Castoff

Meredith is going to have to find another way to draw attention to herself.

The cast came off Wednesday. Much to my surprise, nothing fell out of the cast as “Mike the cast guy,” otherwise known as a great pediatric orthopedic nurse, made the cut. Meredith does have a pretty bad case of eczema that was lurking under her bright pink webbing, but it’s on the mend.

In addition to cast removal, we stayed busy with Meredith’s last week of school, Alex’s school carnival, and hosting my cousin Annie. Anne, as she’s now known by everyone outside of the family, is taking great care of her mom while she regains strength at a hospital in downtown Indy.

This was Annie’s second week away from her Houston home, and she opted to stay with us. Annie and I are eleven months apart, and were the only girl cousins for several years, so we grew up pretty close. It had been 15 years since we’d seen each other. It was great to find out that although we’re both older and Annie can no longer do the Chinese splits (although I didn’t ask), we’re still pretty much the same girls we were. Annie left for home today and we were sad to see her go.

Back-tracking completely, Meredith nearly caused me to break into hives in public this week.

I realize The Olive Garden is no culinary masterpiece and no self-respecting foodie would be caught dead dining near one. I don’t care. I still love their nutritionally-unsound salad and always will. Our children were exposed at an early age and can polish off a basket of breadsticks in two minutes. Flat. A new one opened about 15 minutes from our house. Alex and Meredith made the case that we really should check it out since it was “sort of” close to gymnastics and we finish class around dinner time. I over-ruled them. Not easily deterred, they moved onto pleading we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate Meredith’s cast removal the following day. I caved.

We were seated and I couldn’t decide weather our server was a waiter or a waitress. Once I read “Melissa” on her nametag, I was set. Our service was fine. Melissa was attentive. She brought our check. I asked for boxes. Melissa returned and started to box our leftovers.

Merdi: “Can I have a box for my mac ‘n cheese?” (Yes, she ordered $5 mac ‘n cheese.)
Me: “No Sweetie, she is boxing it for us. Isn’t that helpful?”
Merdi: (Slapping the table for effect.) GET OUT!!!! That’s a woman?! This whole time I totawy been thinkin’ she’s a MAN!!!”

I turned bright red, pretended the outburst didn’t happen and left a $6 tip on a $21 bill.

This is for you Beaker!

I know. I know. It’s been awhile. Honestly, I hadn’t given this blog much thought because I assume everyone tires of me quickly. Beckman respectfully requested an update and I don’t like to disappoint friends…

I’ve had one of the busiest months I’ve had in years. Not just busy with activities and the usual, but I’m mentally exhausted too.

As you all probably know by now, I launched my new website early last week. That took more hours than I can count to put together. I will spare you all the details, but it was tedious. I’m not always great with details and I especially don’t enjoy watching tutorials and/or reading instructions. So, it was a big task and had to be completed. I’m very proud of the end result, and already see changes I’d like to make. Please feel free to forward the website to everyone you know! I’m open for business.

As always the kids have kept me hopping. Alex finally started loosing teeth. This forces me to keep a crisp $5 stashed somewhere in the house and to stay up late typing out notes from the Tooth Fairy. Good thing this blog is password protected, or my cover would be blown!

I really need to take some pictures of the Alex’s jack-o-latern smile. I’ll add that to the list. Alex quickly figured out he would need to loose four teeth in order to clear $20. He’ll probably start chewing rocks or pay someone to punch him in the mouth. Our neighbor nearly gave me a heart attack when he told Alex he thought each tooth was worth at least $20 and then winked at me.

Meredith got bored with her cast and we decided to bedazzle it. That lasted about a week until the “diamonds” kept getting tangled in her curls. She got up from her nap with a clean-slate cast. I was hesitant to do the whole signature thing because I didn’t want to stare at a messy cast for four weeks. I told her people could sign it her final week. The Sharpie came out during a trip to Illinois, and the rest is history. Her biggest signature snag came yesterday when we met THE Barbie at the Children’s’ Museum. Pictures to follow as soon as I dump my memory card.

In addition to our normal life, I’ve had an entirely new element tossed in over the last week and a half. If I had to guess, most of you reading this already know about all of this but for those of you who don’t…My Grandma and Grandpa Berger called a little over a week ago to tell me my Aunt Sue was in the hospital in Indy. To make a long story short, she was failing fast.

As most of you know, my relationship with my dad’s side of the family is fractured, at best. I see my grandparents regularly, and one of my uncles and my aunt, but that’s the extent of my paternal relationships and it has been since I graduated from high school. (There were major issues over who was paying for college and it got ugly. I was in the middle. Another reason why I will avoid divorce at all costs. Anyway, I hadn’t seen my dad since 1994. )

Over the course of the last week and a half, I’ve made several trips to the hospital for visits and wound up having spontaneous reunions, including with my dad. It’s been a huge blessing for the most part and my Aunt Sue has seemingly fought off sepsis and will soon begin her fight against cancer. I’ve been able to catch up with her children and they’ve been able to meet my family. It’s been wonderful and has brought me so much peace.

So, I know I’ve neglected the blog, but with good reason, right?! I have loads more to tell you, so pop in this week and I’ll see if I can’t get back on track!

Well, I think I'll call him Bambi.

You know how in all the Disney movies, all the babies arrive in spring? Especially, in the forest, all the animals show up at the pond with their new babies. I think the same phenomenon must happen with people. I love to shoot newborns, and this spring, the little ones keep coming.

Kelly's first pink bundle, Maya arrived first:


Then Baby Drew!!! I cannot believe I haven’t posted any pictures of Drew! Drew’s mom (Hi Angie!) probably thinks I’m either really thoughtless or a spaz. Angie is a really good friend of mine and she reads this blog. She teaches kindergarten, so I don’t need to tell you she’s a peach. Angie and her husband Jeremy welcomed their second baby, Drew Harper in March, right before his big sister Kate’s birthday. Drew was only five days old in these pictures, which is the perfect time to shoot a newborn, if you ask me. They give you very little static about having their pictures taken...and they are willing to lie still for extended periods of time. :)


Angie was kind enough to refer one of her neighbors to me and I spent some time with Sweet Sophia last Wednesday. Sophia is six weeks old, which is a little older than I normally, shoot itty bitties. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep her busy little feet in the frame, but we did it! It helped that she was asleep for a few of these.

There are more babies on the way, so I look forward to a spring and summer filled with sweetness!

Our weather has been so weird. 70 degrees one day, cold and rainy the next. The weathermen love to scare me by saying things like, ‘possible flurries next Tuesday’ when I’m driving to preschool and my outside temperature reading says ’68.’ (For the record, I checked the forecast when I got home and the high for Tuesday is 58. Now, that’s not Bermuda shorts weather, but it also doesn’t allow for flurries.) We have to take advantage of any nice weather that happens to mistakenly find itself in Indiana.

The kids are always ready to go outside at a moment’s notice and are annoyed when I can’t be there to supervise chalk drawing or push them endlessly on the swings. Just recently, I’ve allowed them to play in our backyard so long as I can see them from my kitchen window. It isn’t like we live in a high crime area, but it still makes me nervous. The walking path that winds through our neighborhood borders our yard. It isn’t that I think any one of our neighbors has any interest in picking up another child, but I can’t help but dream up wild scenarios.

Yesterday it was 70 degrees, sunny and Alex’s spelling test was over for the week. I had stuffed peppers to make. So, the kids went out to play and swore to follow my strict instructions to the letter. Swing set and backyard only. They lied and were riding their bikes on the path before I so much as put the rice on to boil. It was explained to me that it was a misunderstanding and if I allowed them to ride their bikes they would go no further than “Mile’s house” to “Alec’s house.” Fair enough, still in my line of sight and not on a public roadway.

After their grueling neighborkid to neighborkid bike race, they both popped up in my kitchen window to tell me about their ride, Capri Suns in hand. They do this all the time and it always cracks me up. They will have full conversations with me through a screen, perched on top of our deck box. It’s kind of like they’re at a bar and I’m the bartender, only I provide all the drinks free of charge and serve them dinner.

After dinner we took the world’s slowest bike ride. Brandon and Alex whiz through the neighborhood while I stay back with Meredith giving the back of her tiny pink Schwinn an extra push ever 15 feet. Alex still had energy to burn when we got home, so he and Brandon went to play tennis, while Meredith screamed in the driveway and I thought about what I would do once she was in bed. As her tantrum subsided, I notice a hot air balloon fairly close to our house. Not really all that unusual.

Well, it’s evidently ballooning season again. Two balloons took off from the back of our neighborhood. We have two wide open plains where no one aside from a few deer live. It makes a good launching pad. It also provides me with hours of endless entertainment.

Here’s a fun fact: Extreme Home Makeover just shot an episode in Indy. Estridge is a local, family-owned builder and built the McFarland family’s new home. Obviously, the balloon at the top of this post belongs to them. The episode airs May 17th and is the season finale. Now when you watch it, you’ll be in the know.

Mother of the Year!

Argh! For some reason, Blogger is not allowing me to arrange pictures. It's making me stick them all at the top, which is going to make the following story completely anti-climatic. There are bigger problems in the world, so bear with me while I sort this out.

While I was away in Atlanta, Brandon spent the weekend with the kids at my parents’ house in Nashville. They did all sorts of Easter related things and just made a lot of noise. My mom is totally fine with noise. She wasn’t when I was growing up. Maybe her hearing is starting to go.

Brandon worked from my parents’ house Monday and Tuesday and took the rest of the week off. So we just hung out and did our typical Nashville stuff. Tuesday evening, my parents took the kids to The Aquarium for dinner. Brandon and I took the opportunity to eat by ourselves and we did our Easter shopping.

When the kids came home they were wound like eight-day clocks. Meredith was running, slipped and caught herself with her wrist. She had a bump on her head and complained of a sore wrist. We iced both and she seemed fine. Nothing was swollen or bruised and Meredith had full range of motion in her wrist, hand, fingers, and arm. I didn’t think much of it.

On the way back to Indiana, we stopped at Mammoth Cave. I’ve successfully avoided touring Mammoth for the last four years. We always get there just a smidge late for the last tour, or it’s raining, or I’m feeling faint…We arrived in plenty of time for a tour, it was sunny, and no one was ill. Our tour of the world’s largest cave was every bit as thrilling as I’d anticipated. Mammoth Cave is 99.9% dry according to our overly enthusiastic guide. What does that mean? It means it’s a pretty boring cave. No stalactites, no dripping water, no slippery services, and no boats. Alex and Brandon seemed to like it and I’m off the hook for another few years.

On Friday, our neighbors had a spring party and had the kids over for Easter crafts, games, and cake. Lots of fun. Within five minutes of our arrival, Meredith slipped, fell, and reinjured her wrist. She brushed it off and I made a mental note to keep an eye on it. Again, no bruising, no swelling, and few complaints.

Sunday, of course the Easter Bunny stopped by and the kids had fun hunting eggs. They surprised me by working as a team and pointing out eggs to each other. I think Alex was less aggressive at home because our eggs traditionally don’t contain money. GramPam’s do and it was a reported death match egg hunt at her house. After the kids snapped out of their chocolate comas; we went to the country club of which our friend Scott is the general manager for brunch. Jill’s parents were in town too, and it’s always fun to see them. We came home after brunch and I parked it for the rest of the day and watched The Masters. Literally, I did nothing! I was so hoping Kenny Perry would win. Poor guy.

Meredith mentioned her wrist still hurt when I put her to bed last night. So, I decided enough was enough and called our pediatrician first thing this morning. By 10:00 a.m. we were in for an X-ray, “just to rule out a fracture.” By 11:00 a.m. we had an appointment with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Turns out, Meredith had not one, but two fractures. One is very, very tiny but the other is a sizable break. I felt HORRIBLE for not taking her sooner. Both physicians reassured me they would never have guessed she had a fracture based on her range of motion and her regular mobility. She is a tough nut!

I cannot tell you how excited she is about her hot pink cast. I’m sure the luster will wear off in a few days. We’re stuck with our new accessory for four weeks. It’s waterproof, which makes life a little easier, but dressing Meredith is going to be an exercise in patience. She’s very anxious for the world to see her cast, so here it is!

Happy Easter!

Wishing all of you a joyful Easter! Hope the Easter Bunny found you and that you know the joy of Easter is the eternal life we were given on this day!

Easing back to normal

I can’t believe I’m starting yet another blog post with, “I haven’t felt much like writing lately…,” but I haven’t felt much like writing.

The last time I wrote, I was still 32. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to age yet another year, I just really don’t like my birthday. As much as I talk and love to be with good friends, you’d think I would relish an opportunity to celebrate. The truth is I am very uncomfortable being the object of any sort of fuss. I broke out in hives before most of my wedding and baby showers. It was also surreal receiving a card from my father in law and my sister in law, without Linda’s signature. I know it’s silly, but it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Once I got the birthday out of the way, I was in a much better mood. Two days later, my mood shifted again and I wondered if I should finally join the club and start medicating. My dear friends Robyn and Keith lost their third child in two years. All of you reading most likely know their story by now. Many of you know Robyn personally and already knew about Rowyn’s passing. I don’t have to tell you, it’s been a sad couple of weeks.

I was also really busy. Robyn and Keith live in Atlanta. Orchestrating a trip with several women takes hours of phone calls and logistical planning only the Marines could pull off. Unfortunately, last minute trips south have become our specialty and our journeys are becoming familiar.

I hadn’t planned to write all that much about the trip, but there are some moments too precious not to share. Some are funny, some are touching, and some are locked in a vault of secrecy.

This trip was a little different, because two of The Pigeons weren’t able to come. One is very, very pregnant, and one has a tiny baby girl. It was such a struggle for both of them to make the decision not to come, and we missed them, but it couldn’t be helped. In their place, Michelle B’s husband Jay came with us. Jay is one of Keith’s dearest friends and wanted to be there for him. Jay is calm, kind, and incredibly brave. I cannot imagine Brandon making the trip and allowing us to all stay in the car!

When we arrived in Marietta late Friday night, we checked into our hotel room and scooted across the street to our favorite Mexican restaurant. I am not a huge lover of tequila, but this place makes extraordinary margaritas. It was 11:30 p.m. and we were so excited to see their OPEN sign still ablaze. We walked inside only to be told they closed thirty minutes prior. Would you believe five grown adults (o.k., four, Jay was much more composed) begged and pleaded like kids in a candy aisle? We got our margaritas and the waiter got a $16 tip.

Saturday morning, we were up and out the door to say our good-byes to Sweet Rowyn. Jennifer and I spoke this time, so we were even more nervy than usual. I told myself if I didn’t have a gushing nosebleed in front of everyone, I’d consider it a success. I didn’t.

The service was beautiful. Robyn and Keith are so loved and Rowyn was such a blessing to so many. At the end of the service, we released 82 pink balloons, in honor of every day Rowyn spent making the world a sweeter place. It was the most amazing balloon launch I’ve ever seen.

A cloud moved in front of the bright sun just as we moved up the hill to let the balloons go. God’s placement of the cloud couldn’t have been better as it shaded our eyes as we watched our balloons float straight to heaven. Robyn and Keith played Billy Joel’s “Lullaby,” and just as the song ended, the final balloons drifted out of our sight.

I don’t know about you, but every balloon launch I’ve ever participated in sees at least a1/3 of its balloons entangle themselves in power lines and trees. Not Rowyn’s. They all floated together and went higher than any balloons I’ve ever seen.

It was such a peaceful moment. When everyone first released their balloons, you could hear sobs and heartache, but as we stood there as a group watching them float higher and higher a sense of calm seemed to fall. It provided more closure than almost any memorial service I’ve ever attended. I very much felt God’s presence and I pray He continues to show Robyn and Keith that despite all they’ve been through, He loves them like they love their girls.

After the service we went back to Robyn’s where I managed to stress-eat a giant plate of food and three desserts.

The one request Robyn made was that we would all go to afore mentioned Mexican restaurant for margaritas. We were more than happy to accommodate her wish for a respite from grief. It was so nice to see Robyn and Keith enjoy time with their friends. It was a comfort to see a huge table of their friends and know that any of us would do anything for them. It made me feel like they will overcome and their wounds are healing. Of course it will take time, but Robyn and Keith are still Robyn and Keith.

And about the margaritas…If you received a call or a text message from my phone, here’s my blanket apology. I left my phone unattended and I learned my lesson!