Thursday...it has been a long week

Yesterday was such a crazy day I had to take 4 hours of vacation time to get it all taken care of!

Started work early (I read my emails on my phone before even getting out of bed...it helps me to feel like I am beating the alarm when really I already hit snooze once). All was well. So I got up, got dressed, did all the normal morning routine things, checked email again and headed out to take the kids to school. It was a normal day.

When I got back home Scott said, "we have to do something about this dog." I said, I can make an appointment to take him to the vet for tomorrow, but I just can't do it today. I went on to my 'office' and started working again. I looked up the number for the vet and made an appointment for Thursday afternoon at 4:30. I then started listening...I kept hearing a whine. After listening for a minute, I went into the living room to see if it was Spooky. It was. Scott said that he had been whining all night. So, I called the vet's office again and asked if we they had any openings for today. She said, "Can you be here at 9?" I said, "yes." It was 8:40 at this point. So, I sent a message to my manager and my backup that I needed to take a few hours off. You see, in addition to the vet visit, I already had scheduled a visit at Eli's school, Scott had spoken with Heather and she needed her car 'fixed' before she had to leave for work at 3:00 and my Praying Wives Club was scheduled to meet during lunch. All this and work. Thankfully my work load was looking to be light for the day, so it was nice to just take 4 hours off and do what I needed to do.

So...we headed to see Dr. Tim Jones. He is really great. He remembered all of us and that I was friends with John Muir...and informed me that he had passed away. I didn't know this and was a bit shocked by the news. John and I worked together when he started at Sprint many many years ago. Scott and I used to house sit for him before we had children. John was a very nice man. I will follow up with some Sprint folks and the KC Star for additional details and will send a note to his wife.

Back to the vet...
He had me walk Spooky away from him then back and could see that he was dragging his paws. He agreed that my theory could be accurate...a stroke. He also agreed that it could be that he has diabetes. We discuss that we didn't want to spend thousands, but that if there were some things that we could do to determine the issue and help him feel better, we would like to take that path. Spooky's heart sounded good and all of his blood work came back good, so Dr. Jones narrowed it to a pinched or cracked something in his neck. He gave him a steroid shot, a B12 shot and sent us home with 3 weeks of steroid pills. As of today, Spooky is doing much better. He still hesitates before going up or down the steps, but he ran to the end of the driveway to get the paper with me this morning. So, hopefully the steroids will work...even if he has to take them the rest of his life.

We finished at the vet, I took Scott and Spooky home, then headed to Eli's school. I visited with both the speech therapist and the OT about Eli and watched as he completed some painting, stamping and following specific directions. They both agreed (and had discussed prior) that his focus and 'good looking' have increased a lot in the last week or so. This could be from the Enhansa. It was a good visit and Eli rode home with me rather than riding the bus.

I made Eli's lunch and some cholesterol lowering gluten free oatmeal for Scott and I (not that he has high cholesterol...just me...as far as I know). My plan is to eat all the cholesterol lowering foods, exercise and lose 10-15 lb in the next 90 days then have my blood tested again. I am beginning to think the test may have been wrong...but eating a high fiber diet, exercising and losing some lbs isn't gonna hurt me...this might just be the kick in the pants I needed!

Then I was off to my PWC (Praying Wives Club) meeting! I just love those gals...it is so refreshing to meet with them. We count our blessings, encourage one another and pray for the victory. The plans for the new church are coming along nicely and we are praying that the meetings scheduled in the weeks to come will result in approvals for all the plans.

Back to work...it was really great to have that mid-day vacation time! An issue here, and issue there, but all wrapped up by 5. Dinner...grass fed ground beef burgers with Bragg's Amino Acid...YUM and julienned potatoes. All prepared, burgers pattied and in the freezer, potatoes prepared and in the oven on parchment covered cookie sheets. Now, outside to plant those red bud trees (which Blake has decided to call rosebud trees...he said he likes that name better). We planted 2 along the creek and 1 further back in the yard. I checked them today and they look good...so far.

BTW...in the middle of all this Scott bought Heather a new car battery...we hope that does the trick...should know in a couple hours when it is time for her to go to work.

Back inside...turned up the potatoes to 425 and put the burgers on the grill. Everything tasted good, but we all laughed about the potatoes...they were a bit crunchy. We sounded like the Griswold's eating overcooked turkey in Christmas Vacation. It was hilarious. However, there were no leftover potatoes. Next time we will just keep them at 350.

Next up...pajamas and downstairs to stream a movie from Netflix via the Wii. Amazingly, it worked and it worked really well...even on 3G! Love it! Now I can watch all those old romantic comedies without having to own them. And Scott can watch every John Wayne movie! We are so excited...didn't even need any new equipment, just the disc from Netflix. Fabulous!!!

Told you it was a long day! Still made it to be before 10:30...HURRAY!!!

What a B-E-A-U Tiful weekend!!!!

The weekend weather in Baldwin City was absolutley perfect!

Scott left Friday afternoon to go to Denver for the weekend. 2 D1 games...which really is a big plate of rugby. They went 1:1 and will make the playoffs in May. I will be praying they do well!!!

Friday evening we went to Jennifer Mead's to dig up redbud trees. Blake and Eli enjoyed their visit with Nick and Luke playing video games. Doug did all the digging and visiting with Jennifer is always a treat. We just can't have a short visit...even when we try. The boys and I got home around 8:30 and ate whatever we could find that was easy to make. I had gluten free oatmeal...I am so glad I like it since I need to eat it often now that I know about my high cholesterol.

Saturday morning we got started early, dropped Blake off at chruch to go to the Amazing Grace Baptist Camp for the day. He said it was amazing. He is to give us all the details at dinner tonight. Then, Eli and I headed to the BC Mkt, a quick stop at Anita's for chick pea salad, then home to get our house finished before company arrived. We achieved all the items on the list and still had time for rest. Eli took a long nap and I sat on the front porch swing just soakin' up the day! I am so BLESSED! Solitude is so good.

Jenny (Yoder - Drouhard), Amanda and Ally arrive around 5PM. Blake came home about 15 minutes later. We visited, took them on a tour of our house, made hamburgers (seasoned with Bragg's amino acid, of which I used a bit too much) and yum-o potatoes. I learned how to julieanne carrots on a TV show so I tried it with the potatoes. It worked perfectly. Just cut the potato in slices, push flat and cut the entire row. Adorable and tastey. We drove into Baldwin for a quick tour...though it was getting dark so they really didn't get to see much. It is such a cute town...maybe next time they will see more.

On Sunday, we had a nice breakfast. Blake made the eggs and they were fabulous. We went to church, then headed to the Legends for lunch and shopping. Eli got the cutest new shoes and Blake picked out some new t-shirts from Old Navy. We walked to the big fountain and it wasn't running...then...it came on. The kids LOVED it. Blake, Amanda and Allison got soaked and Eli was smiling from ear to ear. We headed back to the car, made a stop at Culver's for ice cream and headed home.

I was too tired to go plant our new trees...hope to get that done on Tues or Wed evening. We NEVER have leftovers, but we did on Sunday night. Burgers and potatoes again. The boys watched Spongebob so I could watch my only show: Brothers & Sisters. It was a great episode.

Blake put himself to bed. I put Eli in bed knowing he wouldn't stay. Within 10 minutes he was in my room, but quickly fell asleep. He must have just needed to hang out with his Mamma.

Spooky isn't doing well. We are going to have to do something soon. He eats well, but is having a very hard time going up and down the steps. He slid about 1/2 way down the basement stairs on Saturday night.

Scott finally got home (after a flight delay) around 12:30 AM. He seems quite distressed and tired. I continue to pray for encouragement for him. Through job leads and rugby. I pray that he will not be further discouraged and will seek the Lord for council and wisdom.

It's a new week. The drive to work was beautiful and it was fun to sing praise songs with Alan Jackson.

Apple for breakfast, chick pea salad and red pepper humus for lunch, avacado and who knows what for dinner! It is Day3, so I think pork steaks, corn and salad will be the menu!

It's Friday!

We are rescheduled to take Eli for his cleaning, xrays and fillings on May 4th. This is really great! I am hopeful and praying we see some changes (progress) in his development.

Didn't go walking in Baldwin, but we did exercise on the Wii. It was fun doing step aerobics with all the other Mii. And that run I took with my cat was really good too! Now...what to do today. Heading to Jennifer's to dig up redbud trees. Hope they survive the transplant.

Dinner last night was great. We had BLT & E w/cheese and avacado salads. I took about 1/2 cup of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, added 1 tsp cumin and 1 tsp lime juice...it was really good. I am doing well with eating cholesterol reducing foods...only had a few slices of bacon...the good bacon with no nitrates, etc.

I have lost 3 lb this week...if I keep at it and I loose another 3 lb I will be really motivated.

Jenny is coming tomorrow with her girls, Amanda and Allison. It will be so much fun to catch up and relax. Better keep going or I won't get everything completed before they get here.

TaTa...will try to post over the weekend.

ELI and the dentist!

I took Eli to the dentist (Growing Smiles) last week. Oh the guilt of it all...I knew it would be bad...but actually the news wasn't as bad as I had expected. Anyway, he will need 2 crowns and 2 fillings and will need to be put under for the procedure...which was expected. They scheduled us for Aug 31, but said there would probably be cancels so we would get in sooner. I have been reading that dental issues causes inflamation in the body and that inflamation in the body causes your brain to not work right. So, even though Aug 31 is not ideal we at least have it scheduled and I have been hopeful that we would get a call for an earlier date. Today they called...they can most likely get Eli in on May 4 at 7AM (which is great cause he doesn't have to go all day without eating or drinking)...that is 4.5 months sooner!!!! I just can't help but be excited that this dental work might really help Eli. The dental assistant told me that there have been many children with special needs that show significant improvement almost immediately after getting their dental work completed. I should know for sure by Monday if May 4 is our date! Please be in prayer about this. Eli doesn't act like he is in pain, but there must be at least a degree of pain associated with his teeth. I just know this is orchestrated by God and thank him for the hope.

Really excited about Mallory Claire...she is just beautiful. I can't wait to meet her...hope I can wait until July! Aunt Susie's post on facebook make me tear up...she is Grams now!

So...the blood test results are back. I have high cholesterol...267. Goes to show you...eating well doesn't necessarily keep you out of the bad blood reports! My first response was to jump on the internet. Not focused on what I shouldn't eat, just focused on what I should eat AND how exercise is no longer optional! Taking JoLynn's lead...must do something active for 30 minutes every day!!! Blake and I are heading into Baldwin to walk this evening....maybe even do some steps at Baker too. I hope the scale reflects my efforts quickly...I need some instant gratification.

Praising God for the victory even while working toward it!!! Mold me and make me Lord.

What a crazy day! Visited Eli and his OT today at school. She reported this week that Eli spent a lot of time playing appropriatly with his friend and that he is walking better at school. He now waits with his classmates after they all go to the bathroom rather than just walking around where he wants to go. This is all good...continuing to monitor any effects of Enhansa.

Work...I don't usually talk about work, but today I learned that I disconnected numbers that shouldn't have been disconnected. 95 of them. We reinstated them all, but I HATE TO MAKE MISTAKES...especially those that cause major issues for others!

This afternoon we went to the dentist for the first time with Eli. Not as bad as I thought it would/could be. Eli has 2 really bad cavities and 2 that will require regular fillings. However, he will need to be put under for the proceedures. He's a trooper though and hopefully it will help him progress. I have read recently that dental issues cause inflamation in the body and inflamation in the body causes the brain to not work right. So, once we get through this, I am hopefull we will see more progression.

Dinner...not so good. Say Cheese is a gluten and casein free version of mac and cheese. It is OK and quite filling. Our main course was salmon. I tried to make the Whole Foods recipe again...with ricota and feta...still wasn't good. I think I just don't like salmon anymore. Can anyone show me how to make it so it doesn't taste icky?

Scott is off to rugby practice...he went in game gear...that scares me. Hope it goes well.

Blake and Eli are jumping on the trampoline...it's starting to get dark so I had better go get them.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. Hopefully a lot of folks took the day off and I can make some real progress on some of my pending projects. Aaaahhh...and I am taking vacation on Monday...looking forward to sleeping in...til...you know, 7:30AM.

Good night!