photos in hopes he’ll let me get some NEW pictures to use. Happy birthday, brat. 😉
Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly.
~Ivan Turgeney
Sixteen years ago this minute, as I was in labor, I still thought he was a girl. The ultrasound said girl. Everyone said girl.
My dreams said boy.
My morning walk to induce labor I stopped not at the girls clothes rack, but at the tiny little suits, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the teensy little ties.
After three false labors I was forced to sit in the hotel room my Mom had reserved until I “Finally” stopped screwing around and gave birth already. (For the record, Denver was only 1.5 hours “early” for his due date.) When my contractions were finally 3 minutes apart, my mom called my OB, who then demanded to know why we waited. She, in her dry and sarcastic glory informed him that she wasn’t about to take me in if I wasn’t going to actually have the baby.
And so Denver made me a parent. With his perfectly round head and surprise appendage that made him decidedly NOT a girl, & made me wonder how in hell I was going to raise a boy.
But he was perfect.
The gorgeous blue of his eyes made me fall in love in an instant.
Everything on time. Every milestone reached at JUST the right moment. Every clothing size changing right at it’s declared time (0-3 months? Gone at three months. 3-6? Gone at six…it was eerie).
He was happy. Smart. Playful. Loving.
He was my world.
He was my mom and dad’s world.
The first born grandchild. The first born great-grandchild.
The star.
Our family grew. It changed.
Not always in the best, most fair ways for him. In truth, sometimes he was forgotten, because he was so ‘perfect’. So easy in comparison. (I hate myself for it, but it is true).
It never made him less loved.
In many ways, being the parent of a teen is infinitely harder than raising the young ones. He isn’t satisfied with easy answers. He sees the world around him in such a different light. He sees things that a younger child wouldn’t. He understands and absorbs everything. Things that I sometimes haven’t the slightest idea how to explain to him, to clarify.
Right now he is struggling, battling against an internal battle I can’t resolve for him. Fighting against the common, and always unique and personal pain of being a teenager.
But in his heart – he is a good kid. He is smart. He is still loving.
He is annoyed with his parents. Embarrassed that his mother has a tattoo and plans more. He hates failure. He strives to do his best and no one is harder on him when he fails than himself. Interested in photography. Science. Math. Writing. Cross Country.
He dreams big dreams. Of being a doctor at Riley so he can help other kids like him.
He achieves big things. Advancements in Boy Scouts, Junior Honor Society.
He struggles to fit in.
He is 16.
In so many ways.
He is my baby.
In so many ways – he always will be.
Happy birthday to my oldest, my first born.
16 is a big number. But you’re just getting started.
by Sarah | Jan 22, 2014 | All About Kennedy, Cystic Fibrosis, Special Needs
One of those “perfect” dreams I had when I was pregnant, especially when I heard it was a girl, was doing their hair.
I couldn’t wait to braid and ponytail and twist and bun. I’m not kidding when I called it a dream – because I did actually dream of doing these things.
Several years ago I tried. As you can see in the picture, while I managed to make some complex hair styles, Kennedy had thin, thin, thin, hair with a few bald patches in the mix. In this picture, K is 4 years old.
Another problem she had is how insanely brittle her hair is. I have pictures of the back of her head where it looks like a hellish rats nest – freshly brushed. It is so brittle and harsh, it’s hard to believe.
Today my little beauty is nearly 8.
And her hair is, if possible, worse. After a brief period where her hair seemed to thicken, it’s once again thin, exceptionally brittle, and she has resumed the issues of bald patches. Currently, her hair is kind of really long – or at least part of it is. There’s been so much breakage, that it gets sort of thin at the end, and dead.
I’d love to attribute this to genetics, but neither Erik nor I ever had an issue like this. My hair gets brittle now because I’m such a ginormous fan of colorizing…but mostly mine’s very thick and healthy, and so is Erik’s.
So…we think it’s the CF.
We’re going to step up her vitamin regimen a little, and this weekend we’re taking her for a cute bob-style cut…but what else can we do?
I’d still love to be able to achieve the dream of doing her hair while she’s still young enough to want me to.
Or at least let her have the chance when she gets older.
Any tips, tricks, or natural remedies for thin/brittle hair?
(For reference, we have used the BioSilk product on her…yes, I know it’s not natural, but it’s AMAZING when we have time to do it…I use it on myself, too. Love that stuff, but it only helps with the dead ends and softening. I wouldn’t mind some equally amazing natural remedy!!)
by Sarah | Jan 20, 2014 | All About Molly
Christmas of 2012 Santa brought Molly a new toy.
A stuffed unicorn in a purse that said “Sparkle”. Of course, Sparkle became her name.
Sparkle spent all of 2013 well-loved and adored. She was so much Molly’s favorite toy that by October she was looking pretty tired.
Her sparkly horn no longer sparkled, the gold of her hooves was stripping away & one hoof needed full replacement.
The bright white fur had become dingy, and the flowers on her side faded.
Sparkle had seen better days.
So a letter was written.
A letter to Santa.
Asking if Sparkle might be repaired.
With the silly addendum that maybe he could make her colorful.
For two months Molly waited.
Once in a while you’d hear mention of how Santa would be returning Sparkle.
Just before Christmas, a few snags erupted, and Santa alerted me the “repairs” were in jeopardy.
But, at the last minute, he pulled through.
And for the second year in a row the best toy ever was Sparkle.
The favorite gift of the year, and continuing daily, was an ‘old’ new toy.
Sparkle is sparkling again…and so is Molly.
by Sarah | Jan 17, 2014 | All About Kennedy, Cystic Fibrosis, Special Needs
It started back in November.
An unusual phenomenon brought on in the unusual life of Kennedy.
She would start coughing.
Oh, sure, a CF patient coughing? Pfft, what’s the big deal?
For starters, it wasn’t a panic inducing wet, deep, ugly cough.
It was dry.
Random.
Every time we checked on her she’d declare “I just swallowed a string!”
After a while, she got annoyed with us constantly checking on her whenever she’d have another coughing fit.
This week, Kennedy had a checkup in the CF clinic and Erik asked the doctor about it.
Turns out, Kennedy can paraphrase the Disney movie, The Princess and the Frog.
“It’s not strings – it’s mucus!”
Yeah. We learned something new, and Kennedy can now yell at us appropriately.
Apparently it’s normal. The mucus in a CF patient is thicker, and when it gets in their throat it’s the uncomfortable sensation as if you’ve swallowed a hair that’s just sitting in your throat.
We don’t have to worry unless her cough becomes wet and thick.
Of course, that’s assuming we ever stop worrying.
(P.S. We don’t.)
Two and a half years ago, on my 35th birthday, I finally got my ink.
