Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Lesson Learned

I can't believe it has been over a week since I posted on the blog. I don't know why I haven't been posting much lately. Maybe it's writers block. Maybe it's because of work. Maybe it's because I can't put down Twilight. I am thinking it is probably a combination of all of those factors. Especially the not being able to put down Twilight. Wow am I glad I started that series!!

Today a lesson was learned in the Wallace House. We have had some behavior issues with the girls. It has been hard to deal with. Especially their defiance when it comes to picking up their rooms. So on Monday they were told to pick up. When they didn't get their rooms picked up by Tuesday afternoon they were punished when they had to go to Grandma's house. They weren't allowed to play outside or watch TV. They were then told that if they didn't have their rooms picked up by this afternoon that they would sit on the couch at Grandma's house and not get to play at all.

Can you guess whether the rooms were picked up today? If you guessed NO, you would be correct! So when it was time to leave this afternoon Sam was NOT happy. I had to take Megan to her school for her 1st grade evaluation so I had to leave on time. When Sam decided that she was NOT going to Bamber's (that is what they call Grandma, and that is a story for another day) house, I decided that it was time to teach her a little lesson.

I left her at home and took Megan to school. Yes, I left her home alone. I knew Rick was on his way home and so she wouldn't be there for very long. But apparently she tried to run after me and I didn't see her. And in her haste to chase after me she locked herself out of the house. So when Rick got home he couldn't find her. She had walked down to her friend's house and had us all worried because we didn't know where she went.

When she was found she said "I thought Mom was just testing me." No, this was not a test! But it was a great lesson. And I am actually glad it worked out this way. Sometimes a parent just HAS to stand their ground. Today I stood very firmly on the ground!

I wonder how their rooms are gonna look before we have to leave tomorrow?

Until next time,
Jaime

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Liver Life Walk


Our fundraising efforts are in full swing. We are very excited to be seeing donations coming in on our behalf. It is an amazing feeling to be actually doing something to help in the fight against liver disease.

We are so excited, in fact, that we have added another member to our team. Can you guess who is joining our team??

SAMANTHA

That is correct! Sam will be joining Rick and myself in the 5K walk in the Oregon Zoo. She is so super excited to be doing this for Daddy!! You can donate to her fundraising efforts by clicking here.

We are very proud of her enthusiasm for this event. Never mind that she gets to miss a day of school, spend a weekend alone with Mom and Dad, go to the ocean for the day, and walk around a zoo. I mean really, what kid wouldn't be excited about that?!?!?

So go check out her cute little fundraising page. And check in on Team Rick to see our fantastic donors. We want to say a big Thank You to those that have donated already. We would love to not only meet, but exceed our goals. And with just a little effort, and some generous blog readers (hint, hint), we will be able to achieve success.

Thank you!!!

Until next time,
Jaime

Friday, August 14, 2009

Dr. S Day

By now you all know how much we LOVE Dr. S. I am so grateful to that man for taking such good care of Rick. If it wasn't for him I am certain that Rick would still be in a lot of pain.

We got to go visit with Dr. S this morning. Rick had the usual x-rays taken, sans paper pants :( , and we got to visit with the PA we saw before the surgery. He was very happy that Rick was doing so good. It was nice of him to stop by and talk with us. He remembered us and made the effort to see how everything was going.

Dr. S said that Rick's fusion is starting to really look good. He is growing even more bone and it is getting more solid all the time. That is such good news. We are so thankful that this has worked out so well. It is going so well that Rick doesn't have to see Dr. S again for six months. That is a good thing, but also a sad thing. I will miss him! He has been so wonderful!! He is the one doctor that we both really look forward to seeing.

It is so reassuring to know that we did choose the correct surgery. We knew that this was going to be the bigger surgery and that there was some risk involved, but it was not an easy decision to make. Rick wanted to smaller surgery, the rest of us thought that the bigger surgery was the way to go. I am so glad that we went with the bigger surgery. Dr. S said that this was definitely the right decision. Rick has no leg pain or numbness, and minimal back pain compared to what he had before. Of course the arthritis causes him back pain as well, but this made such a big difference for him.

So this should be about the last time you hear about this back thing until his next appointment, six whole months from now.

Until next time,
Jaime

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Pirate's Treasure

For the past couple summers when we are at the lake cabin the kids have been the very luck recipients of pirate treasure. There is apparently some wayward pirate ship that seems to have some very clumsy pirates residing on board. You see, they seem to keep dropping some very valuable treasure overboard that washes ashore onto our beach. And our kiddos are the lucky ones that get to keep the treasure.

I wonder how much money we could get if we cashed all that treasure in? I bet we would be trillionaires!!

Until next time,
Jaime

Monday, August 10, 2009

Meg O' Lantern

Megan lost another tooth. She pulled it out herself again. That girl will NOT let me wiggle or touch her tooth when it is nearing the end of it's residency in her mouth. After it was out she asked "Do I look like a Jack O' Lantern with all these missing teeth?" I thought that was so cute. So what do you think. Does Megan look like a Jack O' Lantern Meg O' Lantern?


She sounds so cute when she talks now too. I love the missing front tooth lisp.

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I can't believe it has been a week since I posted. I wasn't feeling good for a few days after we got home. And then I must have passed my bug onto the laptop because it didn't want to do anything either. I downloaded some new spy and virus software and it seems like that has done the trick. Now I need to find a way to download some extra energy for me.

Until next time,

Jaime

Monday, August 3, 2009

Liver Life Walk

Rick and I are both very excited to be joining the American Liver Foundation's Liver Life Walk in Portland Oregon. The walk is September 13th. At the moment Rick and I are the only members of Team Rick. Our goal is to each raise $150. I am the team captain and my site can be found by clicking here. Rick's site can be found by clicking here. Do you want to help us reach our goal? You can help by donating to Team Rick by sponsoring either one of us. Maybe you know someone in the area that would like to join our team. Or maybe you would like to join our team. You can join and help us raise even more money for the American Liver Foundation. We would both really appreciate any donation amount.

This is obviously a very important cause to us. This is the first time that either one of us has ever done anything like this. We are both looking forward to this walk. We will get to meet Carl and Dawn in person for the first time. Carl has been picked as the honoree for the walk. That is so awesome!

I hope that we are both able to reach our goal before the walk on September 13th. 5K is a long walk for us so hopefully we will both be able to be healthy enough to walk the whole thing. Better start working out I guess.

I will update with more information on our donation status as we start getting donations. Thank you in advance to anyone that donates. We really appreciate it!!

Until next time,
Jaime