road to recovery

Full-timing & Fuller Hearted

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We are officially in our second week of full-timing, as it’s called in our new awesome lifestyle. The change from living in our old town, the girls going to public school and all of us being very immersed in it, to moving to a new town and homeschooling, and now to living full-time in our RV, roadschooling and with some days of just us, has been a big transition. However, I have to say that my children really go with the flow, embrace life and it has been a welcomed slowing of pace to the chaos of the past few months. img_8142

If anyone is concerned about my mental well-being after the first week from Hell, do not fret. Since I have had my multiple panic attacks, made my husband invest a small fortune in upgrading his truck, and froze in states where it’s normally warm, we have found a happy rhythm. It has still been unseasonally cold this week in Tennessee but we hiked, ate some good southern food, explored the beautiful KOA of Sweetwater, and learned a lot this week. While Shaun was working the girls and I bundled up and got outside a lot. Fresh air did us a lot of good!

Now we are trying to make the most of our space, personalize it a bit (which we’ve yet to do) and learn to make the most of everyday. One tip I’m learning quick is that if we are traveling or want to do a full day of something, we need to, and absolutely can, modify our schooling schedule (even doing some reading while still in bed because why get up). Part of this journey is to make the most of our days, and yes they need to learn and grow mentally, but exploring, wandering, and being free is also a big part of it. This is the part that we can not take advantage of when we are home, they’re in public school and there are rules to everything. I’m saying rules-schmules…LIFE is what my kids need!

This week coming up is going to be a GREAT part of our journey! We are headed to Florida to see the Pieklos, our BFFs/Family/Loves! It’ll be the first time we all bring the kids to Universal Studios where we will celebrate Shaun’s 40th. During the week we’ll get some quality time in. Then the following weekend we’ll hit Magic Kingdom and Epcot and the following day celebrate Dani’s 40th. That will be the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae because her and I are hitting the spa and we NEED it! It’s been quite the past 6 months for us both and these mammas deserve a 40th birthday celebratory BFF spa day!!!

I must admit that since Dani and the fam moved, it’s been sad for me (and all of us). I totally get why they moved and knew it was their dream so I support their dreams but am sad without them close by. The best part of our friendship is that we always get each other, think too much alike, support each other in our hair brain ideas, and back each up in our crazy, and sometimes illegal, whims. Other great parts are that our kids love each other and fight like siblings, which is pure love in the kid world. This week is going to be the best, warmest and funnest (yup a word!)!!!!

So, what happened this week past, I did our first load of laundry thus far. Let me tell you, doing your laundry once a week with three machines simultaneously is awesome! It would be less if Shaun’s clothes weren’t so God forsakingly big but he’s a giant so that is life. Then they had big dryers so all of it went into one big drier and was put away in no time. Mom win! Southern food is delicious, albeit not healthy but yummy. Long division and money were conquered in our roadschooling! Mom tackle, goal and field goal!

We went to the Cherohala Skyway and saw the breathtaking Bald River Falls. There were frozen sections and it was truly a display of God’s handiwork.

Cherohala Skyway

Tomorrow we start the two-day travel to Florida and we are all excited for the journey because the end of the road is going to be great! See y’all next week…might post after we depart on Tuesday 2/6 so I can give you the full download of our time but you never know, I might be too excited to share the fun also.

Til then… img_8104

Hope, Peace and Love

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Welcome to 2018 with A Cup of Heather! Thankful for starting this blog and getting to share with all of you!

Our family
My BFFs

∧ Party on the top ∧                          ∨ Christmas morning on the bottom ∨

Love these moments
Matchy fam
My cup overfloweth!

Our Christmas was nothing short of magical. All of our people came for our annual party, we attended an awesome Christmas Eve service at the church we’ve been attending since our move, and Christmas was so perfect with our family and watching our two little blessings enjoy the day. Post Christmas I surprised the girls with a going away party with their friends from their old school. Rollerskating, donuts and friends = fun!

We also had a great, chill, and most yummy New Years Eve with some of our besties, who is also a ridiculously kick butt chef, Chef Sam!

So we are post move, mostly settled (some minor things always pop up as it does with all homeowners), post Christmas, post New Years, and pre seven month RV trip. You may ask, what are you doing with your downtime? <Insert evil witch cackling laugh in response to “downtime”> During our time in-between major life events, our eldest daughter, Natalie, had major surgery one week ago today.

Natalie was diagnosed with minor hearing loss by accident while they were trying to see if her speech developmental delay was due to physical issues. Long story short, they’re not related. Her speech therapist at her old school was a blessing to our family in so many ways. She exhausted all of her insane amount of talent and tools and told us to pursue an ENT to scope her, again, to check her soft palate. We did as recommended and following her third and painful, and as Natalie calls them “annoying”, unsuccessful scope later and I dropped Natalie off at school after that appointment and went home and ugly cried for a long time.

I was so frustrated for Natalie and the fact that we live in the New York area and couldn’t find a doctor to give us the answers we needed or, at the very least, not waste our time. After seven years of speech therapy, three speech therapists, 5 ENTs, 4 painful scopes, we decided to go to the best of the best, to the ones with the answers, and went to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. I was done with the nonsense!

After going on the CHOP website I smiled after two minutes because they had a whole clinic devoted to what we thought Natalie might have, Velopharyngeal Dysfunction (VPD). Even the secretary knew what I was saying. It was like angels singing and I was finally feeling like I wasn’t losing my mind. The downside, it took four months to get an appointment because the clinic only meets once a month. When we did go, it was WELL worth it!

They had answers for everything, everyone was friendly and warm which made Natalie feel good, they knew what they were doing, no questions went unanswered or were even met with a pause, and everything they were doing was explained to all of us. Before we left the team met and reconvened with us and we had a plan ahead of us that we felt confident with and made full sense. We were on the road to recovery!

One adenoids surgery (to get them out-of-the-way for last weeks surgery only), one crazy blood work/pre-op appointment where Natalie’s heart rate wouldn’t get to normal from nerves and took two hours, four days of knowing the surgery was not pre-certified by the insurance company until we knew it was (aka the day before scheduled surgery at 1:30pm), one wake up at 3:30am to make our 7:00am arrival time, and a 9:00am, hour and half surgery later and here we are.

Natalie’s VPD surgeon, Dr Oksana Jackson, is so confident and knowledgeable that the moment they wheeled my baby away on the table, I didn’t worry that anything would go wrong but just shed tears wishing I could be with her. The overwhelming amount of joy when Dr Jackson walked into the waiting room a long hour and half later and told us that the surgery went as expected! Post-op Natalie took a bit longer to come too than last time and was in a lot more pain. The days following were much harder than we expected also. Natalie is a big eater and the extreme pain of swallowing was getting in the way. It was sad and exhausting watching her struggle so much. She smiled through it all!

Post-op Day 2
Honored to be her Mamma <3

Back to homeschoolingAs of yesterday she really made quit a big turn in her recovery and thankfully is down to one pain med, finding eating a bit easier, and smiling even more. The soft food diet for three weeks is getting old quick, especially being a big eater, but she knows as long as she follows it she’ll heal faster. My rule-follower is right on track to recovery and, to her dismay, back to homeschooling. (Check out my new light fixture…love!)

We are keeping busy the past few days getting ready for our seven month road trip!img_7842-1 I even cracked the Instant Pot out of the box to get acquainted before the trip. Apparently it is the answer to all RVers prayers.I am also super excited that along our way, we get to celebrate Shaun’s 40th and my BFF, Dani’s, 40th together! Hammans + Pieklos = LOVE!

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T-Minus FIVE days until we are on the road!

Are we packed? No

Are we organized? No

Have we started getting ready? Yes

Are we going to have memories to last a lifetime? Yes

Will there be Target and Camping World stores along the way? Yes

Well then, I guess we are ready to go!!!

 

 

 

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15)