HOW is this even possible!?!?!?!

This week is a CAHRAZY week!!! There's so much going on I need an itinerary!!! Friday, the 7th, DJ turns 18 and has his last day of high school...granted, today is technically his last day, the next two days are just grad rehearsals. Saturday, he graduates from Cedar Park Christian School!!! Sunday is our grad/birthday party for him. How did we get here so fast?!?!?! I swear I just dropped him off at kindergarten last fall! 

I thought I was more prepared for this, and I'm scrambling! I thought I was more organized, and I realize I'm more scattered than ever! It'll come together tho! I have faith! 

What are his plans? I get asked this a lot, and up until last week, even HE didn't know what his plans were! There was talk of just getting full-time employment. There was talk of joining the Marines. There was talk of him going to trade school (the same one his dad went to) and talk of him becoming an apprentice to be an electrician. In the end, the decision is all his! He finally applied to Lake Washington Tech, and we just found out last week that he was accepted!!! So now we know what his plans are! He chose Diesel Mechanic, and he's excited!! It's nice to see your kid excited about something! 

Ok, I gotta jet and keep looking for those photos I swear I had more organized than this! 

Til next time...God bless!

Ahhhhh She's HERE!!!!!

The newest member of the Hughes Crew has finally arrived!!! 

Aspen Louise made a grand entrance on October 7th, at 10:48 pm, after a grueling 40-hour labour for poor Katie! We'd been "in the know" since Friday and knew that labour had started around 7 am. The key was consistency and waiting til they lasted longer and came faster. Saturday morning dawned, and no messages or phone calls. We tried to go on with our Saturday plans, running Samantha to dance, Howie fixing the drawer fronts in our kitchen, picking Samantha up from dance, and running to Kirkland to find her earbud she lost somehow on Friday. That was quite the ordeal, actually, as it said it was located on the side of an on-ramp...which it didn't guide me to all that well, and we were parked in the little triangle that separates the freeway from the on-ramp...to no avail, unfortunately. But we did learn you can buy one earbud at a time...

I digress...we made dinner, and just as we were finishing up, we got word to head to the hospital!!! This was about 7 ish. At this point, it was just Howie, Samantha, and me, as DJ had gone to a pumpkin patch with some friends. We were asked to pick up some food for Katie for after the baby, as we all know you can't eat while in labour. Then, we went to the wrong hospital! OOPS! Made it to the right hospital, and since only 4 people could go up at a time to wait, Sam and I waited in the main lobby. At just before 9 pm, Howie, his sister, and her husband came down as we weren't going to meet her that night. Visiting hours are done at 10 pm. So, we headed home to wait for the news. 

That news came just after 1 am with a picture and her stats! Oh, my, she's beautiful!!! Sunday morning, it was all we could do to wait for the green light to go visit her!!! Miss Aspen weighed in at 8 lbs, with some very long legs bringing her to 21" long, and oh, she's SOOOOO cute!!!! She's definitely favouring the Hughes side! We visited for 2 hours, and all took turns holding her. I quite enjoyed watching Jake change her poopy bum too! These early ones are a breeze!!! 

We're heading over there tonight and bringing dinner for us. Oh, as for my grandma name (she's got three of us), I was toying with MiMa (MIssy and grandMA combined) and Gran...just cuz it's easier and MiMa is getting pronounced as Mee-maw, which is not the case! Who knew it would be so tough! To be honest tho, if she calls me DumDum, I'm gonna answer! 

Til next time...God bless!

Little Thing Called HPV

Let's back up a bit here...in September of 22, I established care with a GP here in Monroe finally, after 13 years of living here, I found a Dr locally. Not that we didn't LOVE our previous GP, but she moved her practice to Seattle, and that's my breaking point. So, the new Dr did the WHOLE work up on me because sometimes it's good to get that done! I haven't had a uterus in 8 years, so that exam isn't as regular now. In any case, the test results showed that I had markers for HPV and needed follow-up with more specialized knowledge.   Well....life got busy, and I forgot to follow up and got a call in January that I needed to make this appointment. I called that day and made it for April. Thankfully it was in between my Canadian trips to see my mom (See previous blog post) 

The appointment in April was actually a biopsy and not just any old biopsy, but FIVE of them from my cervix. Let me tell you, if this procedure was to have been done on a man, they'd've knocked his ass out to perform it. That actually would have been nice! I cried the entire procedure as it was incredibly painful! Yet, I somehow managed to get myself to work after and ride out the cramps I hadn't experienced in over 8 years! 

Two weeks later, I met with a gynecological oncologist to discuss my options as I was showing signs of precancerous cells. The next step was to do a procedure called a LEEP (here's a link to explain it better Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure (LEEP) | Johns Hopkins Medicine. Well, that went off without a hitch, except that they couldn't find my vein, and I ended up with a massive bruise on my hand from the first attempt. I had something called 'conscious sedation', and let me tell you, that was a trip! I thought I was on a Hogwarts ride from Universal Studios. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in my room, all done. Recovery for that was a week, but I was back to work 5 days later.

Fast forward to the rest of summer, and here we are, getting ready for cervical extraction and ovary removal tomorrow. I've been told that I'll not be able to lift anything over 10 lbs for a week, and recovery could take a couple weeks. I'm just praying BGH hangs on to be born closer to her due date of October 1st. 

And just like that, we're one week post surgery and the pathology report says, "No evidence of invasive carcinoma. Only High-grade pre-cancer" I'm to have a follow up pap in a year to check for the presence of HPV. I'll take it!!! 

Healing is going well, I opted before the surgery to NOT take the narcotics they prescribe as I like pooping more!! I slept in my chair for 3 nights and tried napping in the bed as it felt awesome to lay flat. Saturday I was able to drive again, and Monday I was back at work! 

We're all on baby watch now!!!! Any moment could be THE moment!!! Gah I'm so excited! 

Til next time...God bless!

The One Where I Updated The Blog

WOW the last few years have been a blur!!! I'm not even sure where to start! I guess with the kids is a great place! 

Jake is now married to our wonderful Katie and they're expecting their first child in October! Baby Girl Hughes (BGH), as we refer to her in our home, is already so very loved! Picking a grandma name is HARD!!!! Harder than it needs to be really. I really wanted Mumzy, but all three of my kids shot that down! Then we tried other names, and they didn't measure up for me. My main thought, I didn't want to be called Grandma Missy...I'd settled on GG, which for me meant, Greatest Grandma, and then a few weeks later, picked MiMa, which is MIssy and grandMA combined. Cute right? Honestly, she could call me dumdum and I'll answer! Jake also graduated in 2020 in the midst of the plandemic as a Doctor of Physical Therapy. They now live about a half hour away, which is doable by Mima standards! He's running a PT clinic in Lake Stevens and succeeding! Exactly what you hope and pray for as a parent! 

DJ is now 17 and will be a senior in the Fall, GAH! High school hasn't been the best for him, but the standards at a private school vs public school is HUGE! By my standards, he's doing okay and could do better if he'd apply himself. He's a smart kid! He's been working at Safeway since right after he turned 16 last year, and while it's not his fave, it pays for his gas and fun. He's also currently working the summer at Pro Club helping out in whatever camp they need him that week. After high school, he's still not sure what he's doing. He keeps threatening to join the Navy/Army and I'd prefer he didn't do that. By the same token, I also see how it would benefit him...still praying for him about it all. If nothing else, trade school is a definite option...but what trade? So many choices! 

Samantha is now 15! I was reading an earlier post that said if I blink, she'll be 14...so true! She's driving and working and dancing! Ok, so she's not driving solo just yet, still has 7 mos to go for that, but driver's ed is done, and she has one more driving lesson before she can take her test. She's also working at Pro Club for the summer in the summer camp program with DJ and loving it! This week, she gets to be in dance camp, even tho Ninja camp has been her fave so far. And dance...this kid is PASSIONATE about all things dance!!! She's been on the competition team since 2016, and each year more and more dances get added to her dance card. I truly marvel at her ability to keep them all in her head. She'll be a sophomore this Fall and working towards doing Running Start next year which means she'll graduate high school AND college at the same time! Then she wants to go to the University of Washington to study psychology and become a guidance counselor. Love her drive! 

Howie, he's SOOOO ready to retire! Like, last year! But the gubment says he has to wait til 67 and 8 months. Then our plan is to move to the west coast (even more west than we are now) and hopefully, he can set up shop as a Captain and charter fishing trips for people. Imagine, getting to fish as often as he wants!!! He and DJ are leaving this week to go to Port Hardy fishing. Since our freezer was just emptied due to lack of attention (the door got left open.) I'm anxious to get it stocked back up with fish!  He had his left knee replaced last year, and I can now run faster than him...hahaha, if you know me, you know that isn't fast at all! But still makes me chuckle! He also had and beat kidney cancer in 2016. Thankfully he was one of the lucky ones and just had to have the kidney removed with no further treatment other than the MRI's for the following 5 years until he was declared cancer free!  

And now me...there's so much to catch up on! It's been 8 years, so we'll just go year by year. 

2016 was the year of the cancer, but also my first time getting to go the ACM's in Vegas with a dear friend who managed to get us 2nd row seats!!!! What an amazing time we had!!! 

2017 I got my first work visa and got a legal J O B! I applied and was hired by Union Bank here in town and the commute was an absolute dream! 

2018 I was denied my green card and had my work visa expire, which meant I had to quit the bank. Took a few months to regroup, and got another work visa 10 months later and the bank wanted me back! I wanted to be back! I loved getting to know that people of Monroe and my co-workers were the BEST!!! 

2019 was a banner year for me in that I FINALLY got that elusive green card!!! OOH boy did we celebrate!!! Legal is a GOOD feeling! Such a weight off my shoulders that I'd been carrying around for 16 years! Yes, 16 years!!! 

2020 was a horrible year for everyone as the plandemic hit and we were all forced to stay home. Literally, everything was cancelled as you well know. The kids switched to online school for 3 months after thinking it would only be 2 weeks to "flatten the curve" and I became their part-time teacher. Who decided kids could be accountable for doing their work online?? ha! What a joke! DJ graduated 8th grade with 3 kids in his class. Thankfully the high school we chose opted to do in-person school that fall, and after some fancy footwork, we got Samantha enrolled too. 

2021 was almost as awful! The bank I worked for closed the branch I was at and moved us all over to Woodinville, well almost all, one of my coworkers changed jobs completely instead. After three months of commuting 45 minutes instead of 15, I decided to quit the bank. I then got hired at Cedar Springs Camp and loved it!! They didn't like me enough apparently to keep me on year-round, or even hire me back for the next summer. It's all good. In September my mom had her first stroke, and I flew home to help her recovery. Ended up staying 3 months as my dad started declining and was put on hospice. I left December 20th to be with my family for Christmas. 

2022 my dad passed away on February 3rd as his body had had enough. My mom suffered a few more small strokes, sold the house they'd lived in for 20 years, moved to a senior complex, and basically started over at the age of 79! I flew back for his memorial in May so my mom wouldn't have to spend his birthday (also their 50th anniversary) alone. I also helped get rid of a TONNE of stuff she didn't have room for in her two-bedroom apartment. That summer, Jake and Katie got married in Index, WA literally days before the town was shut down for wildfires. Twas a beautiful ceremony and evening! In September I started a new job working in the office of a local company that makes screen printing framed and panels. Back to the nice 20-minute commutes! And lunches in the park! 

2023 started off great! And then BAM it wasn't! March 17th the leprechauns tripped my mom and she fell and broke her femur in two places. Front and back, right up near her hip joint. Then she had two massive strokes, and we didn't know if she was gonna make it. I flew home on the 20th to be with her and the rest of my siblings around her bed. Now, I didn't go to medical school, but, given the location of her strokes, and what was affected, I'm pretty sure she had the first stroke that caused her to fall down from standing still. And then had the second one after her 6 hour surgery as when I spoke with her, thank you facetime, I noticed her droop was pronounced. It wasn't til the next day that it was confirmed she'd had two! I ended up staying for three weeks, once we knew she was stable and ready for rehab. She ended up being in hospital for almost 13 weeks before being discharged. It was determined that she couldn't live unassisted, so we found her a different senior place with 24 hour nursing care. Got her moved and two days later she was back in the hospital as they thought she'd had a heart attack. She didn't, but it was discovered she had 6 blockages in her heart that could close up at any time. It was also learned she has had 8 strokes total! She's a walking miracle. She was finally released on July 5th and is doing great in her new place! 

That brings us to today, July 10th, and it's been a beautiful summer! With more fun to come! Samantha and I are going to see Six, the musical, in Seattle this weekend, and the boys are off on the 13th for their fishing trip. Howie and Samantha get to go see Taylor Swift the weekend after. We've got three weddings to attend in August and BGH will arrive in October. Whew! Oh, I also switched jobs (again) and now work for a lawyer here in town doing proof-reading and being a gopher! I absolutely love it! 

I guess this is a long enough post for now! 

Til next time...God bless!

I can't believe it's been almost 3 years since I last blogged. Life sure has been crazy busy. DJ is coming up on his ninth birthday next month and Samantha turned seven back in March. Last post I said if I blinked should be 14, she's halfway there!!!

Both kids are doing phenomenal at school. DJ is just finishing up third-grade right on track and super smart. Samantha is just finishing first grade and is loving school so much. Most of that is because of her teacher. She just lost a baby tooth last night, one of the front ones up top and it sure is a cute smile. There's still two more wiggly ones in her mouth....only a matter of time!  DJ is lost all eight of his baby teeth so now we move onto molars.

Yesterday was Mother's Day and my oh my was I spoiled! Starting with breakfast in bed.… And cards and letters and pictures… Then off to church we went. After that we went to Costco and picked up dinner. Back ho starting with breakfast in bed.… And cards and letters and pictures… Then off to church we went. Then back home for lunch… And I took a nap while my people washed my truck. What a nice treat!! Then we had a wonderful dinner and then I read to Then back home for lunch… And I took a nap while my people washed my truck. What a nice treat!! Then we had a wonderful dinner and then Ihe kids before bed.  All in all a most excellent day!!!

 Maybe I'll try this blogging thing a little more… We'll see....

Til next time...God bless!

The Eve of it ALL

Today is the last day of my dirty thirties!! Meaning, not only do I have a birthday, but a decade change too! Forty sounds SO old!!!!!

I don't look it (in my opinion)

I don't feel like it!!

Therefore I don't want it!!

If forty is the 'new thirty', why can't I start telling people that?!? My Nanny lied about her age right up til she was 98!! Wasn't til we found her birth certificate after moving her to a home that we learned the truth!!! Makes me like her even more!! So at what age did she adopt the lie?? What birthday did she struggle with?!?

Truth be told, I haven't hit my 'middle age' yet either! When your grandmothers live to 100 and 92, that makes 48 my midlife...so really I'm still young!!! Besides, I could sleep til noon like a teenager any day!!! Isn't forty when you start napping?!? Ok, that does sound appealing!!

Forty scares me health wise too! So often I hear that things start not working after forty....and currently I have no complaints...well, other than my toe I'm sure I sprained yesterday when I stubbed it running up the stairs carrying twenty pounds of meat! See, I can't be forty!!! Ugh!!

For now, I'm gonna enjoy the last day of my thirties by going to the Fair with the kids and acting out my young-at-heart tendencies! May even do the roller coaster with DJ!!!

It just can't be true!!

40!!!

Yes, I'm still here!!

While I do miss blogging, I don't miss the pressure I put on myself TO blog daily. Never realized how much it was really.

But I've been thinking I'd tweak it a bit...instead of rambling on about my day in every detail, I'll just highlight my favourite (damn spell check tried to Americanize my word there) part of the day...if I feel so inclined...no pressure!!

Today my fave part was shopping with SamSam. She really is an amazing kid. And not just cuz I'm her mother. I see the way people react to her and talk to her and watch what she does. The world is her stage!! Her sense of humour is spot on!! Her comedic timing is fantastic!! And she's only FOUR!!! Good Lord, she's four already!!!! No blinking!!! Next I know she'll be 14!!

Her excitement over a new laundry basket was darling!!! And her joy are showing DJ his was pure. If course she also had to climb in it to make sure it fits :)

Crazy girl!! Love her to pieces!!!

Til next time....whenever that is :)