<![CDATA[The Ericson Family Website

<![CDATA[The Ericson Family Website - Mommy's Blog]]>Thu, 24 May 2012 09:16:29 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Moved to a new location]]>Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:08:36 -0800http://www.theericsonfamily.com/5/post/2011/01/moved-to-a-new-location.htmlHey all, if you want to follow the ramblings of this mom, come over to my cancer blog:

www.funnythingaboutcancer.weebly.com]]><![CDATA[Nesting?]]>Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:34:15 -0800http://www.theericsonfamily.com/5/post/2010/10/nesting.htmlSo... the other night when I was standing in my bedroom, surveying the freshly vacuumed floors and all the spiffy, clean surfaces, I was suddenly reminded of the "nesting" feeling when I was a month or two away from giving birth to Caleb.

Which made me laugh.

Because apparently having your husband come home from a deployment is similar to preparing for the birth of your child?

Here's my list of similarities:

1. You are overcome with the urge to get your house "perfect" because you know that after they arrive, you won't have the desire to clean for at least the first couple of weeks.

2. You stock up on groceries... to prepare for the relatives coming to visit and just in case you don't leave the house for a few days.

3. My desire to finish the remodel to our house has increased 10 fold. When Caleb was coming, it's because I wanted it DONE. With Chris coming home, it was a convenient deadline to get me motivated because I wanted to "surprise" him with the changes. (Unfortunately I didn't get too far...)

4. You are excited and anxious all at the same time because you're not entirely sure what to expect. You know you love your husband/baby, but you feel like you might have to spend a little time getting (re)acquainted.

5. I've had people bring over premade meals. When Caleb was born, I didn't cook for a month . Looks like I'll have at least 2-3 nights of food from friends with Chris coming home :)

Here are ways in which they are different:

1. I'm not wearing maternity clothing.

2. I'm far more concerned with personal grooming than I was when Caleb was born.

3. I've LOST 30 lbs (instead of gaining it with baby) so I feel more like a hot mama than a hot air balloon.

4. I won't have to get up in the middle of the night 40 times to go to the bathroom (well not unless I've had several adult beverages).

So Chris, hunny, hurry up and get home because I've got our little "nest" all prepared.]]><![CDATA[I think I might puke...]]>Mon, 11 Oct 2010 09:25:33 -0800http://www.theericsonfamily.com/5/post/2010/10/i-think-i-might-puke.htmlSeriously.

I kinda feel like I might vomit.

I'm somewhere between 7 to 12 days away from seeing my husband and have this crazy mix of emotions going on that makes me feel like I might lose my lunch at any moment. It also causes me to wake up in the middle of the night for no reason... that is if I can get to sleep in the first place.

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve because I'm so excited. But maybe I'm also a kid that ate too much candy before going to bed because my stomach is in knots and I'm too excited/hyped up on sugar to sleep.

I'm at work, trying to concentrate... but every 5 seconds my brain goes something like this:

Work, work, work... Chris is coming home... SHIT! Chris is coming home!... There is still so much to do! I still have to (fill in list of menial cleaning the house "busy work" here)... And I need to get my haircut and paint my nails and (fill in long list of personal grooming things that I think I need to do here)... And OMG CHRIS IS COMING HOME!!!!... OMG! What if (fill in list of baseless, stupid, girl fears here)... OMG I think I'm gonna puke.

*take a sip of water and a moment to convince myself not to puke*

And this continues in a constant loop...

So Chris, the moral of this story is that if I look like I haven't slept or eaten in days when I meet you at the airport... chances are that I haven't. So hurry up and get home already!!!]]><![CDATA[SO CLOSE! Yet SO far away!!!]]>Sun, 03 Oct 2010 18:42:42 -0800http://www.theericsonfamily.com/5/post/2010/10/so-close-yet-so-far-away.htmlIt's OCTOBER!

OCTOBER!!!!!

I am so friggin amped!

October is one of my favorite months. Halloween is in October, and in the world of Cynthia, Halloween is kind of like a funner version of Christmas. I don't know why I love it so much, but I suspect it has something to do with my childhood love of playing dress up.

And October is the month that really feels like fall for me. The leaves start to drop, the scent of fall is everywhere and I start cooking chili and apple desserts and pumpkin stuff.

So in any normal year, October is pretty high up in my list of favorite months.

But THIS year, it also is the month that I get to see Chris for TWO WHOLE WEEKS!!!!!

I can't remember the last time I took a 2 week vacation (OK I can... it was 2004 during Chris' last R&R).

I am SO READY to see him again. We're entering into month 6 of the deployment and I need a break. I need my husband here. He is my best friend and nothing can make me smile or relax like having him around.

In preparation, I've been shopping, running, losing weight, scheduling salon appointments, cleaning, organizing, calling contractors, and more. I'm like a 4 year old in the month of December, counting down the days to Santa's arrival. I'm trying to be on my BEST behavior so I get the ONE present on my list... my husband.

So here is my prayer. Dear God, please make October go fast. And please keep Chris safe on his way here. A]]><![CDATA[A GREAT volunteer opportunity - Chemo Angels]]>Wed, 29 Sep 2010 07:40:57 -0800http://www.theericsonfamily.com/5/post/2010/09/a-great-volunteer-opportunity-chemo-angels.htmlSo I've been neglecting my blog.

Life's been busy.

Heck it's still busy, especially with Chris coming home in just a few weeks! I'm like crazy, having a difficult time focusing at work, kind of excited. And we're still WEEKS away... UGH!

Anywho, I do have LOTS to blog about, and I"ll get around do that very soon, but before that I really want to take a minute to tell y'all about an organization I just became aware of that I think is amazing.

I don't promote much (if anything) on this blog, but this one is very near and dear to my heart.

The organization is called Chemo Angels.

I'm not sure if y'all are aware of my family history, but breast cancer has reared its ugly head many times in my family. I've lost 2 aunts to this disease and my grandmother is on her 5th bout. I lost another cousin to colon cancer.

On an even more personal note, due to this family history, I am considered high risk and will need to start getting tested annually within the next year at a high risk clinic. I think you can see why I am a huge cancer research advocate and why cancer charities hold an especially soft spot in my heart.

One of the main treatments for this disease is chemotherapy, which any cancer patient will tell you is it's own little hell. There's so many side effects that include nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and others. It's truly a difficult time for every patient and their family.

What Chemo Angels does is help to provide a little extra support during this treatment through letters, cards and small gifts. It might not seem like much, but think about how much you enjoy getting a personal letter in the mail. Not a credit card offer, or junk mail, but real handwritten mail. I still smile a HUGE smile every time I find a "real" letter in my mailbox.

That is what this groups goal is, to provide those patients with a smile and something to look forward to every week.

However, this charity is not for those with major life changes coming up or those that are disorganized (like me). They only want individuals that can commit to sending out something on a weekly basis, without fail.

If this is something that strikes a chord with you, or if you know someone that is currently going through treatment and you think could benefit from a program like this, go visit their site and learn more about it.

I've linked to it a few times already, but just in case, here's another link:

Chemo Angels]]><![CDATA[Caleb is truly a model now...]]>Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:04:09 -0800http://www.theericsonfamily.com/5/post/2010/09/caleb-is-truly-a-model-now.htmlThat would be because I've now downloaded a photo editor and have been learning how to use it.

Having a great camera and knowing how to use it will only get you so far. That being said, I am still learning how to use my camera to it's fullest ability so I will probably be using photo editor more than necessary until I get better with my camera.

For the women that are reading this, now you have a prime example of why you should NEVER feel like you need to measure up to magazines. If I can do this with a free downloaded photo editor, imagine what professionals can do with one of those awesome, professional grade, photo editor thingies.

So here is all I did. I adjusted the sharpness, brightness and contrast of the photo, which is why one looks so much brighter than the other. Then I added some slight vignetting to the edges in an attempt to draw as little attention as possible to the people in the background (Caleb is a STAR and needs to be the focal point). I did some very minor retouching to remove some food from his shirt and make him look like a clean little boy.

I love photo editor!

It might possibly for sure be my new obsession.

]]><![CDATA[Murphy strikes again]]>Fri, 10 Sep 2010 22:00:57 -0800http://www.theericsonfamily.com/5/post/2010/09/murphy-strikes-again.html

Caleb is limping.

No idea what happened, think maybe he might've hurt it while at the playground? But it wasn't a big enough fall for it to be anything serious.

Maybe he just landed on it funny.

But he's limping.

Which caused me to momentarily lose sanity today. I mean I think I've generally handled all the other disasters that have come my way pretty well. But this was the big 40 ton straw that broke this camel's back.

So before I go any further, he's OK. I took him to the doctor and he looked at it. No swelling, no specific pain spots, full range of motion, only a minor limp.

Diagnosis: if it doesn't get better in a week or so, give the doc a call. Otherwise expect it to get better.

It really isn't a major limp, just a little stiff leggedness when he walks and runs, and he won't put alot of weight on it.

But lets be honest, after this past month, I just assumed that it would be the worst possible scenario. I was expecting something like "he tore his ACL and will need surgery".

Oh wait... nope, that was my DOG!

Yeah so I know I didn't update you after the dog limping thing. Here's the update: He tore his ACL and needed surgery. He got surgery on Thursday, he's back home now, but there are severe limitations on what he can do.

Like no stairs.

And I umm... live in a split level. Which means to get to our main living area, that you have to go up stairs. So unfortunately for Bruiser, he is being confined to the basement, which we can access via the garage with NO stairs.

He also cannot run or jump or do anything that a dog would find fun. For 2 weeks.

Or possibly 6 weeks, depending on how he is doing.

*sigh*

Poor lil guy. Hopefully he'll be back and up to full strength soon.

And hopefully Caleb will be back and up to full strength soon.

And most importantly I hope that my streak of bad luck is coming to an end and that Murphy is getting bored with his games.

But just in case, keep me in your prayers cause it looks like I need it!]]><![CDATA[Tick-Tock, I've got a new clock!]]>Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:22:40 -0800http://www.theericsonfamily.com/5/post/2010/09/tick-tock-ive-got-a-new-clock.htmlI've slowly been finishing decorating the mostly done parts of our house.

Was that confusing? The mostly done parts?

Well, our house is still a work in progress on the renovation front. We've done SO much, but there are still a few remaining projects... which have been delayed by the NEW project of replacing the roof and possibly the siding.

Harumph.

Take our living room for instance, it is mostly done, however we still need to have a carpenter come in and do an overhaul of our stairs. That was project #1 on the list of things to do and I was feverishly trying to get ahold of a carpenter that was recommended to me for the last month. My goal was to have it done before Chris came home for R&R, but until I know what the final bill is going to be on the outside... I'm going to hold off on that project.

So in my twisted mind, improving the decor of the living room will draw the attention away from the unfinished stairs???

As if someone could overlook the lack of handrails?

So my improvement to the decor was hanging up a HUGE wall clock.

My overall "style" of decorating is a few large pieces with big impact. After we got the woodwork done in our upstairs, I knew I wanted a clock for this particular wall. I've been looking for probably 6 months now for the perfect piece at the right price (cause I'm cheap like that).

So when walking through Target the other day I was super excited to find this clock on 50% clearance!!!!

Now I know it doesn't look like anything special, but my criteria were:

1. REALLY BIG
2. Numbers (instead of roman numerals) so I can use clock to teach my child numbers/time when we get to that age.
3. Less than $50

I never knew how hard it was going to be to find a clock to meet that criteria. So when I saw the clock, I pounced on it! I swear, I snatched it up and put it in my cart, peering around suspiciously in case someone else was looking for this EXACT CLOCK and might resort to thievery to take it from my cart.

I shouldn't have worried, Caleb sat there banging on it for about 15 minutes so I"m sure anyone who might've coveted it probably thought it was broken.

Good news, it's durable too!

So here is one more picture of what it looks like in my living room. I LOVE IT!!!!!

Please ignore the messiness of the room... just focus on the clock!

]]><![CDATA[Retail Therapy]]>Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:03:31 -0800http://www.theericsonfamily.com/5/post/2010/09/retail-therapy.htmlRemember how I said everything that could go wrong was going wrong?

Well Murphy struck again!

OK, so here's the long-winded version of the story (this is my blog, I can be as long winded as I like).

I travelled the last 2 nights, hence the lack of video on the website. So when I got home last night, I decided to treat my boys to a fun walk. Loose translation: Caleb barely slept while I was away and was crabby and walks always help when he's in one of those moods.

Both of my boys LOVE walks. Caleb enjoys being outside, no matter what form it takes. Bruiser just LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVES going on walks. In fact, I think he lays around all day, pretending to sleep, just waiting for someone to say the word "walk" in which case he leaps up runs over and starts licking your face.

This is cute if you're actually going for a walk.

Not so much when you've just said "I walked down the hall" and he is suddenly in your face ready to go out. It really is heartbreaking to tell him to go back to bed because there is no walk to be had.

I mean seriously, could you handle this face?

So we went for a nice long walk around this walking trail near the house. It's about a 2 mile walk in total and we've done it more times than I can count.

When we got home, Caleb was SO happy that I couldn't bear to go inside. I was secretly afraid he'd pop my eardrums with his shrieking. Which is why I decided we'd hang out in the front yard for awhile. I got out the sidewalk chalk and we started drawing on the driveway.

Bruiser decided he was going to randomly sprint around the yard. This actually isn't wierd... well at least not for Bruiser. Anytime we hang out in the yard, he usually just sprints from side to side for about 5 minutes and then lays down exhausted.

Well... during one of his random sprints, he hurt himself.

Yeah. SCREW YOU MURPHY!!!!!!!!!!

I have NO idea what he did. He was rounding the back of one of the vehicles and just suddenly started yelping. He made it to the grass and laid down and looked at me like "mom fix it!"

I hoped that it might be one of those moments like when he trips up the deck steps and then "walks it off".

But no, he won't put ANY weight on his back leg.

So we're going to the vet today at 4. I'll update you on his status later.

But for me, this was kind of the last straw. Life is throwing me lemons and I'm having a tough time finding the sugar to make the lemonade.

I decided I needed some retail therapy.

Specifically, I needed to replace the camera that SOMEONE STOLE OUT OF MY CAR WHILE IT WAS IN MY DRIVEWAY!

Nope, not bitter at all.

So I drove over to Best Buy, perused my options and walked away with THIS:

Nikon D5000

Are you like peeing your pants excited?

Or am I the only one that's getting all amped about running home and playing with my new toy?

Seriously. I am having a difficult time focusing at work because of the awesomeness that is awaiting me. Does it make me a nerd if I spend my Friday night playing with a new camera?

On second thought, don't answer that.

OK, so in typical female form, I got the camera ON SALE!

AND they had a "bundle" deal that included a second lens, camera bag and memory card!

Considering I'd have to purchase a camera bag and memory card no matter what, I looked at the price of the lens to see if it was worth it. Well basically the discounted amount mostly covered the cost of the lens. So it was kind of like getting a free camera lens! I LOVE SALES!

Is this what guys feel like when they shoot a 10 point buck? Or catch that HUGE fish??CAUSE IT'S AWESOME!

But seriously though, I've been pretty lost without my camera. I've never been a huge picture taker, but this blog and this website and this deployment have really brought out my inner shutter bug. And having only the camera on my phone is kind of like being given a crayon and asked to re-create the Mona Lisa.

So... to make myself feel better, and to continue to have things to post on this blog, I bought a new camera. I will play with my new toy ALL WEEKEND LONG so expect lots of photos on Monday :)

And Murphy, if you do anything to my new camera...you will sleep with the fishes.

]]><![CDATA[Betrayal by Nanny]]>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:59:15 -0800http://www.theericsonfamily.com/5/post/2010/08/betrayal-by-nanny.htmlThe Nanny has started going to garage sales to find cute toys/cheap clothing for Caleb.

For her it also serves the dual purpose of keeping Caleb well entertained for a few hours as he goes from sale to sale playing with tons of different toys.

I think it's funny to see what she finds and honestly I don't feel bad if I give it away/throw one of these toys because they cost approximately $1 per toy (or less).

That was until I came home and saw THIS:

Nanny, how could you?!?!

A VIKINGS HELMET!

Harumph. We need to move out of Minnesota.

Either that or I need my Pittsburgh people to start hunting for Steelers kids stuff so my child can be appropriately dressed for this coming season.

]]>