Fantastic Weekend

We had such a great weekend, the Roots Festival was better than ever!!!!

Jen went both nights and she remembered SO many people, we were so excited!!! I think she's doing so much better and can't wait to take her to the doc tomorrow to see what he has to say about it all!!!

Here is me, Jen and Jamie :)

Add Robyn in the mix LOL

I love the festival because it's all fenced in and secure (the block off the entire town square) so I just give the kids money and they are gone! They check in every now and then and when they did, I got a couple shots of us.

Kyler looks so thrilled doesn't he?

My mini me Miranda and I

Miranda got some 'ink' again this year...don't worry it's only an airbrush tattoo!

Lovin the panther paws!

Miranda and all her friends bought the same sun glasses, aren't they cute!

Ok so the funniest (and probably stupidest) thing about the whole weekend was the monkey escapade we went on! Last year the monkey came to the festival but stayed around the group. This year I came up with the idea of 'hey let's go around and see how many people we can get to pose with our monkey!'

Here we go....

Monkey enjoying some curly fries with Miranda and Kenzi...

Miranda with the monkey...

Monkey in front of the screen showing the Robert Cray band...

Monkey rockin some cool shades...

Here is tie dyed monkey...

We found a date for monkey in the snow cone booth...

We even got a big bad biker dude to pose with monkey...

Monkey even got some 'ink' too...

That was the funniest picture to take, the guy was such a good sport and was trying so hard not to laugh for the picture!!

I still laugh when I go through these pictures, people probably thought we were crazy but who cares, we were having a blast!!!

Busy busy busy

This week has just been crazy busy...I think it's that way for a lot of people, or so I've been told.

Jen is doing good, still doesn't know people. I'm really hoping it's just going to take her seeing or hearing something to start kickin the brain around a bit. Just like what happened when she heard our friend Rod. *fingers crossed*

She has been funny as heck with Jamie and I. All 3 of us were texting each other last night and Jen had us rolling with her texts. She was saying things how she needs to wear a helmet, live in a ranch style house, wear bubble wrap...she was totally laughing at herself which was great! She keeps telling Jamie and I how much she appreciates us and everything we've done. I stopped by to see her last night and she seemed to be doing good but then again, she hasn't been out of her house much to really get exposed to things. The three of us are going to go walking tonight so that will be good for her. It's all about baby steps :)

There is a huge festival here in town this weekend that is SO much fun!!! I feel so bad that she isn't going to be able to go, we all think that it's just way too much stimulation for her. There are bands all day and night, tons of BBQ vendors, and not to mention all the tons of people that will be there. I just think it would be really hard on her with people coming up to her, her not knowing them, us having to explain things...it's a tough call but we want her to heal the right way!!!

Jen...Again

See yesterday's post to understand this one...

So here I sit...working from Jen's kitchen table. I have to say, it's been a good day.

When I got here this morning to pick her kids up for school, of course Kyler and Miranda had to go in and see Jen. When Kyler came in, Jen goes 'who's this huge kid? he's a stud' LOL I had to laugh and say 'noooo don't tell him that it will go to his head'!! haha!! On the way to school her kids told me she remembered Jamie and I coming to visit yesterday so that was good to hear.

Jen was doing great in the morning before the appointment. She was cleaning like crazy and we were having good conversations. She would ask me questions and every once in awhile I would ask her things. I didn't want to try to overwhelm her though. She was asking me why I wasn't married, who I was dating, did I have pet (funny cuz she's the one who takes care of my dogs when I go out of town), things that you would ask someone when trying to get to know them.

I was very happy with how the doctor's appointment went. She wasn't able to tell him her birthday, what month or year it was (her response was 'nobody has told me') but he gave her 3 things to remember (horse, ball and pen) and at the end of the appointment when he asked her what they were, she was struggling but once he gave her the first one, she remembered ball and she said pencil. He was pretty happy with the fact that she remembered anything. He said we are past the 48 hr window of when something could have gone bad and that everything is still up there...it will just take days, weeks or maybe longer to come back to her. It's like she can retain the things people tell her but she can't remember things on her own yet. The doctor wants to see her again in a week and then possibly each week after that. He said she can't drive yet but is ok to be alone in a comfortable safe environment and just to make sure some one is checking on her throughout the day. Luckily working from home, I can do that.

We were at Sonic for lunch and I thought I knew the person in the car next to us and all of a sudden he spoke and Jen recognized his voice. She said 'I know that voice' so I rolled the car back enough so we could see who it was and sure enough, it was our friend Rod! Jen's aunt is married to Rod's brother so they are kind of related. I asked her if she recognized him but she couldn't remember who he was. I kinda told Rod about what had happened and such so he didn't think she was crazy!! In talking to Jen later about Rod, she said he looked different, like clean cut....well normally he has a goatee! Then she said he looks like someone else so I talked about his brothers and she kinda put it all together and then said 'well his name is Rod but we don't call him that, we call him Hector'...yup that's his nickname!!

The brain is such a crazy thing!!!

Jen...Continued

See yesterday's post to understand this one...

So today I get a text from Jamie saying she was over visiting Jen and to come over. Eek I was a bit nervous but thought, heck yea I'm so there!

I walked into the house to find Jen on a couch, Jamie on a couch and Jamie's baby Cooper playing on a blanket on the floor in front of them. I said hi to Jen and she just kinda looked at me. Jamie goes 'This is Trish' and Jen said 'oh ok...hi'. Ugh...gut wrenching. So we sat there for about 20 minutes kinda making small talk, asking some questions, and having fun laughing at Cooper. She wasn't a mute or anything, she just wasn't our Jen. She answered some questions but I think she knew the answers because someone told her or because they were recent (for example, she knew she went to the hospital in a red car).

She had this constant look on her face like when you're trying really hard to remember something. When we were leaving, her husband asked if she was starting to remember anything more and she looked at us and said...that's Jamie and Trish. We cheered LOL But in reality, it was like talking to a total stranger, someone you'd make casual conversation with. So sad...

She cannot be alone so her husband asked if I could possibly work from their house tomorrow because he is out of vacation days. Of course I said I would. I also am going to be taking her to her follow up doctor's appointment. I'm a little nervous for that but I will do whatever it takes as her friend to get her better.

I'll write again tomorrow night...wish me luck :)

My Friend...Jen

I love this girl, she's become one of my closest dearest friends over the past 3 years. Our boys are the same age and are really good friends. Our daughters are a year apart in age but that doesn't stop them, they are best buddies too.


Something scary happened to Jen today. She was cleaning off her deck and the deck stairs and somehow fell. She fell down the stairs and ended up hitting her head on the cement patio at the bottom.

When she came to, she had no idea who her husband Eric was, who her kids were, or who her kids friends were. She started yelling at them to get out of her house. Eric took her to the hospital where it was determined that she had gotten a concussion as well as suffering from amnesia. She was discharged after a couple of hours.

I talked to Eric this evening and he was telling me how she is getting more at ease with him and the kids but still has this look like 'who are you' all the time. I guess her mom and sister came over and she didn't know who either of them were.

He said that she can describe her friends but doesn't really know them or can't picture them. She knows that she has a curly dark haired friend that is funny and likes to wear ball caps (that'd be me), that she has a blond haired friend that wears glasses and has a bunch of kids (that'd be Jamie) and she described 2 more of her friends too.


About 9pm tonight I got a text from Jen...it about made me cry...here is our conversation -

Jen - Eric told me we are good friends, goodnight
Me - We are sweetie, good night
Jen - Thank you, I am sad I cannot remember anyone
Me - You will be just fine, we all love you and are here for you
Jen - I love you all too, thanks, I'm gonna try to go to sleep now, I can't watch tv or do anything with too much stimulation so I am bored
Me - Get some rest hon

I was so sad after that but was relieved to kinda hear from her if that makes sense.


Eric said she can't watch tv, read or be on the computer right now because it is too much stimulation. He is supposed to ask her questions to I guess kick start her memory but she gets really frustrated when she can't answer things so he has to do it in moderation. I guess if there isn't an improvement by Tuesday, he is to take her back to the doctor. To me...that seems like forever away. He did say that she got up, got a glass, got ice, got water and got a box of crackers without asking where anything was so maybe it's just that the long term memory is a bit fuzzy??

One funny thing she did though...she has a bearded dragon who is her little baby. I guess she looked at it today and said to Eric that it was the most hideous looking thing and she cannot believe it was in her house! I just had to laugh at that!!!

Miranda made me promise her today that this would never happen to me...gotta love my little girl!

Jen...get better soon hon, we all love you!!!

Dusting Off The Camera

Last year I splurged and bought myself a new Cannon Rebel camera and have used it quite a bit. Well yesterday I decided to get it out and mess with it during Kyler's football practice. Here are just a few of the shots I took...

The bleachers at the stadium
The press box

The track

On top of the locker room

The field

Miranda was clicking away right by me

I got an awesome shot of Kyler making a tackle

Kyler's practice jersey is #96...he doesn't know his game jersey number yet.

Football is here!!

School has been going really well for the kiddos. I take that back, Kyler was sick the 2nd day LOL Poor kid had a fever so the nurse called me within a few minutes of the school day starting. Oh well, let's get that over and done with and not miss a lot of school this year!!!

Football practice started for Kyler this week too, he is SO excited. I am too actually, I love watching him play sports. His first game is September 10th.

Miranda's cheer leading practices are in full force too, her games will start around the same time Kyler's does. She is cheering for a city league while Kyler plays for his school.

Let's just say I have it figured out that Wednesdays will only be my non football day of the week:

Monday - NFL
Tuesday - Kyler's games
Wednesday - FREE!
Thursday - Kyler's games
Friday - High school games
Saturday - Miranda will cheer at games
Sunday - NFL

I LOVE THIS!!!!! hahaha!!

Speaking of football, I went to the Chiefs vs Texans game Saturday night with some girlfriends and had a blast!!! The only bad thing was it started to pour and we looked like wet rats but we didn't care!!!

I am still hitting the gym regularly again and love it, I feel so much better!!! Remember those 4 lbs I told you about in my last post? Yea all but 1 pound is gone now :) That took a week...whew hahaha!

I found a local 5k run next month that benefits brain injuries. It's for a guy here in town that suffered it from a bad accident. I am all about supporting local things so I am signing up for it today. There is even a kids fun run that I'll sign Kyler and Miranda up for. They saw some kids running in the Mother's Day 5k I did and both had mentioned wanting to do one.

Well...it came finally

The first day back to school today...don't they look so grown up?? Miranda, my little 5th grader and Kyler, my 8th grader. Can anyone tell me where the years went cuz I'd really like to know??

Kyler wanted to go to school with some friends so I let him. He's going to probably ride home with them too. I figured Miranda would have more fun if a friend came with us so her best friend Cynthia came over and I took them both.

What a crazy last couple of days though! Monday night I took Miranda, Cynthia, Kyler and his friend Gunnar to our minor league baseball team, The T-Bones, game. Tuesday morning Kyler had his physical to be able to play sports at school then we all took off for Oceans of Fun. My friend Jen and her two kiddos came along too. I swear to you, we were there less than 15 minutes and poor Cynthia had slipped, fell, and cracked her head open! She was bleeding pretty bad. The EMT came and I went with her to the First Aid center and we got it stopped. They said she didn't need stitches but I wondered if she really did, poor kiddo. She sat out for awhile then eventually was back in the swing of things! Last night I had a parents football meeting for Kyler. They get their equipment Friday and practice starts Monday! Their first game is Sept. 10th! I cannot wait!! They we hit both of their back to school nights then I treated them to dinner at Applebees :)

After getting them off to school, I hit the gym...yay me! I weighed myself and was up 4 lbs from my last recorded weigh in back at the end of June. Eh, what's 4 lbs right? I'll lose that within a couple weeks after getting back in to my routine so I am not worried about it at all. I had done some emotional eating of the past 2 months anyways so I wasn't too surprised!!!

Drained...

This weekend drained me!! Friday night watched movies with a good friend, always is a good time!! Saturday night I went out with some friends from high school who were in town. Man...haven't gone out like that in a long time and I am still recovering from it!! So well worth it though, was a blast!! What happens in KC stays in KC right?? LOL well for them at least! *wink wink* hahaha

So now I sit, on my couch, watching football...thank god it finally has started!!! I love me some football!! I actually am going to two Chiefs games for sure this year. I am going next Saturday night to a preseason game against the Texans and then in December...I am going to the Chiefs vs BRONCOS game!! YAY yes I got tickets to my beloved Broncos.

I must run, the game is back on :)

Another Week Gone

Sheesh, what a busy busy week!! But actually next week will probably be a little crazier with school starting and some last minute fun stuff (minor league baseball game and a day at Oceans of Fun).

I don't really have any big plans this weekend but I am treating myself and getting my hair done today. I don't really ever go crazy with it but I think today I will. Stay tuned and if I like it...I'll post pictures :)

*update* LOVE THE HAIR!!! I did blonde and red highlights and then did really dark lowlights on the underneath bottom layers!!

A Few Flashbacks

I started to write a blog about going back to school then I decided to go back and read my entry from last year...LOL that pretty much says it all right there.

Just a few changes, Kyler is going into 8th grade which will be his last year of middle school (then onto highschool UGH!!). Miranda is going into 5th grade which will be her last year of elementary school (then onto middle school whaaaaaaaaaaa). Miranda found out who her teacher is at enrollment yesterday and she is thrilled to say the least. But the teacher is pregnant...not sure when she is due so I'm still wondering how much school she will be missing while on leave. Could be interesting!

Another entry I don't really need to rewrite is about getting back on my gym routine. I had to laugh about that one too!

I hope and pray the first day this year doesn't go like last years according to my entry.

I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes ;)

Just Like I Predicted

Mama spent some moola! But the kids got new shoes and a few clothes, all the supplies are bought and enrollment is tomorrow. Almost on the week countdown...I cannot wait!

Not only do the kids get back in a routine, I get back in my workout routine!!! I have been so sporadic this summer and really don't feel like I have benefited from it. I still am very interested in doing a 1/2 marathon in October so I need to get back on my training for that.

We did have a fantastic weekend!!! On Friday night we went to the 15 yr old All Stars game. Their tournament was in town so we figured why not go support the home team!! It was a great game, pretty much a blow out. So then they played again on Saturday and we went to that too. They were ahead the entire game til the last two innings and we ended up losing but dang, it was an intense game!!

I'm exhausted from today, seems like it was just NON stop so I am comfy on my couch watching my cheesy reality shows!

:)