Suprise Suprise I have Updated

Addy and Reese decided to go to Galveston. They just took off and called us when they got there. Here are some pictures from their trip above and below. :)

Hi All,

No...hell has not frozen over...I just finally have the time to update my blog.

So UPDATES:
ADDISON:
She is now 15 months. I can't believe the time has gone so fast. Addy commonly now known as Addy Boo (Reese Picard's favorite nickname for her)is on the go more than ever before. Everyone remember that child who just sat at dinner like a little lady, or that little girl who was the most chilled out baby ever. WELL she no longer exists. :) K..that's a bit dramatic, but she really is on the go. She hates to sit still. She pretty much runs every where she goes and her new found love is to push the cart at Walmart. Which reminds me...she threw her first ever temper tantrum at Wally world a few weeks ago. It was great. I did learn very quickly the art of diversions. (If you haven't learned already...learn it now..cause your turn will come.)Things really are going well with Addison. Everyday she shows us how smart she really is. She knows so much more that I give her credit for.
She stays at Jessica's (our niece's house) for part of the week and Jessica only speaks Spanish to Addy. It's so cool cause Addy can show your her Panza(belly) or manos (hands) or foot (she only knows her foot and nose in English) we are working on the other body parts. She does her signs for milk, and more, and up, and please and you can ask her what a dog says and she uf uf uf. SOOOO CUUUTTTTEEE!!! I smile every day.

JOHN: It is John's birthday tomorrow. The Big 32. We are going to that new Brazilian steakhouse Guri de Sol. John is doing well. He has started working out on a regular basis and has lost 13 pounds. I really really proud of him. He has been working for me more at the store too so I can spend more time with Addy Boo. I am trying to think of something funny he has done lately and I can't really think of anything which is really weird to say about John Spychaj.

Meredith: As for me. I finally finally finally paid off my business. HOORAY. Ya'll have NO idea what a huge stress reliever that is. I have just been doing the daily grind. I am selling stuff on ebay again, so if you need some extra cash let me know and I will list it. I know that is so boring, but there really isn't anything exciting going on with me.

THE PARENTS: John's dad now goes to dialysis 3 times a week for 3 hours each time and he has been put on the list for a kidney transplant. He is doing great. He said he feels really week after dialysis, but the next day he feels great.
John's mom had her surgery to remove the breast cancer and thankfully the cancer was not in her lymph nodes. We did learn that 95% of breast cancers are not genetic, so we are waiting on the results to see if her cancer is of the non-genetic type. Keep your fingers crossed.
My Mom...is dealing with her rheumatoid arthritis and has weekly shots to keep her joints from flaring up. She is doing well. Keeping Addison I think really keeps her spirits up.
My Dad...his brain is broken. lol :) I say that cause he is limping for no reason. No pain he just limps. The doctors did an MRI and couldn't find anything. So they did another MRI and we are waiting for those results. What will they find you ask? I don't know but I will keep you posted.

Seems like daunting news but everyone really is doing well. We hope you and your families are doing well too.
Lots of love, Mer

Dearly Departed

Last weekend we had to put dear sweet fat Cooper (our dog) to sleep. The seizures were just getting too bad and even when he was on max meds he would still have a seizure. The vet said that having a seizure is the equivalent to running a marathon. I don't know anyone in their right mind who would want to run 3 marathons in a day. So we made the decision to put Cooper out of his misery.


ON A MUCH BRIGHTER NOTE :)

Addison turned ONE!!! I have reflected on the the past year several times and I just smile. Here are some pics from the party. We had such a wonderful time and really do value the friendships we have. Thank you to all of you who came. In one pic addy is giving Jack a kiss and it's really not fair because she hardly ever gives kisses away. (ok so I'm a little jealous)

Don't Grow Mint in Your Garden

This really is just going to be one big venting process for me. Soooo if you don't want to hear about my frustrations then don't read this.

Grower's tip: Don't grow Mint in your Garden
Seriously. I have a big garden in my back yard about 8 ft by 4 ft and I grew all sorts of stuff like sage, rosemary, garlic, basil, thyme and the dreaded MINT. Oh and climbing spinach. (don't grown that either) The climbing spinach was literally like that plant on Little Shop of Horrors.
Mint grows like a freakin weed. I dug it all out this year (or so I thought) and it keeps popping up everywhere. If you are gonna grow it do it in a pot. Seriously...I find the tiniest leaves poping up through the soil and its MINT with a root system about a foot long. AGH UGH WHATEVER. Ok not really that big of a deal, but I'm trying to grow some watermelon and i picked those leaves by accident. Kinda frustrating.

Cleaning tip number 1:
Ok I know....... WHAT?!?..... Meredith you don't clean. Well folks for those of you who are aware. Cooper our dumbass dog has seizures. (really not that big of a deal) except that his dumb medicine makes him have an unbelievably HUGE, ENORMOUS, MONSTROUS, GIGANTIC (he could eat 5 big as your face burritos from Chuy's) appetite. In the last week he has eaten one of my socks (freaking whole) he at an entire not partial but and ENTIRE loaf of bread, a whole bag of peanuts, a little roll of foil and other various items. Needless to say I came home today and he took a big ole' dump in my room. MY ROOM!!! for pete's sake. And yes ladies and gentlemen the peanuts were there. (Robinson: I know you are laughing your ass off right now at my expense) He left one pile in my closet and one on his dog bed on the floor. The one in the closet was worse. Not only were there peanuts but and this is a HUGE BUT.......there was a tube of Neosporin, a wine cork (still whole I might add) and something that resembled a baby wipe, but I'm not sure. So cleaning tip: when they pee on the the floor (and this really is good for anything ie: juice, wine, whatever liquid) spray that Woolite carpet cleaner on it and then sprinkle some cornstarch and just let it sit. You can sprinkle some baby powder too if you like. Then just vacuum it up. It really does work.

Oh and the REALLY BIG NEWS!!!! Addy took her first steps March 27th last week. We were so excited. I can't say it enough, but she really does make everything and I mean EVERYTHING better. Thanks for reading. I will try to put the video on later.

All Quiet on the Spychaj Front except Addy

Hi Folks- My my my...little Addy. What can I say. She's going to be 1 next month! I can't hardly believe it. I know everyone says and said that the time would go quickly, but my goodness I can't believe it went as quickly as it did. I try to go back and reflect on the last year or 11 months of my daughters life and it's hard to remember all the little things. I am so thankful for our camera because we truly have been able to capture all those moments that one never gets back. Who would have ever thought that just seeing someone else smile just because you made a funny noise would absolutely make you the happiest person on earth. I can't express and I am sure the majority out there agrees that having a child is one of the most joyous occasions in a person's lifetime. I hope you all have a nice weekend and God Bless!!!

Update

Thank you to all of you for keeping our faily in your prayers. John's dad is home. His kidneys are processing the fluids in his body slowly bu surely. Th ekidney doc wants him to lose 30lbs of fluid in 15 days. (Put me on that diet plan) If the kidneys do not process the fulid in an efficient manner they may have to consider dialysis. Just continue to kepp our family in you prayers. We can't have enough.

On a brighter note. Wasn't yesterday absolutely beautiful?!? John and I are doing great. Nothing out of the ordinary is going on with us. Oh...we have been asked to be on the youth ministry at our church. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

Addy is getting so big. We went for her 9 month checkup on Thursday even though she is 10 months. She is in the 95th% for height and 50% for her weight and 97th% for her head. I personally think the nurse measured incorrectly. Her head looks perfectly proportioned to her body. She is crawling everywhere and she is pulling up every chance she gets. She is a total mommy's girl. She sees me now and say Mama. She says 4 words now and identifies those words appropriately with the object she is pointing to. She says cat when she sees Maxim and Dada when she wants John and mama when she wants me and nightnight (without the "t") when she wants to go to bed. It's pretty freakin cute. We are so proud.

K...that's it for now. Hope everyone enjoys the week.

2008

Gosh where did last year go?!?
Time really does seem to fly by a whole heck of a lot faster these days. I think it's because we all try to do too many things at once. This decision has led me to my New Year's resolutions:
1. Enjoy each day as it comes and savor every moment with my husband and daughter
2. Talk less, laugh more
3. I don't really have a third.

K....family update....

John is doing well. He got his Playstation 3 for Christmas and is as happy as a clam. He is joining in a "biggest loser" competition this week. It's 7 weeks long so we look for some great results.

Well as it turns out we can't find a workout schedule to coinside with John's schedule so John won't be doing the "Biggest Loser" competition this go-a-round, however we do plan to stay with the workout regimen already in place.

Nothing big going on with me. I start my count down with the store, meaning that I start my count down for payments. I only have 5 more payments on my loan and the store is officially paid off. Yes I will be celebrating and buying drinks. I will let you know where and when.


Addison is crawling now. Maxim has been great motivation for her. She love cats and can't get to him fast enough. She has started to pull up on the crib and our legs. It is so much fun to see her develop from week to week.

For those of you who don't know...John's dad was takento the hospital Monday night Jan 14 becuase he had bleeding in his brain and had a seizure. He is stable, but his kidneys are shutting down and if he does not get better tomorrow, they are putting him on dialysis. John isn't really doing well with this and doesn't want to talk about it, so if you could just keep us and our family in your prayers we would appreciate it. On the flip side....his dad's heart and blood presure are stable.

Thank you everyone for your support...I promise to keep you updated.

Christmas is coming...HOORAY!!!

John wants a Playstation 3 and everytime I call him he answeres the phone by saying, "Hello and thank you for calling Best Buy where we have lots of PS3's in stock so come on in and buy one for your loving husband." Seriously....it's every time I call him. Pretty funny huh? John has been working pretty hard this entire year helping me out at the store. He has been great at letting me have time to spend with Addy.

Speaking of Addy. She can wave Bye Bye now and she knows what it means. She says Hi and waves aas well. We are sooooo proud. She still won't crawl though. She has too much going on for that crawling business. She just tries to poull up on everything. We are looking forward to her opening presents on Christmas. It's so much fun shopping for the family.

Things have finally slowed down at the store. I am so tired of all the last minute shippers wanting their packages to their destination before Christmas. Only because they all say...How Much?!? It's gonna cost me that much!!! To whick I reply with a smile..." you shouldn't have waited so long." They smirk at me and still pay the $80 it costs to ship. Tell me...please...someone...what's the point in complaining if you are going to ship it any way. Sorry...I'm better now that I got to vent.

Anyway...hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Lots of Love, Mer