Meal Swap

Today I went to a church and participated in a meal swap that my mom's group was hosting. It was so much fun. We got started at 1 this afternoon and we worked in pairs on 7 different meals. We literally worked all afternoon. In the end each one of us ladies (there were 14 of us) ended up with chicken parmigiana with linguine and candied carrots, lasagna and garlic bread with homemade garlic butter, chicken pot pies and coleslaw, chicken fajitas with rice and salsa and mixed veggies, meatloaf and mashed potatoes and corn, a hot pocket type meal, and cheesy potatoes and ham with green beans. All of these meals were made to be put in the freezer and pulled out when an evening or day is too busy to get dinner prepared.

This whole idea stemmed from the book that we are reading right now which is all about organizing your home. I love this book. This is right up my alley! Another idea from this book caused me to spend the whole morning yesterday in my freezer and pantry.

In the book the author suggests going through your freezer and taking and writing down an inventory so that you know just what you have when trying to prepare a grocery list or meal. I thought this was a great idea so I did just as she suggested.

I went through both my deep freeze and my regular freezer and wrote everything that I have and how many I have. Then I laminated the list so that I can add and cross off things as we buy or use them.

Then I took the idea a step farther and went through my pantry and did the same thing. Only in the pantry I organized the list by shelf also. It is so nice to be able to look at the list and know what I have and how much of it I have. I really hope that this will make meal planning and grocery shopping much easier and will eliminate the likelihood of buy ketchup (or anything else) when I already have it.

This author is filled with many good ideas, many of which I already implement in my house.

It Only Took A Week

It only took a week but I finally got my car back today. It is nice to have it in my possession. It was kind of strange looking after looking at the rental car for the last week.

Paul called the dealership on Saturday and they said that the part had come in and they would be installing it on Monday morning and we should have it back by lunch time on Monday. They never called. So this morning I called and checked on it and apparently the part that came in Saturday was the wrong part and the right part didn't come in until yesterday. They finally got it installed today and I got my car back.

It's about time! Nothing like taking your sweet time.

Still No Car but We Now Have A Fortress

I still do not have my car back. They said initially that the part would be in on Wednesday and we would have it back WEdnesday evening. Yesterday Paul called the dealership and they told him the part had just come in and it would be Monday afternoon before we get it back. It turns out it was some sort of wheel speed sensor that went bad and so it was signaling the ABS brakes to come on every time you pressed the brakes. After the sensor is replaces it will be as good as new...I hope.

And as if that was not enough to deal with during my recovery, out sump pump went out again. Paul went downstairs Friday morning to get something before he left for a business lunch and this time he was greeted by the swimming pool. Fortunately all the stuff was up off the floor so in about 3 hours of time he had the basement dried out and cleaned up...much quicker this time.

However this prompted Paul to build a fortress around the sump pump. We now have 2 sump pumps in the crock; one is at the bottom and the other is about 2 feet up. In theory that second pump should never run, unless the first pump goes out. Then as another precautionary measure, Paul poured concrete into a form he created around the crock. The fortress goes up about a foot around the outside of the crock. I have pictures of this that I will post soon, but I want to take some tomorrow when the form comes off. So there are pictures of the fortress to follow.

I tell ya...nothing is ever easy

Who Needs Brakes In A Car?

I was on the way home from getting my haircut in West Toledo today and I noticed on the E-way that my ABS brakes and my traction control lights were on. Initially I figured that this was just a glitch in the computer. However, when I went to brake and I heard the sound of no ABS brakes I realized this isn't a drill.

I came home and cleaned for few hours and then went to my mom's for dinner. I pulled into her driveway and when I went to brake there was not the reaction that there usuallly is. Fortunately I did not hit anything but there is definitely something wrong.

Then on the way home I was slowing down to turn onto Fostoria and my car was basically acting like I was trying to stop on a wet or slippery road. Very scary.

Then Nick says from the back seat. Great, just great, now you are going to go to your surgery and your brakes aren't working. Just great. Just great Mom.

After I collected myself I asked him why it mattered if my brakes were working in my car when I have my surgery. His reasoning was how was I going to drive to the doctors office to have my surgery if my brakes didn't work. Never mind that we may die driving the car between now and then but my little boy was concerned that I might not get my surgery done if I don't have brakes in my car.

Lovin' the thoughtfulness!

So needless to say tomorrow I will be calling Genoa Ford to get my car in to be fixed.

On another note, I am reading this organization book and it has inspired me. Since reading it I have cleaned out my basement (with the help of the flood) cleaned out the three cabinets that were cluttered and messy, and organized the kids game closet.

It is so freeing to me to get rid of clutter. I feel so cleansed when I throw stuff away. It is just such a feeling or relief for me to get rid of stuff and make it look neat and clean and even better to know where stuff is and know what I actually have.

Lake Hemmert

Look at the garbage can and you can see the water level. That was so cold water on my once warm piggy toes

What used to be couches have transformed into the world most comfotable raftsThe lake is beginning to get choppy now, can you see the wake!

God works in mysterious ways. Originally, Paul was supposed to go to Catlettsburg KY on Thursday then drive to Canton for a lunch meeting Friday and then come home. Well he called and said that the lunch in Canton was cancelled so he would be home early...AWESOME! Well little did we know at the time God was bringing him home for a reason.

I also found out yesterday that I am going to have a niece. My brother and sister in law are having a baby girl. So I was looking through all my baby things and getting out all my baby girl clothes.

Let me also remind you that the other day I cleaned out the basement and threw away all of the garbage down there...and there was a lot!

So anyways I came home and was going through Averi's drawers and found some shoes that don't fit her, but they are too big for the new baby, so I decided to take the shoes down my basment and put them in the tub of clothes she has outgrown.

That is when I realized why God was providing me with an early trip home for Pauly! I walked down the steps to find 1" of water throughout my basement. I don't mean puddles here and there I mean wall to wall water through the entire basement.

I took some pics and did some damage control., I was talking to Stephanie at the time and she kindly offered the use of her extra sump pumps to help with the flooding until we could figure out the cause of the mess. I also asked to use their squeegee mop to help.

Long story short we got the sump pump working and drained the water, then used the squeegee to get the rest of the water out. Today we spend the day going through the basement getting rid of things that were ruined or that we didn't need. Nothing like a good flood to make you clear out clutter! It turns out the float on the pump was bad. Paul thinks he can fix it but it sure did make a mess.

Praise God because we did not lose much of anything. A lot of things got wet, but most of it was salvagable. The things we did lose were things we didn't need anyways.

So after lots of time, energy and frustration we have a dry basement again.

I told Paul that we should have just dumped a bottle of Chlorine in it and had a pool party. Heidi was loving the fact that she could just go downstairs and play in the water...she sure does love her water!

Alone Again

BAH! I am alone again! Paul had to leave tonight to drive to Kentucky. He has a lunch meeting tomorrow in Kentucky and then a lunch meeting in Canton on Friday. When he goes to one of these places he tried to pair it with the other because they are on the way of each other. Then he is home for Saturday and has to leave again on Sunday. On Sunday he has to drive to Missouri for lunch and then Chicago. He has lunch in Chicago Tuesday and then he is home again. He is trying to get to Detroit on Wednesday morning before my surgery. If he can get these in then he will have hit all his sales calls and should be pretty open for Wed. Thursday and Friday.

I am totally changing gears here...

Nick has some sort of mystery illness. He has a fever on Saturday night of about 102.7. Then Sunday he still had the fever and his stomach was a little sick, but he never threw up (thank goodness). So Monday he went to school after about an hour of pushing and reassuring him that he would be fine and not be sick at school. He didn't eat a whole lot and still Tuesday he didn't eat very much. Last night he did throw up a little, but it was phlegm that he got sick on. So today he seems to be feeling a little better, but he is still really congested and he has no appetite yet. Tonight he did say that his one ear can't hear as good as the other ear which is code for an ear infection. So tomorrow after school I am taking him in to the doctor's office. I am assuming that he has a sinus infection that is making its way into his ears. But at this point it is kind of a mystery.

Tomorrow is Aiden's last preschool party. This is so fun for us. It is time for us to be together doing something special. He loves it when I am in the class with him. It is kind of bittersweet to me. I love to go to the parties with him, but it is kind of sad that this is his last party. He will be a big kindergartener very soon and that is so hard for me to fathom. It seems like he just started preschool this year and now the year is more than half over and in 6 months he will be in real school. That is just bizarre to me.

Today was Productive

Today was an incredibly productive day. I got up this morning and finally got my butt back to the gym. I can only go 2 more days before my sugery. Friday I could go but Nick has a 2 hour delay so that conflicts time wise.



After I went to the gym I took in some clothes to the St. Vincent's DePaul for donation. Then I came home and went into the basement mechanical room and cleaned that out. It took me about an hour and a half to go through that room. I threw away all the paint that the previous owners left here and all the scrap metal that was laying down there. I also got the box from the new hot water heater and threw that in the junk pile. So now Paul has to get it upstairs and into my Dad's truck and take it over to my mom's school to get rid of it.

So as if that wasn't enough, I also stripped the boys beds and the futon upstairs and washed the sheets and blankets and comforters.

Then I decided to do some of our laundry.

Heidi went to the vet, and finally I made some homemade French Onion Soup for dinner.

PHEWWW!

I love it when I have days where I get tons accomplished. It makes me feel like I did something worthwile...Getting rid of clutter is like therapy for me!

What a Great Surprise

Last night I was in Averi's room giving her a breathing treatment at about 10:30. I was laying on her bed facing her bedroom door and the hallway. I looked out in the hallway and then down at her and thought I saw a shadow. So I looked back up and then down again at Averi and then, standing in the doorway, was by gorgeous husband. It scared the pee out of me at first since I wasn't expecting him to come home. I had talked to him earlier in the evening and he said he was going out to a steak dinner with some co-workers and played it off like he was still in Texas. We have a security alarm on our house so when a door is opened it beeps, but because of the nebulizer running I couldn't hear anything. So initially I almost peed my pants and then I realized who it was and I was so elated to see him.

And I have to add, my husband looks amazing. He has lost 22 lbs. He has been on a strict diet of Raisin Bran and a banana for breakfast, and a 6" tuna sub for lunch and the same for dinner. He looks so thin!!

What a great surprise for the weekend!

Mom Update

My mom's surgery went really well yesterday. She was in surgery about 5 hours and in recovery for about 2. It was a really long day, but the surgeon said everything went exactly as he hoped they would, so you can't ask for more than that.

Today she is a little sore, but she said her hip is the sorest part of her body. She said the surgeon had her on her side for most of the surgery and that is why she has all the pain she has. They have been giving her pain shots and they seem to really be helping.

Dr. Hunyadi came in today and saw her and told her she could go home today or wait till tomorrow. She decided to stay until tomorrow just because she is so sore in the hip, that way she has help if she needs it.

Thank you to everyone who said a prayer for her. They did their job. She is doing great.

Looking forward to getting her home!

Just Waiting

The wait is on. We are at St. Anne's right now and my mom went back for surgery at about 10:00. She was supposed to go back at about 8:30 but the doc was running a little late and he had a 15 minute procedure to do before my mom. So she went back about 10:00 for the surgery.

The doctor said that she would be back there for at least 5 hours, and that it is a very tedious surgery. The plan is to take the flap from her back area, but if the skin is too damaged from the radiation then he will have to take the flap from the belly area and he want to avoid that if at all possible.

So it is about 11 now so 1 hour down and about 4 to go, so we just keep waiting and waiting and waiting.

This afternoon, as I am preparing dinner, I hear Aiden shrieking upstairs. Knowing that I am probably setting myself up for trouble I naievely ask him why he is crying and as I suspect he tells me that Averi is picking on him. I tell him to stop crying and get back to picking up the playroom.

Not 10 minutes later he starts shrieking again. So again, knowing what I am gettin gmyself into I ask why he is crying. This time the answer is different. It went a little like this:

Me: Now why are you crying?
A: My throat hurts.
Me: Why does your throat hurt?
A: I was trying to take the head off of a Ben Ten toy and I swallowed it.
(mind you this was said through a ton of tears and took aboout 5 minutes to get the sentence out)

So all through dinner Aiden is trying his hardest to cough the toy up making himself gag. We had to drill into his head that you can't cough up a toy that you swallowed.

Nick then gets wind of the toy that has made its way into Aiden's abdomen and say the following:
Aiden here is what we are going to do...for the next few days every time you go poop you are going to poop into a can and we are going to get that toy back!

After we all catch our breath and inform Nick that this is not an option we assure Aiden that the toy will pass and he will be fine. So Aiden finally calms down enough to eat his dinner and Nick leaves the table crying because we are not willing to try his method of toy retrieval.

It took awhile, but eventually everyone calmed down and we have moved past the toy, but man today just can't get any better.

Oh What A Night...

Last night was way to short. I put the kids to bed at 8:00 like normal. At 10:30 Averi started crying and sounded really rough. I went into her room to see if she was OK and she was struggling to breathe. I got the vaporizer out and gave her an albuterol treatment and she still was struggling. I got her calmed down and thought she would just go back to sleep, so I left the room and went out and shut lights off and walked back to go to bed and she started crying again. I could hear her breathing from the hallway with her door shut.

I ended up calling my dad to come over and watch the boys while I took her over to St. Charles. The trip outside in the cold really helped her a lot. She started to breath a whole lot easier after we got to the hospital (of course).

The doctor came in and looked at her and evaluated her symptoms and diagnosed her with Reactive Airway Disease. This basically causes kids to have episode where it is hard for them to breathe. They wheeze and struggle and then it calms. There is no known cause for it but it may there may be a genetic link.

The doctor prescribed a steroid to open her airways and make it easier for her to breathe. It was 1:00am before we got back home and obviously no one falls asleep the minute they hit the pillow after an episode like that. Then at 5:30 Genoa Schools called to let me know of the 2 hr. delay. (Apparently my angel was watching over me ;)) So I had go up and turn off Nick's alarm off. Falling back asleep after that was not a problem.

So this morning she is doing much better. The steroid is really helping I think. I well give her a breathing treatment this afternoon and then before bed just to help her out when she lays down.

So needless to say it was a pretty short night for us. She is such a tough little girl though. Even when she was struggling to breathe, she would still look at me and give me one of her cute little smiles. What a girl!

So today is a day of laying low and relaxing I think. That way we can all recover a little.

I am looking for prayers for my mom for Friday if anyone has any extra to give.

On Friday my mom will be going through phase 2 of 3 of her breast cancer reconstruction. Up to this point she has had a total mastectomy with a spacer placed on the right side. The spacer is an implant that has a valve under the skin that the plastic surgeon can access to slowly fill it to the desired size.

This next portion of the surgery is to remove a flap of skin from the shoulder blade area and attach it to the area where the left breast will be. A spacer will then be put in under the skin and again the spacer will be inflated slowly over time to be symmetrical to the right breast.

This surgery will be the most painful of all the surgeries that she has had or will have so says the doctor.

Once she is healed and the skin is appropriately stretched then the final and permanent implants will be put in.

So Friday morning she goes in to St. Anne's for the surgery and it begins at 7:30. The surgeon is expecting that the surgery will take approximately 5-6 hours so we are expecting to know more by about 1 or 1:30.

So if you have some time to spare and some prayers to offer we would really appreciate it. She has always done well with her surgeries and recovers much quicker than the docs expect but none the less to see my mom in pain just kills me.

My mom is such a hero to me. From the moment she was diagnosed with cancer she has always had a positive attitude and this, I feel, has been the reason that she has done so great. She does everything with a smile on her face and a song in her heart and I am so proud of her. She is a true inspiration to me.

So please, if you have the time, send up a prayer or two for her.

Thanks and God Bless