Li'l update

Let's see. So far it's been a pretty good Christmas. A is doing ok but didn't expect to feel this bad for this long. She is still not able to talk or eat much but she did manage to eat a whole bowl of oatmeal this afternoon.

I saw the doc who did my wrist surgery today and he confirmed that I have varicose veins in my wrist. Oh joy. I'm to see a surgeon to see if they can sclerose them like I had done in my leg several years ago. I had a good outcome from that so that's encouraging.

T's wrist is sore. I think it's sympathy pain for me. He doesn't think so.

We are getting ready for our New Year's Eve tree blow-up party. We picked up some fireworks today. The tree is drying out nicely.

That's it for now.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas! From our house to yours! Remember the reason for the season.

Before.

After.

We are thankful for God's gift that we are reminded of during Christmas. We are thankful for friends and family and little furry blessings, not the rodent type but the four-legged pet type. We are thankful for God's blessing and provision.

Surgery

A's surgery went well but they had to do some cauterization because they were "very infected and needed to come out". He had hoped to just do the coblation. She is resting in her bed. We are hoping and praying the pain doesn't get too bad.

J is cracking me up. He said, "De plan is, to have a plan." He was "making gadgenators 'cause if secret agents don't have gadgenators den dey are just secret." Whatever you say, son.

I did go upstairs while A was getting her tonsils removed and  asked about my wrist. At first they were just trying to figure out what it was. Then they thought I should have it looked at like, next week or tomorrow. Then they decided that I should continue the advil and warm compresses and only come in if it got worse. Sigh...when you stump the professionals, it's not a good thing. My crazy body has been stumping them for a while now.

It's raining. Again. I'm tired of the rain. At least it's not snow. I still have presents to wrap. I better get busy.

Whew!

Life is happening very fast around here. It's so nice to have all the kids in the house again. I played Phase 10 with my three kids last night. J won. You know how mom's say things like, "I brought you into this world, I'll take you out!" when they are exasperated or just teasing with their kids? Last night I told J in a teasing way, "I brought you into this country, I'll take you out!" He was only half listening and knew I was teasing, I just thought it was funny to say.

A gets her tonsils out tomorrow (please keep her in your prayers) so we went out to eat to celebrate her "last supper". Bahahaha!! A couple of the "CO ladies" joined us too. We had fun. And then we went to Walmart. Because we were in town. What else would rednecks do when they go to town?

I got a part in Camelot. I'm in the ensemble, which is what I wanted. I've been wanting to do a play again for a while and the timing was good.

I need to go make white choc dipped pretzels. Maybe I can get some gifts wrapped in the next couple days. Otherwise we might just have to lay them under the tree naked with tags on them. I need to stir up sourdough tonight too. I better get busy.

What is this?

We are busy with all of us coming and going all the time. T, JT and I got chiro adjustments this morning. Made my neck feel like it was going to swivel right off. Ahhh.

I forgot how noisy a house full of young people can be. And how much they eat! Wowzer! I love it though.

The cats are not fans of Skylar. They've spent a lot of time outside or up high since she arrived. She keeps trying to engage them in play but they just don't get it.

I showed this to the chiro this morning and I called the doc the other day. Look at my left wrist. What is this? The doc said it's probably superficial phlebitis and to take advil and use warm compresses. The chiro says there is some swelling down inside the wrist joint. I think I will head up to the hand therapy people while A gets her tonsils out on Thursday and ask them. If they say it needs to be seen, I will make an appointment. If not, I'm not going to worry about it.

Picture post

R, JT and Skylar are here. They got in around 2 this morning.

A is scheduled to have her tonsils out on Thur. She's ready to get them out.

And now the pics from the last couple of weeks. One frosty morning the horses had frost on their backs. Proof that their fur was working for them!

And I snapped this pic of a bush at my parents' house that same morning. It was all so beautiful but soooo cooooold.

The tree is still standing up straight. I don't know what T did to it the second time around but it's working!

And thank you, blogger, for putting this one in sideways. Misty is so fat that she squishes the top of the chair down.

When we were at the beach we saw some nativity scenes out of palm tree thingys and seashells. We collected several and mom, friend K, J, A and I each made a seashell nativity. We had fun doing it and love the results. This one is mine.

This is K's.

J's.

And A's. I failed to get a pic of my moms.

And here is Misty with her "joker smile" as she sleeps on the folded laundry.

And here is Peaches, the feed store cat. Now if we could get her to make change we'd be doing well.

J was in a Christmas program at church this morning. Sorry for the cruddy pic. Cheap phone. And T was taking vid on his. J is in the white shirt.

Much ado about nothing

I know, it's been nearly a week. Life is crazy.

A has a cold, or something. And she has some weird red splotches in the back of the roof of her mouth. Sigh...she's suppose to get her tonsils out in 10 days. We are going to have her gargle with warm salt water and see how it is in the morning. Any ideas?

My parents are back from FL. Woot! They had a good time and are now trying to settle back into life here.

J did not earn his gum on the first day of his testing. The reading part threw him for a loop. He did ok the rest of the week though. He's trying to decide what to do with his hair. If you pull it out straight it's about 2 1/2-3 inches long. We could lock it. We could have it braided. Or if he would just brush/pick it out he could have big hair. That's what I'd prefer but he doesn't like to pick it.

I had a better week last week with fibromyalgia. Thankful for that. The doxycycline doesn't seem like it helped much this time as I really struggled last week. Sigh...

I recently used Loreal Healthy Look semi-permanent hair color. It's suppose to last through 28 washings and doesn't contain ammonia. Loved it! Recommend it! It's lasted at least 28 washings and covered the gray well. The time before that I used a "mousse-like" color that was fairly easy to apply but just didn't color like Excellence cream or Healthy Look and it didn't last well either. Go figure. That's my product review for the day.

Oh wait, I have another one. I've been using my homemade laundry soap for over a month now. I have a hard time with the lack of sudsing (it's "between the ears") but the clothes come out clean and it's so economical that I will keep using it. The recipe is; 1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, 1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda, but it is made by Arm and Hammer) and 1/2-1 cup of borax. My cousin started out with 1/2 cup but had upped it to 1 cup by the time I made mine. I've only made the 1 cup version. You cut the Fels naptha soap up into small pieces and then process in a blender or food processor. I used a blender because I don't have a food processor. Add the borax and washing soda and process a bit more. Or that's how I did it. Use 1-2 tablespoons per load, adjusting to load size and how dirty the clothes are. I'm also using vinegar in place of liquid fabric softener. Actually, I got some Dollar General brand liquid softener and use it with the vinegar so it's about 1/4 softener and the rest vinegar. Clothes are clean and soft and don't smell like vinegar. So economical! Love it! Recommend it! Oh, and the washing soda, borax and fels naptha can be found in a very small section of the laundry section in your local walmart or whatever. If I had blinked I never would have found it.

Thank God all the vehicles are running right now. They all have weird tire issues, but they are all running.

R, JT and Skylar will be here sometime on Sat. Woot!! We are all looking forward to that.

Ok, must go change out the laundry, paint some Christmas gifts and get on with the day.

Busy, busy, busy

Busy, busy, busy. That's our lives right now. A is getting ready for finals and working and doing whatever she can before she gets her tonsils removed.

J seems back on track at school. At least for now. He's doing some state mandated tests right now and has a chance to "earn" a pack of gum a day with a good attitude. Hope he makes it. He cut his finger the other day with a pocket knife. I have hidden it from him as this is the 3rd time he's cut himself with it.

I failed to bring milk home yesterday. And whoever emptied the jug failed to throw it away. Oddest thing, none of the people I live with can throw empty jugs away. Why is that? My parents are in FL right now so I'm helping out with their household, business and ministry. And fibromyalgia is still whooping me right now. Yesterday was good though, and so far today. Yay for that! I'm excited about playing keys for a friend tonight for special music at a meeting. Should be fun.

T has been working on computers for people, besides what he does for his job. Thank God, all the cars are running right now. They all have wonky things going on with their tires, but they are all running at the moment.

Check out this link; http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-history-year-three.html This was one of the Livesays' Christmas productions. I loved this one.

 I'm happy to report that our tree is standing up straight now and has been for the last 3 days. Woot!

In the crazy "busyness" that is the Christmas season, remember to stop and think about the reason for the season and to spend time with loved ones.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Wow. What a difference a couple days make. T was in Nashville this week and J wanted to get the Christmas stuff out while he was gone. I agreed. He and I did some decorating and when we all got home yesterday afternoon we went out and cut a tree. You know how they look smaller when they're out in the middle of a pasture in the wide open space? Yeah, we had that come in to play with this tree. We got a new stand this year but it just isn't holding well. And now we have a big fat tree that has become the Leaning Tower of Treeza. And I need a bigger tree skirt.

While J and I were decorating, A was taking the seats out of her car.

Why? So she could clean under them, of course. And taking the seats out is easier than vacuuming underneath them?!? She is her father's child.

And J had a lightbulb moment. Or a double lightbulb moment in this case.

My Christmas cactus even got in on the decorating. It's blooming about a month before Christmas but it hasn't bloomed in a couple of years so we'll take what we can get.

And now I have to figure out what to do with the tree.