Elf on the Shelf

Meet Jessery Stinkplum.

He’s our crazy Elf on the Shelf who joined our family two years ago.  

After some fun family brainstorming, the name Jessery Stinkplum came to life. It seemed quite fitting for our Elf, as right from the get-go it appeared that he may get himself into some crazy shenanigans.   

Last year he arrived in a box full of snow via Canada post

He dressed up as Santa Claus and wrapped a bunch of mini gifts

He hung out on the wreath

He made chocolate Initials for the kids

He hung out inside a big giant balloon (he could have finished installing the pot lights, and fixed the pillows on the couch if you asked me)

He tangled himself in Christmas lights and hid in the plant

He took a small airplane ride

He took a big airplane ride

He got into the toilet paper

He wrapped himself up, and then wrapped himself inside a mirror

He had green tea and mini donuts with Barbie on their first date

And then he married her

He drew moustaches on our Family photos

He turned our milk green

He started a “Reward Jar” for the kids and every time they earned a marshmallow, it went into the jar.  Once the jar was full he surprised them with hot chocolate and marshmallows so they could have a hot chocolate party.

He ate an entire bag of Werther’s

He painted our nails while we slept

He got into the baking supplies and baked cookies

Jessery Stinkplum and Barbie replaced our hand prints with their own

And of course he dressed up as a superhero.

These are just a few of the things that Jessery has been up to at our house, and we are anxious to see what is in store for us this year.

What crazy things has your Elf been up to?

Dear Mom,

I love you to the Moon and back. 

60 years ago(today), the World became a better place because you were born.   

I am so grateful for everything that you have done for us over the years, and for everything you continue to do.

You’ve taught us so much through our lives and we are so fortunate to have you as a Mom.

You have taught us what it is to be loved.

You have shown us the importance of family.

You've taught me strength-even during the most difficult times.

You taught me how to bake a cake for the most beautiful times.

You have shown me that life is too short to stress about the silly stuff, and having fun and enjoying life is so much more important.

You’ve taught me that no matter how deep I get myself into things, you will always be there to dig me out.  Even if it means staying up to bake all night...or all week.

Or even if it means chopping off all your hair to help reach my goal.

You’re always by my side. 

You’ve taught me that even though a “Utherus", a "hog dog" and "chicken scissors", don’t really exist- They're still pretty funny, and I love you for that.

You’re the most thoughtful and caring person I know. Always looking to make someone else’s life better by putting them before yourself. Even if it means giving up the last dollar in your wallet, the last bed in your house, or dropping everything you have to do, just so you can be there to give your time-even when you don’t have the time to spare. 

I cherish our relationship.  Our friendship.  Our telephone conversations 3 times a day. Our late night baking parties, our chit chats over a bottle of wine.

I love that you set your alarm at 5:30 am so that you can talk to me on my drive home after a redeye (even though you really should be sleeping).

I love that Amelia and Sam get so excited to spend every second with you and then hate coming home.  

I love how you have opened our house to everyone and anyone over the years, and how every holiday our family has grown to include so many friends.

I love how you love with all of your heart, and all of your soul. 

I love you because you are you, and I can only hope that one day my kids will feel the same way about me as I do about you.

I love you!

Happy 60th Birthday Mom!

You never know when your time will be up (Guest Post)

In 2011 I received some "Good Luck" wishes from a man named Mike (theBrainrunner) on Twitter.  I didn't know Mike, but we shared something in common... routine MRI's of the brain.  In 2008 Mike had a Brain Aneurysm that ruptured and today he is here to share his story.

Mike and his beautiful family

 You never know when your time will be up.

The day was November 3^rd 2008, as I sat at the breakfast table eating Frankenberry cereal with my kids, and preparing to go to work.  I finished my cereal and got up to go get in the shower. As I was attempting to get clean, the walls began to get fuzzy and hazy.  The next thing I remember was my wife trying to pull me up out of the shower. Evidently I had fainted. I remember being extremely cold and my head was throbbing like no other headache I’ve ever had. Somehow she managed to get me to the bed where she put some clothes on me.  She suggested that we go to the hospital because it wasn’t common for me to pass-out. I argued with her, but in the end she won out and called the paramedics without me knowing.
Somehow I ended up on the couch downstairs, not really knowing how I got there I thought to myself that maybe it was a good thing she called the paramedics. Somewhere in the fog that was my thought process I instructed her to call my work and let them know that I would be late. Her response was that she already did and told them I wouldn’t be in today at all. I work retail so this time of year is extremely busy and hectic and the thought of me not being there made me disappointed in myself. 

Approximately 15% of patients with aneurismal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) die before reaching the hospital. Most of the deaths from subarachnoid hemorrhage are due to rapid and massive brain injury from the initial bleeding which is not correctable by medical and surgical interventions. 

Once the paramedics arrived, I vaguely remember them asking all kinds of questions but the only one I really remember was when they asked me what I had taken. My response was “I don’t do that shit, I didn’t take anything.”  Then I was on a gurney being wheeled outside to the ambulance. Wow! The Sun was bright. It hurt my eyes and my head. I remember seeing my neighbors outside looking at me being loaded up in the ambulance and was embarased. On the ride to the hospital I was strangely aware of the turns and knew which hospital we were going to. My wife was up front, I think. I was in back strapped down to the gurney. I don’t remember the persons face who was in the back with me but I do remember them asking again “Ok, no one can hear but me, what did you take?” Annoyed and in pain I lashed out stating “I told you before, I don’t do that shit, I didn’t take anything” To me I yelled but later my wife told me she didn’t hear me say anything.I’ve heard stories of people having near death experiences and being able to see what’s happening as though they are a bystander. I always thought it was an odd statement, but I remember arriving at the hospital and as I was being wheeled through the corridors watching as though I was an onlooker and not really myself. Once in a room which seemed excessively small I told the nurse that I felt sick and she handed me one of those little nausea pans. I told her it wasn’t big enough and that I needed a bucket. She gave me something bigger and I immediately started throwing up.
Time from that point forward became very spotty, and I’m not sure how long it was before I was being told that I had a Brain Aneurysm that had ruptured. Evidently they had performed a scan of some kind on my head to determine this, but I don’t remember having it done.   

There is a brain aneurysm rupturing every 18 minutes. Ruptured brain aneurysms are fatal in about 40% of cases. 

Wow! The Sun is bright! Why was I outside? A Helicopter? I was being loaded into a helicopter to be transported to another hospital that could deal with my condition better. I remember the lift off, and being able to see the hospital below. 

I evidently arrived at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after a very expensive flight and was put in a Neuro-Critical Care room, and was promptly sedated.
My wife tells me that I was adamant about voting the following day and evidently she did what she could to allow me to do this. However, you need to be registered some time in advance to vote from the hospital, which I wasn’t. Until my surgery which happened on November 6^th, I recall very little. But evidently I had plenty of visitors, families, friends and people I’d not seen in a long time. Tammy (my wife) slept at the hospital many nights as the doctors were waiting for the swelling in my brain to subside enough for the surgery to be performed. The only real thing I remember of those three days was right before I went into surgery. I saw Tammy with her beautiful face right next to mine as I was being wheeled into the elevator prior to surgery. I remember having a moment of clarity where I gave her instructions on what to do in the event that I didn’t make it through the surgery successfully. Then I was out.
The next thing I remember was waking up on Sunday, 6 days after the rupture, and watching bits and pieces of the Colts and Steelers game on the television. However, I can’t even tell you if my Colts won or not. 

Of those who survive, about 66% suffer some permanent neurological deficit. 

 I spent a total of two weeks in the hospital recovering. I eventually was able to get out of bed and walk the halls with the help of Tammy and the aid of my IV holder thing. Eventually my little girls were able to come see me but I was afraid that the huge scar on my head where I had many staples would scare them. If they were scared they didn’t show it, they were as strong as there mom had been and all I saw in their eyes was love.
The recovery process was long, and sometimes painful. Back at home some of the medication I had to take made me nauseous and it felt like I had done a thousand crunches, my abs hurt so much from vomiting.  I was out of work for a total of 7 weeks, and was it not for the support of family we wouldn’t have made it through that time, because I did not have disability insurance. (I do now though)The following March I went back under the knife to allow the doctors to clip the other two aneurysms that were found (a total of three.) 

10 – 15% of patients diagnosed with a brain aneurysm will harbor more than one aneurysm.   

Since then I’ve made a full recovery and have had a follow up scan to make sure there are not any more aneurysms in my brain. I will also have to be scanned every five years as a precautionary measure. While lying in bed and recovering I made several promises to myself, and one of them was to make sure I live a healthier lifestyle. So in response I’ve re-kindled my love of running and have completed three half marathons and two full marathon. 

Live for today, enjoy your family and friends, and don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because you never know when your time will be up. 

theBrainrunner

Chop! Chop!

We would like to thank everyone so much for all the love and support we received during our latest fundraiser.  

A Grand Total of $1,352 was raised for the Canadian Cancer Society, and a lot of hair for Locks for Love.

Who's Hair?  From left to right: Paty, Amelia, Jen, and Jen (from a previous hair cut)

Here are a few Before and After photos:

Again, thank you so much for all of the generous donations we received.

xo
Jen, Paty and Amelia

Enough Talk...

If you know me, you know that I am the type of person who says they are going to do something... And then says they are going to do something... And then says they are going to do something...  And then writes it down on a list of things to do.

Eventually, most of it gets done... It just takes an incredible amount of list making to accomplish my goals.

The lists floating around my house can get pretty annoying sometimes, as there are usually 3 going at time.  One in the car, one in the kitchen, and one that I can never find.  

It's SO great... (a little bit of sarcasm inserted here)

I'll admit, it is pretty satisfying when you complete something and you are able to cross 3 things off your list... 

Not so satisfying however, when your Husband points out that you are, in fact, crossing off the same item 3 times, on 3 different lists.

Who asked him, anyway?

I didn't realize I had such a problem until my friend Sue Jean pointed out that she spotted one of my lists written on a ripped up pizza box.  I thought it was genius by the way, but she thought it was weird and bought me a box of note paper.

As a "professional" List maker, which I will now call myself, I have developed categories that I use on a daily basis.  

Feel free to use them if you wish.

The Important Stuff
Raise $10,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society

Write a blog post about hair chopping fundraiser

Find someone to cut your hair for free (preferably a professional)

Solicit donations from all your closest friends who are going to pretend they never read this part. :)

The Daily stuff

Make beds

empty dishwasher

Make dinner

Go to stupid work

The Fun Stuff

Bake Cookies

Go to HomeSense

Crank the tunes and pretend you're a Rockstar

The Necessary Stuff

Grocery Shopping

Wash Bathrooms

Vacuum

Laundry

The "I Have Absolutely NO Intention of Doing This" Stuff

Wash floors

Clean closet

Clean out storage room

Clean Garage

The "Holy Crap it's Almost 5pm and I Need Things to Cross off My List" Stuff

Write List

Have a shower

Email someone.  Anyone.

Look for something edible in the fridge for dinner.

Hope your husband doesn't read this list.

On August 31, 2012, I made a commitment to raise $10,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society in Honour of Mr. Shin and Lynne Ferris.

And every day since then, it has been at the top of my Important list.

We are almost half way to our goal of $10,000. From wedding cakes, to dessert tables, cookie favours and bake sales.

For months, I have been talking about chopping my hair for the next fundraiser, and talking about chopping my hair, and talking about chopping my hair.    

My 4.5 year old Daughter joined in, and so did my Mom.

So enough talk.  here we are.  Ready to chop, chop, chop. 

Short. 

We are aiming for the first week of April for our haircut.  No shaved heads, but it will be short.  I promise. 

 

The money we raise from pledges will go to the Canadian Cancer Society.

And the hair will be donated to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization which provides hair pieces for financially underprivileged children dealing with long term hair loss.

To pledge us online, please click here Or contact one of us.

If you wish to donate a haircut (or 3), or know someone who would be willing, please let us know.  

Please note:  we really would prefer a professional, so that excludes most of my friends and family. :)

Thank you for your support!