Can I Wear Jeans?

Can I Wear Jeans is a great place you can go to list your church for free! Jon Acuff (from the ever-popular blog Stuff Christian's Like) is putting it together so that when you are looking for a church you can get a good description of the places you are considering visiting. Not quite the same as looking at search engines or in the yellow pages. And the great thing is that this is world-wide!

A Pretty Good Day

The kids and I had a pretty relaxing day today. Of course, they were both up before me. (Mental note... be sure to prep that bag of Teddy Grahams you promised Pheoby as a morning snack so you can get a few more minutes of shut-eye before Trey wakes up!)

We ran a couple errands first thing, then had a pretty lazy morning. We filled up the kiddie pool and played in that for a while before nap time. Trey had a relaxing time hangin' out in his crab baby lounger. (I have pictures to share some time!)

Pheoby likes to pretend to enjoy swimming in her pool, but spends more time and energy focusing on the bugs in the pool, on the patio, near the house or within 50 foot of her. Seriously... I am needing some feedback here... is this something that she will ever grow out of? I thought when it started about 2 years ago that it would be a phase, but it seems like it isn't. Hmm... anyway... we attempt to enjoy the outdoors as long as I can tolerate the panic!

Trey didn't sleep well this morning, so he was tuckered out by the afternoon. I put both kids down at about the same time. Trey slept for about 3 hours and Pheoby slept 4! That was a nice little break. I was able to pick up, work on laundry, develop my social calendar for the week and catch up on blogs and e-mails.

We had company over for supper and lots of play time! I have recently reconnected with a long-lost college friend who lives about 5 miles from here. Brandi (Alexander) Roper. We had seen one another about a year ago in the grocery store, but didn't think to get contact info. So when I saw her at the store a couple weeks ago we made sure to get the info! We have gotten the kids together a couple times and they have hit it off.... the girls are already planning a slumber party.

While they were here, I was comforting a fussy Trey by allowing him to grab my hand and discovered rather quickly that the boy had cut a tooth today!!! That's his first one... for those of you who like to know the details it is a bottom front tooth, not the eye tooth we were expecting first since it has been visable for a month or two. He will be 6 months old on Saturday. (That was for the detail-wanter's, too!)

Tonight I tried to work on getting the tape off Pheoby's incision. It didn't seem to be letting loose and I DO NOT want her to have to go through them ripping it off at her post-op appointment Thursday. We had a mini-surgery at home on the sofa! She applied a warm compress for a while then I massaged the tape with some anti-biotic ointment and tried my best to loosen the edges. I was able to get about 1/3 of the tape off. She laid very still so I could cut away the excess tape. I didn't want to risk it re-adhearing. I also wanted to give the new edges an opportunity to pull on the pillow a little tonight.

I hope we make more progress getting that off tomorrow! ;o) Bath time in the AM will help, I am sure. It looks like the incision may be longer than I imagined. He said one stitch so I thought one little tiny tie. It looks more like he maybe used one long piece of thread to sew up a 1/2 inch or longer incision, whereas I expected less than 1/4 inch. I took some new pictures of the progress we made, but I am not up to editing them tonight. Maybe by Thursday I will post new pics as well as find an old pic to show what it looked like before the surgery.

Well, I feel the need to apologize for rambling so long.... good thing the theme of this blog is about filling you in on my day-to-day life! ;o) Oh, and I forgot... if you didn't want to read this you didn't have to read it all since I won't know if you tune me out! You don't even have to put on that kind front that people do when listening to the longest-drawn out stories that remind me of Grandpa Tanner's story about raking leaves one fall day. If I had more time I would fill you in on how he would get them all raked up into a pile and the wind would come blow them all around the yard and he would just get them raked up again and....

But I don't. So you will have to ask me someday if you want to know more! ;o) Thanks faithful readers, for allowing me to share our lives with you!

Pheoby's Surgery

I had blogged previously about Pheoby's ear problems and that she needed surgery. (If you don't remember reading that you can find out more about the problem and the procedure here and here.)

Her surgery was yesterday. She did GREAT! And we are so thankful to the staff at St. Francis Eastside and Dr. Cooter of Greenville ENT. Everyone was fabulous and helped Pheoby to have a good experience. She didn't appear to be nervous or worried at all and faced the whole thing like it was any other day. Thankfully, they provided her anesthesia through a mask and they didn't give her an IV until she was already out. We were able to be with her up until they took her back to the operating room. And she was only gone from us for about 45 minutes.

We were informed that many times kids are quite irratable and therefore they like to bring the parents back right away. Not our girl! She was still sleeping for about 15 minutes while we were there waiting for her to wake up and finally I asked how long it should take. The nurse then woke her up by talking to her and rubbing her arm. She was still drowsy for a while, but enjoyed an orange popsicle and was ready to get her clothes changed. When asked if she wanted to be carried out or get a wheelchair ride, she cheerfully selected the wheelchair!

We had to go pick up Trey from L.C.'s sister, Jabecca's house where Mimi (L.C.'s Mom) was watching the kids. (Ironically, Jabecca was scheduled for surgery on the same day.) By the time we got there (about 15 minutes from the hospital) I had to give her instructions about how she could play with Micah and Caleb, but she couldn't be running around. She needed several more reminders while we were there.

We needed to go get her prescriptions filled, pick up pizza for lunch (Pheoby's request) and pick out a movie from Grandma (my Mom). By the time we got home Pheoby was wired! She kept going and going and going and going until finally I figured it was surely time to catch some Zs... no way! Have you ever tried your hardest to get a drugged up kid to sleep? We were laying in my bed and she kept making me laugh when I was at my most serious.

Later on we both had to ask forgiveness from one another.... me for being mean and her for being so silly when I was trying to sleep. (Actually, if you want the truth... she started it by telling me she was sorry and then she called me out for being mean!) The wild-ness continued through the evening. I got her to lay down again in my bed hoping she would crash, but she kept waiting for her movie to be done or for daddy to come to bed. Ugh! Once again, I fell asleep and she continued buzzing along to Bee Movie for the 4th time that day!

She did sleep through the night. And was up a few times this morning and fell right back to sleep. I was thankful for that. She is taking a good nap now, too. I think she is recovering well. She hasn't complained of much pain... and shouldn't really since she is on Loritab! Most surprisingly she hasn't been messing with the tape that is covering the incision. I am happy about that!

Here are some pics we took to document our day...

What a protector!

I want the world to know (or at least my 3 to 5 readers) that my husband is a fabulous protector! Of course, I always knew it, but today he had an opportunity to demonstrate just how great of a protector he is. I had a run-in with an office manager in a place of business our family frequents that sent me into a tail-spin. I felt a horrible amount of stress over the situation to the point of wanting never to return to that place of business again. You better believe when I am in a time of such crisis and stress I call my husband at the first opportunity I get. As I did today.

I left the business, had both kids in the car, told Pheoby I couldn't talk to her because I needed to cool down and proceeded to call L.C. about 3 times before he was able to answer my call at his desk. (That makes me realize one more reason he is amazing... he doesn't get mad at me for calling him and unloading while he is at work! He is available to me any time I am in need.) After I unloaded all my emotional (and factual) garbage, he said the words I marvel at... "I am going to call her right now."

Typically I would discurage L.C. from calling to defend me because of my major fear of confrontation and because I like to live by the motto "Never let 'em see you sweat!", but not this time. I felt so uncomfortable that if he hadn't called I would probably have tried my best to sweep it under the rug and let it lie and never return again. But... that really wasn't an option. This is a place we want to continue to do business with as long as everything gets worked out in a respectable way.

So he did call. He did explain how I felt I was treated. The office manager apologized to him. And she later called me to apologize. How I feel now and how I am processing the incedent is a developing story which I will probably keep to myself, but the main idea here is that it is amazing to realize you are loved enough to be protected when you are too weak to protect yourself.

Thank you, L.C.! I love you and am honored to have you as my protector! I also am thrilled beyond measure that you are the father of my children... they will be blessed their whole lives through to have you as their protector as well!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

I had to bring my Broccoli Soup into work today for a shower. I am becoming famous at work for in (not to toot my own horn or anything) and have been asked multiple times for the recipe. I had to type it up to share with my co-workers so I decided to share it here, too. I like to add cheese and bacon. It really is delicious! I challenge you to try it out and post what you think about it here!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup flour
¼ tsp baking soda
1 quart half & half
1 quart water
8 chicken bullion cubes
1 bag of frozen broccoli (thawed)
salt & pepper to taste

· In a large pot, melt butter/margarine over medium heat.
· Using a metal wisk, mix in the flour gradually allowing a minute or two for the flour to cook.
· Slowly add about ½ cup of half & half mixing all the lumps out before adding more half & half. (It will be very thick to begin with, but make sure you get the lumps out every time or you will end up with lumpy soup. Taking the time to get the lumps out also allows the flour to continue to cook so you don’t have a flour flavor in your soup.)
· Once the half & half is mixed in refill the container and mix in the water slowly.
· Add the bullion cubes and ensure they are broken up. Mix in broccoli and allow to simmer on low heat until broccoli is warm.

HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY, JOSH!

It is hard to believe my best friend's son is a teenager today!

Josh... I know I kid with you a lot, but I want to let you know that you are a very special guy! You have a lot going for you and I am excited to see how you grow through these teenage years. You have unlimited potential and I just know you are going to do amazing things!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSH!

In other news, Trey started babbling yesterday! That was fun! He started out with the best.... dadadadada! I can't wait to hear more of what he has got to say! We will be starting sign language soon. We just watched some video of when Pheoby was a baby (6 months-18 months) and were blown away by how much signing we did. She was amazing! Although we have been planning on starting the same thing with Trey, I had forgotten how easy it was and how helpful it was in keeping the frusteration level down. I will be pulling out the books in a few minutes!

We did a little work on learning to crawl today, but Mr. Trayzer Bazer couldn't quite get the motion. You can get an idea of what he was doing if you imagine the opposite of crawling pose. His head, feet and arms were up in the air and his belly was on the ground. You could tell he was trying with all his might! He did "crawl" backwards a few times, though... so you know I am proud!

Our Sally-Dog

It seems like forever since I have taken the time to sit down and blog. And unfortunately, my return to this comfortable venue is not on a good note. We lost our Sally-Dog last week with no warning of illness or injury. I was shocked to find her dead when I got home from work last Tuesday. I took the loss much harder than I thought I would. As I mentioned to a couple of friends, it is difficult to grieve a pet because society doesn't allow time off to grieve like if we lose a human family member. There were a lot of things I went ahead and did last week with puffy, red eyes that I probably should have been more presentable for.

Shortly after L.C. and I were married in 2000 we started talking about getting a dog. I wanted one so bad. I figured it would be nice to "add to the family" before we were ready to have children. We called on an ad for beagle puppies that were selling for about 1/2 the price of others in the newspaper. We went to look at them. It turned out the man who owned her was a hunter who pretty much bred hunting dogs for himself so he wasn't looking to get rich as a breeder. There were two puppies left. Sally was the tiniest one... she took after her mom who also was a small beagle. Even though we really weren't physically ready to care for a puppy we brought Sally home with us. Who can resist a beagle pup?

Sally has been through a lot with our family. She has made 2 huge moves across the country, adapted well to 7 new homes since we got her and didn't complain too much when she went from queen of the castle to family pet with a whole lot less freedom once Pheoby joined us.

Sally has been a sweet and loving part of our family for the past 8 years. It has been hard to let her go.