Sisu .. under the knife!

It all started 2 months ago - we believed Sisu, our chocolate lab, was stung by a bee. Right below her eye was swollen, almost like a golf ball! After a couple of days it was not improving so we brought her to the vet where they subscribed antibiotics. Over the next few weeks it showed great improvement but her inner eye lid (dogs have 2 sets - can you believe that?!) was still red and draining. Off the the vet again where they attempted another round of meds that ended with the same results. So now we are referred to a Vet specializing in Ophthalmology! Sad part was we could not get an appt for 2 wks. In the meantime, boy it was hard to look at Sisu... she looked so pathetic :(
The big day arrives 12/29 ... Scott brings Sisu to the doctor and the story goes like this:
She had a healing puncher wound inside of her mouth, making the case she may have been chewing on wood and had a piece enter into her face. Thus causing the infection near/under her eye. Doc said she is fortunate, many times she sees the infection come from behind the eye! Surgery is suggested to remove whatever they can/find near the swollen area. It was a bit of hard swallow to elect this $800-$1k surgery, but there was no other option .. in our book. Scott leaves Sisu and at the end of the day I get a call from the Doc with results ..
She found a lot of "materials", but no sticks per se. She went in through the mouth and also made an incision just under the eye to scrap out all the 'material'. This will be sent off to the lab to be analyzed to make sure the medications are appropriate to kill whatever infection she has.
Sisu did well.. but she had to spend the night for observation. Tuesday at noon we headed to pick her up... and pathetic look is an understatement! The surgery really irritated her, which is normal .. so she is quite swollen - even more so than before! Doc seemed to be confident she got everything out, so we can only pray this is the end of it.
Now she is on pain killers, anti-flam and anitbiotics. And of course there is the E-Collar to keep her from pawing at her face... which she so desperately wants to do!

Here is Caroline giving her some love when she got home! As you can see they had to shave part of her face. This angle is actually her best - the purple area under her eye is very very swollen - near golf ball size. Her inner eye lid is actually covering her eye from the irritation of the surgery. But.. he eye is just fine. Hopefully she will not have too much scarring!

Prime example why she needs the E-collar.. she could do some major damage to the stitches, and we sure don't want to have re-constructive surgery too! She will have to wear this for approximately 1-1/2wks. You can also see the plate of (play) food Caroline made for Sisu :)

We will have a follow up visit late next week, or whenever the results are in. Sisu is lethargic when she first gets her pain medicine, but her spirit is far from broke! If we let her.. she would chase 100 balls just like any other day!

Sisu.. Say What?

It seems appropriate to throw out some definition to my online nickname... and my dog's name (blog to follow!) "Sisu" is near and dear to my heart - literally it comes from within! My heritage is from Finland (mother & father's sides), and I grew up near a sea of Finlanders in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I am thinking about doing some research into the history my maiden name (RAJALA), as I am only 3rd generation in the States! I am a proud Suomalainen! So, don't blame me.... blame those before me? :)

So here is some help in understanding who/what/why SISU is:

"Sisu is a unique Finnish concept. It stands for the philosophy that what must be done will be done, regardless what it takes. Sisu is a special strength and persistent determination and resolve to continue and to overcome in the moment of adversity . a combination of stamina, perseverance, courage and determination held in reserve for hard times." http://www.wbj.pl/cf/cf_germany_06/articles/1.htm

Sisu is a Finnish term that could be roughly translated into Englist as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity. The equivalent in English is "to have guts", and indeed, the word derives from sisus, which means something inner or interior. However, sisu has a long-term element in it; it is not momentary courage, but the ability to sustain the same. The term is commonly used in everyday speech to describe stoic toughness. It is widely understood in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is home to a large concentration of Finnish Americans. For instance: "Even after cutting his hand open and getting 12 stitches, he didn't shed a tear. Wow! He's got sisu!" This has extended to include a popular bumper sticker saying simply "Sisu". By analogy, the term has picked up new meanings. Depending on context, "sisu" can refer to spunk, attitude, self-confidence, and so on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisu

There it is ... now how many of you did not know there were 2 parts to Michigan?! :)

Stone Mountain Christmas

Yet another adventure we did this Christmas was visiting Stone Mountain's Christmas on 12/26! We headed off mid afternoon with our friend Maria & her 2 kids. There were several shows, but not a lot of "activities"... so we struggled with the girls - see/watching shows just does not seem to be very exciting to them! That is.. unless it's Leap Frog or Dora!
Anyway.. they decorated the Crossroads area of Stone Mountain very nice.. I got some great shots, even the carving on the Mountain itself !

LARGE xmas tree by day and night!










Caroline had a blast getting some personal attention from "Mr Bubbleman!" ... he could create some awesome sights!


And Savannah and Brandon got a kick out of the HUGE drummers!


We did get to see a "Snow Angel", the Coca Cola Bear and many of Santa's helpers too. The most exciting part was riding the Train around the Mountain; Caroline loved it (squeaky track noises sometimes scared her though) ... Sophie on the other hand was not so cooperative. Her red head wanted to walk/run.. can you say T A N T R U M ?! In fact.. we almost got kicked off the train, not because we did not know the rules about standing up or tending to our kids, nor that the intercom was not working.. but because the worker had a short fuse and obviously needs a new job! Whew... there is always someone who has bigger issues in life!
The village area was lit up with a phenomenal amount of lights, but I was disappointed that it mostly all shops... none of which were friendly (in my book) for a 2 kid stroller!


While it was neat to see & visit this area of St. Mountain for the first time ... I do believe it will be at least 2 years before we pay that kind admission (monetary or otherwise!) to go back with both of them :) Unless God grants me more patience .... I don't plan to hold my breath, but I could start praying more!
I might... just MIGHT.. take Caroline back after the New Year... SNOW MOUNTAIN is coming! We were 2 days early but saw the snow making process/path was almost complete. I wonder how they will keep it up with our unpredictable winters that often times have summer days mixed in!

Lake Lanier Mystical Night of Lights Tour

Christmas night we decided to try something new this year - The Mystical Night of Lights at Lake Lanier Islands! It is 6-1/2 miles of lights - and thank goodness we arrived closer to dusk! It took us well over an hour to get through. On the way out traffic was lined up for MILES! Those site seers were sure to be there for 4-5 hours! The girls did not enjoy it like we hoped for - I believe because driving was very slow. We resorted to turning on the DVD to keep them amused as we enjoyed the lights ourselves! One lesson we learned as parents... there is a HUGE price to pay keeping the girls out past bedtime! Sophie was 2hrs past, but surprising she feel right out the moment she laid down. Caroline on the other and... was exhausted and did not know how to deal with anything! It was screaming the minute we got home... whew, lots of consoling to settle her down!

Hopefully they will enjoy this video more than they did the actual event!
It was fun taking the pictures... some blurred out because of the movement, but the neat part is it shows the movement in sequence! Enjoy!

More Christmas Photos

Random moments... not lost in time

All too often the days fly by and I do not get to write down what matters most - the precious moments, the things that make me smile.. and maybe sometimes cry! Here are some random moments from the recent past..

• My girls are LOVE BUGS! Hugs and kisses are plenty, and they soften my heart and spirit when I need it the most! It is really precious to watch them adore one another. Last night I watched Sophie give Caroline a hug for the first time - Caroline looked at her in amazement and hugged her right back with a huge grin!
  
• I recently purchase a DVD set of Leap Frog - all about the ABC's, words, reading and alphabet sounds, etc. BOTH of the girls are addicted! Within 2 wks Caroline learned the sound of every letter (she already knew her ABC's). The incredible thing to watch is Sophie... I know 2nd child always learns faster, but WOW - at 20 months of age she already is saying letters and sounds too. The underlying truth is I feel blessed she has no more interest in Teletubbies!! YeeeeHA!!
• While Caroline is 3yrs old and has her moments of tantrums... it is such a joy to watch her mature (slowly!). She now enjoys spending time outdoors with daddy while he splits wood - exploring the woods and playing with our dog Sisu.
  
• Sophie.... she is so darn sweet! Our little "peanut" is growing fast... and I'm trying not to miss a thing being she is our last! Even catching her learn new words or expressions is truly a joy! And while we only have 2 .. she is a bit spoiled already as the baby. It's cute though..hhaha.. ex: she doesnt like walking down the stairs - she demands to be carried down!
  
• Meal time is not too enjoyable - unless it's hot dogs and mac'n cheese! We do try to do it together everyday, but it's always a convincing and bribing game. I try to give diversified foods, but their tastes change daily sometimes. Thank God I love to cook - because eating out is NOT an option! lol A trip to the grocery store or walmart is about all I can handle .. alone anyway.
  
• Caroline loves to help mommie. Whether I'm cooking or cleaning she is my little helper ... lil pain in da butt is more like it.. haha j/k Sometimes I give her a spray bottle with water in it so she can clean on her own - it works! Often times she will spill stuff just so she has some reason to clean! The question is .. when will her efforts start being a benefit? :}
• Caroline was potty trained... ugh. What is up with these set backs? It's like she has gotten lazy.. tinkles just a little bit in her panties, and sometimes even "shoeeys". Other times she goes no problem. I am feeling lost... more bribing must be in order!
• While we are in the middle of winter, Caroline has not forgotten about the Cottage! A few times a week she mentions the cottage with the swimming and boating - the things she remembers is incredible!
• Speaking of past times... AIRPLANE rides to visit family is definitely a fun thought that Caroline shares often. I try to show her photos of family members we've visited so she does not forget them.. until next time. Going to the local airport here is on the Things to Do list with her... we know she'll go ape watching the planes take off :)
• Sophie picks up things out of the blow .. Click HERE to watch cute HIGH FIVES with Caroline! Or how about blowing bubbles with your spit ?! She does it when she is bored ... just too funny!
  
• I mentioned crying, on my part didn't I ? I will spare the details and just say - being a MOM is wayyy harder than I ever imagined. I have 30++ (lost count actually) nieces and nephews (became an aunt when I was 7yrs old) - and I THOUGHT that kind of upbringing would prepare me... I even called myself a "Born To Be Mom". Who was I kidding ?! LOL There are many many joys like I've mentioned above.. but wow, it's hard sometimes. I feel myself growing though.. I want to be better. I give my best. I just pray it is enough and that God continues to encourage my spirit to be all that my girls (and hsuband!) need.

UPDATE on Scott's injury - Friday the stitches were taken out. Not a pretty sight and no feeling at the tip. He's off pain killers and I do believe he will live :) I'm now looking forward to him doing dishes again!

Twisted Xmas '08

Our annual Twisted Christmas Party was on 12/13/08 this year. Typically we do 2 gift exchanges, one real gift and one gag gift .. but this year we scaled back to a gag gift only. White Elephant style. Lots of laughs we had by all..

Blast from the past..

This past weekend we had a very enjoyable blast from the past! Doug & Danielle Moore came over for dinner - They live 15 mins away but the fun part is that we met them in Aruba back in '04! The odds are amazing! I recall it well.. I met Danielle and her mom in the ladies room.. and I complimented Danielle on her GORGEOUS dress... gosh she is a pretty lady!
We had the same flight home, which was delayed like 7 HOURS (&!%$@!) .. but the blessing was we had some great new friends to visit with! (1st picture shown is at the airport!) Back then we all met as newlyweds.. footloose and traveling fools - and now we are grounded and grown with each have 2 kids beautiful children. Times have changed! So here we are 4 years later, longgg overdue for all 4 of us to get together! We had such an enjoyable visit with them. No one had to apologize for the numerous interruptions or the craziness convincing our toddlers to SIT and EAT .. we are all in the same fun boat! I think we all entertained each other... lol ... good times :) Outside all of that, it is equally appreciated they are a fellow Christian Conservative family!

The photos here are of Josie and Caroline, they are about 6 months apart in age - they really seemed to play pretty good together. Josie is such a sweetie! I look forward to watching them become closer playmates! I'm sorry that I didnt get photos of their handsome lil boy Simpson too! Next time...
In fact may be sooner than later.. we all are anxious to take our kids to the Georgia Aquarium. Just imagine the fun they will have! Hopefully I will have some very funny things to blog about!
Check out Danielle's blog and her beautiful family: Blessings from Above

Christmas Photos '08

Portrait Innovations did a bang up job taking our Christmas photos this year.. and we now have a real (complete!) family photo! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Typical Tuesday - NOT !!

So I thought today was a typical day... entertaining the girls, killing dust bunnies by the thousands, and preparing meals. That is until 3pm when Scott arrived home and decided to work on his "homemade" log splitter! The story goes like this...
I was upstairs cleaning with the girls and hear Scott run in the house - "BRING DOWN A FIRST AID KIT". I actually didn't think much of it as first and just replied with 'what do you need?". He was cussing under his breath, so I ran downstairs. He was over the sink with pinkie finger wrapped in a rag - the tip nearly busted off. It didn't look so bad, so I tried calling our M.D. to get an appt for a simple stitching. BUT.. moments thereafter, he started to get weak in the knees as if he might even fall down! Thankfully I was close and moved a chair to him. It got stressful quick as I tried to call 911 and my neighbor (to help watch the girls).... he went into shock!! He started to sweat profusely, eyes still open... but head bobbing and even snores! It was crazy!! I tried to talk and reason him to focus on me - it was a bit scary as I had never seen anything like this before! All it all it lasted, Im guessing, 3 mins... when he finally "came to", of course he didn't remember the past moments. It was obvious the injury was much 'deeper' since it caused such severe shock!
About 5 mins after Margie (neighbor/friend) arrived; she was out running errands. Sophie was still napping so she Graciously (!) offered to take Scott to ER. Even though he thought it only needed a some calve save and guaze after going into shock! After 2 hrs at the hospital, he arrived home with a big bundled up finger in a splint and pain killers, which I'm sure he'll need! He received TWELVE, yes 12 stitches on his PINKIE finger (!) and they said he crushed the tip of the bone. But in the end.. his sparkling smile ended the day... the one I love so dear! :)
For the record.. he was pulling off the compressor, in a downwards motion - and when it let loose he was not prepared! His pinkie that was on the underside.. met the cement floor of the garage!
Men... while I have to give him credit for not crying (cuz I sure would have!) ... not admitting he need stitches was... well ... typical! Scott's ending comment "I was overdue" .. back in the day he was known in ER by first name!

The day was crazy.. in a short period of time the afternoon felt similar to the trip I took morning this morning to Wal-mart with BOTH girls! In fact... that was more challenging!
Tonight... blessings are counted - all ten of them on Scott's hands!

Time with my girls

The girls - it's amazing how much JOY and FRUSTRATION/Stress they can cause in a day! Since my workload has been lightened, I have more time to spend with them. But I still find myself anxious for the 'next stage'. I'm guessing I will look back and release they fell by quickly, but on the other hand.. I believe I will personally enjoy them more when they get just a bit older. You know.. to actually go places w/o a diaper bag, worry about nap time, or an uncontrollable tantrum! I'm sure that will be replaced by something else, but God willing it will be easier than now! So with my added family time I am trying harder to make the best of it. Yesterday I finally did some research to find activities to do with the girls, and I was very encouraged and excited to find so many websites with ideas! One of my favorites is http://www.toddler-activities-at-home.com Caroline had some fun with a couple of projects. Printing out a sheet of snowflakes and throwing them up in the air - so simple and she had so much fun "making it snow". Amazingly she didnt complain about 'clean up' either becuz it meant we could do it again!
And did you know packing peanuts stick together when they get wet? Wow.. you can make some incredible projects with them! I will never throw them away again! Hours and hours of fun!
I hope to start taking more time to do a project like this with the girls everyday. I often time get so lost in my design work and keeping the house that often they get shuffled around - so this is yet another New Year's resolution/goal for 2009! I know soon enough they won't want to do anything with me!

Sophie is somewhat of an exception to this. At nearly 20 months old, her attention span isn't but 10.6 seconds! So, I try to take advantage of her nap times to have one on one with Caroline. Sophie is becoming quite an intriguing little girl! I do believe my girls will be opposites! Caroline.. bless her heart, seems to be a little me all the way. She is fun-loving, but has a very serious side. And... yes, quite bossy! Its incredible to watch her intelligence grow. Often times repeating us (no, not always good!). She loves to play with dolls, and Leap Frog DVDS (educational ..letters/words, etc). She loves to be my lil helper too... cleaning, cooking. Of course she isn't very 'helpful' .. but we are off to a great start!
Sophie is unique (to me!)... such a sweetie pie. Gives love (comes running for hugz and kisses) and is smiling almost ALL the time! On the other hand... don't be fooled by the beautiful hair you see! While her knickname is often times Peanut because of her petite size, other times we just simply say RED! When her temper flairs.. brace yourself, I think her hair gets redder! haha Her changes are equally as fun to watch... her strawberry hair is getting so long and is keeping it's beautiful curls. She loves her "bayto" (Blanket) and her right thumb! She too is mezmerized by Leap Frog learning DVD's and Blues Clues. She is sure to advance quickly. Otherwise, she is in the constant shadow of Caroline. She loves her big sister, and they do manage to get along about 1/2 of the time!

Thought I would share one other cute photo. Mid November we were blessed to have a visit from my DH's sister, Julie and her DH, Rick ... from Ohio. Thanks for stopping in... we all enjoyed it! A week doesn't go by that we dont wish that we were closer to our family. Ohio 9 hours.. Michigan 20.. know that we think of you all often! We will continue the effort to make it home 1x per year... and of course we always have a spare bed(s) for visitors!

Sick of being SICK

Sick of being sick; that is I. Is it possible to have a New Year's Resolution to not be so sick?! If I'm not sick, then I've injured myself, which in my book is just as terrible! 2008 has a rough year with numerous head colds and at bronchitis 2-3x. What is most frustrating (besides the hacking) is I cannot seem to be well for a significant amount of time to get in shape! I might have 2 weeks of good health and I get back in the gym - then BAMMM, all progress goes out the window. Must be age... or is it the stress of being a parent?
I take vitamins, I get 7-8hrs of sleep - what else? We've cut back on bi-weekly chiropractic visits to save during this down time, and that has shown obvious effects. It might be worth putting that back on the budget! Suggestions would be welcomed!

Last day in Virginia... VERY eventful

This evening is the close to our 11 day visit in Suffolk. It is bittersweet - I dearly miss my husband (home & bed!), but leaving my sister & nieces/nephews will be sad. I am sorry that a great deal of our time here was spoiled with sickness, which often time dealt out irritability. I had so many other aspirations of this visit. I would have liked to have done more activities with the kids.. and talk more with my sister - but all was hard with laryngitis and coughing spells! I know I should not dwell .. I need to try to make it up to all of them next time!
Today I wised up... called my doctor back home and explained my, all too frequent, symptoms .. and they called in some antibiotics. I'm quite sure I have bronchitis once again. I guess i should be thankful I dont have a fever, etc. to go with this.

So we had hopes of hitting the town, sick or not, today - after a morning of Bettie and I showing each other resources of puter programs we made it out in the afternoon to head to the Virginia Children's Museum. The plan was for all of us to be dropped off there while Bettie took Noah to the doctor. Well... first big bump in the road: walked up to the door "CLOSED ON MONDAYS"! What are the odds?! Ok.. don't answer that, I know the answer. Thereafter the two 3yr olds in the truck say "I gotta go potty" - uggh. We are in downtown Portsmouth.. historic/old place, not many options! We see a Vistor's Center in an old building, so we get the girls out of the truck... and bump #2. Door locked. *deep sigh* We ended up using a hotel lobby restroom - there were no other choices!
So backup plan for our next move... #3 we didnt have one! So.. all else fails go to the library .. so off we go. I get dropped with my 2 girls and niece Rachel - all others go to the doc appt. The next 20 mins was living.... H, E, double hockey stick!! #4 might I add! The library had computers with kid keyboards, and well to cut to the chase, both of my girls wanted that and nothing else!!! Even though this particular library had walls around the children's room, I am quite sure the tantrum screams rang through and through! I ran out of tricks fast and ran out with both girls screaming to the entrance lobby. I counted the mins til Bettie met us a the grocery store next door to pick up groceries and be on our way. I will spare you the details of the next 60 mins.. even though I'm quite sure I'm missing a bump or two~
It was relieving to head back 'home' ... no major tantrums from any of the 6 kids, just the typical whining and bickering one might expect. The last stop was Walgreens to get my prescription.. and you guessed it #5 - nothing could go smooth! haha Drive thru took over well over 15mins.. and low and behold, the 3yr olds had to go potty again! Oh what fun!
I did had one precious moment to end the rough ride we had just experienced.... Sophie picking up "Mommie"... hence the video! Yet another great moment I've caught on my new blackberry curve - what an awesome piece of technology!
Today was eventful by all means.. just not nearly what we had planned!
So tomorrow morning we shall leave by 7:45am to head to the airport. Scott I know will be waiting anxiously in the Atlanta airport at 11:30am. Please pray for safe travels for us to return to our home and our very much appreciated, dearly loved and very much missed daddy/husband! We have a crazy week ahead to catch up and to Christmas decorate!
To Bettie...and Jesse, Rachel, Noah and Rebeka: THANK YOU for opening your home to us, sharing your lives, and making sacrifices in your schedules. I hope next time our visit will be more pleasant and enjoyable for all of us! Sorry for being such a crabby sick butthead!
And to my SAUNA at home.... here I come, be hot and ready!!

FYI: I updated several photos to our Family Photo Album, labeled Virginia Trip- see the valued links section on the right side of this webpage!