Author Archives: careysparks

Why can’t life be boring for once?

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So again, I fell behind and haven’t written a blog in MONTHS!  I am not a blogger that can write every day, I just don’t know if I have enough to say to be able to write that often.  However, there must be something interesting that has happened since June that was worth while.

But I have been inspired by a friend who has just started her first blog , so I better get writing……

Let’s see, what big things have happened recently?  Matthew turned 17 in September and got his official driver’s license, Christopher is officially a teenager as of October, Ron and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary in October, Ron’s mom sadly passed away, Ron had his gallbladder removed, I had a miscarriage, we moved again, we’ve traveled to Kentucky with friends, we went on a Bahamian cruise, etc etc….  yep, we’ve been busy.  Some good and some not so good, but in general, it’s been BUSY!

It’s been one of those years that has just been full of non-stop craziness.  Ron and I were talking the other night about how insane it has been lately.  All we ask is for a little normalcy.  We want to be bored sitting at home with nothing to do or worry about.  Where we don’t have to truck the kids around to all their activities or have to worry about our health for once.  So how do you get this and is it even possible?

I guess to start we have to set our goals and priorities for what we want to achieve this new year and based on those, that will help get us started on our path.

If you look at some of the issues we faced in 2010, much was centered around health issues.  Not just health issues for us, but for other friends and family as well.  Therefore, I am making it a goal to become more healthy.  Yes, it is a goal almost everyone sets, and then by the 2nd week of January, they have already failed and forgotten it.  It could very well happen with me, but I am going to try my hardest to stay with it.  If I want to make this year a better year, I have to be serious about it.  So, off to the gym we go and less sugary snacks for me.

Another goal is to get more serious about a hobby.  I have been saying this for 2 years and still haven’t made it a priority.  I have a fabulous digital SLR camera and I can barely figure out the settings.  Enough it enough.  Having a hobby can have many advantages.  It’s can be an emotional outlet, a way to grow, a way to relax.  All those can lead to more happiness and a balanced life.

So, if I can get my life centered, with focusing on taking care of me and getting ME focused, then you would think that everything around me can begin to become less crazy or at least it will be easier to deal with.

You would think, right?  It’s worth a shot.  I am ready for a more boring life!  Who would have thought?

Blog? What blog?

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So, yep, it’s been a while since the last blog.  Let’s see, a few things have happened since then and honestly, I think I lost myself for a while.

Sadly, I had a miscarriage in April.  So, we had to deal with having to tell our family and friends our sad news and I quickly came to realize, we did what I always said I would never do.  We announced the pregnancy way too soon.

I was notorious for telling friends to wait it out until they were at least at the end of their 1st trimester.  The miracle of conception is a miracle in itself, so to make it through an entire pregnancy with little to no issues, is a massive miracle.  Your body goes through so much to conceive and carry a baby.

So what happened?  Why did we ignore our own advice and our gut instincts?  We just threw everything we knew out the window when it came to us.  Well, first off, we never planned on having more children.  Between Ron and I, we have 3 amazing kids!  3 amazing grown-up kids at that.  Heaven forbid I actually even call them kids anymore!  Young adults, teens, pre-teens, whatever you want to call them today.  So, why start over?  Second, given all the cancer treatments Ron went through, we were told it wasn’t in the cards for us anymore.  So, in our minds, having another child was not in our future.

Then came that fateful day that we realized I was pregnant.  Within 2 seconds of seeing that test come up positive, I knew and Ron knew, this was meant to be.  I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more.  We were excited, scared, joyful and a zillion other emotions.  So, you can understand how hard it would be to try to keep this news under wraps from our family and friends.  Don’t you want to share all your excitement with those you love?  It’s almost impossible to try to keep that all bottled up inside you.  All rational, responsible thinking is tossed.  So, we spilled the beans.

As quickly as the good news came, just as quickly the bad news came it seems.  That is how fragile this process is.  We cried (a lot), got angry, cried some more, got depressed, embarrassed for having made a spectacle of ourselves, and tried to move on.  Most of the time now I am fine, not dwelling on the past, but there are those moments that sneak up on me where I it all comes back.  I feel cheated, sad, mad, embarrassed.  I see a pregnant woman at the store or get an email from a pregnancy site or someone who hadn’t heard asks how I am doing…it all comes back for a brief moment. Doesn’t happen all the time, but just once in a while, there it is.  It’s less and less frequent as time goes by.  That’s part of moving on.

I think this experience has made me stronger for sure.  This was probably one of the hardest, saddest times I have gone through, and I made it out in one piece.   I was down, but wasn’t out.  This has made me appreciate what we do have as well.  We have 3 miracles already in our home.  How lucky are we?  Makes you love them and treasure them more, doesn’t it?  I cannot tell you how many people told me that they either went through this before personally or knew someone else who had.  Reminded me that this was normal, I was not alone and knew that everything would be ok.

Yes, we can (and will) try again when the time is right. Now that we know it is a possibility and we know this is what we want, we are ready and willing to put ourselves out there again.  There is a good chance we’ll go through all this again, but with one exception.  We now have lessons learned.  We will keep it to ourselves.  Never any regrets.  Everything is for a reason.  Take it, build upon it, be a better, stronger person for it.

Moving On

Moving On

Thank you to all our fabulous family and friends for being there, supporting us.  And of course, I wouldn’t be anywhere without Ron at my side the entire time.  I never knew love like this before him.  He is my rock, my love, my best friend.

She Said: Is She Using Her Pregnancy to Get Out of Dirty Chores?

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Morning Sickness

In response to Ron’s blog this morning.

(note: this whole blog is tongue-in-cheek and not meant to be taken seriously)

We just recently found out that we are expecting a baby. I cannot tell you how excited I am. I had said many times in the past that we were done, given our kids are 12 and 16, but the moment I saw the pregnancy test show positive, I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more! To be able to have a baby with Ron, is the best gift ever!

Ever since that day last week, I will admit, Ron has been great! Asking me how I am feeling, getting me anything I need, he’s been very attentive. I have been experiencing the normal “morning sickness” feelings for the past few weeks, but over the past few days, it has really come on strong. I find myself getting tired more often, feeling sick to my stomach, back aches and so on.

Yes, I am known for being a power-sleeper, but this tiredness is something I haven’t experienced before. I feel like I could fall asleep standing up or even walking! I like to get a good nights rest, but going to bed at 7 or 8pm, is a bit much for me, unless I really needed it. So, I must really need it.

As far as the nausea, I must have blocked it out from when I was pregnant with Ashlee, because I don’t remember being so sick all the time. I find I feel much better when I stay active, instead of when I am sitting down and not moving. But, I will keep on trucking and work through this because it is SO worth it and I know it won’t’ last much longer (I hope).

Now, to address my wonderful husband’s accusations of using the pregnancy to get out of cleaning doggy diarrhea. YES, it made me VERY sick. YES, I was dry-heaving in the driveway, in my PJ’s (which are not Smurfette – although, those would be cute). YES, I would have been grossed out even if I wasn’t preggo, but HELLO, the smell sent me over the edge! I most certainly would have helped you clean it up if I could. In fact, who was the one lighting the candles and spraying the Oust? See? I did help out!

To address the fairness claim, don’t you think what I am putting my body through for YOUR baby, affords me the benefit of asking for some help around the house with some chores once in a while? I think it is an even trade! Besides, shouldn’t I be taking it easy to make sure we have a happy, healthy baby? You wouldn’t want me to put the baby at risk do you??

Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go put my feet up and eat some bon-bons. That is the only thing that makes me feel better right now.

Lessons Learned from Animal Crossing

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Hi, My name is Carey and I am addicted to Animal Crossing – City Folk for Nintendo Wii.

Animal Crossing City Folk

There, I said it.

This is my favorite video game.  I play hours  upon hours, every week.

What is Animal Crossing you ask?  The basic idea is to build and take care of your town.  My town is called Sparksty.  My character name is Princess.

I tend to my flower garden, I water my flowers & pull weeds.  I fish out trash from my river and ocean.  I visit & talk to my neighbors to make sure they are happy.  I take them medicine when they are sick.  I run errands for them and in return they bestow gifts upon me as a thank you.  I also send gifts to my neighbors.  I send them just because, not because I am looking for something back., even though sometimes they do suprise you with a gift back.  I play games with them such as Hide & Seek.  All this makes for a happy town.

If you don’t take care of your town or be nice to your neighbors, the neighbors get upset and leave, you get overrun by weeds, your town gets a bad rating and no new neighbors want to move there, etc.

I also have a house to take care of and build up.  To do so, it takes Bells, which is the currency.  To earn Bells, I can sell the fish I catch in the river and ocean. I can sell the fruit that grows on my trees.  I can shake trees and knock bells out of them.  I can find fossils and either donate them to my museum or sell them.  I can sell other items as well that I don’t want.  After all my hard work, I can go buy new furniture or work on expansions on my home.

Animal Crossing - fishing

I caught a Tuna!

It’s very addicting.  I want my town to be nice and I want nice things for my house.  All that takes time and hard work.

So what lessons can be learned here?  Very basic, simple lessons really, but ones that get forgotten every day by every day people.

#1 – How you treat others, reflects directly back on you.

#2 – Take pride in your home and surroundings.

#3 – Great rewards takes persistence and hard work.

So ask yourselves this:

Do you actually know all your neighbors by name, talk to them or just say hello?  Do you offer assistance when they need it?

Do you put in the extra effort at work to get the job done to earn your salary or do you do the bare minimum and complain when you don’t get the higher salary or promotion?  Do you feel just because you have been there for a long time that it is due to you?

When you are at the park with your kids, do you pick up that soda can that was left behind or do you assume someone eventually will come along and get it?  You know what they say when you assume….  Take pride in that park.  That’s where your kids play.  You should want them to be in a nice place.

Do you use common courtesies when you interact with others?  Say please and thank you?  Hold the door for someone?  Greet someone with a simple hello?  Clean up after yourself?  Respect differences of opinion or do you blast them for not agreeing with you?

When you sit back and look, these are not hard things to do, so we really don’t have an excuse.  Just need to be reminded every so often.  So on that note, I am heading back to Sparksty to shake some trees and make some bells and check on a neighbor or two.  Tomorrow however, I am walking next door to my real neighbors to just say hi and see how they are doing.