My turn

Last week was my turn to blow out the candles. As usual Alek was disappointed there was no big party, but he settled for singing and cake.

We ate outside as it was a gorgeous spring day. The boys were dirty and muddy and at least let me wash their hands before digging in, but wanted no parts of their faces being scrubbed yet!

Kevin surprised me with a beautiful new Adirondack chair for the front porch, so I was a happy girl! Now I can sit out front, read and be a nosy neighbor!

Saturday night we spent in Philly with friends. It was a good time and the Flyers won a great game too. The mojitos I enjoyed were fabulous and had me dreaming of the islands!

Grammom and Poppy kept the boys overnight and were craziness to also have Joe and Reilly stay over. 4 kids under the age of 5, God bless them. I checked in around 5:30, just as Poppy was unlocking Joe and Alek from the bathroom, apparently the boys thought it was funny to lock themselves in. Maks and Reilly competed for Poppy's attention and potty time as well.

They had fun, but I am sure it will be awhile before Grammom and Poppy volunteer for that kind of adventure again!

So it was a fun birthday for sure!!

Two weeks until my surgery. I have pre admission testing this week and my nerves have really kicked in, I have had way too much time to think about this and way too much time to question whether I should go through with it!

It just needs to get here and I just need to get it over with!

Happy Birthday!

(that scowl looks very familiar!)

Happy Birthday Kevin!! So I guess you are officially, over the hill now--but still looking pretty darn good!!

Alek was looking forward to a big party, he wanted to jump out and yell surprise, but daddy beat us home.

So we settled for some singing and cake.

Hopefully the new birthday grill will be ready for pick up this weekend!

Wonder what the chef will be grilling up?

Happy Birthday! We love you and hope this year is extra special and extra fun!!

Soccer starts

What a nice weekend we had. Saturday morning we spent at a Family Fun day set up by the international adoption clinic at CHOP. There were all different play stations and lots of activities. It was so nice to meet up with some families I had only spoken to online. It is wonderful to see all these amazing, beautiful families, and children from all over the world. Alek thought they were all from Russia, but I explained to him all the different countries of the kiddos he met. Once Maks warmed up to the situation, he really enjoyed himself. He loved the basketball nets and the moonbounce the best. Alek loved the moonbounce and swimming. He was so proud of himself that he did two flips in the water without taking a breath, he said next time he wants to do 3.

It was such a great morning, we all enjoyed ourselves.

The boys were even more excited to wake up from nap to find out Keeley and Ryan were coming up to play. As we were going to bed, Alek said he had such a fun day and wanted to do it all again tomorrow.

Today was the first day of soccer. Alek started with an ear infection last night, thankfully in the ear where the one tube is left, so it is draining well and the drops seem to help. Alek was very excited for soccer, especially since his shirts this season are orange. His favorite color. He did great during practice sesssion, altho it was so windy and he was complaining his ear hurt. Next up was game, he was ready, started taking the ball down field, and it was taken away by the opposing team and then came the tears. He was so mad they took it away. He went out and tried again, but he kept getting so upset. I could tell his ear was hurting him and it was draining alot. So we called it a day, apologized to the coach and headed home. Hopefully next week is a little better!! He said he would practice with daddy this week.

Isn't it Ironic?

Since being diagnosed with endometriosis 8 years ago, I knew eventually I would be looking at a more permanent treatment option. I have tried every medication (including a clinical trial), many surgeries, and alternative treatments. Everything works for awhile and then my symptoms rear their ugly head again.
Since our family is complete and we had no desire to ever try to get pregnant, I focused on just dealing with my pain. I had a good run for a little over a year, but the past six months I pretty much have been taking anti-inflammatories daily. I knew I was risking GI issues, so it was time to discuss the H word (hysterectomy). After several consults and discussions, I made my decision.

It is finally scheduled for May 12th, yes the day after Mother's Day. Kind of ironic to me that all I will be having removed was supposed to make me a mother, but didn't. Well I guess in a round about way, they did. They failed and we now have our two awesome boys and experienced the journey of a lifetime, so I guess I should really thank them for it. I have fondly named these parts, "the bitches". Seemed like a fun name for the group. I know this is the right decision as this is definitely affecting my quality of life and I have lots of worries of my increased risks of ovarian cancer as well. But it was definitely a tough decision to make.

I have definitely been going thru a wide range of emotions. I am looking forward to getting it over with and being able to hopefully live each day pain free. But I am also sad at losing part of what makes you a woman? I also am scared, scared at being young and going on HRT, scared of surgery and all the what ifs.
Thankfully I will be undergoing this laproscopically using the Da Vinci system (it is actually pretty cool). This makes my recovery time significantly shorter ( 2 weeks is all I will be out of work), altho I have been forewarned that it could take awhile to feel back to normal in terms of energy and strength. But I am optomistic.

So hopefully this all goes smoothly and by the end of the summer I will be a new and improved woman!!
I will try to enjoy my last month with the "bitches" and say my good byes!

To be a kid again

The boys have their new favorite game, I know, probably won't win me the Mother of the Year award I have been vying for, but I so remember doing this with my brother and the rug burns on the belly and all the laughs that went along with it. It totally cracks me up watching them do this.