Sometimes.

Sometimes life just goes in a direction nobody intended. Last night Stephen Curtis Chapman's adopted daughter, Maria Sue, was accidentally ran over and killed by her older brother while backing out of the driveway. I can not imagine how I would deal with this, my heart goes out to them.

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The Mustache

This afternoon Lacy was playing with her aunt Larci. One of the things Lacy loves to do is make up songs about people. She currently has about three "Larci" songs in her repertoire. Today she brought back one of her oldies, but added a very funny twist.

For those of you who have never met the infamous aunt Larci, she has impeccable taste and sense of style. Her hair is always perfect, make up is always fresh, and she is dressed to the nines. So, of course, this made Lacy's song all the funnier...

"I love my aunt Larci,
she is my best friend,
she makes me happy
and she's beauuuuutiful...
and has a mustache!!!"

I laughed so hard I almost peed on myself... but that is an entirely separate blog entry.

(and no, she does not have a mustache... cause I am sure she went straight to the salon to get it waxed off!!! I kid, I kid.)

Dedication!

I want to dedicate this song to the man of my dreams. I know my place, and it's right here!

Legoland

Lacy and Randy LOVE legos. It's a passion I neither share nor understand. I do, however, like looking at the giant things that are actually made from legos. It is totally incredible.

A few days ago, one of the respiratory students from Victor Valley gave me three lego tickets! We are so excited to go look at the legos. Can't wait to share the pictures with you all!

Thanks Janice!!!!!!

Die Jacob Sisters

These ladies are all the rage in Germany... just thought you might want to know what the new big thing is... (I know the first part is in German)

Something New

I wanted to try something new with some pictures from earlier! Hope you like it.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The Doctor...

We are doctor people. At least Lacy is. So I guess that makes the whole family "doctor people". Lacy can easily rack up a half dozen doctor appointments a month! With a chronic condition, that just tends to be the nature of our lives. This morning was a follow up appointment at the opthamologist. The doctor has decided to tweak Lacy's prescription and give her something stronger. She also suggested an eye patch.

DR: "I think Lacy could benefit from an eye patch"

ME: "Are you kidding me? She already has a trach and glasses, now you want an eye patch? While you are at it, why don't you throw in an order for crutches too!"

DR: didn't say anything, just looked at me like I was serious (and maybe a little obnoxious).

Lacy: (thankfully interrupting the growing awkwardness of the moment) Are you going to poke me? (I think we all remember how Lacy does with needles!)

DR: No, sweetie, in fact I don't think I even know how to poke!

Lacy: Oh, well what are we going to do about this problem?

ME: What problem?

Lacy: The doctor doesn't even know how to poke! That's a problem!

ME: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

According to the Lacy Classification Scale of Medical Professionals, a doctor ought to know how to poke! Evidently a basic skill in Lacy's opinion! Regardless, I think the doctor could probably benefit from a personality, because from the look on her face she didn't seem to have one!

Congratulations!

So where does one take a mean looking bald man with a goatee to celebrate his college graduation and subsequent job offer with a very well respected medical center? Out for a brewski? Nope. To the auto parts store for a supercharger? No way. Hardware store for some new tools? Not even close.

Try: Sephora for some Hermes cologne. Let's not judge this book by his cover!

Introductions

In lieu of this week's profound thought, Lacy has taken to introductions. Often she likes to "bring to the stage" different disney characters, most prominently the Evil Witch (in Lacy's world this character has nothing to do with being wicked, her first name is simply Evil and last name is Witch), Nemo, Prince Eric and Ariel and of course Pooh Bear. This afternoon her introductions took a new theme:
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"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please!" (Randy and I were the only two in the room) "Please help me welcome to the stage...... GRAMPY!" Followed by lots of applause.

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When does David Letterman's contract expire? I think I know just the girl!

Mother's Day

This was the first mother's day I've spent with my own mother in close to ten years, I think! Traditionally, I was working at a restaurant. It was nice to finally see my own mother to celebrate mother's day. In addition it was my first mother's day as well.
We woke up early Sunday morning and made our way through Palm Springs to Palm Desert where we visited The Living Desert with my mom and dad. Lacy was pretty excited to see more animals, and of course get spoiled by my parents. As per tradition, they came with a chocolate donut for Lacy.

We passed through the gates and made our way to the giraffes. Where Lacy had the opportunity to feed one of them!
It was early Sunday, and we were each given a small tab of food to place upon the Giraffe's tongue. Of course this amused me... it occurred to me that maybe the giraffe is Catholic. Almost felt like I should confess some inequity and then toss in a few Hail Mary's for good measure. I resisted, I'm not Catholic anyway.

We were only at The Living Desert for a few hours, but it was H-O-T! I worried about Lacy the entire time. Didn't want her to overheat. I have read that CCHS kids don't regulate their body temp too well and can be very intolerant of heat. Lacy did turn a terrible color of red/pink (which I know was not a sunburn because I covered her with sunscreen early on). I dumped water over her head multiple times, just to make sure she stayed cool. She was pretty lethargic on the way home, and it did make us worry. But, she bounced back just fine. After our trip to the desert we headed out to Randy's mom's house to celebrate with her as well. Through all of the excitement, Randy forgot to grab her cards and we felt badly about it... but now she gets to celebrate her day again when they arrive.

My MIL bought me the cutest metal flower that I attempted to put outside as soon as we got home, but the ground was pretty firm and it wasn't going to budge. Randy said he'd take care of it ASAP! My SIL, Larci, bought me the cutest keychain and some YUMMY soap as a mother's day gift! It was pretty cool to spend some time chatting with those two.

On the way home that evening, Randy and I had a long very profound discussion about our family and the things we will allow and not allow in our lives any more. As we have grown in our marriage our roles have swapped little by little. My often unassured just-take-it-on-the-chin husband who never liked and often refused to make any decisions has blossomed into an incredibly confident man. He is not talking about doing new things, he is actively doing them. He is no longer dreaming of something more, he is accomplishing it. To assume that he is the same man that he was even three years ago is painfully inaccurate. Randy is a brilliant, hard working, thoughtful man who has grown up. I think there are multiple events that have brought Randy to this place.

The arrival of Lacy brought Randy a new perspective on life, one that he desperately needed in the midst of watching his incredible father struggle with cancer. The eventual passing and loss of his dad set Randy on yet another course of self-discovery. He refused to take a self-destructive route and continued to forge ahead. Despite the pain, (and, oh, was there pain) he has done so brilliantly. No longer is the little boy who allowed his insecurities be expressed through frustration and shutting down, he responds to life around him with directness and confidence.

At the end of our discussion Randy turned to me and said, "My father always taught me that family comes first. He did everything he could to protect and honor his family. You and Lacy are my family". I couldn't have been more pleased with my mother's day. I have an awesome daughter, and a husband that will protect us. A girl couldn't ask for more!

Comment Moderation

I have to moderate the comments. Some crazy loon has been leaving lovely notes for me on my old blogs, sorry.

Disney After Dark

So a few weeks ago we found out that we won some tickets to a Disneyland private party that was held after Disneyland was closed last Thursday night. The tickets were awarded to our family and the family that nominated us.

Sabrina and Zach joined us, as they were the ones who nominated us to go, and Christina and Robert came as well. As soon as Lacy saw Robert, she ran right up to him to say hello. She also made it a point to ride with him on multiple rides. It has become obvious to us that Lacy will most likely bring home the boys with tattoos and goatees.

Below is a picture of Christina, Robert, Lacy and Sabrina (Lacy, of course, riding next to Robert) on Pirates of the Caribbean. The morning after we were all the walking dead. It was a blast, but I was completely exhausted. When Lacy woke me up at the crack of 8am (at least she slept in!) I felt like I had sandpaper for eyelids.

Clips...

Lacy has started picking our her own hair clips to wear and placing them in the most random of spots on her head. This really bothers me. Lacy, however, insists that she looks beautiful. Obviously I let her, always wanting to promote a healthy display of her independent little spirit... but I cringe when she comes out with these ugly hair clips attached to the side of her head.The fact is, Lacy gets stared at everywhere we go. And by everywhere... I MEAN EVERYWHERE. I like to pretend it is because she is so darn cute, but I know that people are looking at her trach wondering, "What the hell is that thing?" As a consequence I make sure that 99.9% of the time, Lacy is wearing the cutest clothes, her hair is perfect, and her shoes are absolutely adorable. If they are going to look, they will have to admit that she is better looking than their own kid.

So you can see how I am not dealing well with this ugly clip thing. Even more, I know this is only the beginning. I am currently working on a sash that says "I dressed myself today" that she can wear over any especially hideous outfit of her own choosing.

And, no, I am not going to just throw the clips away. She likes to play with them, so I will deal with it. I just wanted to vent, that's all!

Today's Wisdom

Lacy's newest piece of advice...

"If you get into trouble, just use your powers they are inside your head."

Snuggle Bears...

Every once in a while Lacy can score a sucker exhausted enough to lie down with her... poor Randy, he is simply exhausted! How cute! This is 4 PM this afternoon...Lately Lacy has been giving us what we now call, "tips for better living". Randomly she will make an announcement of some deep thought. Here are last weeks nuggets:

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"The grass is always greener somewhere else"

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"Don't judge people you don't know"

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"Always tip your waitresses" she interrupted my shower to tell me this

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"Happiness and sunshine are everywhere"

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while holding up a Doritos chip, "Chips... Tasty on the outside and spicy on the inside"

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Yet again I ask... is this kid for real?