All is right with the world. Just a little squeaky!

We are 2 weeks post B's surgery and I feel like we are back to normal. He stopped taking pain medicine about day 8, and on days 5-8, only took the tylenol under absolute protest. His diet is back to normal. He is sleeping great, though he seems to be a bit sore from sleeping so soundly. He used to move so much during the night that he never got stiff or sore. Now, he is sleeping in one spot for so long that I think his muscles don't know what to do. That, and I think he's growing a bit. 

So, one side effect I didn't expect post tonsil/adnoid removal was that B's voice has totally changed. It was never really deep, but now it is so high and squeaky, that I literally confuse his voice with his sister's voice when I am in a different room. The good news is that the new voice works well with the Mickey Mouse ears! 

Thanks to everyone for their prayers and support during the entire ordeal. Special thanks to all four grandparents for helping with G while we were away and for helping keep G and B happy post surgery! We are so blessed. 

A little bit country

We were lucky enough to spend a recent afternoon with one of G's Godmothers (who happens to be T's cousin) at her new home.  Thanks, A, for a great afternoon.

B was very interested in the antique tractor (yes it works - they use it for mowing the property). 

He got annoyed that G would rather pose for the camera than learn about the inner workings of the tractor. 

B eventually came around and decided to show off his smile, too.

Then we were off to pick some delicious blueberries. Some of them even made it into the house, not just our mouths!

Fountain of Youth?

Ever since T bought this house, we've talked about putting in water feature. Not an urgent plan but always there on the list. You see, we have this "dead space" by the front door that barely gets any direct sunlight. It also has our dryer vent, so it gets hot. Many a shrub has died in this space. It is full of dirt, but it just isn't meant to hold living  plants. 

Many of the homes in our area have water features in their front yard - you know the big boulders with water shooting out the top, surrounded by either a pool or rock-filled basin. They are fine, but we both wanted something a little different. Well, in June, we came across come distressed steel pipes for sale at a local farmer's market. Hmmm. Could these be the center pieces we'd been waiting for? We started chatting with the artist and he pulled out a photo. He'd turned one into a fountain on his own property. 

So, we did a bit of research. Got the electrical set up. Bought the pipes. Found a pond installer. Made some sketches. Chatted about pricing. Struck a deal. Planned the installation. 

Today was the big day. 

Here's the view from the street:

Here's the view from the door:

Here you can see right up close and personal:

And here you can listen to the beautiful sound

(even with the neighbor's dog barking):

Yumm! I love berry season.

My parents have raspberry vines and blueberry bushes. I HATED picking them as a kid. However, I have always loved eating them. Last week, I bought some berries and as they got on the edge of too ripe, and as we prepared for B's surgery, and when my 96 year old grandmother came over (who can't eat seeds), I found a recipe for raspberry-blueberry sorbet. I actually used blues, raspberries and marion berries.  I double strained it, added a bit of sugar and lemon juice. YUM! We all liked it so much that I did it again this week.

First Harvest

I am not a gardener. Neither is T. One of the first luxuries he purchased in his adult life was a lawn service. However, I love fresh veggies - especially tomatoes. Every year when the farmer's markets of the area start to display the large, beautiful, bounty of produce, I feel like I should be growing my own. I then saw the infomercial for the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter and I saw a potential garden in my future. When I came across the TTTP package in the WalGreen's "As Seen On TV" Aisle, I got excited. We bought soil. We put up some hooks on the deck. We bought tomato and bell pepper plants. 

The tomatoes are green. Not ready yet. But the peppers. We have one purple and one yellow pepper plant with lots of blooms and even some fruit. They are not, however, very big.

The teaspoon is there as a visual reference guide. Not huge but they are MINE!

Belated Fourth Post

This is the only photo I got of G in her adorable hand-me-down July 4th sundress. We took a quick trip to Home Depot and she helped "drive" the cart.

B preferred to watch the neighbor fireworks with ear protection.

Even so, some of the noises were a bit scary. 

Though most fireworks are not legal in our state, we have a great view from our deck of several local neighborhood "shows" that take place on the night of the 4th. They are hard to photograph, but I tried my best. 

All's well

We were running early. The hospital was running early. Surgery was uneventful. B was very angry that he had to keep in the IV and stay a few hours. We were home before 1:30. He's eating popsicles, pudding, milk shakes and ice cream. He's drinking ice water and icy cold drinks. He's watching Bee Movie with T while I post and clean up a bit. 

*One funny side note: As we waiting in the pre-op area just outside the OR, a few of the docs entered the room. One was handed B's chart. He turned around. If it wasn't one of my high school classmates. I knew he was a Pediatric Anesthesiologist, but it didn't occur to me that it could be him - we have several hospitals in town and a few that work on kids. Small world!

Surgery

Tomorrow morning, B is getting his tonsil's removed. I don't know what the reaction will be, but I am prepared to be out of pocket for a week or so. Knock on wood that this will be his first trip back to the hospital as a patient since ...

Happy Boating

While at Great America in Illinois, G got a chance to ride in the kiddie boats without Mom and Dad tagging along. Anyone worried that she couldn't handle it? Not me!

Hoop Dreams

B is currently attending summer camp at his school. Each week has a theme and related activities. One week it was music. Another robots. This week they are playing basketball. Well, last year, during basketball camp, he threw a fit and cried at the aspect of playing. When he found out that it was OK to sit out and just watch, he did. This past weekend, much to my surprise, he told me he was excited for basketball camp. Well, as we got to school this morning, he told me that he planned to just sit out and watch this year, too. One of the teachers asked him to please get up off the curb, shoot some hoops and dribble so she could send me a photo. He did just that. She asked if he'd like to keep playing once she was done with the photos, he said no. 

Not for the faint of stomach...

Seriously. Stop now if you have a weak stomach.

Why, oh why, do my children wait until we are in the car to vomit?

Have you ever had to take apart a car seat, piece by piece, to get the vomit out of the nooks and crannies? Well, I am now an expert. I would say that as an infant and toddler, B only puked in the car. G used to be less picky. She'd blow chunks all over the house, in her crib, in the tub, in her high chair. Now, it's the car.

To add insult to injury, when she decided to fill my car with an odor that is so non-human, B was also in the car and he has a sympathetic gage reaction. So, if he sees, hears or smells it himself, he, too will get sick. Fortunately, I was able to distract him enough to keep him from joining the puke party. But then he fell asleep for the remainder of the ride home and couldn't hold his bladder. Yes, I got to take apart a second car seat so I could clean up the urine.

Yeah, me.