Surprises: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This past week, and this upcoming week, are full of surprises in our family.  Some have been good, some have been not-so-great...

On Tuesday, my grandma and my mom's birthday, the plan was to surprise my grandma for her 80th birthday...the surprise was two-fold.  Not only were we having a "surprise party" (she knew we were having dinner, but not that we had invited some of her oldest, dearest friends), but her youngest daughter and grandson were flying in that day to surprise her as well.  They were going to hide out at my house until dinnertime, and surprise her at the party. Well...that didn't exactly happen. My uncle, who didn't come with them this time, called to tell my grandma happy birthday, and told her to enjoy her time with Kathy and Bruno and he's sorry he couldn't make it this time.  Yup, he ruined the surprise.  Turns out we had made sure to tell everyone not to tell about Kathy's arrival, but we had failed to tell her own husband that it was a surprise!

My grandma and her friends

On the bright side, everyone was very happy to see Kathy and Bruno, and the surprise party went by without a hitch.  My grandma was so surprised and she thoroughly enjoyed the evening with some of her best friends.  It was so fun to watch her enjoy her special day!

Now, the ugly...in the past 10 days or so, both of my kids have been sick.  Two of their cousins have been sick.  My mom has been in bed for 4 days now.  And, as of today, another of their cousins, as well as my husband, are dealing with a high fever and just plain yuckiness. Now that is a surprise that no one wants to see coming their way!  Unfortunately it came my way as well...but it was accompanied by more contractions and severe leg pain, which altogether led to my doctor sending me to the hospital to get checked out.  BOO to those surprises. BOO.

Boy or Girl???

But let's end on a good note...and this one is a great one!  Only 3 days from now, my best friend (chef Laura) will be finding out the gender of her baby.  The suspense is literally killing me.  I cannot wait to find out if I'm getting a niece or a nephew in December!!!  I'm sure she will think of a super-cute way to tell us, too.  Yet another surprise to be excited about!  Hooray!

This week I am wishing all of you some happy, surprise-filled moments.  None of the bad and ugly stuff...and if you come anywhere near my family members, make sure to wash your hands! :)

Luckier Than Most

On Saturdays we look for the good in people.  Well, this Saturday there’s only one thing I could tell you about, and that is how lucky I am to have the people that I have in my life.

Yesterday I took a turn for the worse (yet again) in my pregnancy.  I had severe pain in my legs and my back was killing me, so I made an appointment with the chiropractor. I dropped my boys off at my grandma’s house, where everyone had congregated after a day of garage saling (my aunts, cousin, and all the kids).  I went to the appointment, came back and laid down for a bit.  Unfortunately, I only started to feel worse.

A few hours later, the contractions had gotten closer together, and then all of the sudden I spiked a fever of nearly 103 degrees. We called the doctor’s answering service, and when my doctor called me back, he said I had to go to the hospital to get checked out.  I was not a happy camper.  This would be my third trip to the hospital this pregnancy, and the thought of going again and getting sent home again just made me cry.

And so, the whirlwind of my helpers had begun yet again.  My aunt Jeannie, “aunt Barb”, aunt Kathy (who’s visiting from Boston…lucky her!) and Grandma Shirl took care of my kids all afternoon, and then when it was time to head to the hospital, my cousin Elyse was there within minutes to meet me, Matt, and Kathy.  They hooked me up to the monitors, checked me for the usual complications, and yet again everything came back negative.  And of course my temperature was back to completely normal by the time we got there.  Only the leg pain remained, and they had not a single suggestion for that.

So, around 10:30 last night, we headed home.  My dad had come to relieve everyone else, taking my kids to his house (where my mom also happens to be sick…what a mess!).  Matt headed straight to bed, because he works at 1:30 am on Saturdays.  My aunt Kathy stayed with me, helped me get to bed, and then my aunt Jeannie came for the overnight shift to make sure I was ok during the night.  She was there when I woke up, made me some toast (and even cut it the way I like it…maybe she can teach Matt a thing or two!), and when she headed off to church this morning, Elyse was there to replace her.  Elyse stayed all morning with me, helped me get up and get ready, and drove me over to my grandma’s house so that I could be with my boys.  And yet another day today of everyone helping us…as I write this, at 9:30 tonight, they are all just now getting back from taking Sam for a good walk down by the river, and I will now be heading home to get the boys to sleep.

How many people can say they are this lucky?  To have a literal army of helpers, family members, who love them and are willing to show up at a moment’s notice to take care of your every need.  I hope that I never take for granted what I have in my life.

Midnight Feedings

No, this post is not about babies.  Well, not exactly...

...due to two sick children, being pregnant and uncomfortable, etc., I haven't slept more than a couple hours in the last five nights.  This is not normal for me.  And during the precious hours I have gotten to sleep, my lovely youngest son Cooper has decided to wake up and come to our room and torture me...he is the worst to sleep with ever!

Wednesdays posts are about food, and that's what this is all about. Any time I get woken up, no matter what time of night, I am starving.  I'd like to blame this on the pregnancy, but it's really how I am all the time--just worse when I'm pregnant, of course!  And so last night, after the kids finally got to bed at 11 and 12 (yes, that's right! too much birthday partying at our house I guess!), I had a snack and drug myself up the stairs to my bed. Two hours later, I was up again.  And again three hours after that.  You get the picture...

Unfortunately, I have had so much pain during the night, I can't even bring myself to get out of bed and go downstairs to the kitchen for a bite.  I feel so pathetic even typing this, but it's true!  So I lay there and think about food...and last night was the worst, because my refrigerator is full of yummy food that people brought for the party we had. It's pure torture!

So I leave you with this thought today:  be thankful for a full night's sleep, if you get one.  I've never had trouble sleeping, so now I have a new compassion for those of you who suffer with insomnia!  And another thought...keep a snack by your bed.  :)

Here's what was running through my head last night...

my grandma's red white and blue-themed birthday spread last night...

birthday cake #1 (my grandma's)

birthday cake #2 (my mom's)

The Party House

When we first called the realtor and came to walk through our house, it was in foreclosure.  Every wall was covered in beer (and other) stains, there was not a single interior door left in the house, and every room was painted a ridiculously bright color.  As we guessed, and was later confirmed, it had been quite the party house for Ambrose students (only a few blocks away).  Long story short, by the time we moved in nearly a year later, there was no evidence left of the "party house" days.  However...

A very special wedding reception at our house.

...as we brought more and more of our family members to see our new home for the first time, the consensus was:  "every event will now be held at Sara and Matt's house!".  This scared Matt a little bit (our family is big, and very close...I'm sure he was picturing our door hanging open with random family members walking in and out at all hours of the day).  But for me, it was exciting...I love being the hostess, and the truth is we didn't get to host too many things at our first house because we lived the farthest away from everyone.

And so, very quickly, our house returned to its "party house" status.  Definitely not the same kind of parties (I can count on one hand the number of times we have even had alcoholic beverages in our house at all), but still parties...and some great ones, if you ask me!  Not only have we had birthdays and family get-togethers...we have hosted three baby showers, a cook-off, two Super Bowl parties, a Mafia-themed New Year's Eve party, and even a wedding reception!  Every single one of the parties has been a blast, and I look forward to so many more!

Blue and Brown Owl-Themed Baby Shower!

Our Mafia/Casino New Year's Eve Party!

So why post about this today?  Because today is a special day.  My grandma Shirl, one of the best people in the whole entire world, is 80 years old today.  And you guessed it...we are hosting the party at our house.  My mom and my aunts will be invading the house to clean and decorate, and Laura (or Chef Laura, as you all know her) will be here to set things up and help us look fancier than we actually are!  And to make it even better, it's technically a surprise party!  I mean, she knows that we (the family) are having dinner at my house, but she doesn't know that a lot of special people are coming to celebrate her 80 years.  I'm so excited!  I know it will be yet another great time with our favorite people, our family and our friends, and my grandma deserves a celebration more than anyone we all know!  (And for those of you who don't know, I can't write this post without mentioning that it is also my mom's birthday, too! Such a special day for our family!)

Happy birthday to my mom and happy 80th to my grandma Shirl!

Mi casa es su casa

As always on Tuesdays, we are looking for “the good” in our home.  However, it’s not always our own home that makes us feel special, or loved, or “at home”.  We all have places, whether near or far, that hold a special place in our heart—places we have made memories, places we have grown up or grown together, places we love.  Today I’m sharing a few of my “homes” with you…

1.My parents’ house(s)…Of course I have an attachment to the house (duplex) that I grew up in.  We moved there when I was three, and my parents didn’t leave there until I was almost done with college.  Nearly all of my childhood memories were made there…birthday parties, Christmas mornings, my first pet (a Pekingese named Squirty), and just the day-to-day life of me, my mom, and my dad.  Wonderful times—I was lucky to have such a good childhood.  And now they have a new house…one that I thought I would never live in with them, but never say never!  After my husband and I sold our first house, we ended up moving in with my parents for about a year until we found our new home.  And so, we now have a lot of memories at my parent’s “new” house, too!  Especially because our son spent much of his first two years there…he went from the cradle to the crib there, he first climbed stairs there, he started talking there, he started sleeping in his “own” room there…SO many memories of our precious first born!  And in fact, we even brought our second-born son home to their house from the hospital!

2. My grandma Shirl’s house…As I have mentioned already on the blog, my grandma’s house is usually the meeting place for the whole family.  And not just at holidays or special events—we are there every week!  Most Saturdays we are seated around her kitchen table, sometimes just 5 or 6 of us, sometimes 10 or 15, or more!  It has always been this way, I don’t remember a time that we didn’t have Sabbath lunches at her house.  In a way, all of us cousins grew up in that house.  Many of us have even lived there at one point or another…for me, it was in college, after my grandpa died.  Those few months gave me a lot of new memories of her house—just the two of us living there, reading books at night and eating breakfast together.  I even woke up in that house on my wedding day!

3.My aunt Jeannie’s house…Yet another place that I actually did live!  When our house burned down when I was in 5^th grade, my parents and I moved in with my aunt Jean, my uncle Steve, and my cousin Elyse.  Our time living there was an emotional roller-coaster, after having lost nearly everything we owned (including our pets), but at the same time enjoying the bond between family, and realizing how lucky we were to have them in our lives.  Jean had always been like a second mom, and Elyse like my sister, but after living together, the connections were only stronger.  We brought home our new pet, my dog Molly, to their house—what a special time for a little girl!  Now that we are all grown up, Elyse and I send our boys there to Jean’s daycare, where they play with the toys that we grew up with and they are learning to love each other as we do.  It’s a special place!

4. My in-laws’ (old) house…No offense to their new house, but I have a special place in my heart for the house that my husband grew up in.  Since we started dating when we were 16, and they only recently moved out of that house, we obviously spent a lot of time there!  I met all of his family in that house, we spent many nights watching movies or playing games with our friends there in high school, and it was in that kitchen where Matt announced to a whole group of people that he had asked me to marry him.  When they decided to move about 2 years ago, I think I might have been just as sad as Matt!  We fell in love there, and I guess I just thought they would always live there…but hey, we are starting to love the new house, too!  Our boys go there a lot, and their dede (grandma) has made them a wonderful playroom in her basement.  New house, new memories to be made!

5. Spain…I know this isn’t a home, but I did live there for 6 months in college, and I felt such a connection to that place, to the people.  In fact there is a home where I feel at home there…it’s a 2^nd story flat on the busiest street in Seville, called Menendez-Pelayo.  There I met my house mother, Maravilla, and her wonderful family—most importantly her son, my life-long friend Álvaro.  Without him, and my other friend Chelsea, my experience in Spain would never have been so good.  I fell in love with the country, the lifestyle, the music, the food (ha!), all of it!  No matter how long it takes me to get back there, I will always have a tugging to return.  Anything related to Spain makes me miss it—watching a movie, hearing a song, even seeing something “Spanish-looking” or eating Spanish food (by the way, if you want Spanish food, I know the place for you!  I will be posting about it soon…keep an eye out!).

I think 5 “home away from homes” is more than anyone could ever ask for in life!  I consider myself beyond lucky to have grown up in a family, and a circle of friends, where there were so many welcoming homes, so many loving people who shared their four walls with me.  I am forever grateful to all of them, and I hope that my children have as much luck to find so many “homes” in their lives, too.  As long as their favorite home is mine!

Do you have any “home away from homes”?  Why are they special to you?

Little Surprises Make A Big Difference

Today was my fourth day of bed-rest.  Let me tell you, four days is enough.  I don’t know how women do this for weeks, even months!  I am bored, I am tired of sitting on the couch and having other people do things for me, and mostly I am sad that I cannot pick up my kids or run around and get them what they need like I always do.

I have a lot of help, and I appreciate each and every one of my family and friends who have been here for me this week.  We are having baby girl’s baby shower at my house, so today everyone was coming to help me get ready.  It was a busy day, lots of things to get done and lots of people running around.  I had a lot of extra hands helping me clean my house, decorate for the party, and take care of my two boys.  But I have to admit, with no offense to everyone else, that my favorite bit of the day came this afternoon…my mom, aunt, and friend came to the door yelling “meals on wheels”, as they brought in a plate of food that my grandma had made for lunch.  Everything looked delicious, but then I saw the foil-covered second plate…

…my favorite thing in the whole wide world, my grandma’s apple pie.  Sometimes little surprises from the ones we love can really make a difference.  That piece of pie just melted in my mouth, and it made me feel so much better.  It really did.

And so today, as you go about your day, try to remember that sometimes the smallest surprises are the best, and sometimes people could really use that surprise, in a small or even a big way in their lives.  And if you are in need of a little pick-me-up, I hope that you get it soon!

PS…the best part is, she sent two pieces of pie, so I am going to sleep with a smile on my face, knowing that the other one is waiting in my kitchen. And yes, I will be eating it for breakfast.

the BEST apple pie on earth. hands down.

What was one of the best “little surprises” that you ever got?  Why was it so important to you?

My Grandpa Sam: 100 words or less

*Today, on Memorial Day, it has been exactly 9 years since we lost my Grandpa Sam to cancer.  I can barely believe those words, even as I type them.  Nine years, and yet some days it hurts like it was yesterday.  But, because the purpose of the blog is to “look for the good”, that’s what we will do.  My grandpa was not perfect, nor anywhere near it, but he had a lot of good in him.  Here’s my 100 words about him:

He always whistled…always.  He was a collector of junk, a garage-saler, and had a sweet tooth to rival anyone (I can never eat a Chips Ahoy without thinking of him).  He loved his country—he was in the Navy, he was a Police officer, and also worked for the Sheriff’s Department.  I miss his laugh, I miss the way he teased us, and I miss watching Iowa basketball with him.  I wish he was here to meet my boys (one of them his namesake), and yet I find comfort in knowing that we will see each other again someday.

..and there you have it. With one word left to spare!  I pray that all of you spend this Memorial Day remembering the ones you have loved and lost, and the ones who serve our country every single day.  I know that for us, we will be doing both.  Here’s to you, Gramps.

me and my Gramps, 1984

The Raley Girls.

Because today is Mother’s Day, I am obviously dedicating this post to my mom, Patti.  But I would also like to acknowledge some other very important women in my life, all whom have loved me and cared for me throughout my entire life.  Let’s call them “the Raley girls”…

The Raley girls (AKA my grandma, my mom, and my four aunts)
with my cousin Elyse on her wedding day

My Grandma Shirl:  Where to begin?  She is my namesake (we both have the middle name Hope), she has always been one of my favorite people in the whole world, and she has been a shining example in our family of what it means to be a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, a friend, and most importantly, a Godly woman.  She is the closest thing that I know to a saint…always taking care of us, all three generations of our family, and always with a positive attitude about it.  I could go on for days, but let’s just leave it at this:  I have the best grandma in the entire world.

Joan: As the oldest of the Raley daughters, Joan has always been a loving presence in my life.  Some of my fondest memories as a child are running up and down the hallways of the Quad City airport (where you can no longer run, it’s so sad!), waiting for our Aunt Joanie to arrive, all the way from California!  She was always so happy to see us, and we were always so sad to see her go back!

Becky: My aunt Becky loved to take my cousin Elyse and I out shopping when we were little girls, because she never had a daughter of her own (she has two boys).  We loved going with Aunt Becky!  And we still do! She’s always good for a laugh, and she has the sweetest, sweetest heart.

Jean:  My aunt Jeannie is the closest thing I have to a “second mom”.  Nearly all of my childhood memories include Jeannie, and I would not be the person I am today without her in my life.  She is such a positive influence on all of the children in our family, and there is not another daycare in the world where I would rather have my children while I’m at work.  I cannot imagine my life without my aunt Jeannie in it!

“Patti” (AKA my mom!):  The reason I said that Jean was almost like a second mom to me is because I really didn’t need a second mom!  I had the best mom (and still do).  My childhood was filled with happy days—reading stacks of my favorite books(Chicken Soup with Rice, Come to the Doctor Harry, Over in the Meadow…), watching our favorite movies (the Sound of Music, Pollyanna, the Swiss Family Robinson…), and going to our favorite places (Wild Cat Den, Scott County Park…).  My mom didn’t work until I went to school, and I am so thankful for all of those days with her—and all of the days since then, too!  She has helped me become the woman I am today, the mother I am today, the friend I am today, the wife I am today…she is always here for me, always loves me, and every day when I see her loving on my children, I am reminded of how truly lucky I am to have her as my mom. My boys are so lucky to have her as a grandma!  And the very best part about my mom?  She’s all mine! (I’m an only child!)

Kathy: If you read last Friday’s post, you already know that my aunt Kathy and I are “soulmates”.  When I was only 12 years old, I flew across the country by myself to spend a week with her, and then it became tradition.  Soon my cousin Elyse joined me, and those were some of the best times of our young lives.  Kathy was always the “cool, fun aunt” because she didn’t have kids of her own (yet) and she let us do whatever we wanted!  She is still the cool, fun aunt, and we love heading to the airport to wait for her and her son Bruno to arrive for a visit!

And there you have it…my grandma Shirl raised five beautiful, loving daughters, and I am lucky enough to call one of them my mother.  I thank God for putting me in a family with such strong women to look up to, and I pray that my daughter will learn as much from them as I did.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and anyone else who has the incredibly hard, yet incredibly satisfying, job of raising children in this life!

*And a special Happy Mother's Day to my mother-in-law, Debbie.  Thank you for raising the wonderful, wonderful man that I am lucky enough to call my husband.  He is loving, fun, respectful, and all of the things that his mama taught him!  My children are so lucky to have "Dede" in their lives....we all are!