A Christmas to Remember

Because of Bryon's surgery, we ended up spending Christmas at home this year.  I have to say it was one to remember for several reasons.

First, the girls finally figured out the Santa concept and were absolutely obsessed with everything Santa.  Now I know what I put my parents through on Christmas Eve.  Getting them to bed was real chore!  But, seeing their excitement on Christmas morning made it all worth it.  Some highlights:

Haley getting caught opening a gift before it was time.  "What?  Me?  I'm doing nothing wrong!"

The girls trying their hardest to get on the "Nice" list

Shelby discovering her ultimate wish came true~a unicorn Dreamlite and a trampoline!

Funny masks from Grandma Birdy

After Santa arrived and we opened all our gifts, my mom & Jeff, and Molly, Marc, Carly, & Conrad all came over for our big family gathering.  The girls had a blast pestering Conrad, while the grownups had a blast feeding our faces.  

Cousins!

Just after eating and opening gifts, the rain changed to snow.  My family all hit the road before they were going to be snowed in at the Pfaff house.  I guess the idea of driving on black ice sounded better than spending the night with my crazy kids!  

With the house empty and the hot tub nice and toasty, the girls talked Bryon into quite possibly the silliest idea I had ever heard.  When I think back to Christmas 2012, what I will remember most is hearing the roaring laughter coming from my backyard while Bryon and the girls swam in the snow.  

My crazy polar bears!

No longer a pain in the neck

The first week of December, Bryon was in New Mexico for work.  While there, his left arm started to go numb and was very weak.  Dr. Google had him worried it was a heart attack.  So, he went to the urgent care in Las Cruces.  If you've never spent much time in New Mexico, you should know that some people there are big believers in things like "organic", "natural", and "homeopathic".  Western medicine shares an equal spot with Eastern medicine.

So, the urgent care doctor in Las Cruces examined Bryon and informed him he had a muscle spasm in his upper back.  He was sent on his merry way with a prescription for yoga, massage*, and a chiropractor.  Gee, thanks...Would it have been too much to ask for at least a little ibuprofen or Tylenol?

By the time he got home a few days later, he was in extreme pain.  One look at his MRI results, and his local back doctor sent him straight to the surgeon's office.  By this point, I was really getting worried.  The idea of back surgery was really going to put a kink in our holiday plans.  But, seeing him unable to hold anything in his left hand was even scarier.

Finally, 10 days after being told to try Yoga and see a chiropractor, Bryon was seen by a back surgeon.  We could not have asked for a better fit with Dr. Clavenna.  He informed us 80% of patients he sees with the same symptoms can improve without surgery.  Bryon was not in that group.  He had a herniated disk between C6 and C7 that was compressing his spinal chord by 1/8th of its diameter.

The surgeon advised Bryon that he needed a disk replacement.  He wanted to use an artificial disk, as opposed to using some bone from Bryon's hip and fusing the two vertibrae together, pending insurance approval.  The surgery would be performed through the neck, leaving just a tiny scar.

After sleeping on Dr. Clavenna's recommendation, getting a second opinion from Dr. Google, and seeking counsel from a good friend of mine that is also a pain specialist, we decided to go through with the surgery just as soon as possible.  Insurance even approved the artificial disk at the last minute.

Sparing you the boring details of the big day, the surgery was a big success, in more ways than one.  See post operation x-rays of Bryon's new bling:

Side view of cool new bling

front view of cool new bling

Bryon had some feeling coming back in his fingers immediately.  His recovery was very fast, with only an overnight stay in the hospital.  Per his doctor's orders, he had to stay home for at least 2 weeks.  Since I was already off for a couple of weeks for Christmas, we were able to spend more time as a family than we had ever.  Surprisingly enough, we weren't ready to kill each other after so much together time!  My sweet hubby even sent me flowers for taking such great care of him.

The girls got a kick out of the neck brace on dad.  Shelby even drew a picture of our family, with dad in a brace.  I'm not sure what the alien in the upper right hand corner has to do with our family, but the whole thing cracked me up!

Dad's new necklace rocks!

We were really sad that the surgery forced us to cancel our trip to New Mexico to visit Bryon's family, but in the end, we were really thankful for living in a city that believes in Western medicine that was able to fix him fast!  

*Why hasn't my doctor EVER prescribed me a massage?  I think it's time to see more Eastern medicine doctors!

Gee, Thanks!

The girls and I went to Austin this weekend with two goals in mind.  1--to see my dad and his family.  2--to buy Bryon a chiminea for Christmas.

The first goal was easy.  We enjoyed seeing Peepaw, Christy, Vikki, and Loren and catching up with them.  They also have two adorable Boston Terriers that kept the girls entertained.  Shelby became the dog whisperer, teaching "Harley" to shake.  And, poor "Max" got renamed "Mackey".  No idea how that happened.

The next goal was also a success, at least for one day.  I knew I had seen chimineas at H.E.B. in years past for cheap and wanted to stop by there to get one.  My dad wasn't about to let me try to load one all on my own, so he went with me to the grocery store to get Bryon's Christmas present.  (Doesn't everyone do their Christmas shopping at the grocery store??)

After picking out the biggest, most heaviest one, I finally found someone to ring us up and got the thing loaded in the car.  Dad even helped me secure it so that it wouldn't roll all over the back and get cracked.  Finally, the hardest person for me to buy for was marked off the list...or so I thought.

That night, I called Bryon to catch up, and he was SO excited to tell me he found the coolest Chiminea at Kroger for only $25.  WHAT??  After telling him he should have waited until after Christmas to make such a purchase, I realized I was going to have to take the HEB gift back.

So, back to the grocery store with Dad.  The employees were super nice to refund my money, and Dad was super helpful in unloading the 100 pound piece of pottery.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that, in the end, I liked the Kroger chiminea better.

It's back to the drawing board for a gift for the man that has everything!

One "Fart" Cookie

Haley's speech is so adorable these days.  I love the way she says her name, more like "Howly".  And, any word that begins with an "S" turns into an "F".

Take, for instance, her pronunciation of "Swim".  It turns into "Fwim".  When she has dry boogers, she calls them "Fikey Nocos"  (spiky mocos (spanish for booger)).  Hilarious!!

So, this week, the kids in her class are having a Thanksgiving celebration where each child is assigned a food item to add to a big bucket.  After it is all mixed up, they will get a portion to bring home.  Lucky Haley was assigned Smarty candies, or "Farty" candies, as she likes to say.

We had to go to THREE different groceries stores to find "farties", with Haley yelling, "Mommy, does this store have FARTIES??"  up and down each aisle of every store.  At the Tom Thumb where we finally found a mega-bag, she told the cashier that she was going to a Farty Party.  Now, that's one party you can leave me off of the invite list!

Fun Times in "Cotorato"

Thanks to a computer glitch(??) in Frontier Airline's system, we mysteriously were able to get four round-trip tickets to Denver for under $400 TOTAL.  Seriously, we haven't seen ticket prices that low since before 9/11.  This weekend, we were so thankful to be able to visit Bryon's friends Joe and Susan for a mini-vacation that didn't break the bank.

The girls wore themselves out taking in all the activities.  We first went to the Children's Museum, where they shopped-'til-they-dropped, experimented with bubbles, and morphed into the scientists we expect them to become.

Haley LOVES to shop

Shelby and Bryon making bubbles

Careful, careful, carful.  Don't pop it!

She's concentrating so hard, there's smoke coming out of her ears!

The three of them couldn't get enough

Day two, we loaded all four kids and four adults up and headed to Santa's Workshop.  It was the perfect place to take a bunch of pre-schoolers.  The rides weren't too scary (although I couldn't get off the ferris wheel fast enough), the lines were almost non-exhistant, and the dads even seemed to enjoy themselves.   

The kids having fun

That's my "be-brave-for-the-kids" face.  

Come to find out, my parents had taken me to Santa's Workshop circa 1976.  Mom was pregnant with Molly, so I couldn't have been older than 2.  I think the exact rides are still there!

Monica driving in 1976

Shelby driving in 2012

Haley driving in 2012

These girls are going to be dare devils

Giant wobbly candy cane slide that felt like it was built in 1976

Since we were so close, we decided to drive up to Pikes Peak.  From what I was told, the view was lovely.  My stomach, lungs, and brain were too out of whack to be able to enjoy the scenery.  If you venture up to 14,000 feet, take some Dramamine and an oxygen tank.  You can leave me at the bottom of the mountain next time.

Yet another "be-brave-for-the-kids" face on mom.  Only Bryon seems to be enjoying himself.

We had such fun seeing our girls bond with Joe and Susan's kids and dogs.  Keep those computer glitches low fairs coming, Frontier.  We can't wait to go back to "Cotorato"!

Three little monkeys, not sleeping in their bed

What a hoot!

Halloween is no longer just one night, like it was in my childhood.  It now seems to span two weeks, full of carnivals and parties.  Needless to say, I love it just as much as the kids!

This year, I skipped the idea of sewing costumes and just ordered them online like the rest of the world.  I had them shipped to a friend's house so my kids wouldn't wear them out before the big day.  Just before our first party, I picked them up, only to discover Shelby's unicorn costume may or may not have been stored in a warehouse since 1992.  It was pathetic...

What the costume looked like in 1992, as evidenced by the girl's bangs

Needless to say, the tail and horn weren't quite so perky, and the amount of stuffing wasn't enough to fill out one hoof.  But, like the saying goes, we were able to make lemonade out of this lemon.  Shelby helped me hot glue ribbons, hearts, and flowers all over.  In the end, crafting with her was one the highlights this year.

Our Unicorn Cowgirl

Luckily Haley's costume fit perfectly and she loved it, so much so that she didn't even take it off during any parties.  

Wooo is adorable!?!

First party was the Halloween carnival at the girls' pre-school.  The had a blast getting their faces painted, playing games, seeing their teachers, and eating cotton candy.  

Haley's face painting

 

Haley's pumpkin patch

Haley and Ms. Liz

Shelby's bean bag toss

Our next party was at a co-worker's house.  Ms. Annette's 2nd Annual Halloween party was lots of fun.  She had lots of great games and projects, and in the end, the kids had the best time just running around in the backyard as fast as they could.  

Our goblins

Ring toss

The hostess with the mostest and her hubby

Cake "walk" was more like cake "stand"

Cleopatra and her lame friend that didn't dress up

Finally, on Halloween, Bryon and the kids did their usual carving of the pumpkins, and we all went trick-or-treating with our new friends from down the block.  Haley led the pack once she figured out more houses meant more candy.  Shelby just enjoyed Miss Social Committee, playing with her friends and meeting new ones.  

Our little princesses

Haley helping light her owl jack-o-lantern

Shelby's jack-o-lantern 

Another Work of Art

How lucky is it for me that I get to reap the rewards of all my husband's hard work?  He is an engineer for a construction company, and once they finish a project, we get to have a big night out for the grand opening. He does all the hard work, and I get to celebrate his accomplishments.

The last grand opening we attended was the Wyly theater in 2009.  I had given birth just 6 weeks prior and was still breastfeeding little Haley.  Getting dressed up and going out made me feel like a queen again as opposed to a sleepless zombie.  The only problem was that once the clock struck midnight, reality set back in quickly.  I was still in Mama-Bear-Mode and couldn't quite party with the rest of the crowd. 

His latest project, the Dallas City Performance Hall, opened in September, so I got another chance to feel like a queen again.   This latest project is an absolute beauty.  Opening night was amazing, just taking in the sites.  One cool feature is an LED curtain that can be programmed for any light display. I can't imagine what it took to install it, but I sure did love watching it! 

Ever-changing light show via the LED curtain

The Queen and Kind have arrived!

Another perk I get from Bryon's job is that I get to occasionally tour during the building phases, hard hat and construction vest required.  So, when the building is still bare bones, I get to peek inside.  You never really appreciate what goes into such a building unless you can see it during the construction phase.

Arial view...notice the crane is below ground in the parking garage

This theater has really grown on me.  At first, I thought it was really too simple and grey.  I've realized "simple" is hard to accomplish in a building with so many elements involved.  Miles and miles of conduit are used to hide all the cords and lines needed to run a theater.  

This past weekend, Bryon was able to take his parents on a behind-the-scenes tour.  I loved watching his dad's eyes dance in amazement at all the work that went into the building, and I loved watching my girls literally dance on stage, with his mom and I providing musical backup.  

Bryon and Norman working the lights

Best Performance of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" this stage will ever see!

Why did my camera choose this picture to be blurry??

Watch out Broadway!  The Pfaff girls are on their way.

Checking out the sound control room

Mom and Shelby getting our dance moves on!

Bryon doesn't know yet what his next project will be.  More that likely, he won't be building any more  theaters in the near future, so my opening nights of being queen are over for now.  Maybe one of these days, we will be going to the Pfaff girls' opening concert at one of his theaters!