The Colonoscopy Review

 I'm sitting here on the other side of my first colonoscopy at the age of 45 and I want to talk about it.  If you don't want to know the nitty gritty details, please skip this post.  

Ok I warned ya!  

I don't have a family history of colon cancer (thank goodness) but I am a big believer in annual physicals and mammograms and skin checks and getting a colonoscopy as soon as age allows.  Why not catch something early if you can?  So if anyone needs a little nudge to make the appointment, please consider this your gentle reminder.

Long story short, it wasn't that terrible.

TMI Alert: Appointments are made months ahead of time, and as Murphy's Law would have it, I had my monthly visitor at the same time as the colonoscopy prep and procedure.  So that was fun.  I'm guessing this wasn't such an issue when women didn't start having colonoscopies until the age of 50, but I read about it online and everything said I could still have the colonoscopy so I went ahead.

I got the call on Friday to tell me that my colonoscopy would be at 8:30 am on Monday.  My last meal was on Saturday after Mass, and I chose fried scallops and sweet potato fries, followed by a cookie.  Hey calories don't count when you're about to flush everything out.

Week in Review: First Time at Costco, Fritters on Demand and Friends in Holy Places

After spending my first three years of this job saving my paid time off, I have some personal days and vacation days that I need to use or lose this year so I decided to take a bunch of half-day Fridays on weeks that don't already include a holiday.  My goal is to not work a full week for the rest of the fiscal year (ending June 30) .  I really sound like a government employee now :)  

On my first half-day Friday, JP and I went with my parents to Costco for the first time ever.  My parents have the Costco membership, but we have a BJ's membership because it's much closer.  Anyway, JP and I were like kids in a candy store and somehow spent $690!  

We shopped separately from my parents but when we were checking out, my mom and I realized we both bought the exact same sweater in the same color and we were cracking up.  When we got to the register, the elderly male cashier happens to  mention "nice sweater!" as he scans it and the giggles returned.  What are the odds to pick the same article of clothing in a giant warehouse?

 

We woke up to a freezing cold on Saturday morning, which also happened to be the last of the soccer games for our Declan boy.  It was worth braving the cold to watch every minute because at the very end he scored!!  He was so proud of himself and it was such a much-needed boost to his confidence.  He played a lot of defense this year and came close to scoring on his chances as forward.  We thought the season might end without a goal, but he pulled it off...phew!

Cheerleaders for life.

To everything turn, turn, turn

There is a season, turn, turn, turn...

...and so we now turn, turn, turn our attention to his basketball season.  We sponsored a team in this league, and the coach who selected Declan at tryouts made sure that their team got the name of The Ice Cream Cottage:

Our #2 scored 2 points in the game this week.  Maybe he should have picked a higher number?

Work it, work it

Xander and Brendan both competed in a swim meet on Saturday and beat their best times, always a great goal each meet.  The meet was almost an hour from our house and lasted 4.5 hours so you can do the math to realize it was a long day.  We need to rethink swim team for next year when it's only Brendan on the team (maybe move him down to the practice-but-no-meets level?) because Xander will be on the high school team and swim team is a very time demanding sport for littles who can't drive.

Brendan (in bottom lane) came in 2nd place in this race

A Good Buy and a Cute Guy

The Good Buy 

I found a great Advent Calendar for myself and others who love to light a candle each evening...

The best news is that this Candle Advent Calendar is at Kohl's which means you know you can add coupons and Kohl's Cash and get it for even cheaper than the listed price :)  The idea of lighting a new scented candle each night during Advent is the definition of comfy-cozy for me.  It would also be a great reminder to let it burn while praying a family rosary or watching an episode of The Chosen during the season of preparation.  And hey, if candles aren't your thing, there are lots of other Advent Calendars to choose from on this perfectly timed Advent.

The Cute (Little) Guy

We watched Despicable Me 4 at home this weekend and while setting it up on the TV, Declan saw the popcornmeter rating and ran into the kitchen where I was cleaning up to say:

"Mom!  There's this little popcorn thingie that they have on movies, and it goes from 0-100 and the higher the number lets you know if the movie is a good one to make popcorn for.  Despicable Me 4 has a popcorn rating of 87% so WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE POPCORN!"

So we did, of course.

Week in Review: Updates Galore

What a week!  It feels like we had something every night this week - Monday was Open House at the high school, Tuesday was the Election and our weekly Adoration Hour, Wednesday was Declan's 1st basketball game of the season, Phil had a meeting for work on Thursday, and now here we are.  Happy Friday! 

During the last presidential election, our family only had two voters (Phil and I) but just four short years later, we now have five voters which is wild!  When Eamon (a recent 18 year old) went to vote, they asked him if it was his first time voting, he said yes, and they announced WE'VE GOT A FIRST TIME VOTER HERE and whole place cheered and clapped for him :)

I voted before work on Tuesday morning, thinking it wouldn't be busy at 7am - wrong!

A restaurant in our town had a Buy One Adult Meal and Get a Free Kids Meal on Election Day, so you know this crew showed up:

I was at swim practice (for Xander)/spin class (for me) but we got Jersey Mike's steak and cheese subs after.  If there was any night for stress-eating, it was Election Night.

Week(end) in Review: Halloween and All Saints and Traveling Kids

First off, a game.  

Where in the World is Andrew Pauric Martin?  

Did you sing that to the Carmen Sandiego tune like I did?

He's in Italy!  All of the students on the Austrian campus are on their 10 Day Break to Rome and Assisi.  It's an awesome school trip, and Andrew and some friends actually left a day early to see Capri, Italy first before meeting up with everyone in Rome.

Andrew and the Lovely Ladies

Andrew and Smiles, twinning

In case you think it's all visiting historical sites and getting cultured at museums around the world, here's a reminder that they are still dumb fun college kids:

JP returned from his week in Ohio and is currently sitting by the phone waiting on the word when his job will start.  This has been a long time coming between interviews and a start date, so we're all a little impatient, in particular JP's wallet.

Preparing for The Perfectly Timed Advent

I have a little pet peeve when it comes to the season of Advent* and your typical Advent Calendars.  

The Advent Season is the time leading up to Christmas, beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ending on Christmas Eve.  Sometimes this season is 22 days long, and sometimes it is 28 days long, depending on which day of the week Christmas falls on that year.

The typical Advent Calendars you can purchase are actually just a countdown to Christmas Day, starting on December 1 and lasting 24 or 25 days, depending on whether the last little door/gift is opened on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  

So if you want to use an Advent Calendar to truly count down the days of Advent, you typically can not because the days don't line up...until this year!

For 2024, Advent starts on December 1 and ends on December 24 and therefore will perfectly align with the Christmas Countdown Advent Calendars you can purchase from the store.  I've rounded up a few cool choices if you want to play along this perfectly timed Advent.  

Nativity Advent Calendar 2024

Lego Advent Calendar 2024

Harry Potter Advent Calendar 2024

Escape Room Experience Advent Calendar

Funko Pop Marvel Advent Calendar

Shower Steamers Advent Calendar

Gingerbread House Building Set Advent Calendar

Shocking Science Tricks 2024 Advent Calendar

Nativity Scene Puzzle 2024 Advent Calendar

There's also Advent Calendars for coffee lovers, tea drinkers, fishing enthusiasts, makeup loving girlies, Godiva chocolate lovers, rubber duck collectors, and almost anything else you can think of!  Personally, I'm gifting myself this Advent Calendar because I love a scented candle!

*And yes, I know there are only 12 Days of Christmas that should be truly celebrated, beginning on Christmas Day through January 5.  Advent is a penitential time of preparation and excitement for what is to come on Christmas Day (spoiler alert - it's Jesus!) and while we shouldn't spend the Advent season celebrating something that hasn't happened yet, I do like to build the excitement by counting down and recognizing the journey.