Excited for 2010!!!!!

I am so very ready for 2010. The past year has brought us many good times, we bought our first house together to raise our family in. I think that is the best thing to happen to us this past year. Unfortunately, all I seem to remember are the hard times (and we had a few). I prefer not to relive those moment by putting them out there for everyone. I think the best way to say screw you bad times for me is to say WELCOME 2010!!!! I am very optimistic and have big plans 2010.... so please don't let me down. ;-) Anyhow I'm going to keep this short. I wish you all a very Happy New Year! Please be safe tonight and if you go out for your celebrations please don't drink and drive.

I've included a video Mike and I took right before my surgery. We took Mikey sledding and it was sooooo much fun! I can't wait to be well enough to get back out there... maybe just a few more days.

Merry Christmas to ALL!!!!!

I must say that this Christmas is like no other. Mikey had the most wonderful time. Mikey came downstairs Christmas morning and his face just lit up with a smile ear to ear. Then he burst into the air and ran around the tree to check everything out. What an amazing site indeed. It took a while to unwrap the gifts as he had to thoroughly inspect each gift before he could unwrap the next. Mikey played and he played hard. I sat by the tree passing out gifts as I remember my Mother doing from my childhood. It was as though the torch was officially passed to me this year. I was in a lot of pain from my surgery 2 days prior, but I would not let that stop me from doing my job. I did it with a great sense of pride. Then when all was said and done, I stood in my husbands arms as we admired our beautiful little boy playing with each of his new treasures. It was a moment I hope to never forget. There were empty boxes thrown about, pieces of glittering wrapping paper, left to be picked up, decorating the floor. It was a wonderful holiday this year and the only thing that I would change would be if I could of had my father here with us (and maybe to have surgery at a different time of year).

I'm sure there are people wondering about my surgery. I've debated as to whether or not I want to blog about my surgery. I guess I have decided to. This blog is about all of us and this is a very big part of our life and our story. As you may know we've been trying to have another baby and it has been a heart wrenching experience for us. I have miscarried twice since having Mikey. Unfortunately with each miscarriage I have ended up hospitalized due to extreme hemorrhaging. After the second miscarriage I was left afraid that my desire to have another baby would possibly result in me not being around to watch Mikey grow up. That is NOT an option for me. So we decided to have some tests done to make sure I could have a baby safely. The tests showed that more than half of my uterus was filled with either extreme scar tissue (from the D&C's) or a septum. There was no way to tell until I had surgery and there was no way to have another baby with my uterus in that condition. So, on the 23rd my Mom and Grandma stayed home and took care of Mikey. Mike and I got into the volvo (my x-mas present from my lovely hubby) and we made our way to the hospital in Madison so I could have this surgery. I was so incredibly nervous. I didn't want my hubby to know, I wanted to be brave for my surgeon hubby. Silly right? I was also afraid that I wouldn't wake up from anesthesia to spend x-mas or any other day for that matter with my family. Yet, I am here with my family and typing this for all my loved ones out there.

Anyhow, I woke up. I woke up and I threw up. I was in the worst pain of my life. I'm still on the fence as to if this hurt worse than labor.... ok maybe labor is worse. This is right behind it though. I really didn't think this would hurt that bad. I had a laparoscopy and a hysteroscopy , four incisions were made. The surgeons found that I had a large asymmetrical septum in my uterus and a bad case of endometriosis. The septum was removed thus unblocking my fallopian tube and opening up my uterus. The septum has been there since I was born and is the reason Mikey came out 8 weeks early. The poor baby was pushed out by this damn thing. The good news is that I should be able to carry a baby full term now. Whoa-whoo! The bad news is the endometriosis they removed has a very big chance of coming back and with a vengeance. So by doctors orders Mike and I will start trying to have a baby right after I heal. I'm on estrogen to help establish a nice lining in my uterus for the baby to attach to. While pregnant the progesterone created by my body will help keep the endometriosis at bay. However, once I have the baby there is a high likelihood that the endometriosis will come back and possibly be worse. I had this stuff all over my insides including the outside of my uterus and the largest nodule my surgeon had ever seen on my bowels! Great, right? I'm of the mindset right now that I will worry about that once I get there. Right now we are so happy that we have the opportunity to have another baby. We have a great shot at having healthy full term pregnancy. All I want is one more baby. I'm not greedy, I just want a sibling for my son and another baby to shower with love, snuggles and kisses. So all in all this is a very merry time for my family. It's a time for hope and the prospect of new life. We wish all our loved ones near and far an especially wonderful holiday and happiness in the new year!!!!

Toronto: Part 2

Smooch and the groom, Tommy

Tommy & Christina....

you guys are great and we wish you a life time of happiness.


Mikey and the crew.
Mikey completely left us for the first time, he didn't need Mommy or Daddy. It was amazing and strange to see. All of you that know Mikey know what a huge thing this is. He's a big boy now.

Mikey and this little girl played all night together. If I didn't know better I would say that she was his first crush. The two of them kept track of each other all night. If Mikey was off playing with some other kids and so happened to get separated she would come over to me and ask in the sweetest little voice, "ummmm, do you know where Mikey is"?

(I must say the kids got great taste, she's just beautiful)

Party time!

Alright already. Can't I get back to playing now? Shesh!

Beautiful Babcia and handsome Dzia-Dzia

I told you we had Mikey in a tux.... here's the pics to prove it.

My very handsome men.

They clean up pretty nice in deed.

Toronto: part 1

We are home and as always it's nice to be home. Like Dorothy says, there is no place like home. We had such a lovely time visiting Mikey's Babcia Ania, Dzia-Dzia Andrew and Pra-Babcia Stasia. We enjoyed the big city life for a week and took full advantage of the shopping. I can't remember the last time I have spent so much time shopping. I went with my Mother-in-law and we had facials. That was so nice! As always my family spoils me. Anyhow, I've got a billion things to do besides type on the computer so here are the first set of Toronto pics. I still have to download the rest... the rest of the pictures are from our dear friends Tommy & Christina's vow renewal. It was a rockin' good time... these people know how to throw a party! Mikey even wore a tuxedo... way too cute.

Did you know that chicken nuggets also make great cell phones? Yup, he was pretending to call Misiu to make sure he was ok back in Wisconsin.

The Toronto Zoo....


Mikey was showing the baby orangutan his Thomas train. The baby just wanted some milk from his Momma.

Still thirsty.

Hmmm, I guess orangutans aren't as interested in choo-choo trains as humans.

Mikey's Aunt Kinga got him this blow up Bozo....

Mikey jumped on it, rolled on it, kicked it, hit it.... you name it.

All the boys had fun with poor Bozo.

This is classic.

We're not going to see the cousins at Christmas so we had our own Christmas for the kids.

The whole family decorated a gingerbread house...

Everyone had their own special touch.

Kinga and Natalia

Daniel, Mike and Mikey rockin'

Future Heart breakers

Mikey showing his trains to little Matthew... or just making sure he wasn't going to take them. Mikey is going through that lovely phase where everything is MINE.

More to come....

Jumping Bean

Happy Thanksgiving!

Don't you just love the morning of any Holiday? I know I do. I woke up and I just knew there was something special in the air. Soon, the smell of fresh brewed coffee and homemade muffins filled the air. My boys sat in their jammies. They filled their bellies with just the beginning of all the wonderful things we will eat today. Oh how I love Thanksgiving.

I have so many things to be Thankful for... my family is healthy, my son is growing to be such a wonderful young man. He has the World's best laugh, and he's the sweetest boy I know by far. I have a loving, hard working husband that goes above and beyond for Mikey and me. I have wonderful parents who are always there and never cease to amaze me. I have to say that without my Mom I don't know where my family would be this year. I'm so, so thankful for all her kindness and generosity. I have great in-laws and I'm truly blessed to have them in my life. Cheers to that!

Daddy had to work late last night so Mikey and I decided to have some good quality time making cookies together. I must admit I think his favorite part was the Nutella... yummy!

Every good cook must test the recipe to ensure its perfection.

Who knew ice cream scoops made such great stir spoons.

Mikey insisted on getting his own utensils from the drawer.

Clowning around.

Don't you just love the Rudolf apron I found for him? He thought it was super cool... which is all that matters.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone... we miss you all!!!

Getting ready for the Holidays!!!!

Smooch and I stayed up late last night getting the Christmas tree put up. It took a bit longer than last year as we had a new addition to the tree from my Mom. As most of you know, Mikey is slightly obsessed with trains (and dinosaurs). I don't know where she found this but she found a train where the tracks go around the tree, connecting to the center of the tree. Anyhow, we managed to get this thing together with some minor cursing (Mikey was asleep). I unfortunately wasn't smart enough to have the camera when he first saw it (remember first thing this morning he saw it). I did get his response about 10 minutes later and as you can see he was still very excited. Now we are waiting for Friday night so we can decorate our tree together. I can't wait!

Thank you Grandma Robin! We will enjoy this train for years to come and make many wonderful memories I'm sure.

Wanna play?

We have been having the best time with play-doh

We pressed and molded

and pressed really hard

and we made bunnies... lots and lots of bunnies!

(don't know why but bunnies were the thing this morning at our house)

doesn't it look like fun?

Come on.... wanna play?

Locks of Love

Before

After

I did it. I literally chopped my hair off. I've been dreaming about it for some time now. I couldn't quite figure what to make of it. I'm sure there is some great explanation out there in a dream book. I did find the following: To dream that you are cutting your hair, suggests that you are experiencing a loss in strength. You may feel that someone is trying to censor you. Alternatively, you may be reshaping your thinking or ambitions and eliminating unwanted thoughts/habits.

I don't believe that's it. I don't know... Smoochie are you trying to censor me? ;-) I might be trying to reshape my ambitions. I like that. I've been trying to be healthier. I want to make my body and ideal place to grow another baby (more on that in a later post). I've been going to the gym and I feel great. I still didn't feel like that was why I kept dreaming of cutting my hair.

I think I wanted to do something for someone else. I watch a program on locks of love a while ago... probably over a year. I remember being so impacted by this. I watched these women and girls sit there and have their long, beautiful locks cut off. A minimum of 10 inches is required. I remember thinking to myself what a great thing to do. I mean it's hair after all and for most of us it grows back. I'm one of those lucky people whose hair will grow back. I don't know if I will grow it back... I'm kinda digging my new hair style. On the other hand I could grow my hair back again and donate again. Why not, right? I really wanted to do this and I'm happy I did. The only thing that would be even better is for someone else to see this and be inspired to do something similar. Do something nice for someone else. Something that will change a complete strangers life... without expecting a thank you in return. That part is my favorite. I'm going to help someone else and I will never meet this person. I think it's kind cool.