Back to The Normal Life

Who am I foolin'? There's nothing remotely normal about my life. I put my Grandma & Grandpa on a plane to Kalamazoo, MI on Monday. It was bittersweet. I really enjoyed spending time with them...knowing that they would never make it back to Florida, but I was really busy having two more people in my house.

I think Dan gained 10 lbs in the past two weeks. We ate a whole lot of Midwestern comfort food. My grandparents could easily eat a loaf of bread and an entire stick of butter with every meal! On Sunday I made a traditional Czech meal of roast pork, bread dumplings with gravy, and Czech-style sauerkraut. My grandparents and my dad enjoyed it. Me, not. so. much.

This is my grandma...a beautiful lady...making Knedliky, Czech bread dumplings.

Happy 10th Anniversary Dan!

10 years ago today I married my best friend. A man who adored me, which is beyond my understanding. Looking back over the past 10 years I reflect on all that we've experienced together. My graduation from college, a trip to West Virginia for white water rafting, we built a house, we went to California and drove up the Pacific Coast Highway from L.A. to San Fransisco - one of the most beautiful experiences we've ever had together. We have welcomed 3 beautiful children into our life together - which is by far THE most beautiful experience we've had together. We've experienced grave illness when Dan's Dad had a massive heart attack 5 years ago. He's still with us and we are thankful for that. We've had friends come and go...some have gone to be with the Lord, and some we've just grown apart from. But, we're still here. Our marriage is a constant in our life that is influenced by so many variables.

With each new experience comes newer and sometimes greater responsibility which we all know makes marriage a challenge. I feel so blessed that after 10 years, and 3 kids, we can still laugh together and love one another. I love Dan for much deeper reasons than when we married 10 years ago. I love him for the way he (usually) understands me, for the father he is - I am so blessed that my girls have a daddy that loves them with all his being, I sometimes see him hugging them and I can see the energy surrounding them, it's magical. I love Dan for his knowledge - he's a smart guy! I love him for his caution, and his ability & willingness to analyze and research almost everything - even though it drives me crazy sometimes, I'm so glad he has the energy and the insight. I love him for keeping me in check and telling me to just let it go. For his constant reminders that I have the bar set too high and it's alright to lower my standards. Most of all, I love him because he sees something special in me that I have never been able to see in myself . Dan has taught me love. I've learned a lot, but I still have a lonnnggg way to go! I love Dan for his patience with me.

Looking forward...the next 10 years will bring even greater challenges and responsibilities. We'll have 3 teens in our house! I pray that we'll still have our parents in our lives, and that we'll all be healthy, safe, & sane!

Danny Jahn, my jigar I love you! It's been a wild ride and we haven't even reached the summit. I'm so glad I have you in my heart and by my side to keep it real! Hang on! I suspect the next 10 years are going to be pretty bumpy, but I think the best is yet to come.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

We Have To Work Fast Around Here!

My Grandma has been begging me to let her help me with the cooking. I keep refusing, insisting that I don't need help and I can get it done FAST! Yesterday I finally let her help me dice the onions for dinner. Well...it took every bit of inner strength not to snatch that onion away from her and do a Rachel Ray to it. My Grandma, bless her sweet little heart, diced that onion slice, by slice, by slice. The problem was that I needed that onion in order to move forward in my prep.

Today I wised up! I cut the onion and I gave her a bunch of carrots to peel and slice. See, I can accept help and still get things done quick.

I am enjoying having my grandparents here, although it's a lot of work. Don't get me wrong, these are two healthy elders, but they do both have diabetes, and take a slew of meds for blood pressure and high cholesterol...although they eat whatever they want whenever they want. I don't get it. Anyway, I digress. My grandpa came here with two meds that needed to be refilled, but her just brought the pills, without the bottles! So, I had to take the pills to the pharmacy and say, "um, I'm sure this isn't the first time, but..." Anyway, while I was standing in line to pick up the meds, I though to myself, "one of these days I'll be doing this for my parents." Hopefully not anytime soon - my kids need to grow up first.

This Is Where I Am...

I've been off the radar for a couple of weeks it seems. First of all, my Internet connection has almost been non-existent as of late. By the time the blog loads, I have to leave it to do something else. Second, I've been trying to have a quiet time each day and that means no time for blogging. Third, I'm stinkin' exhausted. Fourth, my octogenarian grandparents are here visiting from Michigan, for TWO WEEKS! Did I mention I'm exhausted?

Funny thing, each time I send my Grandparents pics of the kids I invite them to come to Florida. I tell them I have plenty of room, would love to see them, etc... Well, out of the blue they called me last Friday, from the ticket counter at the airport, to tell me they would be flying in the following Monday. Oh. My.

Well, today is Monday. I've survived a week of near-diabetic-crises, "leaky" stools, sight impairment, and hearing loss. I'm glad they're here, it's wonderful to see them, but I can't help but wonder how they survive on their own? My Grandma wants to help with everything, what a sweet little lady! She's from Czechoslovakia. My Grandpa married her while on tour there during WWII. They've been married 63 years! It's so obvious they come from a different time. My Grandma wants to buy toilet paper to replace what they've used. Are you kidding me? They ate peanut butter sandwiches while I was at work on Wed. because they didn't want to "get into" the leftovers. I think I've finally convinced them that "Mi casa es su casa."

I'm enjoying sharing old stories with my Grandma. She's sharing things with me that I've not had the privilege of knowing. I'm a very sentimental soul and I love learning about my family's past, but usually nobody in my family is very willing to share.

My kids are having quite an experience with their Great-Grandparents too. I hope that they will have some fond memories of this time, as it may not come again.

Grandma & Grandpa at the park.

Grandma coleecting the eggs. She's just like a kid when she sees that there are eggs in the nests!

Sophie's Birthday

Last Sunday was Sophie's Birthday. The fact that it was also Easter complicated things for me. I wanted to have a party for Sophie, but it was Easter. I'd decided to postpone the party for a couple of weeks but then had an epiphany...Adam and Katie's Birthday is 6 weeks to the day after Sophie's Birthday. I realized the longer I postpone Sophie's Birthday the closer we are to the twins' Birthday. oh. my. So a last minute decision...I had a small family party for Sophie on Easter.

Sophie's arrival into our lives was bittersweet for us at first. The twins were 14 months old when I realized I was pregnant with Sophie. I questioned the Lord and His will for me. I had just experienced the toughest year of my life having had two babies at once and here I am pregnant again. How would I do it? How would I survive three months of morning sickness with two active toddlers? How would I take care of a newborn in the middle of the night when I had a toddler (Adam) who wouldn't sleep through the night?

It wasn't until she was born and the doctor exclaimed, "wow, she's a round one!" and the nurse called out her weight of 8 pounds that I knew everything was going to be okay. Since April 12, 2006 there has not been a single day of my life that I haven't thanked God for Sophie! She is such an incredible gift! Her smile lights up my life, her laughter tickles my spirit, and her love warms my heart. She's precious! Happy Birthday Sophie!

This is the Barbie cake my precious Sophie enthusiastically requested for her Birthday. I was adamant that I wasn't paying Publix $47.99 for their Barbie cake. So, I googled it, and made this myself. I have to say that this was one of the easier cakes I've made and I was thrilled will the results. So was my Sophie!

Here she is! The Birthday girl! Such a sweet little doll!

Maybe It's This Weather

I have had a serious case of the "blahs" for the past couple of days. I just can't seem to get my head together. I'm exhausted! I just want to take a 6 hour nap. I've been "staring" down a pile of laundry in my bathroom all week. By staring down I mean refusing to do it. I'm not letting that pile of laundry cause me any anxiety. I'll do it when I'm good and ready, frankly I'm not feelin' it right now!

Dan hasn't asked me why he has to maneuver around this massive pile of dirty clothes. He probably thinks I'm rebelling. He's right! I'm taking back my freedom. My freedom from having to have my hands on all things filthy for 18 out of the 24 hours in my day. What ya think about that?! Watch out!