Happy New Years!

The Udell houses are going to be full tonight. Mike, Sarah and Chad have been here all week. (Jake escaped last night.) Tonight Rhone and his crew of 9 are arriving on our doorstep.

 Vegas is out of hotel and motel rooms, the only thing available tonight are the rent by the week Prostitutie Chick crack houses...
Sutter Home and The Bella House are going to be bursting tonight!

Add another 10 bodies and we have a real New Years Party!

This afternoon I had to try and decide who is the bigger Princess..

Mike in his smiling lips happy chair....

Or Sarah in her Tiara!




I choose.............................

BOTH!!!!!!













Happy New Year everyone! May your 2011 be filled with good times and family..
Lots of laughter and winning lotto tickets!

Getting away from the crowds.

This week Las Vegas has been host to thousands. Apparently The Strip puts on quite the show. Every tourist trap feels like getting on a Tokyo subway during rush hour.
So the boys and I went to the local go-kart track and played speed racer!


Hi.. I am a big boy... I can drive it myself!



It was fun for the first few laps. Then it started getting cold fast. It's only in the 40's here. Brrrrrrr.

Dad is getting frustrated because he can't go play.

His incision is weeping and bothering him. The home care nurse comes to pack it in the morning. 
I am looking for some sort of magic to make him feel better.. Until I can get my hands on such a elixir, keep him in your prayers, and send positive energy this way.
Every little bit helps!

I am taking a break.. Tonights guest blogger is Mike.. you have been warned.

So for today's update I'm stepping in for Raych. it seems she fears that you have all become accustomed to her style and witty sarcasm. so for contrast you'll be reading my dribble tonight.
Mom and Dad visited the surgeon today. He removed the staples from dads chest despite any fears of his wound being ready to remove said staples. There has been some opening of the incision less then the grand canyon but enough to Merritt a bit of draining. It seems lake Mead is low and the folks at Scumberland want to do anything they can to help.
I guess that there is some daily packing to hold back the red sea as Moses is busy.


Sarah, Chad Jake and I all braved the crowd on the strip, we wish Moses had been available then too.
This weekend Rhone and his entire family are coming as well. We may need Moses to part the crowd then as well, but it will be at home this time. And you thought there were no more communes. But I digress.
Dads spirits seem to be holding so we brought him some flaming soup


Note the hot babe is just some chick from the Internet.
As promised I'm sure I've rambled and you may now either feel you should never read this blog again or spread mayonnaise on your lawn, but fear not Raych will be back tomorrow. Jake asked if he could add a few words.

HI everyone! These people are CRAZY. PLEASE HELP!

Getting left behind.

After a big breakfast buffet with the Teenagers, Sarah and the boys went to Hoover Dam this afternoon. 

Mom and Dad went to the casino down the street, while the kids were out doing the tourist thing. (I went to into work, finding my own insane entertainment)

They ended up winning!

Moms favorite machine

 It's good to see Dad get out a little more each day..
 Tomorrows big adventure??? They surgeons office. The Doctor gets to check out his handy work.. Maybe take out the staples?

It's all Mikes fault

Okay it's not his fault. But I need to blame someone for being late writing today's blog.. And after a few demanding wall posts on my Facebook wall, I get it, time for a Dad update.

I think Dad is going stir crazy.
He wanted to go to the airport last night to pick up Mike.. When have you ever heard anyone say.. "I want to go do a airport run!"?

Then this afternoon Mike and Dad went to home improvement adventure land.

He is feeling a little stronger... but not strong enough to do what he wants to do... We keep reminding him he was recently eviscerated and these things take a couple of days of recovery.

When family comes to play..

It's a good day because we have Sarah and Chad visiting. (I wasn't so sure this morning at 2:00am when we got home from picking them up at the airport.)

Dad had a visit from a visiting nurse, then we left him to his Sunday football while Sarah, Chad and I went down to the Strip. God only knows what trouble Mom got into unsupervised.


 Now we are back home to spend time with Dad, and suffer through The Sound of Music..
Soon, it's back to the airport to pick up Mike. Two full houses of family!



Happy to have his little girl and Grandson here!
 Looking more and more healthy everyday.



24 Hours Home

Dad is doing great being in his own environment! We just got back from a little walk down the street. It has been great to have him home. Bella is thrilled, she crawled up on his lap the moment he came over. They both took a cat nap.. It was too cute. Then later they were both zonked out in the guestroom. I have always said that Dad is a cat whisperer.

Translation. Meowwwwwwww

Mom wanted me to share Marti's idea for a family flag. 
Story goes that she takes solace in the night sky. Thinking of each of the big dipper stars as one of each of us kids and the moon and sun as Mom and Dad.
With that in mind she is designing a crest with that as a theme, any and all ideas are welcome! What a fun idea!

Who has the brightest star?

Christmas Eve

Thank God!
Santa came through.. we got our Christmas wish, Dad is home!
He broke out of Scummerlin this afternoon. His spirits are much better.
He can move in their king sized bed. No IV tangled around his arms and neck. No doctors or nurses poking and waking him every time he manages to fall asleep.
I haven't seen him this alert and happy in over a week..

See? Like always Mom was right, he needed to come home to heal!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We loved him then and we love him now!

Moving Day.. (sort of)

Well, we were hoping that Dad would get moved out of ICU, finally.. he is looking better.. sounds more like himself..so why is he still on the Insensitive Callous Unit??  Do we need to break him out???


They did move him to another room on the unit.. He is closer to the escape door, that leads to the elevator!
Apparently the closer you are to the doors the better you are getting.. That is what the nurse said anyway..
They promised him a walk around the ward this morning.. as of now they still haven't taken him!

When I went in this morning Mom wanted to shave him.. She had grabbed a razor and a can of travel size shaving cream that Topher had left .. She tried spraying the cream in her hand and only a little liquid came out.. She thought that maybe gay boys had fancy shave cream that didn't foam and spread the liquid on Dads face..  When the razor didn't glide across his cheeks we decided that maybe it was just empty and that is what came out.. Off to the nurses station to find some good old fashion Edge!
While she was gone Dad looked at the can and chuckled. Mom was trying to shave him with Axe Deodorant and body spray!
 (They did give her a disposable electric razor.... but that is another story.)

Big steps forward tiny steps back.

We were hoping that Dad could be released from ICU today. His heart rate is once again erratic, so they have him back on meds for that and want to monitor him some more. But he can still eat and drink and get up.
They took out his catheter, so he has that freedom back!

With is claustrophobia the less tubes the better!
Home for Christmas is still our goal.. I think anyone who knows him will agree, once he is out of danger, he will recover faster in his own home.. 

Popsicles for Pop.

As you can imagine today everyone was worried about Dads procedure this morning. Bracing ourselves for a long wait again. We were surprised they took him down at 11:30.. still the a.m.! (Rhone predicted 9pm) Before they took him down the nurse asked him if he wanted to sit in a chair for a half hour or so.. "Yes!" was his answer before she could finish the question.


They were able to extract all the old blood hanging out in his belly.. no new leaks! And then...

Nurse Kelly brought Popsicles! For a man that has had nothing to drink for almost 5 days this was the ultimate in pleasure. I have seen people drink $100 dollar glasses of wine, but never with this much appreciation. (Who knows they may charge that much for frozen punch, we'll see when the bills start coming.)


Today was a much better day. Sitting up, having a little Jell-O and things to drink have made all the difference.
Having a nurse who actually cared, also helped! If not for him, Mom and I were relieved to have someone give him the care he deserves!

Scummerlin Hospital

I promise I am not going to dedicate a whole blog to the uncaring, horrid staff at the hospital.. I just saw that name on a review and I really liked it!

Dad does have some internal bleeding. Tomorrow morning they are going to do a procedure called angiographic embolization .. They basically go in through the groin and suck out the blood from around his spleen and pancreas. We are so glad that he doesn't need to be cut open again! Or a zipper to make fixing their mistakes easier.

This picture is dedicated to Dad and his fascination with really dumb tattoos

Hanging out at the Hospital

Hey everyone,
I know we are all worried about Dad. His recovery is not going well, I am at the hospital now.

Good news first, his heart rate is back to normal and his kidneys are functioning. He is allowed to sit up, and is much more coherent. They are going to finally give him a TPN, some nutrients in a IV.. (I know, since when is that good news?)

The not so good news, they have had to give him blood transfusion last night and today.. a little O negative and plasma cocktail.
The doctors think he may have some internal bleeding. His only liquid in days and it is a icky concoction for the CAT scan. He is down there now..
I hope this stellar hospital staff do not lose him..


Hehehe a old joke, but still makes me laugh.

I will keep ya'll posted when they remember to give us the results.

Disappointing day

It has been a hard day on all of us..
Dad is not bouncing back like we are use to him doing.
His heart rate is erratic, they gave him insulin, and his kidneys are shutting down. 
The doctor is thinking he might need dialysis. His spirits are low. He still hasn't been allowed to even sit up. Anyone who knows Dad, knows he has a hard time staying still. 

He hasn't had anything to drink since Thursday. Nothing to eat since Wednesday. He is thirsty, hungry, hurting, sad and gets mad at himself because he is cranky.

Even this didn't make him laugh.

Thanks for all the pictures sent our way.. I know that when he feels better he will see the humor. He is just so miserable right now, that he lost his ability to laugh.
He worries about everyone and hates that he is causing angst.

Mom is trying to be brave... but it is not always easy..
The hospitals impassive attitude is starting to get to us all.. His nurse over rules everything that sounds good to us e.g.  Giving him nutrients via IV...  letting him move around.. giving him a damned ice chip..

Here is hoping that tomorrow is a better day.

Stubborn old man.

Mom, Topher and I went to the hospital this morning.
Dad is in ICU. I think we were all a little taken back as we approached his room and were stopped in our tracks by the notice on the door.
No one allowed in without gowns, masks and gloves.
Mom finds a nurse who points at the cabinet on the wall. She tells us that the gowns and gloves are in there, "I will be back in 5 minutes" Apparently in hospital time that means 20 minutes.. so of course by that time we are all germy again.

Like this nurse? Nurse? Where are you?

I think it goes like this...

Okay we are ready.

Nurse comes back and tells us that we shouldn't be doing this in the hall.. Oops.
Finally we get to see Dad. The old man is in pain.. also stubborn. He told us that the pain meds make him sleepy. Yeah well, that is the point!  Always one to be concerned about others he keeps fighting to stay awake. 
We decided the fastest way for him to get better is to sleep.. so we reluctantly leave him.
We make the mistake of thinking that a couple hours of shopping might take our minds off things.. Forgetting that it is the Saturday before Christmas... we are distracted with the need to kill rude Santa helpers.

Back to the Hospital. Topher and I send Mom in not wanting to stress Dad.
He tried to sit up this morning and his Blood Pressure went crazy. So they put him on a IV for that.. and total bed rest.. no getting up.
As of tonight his blood pressure is stabilizing.
He still can't eat or drink anything. He is going to be in the hospital at least 5 days.
He is concerned and wants to send his love to everyone.

A long day..

Todays time line
7:00am- Everyone is up and anxious to start the day.

8:30am- Mom and Dad head toward the hospital.

8:45am- Topher and I grab breakfast, and one to go for Mom.

9:30am- Dad is done with all the intake shit and we sit waiting for the pre-op people to take him away

10:30am- They call him to get ready.. Place him in the cutest Jonnie and even cuter socks.

11:30am- They let us keep Dad company. Expect them to take him any moment.

12:30pm- Nobody from the hospital tells us a thing.. we keep waiting

1:30pm-Dad entertains us with stories of his childhood.. we are amazed he made it through his teenage years.

2:30pm-More stories and higher anxiety.. Dad is starving, he hasn't be allowed to eat for days. Topher and I in sympathy for his hunger go out and eat...

3:45pm- We are getting sick of looking at each other.

4:00pm- Finally the Doctors come out and ask more questions.. Dad keeps his cool.. I think I would have been much more snarky, if it was me... Starving and hours of waiting and waiting and waiting.

4:30pm- He gets wheeled in. Thank God, we are all surprisingly calm.
5:30pm - Mom, Topher and I are getting punch drunk..  Coffee and Coke flowing through our veins.

A table full of empties.. lots of trips to the bathroom

8:00pm- The Doctor finally comes out and gives us the bad news. Tells us we can see him in about a half hour.. a nurse will come get us.

9:00pm- Still waiting.. the waiting room is getting empty, the hospital staff are long gone.
Mom goes and finds someone to give us a idea.. she is allowed to see Dad who is still groggy.

I am not going to lie, today was tough. I wish the staff could have been more helpful. Updates would have been nice, rather than parking Dad behind a curtain and forgetting about him. When you  think you are going into surgery at 9am and are made to wait 7 hours is its own kind of cruel. Add to that being hungry. Grrrrrr.

The surgeon told us that they could not remove the cancer. The Cancer is a stage 3.. Looks like Chemo time.
The only good news of the day is that dad is strong and the cancer has not spread outside of the pancreas.

Cold Showers

Dad is trying to get all they projects done around the houses. Sunday Mom and I went out shopping for a hot water heater.. The old one was leaking, and who needs a 200 pound cry baby appliance?
Mom made one of her "Suggestions" that Dad get some help installing it.. So they asked the neighbor, who has been out of work.. The guy told Dad after they installed the thing, that now he has money to buy his kids some Christmas presents.




And I get a nice hot shower!










The Teenagers went to the hospital today to get all the pre-surgery instructions.. Checked out Dad's heart, blood type, and told him how to get so very clean... inside and out.
(I will leave those details to your own imaginations..)

Out, damned spot

He checks into the hospital on Friday morning for the surgery..

Nothing but the best for my parents.

I admit since the Almud Music Company sent me a email confirming they had tickets for the teenagers.. I have had a little doubt in the back of my mind that something would go awry. Well dammit, I love that I was wrong!

I wish I could see that handsome couple in the front row!

Mom called earlier to tell me that they had set them up with front row middle seats! I need to thank Alessia Navarino, from Andrea Bocelli's organization!

  How good it feels to not only arrange for them tickets, but to get the best damn tickets in the house! For all they do for me, I am so glad that I could come through for them!

Las Vegas ran out of palm trees.

How did it become the 9th of December already?
I had a great plan to buy a little palm tree for a Xmas tree, plant it in the yard after the Holidays. Not to be, Las Vegas ran out of palm trees :(
So after checking every nursery in the area, Mom and I gave up on the idea, and went looking for artificial ones.
Hey! Who knew that they were so expensive??.. if I am going to spend $200 on a decoration, I better be able to look at it all year.
 Mom dragged me to Goodwill, just to see. I waited in the car.. (Running low on purell)
Moments later she appeared at the car window and announced she just got us a tree. It is really a nice looking tree.

Bella welcomed the indoor greenery.



Why does this taste so funny?

We are now officially ready for Christmas. We have stockings and everything! Just waiting for family and friends.

Obviously, it's not the tallest tree on the block.



Mom helped me with the lights.



Dad fixing the lights.





Job well done.





Ah Teenager love.. aint it sweet?!



When felines rule..

Dad has named the big house.. It is now the Bella House.. I think we all know why.


If you are nice and pet me you can visit!

 Just remember it could be worse!

Yesterdays reading list.

Last week Dad received a letter in the mail (a actual letter on paper with a stamp and everything).
It was from his sister, recalling memories and life lessons her brother taught her.
It reminded me of the Fathers Day that we sent him our favorite memories of him. I reread those letters yesterday.
It was apparent that we all kinda like the old man!

Dad's quote of the day

When a water purification guy came a calling, the free movie tickets were really the main goal. (Same idea as listening to a time share sale to get your free cheap carry on bag.)

The teenagers let him say his thing and sent him and his overprice service packing.

Dad then tells me.

"I had to laugh at his 'Life time guarantee.'"

I hate the cancer. But I am glad he can keep his sense of humor.

Stupid Heat Miser..

Las Vegas has a group of folks.. They offer a nice deal on cleaning your heating ducts and then try to tell you that you need a new heating system.
They crawl on the roof.. tinker around and then give you the sad news.. "$7000.00 Dollars and we can get you a new unit installed."  The weather has turned cold.. what are you to do? Well if you are June, you tell them Thanks, but no.

They continue with the hard sell.. call in the boss.. Take another look.. "Well we can get it running with a new $200.00 switch, but the unit is old we still recommend replacing it."  June holds strong.. No new unit or switch at this time.

Fast forward a couple of weeks.. The Sutter Home is looking good.. just a little cold. Dad gets up on the roof to look at the unit.. 
Switches on the gas.... Yes the gas was shut off! And now the Sutter Home feels as cosy as it looks!

I hate it when you go out of your way to give the independent company your business then they try to take advantage... Shame on you Folks! And yes they charged a extra $59.00 to look at the heating unit and diagnosis any problems..

Take that Heat Misers!

Heated accommodation also available.

For just a little more money.. you can stay in the heated house.



Bed is comfy too.



Your room is ready.

Okay everyone, the house is looking good.

The Guest bedroom in the Sutter Home has a bed! Dad added a door and now we just need friends and family! (Maybe a little heat)

I have also added a picture of the stove Dad wanted so very bad. It really is nice, the double ovens are fun.

Better for making Gingerbread trailer houses.

It will be great to have Topher here in a couple of weeks.

 I know Mom and Dad are grateful that he can come.

  I am too. It is going to be a hard day on the 16th.

Sutter Home is drinking up Dads time.

Mom wanted to give you all a up date on the house.

We slept in the Sutter Home last night, even though it was the coldest night of the year. The second coldest Thanksgiving in Las Vegas records.. 30 degrees. There is no heat in the new house yet, and we lived to tell the tale.


Yesterday, Bob bought two bedroom and one closet door. He had to plane them down, he was covered in sawdust head to toe. Sawdust all over the house. Then he took them out into the garage to paint them. So tomorrow we should have doors with doorknobs and hinges. Hinges that he bought in the wrong size. So back to Loews to trade them today. That doesn't happen very often, Bob having to take something back because he bought the wrong size.
Yesterday he hung the ceiling fan in the living room and put the exhaust vent above the stove..
He is like the energizer bunny.