What a day...

They were suppose to be doing more tests on Scott all morning so we waited to head down so we'd get there after he was finished... can anyone else forsee the doom...  We arrived at the hospital at 1:00 only to be told by a not so friendly hospital greeter... let me just say she needs to find a new job, prison guard comes to mind... who informed us that the kids were not allowed to leave the main floor lobby.  I explained (I'm proud to say) very calmly that we had just driven 2 hours for the kids to see their father and she proceeded to call hospital security on me... this is not a joke I was then "handled" by the security officer, gun and all.  Needless to say at the threat of getting shot I left the kids and mom in the lobby and headed up to see Scott.  At this point we have the option of giving the full story or a brief synposis, let me assure you, you'll prefer the synopsis.  I was able to track down his neurologist who wrote an order for him to be allowed to be taken by wheelchair to the lobby for a few moments to see the kids.  Unfortunately, his nurse was not so accomodating and we needed up finding a bleeding heart nurse he literally broke him out and rushed him down the hall.  As the elevator doors open and we are about to make our escape his nurse catches us and demands that he be brought back immediately since Cardiology had arrived for more tests...  Let me just say its 4:00 and we'd been waiting all day for the test but they chose that moment to show up!  Anyway, the renegade nurse sends me to the lobby to smuggle the kids up the elevator while she returns Scott to his room.  She returns to the elevator lines us up in a single file line and tells us to follow, don't stop don't talk to anyone, just keep going.  She takes us to the back door to ICU and informs the kids that when she opens the door Scott's room will be directly in front of them and they are to go straight through the door and into his room, again, don't look around, just go straight in.  She opens the door, the kids barrel through the door, past the cardiologist and right to Scott's bedside.  Our renegade nurse brings up the rear and leaving no room for opposition from the cariologist informs him that his kids are going to spend a minute with their dad.  That done, she helps us escape through the back door and sends them down to the sunroom on that floor to wait until Scott's testing is done.  She stresses that they can't leave the floor cause once off the floor they could be caught by security.  After his tests she loads Scott up in a wheelchair and brings him down to eat dinner with the kids.  This is the gospel truth, you can't make this kinda thing up and believe it or not, that was the synopsis!

Let me just say I'm thankful for Rule Breakers... I'm not sure how I could have gotten S and Z home had they not been allowed to see for themselves that Scott's okay.

I regale you with this story simply because we've got nothing new to report medically.  Several more tests today but no official results from his neurologist.  Not expecting anything to happen tomorrow and his doctor has said he'll be in until at least Mon.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support... A S and Z

Update on Scott

Thank you to everyone for the kinds words and prayers. If you were one of the 98 texts I rec'd today, I'm sorry I simply don't have it in me to tell the same story again and again. So here's where we are. The doctors have confirmed that Scott did suffer a stroke yesterday caused by a blood clot. They were able to administer the TPA and in our case at least it was a miracle drug. 24 hours after being completely paralyzed on his right side the therapists had him out of bed and walking. At this point is no residual limitations because of the stroke. He remains in ICU under observation only because of the possble complications from the TPA. They will be moving him to his own room tomorrow. We are now waiting while the doctors try to determine the cause so we can then discuss treatment/prevention options.


What I'm Thankful for Today... a family that is beyond words and a community that reaches out with love and prayers to my family. You can never know what your kindness means to us. THANK YOU!

09 Marching Eagles Take the Field

My husband, who was never in the band, let alone a Marching Eagle cannot begin to understand the emotion I feel every time I watch our band take the field. I can choke up just thinking about those moments before the announcer says, "Marching Eagles you may take the field for competition." One of the most important things to me about moving home was that my kids would get to have that incredible experience and this weekend, DitzyDanzer took to the field...

Birthday Shout Out

Today, Sept 13, my baby girl turns 15. That's right 12 short months and she'll be behind the wheel. I know most parents dread that day. I personally am looking soooooooooo forward to it. No more late night runs to town to sit in the parking lot waiting for the bus to get back. No more, up at the crack of dawn to run her in to catch the bus. No more killing time while she's at dance. The perks FAR outweigh any negatives in my mind. Anyway, Happy 15th to my little girl who is "So Big!"

Shout Out to Baby Sis...

Well with the insane amount of renovations we've done to the house the kitchen was one area that I decided I could do some surface changes to and get by for a few years. Of major concern was the dark, out-dated cabinets. In need of a craft idea, never fear, baby sister to the rescue. Creative C lived up to her nickname when she came up with this idea to spruce up my kitchen cabinets. While she wasn't thrilled with my color scheme choice, I am over the moon with the look thus far.

Here's what we started with...

Here's where we are today...

A Winning Season...

With dance winding down, you'd think we'd have ourselves a little free time. NOT SO. Where one kid leaves off another picks right up. Z-man took on summer ball at the ball park. This year he moved up to play with the older boys and found out what "real" baseball is like. Although it was a little intimidating at the beginning of the season he warmed up quickly and really enjoyed his time on the field. A few good lessons learned...

The key to good fielding... Always be ready!

If you want to get a hit...Keep your eye on the ball!

And all the hard work pays off when the Braves end the season as the league champions!

Every good player needs his own fan club.

Persistance...

If there was ever a day I wanted to go back to my carefree days of youth it was the day "The Golden Child" was lured into sitting in the dunking booth for "a good cause." The nephews lined up to take their shot at sending the big guy into the frigid water.

If at first you don't succeed, "Try try again!"

I think I can, I think I can.

Don't give up!

Look who's laughing now!

Dance Season Wraps Up....

After 10 months of rehearsals, public appearances, competitions, and recital, the dance season is officially over for this year. Here are the official team pictures.

This year the tap team went acapella with a broadway-style tap number, Tap Tap.

DitzyDanzer's favorite number this year was Toy Soldier a modern hip hop style dance where they rocked the stage.

While DitzyDanzer has been taking Pointe classes for the past two years, this is the first year that they performed a pointe dance at recital. Who doesn't love Phantom's Music of the Night.

The jazz number is always a crowd pleaser, this years the girls' copped an attitude and struted their stuff to New York City Girl.

The most complex and elaborate dance each year is the team production number. It is always an extended routine, usually 7-8 minutes of high intensity dancing, tumbling and stunts. This year's theme, Tribal Revival. The dance itself is fascinating to watch. It starts very fun and light and by the time its over the girls have turned into warriors in battle.

She's Officially a High Schooler...

We managed to survive the graduation ceremony. For some unknown reason I feel like I aged 10 years during the ceremony. My little girl is headed off to high school... that makes me old!

Here she is waiting patiently as the American flag is presented prior to her acapella rendition of The Star Spangled Banner... which was absolutely beautiful by-the-way!

In case there was any doubt, the envelope was NOT empty. She actually received her diploma.

She is pretty isn't she!

24 Hours and Counting...

Many of you may remember the recap from our shopping trip for a graduation dress. Well the wait is over. The dress was unveiled this evening at the 2009 Graduation Dance. This is the beautiful daughter I sent off.

The occasion even warranted a visit with Jess for an updo.

And check out the "Fergalious" shoes.

The Final Countdown

With 36 hours to go before graduation the class parties abound. When you get these three together you never know what's gonna happen.

The enthusiasm for the chorus party is AMAZING...

Look what happens you add a little sunshine and fresh air.

What do we do???

The question I pose to you today is this... "What do we do when our kids have the ability to dream big?" We raise our kids telling them they can be/do anything they want to do if they work hard and dream. So what do we do when they listen. When they have the ability to dream bigger than we can. Do we rain down on their parade and remind them of unimaginable odds and to "dream" more "realistically" or do we move heaven and earth to support them knowing in our hearts that in all likelihood its only a matter of time before the world crushes them. I don't want you to think I don't believe in my kids. I think they are both incredible people but as a practical mom (and isn't that the real question, do I even want to be a practical mom) the when the odds are so stacked against a happy ending, what do we do as parents?

Any pearls of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

We're still here...

Things have been crazy this spring for us but with graduation looming on the horizon I'm hoping things will begin to slow down a bit now. We got the 8th grade trip out of the way last week, spring concert wrapped up last and we've got our last dance competition for the year this weekend so we are definitely on the down hill side of the insanity.

As a little background, this spring Shelby worked on three pieces to take to solo and ensemble contest, a vocal solo, a vocal ensemble and a french horn solo then the week before contest she was bedridden with bronchitis. On Friday evening we had to make the heart wrenching decision to keep her home, based on her inability to walk from the sofa to the kitchen without breaking into a coughing fit. After ten weeks of preparation, sitting at home that Saturday was extremely difficult for her. All that work was not for naught as Roma allowed the girls to perform their ensemble last night. While it doesn't completely compensate for the disappointment it certainly helped ease her distress.

One of the things Shelby has enjoyed most in Jr High is her participation in the JCJH drum line. It really is quite impressive, we are very lucky to have an incredibly talented drum instructor working with the kids. This year's theme Kindergroovin'.

My favorite performance of the evening... a stirring rendition of It is Well With My Soul by the concert band. Kudos Steve on another fabulous concert.

I'm Hooked...

So if you visit the blog regularly you know that DitzyDanzer has been OBSESSED with the new Twilight series and a couple weekends ago we sat down to watch the movie together. I really enjoyed the movie but DitzyDanzer was adamant that the book was far and away better so thanks to a good friend who loaned me a copy, last night after everyone else went to bed I sat down to read for just a bit "until I got sleepy." At 2:30 am I forced myself to put the book down and go to bed. And let me just say, this old body ain't what it used to be. I don't know how I used to do it "back in the day" but my days of late nights and early mornings are obviously gone. It should be an "interested" day to say the least.

A Good Laugh...

Those of you who know me already know that I'm not one to forward e-mails. Don't misunderstand, I like a good laugh as much as the next person but I'm just not a big fan of the mass forward e-mail. That said, this week I received the following e-mail from a friend that simply had to be shared. This is from newshound Dave Barry's colonoscopy journal:

Subject: Colonoscopy....the humorous side

I called my friend Andy Sable, a gas troenterologist, to make an appintment for a colonoscopy. A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place,at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis ..

Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner. I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, quote, 'HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!'

I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a produ ct called 'MoviPrep,' which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America 's enemies.

I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous.Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor. Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water.. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.)

Then you have to dr ink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.

The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, 'a loose, watery bowel movement may result.' This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.

MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic, here, but: Have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.

After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep. The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage.. I was thinking, 'What if I spurt on AndyHow do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.

At the clinic I had to sign many forms ackn owledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked..

Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep. At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this is, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.

When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point. Andy had me roll over on my left side,and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand. There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, 'Dancing Queen' had to be the least appropriate. 'You want me to turn it up?' said Andy, from somewhere behind me. 'Ha ha,' I said.

And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like. I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling 'Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine,' and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood. Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that it was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.

A Different Kind of Vampire...

This winter DitzyDanzer has been completely obsessed with the Twilight series. She read the first book in three days. In case you aren't familiar with the latest tween heart throb, his name is Edward Cullen and he's a vampire. When DitzyDanzer asked to read the book, my first instinct was to forbid it. The entire premise of the series is a mortal 16 year old girl who falls passionately in love with a vampire, albeit a "vegetarian" (his family only drinks animal blood). As mom I would certainly prefer that she get out her Little House on the Praire books and become enamoured with Walnut Grove. She of course was not interested in that trade. So I did a little research and decided that there were certainly bigger battles that I would eventually need to win. So I conceded on books one, two and three. When it came to four I was faced with one of those "bigger" battles. You see, Bella and Edward are finally married and as a married couple, sex becomes a part of the story line. At my sisters' encouragement. I picked up book four and read it cover to cover before allowing DitzyDanzer to read it. To my utter amazement it was actually a good read. It is by no means a literary masterpiece but it is a story that pulls you in and has you cheering for the "good" vampires. So when the movie came out this weekend I bought DitzyDanzer a copy and she and I had some quality mother/daughter time last night watching it together. I'll be honest and say I would prefer that we read Little Women together but at least this is some common ground that we can enjoy together and even carry on a conversation about and believe me when I say that becomes harder and harder every day.

And So it Begins...

So DitzyDanzer is graduating from eighth grade in 8 SHORT weeks and the craziness has begun. Last week we enjoyed an informational seminar by the high school guidance counselors. Did I just say HIGH SCHOOL? Yes, mom is having a little trouble accepting that her baby girl is headed off to high school. That's a whole other post though. Saturday morning we loaded up the car and headed to St. Louis to find the PERFECT graduation dance dress. Dad did surprisingly well, not even a mumble as DitzyDanzer paraded out dress after dress after dress... To our utter astonishment, she found the perfect dress at our first stop. Of course there were more than 500 dresses to sort through. No kidding 500+ dresses. So the dress is ordered now we just have to find the shoes and jewelry. I'm afraid the easy part is done...

Dad's favorite

The Salesman's favorite...

Shelby's favorite... UNTIL she saw "her" dress

Mom's favorite

Bball Anyone...

I'd love to tell you that I'm gonna get better about keeping up with the blog. The best I can do is say I'll try. In any event. Z-man took the floor this evening in his first "real" basketball game. As the fates would have it, his game followed NoNonsense and his was opponent...B. The boys had a great time. Kudos to the men who've organized this league for the boys.

We're still here...

To put all fears to rest, the Huschle family is still alive and doing well. We have, however, officially entered COMPETITION SEASON. Notice "we" not just DitzyDanzer. That's because once the craziness starts the entire family is affected. This morning DitzyDanzer and I headed off for Evansville so that she and her team could take the stage for their first competition of the year. What follows are a sampling of my quiet little girl once she takes the stage and the lights come up...

An African Tribal Revival

Hip Hop

Tap Anyone
A little bit of New York City jazz!

W-O-W

DitzyDanzer is our dancer. She's been dancing since she was 2 1/2 years old and at 14, it's her thing. There is absolutely nothing she enjoys more than the dance production. At home we watch Dancing with the Stars religiously and we catch as many stage shows as we can. Through the years we've gone to see 42nd Street, A Broadway Spectacular, the Radio City Rockettes and last night we were blessed with four tickets to see Lord of the Dance. So after work, Sassy Seamer and I loaded up DitzyDanzer and one of her gal pals and headed to Champaign. The show was absolutely amazing which was evident by their expressions.

A minor investment...

Last February Scott and I were thrilled to receive the news that both kids were going to be wearing braces at the same time. So, for the past 12 months Scott and I have been sending the equivalent of a house payment to the orthodontist so that DitzyDanzer and Zman can have dazzling smiles. Zman has done great, following the directions to the letter. DitzyDanzer believes the "rules" are merely guidelines. And as if karma were on Zman's side, this morning when they visited Dr. Bankhead, Zman came out of the office minus his top braces (the bottom comes off next week)... DitzyDanzer still wearing hers!

Wake Up!

I'm a morning person... Z-man -- morning person... DitzyDanzer... not so much... So this morning she was determined to stay in bed as long as possible... not an easy task considering by 7:30 SassySeamer had ten yard apes under the age of 11 wrecking havoc on her house. The boys had already assigned out nerf weapons for the day and had a heated war going on and the girls had staked out the sun porch as their "house." Keeping in mind that I had already asked DitzyDanzer to get up twice, when the girls decided they wanted their nails painted, I offered her up as fair game. Maybe next time she'll get up to my polite knock on the door...

Looking Back

Last night while working on Scott's website I stumbled across this photo of Z-man and I just had to say... OMG I made cute kids...

Not sure what happened to him, but he sure started out cute!

A Question...

It's February 12 and I find myself asking the age old question... At what date does it become socially unacceptable to display your Christmas decorations. When I look out the office window this is the sight I behold...