John Deere Green

So Mitch has been gone for a week now. So I’m working full time, I’m mom, I’m dad, I’m more or less a chauffeur. It’s always hard when he’s gone. Especially at this stage in our lives. I recently went back to work full time. Our kids are involved in tumbling, piano, dance, swim and we have very little down time. For the past week I feel like I’ve done a great job doing all the things. The laundry is done, the meals have been made, the house hasn’t burned down...so I’m doing alright. Just in the past two days, Leah had a hangout with a friend, Bug and Hattie had Halloween kids night out at McGaughey. Saturday we were at a swim meet all day long and then ran over to Charleston to check on Gigi. Today was equally as packed. We made it to church this morning, we swung in to Aldi to get grocery’s, had a quick lunch at home and then went to see the new Maleficent movie (two thumbs up).

When we got home there was still plenty of sunlight. It was a beautiful day with temps in the 60’s. Despite the day before being rainy and cold. The yard desperately needed a mow. For what I would assume would be the last time of the year. So being an independent woman I decided I was going to handle it myself. I’m teaching my girls that they can do for themselves so I wasn’t about to ask one of the neighbor boys to help. So I had Leah come out to the garage and help me get the mower started...if you saw our mower you’d understand. And we have to use a screwdriver to get it going.

So in no time I was off, getting the job done. Now mind you, we got 2.5 inches of rain yesterday, so when I got stuck about 10 min in and had to throw it in reverse it seemed plausible. After it happened a few more times I noticed that the front tire was REALLY flat. But I wasn’t stopping! Leah was at a neighbors playing so there was no way for me to get the mower started and going again. So I kept chugging along. If you drive by and notice the ruts in the yard mind your business...surely they won’t be visible by the time Mitch gets home.

Then it happened! I’ll preface the story by telling you a year and a half ago I got a little too close to the garden out back. A garden that was completely surrounded by netting. And as I cornered the garden the netting got sucked in faster than lightning and was wrapped completely around the blades. Mitch was home but we had to go get our neighbor to help take the deck off and remove all the netting from the undercarriage. Back to today...

In the spring Mitch pulled the little three foot chicken wire that surrounded our garden down. Now do you think he did anything with it??? No! It’s sat it the yard for months. So today while I was furiously trying to finish up the yard it happened. I was circling the fire pit. I was looking to the right,  TOWARD the fire pit because I didn’t want to get in the rocks and sure enough the blades caught the stupid chicken wire on the left!!! Nooooo!!! I felt so defeated. I texted Holly and asked her if she could send Don over with wire cutters. And then I cried. I cried a lot. I’m just tired and didn’t need one little thing to NOT go my way. Oh well, life can’t always go as planned. I’m pretty thankful for a super patient neighbor who came and rescued me from a mower fiasco, yet again. And I can guarantee it will be a very long time before I mow again.

Ghouls in the Pool

A solid day at Ghouls in the Pool over in Mattoon today, for the Schultz ladies! I know we had some solid time drops but not sure exactly where since the Colorado was all screwed up. Bug swam fantastic in her 100 free dropping 3 seconds and she dropped 1.3 in her 50 breast. Leah looked great in the pool and dropped time in her 50 fly at least. No times for Hattie...because, well they didn’t have any times for her. But she looked amazing in her breast stroke, and she didn’t DQ. Coach Erin thought she dropped 9 seconds in her 50 free and is headed to districts. Highlight of the day besides my kids in the pool was watching our new coach in action he was super energized and cheering the kids on in every.single.race. He was outstanding and we are big fans of Coach Dan! Side note...Hattie was the only one willing to pose for pictures.

Buh-Bye Braces

 Big day for my Bug!!! After 25 months, she got round one of her braces off this morning and celebrated with a double dip Carmel apple from Del’s. Hard to believe it’s been that long. It started with the palette expander and then the retainer. The braces went on and finally just a few months ago, this summer, she had the frenectomy. But round one is done. Hopefully she gets a couple years break before we start round 2!

Fall Fun

So as I mentioned, I was tied up for most of the weekend. I spent it with my mom at Memorial in Springfield. The girls were so fortunate to have Mitch here willing to take them here, there and everywhere to enjoy the last of the nice weather. And they certainly enjoyed having Grandma Tootie and Grandpa Dave here to entertain. They had a great time at the Pumpkin Patch, they hiked Spitler Woods and went to Boo at the Zoo. On Monday morning Mitch took off for a 10 day work trip. Thankfully, the grandparents stuck around one more night and we’re able to enjoy Leah’s Halloween Orchestra concert. We are so fortunate to have Mr. Ward and Mr. Wunderlich directing these kids. Between Intermediate the Junior High and High school there were 96 young musicians. And Ward and Wunderlich certainly made it entertaining dressed as Mario and Luigi. Each grade played a few songs on their own and at the end they joined to play “the final countdown” as one complete orchestra. It was very impressive and I’m so impressed by how far Leah has come in just 2.5 years. So glad Grandma and Grandpa got to share in something that Leah loves so much.

That's life

Lately I'm running on empty...too much on my plate. Not enough hours in the day. Too many prayers to pray. My stress level has been right up there in the clouds, but that's okay. It's all going to be just fine. My mantra the last few weeks has been that I'm giving it to GOD! I know that he's got this...and about a million other little things, and not so little things. I said it to my mom before they wheeled her in to surgery. "God's got this?" I'm remembering to be thankful for all the blessings. A nephew that is in remission. A mom who had a blockage repaired. AND then a mitral valve replaced. He's doing big things with my prayers. I'll even go so far to throw out a hashtag blessed!

But all the stressers in my life as of recent have left me a little more unavailable to my kids. And you know what??? I don't feel the least bit guilty about it. My in-laws came for the weekend, and Mitch was preparing for a trip overseas for work. It's October! So that means we needed a trip to the pumpkin patch, our annual Boo at the Zoo, and pumpkins needed carved. But I felt like I needed to be with my mom. Sometimes it's hard to feel like you're being pulled in different directions. But I have complete clarity this weekend. I wasn't going to be able to do all the things with my kids and that's okay! It's 100% totally fine.

On Saturday while they headed to Pumpkin Creek Farms, I headed to Memorial Hospital in Springfield. While they were out enjoying a beautiful fall day, getting lost in a corn maze and eating pumpkin donuts, I was helping my mother get to and from the bathroom, urging her to eat, and making sure she was comfortable. Did my kids miss me being there? Maybe, but most likely not. They were fine, and in the completely capable hands of their amazing dad. They were making memories with their grandparents.

On Sunday they got up and went for a hike in Spitler Woods, because it was another amazing Indian summer day here in Central Illinois. They had lunch at their favorite mexican restaurant and went home to carve pumpkins. That afternoon they got their costumes on and headed to Boo at the Zoo. Their day was totally made. And I'm just thankful they'll have the memories. Sometimes, that's life.

Mitral Valve

It’s been two weeks since I got the call from my mom. She was having shortness of breathe and the Dr. Waters at DMH told her to come get checked out. The EKG made it pretty clear that something was wrong. Mom said even she could spot the difference. Unfortunately, due to the heart attack, her mitral valve was damaged and would need repaired or replaced.

A few days later she had a Trans Esophagael Echocardiogram that confirmed we were headed for open heart surgery. On Wednesday, October 16th we dried our eyes and filled the waiting room whike they prepped her for surgery. It was around noon the nurse came out and told us she was off bypass and that all went well. He went over what recovery would look like and said the doctor would be out soon. At 12:40 we talked to Dr. Pyle. He said he tried to repair but it wasn’t working so he replaced. Overall she did very well. He could still see bruising from her heart attack four weeks earlier but that was to be expected.

A few hours later we finally got to see her in recovery. Nothing about her recovery went as planned but Dr. Pyle said sometimes you have to take a few detours to get to the final destination. Later that night the breathing tube came out. Friday the chest tube came out and they moved her to a regular room. That leads us to today...

Back in September she gave us a big laugh. While she was in the ER after her heart attack she told Matt that if anyone took a picture of her they were out of the will. She wasn’t having any pictures with her hair not combed and no lipstick on. It gave us a chuckle under scary circumstances.

Fast forward a month and here we are. She’s 3 days post open heart surgery for mitral valve replacement. She’s hangin in there. That’s her giving a thumbs up in the background. Not the most flattering picture of me, but who cares!!! So thankful to be on the other side of this major surgery. And even more thankful for all our prayer warriors! #keepemcoming #lovemymom #prayerispowerful

Oktoberfest 2019

We had a great day at the YDSC Oktoberfest. These kids swim hard and swim kind. Hattie swam her breaststroke for the first time...never mind she started with butterfly, lol. Leah dropped 10 seconds in her IM and a second in her 50 breast. She dropped time across the board! Bug dropped 7 seconds in her IM and 2 seconds in her breaststroke. They left it all in the pool. Thankful to our team/parents for rallying and putting on a great home meet. It all ran smoothly and we’re proud to be part of the Gator Family! 

Season Opener at BNSC

We kicked off the swim season today at the BNSC Rachel Dean Memorial. We were fortunate to have some aunts and uncles come cheer us on. We had some really solid time drops but the highlight for sure was being able to hug these kids. We sure have missed the Strong’s. Can’t wait until the next time!!!