Happy Mothers Day!

May 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment 

It’s 12:04am on Sunday morning, so I am officially celebrating my first Mothers Day!  I am so excited to be a mommy to be able to celebrate Mothers Day for the first time as a mom.  About 20 minutes ago, Collin gave me my gift, a super cool Flip video camera.  It’s teeny-tiny and takes really good video.  I was so surprised!  I’ve been asking for a video camera for a long time, and now I have one!  It’s also great, because it’s so small, I can easily carry it in any purse or even my pocket.  It’s about the size of a cell phone.  Yippeeeeeee.  Thank you Collin, for getting me such a great gift that is so fitting for a new mommy.

For Mothers Day, we’re celebrating with our mom’s and we’re going out to brunch at Citrus City Grille at the Orange Circle.  We’ve never been there, so we’re hoping it’s good.  After we eat, we plan on walking around and window shopping and just spending some good, quality time with our families.  I’m sure pictures will be taken and I’ll even get to film our day!

Being that it’s now 12:09 and I’m exhausted, I need to get to sleep so I’m not a grumpy Mommy on Mothers Day.

To all of the mothers out there, we wish you a very happy Mothers Day.  May you not have to wash a single dish, clean one dirty shirt or sweep up any crumbs.  Enjoy your day!

Kyla

Posted by KyPo | Filed Under Blog

First week back at work

May 8, 2009 | 1 Comment 

So, it was my first week back at work, from my maternity leave. Wow, it kind of sucked! Not only did I actually have to put real clothes on everyday (as opposed to sweats or pajama’s), I had to start waking up at the ungodly hour of 4:30AM!!! I have never been a morning person, I have always had a really hard time waking up, and thus far in our marriage, Collin has been the designated waker-upper. However, I now get up earlier than Collin does, so this huge responsibility is now all mine.

We’re trying to get into a set schedule, in the hopes that our mornings run smoothly. This hasn’t happened yet, so at 6:45 each morning, I’m frantically running around trying to make lunches, brush my teeth, and make sure I have everything I’ll need for the day. All the while, my super-hubby is calmly asking what he can help with. I totally envy his calmness and patience, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

The first day I dropped Elyana off at WBB’s house, I cried the whole way there, as I handed her off, then cried even harder as she started to cry with me! Thankfully, Elyana was asleep, so she couldn’t watch me walking away. The day was difficult, but we all lived through it. A few hours at night just doesn’t seem like enough time to spend with our Elyana. We find ourselves wanting to keep her awake as long as possible so we can get just one more smile before she drifts off to sleep for the night.

It just so happens that I chose to return to work on the very same day that the economy reared it’s ugly head at my workplace. Unfortunately, many people were laid off that day. Fortunately, I was not one of them. We are praying fervently (is that the right word?) that my job will not be affected. My feelings are so mixed as I want more than anything to stay home with Elyana, and at the same time, I’m praying that I won’t lose my job. Needless to say, it has been a stressful week and it has gone by very quickly.

In other news, Collin and I discovered the world of Twitter (twitter.com)! At first, I scoffed at Twitter and all of it’s tweeting glory, but now I’m addicted. I realized that you can follow your favorite bands (Third Day, Mercy Me), talk show hosts (Oprah, Ellen and Jimmy Fallon) and random people (Ryan Seacrest and Tina Fey). It’s kind of fun to get little updates on the lives of people you really don’t know. However, I was sad to see that I couldn’t find any friends, as those are the updates I really care about. So, come on, people – let’s Twitter! You can find and follow me (kymarpo) and Collin (Pollockphotos). We would love to hear about your exciting and even not-so-exciting activities.

Have a great weekend!!!

Posted by KyPo | Filed Under Blog

Preparing for the BIG DAY

May 4, 2009 | 3 Comments 

So, tomorrow I head back to work, much to my chagrin.  Remember how I previously said that I would be getting Friday’s off?  Well, I’m sorry to say that this is no longer the case, although I will not be going into detail about this unfortunate turn of events.  Let’s just say that it was a decision that was made for me.

So, as I sit here in my pajama’s at 2:27 in the afternoon, I am trying to determine what all I need to do before heading out the door tomorrow morning with my daughter in tow.  I’ve become a bit of a list maker in the past few months and here is what is on my list today:

1. Make a boatload of spaghetti sauce (for dinner tonight and to freeze and use in the future for quick dinners)
2. Do laundry so I actually have clean clothes to wear to work
3. Pack breast pump and all of it’s parts, don’t forget the ice pack to keep my milk cold so it doesn’t spoil, and extra batteries in case there’s not an outlet nearby
4. Set 2 alarms for tomorrow morning…one for me and one for Collin
5. Put pack of tissues in purse, as I know I will be crying when I pull into my work parking lot

I think that’s all for now.  I’ve already provided WBB (that’s worlds best babysitter) with a ton of frozen breast milk.  Sorry about taking up all your freezer space, Sara, but my kid’s gotta eat.  I have also given her a huge box of diapers from Costco and made sure she has a few changes of clothes for Elyana.  Thankfully WBB has the same swing and bouncy that we do, so Elyana will feel right at home.

I honestly cannot believe that I’m going back to work tomorrow.  It feels totally surreal and I keep thinking it’s not really happening.  I’ve been hoping to win the lottery, but I’ve neglected to actually play, so I think my odds are pretty slim.

Today, I was burping Elyana, and her song came on.  It’s called Elliana’s Song by Watermark, and it’s all about having a daughter named Elliana and how God answered their prayer in bringing her to them.  Same pronunciation as our Elyana, just a different spelling.  (Sidenote: we had already decided to name our daughter Elyana when WBB who was just a friendly acquaintance at the time told us about the song…funny how God works).  Anyway, I was burping Elyana when her song came on and I just burst into tears.  She started smiling like crazy.  Thankfully she cannot decipher that my tears mean I’m sad.  She probably just thought I was making goofy faces at her.  But, it brought me back to when Collin and I first started IVF and how much we prayed for God to bless us with a child.  He has certainly answered our prayers and we are so fortunate for His gifts.

I will follow-up tomorrow with how my first day back at work goes.  Hopefully I don’t freak out and quit when I walk through the doors.  If that happens, you’ll see my little family next to a freeway off-ramp begging for food and money.

Lord, give me strength…

Posted by KyPo | Filed Under Blog

We Said Goodbye…

May 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment 



I Said Goodbye…, originally uploaded by Full Circle Digital.

Dear Family and Friends,

It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we deliver to you some devastating news. One week ago today, our sweet Callaway passed away. As you can imagine, we have both been an absolute mess since this happened. It took us both until today, to sit down and write down our thoughts without the tears streaming down our faces.

As many of you know, this past year had been a difficult one for Callaway. She suffered from two episodes of Vestibular Syndrome, where she would lose her sense of balance and show stroke like symptoms. She was also diagnosed with multiple degenerative discs in her back. After a series of acupuncture treatments and some TLC, she always seemed to bounce back but she was starting to show signs of her age and slowing down a lot. She would still go to work with me a couple of days a week, but she just wasn’t the same. Thankfully, Kyla was at home raising our beautiful daughter Elyana, so Callaway was able to stay home with them and recovery.

A few weeks ago, Callaway started to lose her interest in eating. If any of you knew Callaway, this is a huge deal. She would usually scarf her food down in a minute or two. We kept trying to change her food and Kyla would get on the ground and try to hand feed her. This worked off and on until she finally was refusing to eat anything we offered her.

Kyla took Callaway to the hospital and the Veterinarian took one look at her gums and said that Callaway was very sick and she rushed her off for a battery of tests. The results of those tests showed that Callaway was having kidney failure and they found two very large tumors…one in her liver and one in her spleen. We then waited 24 very long hours for the biopsy of the tumors to come back to find out that they were malignant tumors of the blood cells and there was no other option but to put Callaway down.

Callaway made my life so much better for over 11 years and she touched so many people’s lives. Everyone that met her instantly fell in love with her. She had the sweetest eyes, the softest ears and the kindest, most loving demeanor.

It’s amazing to think back at how I didn’t even want Callaway when I was going through the training to get a service dog. I never thought I would get that close to her. I remember calling my parents when I was paired up with Callaway and explaining my dissappointment, because we were asked to pick out the 3 dogs we wished we could work with and Callaway didn’t even make my list. She was smaller than the big manly dogs I wanted and every time she sat on the tile next to me, her legs would spread apart (very un-lady like) and she would slide backwards. For some reason, this really turned me off. Obviously, I was very wrong in my choices because Callaway would go on to change my life forever.

I think the defining moment in our relationship was when my family and I took a trip to Colorado for a medical conference. I had just got comfortable in bed and realized the huge hotel comforter was very restricting and starting to get very hot. I didn’t want to have to call my parents in the next room, so I called Callaway up on the bed, gave her the corner of the comforter and asked her to “Tug”. Next thing I know, Callaway is pulling the comforter off me and she was overly excited to do so. This showed me how truly independent I could be with Callaway by my side.

Callaway and I traveled to a number of places around the country. We were asked to speak at different schools in Southern California and I was asked to be the guest speaker at one of Canine Companions Annual Fundraiser. Shoot, I even got to meet Dean Koontz, Bill Walton and BO DEREK! Without Callaway, that would have never happened!

Kyla and I, along with everyone that was close to Callaway, are going to miss her greatly for a long time to come. We’re going to miss how she would look at us with love, how she would snuggle with us in bed, how she would bounce up and down like a rabbit when she would get really excited, how she would sneak up behind you and nudge your elbow when you weren’t paying enough attention to her, how she would pull the covers off our bed when we tried to sleep too late on the weekends, how she loved to squeak her toys, how she loved to going swimming in my parents pool… We’re even going to miss the things about her that drove us nuts sometimes. Callaway had a tendency to eat her own poop and come in from outside smacking and licking her lips. It would make us so angry to hear that noise, but just thinking about it now brings us both to tears.

We are going to miss you so much Callaway. You were such an amazing companion, friend, calming presence and a pivotal part of our family. When we were sad, you could always comfort us and we wish we had you here to ease our pain right now. We know you are in a better place now. A place where you can run and play and be pain free. A place where anytime someone throws you a tennis ball, it is a new one. A place where the squeaker in your toys never goes bad. A place where the temperature of the water is always perfect to go swimming and the food is fit just for you. I hope you are eating ice cream and all the things that we never let you eat while you were here with us.

Goodbye our sweet Callaway. You will always be missed and never forgotten.

Daddy, Mommy and baby Elyana.

Posted by CoPo | Filed Under Blog

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