Birthday Cleaning

You say it's your birthday, na-na-na-na-na-na-it's my birthday too!  Ahh..a little Beatles, and some 16 Candles memories! : )  That was just the best movie.  John Hughes really had a grip on our childhood!

So..today was good. Generic word for I'm a day older!  I was awakened early by very loud shooting/fireworks/dump trucks/nail gun..and much to my amazement-learned it was the first day of Dove Season!  (I didn't even know there was a dove season-but we do live in Arkansas, ya'll!)  I mean, what exactly do you do with them?  It was over by 8:30-but forget going back to bed then.  We had quite a tickle-fest this morning-I wasn't ready to get up-I was playing on Facebook (but learned about dove season, so it was totally educational!). Anyway, I was tickling Ethan, and his laugh is really contagious!  He's so cute.  He told me to "scoop over!" when we were all in the bed, then he told me not to tickle his bones! (where that is, I don't know-I couldn't quit laughing!)

Mary Claire had spent the night (second full night away!) (do you ever quit counting?) with her sweet friend, Natalie Grace, the night before, and I hadn't heard from her by nine.  So-I called them!  They were at Applebee's having pancakes-yum! I was so surprised-who's up that early-and out!?  Not me.  heehee  So, she came home shortly afterward, and brought Natalie back with her-they played so well all day!  So, anyway, after I talked to her on the phone, we had breakfast.  And then, Ches reminded me I had taken my friend's chapel hour-and I was LaTe! I changed out of my jammies and hurried to church!  I stayed over a while since I'd been late, and it was so peaceful.  I think they were having a large group of children being baptized-I could hear it was in Spanish, and there were lots of camera flashes going off.  I wish I could have seen from the chapel-how exciting-I love baptisms, especially babies. : )

So, then when I got home, having started my day with no shower (messy hair, no makeup, etc.), I guess I decided to keep it going!  I got home and announced my idea: to clean the garage!  Ches did not hide his UN-like of my idea (dislike?  unhappiness?  frustration?).  He isn't feeling too great, so he just wanted to do nothing-which is pretty close to what he did.  He slept till 10:40, then half-heartedly helped me for a little bit, then took a nap till about 3:30.  He woke up, ate, and sat in a chair to tell me which of his things I could trash (and he got all mad that I'd thrown away some vacuum pipe all duct-taped that looked like a big fat cast-he even dug through all my trash bags till he found it!).  So, I finished around five, then took a shower, bathed the kids, and we went out to eat.

I picked B&B BBQ, an old dive in south Fayetteville where we never get to go (but, it was my birthday!), but it got veto'd.  Ches has a hang-up about going to Fayetteville on game night.  Party Pooper!  So, we went north to Mimi's Cafe-which we hadn't been to since Ethan was a baby!  The kids loved it, and want to go back.  They got the little dirt/worm cups for dessert, and Clay had ordered chocolate chip pancakes (Mimi Mouse pancakes!), and Mary Claire and Ethan got the sliders-cute little hamburgers.  They all traded food (fruit, french fries, "trees":broccoli, pancakes), and did pretty well, considering that we'd worked all day-and it was 8:40 by the time we left!

Then, Ches took us to Krispy Kreme to get some donuts HoT NoW!  (I just love to see that red light on!!) They weren't so generous with their hot ones, but Mary Claire, Ethan, and I got one.  Then, we ordered some for breakfast tomorrow (since we were StUfFeD!), and Ethan chowed down!

Yes, apparently I missed the fact that Mary Claire is standing on a bar stool! (check out the silver sandals I got her at Piperlime!), and Clay seems to be headed out the door (he didn't want a donut-he was full from all his sugar at Mimi's Cafe)! (And HOW do you say no to a hot donut??)


Now I'm in bed, soooo tired from today-I am going to read a little from the book I'm speeding through-Nanny Returns-and say goodbye to this birthday.  It's been pretty good, my cake is almost gone (someone licked all the frosting off the top this morning, so it's no longer calling my name..), and I've had a day of family.  I think I worked off the calories from last night's cake, so I'm breaking even! : )


I'm excited for the year to come-I've had the most awful year probably ever, so I don't think it could get worse.  That means, good times ahead! : )


Oh, and the cards I got!  I won't bore you with pictures, but sweet, sweet cards-and music "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" which I love!


Here's my present from Clay, who shared his newest boy scout skill: carving!

He carved up some soap, and tomorrow I'll show you all the remains on the deck-it should be smelling Irish Spring-ish for the next few rains!


Thank you, God, for the opportunity to live in this world, to know Your people, and to feel Your love.  What a blessing.  Thank you for drawing me near to You-and blessing me with a great family! :o)

Red Lips

What an amazing day! : )  It is sunny and 82 here with no humidity-so my hair is HaPpY!  Ahh..it's just perfect.

Today was totally better than yesterday.  I guess I haven't gotten to chat with you since the surgery.  It was fine. I always get super nervous, then it works out fine.  I just can't go in with no worries, I don't know why.  I even told the nurse I was more worried (SCARED!) of the IV than the surgery!  She thought I was crazy (they all do)!  I did do okay.

When I got there, they told me to undress, put on the gown (open to the back), blue socks (hilarious!), and cap (not hilarious-think blue showercap).  Then I was supposed to go to the bathroom and void my bladder (in case I'd drank in 12 hours! Ha-I didn't!).  I kept my panties on, because, you know.  Then I got all comfy on the bed, and Ches started taking pictures for the kids-of me in the kooky hat!  So, I took it off, then the nurse came in, and she started in, and I started crying.  She got the IV started, and I signed paperwork, paid, etc.  Then they prepped me by telling me what would go down in the operating room. When she said, "They'll put your legs in stirrups, velcro them down so they don't fall..." I got all hot.  I'd left my panties on! I had to tell them, cause wouldn't that be a surprise!  I did, and they laughed so hard-they told me once a woman had left her pantyhose on, and they had to cut them off!  (Even if they lied to make me feel better, I laughed too and didn't feel quite so bad!)  I took them off, and flipped them over towards Ches!  They laughed some more-it helped that the lady next to me was telling us she'd sing to make me feel better, and she was on Good Drugs and wanted more!  What a day!

I wasn't awake too long in the OR, they put up my legs (minus my bottoms!), and then laughed some more, then I was freezing!  They added blankets, and started washing me, then I was gone.
The next thing I remember was waking up, back in the same spot.  I was hurting some, so they gave me Demerol and Phenergan (to counteract the nausea that Demerol causes).  My world got so much better!  After I was stable, they let me get dressed-and Demerol + getting dressed was too much.  I was banging on the walls-couldn't stand up straight!  Luckily I got the ride out to the van, and I was asleep. Ches took my prescription by Walgreen's, and we went to Olive Garden-I hadn't eaten since Wednesday!  I don't remember a lot of lunch, but it was good.

Then I slept most of the way home-I could barely hold my eyes open. I am SO glad I took my pillow and comfy clothes!  Then at home, we had to get in gear.  Mary Claire was at dance (thank you, Susan, for taking her!  She borrowed our other van, and it was my only request!) (although she's bringing us dinner tonight, so I'm overjoyed!!), anyway, Ches had to go get her, and get Clay to baseball practice-then both of them home.  I had Ethan, so he had a bath in the kitchen sink (long story, but he let the water out, then lathered up with Dawn from the sink pump-took forever to get off!)  Then by 9 they were all in bed, and I went to bed-so absolutely thankful to be in a soft bed.  I was OUT!

Today-I feel soo much better. I haven't taken any meds today, but carried them around in my purse, just in case.  I found out they didn't put the balloon in, and I'm not real happy.  The doctor said it wasn't that bad, and he didn't think where the ends (of the cut adhesions) were that they'd grow back.  I was a little disappointed since we paid a lot, and I'm not willing to pay for it again if they grow back.  We could've taken our family on a nice Disney vacation for the money! (or Ches and I could've gone back to Hawaii..boy, that sounds nice!)

But, it's done, so we'll see how it heals.  I'm supposed to call when I start my period, and they'll start meds, and maybe do another ultrasound to see if I have an ovarian tumor or anymore adhesions.  Day by day.

So, today was busy-school to make copies, church to do envelopes, Lewis & Clark to pick up Ches' bike (the alternate) and get him some gloves (my birthday present to him?), and THEN!  I got Ethan early, and we went to RICK's!  We picked me a cake and got little treats for us.  Heehee
Here were our picks:

I just love Razorback football season, and it's here!!  Aren't their petit fours and cookies adorable?  We got petit fours and feasted outside in the perfect weather!
Here's Ethan with his first one-white cake:

And then his red Razorback lips!

And here is the yummy cake we waited on!  We can't wait to have some!

There comes a time when as an adult, you don't really care what your cake looks like (yes, I still care about taste!), so I got a really colorful one-the kids will love it! : )


Tomorrow is the big day-the day I was born-37 eventful years ago!  Sooo much has happened, and I'm so thankful for each of them-even the bad days.  They still define me today-if you know me well, you know that every little thing that's happened has led to where I am now.  So, I'm thankful.

Surgery Day

Back in Little Rock.  I’m so nervous!  I have surgery scheduled for today, and I’m waiting to be checked in.  I am hoping against hope that they will give me something for nerves BEFORE the IV!

They don’t have internet Ches can use, so that is frustrating. He wants to keep going but will have to use his little iPad-better than nothing!

We drove super-fast and made it in three hours-I’ve never made it that fast!  Ches pushes the limits.  And drank a hyperactivity drink-I took a picture-I’ll show you later! : )  It was a green (“green apple jolly rancher-tasting”) caffeine powered drink that I thought was hilarious-we so don’t drink those!  He didn’t get much sleep last night, so he said he had to get with it.  And has to show me mountains of sympathy (starting soon, I hope?)!

We stopped back in the TigerTown, and I did a bad thing-wondered their candy aisle again.  I checked on the strange, coated graham crackers-and they are called Banana Planks.  (gross!)  I chose the only thing I (think) I’m allowed: gum.  I got Double Mint-yum! (appetizer), Juicy Fruit (for my entrée), and Berry Smoothie-dessert. At least I got some saliva going-I was DYING of hunger pains!  The pain was radiating through my stomach, and around to my back.  Seriously!  I’m still hurting, but the gum helped.  (Hope I don’t aspirate gummy saliva into my lungs later)

The last time I had surgery (d&c), I kinda fudged the “no eating after midnight the night before”, and had some water the next morning (to stay hydrated so they could find my veins!), but even the nurse commented that I had great veins for someone who hadn’t eaten in 12 hours!  (Cough, cough).  Later, I found out why they don’t want you drinking-it’s so you’ll be *empty* and they won’t have to use a catheter.  Umm..they had to use one on me.  (Sorry?)  (But I had good veins!)

So this time, I plan to pee on no one!  I didn’t drink a drop (but wanted to desperately!), but had lots of gum.  I just hope they don’t have to “try” the IV lots of times (as Angie encouraged this morning!).  If it doesn’t go well, next time, I’ll just request a catheter in advance with a *I’m-sorry-in-advance* look!

Faith in the Face of an IV

Nervous, nervous, nervous!  I think I have everything ready for us to be gone tomorrow-but I'm still nervous about that icky old IV-and surgery, but mostly IV.  If you get a baby at the end, I can stomach it-but it's just icky surgery!
I'll write more tomorrow-just say a prayer that it goes smoothly, that I am sane and calm, and that it's not too painful. : )

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 

Matthew 6: 25-30

I have faith! : )