In Loving Memory

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I write this post.

On October 18th, 2011, at 7:15 in the morning, Jeff’s mom— Judith Elaine Forslund passed away.  She had been fighting a huge battle with Lung Cancer over the last two years and sadly, it was the cancer that took her away from us here on Earth.  She was 75 years old.

At her passing, she was surrounded by her family— her husband Charles (Jerry) and her three children Julie, John and Jeff.  Jeff told me that along with the birth of our kiddos, it was one of the most profound and personal experiences he’s been a witness to.

Judy, I miss you.

I loved that you and Jerry just picked up your lives and moved to Napa, CA, to retire. Thank you for picking that city for the family to come and visit!

I loved that you really embraced your Napa community.  You were involved in so many things in your neighborhood and I loved that.

I loved those annual Yosemite trips.  Who could forget the year that black bear invaded our camp?  I’ll never forget you defending yourself with your pot & pan.

I loved that you always rang in the New Year banging your pot & pan.

I loved that we shared the love of knitting.  I loved that we worked on that scarf project together.  I was completely fascinated watching a ‘lefty’ work with the sticks.

I loved that you loved to make your own earrings.  So crafty!

I loved that trip to Biale Vineyards and you asked if you could add 7 Up to the wine to make it taste better.  Really, I just loved that you added 7 Up to every glass of wine to make it taste sweeter.

I loved that you found just regular table grapes to be sour.  We always joked about what the heck would you think about sour patch candy?!

I loved that Tahoe trip in which we got you to play Guitar Hero.  Just awesome!

I loved that you got a toe ring just a few years ago.

I loved that even with the invention of e-mail, you still clipped articles out of newspapers for us to read, and you ‘snail’ mailed them to us.

I loved that you really tried to embrace computers, e-mail, and Skyping.  Even though, I’m pretty sure it made you pretty mad at times.

I loved how proud you were of your backyard garden.  Loved Forslund Family Vineyard!

I loved how much you loved cooking.  You really helped spark that love of cooking and experimenting in the kitchen for me and I love you so much for that.

I loved how much you loved family get togethers.  You will be so incredibly missed at the table.

I love you and miss you more than words can say.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  -Matthew 5:4

In Loving Memory from Jen Forslund on Vimeo.

Please read Jeff’s post for ways you can celebrate her life with living tributes.

My Sweet, Sweet Video Mama’s Day Card!

Awesome Mama’s Day! My guys took me to P.F. Chang’s for dinner, Pinkberry for dessert and then they gave me this video mama’s day card! My heart is sooo full of love! Love my family!

Happy Mother’s Day from Jeff Forslund on Vimeo.

Super-Exciting-Fantastic News!

A Ben Films Story from Jeff Forslund on Vimeo.

Auntie & Uncle summer visit!

Continuing with the meandering mind flashback…

At the end of July, my sis & her hubby came out to Tennessee for a visit!  We had sooooo much fun playing tourist in our backyard— some of the highlights:  Chilhuly @Cheekwood, Neely’s, cooking up some yummy eats (lovin’ that T. Yearwood cookbook!), giving them their first taste of Sweet CeCe’s, & lets not forget– trying that deep fried alligator @55 South!  (I think I’m gonna pass on that next time!)

That’s just a taste of the FUN we had while auntie & uncle were visiting.  We sure enjoyed having them here!!!  Not sure if they’ll visit in the summertime again– Oh my, was the weather H-O-T!!!  I’m pretty sure by the end of their visit they were dreaming about standing at the end of HB pier soaking in mother nature’s air conditioner :)  Don’t worry guys, the next time you’re here, the weather will be much cooler.  Promise.

As always, a slideshow!  Sit back & enjoy!

G-ma visit!

Continuing with the meandering mind flashback…

My mom came out for a visit at the beginning of July.  What an awesome 4th of July week of FUN!  Lots of time spent outside playing with the water table, eating some delicious BBQ, & just chillin’ with g-ma :)

Check out the pics–

Summer Fun!

Continuing with the meandering mind flashback…

Let the start of summer begin!  Over Memorial Day weekend we purchased some SUPER FUN water toys for the backyard.  One Elephant blow up pool (& one super pump to pump this baby up!)  & a really cool Water Table.  Both Ben & Ben’s mommy & daddy have really enjoyed these toys :)  Check out some pics of the FUN–

A Perfect Day In May

Beautiful sunny morning in May spent at the park.

Ben discovering playing the the grass for the first time.

Excellent chill time.  Love my family :)

Ben’s Magic Helmet

Continuing with the meandering mind flashback…

For this one lets back up to last October.  Ben had been diagnosed with plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) & needed to have cranial helmet treatment. This meant wearing his Magic Helmet 24/7  for 5 months.  We thought of the helmet as the 4th member of our little family :)

What a journey this was from taking Ben to the hospital to have 3D pics of his skull done, the casting appointment for the helmet, taking care of the helmet, the crack-of-dawn helmet appointments, & the interaction with the public about why Ben was wearing the helmet.

I think this story is best told in pictures.  Here we go—

In order to determine if Ben was a candidate for helmet therapy & didn’t need corrective surgery, the docs wanted to see inside his head.  And so the process began.  First thing to do was a 3D CT Scan of the happenings of Ben’s skull.  The results came back that Ben didn’t need to have the surgery & having helmet therapy was the way to go.  Whew.  Thank goodness!

Next, the oh-so-memorable casting of his head for the Magic Helmet appointment.  I’ll never forget that day.  I was super glad that the casting only took about 20 minutes.  Ben was not a happy camper :(  Would you be happy if someone dumped some sort of plaster all over your head to make a mold of it?

Then, we got the Magic Helmet mid-December.  Let the Magic begin!!!  Ben really adjusted to the helmet quite quickly.  Hooray!!!  We were soooo happy that part was easy.  He loved wearing it.  As the days and months went by, we thought it became his lovie.

Memories that stick out during this time…

I would always introduce Ben as the future #1 NFL Draft Pick! :)

While we were in the airport during the holidays, Niki Taylor & her husband chatted with Jeff & I about Ben’s Magic Helmet.  On another plane trip, Ben got a smile & a head nod from Scott Hamilton.

We learned that the helmet should NOT be worn @30,000 feet in the air.  Baby in helmet = swelling of helmet on baby’s head!  And, trying to yank that thing off mid-flight was an experience.  I’m sure the other passengers on the plane where thinking… What the heck are they doing to that baby?! Don’t worry, no harm to either the baby or the helmet.  Lesson learned.

It was always pretty cute going to Ben’s helmet appointments and seeing all of the other baby’s in their helmets.  They all looked like they were part of a football team!

From the ‘Seriously?!’ or ‘Really?!’ category…

People are really funny.  During this time, I felt like I always wanted to make a public announcement ‘why’ Ben was wearing the helmet.  Really just to stop all the whispering about why they thought he had it on.  I had one lady approach me and say how sorry she was my baby had brain surgery.  What?! ?!

This is just a sample of the helmet stories.  It’s funny, just when we were really getting used to the helmet, that’s when it was time for it to come off.  On a very early morning in May, we got the most awesome news that Ben no longer needed to wear the helmet.  Hooray!!!  We were sooooo very excited that this chapter was over.  What a journey.  What a happy day!!!  And, most importantly, we were happy to see the results of what the Magic Helmet had done.  Excellent work Magic Helmet.  Excellent work.

I don’t really have any great before/after pics.  Trust me, the helmet really worked some Magic!  Check out some of my favorite pics of Ben wearing this wonder of a helmet.  You can really see him growing up from little baby to becoming a toddler.  And now that he’s toddling around, I sort of wish I could put the helmet back on his head!

Happy 1st Birthday Ben!

Come with me & lets take a trip wayyyyy back to March!  An amazing event happened!!!  Benjamin Wyatt had his first birthday!!!  We celebrated this awesome occasion in SoCal with family & friends.  What FUN!  Some of the big highlights during this 10-day adventure included:  birthday beach day @Corona del Mar, lots of swing time @the park, San Diego Zoo, & 2 birthday parties!!!  (Yes, 2!)

Super special thanks to our NorCal family for driving down to celebrate with us!  Thank you g-ma & g-pa for hosting Ben’s BIG birthday party @your house, and thank you Irvine auntie & uncle for Ben’s special beach photo shoot.  We LOVE our family!  You guys R-O-C-K!!!

Are you ready for photos?  Well, sit back & get comfy.  Perhaps, maybe take this in a little at a time.  Might I suggest pouring yourself a little wine?

First, PLEASE check out Amanda Bevington’s blog. An awesome day @Seal Beach with the fam!

I know you want to see pics of the birthday boy–

Check out the rest on Flickr.

Or, here’s a fancy slideshow of all the action.  Enjoy!

Did you make it through all of that?  Pat yourself on the back! :)

Oh dear, where have I been?

Dear neglected blog:  Sorry.

Here’s my sad story–  I can’t believe I haven’t written a post since February.  Oh dear!!!  You might be wondering, what the heck have you been doing?  Really, just plugging away at being the most fabulous SAHM & Domestic Engineer there is!  *self-appointed titles! :)*

You know how things just pile up on ya,  you keep procrastinating, & things continue to pile up & life just gets in the way?  That’s the sad story of why I have been ignoring my blog.  I’m just having a really hard time balancing all the ‘fun’ things I like to do with what little free time I get.  (I know, cry me a river!) I really need to get one of those fancy time machines Hermione uses in HP & the Prisoner of Azkaban.  Wonder if I can find one on eBay?

Another BIG reason why my blog is soooo neglected is:  Facebook.  I don’t think I need to explain further.

With all of that said, here’s to hoping for a fresh start with my blog!  Wishful thoughts that I never get this behind again.  No promises, though ;)  Ummm.  Cheers to me?!

Sooooo sit back & enjoy a little rewind on my life.  I’m going to take y’all back in time.  Get you all caught up on my meandering life.  Next post, Benjamin’s BIG birthday in SoCal!!!  (This happened back in March!)  I have lots of pictures to share & stories to tell.  Stay tuned…