Dear Charlotte,

I hope you embrace being a girl.  High heels, hair and make-up can be annoying but femininity is something to celebrate.

I hope you find your passion.  Your dad and I knew long before college which career paths we would take.  We were fortunate to achieve our goals and to find fulfillment along the way.

 I hope you stay close to your brother.  Sure you fight like dogs a lot, but since his arrival in our house you have been his greatest cheerleader and protector.

I hope, if you choose to marry, you find a man who makes you a better person.  Your father has done that for me.  He is my best friend.  I can trust him and laugh with him–two things that make a marriage stronger.

I hope you call me.  Cell phones may be obsolete when you move out, but pick a form of communication and touch base.  I will always support your independence as long as you remember who gave you your wings.

I hope when the world lets you down, and it will, you turn to God.  It took me until I was 28 to realize how much I can lean on him.  A relationship with Christ means never being alone.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 51

I do have to laugh at things that were common practice in my childhood.  Chins would drop if the same stuff happened today.  Like when my dad let my high school friends and I hang out of the sunroof of his used Porsche driving through busy downtown streets.  He was driving, of course.  Or all the times I went with my mom to the butcher and ate a raw hotdog one of the guys behind the counter cheerfully handed over to me.  They were so good.  I would climb in the back window of the car and “rest” as we were speeding down two-lane roads to my grandma’s house.  As someone with low blood pressure, it warmed me up to lie on the spot in the car that got the most sun.  Back to food, there was licking the cookie dough bowl clean.  Who cared about raw eggs?  No one ever mentioned the danger.  As for smoking, it was considered rude if you wanted to move away from it let alone ask someone to put a cigarette out.  I remember taking out nail polish remover on a plane only to be scolded by a flight attendant (we called them stewardesses) as passengers nearby were lighting up.  Yes, can you believe it?  I was able to get a chemical like that through security.

Hope to see you Sunday night at the Purple Light pancreatic cancer event!  8pm start time @ Overman Park Bandshell in Cedar Falls.  Click here to register. 

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 51

A lot of you take the time when we run into one another at the grocery store or when you email me to inquire about my family’s health.  Here’s an update:

Since having half my thyroid removed (per viewers pointing out the growth on my neck) in 2007, I have never needed medication as the remaining portion has always functioned normally.  A blood test is done annually to ensure this.  The pre-cancerous spot on my nose that was biopsied as benign in 2009 has gone away.  I continue to always wear a hat and sunscreen when outside and get annual full-body skin checks.

Since Dave had two migraines with unusual symptoms early 2011 that led to an MRI uncovering lesions on his brain consistent with multiple sclerosis, he has never had an episode or symptom to warrant medication.  At this point his case is still considered benign–something for which we regularly thank God.  He takes a daily migraine medication and has never experienced anything beyond a headache.

Charlotte had another large, round and flat mole removed from her scalp in August and, like the others, it was not cancerous.  The small incision has healed but still has a scab on both ends.  I just called her doctor concerned about this since what I thought was a healing scab before turned out to be something that had to be surgically removed.  So tomorrow morning I am taking her in before school to have the area cleaned off with peroxide–better a trained medical professional than Mom doing it.

Thomas had a 4th ear tube surgery in August that successfully removed a tube that had fallen behind his ear drum (impairing his hearing) and his adenoids.  A doctor visit today confirmed the year-old left tube is working and in place and the new, smaller tube in the right ear is intact and also fluid-free.  The scar tissue in both ears from multiple procedures shouldn’t affect his hearing, according to his otolaryngologist (ear, nose & throat doctor).  And no more sinus issues–like snoring!

 You’re invited to attend the 2nd Annual Diversity & Inclusion Summit on Friday, Oct. 5 from 8am-12:30pm @ Allen College in Waterloo.  The free event includes speakers and awards.  Registration required.  Click here to sign up.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 51

A line-drive softball hit from an adjacent practice field by one of our team’s best hitters busted my nose apart in 7th grade.  It ended my softball career and left a bump that, thankfully, parents who knew just what to say to a distraught daughter tempered the blow with a promise I could get it fixed.  No nose job necessary but a reminder that kids are fragile, at any age.  So it’s a blessing and somewhat of a surprise that my two climbers have yet to break a bone.  The list of friends and neighbors and cousins with casts and splints and braces continues to grow.  Another one added tonight with an elbow break.  Ouch.  Charlotte is fearless on monkey bars and swingsets.  Thomas attempts to mimic her dexterity.  But Nana always expresses concern one of them will get hurt.  You never know!  Did I mention she doesn’t climb down her top bunk?  She leaps.  (My daughter, not Nana. )  Were she a sumo wrestler there would be a hole in her bedroom floor.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 51

I was talking to a woman at the hospital this morning, going over insurance info for a future dermatology appointment, when something happened that reminded me why it’s not good to start out your week with a sleep deficit.  “Love you, bye,” I said as we hung up.  Closing our conversation with the same words I tell my husband.  That lady needs some coffee, she probably thought.  Then I almost backed over my neighbor’s inflatable pool as it had blown on our driveway in what seemed like 100-mile-an-hour winds today.  Thankfully I saw it before potentially damaging the LOANER from the dealership I got while dropping off my car when the engine light came on as I was taking Thomas to school.  No word on what’s wrong and/or if the warranty will cover repairs.  At least Friday I was able to avoid a ticket by running out of the salon when I saw the parking enforcement officer printing one by my car.  “I’m here!  I’m here!  So sorry my hair appointment took so long,” I pleaded.  She explained that she was just about to save it in her system but wouldn’t.  “You made my day,” I cheerfully replied.  “Glad I made someone’s day,” she smiled.  Saved me 10 bucks!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 51

I debated whether to share on here that I have been fasting, as a spiritual discipline, for the past five days.  Obviously you know my decision.  My version has been liquid-only, but anything you can drink.  So since Monday my diet has consisted of Slim Fast shakes (chocolate, strawberry & vanilla flavors), chicken broth, chocolate milk, white milk, hot chocolate, drinkable yogurt and tomato soup.  Surprisingly I was never hungry.  Chewing gum also was allowed.  I did this on my own terms as part of a voluntary group exercise through church.  Dave also fasted, choosing to drink a lot of Slim Fast & vegetable juice during the day then having only peanut butter a couple nights and really not much else.  It was much tougher for him since his job as a PE teacher requires way more activity than my desk job.  I did take an intermediate yoga class mid-week and I have to say being calm and centered came more easily when I wasn’t bloated or full from stuffing my face days prior.  The experience has proven to me what I already knew; that I turn to food for comfort or boredom way too often.  It also revealed that when I do something purpose-driven I can be incredibly disciplined.  Of course my husband brilliantly pointed out to me that at midnight our five days will be up.  And despite having to emcee a race at 8 in the morning, I will stay up to take my first bite of food since Sunday night!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 51

Some signs your kids are growing up are obvious–shoes too tight, pants too short and pull-ups no longer necessary.  But occasionally a moment happens that makes you smile and sigh all at once; a distinct point in time when your little one takes another step toward independence.  It happened to me when Charlotte started first grade in August.  As I did last year, weekly I join her for lunch.  In kindergarten her table would be dismissed for recess and she would hold my hand hoping I could stay to watch her do the monkey bars or some other playground feat.  Most times I would stick around for a while longer.  Now she’s a whole year older.  As I walk beside the line of kids going out for recess, I am still beside her but no longer hand-in-hand.  She reminds me each week that when we pass the EXIT sign that’s my cue to go.  Today she added, that’s when “I want you to leave.”  I get it.  With each lesson and experience she is coming into her own.  I’m okay with it.  I guess.

Benefit for Paul & Lori Schmitt from Orange township Friday, Sept. 21 in Waterloo from 5-10pm @ Knights of Columbus, 1955 Locke Avenue.  Free-will donation for meal, silent auction and live music.  Paul has Stage 4 colon cancer.  Lori has MSA (Multiple System Atrophy), a rare debilitating & fatal disease.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 51

I recently sorted through a large stack of emails and letters saved during the past decade.  Printed off or tucked in a desk drawer because I found whatever was typed or written at the time to be entertaining or worth keeping.  The strange thing is when reading the stuff I wrote, it’s like hearing from a different person.  She’s my former self.  The one years of marriage and motherhood and, well, life experience replaced slowly and subtly.  There were phrases and comments that would sound foreign to me leaving my lips now.  Of course there were things I put down in an email that sound hilarious to me today.  Like you had no idea what you were talking about but thought you were so knowledgeable.  It’s both uncomfortable and comforting.  To know that you’ve evolved, matured, moved on.  And one day you’ll wake up driving that SUV with the booster seats in back passing that single girl with the compact car and the radio blasting that you used to be.  I smile at her reminding myself I still haven’t figured it out either.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 51

Dave has always at least entertained some of my requests.  Not always acted on them, but carefully considered.  Case in point dressing up for a Roaring 20′s party hosted by one of my co-workers and her husband this past weekend.  When I first told my husband about it, I didn’t include the detail about going in costume until the end.  He was less than enthused.  Our past includes Halloween couple costumes like belly dancer/sheik, pro-wrestler/ring girl and (his most regretted) Red Riding Hood/big bad wolf in grandma’s nightgown.  If I felt like taking the time to dig them out of photo albums stuffed in bins stacked in our basement storage, I would scan the pics for your entertainment.  Thankfully for Dave’s sake I will not be doing that. 

Instead I will share the one pic he knew I would post from the party.  The one where he would have looked that much better in his pin-striped suit had he put on the matching fedora he was holding in his hand.  He refused.  At least I got him to play along for the 1,000th time.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 51

Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake

no-stick cooking spray

1 1/4 cups original baking mix (I used Bisquick)

1/2 cup reduced-fat (2%) milk

2 cans (14.5 oz each) Chef Boyardee spaghetti and meatballs

3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup sliced turkey pepperoni

1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray 13 X 9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.  Combine baking mix and milk in medium bowl; stir until soft dough forms.  Drop dough by spoonfuls on bottom of baking dish (will not cover bottom completely).  Spoon 1 can spaghetti and meatballs over dough and sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese.  Top with remaining can spaghetti and meatballs, remaining cheese and pepperoni.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until dough is done in centers and browned.    

Amelia Reicks

 Benefit for Amelia Mae Reicks this Saturday, Sept. 22 @ Pub at the Pinicon in New Hampton.  Silent auction & BBQ pork meal served 4-7pm.  Live auction starts at 7:30pm.  Plus bake sale & raffles.  Click here to see auction items.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 51