Friday at Last

This has been such an odd week. I am ready for a weekend. Today I took Oscar to the vet for his annual checkup. He loves getting to go. He doesn't even mind all the icky things the vet does to him. He is just so happy that someone is paying attention to him. Look at that smile.

I had to take a picture of our deck this morning. It looks like we are preparing for a harvest party or something. I think we may have to clear all the leaves this weekend. Also, it rained last night and water is pooling on the tarp over the pool. We are going to have to get the water off of it before it pulls the tarp into the pool. This whole house in the country thing seems to require a lot more work than I imagined.

After John got home tonight we went to dinner and then by the grocery store. John is going to smoke some ribs and pork roast tomorrow. He has never attempted pulled pork, so he thought he would throw a roast on the smoker and try his hand at it. We got about two miles down the road tonight and realized that we had left both our phones at home. We didn't even turn around to go get them. Amazingly we survived.

I guess there is not much else to report in our world. John has a churchmen's breakfast in the morning. After that he has a planning meeting at church. Hopefully, it won't take too long. It is my intention to spend the morning doing some detailed cleaning. We will see how that plays out. I need to clean out the kids closets. I know they could both use some winter clothes, but I need to go through what they have to know for sure what they need. It is an exciting life.

Beauty is All Around

We moved to Mississippi in November of last year. I don't remember it being so pretty. The trees are all so beautiful right now. Even the leaves piled up all over the ground have an undeniable beauty about them. Since the time change, it is actually daylight when I drive to work. Every morning it seems like the trees are a little brighter. Taking in all the splendor is a wonderful way to start the day.

I returned to work today. It went well. I am a bit shocked at how tired I am tonight. I think I may have done too much yesterday. I am sure I will feel back to normal soon enough. Tomorrow shouldn't be too bad, and I am looking forward to having a relaxing weekend. We don't have anything planned for Saturday. I can hardly wait.

Home Alone

I just love this time of year. John took this picture yesterday morning as he was walking around the yard. He says the picture doesn't do it justice. The wind blew and the leaves started falling all around him. I love moments like that, when the sun is shining through the trees and you just get to take in the beauty that surrounds us.

It seems weird to be at home alone today. I have only been working for about two months, but I have gotten used to the routine. It was kind of nice to stand on the porch sipping my coffee as the kids got on the bus this morning. I have a lot to do today, and I am pretty excited about getting things accomplished. My biggest quandary today is whether I should bother getting dressed. I am rather fond of my flannel pajamas. The other night John and I were watching TV and a commercial for some online dating service was on. The lady said she vowed to never wear a flannel nightgown. John reached over and touched the sleeve of my shirt and laughed. He said I guess it is technically not a nightgown but pajamas. It made me laugh.

The boys had a good time at Cub Scouts last night. Jacob was pretty excited that he got to hold the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I have to include one crazy picture of our silly pets. Socks has gotten in the habit of trying to nurse Oscar. It is rather interesting. As annoying as they can be at times, they are pretty entertaining.

All is Well

Just an update on the surgery today. As far as I can tell everything went well. Only time will tell if it was a success. I haven't wanted to bore anyone with the details but I will say that it was a fairly simple procedure that will hopefully prevent a hysterectomy. It is called an endometrial ablation. John got a little confused about the name and told the girls at work it was a uterine obliteration. I told him that sounded a bit more invasive. We should know within the next few months if it was worth it. Sometimes it isn't fun being a girl.
John and I did have some laughs this morning. He of course made the joke about not wasting the semi-private room. Actually, the staging area I was in before surgery was not at all private. They had four areas divided by curtains, so you could hear everything being said. Also, the curtains didn't close very tightly, so I felt a little conspicuous as I was changing into the lovely hospital gown. They did have really cozy heated blankets. That may have been my favorite part.
Anyway, all went well. I slept most of the day but I am feeling pretty good now. About the only issues I have had are dizziness and a little bit of nausea. I guess that is just from the anesthesia. John took the boys to cub scouts this evening. They are going to go by the pharmacy on the way home to pick up my pain medicine. I don't know if I am going to need it. I really feel like I could go to work tomorrow, but the doctor said I shouldn't. I'm not supposed to drive for at least 24 hours. He did say Thursday would be okay. Hopefully, I can take advantage of my day at home tomorrow and get some cleaning done. I have lots of ironing to do and all the floors could use a good mopping.
Terri, thanks for your good wishes and prayers . I know I am very fortunate to have such great friends. This morning as soon as we got in the car, John just looked at me and said, "Do you want to pray before we go?" I love that man. I was a bit nervous about things, but knowing that there were so many people praying for me was a comfort. The verse that seems to constantly be on my mind these last few months is found in I Thessalonians 5:16 "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I told my ladies prayer group that this verse just sums up so many things for me. God's will for my life is really pretty simple.

Flat Stanley Returns

Jacob came in from school today and said he had some good news. His Flat Stanley was returned to school and it had more stuff than anyone else's. Thank you Mikki. I didn't realize what all was involved when he sent the Flat Stanley to his cousin Maci. Several weeks ago I got a letter home requesting the address of a family member from a different state. They were going to send their Flat Stanley's on adventures. Jacob wanted to send his to Maci. I sent the address and postage to school and didn't think much else about it. Mikki called last Thursday to say that she was mailing Flat Stanley a little late. I really didn't know anything about it. When Jacob came in today he was really excited. He said his Flat Stanley had the longest story and more pictures than the others. So again, thank you Mikki and Maci.

On another note, the boys wore their new Lego star wars shirts to school today. I am not a fan of shirts with things written on them. I miss the days when they just wore what I picked out. Joshua came home today with his shirt on backwards. I asked him when he turned it around and why. He said he did it at recess because he wanted to see the tag. I asked why he didn't turn it back around and he said he just forgot. So basically, he wore his shirt backwards from just before lunch until he got home from school. I have to admit he leaves me perplexed on a regular basis.

I guess that is all that is happening with us. I have to be at the surgery center at about 9:45 in the morning. John said it was a shame that I couldn't have anything to eat or drink. He said that it would be nice if we could go to the Waffle House since we have a whole morning without the kids. Yes, the romance is alive and well.

Saturday recap

Today was a typical Saturday. John spent the morning replacing the spark plugs on the truck while I read the paper and enjoyed my coffee. Before he started working on the truck he made us all pancakes for breakfast. I know I am very spoiled.

Anyway, we had a full day today. We left the house a little after eleven and went to a small car show at McLauren Attendance Center. It is actually the McLauren High School. I have no idea why it has such an odd name. It sounds like some kind of alternative school or something. Anyway, we left there and headed to a larger car show at Crossroads Church in Byram. Luckily I ran into my friend Jill, so I just visited with her while John explored. We also ran into our friends Buddy and Eloise. There was a large play area set up for kids where you could leave them while you looked around the car show. The kids had a blast playing on the inflatable bounce houses and such. John got to see lots of cool cars, and I got to spend some time with a friend. It was a pretty great afternoon. When we left there we went to the pet store to get food for Oscar. He is a bit high maintenance and has to have special bulldog specific food. After the pet store, we spent some time wondering aimlessly around Home Depot and Lowes before hitting the mall in Ridgeland. The boys both needed new shoes and a few long sleeved shirts. Once the shopping was done we had a late lunch/early dinner and came on home.
John is outside working on the truck again. He is replacing the distributor cap and plug wires. I think I got that right. I offered to help, but he said he didn't need any help. I am not the most mechanically inclined, so I think it is probably best that I just stay out of the way.

Hopefully we can just spend some time at home tomorrow after church. I am scheduled to keep the nursery at church tomorrow, so I will probably need to come home and rest afterwards. I'm not used to being around little ones anymore. They wear me out. I need to go grocery shopping at some point. We have eaten out everyday this past week. That is not good. I intended to go to the store everyday, but I worked a little more than usual, and we had something going on every evening. This next week should be better. I will be off work Tuesday and Wednesday, so I am hoping to get some things done around the house. John will be home on Tuesday, but he is planning to work on Wednesday. Okay, so I may not get much accomplished Tuesday, but I am hoping I feel up to doing something on Wednesday. I am betting I will have a migraine by about ten Tuesday morning. I am scheduled for a minor surgery that morning and I can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight. I am fine with not eating, but not having coffee is going to be a challenge. I told John we should probably plan on stopping for coffee on the way home. John and I both went and cast an absentee ballot so that we wouldn't have to try to vote on Tuesday. My doctor suggested it. He said I would probably still be a bit out of it on the way home. I am sure it will all go well, but I am a bit nervous.

The Guilt that is Motherhood

Today I missed a school party. Luckily, it was only one since Jacob's principal doesn't allow parents at the harvest parties. I told Joshua this morning that I would try to make it, but I might not be able to leave work in time. The first words out of his mouth when he walked in the door today were "So I see you didn't make it to the Harvest party." He said that it was okay and he understood, but I know he was disappointed. I knew when I decided to go back to work that there would be days like this, but I could live without the guilt. I really intended to go, but this has been an odd week at work. Normally, I leave work by noon on Fridays, but today my boss had an extra project he wanted me to get done. I didn't leave work until after one. The party was at 12:30, so that's how life goes. My part time 20 hour a week job turned into about 30 hours this week. I am hoping that doesn't become the norm. On the bright side, I really like my job.

Tonight we went out for dinner and then came home for family movie night. John thought the boys would like Home Alone. He was right. They laughed so hard. I only had to cringe a few times because of the language. We started the movie all on the love seat, but before it was over the kids had moved to the couch.

The cat was busy trying to get into the hole behind the TV. Ever since she discovered the hole for the cords, she has been trying to get in it. She had another vet visit today for her last two shots of the year. Next week Oscar gets to go for his yearly checkup and shots. It amazes me how expensive having pets can be.

Florence had their trick or treating last night because of the football game tonight. We skipped the neighborhoods and just hit the trunk or treat at the Cleary Road Baptist Church. It was fun and the kids got plenty of candy. They posed today with their loot. Part of it is from trunk or treat and the rest is from their Harvest parties at school. Joshua is sporting the lovely Dracula teeth he got at school, and Jacob is showing off his new eye patch.