Some days

What a day...I dont think I sat down until Caseys swim lesson and then even though I was sitting I was still running a mile a minute in my head. In the end I always end up with more time than I plan on but I still seem to stress when I have list of things to do.

Lets start from the beginning...another appliance has gone out. The microwave is now not working. It runs but does not heat anything and has a very funny smell. This happened yesterday so this morning Casey and I went to Home Depot to look at new ones. Found one that was nice but had to wait because I did not have the measurements for our old one. Then after his swim lesson we stopped by Best Buy and they had the same one for about 30 bucks less, the only thing is they did not have black in stock so we will be without a microwave until Tuesday at the earliest. Not the most pleasant but since we are camping this weekend it wont be to bad.

The camping I am really looking forward to...first trip for me of the year. :) Brents parents are coming to that will be nice as well. I offered to make a couple of salads and bring the snack stuff since Brents mom is going to bring the meat and other stuff. So this morning I made a pasta salad, a bean salad and dressing for cole slaw. Why just the dressing, because I bought the cole slaw mix from Fred Meyer and I figure we can dress it when we eat it, that way it will not wilt and those that like lots of dressing can have it that way. Of course my stress came from trying to get all the stuff cooked and then cleaned up after before we left for swimming lessons. Why did I not just wait until after...good question I dont really know. But anyway...its not all done and I can sleep in peace.

Did learn one thing tonight, Dont leave food on the counter when the dog is in the house. I went outside to get the trash cans up and Buddy decided to finish off the last two pieces of pizza. He just went into the kitchen and put those paws of his on the counter and had a nice little dinner. Live and learn.

Good night all...sleep well and hope you have a great weekend.

Metal Free

What a great day. I am now free of all the metal in my mouth and truly getting back to normal. I still need to be careful with some of the foods I eat, I mean after almost six weeks of not really using my jaw, it needs time to get back into shape. Basically I am going to try and stay away from really hard candy and very chewy candy, steak and sandwiches with chewy bread. The nice thing about this visit to the doc was I came home and was not so out of it as to not remember anything. Infact the only thing I dont really remember is the time right after the appointment and the drive home. This time I was able to eat some lunch and supper. Very nice since I was told not to eat anything from midnight until after the appointment which was at 10:00. That meant to breakfast, no coffee not even any water. So not a good morning for me but willing to do it for the end result.

As for the teeth/mouth. No really pain, the gums are very tender and when I try to brush them they bleed a little but thats to be expected. So all in all this experience is one for the record/history books.

I believe this weekend we are going to try a camping trip. With summer going by so fast it will be nice to get out for a couple of days and just get away from it all. The best part is I will be wire free, something I was very concerned about when Brent went on his last camping trip. I had wires and only two rubber bands it just did not seem like a wise idea so I am really looking forward to this one...even if all we do is fish and hang around the camp fire it will be fun.

Casey is still loving swimming lessons, he had to miss today because of the doc but I made it up to him with a happy meal for dinner. I believe we are going to sign him up for two more weeks of lessons which will put him very close to the start of first grade. Thats something very strange to say, I have a son in first grade. Where does the time go.

Speaking of time I better get moving, time to get things cleaned up and get ready for bed. Wire free boy its wonderful :)

And their off

That's what we got to hear last night. We took Casey to the horse races here in Boise. It was a lot of fun and funny to hear him try and pick his horses. Saturday turned into a very fun unplanned day. Brent and Casey went out to try out Brents new gun and I did a few things that needed to get done, return books to the library, return clothes and it was so nice to do it when Casey was able to be with Brent. He is good when it comes to things like that but does not enjoy it. So once they got back we headed to the races. We watched six of the eight races and for each one Casey would pick his horses. Usually it sounded something like this...

Mommy: Which horse do you want to win Casey?
Casey: Well I like horse one, two, four, five and six.
Mommy: Whats wrong with horse three?
Casey: I just dont want him in this race.

Then when the race started horse three was in the lead.

Casey: Wait I want horse three to win...go three, go three, go three

Thats pretty much how the entire evening went. But he had fun and there was no money spent on the ponies so no harm done. After we finished there we stopped at Applebees for dinner, Casey got a free meal from the library for his reading so we redeemed it. I had their Fajita Burger which was a hamburger in a tortilla shell, it was very good...I just removed the shell and added extra pico.

It is supposed to be a hot day today. Somewhere in the 100's but we will see if that mark is hit. I believe Brent wanted to float the river today but not to worry. I will sit this float out, I know I am being overly careful but I really dont care. There is a lot of moving and bumping on a river float and thats the last thing I want/need to have happen to my face. As of Tuesday, the metal will be gone...:):):):):) SO happy, my poor mouth is raw. The metal has started to rub the inside of my cheeks and it just hurts. But only for a few more days.

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday and a great next week.

How My Garden Grows

I have been wanting to get some pictures of my garden and I finally did it this morning. So here are a bunch of pictures for you to enjoy.


My tomatoes are starting to come.

My zucchini plant it starting to overtake its spot.

Here is the bed that Brent and Casey built for me.

Here are more chocolate peppers ready to pick. Their flavor is not quite as sweet at a red bell pepper but more sweet than a green bell pepper.

Our strawberry patch. All those strawberries came from this little spot

Just decided to take a picture of the front door with the wreath I made.

Buddy with his favorite toy...a big rock.

This rose bush started as a very little plant and this is what it is after one year. It is the rose bush from my dad's funeral. I love that its doing so well. He would have loved it.

So thats what I did with some of my morning...all pictures taken before 7:30 a.m. I get more done in the morning before 10 then for most of the rest of the day...at least thats how it seems sometimes.

A Day of Baking and Swimming

So call me crazy but I bake to relax. This morning I decided that I need to relax a little so I baked these...They are chocolate, cranberry oatmeal bars and the picture does not do them justice.

I ended up sending some with Brent tonight for after his bike ride, mostly because if they all stayed home I would end up eating most if not all of them. They are so moist and yummy, it is defiantly a recipe that will go in my box for another time.

Chocolate, Cranberry & Oat Bars
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cup oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
4 squares baking chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cranberries and orange juice and microwave for 1 minute. Let stand 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt. In another bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing well after each addition. Stir in cranberries and chocolate. Spread dough in a 13x9 pan that has been sprayed.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely before cutting.

Of course I cannot just leave a recipe alone so I made a couple of changes. Instead of 1 cup of cranberries I used 3/4 cup cranberries and 3/4 cup raisins. Then since I did not have any squares of baking chocolate I used 2 cups of chocolate chips. The rest stayed the same, I also made a powdered sugar and OJ glaze for them. Yummy Yummy if I do say so myself.

This is the second thing I made...A strawberry cake. I found a strawberry cake mix at Winco and decided to give it a try. I made it in a bunt pan and put have of the mixture in and then added some strawberry jam, them topped it with the rest of the batter. It just looks like summer to me and tastes very yummy as well.

So that was my morning...baking and cleaning. Then it was off to swimming lessons where Casey did very well with the class. I am so thankful he likes it.

After the lesson we had to run to Cabela's for Brent and then made a fast stop to get a watermelon. Nothing like a juicy red watermelon on a hot day.

So all in all it was a great day. Hope you can say the same.

Its almost over

What a great middle to the week. I had my weekly appointment on Wednesday instead because the doc was going to be out of the office on Thursday and Friday. After an xray and some moving of my jaw he said to make an appointment for the removal and that I dont need the two bands anymore. As far as how I should treat my mouth over the next few days, just be careful and stay away from the rocks. Then on Tuesday at 10 I will get an IV and be put under again. Not looking forward to that part but then I wake up I will me free of the metal. Its going to be a wonderful feeling.

As for the rest of the day, Casey had a great time at swimming lessons. The weather was not the nice heat from the day before but it was not to bad. Since I had the dr appointment in the afternoon we did not get to the birdhouse. Instead I had Casey help me get things ready for supper. Cornflake crusted Chicken with stuffing and corn. I had Casey crush up the cornflakes for the chicken pieces and then add the spices to the mixture. He got a kick out of being able to crush them and then we marinaded the chicken in some sun dried tomato marinade while at the dr appointment. Once I got a call from Brent saying he was going to be heading home I got the chicken coated and in the oven. Brent rode his bike to work so that gave me more than enough time to get the chicken done. It turned out to be a good meal, minus the stuffing according to Casey but Brent and I both liked it.

So it was a great day, sorry there are no pictures for this post hopefully the next one will have a few.

Swimming Lessons Day Two

Casey had a blast to day in swimming lessons. He was the first one to volunteer for the different things they did, a huge step for a shy kid like Casey.
Getting ready to jump in
Swimming with the bar
Waiting for class to start

After the lesson we stopped at the library and got a few new movies for him to enjoy. I found a couple of books on CD to enjoy, A couple of Stephanie Plum books that I have heard but wanted to listen to again and then we also got a couple of books for Brent. Then it was off to home and do what we do.

When we were in Idaho Falls the last time Brents dad gave us a bird house to paint so we started that project today. I will try and get a picture of it soon. I am going to make this a multi day project for Casey. With no summer school he is starting to get a little board so to compensate for that we are going to start doing a few pages of workbooks in the morning. He also has words to learn for first grade. Words like she, he, we, little, look and many more. Thankfully he is willing to do them with me. He is getting pretty good at it too. We did walk over and check out the class list this morning before swimming lessons. There are about five kids from his kindergarten class and the teacher is someone who was a speech specialist before becoming a first grade teacher. Two things I am thankful for. The funny thing was I read the list of supplies he will need to take to school with him and he wanted to know "Why do I have to take them, does the school not have them for me to use." Good question if you ask me but thankfully the list is not that long. Just the basic things like glue, pencils, erasers, Kleenex, a folder and a couple other things.

As for my eating, I was able to have the meal I fixed the guys tonight. Sausage with red beans, tomatoes and rice. Since Casey likes his rice plain I made the rice in the microwave and cooked the beans and tomatoes on the stove. That way Brent and I were able to mix them and Casey got his plain rice. It was so good to be able to eat what I fixed instead of having to make two meals. I dont think I will try a steak or a sandwich just yet, just a little to much chewing but I know that day will come soon.

What does tomorrow hold for us...well another day of swimming and getting a few things from Fred Meyer and of course my doctor's appointment. :):) Hopefully he will say make an appointment for Monday or Tuesday and lets get these things off. But I have decided that if he wants me to suffer for another week I will do it. So on that note...

Pictures :)

Here are a few pictures as promised.

We went to swimming lessons yesterday and had a great time. I put Casey in Level 2 at 10:30-11:00 thinking that he was far enough to be in level 2. Well this level two class turned out to be a little more like level 2/3 which is to advanced for Casey. The teacher told me he would do better with the 11:00-11:30 class so we if could he could just hang out and wait for the Level 1 class to start. Since it was such a nice day and we had nothing else do to we waited. He did great in the class and very much enjoyed it. But here's the kicker...he is now going to go to lessons from 11:30-12:00 because the class had about 8 kids and the teacher wanted to split them up. She said that Casey's skill level is about 1/2 and that is was the rest of the kids in the class will be. So we will now do lessons from 11:30 to 12:00. That means the day will have time to warm up, he will be in a class that works for his skill level and it should be a small class. Once again the Lord knows what he is doing. :)

Here he is getting ready to swim...I will get more pictures of him in the water later.

Here are some of Casey's favorite after swimming snacks. Casey loves the ZBars and they are good for him...as far as bars of his nature go. The Nutri-Grain bar is beyond good. These bars are also great for when we go camping. They hold up in the packing and they are great for a breakfast or snack for Casey.

As for the rest of the day, after lessons we came home and got things in order at the house and just kind of hung out and played with Casey's airplanes and cars. It was a hot day and Casey was a little tired from the lessons. I tried a new recipe last night for supper and I think it was a hit. I even had some.

You cook up ground beef and taco seasoning, then add frozen veggies, I used corn, peas and carrots. Combine the mixtures of meat and veggies and put in a baking dish. Cover the veggie and meat mix with a can of tomatoes, any type, and then top with cheese and some spices, I used a pizza spice mix. Then top the entire dish with bread sticks, think the Pillsbury Bread sticks in the can. You just unroll them and twist them up then place them on the dish. Put in the oven for the time on the bread sticks and bake. I baked it uncovered for about 15 minutes at 400 and then covered it with foil and baked another 15 minutes. Then serve with sour cream and salsa. Very yummy, Casey even enjoyed it.

My garden is doing very well, strawberries are done but we got more than expected from them. I have gotten about 10 sugar snap peas and the tomato plants are starting to many small green tomatoes on them. Hopefully unlike last year they will turn red. For some reason most of the tomatoes would not turn so I just made a bunch of green tomato salsa, very good use of them and it tasted pretty good. My zucchini plant had about 15 big blossoms on it and the carrots are looking good, at least from the top. I have not picked them yet. Our raspberry bush has had a few red ones that Casey and I have enjoyed. Now for the pictures below...no I did not leave the pepper on to long, infact I have three more on the plant that are bright green right now. It is a Chocolate Pepper Plant. They are not fully ripe until they turn brown. I have not tried it yet but its supposed to be kind of sweet. I will let you know how it tastes.

Now its off to get the house ready for the day...its hard to believe that summer school is over and that July is coming to an end. Summer goes by fast when you have a situation to deal with. :) Casey and I are going to take a walk this morning and see who his teacher for first grade is and who is in his class. With swimming lessons starting later we have more time in the morning. Plus a good walk this morning will feel good. Have a great Tuesday all and thank you to all that read and comment on my blog. Even if you dont comment thank you for reading it.

Check, Check, Check, and Check

Those would be for the Air Conditioner, Freezer, Washer and now Stove. As of 8:30 Sunday night I believe we can mark off all the appliances that have been worked on this week. The heating element for the stove came a couple of days ago and we got it in tonight. I say we because thanks to my small fingers we did not need to call the appliance guys again. Here's the story...I was in the shower when Brent started the process of working on the stove. When I got out the stove was missing its bottom element, the new element was on top of the stove and I had a very upset, frustrated husband. The wires had gone back up in the stove and he was not able to get them down. After much frustration he went outside to get something and I tried to work the wires back down. With my small fingers I was able to pull them back down and when he came back in the house they were pulled down and I was holding them in place. Brent then got the new element hooked up and turned the power back on in the kitchen. Guess what, the new element works and the oven heated right up as it was supposed to. :):):) This means I now have a working oven again.

As for the rest of the weekend... nothing to interesting happened. Brent and Casey spent most of the afternoon at Cablea's and Sportsman looking at guns and the like. I had a nice time taking a very relaxing walk to the river and back and then sat outside in the sun and just enjoyed the quiet. When they got home we went and picked up Brents truck, it was getting a full service at Firestone then back home to get dinner ready and now its time to get ready for bed. I think even though Casey is out of summer school we are going to try and keep him on a regular sleep pattern, it will make it so much easier when school starts back up. Tomorrow will be the first day of swimming lessons and from the forecast it should be a very nice day for them.

Wednesday will be the next appointment for my teeth and I pray they will be able to come off. My mouth is starting get sore from the wires that are poking me and from the extra metal that is in there. As of Thursday it will have been five weeks since they were put on, hard to believe I had to spend a good portion of the summer dealing with this but hey at least its better than last summer. :(

Anyway...hope you all had a great weekend and will have a great new week.

Chicken is good

So we went to a birthday party last night for a friend of Brent's. Very fun party and the best part was I tried a little bit of chicken. I cut it very small and was sure to chew very little and boy was it yummy. We ended up staying there until about 9:00 but since it was Saturday and Casey is now done with school it was not a big deal.

As for the rest of Saturday...nothing big went on. Brent ran in the morning and then returned the juicer for me. So nice to have it off the counter, I did laundry and Casey played on the computer for a while. Then the guys went out to Cabelas to look at guns. While they were day dreaming I stayed home and did nothing really. Like I said it was just a simple Saturday.

This morning we went to church which was very nice and now Casey and Brent are out looking at Cabelas again. Good time for the guys to bond. As for me, its such a nice day I think I am going to walk to the farmers market just to look around. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Where does time go

Its hard to believe but Casey is now done with summer school. We could start a count down to when 1st grade starts but that seems a little sad. I cannot believe he is almost in 1st grade. It seems like yesterday he was starting preschool. He had a great time at his ice cream party. He told me that he liked the rainbow ice cream but only had a few bites because he wanted to get out and play. Yes thats my son, he would rather play than eat ice cream. :) Got to love it. I was able to go thru most of his school stuff and get it in order which is nice. Now I have one box of some crafts and papers that he has done...I would love to save it all but there is just no way.

This weekend is looking to be a nice unbusy one. Its nice to have them every so often. We have a birthday party on Saturday for a guy Brent runs with and the Sunday is just church. I received a call from the pastor of the church on Thursday, he just wanted to say Hi and let me know that they were still praying for me about my jaw. I thought that was very nice of him to call and find out. Thats what I like about the smaller churches, they feel more like you are a part of it.

Now if only the piece for the stove would arrive we would be able to get past this last week of whats next. The great news is the new freezer is working like a charm. After a night of me not opening it see if its getting cold it got nice and cold. It is a little smaller than the old one but I will take it. For the price we paid and the time we got is nothing wrong with a little less room.

Maybe soon I will get some new pictures to post on this blog. I just dont think pictures of a freezer or a broken washing machine would be that interesting. But when swim lessons start...the pictures will start as well. Have a wonderful weekend.

Another Thursday :)

Believe it or not...today was a slow day at least compared to the past few days. Casey had school this morning and after dropping him off I went to Winco to get some fruit and what not. Have you ever had a yellow watermelon. Well I purchased one without knowing it. When I got home I cut into the watermelon I had chosen and to my surprise it was yellow. It taste pretty much like your typical red flesh ones just a little surprising to see yellow when you expect red. After a few more chores at home I went to get Casey. He was so happy because they are going to have an ice cream party tomorrow. I guess if they got a certain number of points for behaving they would get to have a party on the last day of school...they got all the points they needed and since tomorrow is the last day...they get to party. Hard to believe that summer school is now over and he will start 1st grade in August. Monday he starts swimming lessons for two weeks which if its anything like last year it will be a good time.

Now for the drama with our house. At last check, the washing machine is still working fine. The air conditioner is running just fine, and the stove part is in the mail and should be here soon. Now for the freezer, after lunch Brent had a few minutes so I got the old freezer unloaded and he moved it out of the way and moved the new one into place. I then loaded it up and now I am just waiting and praying that we got a good deal with it. I know it takes time to get to the right temp and I just need to be patient and not check on it every few minutes. I have not looked at it for a while and I am not going to check it until morning. I pray it will be frozen and everything will be fine. Now for the amazing thing, we sold the old freezer on Craigs today. There was a guy that buys appliances of any kind and in any condition so that means we dont have to worry about getting rid of it ourselves. Thank you Lord for your wonder hand on things and how you work them out for us.

My doctors appointment went very well. YA YA YA. He wanted to give it one more week of being partly open just because its only been a month and it wont hurt to give it that time. So next Wednesday I have an appointment and will get an xray to get a check. If all looks good we will schedule an appointment to get the wires off. :):):) Can you tell I am happy about it?

Well I am off to bed hope all had great day. Remember, the Lord is over all and he knows how it will end. Its easy to say it but hard to remember it when things get crazy.

WOW

What can say about Wednesday other than WOW. It was one of those days that make me glad I have a Savior I can pray to ask for help/comfort/peace. It started out as a normal day, got Casey up and ready for school. Brent rode his bike into work as he like to do on the nice days. We decided after looking at the freezer that we would have to get it checked by a professional. So once I got back from school, I called a few places and found someone to come out. He would be here between 12 and 1 which made it work for getting Casey and not missing him. Thankfully the dishwasher is still working fine. :) So as Casey and I were driving home I got a call from the guy and he wanted to know if he could swing by sooner, like in the next 10 or 15 minutes...sure that worked for us. As we were pulling into the garage, he pulled up. After looking at the freezer he said the air compressor was shot and the only fix was to buy a new one. :( But while he was waiting to see how it was working he fixed the washer for me. Just did a couple little things to it so I now have a washing machine again. :):) So happy, I was able to get a couple loads done and in the dryer. After he left I called Brent to let him know where we stood on the freezer. He decided to check craigs list and see if there was something out there that would work. Well he found something, out in Caldwell that looked promising. So Casey and I loaded into the pickup, since Brent rode his bike it was still here. It turned into a 45 minute drive out there, we got the freezer loaded into the truck, stopped to gas up the truck and then headed home. Now the trip home was about an hour, solely because I had a freezer, standing up in the truck and the fear that the thing would tip over or somehow have a problem so I drove a slow 55 miles an hour home. Good news, there is a lot of road construction that stretch of interstate so the speed was not a huge issue. It was just nerve racking to drive with that thing in the truck and have big truck pass. But thankfully we made it home in piece and when Brent got home he had a couple neighbors help unload the thing. It it now in the garage, plugged into make sure it gets cold enough for the food.

As we were driving home I was of course praying the entire time that nothing would happen and when I turned to look at Casey I just about cried because he was in his car seat praying as well. His little eyes were closed and his hand folded in prayer. :) Thursday is my appointment so pray that it goes better than the week has gone. I should not say that because the week has just been a crazy week of things that were bound to go wrong, they just all went wrong at the same time. So pray that things are on track for the healing process.

Slowly getting things fixed

Well not sure where we stand on the washing machine and the stove...they still need their parts but other AC is working just fine. :) I made the guys chicken in the crock pot for supper so that made the stove not a huge issue, yet. I believe its the bottom heating element that is out and that should be an easy fix. The bad news of the day is I just went out to the garage and the freezer outside was beeping at me. :( Now I dont know if its going out now. So much to deal with...

As for the rest of the day, it went well. Casey and I went to the library after school and got some new movies and books. I got a yummy watermelon from Winco so that made my day great. :)

Pray that the freezer is just having a moment and that my doctor appointment goes well. This is going to be a short post only because it was that kind of day. :) Thank you all for being so diligent at reading.

When it rains...

What a way to start the week. Lets see...air conditioner on the blink, washing machine on the blink and oven on the blink. Yes all three have decided to cause issues for us now. I just pray bad things come in threes. With a doctor visit on Thursday I pray nothing else goes wrong that a bad report has to be number three. But to explain the three little issues.

On Friday the AC was making strange noises. I did not think a lot of it being the house was still cool and what not. Then when the guys left on Saturday I turned it off, solely because I am not a huge fan of the AC but deal with it because the boys like/need it. On Sunday when I called to Brent to see what time they might be getting home I turned it back on so the house would cool down for them. Well needless to say it never cooled down. The AC unit would start and then never kick on. Did the same thing on Monday morning so I called the company and they thankfully were able to come look at in the morning. The tech arrived at 9:30 and first thing he said without even looking at the unit was your motor is shot. After taking a look, yes the motor was in desperate need of being replaced. Good news the from the ordeal is by turning it off on Saturday and Sunday I was able to save the rest of the unit from going bad. Another good thing was he needed a part from Home Depot right at the time I needed to get Casey. Thank You Lord for working that out so I did not have to leave him here alone. Now that the motor is new the AC is back and working.

For the washing machine...I started a load of laundry in the morning and went about getting things ready for Casey. When I went to check it there was nothing...the water was not draining and the machine would not go past about half of the rinse cycle. :( This meant what I did not know at the time but I did know that I could not just leave the clothes in the machine. So I took them out and transferred them to the bath tub. Filled the tub with water and took Casey to school. Once home and with a nice big cup of coffee I started the process of doing laundry the old fashion way...by hand. I love my washer and dryer, not a fan of the hand method. Thankfully our dryer is still running fine and dandy. I then took out as much of the water from the machine as I could and when Brent got home and we had dinner he pulled it out and did some Internet research. Boy it gets nasty under and behind that thing. I broke out the vacuum and went to work cleaning up as much of the hair/lint/what every else collected under it. From his research Brent found that the switch that controls the motor had somehow broke. So a new one is on order from Amazon and should be here in a couple of days.

As for the oven, I don't know for sure what the problem is but I think the heating element on the bottom is shot. It took way to long for the oven to get hot for dinner and the bottom never got warm. The broiler would turn on but the bottom unit just stayed black. It was able to get hot enough to heat the guys meal, which was all that was needed since I made it on Saturday when the oven was working fine but me with out an oven is not a good thing. So we will see where we stand on that one. As for what the guys ate, I found a meatloaf recipe from Rachel Ray that I decided to try for them. At one time Casey said he loved meatloaf so I cut this one in half and gave it a try. I was not overly impressed by it and will just stick to one of her other ones that you make in muffin tins and seems a little less dense but they ate it last night so that's all that really matters. I on the other hand had sweet potatoes and talapia. The talapia was one that was frozen and able to be cooked in the microwave. Very good I must say.

So hopefully Tuesday will be problem/issue free as well as the rest of the week. Must say goodnight now.

Another Post...lucky you :)

Sunday has been a good day as well. The internet, as I said in the last post, did not start working until about 3:30 this afternoon after yet another call to the company to see if they were still having issues. Nope...it was fixed I just needed to call and have them reset my system for me. Why they cannot just do it I will never understand but anyway.

This morning I got to sleep in, to 7:15 but still thats sleeping in for me. I made myself a good breakfast of eggs and cheese and some soda crackers only because they are soft and I wanted some kind of carb with the eggs. Then I did something I have not done in forever and a day, I painted my toe nails, pink to match the dress I wore to church. So glad I decided to go to church because the message was about the faith of a mustard seed. We don't have to be the ones to grow our own faith we have to be the ones that take that small seed of faith to God and let him grow it for us. Just like when Peter stepped out onto the water, it took faith but with all the doubt he also carried with him he started to sink. But once he looked to Christ and had him grow the seed of faith he was able to be saved. A wonderful message for everyone to hear. Then home to get the paper read and my coupons in order. It was such a nice morning that I sat outside do the job. Enjoyed some coffee in the process and watched buddy do his best to catch every bird, plane and butterfly that flew over head. Crazy dog will chase anything that moves. I also got my grocery shopping done and got a meatloaf casserole thing ready for the guys to have for supper. I think I am going to try and cook up a piece of Talapia for supper and see how that works out. The guys are not home as of yet but thats fine once they get here it will be mass of activity to get things unpacked and cleaned up and ready to start the week.

This will be the last week of summer school for Casey. Hard to believe he is going to start first grade this year. Next Monday he will start swim lessons again. I am looking forward to it about as muc as he is, I really enjoy sitting there watching him and just being outside. Well now that I have overloaded my blog for the day I am going to go find something cold to drink and watch a little T.V. Hope you have all had a great weekend.

I'm Back after no internet for almost three days

I have not fallen off the face of the earth or even left Boise for that matter. Instead my Internet has been down for the few days. Of course it chose this weekend to not have service. I say that because Brent and Casey went camping so I have had a couple of days to myself. Friday night it went out so I called the company and they were having a power outage on their end. No big deal, I figured it would be fixed by morning, boy was I wrong. It did not get fixed until Sunday afternoon at about 3:30 but I wrote up my Saturday just Incase you were interested.

On Saturday Brent decided to run in the local half, Fit 4 Life. Its a nice run on the greenbelt that started at 7:30, which is close to the normal time he runs on most Saturdays. So while he was out running Casey and I got the cooler ready to go and made sure all the blankets, sleeping bags, and odds and ends were ready to be packed for their trip. I decided to sit out this camping trip because of my jaw. I know its almost better but that almost had me a little worried that if I went I might do something to jeopardize the progress. Sleeping in a tent with a child that moves around like crazy or ridding four-wheelers over dirt tracks or just slipping when walking around when fishing. All could cause a problem that I dont want to have happen. Instead, I stayed home and got a good deal of things crossed off my list of to do when the mood hits. You know things like clean out/organize the craft stuff, clean out the hall closet, clean up the books in the office. Stuff that does not have a deadline to be done but nice to have it in order. So I took about an hour and cleaned out our outside freezer and inside freezer. A job that I have wanted to get done for a long time now and now I know what in there and what needs to be used. Big plus is now everything is in a place to be seen. After my fingers wormed up a little I got all the treats ready and took them to the church, very glad I decided to take them on Saturday instead of waiting until Sunday. There was a group of girls there getting ready for VBS so I was able to just leave them with them and not have it be a big deal on Sunday. Home again I decided to vacuum the entire house...I mean really vacuum it. I cleaned behind the blinds in all the windows...yucky. Cleaned under the couch and just did a full job of it. Dont get me wrong I vacuum almost every other day but this was one of those jobs that took some time. With that done I sat down and did something that I have only done a hand full of times since Casey had been born. I read a book, cover to cover. It was an easy read but still it was so nice. I listen to books nonstop but to sit down and read one was very nice. The author is Catherine Anderson, the series that I have all book of is about the Coulter brothers. They are cowboys who all have their own love story. I am not big on the romance novels and I dont think these fall into that category, instead they are about the trials each brother and one sister faces in their life and how they work it out and in the end, end up with the person that is just right for them. Good reads if you like that kind of thing. Bright eyes is the one I read for a second time and it follows Zeke as he falls in love with his neighbor. She is divorced and has kid that causes trouble for Zeke on the farm. He has the boy work off the bill and in the end finds a family to love and helps Natalie, the boys mother find worth in herself. So maybe it does fall in the romance category but there is enough other stuff going on to keep it interesting. Anyway enough about the book. For supper last night I made scrambled eggs with cheese and very mushy onions. Then on the side I had some sweet potatoes that I cooked when I was fixing the treats for VBS. Just wrapped them in foil and let them cook as the bread was baking. Still staying on soft food at the moment but its amazing how much more energy and strength I have being able to get more than just liquid in. I was going to go to bed early but that didn't happen. Instead I got distracted cleaning out a kitchen cupboard and did not make it back to bed until about 11 but that just meant I was able to sleep in, another thing that does not happen when the guys are home.

WOW

I am still a little stunned/amazed/numb. Thankfully its not just a dream. I can open my mouth a little and its not just a dream. I love it, love it, love it. I am going to head to Winco and get a watermelon and just enjoy it. I still have to be very careful because its not 100% healed, about 95% so I dont want to overuse it. The doc said no steak for me yet but I can do soft foods, think more baby food than just liquids. But I will take it. Last night for supper I had overcooked pasta and then a very large piece of chocolate cake. It was heaven to be able to use my tongue for something and to be able to truly eat something. I have a new appointment next Thursday at 3:30 and we will find out whats next. Either another week of the part open or I will be able to schedule an appointment and have everything taken off. :):):):):) Can you tell I am happy about it all, I must stay I am still a little stunned that this is almost over. I can see the end of the tunnel just a little more.

So what are a few things I have learned from this...there are amazing people out there. I have to thank John for the juicer, both of my sisters for the wonderful care packages, my sister in law for introducing me to the soups and have kept me drinking, my husband and my son for all they have done for me. Brent made sure I stayed involved in things like going to Lagoon and just being there. Casey made sure to treat me like a mom still, with questions nonstop and just being a normal little guy. Thank you to for all those that have prayed for me. I know I still have a week or more to go but I just wanted to get those thank yous out. The prayers are still needed because I have to figure out what foods can be eaten and not over due it. That will be the big thing now, to slowly introduce the foods back into the diet.

Anyway, life is still busy. I spent yesterday before the dr appointment make some goodies for VBS. Two pans of Lucky Charm Treats, which is just like rice crispy treats only with Lucky Charms. Then on pan of 7-layer bars which was supposed to be for the kids of VBS but Brent ended up eating a few and wanting to keep a few home. Not a problem just funny. Now tomorrow I think it will be a second batch of 7-layer bars and the new recipe for Banana Bread I found. Casey has a play date after summer school so I can get it done then. Believe it or not its the best way I now of to relax.

As for the weekend, I believe Brent and Casey are going camping with Brent's parents. I have decided to avoid this trip just because I don't want to over due it. :) So I will get the camping stuff ready for them and then enjoy a very quiet weekend.

Thank you again to everyone who has supported me. Love you all

Amazing

It is so amazing how the Lord works. Since this has happened to my jaw I have had a want/need/desire to bake. Crazy because its been rather warm and there has been a lot of other things going one but still in the back of my mind I have wanted to bake something, anything. Making dinner and the like for my guys has been nice but still...Brent can eat only so much and our freezer can only hold so much. So why is the Lord so amazing, well there are many reasons but last night I found a place to take a few things that I can bake. I never really even prayed about it, it was just a desire on my heart and the Lord answered the unasked desire. I love that... Our church is having Vacation Bible School and they need goodies for the kids. I got an e-mail forward about it and of course am jumping on the idea. I am going to make Lucky Charm treats, Banana Oatmeal Muffins, 7 layer bars and maybe oatmeal candy. The Lucky Charm Treats are like rice crispy treats only with Lucky Charms. The banana muffins are to get all the bananas out of the freezer and I figure if the kids are not fond of them the adults can have a little treat. I have not made 7 layer bars for a long time and figure they will be a hit because who does not like chocolate and a maybe on the Oatmeal candy only because I dont know if I will have time.

As for the rest of Wednesday, I got a lot of laundry finished. A nice feeling for sure but somehow that stuff just keeps coming. I dont like turning my back on the clothes basket because it feels like it just multiplies. Got a lot of other little odds and ends done. Very good feeling to cross stuff off the list.

Casey has been making Brown Brown what do you see at school and got to bring the finished book home. He was able to read most of the book to both me and his dad last night. I dont know how much of it was from memory and how much he actually read but it was still sweet.

We did get more icee syrup, watermelon and cherry this time. Another thing I found was four peppers almost ready to pick from the garden, one tiny green tomato starting and it looks like we might get a few carrots. As for the strawberries, I think they might be coming to an end. It still is amazing how many we got from that small patch. As you can see from the pictures...we have gotten a good fill daily. For the last almost month Brent has gotten to have glass, almost a full cup of strawberries for breakfast.

One last amazing thing is the friends my sister have. I received a very sweet letter and a magazine from someone that I have never met on Tuesday. She is a friend of my sister and just figured I would like the magazine, which I do.

Doctor on Thursday at 2:30. New xray and praying for great news. Thank you all for your prayers and thank you Lord for all the answered prayers...those asked and those only thought about.

Back to the daily life

Boy it really nice to be home. Don't get me wrong I love to see family and friends but being home has such a nice feeling as well. To be home and have my own bed and to be back into the routine is really nice.

Casey was very happy to be back in school. :) Always a plus to start the morning that way. After dropping him off I stopped for some grocery shopping and ended up buying much more than planned but it was all on a great deal. Pork loin for only 2.99, how can you pass that up when its a family favorite. In fact thats what I fixed the guys for supper. Just plopped it in the crockpot with some sauce and let it go low and slow for the day. Then they had marinades for .99 and Gatorade for 50 cents.

After a few other activities I went to get Casey and he hit the library for a reload on movies and books. Then back home and the first thing to get done was a Icee for Casey. I have no problem making them for him mainly because getting one from the ice shake is as much as the entire bottle of syrup from the store. Besides he as fun helping me make them with the ninja.

Other than that my day was filled with laundry and the like. I did get some bread delivered to the neighbor for being so nice about getting our mail and papers. I have a lot of banana bread in the freezer and instead of letting it get old I figured it would be a good way to say thank you. Part of the problem I am facing is when I get board I like to bake but I have very few people to bake for and a freezer that is getting FULL. I know it could be worst so I will just have to start leaving bread and the like for the neighbors. So that was the first full day back. Tomorrow will be another day at home...if only I could stay home and stop running around town so much. Then Thursday and my third dr appointment. :):):)

I'm Back

What a busy but fun weekend. Lagoon turned out to work just fine as did Idaho Falls. Thank you for all your prayers on the matter. I know that's why it went so well. So where do I start with our trip...why not from the start. :)

We left Friday morning at about 7:00. Buddy went to Idaho Falls with Jolene, Brent's Sister and we headed to Lagoon. We went with Cameron, Becky and their little family. The drive down was nice for a drive, I am not big on spending a lot of time in the car and with a liquid diet it meant a few more stops than normal. But all was good. Thankfully with three little guys I was not the only one that needed a bathroom from time to time. I made lunches for everyone in our car before we left and Casey and Brent ate as we got close to Lagoon. I just sipped away on my lunch. Once got to the park Cameron and his family had their lunch and then the kids and guys were off to the rides. Becky had her little baby so we just got to sit and enjoy watching the kids on the rides. The weather was just about perfect for the day as well...not to hot and not to cold. As you can tell from the pictures they had fun. The twins love Casey and would follow him just about anywhere.

The Boys...Aiden, Ross and Casey

Family Picture time, with one of Casey's favorite rides in the back...a water slide

The dino drop...another big hit

Casey got to fly a chopper

After a full day of rides and fun we headed to Applebees for dinner. I just made my meal in the parking lot and then sipped away in the restaurant. Thankfully they had not problem with it...minus the fact I ordered a beer and the waiter told me that technically he was not allowed to serve it to me since I did not order a meal but he was going to be nice and let me have it. :)

After a good meal we headed to the hotel. A very nice hotel indeed. A huge king bed, a nice big bathroom and a nice pull out couch. I took the couch because I was up and down all night and from what Brent said it was a good thing because Casey ended up taking up most, if not all of the king bed. Somehow that kid can move like a worm when he sleeps.

The next morning we ate at the hotel. I have never seen a breakfast spread like they had for free. Everything from waffles you make yourself to biscuits and gravy. They also had scrambled eggs, cheese, salsa, onions, sausage, french toast, cereal, oatmeal, fresh berries, toast, muffins and the list went on. Then they had the best coffee and a wide variety of juice. Then the best part they even had yogurt. I was able to save my yogurt for another day just eat theirs. I mixed it with some fresh berry juice and milk. Wow was that lovely. Once everyone stuffed themselves we headed back to Lagoon for day two and the $10 bounce back special.

Day two was a little harder just because it was so much hotter and everyone went into the water. I was very leery of the water and all the movement that could happen so I just hung out on the grass and read a book and got some other things done. Not the most exciting thing but it worked. After about four more hours of Lagoon we decided it was time to say good bye to Cameron and family and make our way to Idaho Falls. I had made my lunch in the hotel that morning and Brent stopped and got a meal after we left the park. Poor Casey was so out of it he was asleep even before we were out of the parking lot. I had a lunchable in the cooler for him so once he woke up thats what he had.

We got to Idaho Falls and got the car unpacked and Brent and Casey went down to check out the farm while I got the cooler unpacked and the ice in the freezer. Jolene and LaDawn came back up to the house and we had a nice visit while the guys finished up things on the farm. They had fresh watermelon and I found that if I cut it small enough I can get it back in where my wisdom teeth should be. Not quite the same but boy was it good. Messy and probably kind of gross to watch but so good. Then it was off to bed after everyone got home and got dinner and conversations out of the way.

On Sunday we just hung out around the house and farm. Jolene, LaDawn and I went into Idaho Falls and did a little fireworks shopping but that was about the extent of the outings. We also spent a few hours down on the farm just playing and relaxing. They have a canal that Buddy played in for almost the entire time. Great fun to watch him. Then that night the family had hot dogs and all the fixing. I had a great mix of potatoes and french onion soup. Very good I must say. After it got dark we let off the fireworks and watched some that others had. I don't think we made it to bed until about 11:30, no big deal but a little late for Casey.

On the 4th, which is today we slept in a little and then headed to Aberdeen for a while to see U. Mike and A. Alice. It was great fun being able to talk to them and introduce Buddy. After a wonderful visit and a new tank for Casey we were on the road again. One more stop to make and then home. We stopped in American Falls and saw mom. I think it as good to make her see Casey and we even got her outside to see Buddy and get some fresh air. Brent and Casey had Subway for lunch and I had my potato and soup again. Then it was home again home again. I think Casey slept almost the entire way. Making up for the late nights and long hours at Lagoon. I also slept for a good portion of the trip. Poor Brent had to drive and stay awake.

But now we are back home and as Casey said...Boy it feels good to be home again. So it was a great weekend and I cannot wait until Thursday to find out how things look in my mouth. :) Well I hear the fireworks going so I think I am going to go watch a few. Casey is asleep after some fighting and I think Brent it out as well. We were going to let Casey stay up to watch them but with school tomorrow it just didn't seem like a good idea. Time to get back into some kind of routine. Enjoy your fireworks and thank you again for all the prayers.

Brushing my teeth

I have NEVER been so happy to brush my teeth. At my dr appointment the doc removed all the bands and let me open my mouth. Very strange thing, it didn't really hurt but feel odd. My mouth seemed to have a mind of its own and just open. Once I got over the first shock of having my mouth open the doc told me he would like me to brush my teeth. I just about started to cry. I was already on cloud nine by this time and then with that news I asked the nurse if it would be wrong to give the doc a hug (he had left the room by this time) she said that she gets that question a lot. She then gave me a toothbrush and some toothpaste and told me to go to work. It was very odd at first but so wonderful. Once finished the bands were put back on and if all looks good next week he just might be able to loosen then just a little which will allow for some more substantial foods. :) It the second best thing to happen, first being not having this as all but since that is impossible we will go with this.

It was funny during the appointment, Casey came with me of course and while we were in the room waiting after my wonderful teeth brush he said "I know where the doc is." When I asked where he just looked at me and said "with another patient of course" His exact words. Got to love a six year old who talks and thinks like a 15 year old.

As for the rest of the day, got the tires rotated on the car. Thankfully, I was able to get a list of what else needed to be done for packing while I waited for that. Then off to get a few other odds and ends done for our trip.

Hope all have a safe and happy 4th. Remember, if you have a dog be sure to protect his ears during the fireworks. Dog hate loud noises. Love to all