Friday, June 29, 2012

Aloha Friday

It's time again for Aloha Friday. This weeks question is:

Do you like car shopping? I know its a weird question this week. Tonight Hubby and I are going to look at some SUVs. I have been putting this off. I absolutely hate car shopping. Let me rephrase that. I love looking at cars but hate the dealing. I hate when the dealers make it so difficult to purchase a car. I know what I want and how much I want to spend. Stop trying to get me to change my mind. And what's up with always having to ask your "manager" to come up with another deal. Drives me nuts. Talk about a waste of time for us. Ugh. Wish us luck that we find something and can make a deal. Have a great weekend.......

Don't forget to head over to Island's Life and answer her question this week.......

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Thankful Thursday......

I thought I would give some updates about this guy and my Hubby today. Our springer made it out of surgery fine. The doctor still isn't sure if it was a tumor or a cist. We all agreed it was big,ugly,nasty and it had to go. They would like him to wear the cone for 10 days. I really don't see that happening. The poor thing can't walk from point A to point B without smacking,knocking over, and killing the back of your legs. The last two days I have been hand feeding him since he can't find his bowl. HA! Poor thing. I have to tell you the funny story the Vet was telling us when we picked him up. When we took Springer in they gave him a shot to calm him before surgery. I even joked with the Vet about giving him an other shot. The vet knows how he gets with seperation anxiety. They asked that we sit with him until he calmed down. Tornado,Bubby,and I sat with him for 30 minutes and he still wasn't calm. We were getting into our car and Tornado says"I hear him" Sure enough there was a dog in there carrying on. I assumed it was ours because thats how he gets. The vet confermined it was him. They had to give him another shot. Apparently that one didn't work. He got another one. When that didn't work they had to give him 100% gas during his whole surgery. After surgery he didn't stop barking once. I'm surprised he could still bark after that. That's how anxious he gets when I'm not around. Finally someone else understands what its like to be his owner. HA! I think they were counting the seconds until we picked him up. :)

Hubby met with the oncogolist on Tuesday to discuss the results of his CAT scan. He could not see anymore lumps on the scan nor did he feel anymore on Hubby. He doesn't want to do a PET scan and subject him to anymore radation. I agree! Hubby will see him again in 3 months. I'm not sure if he will be back to having 3 month visits again but at least they are keeping an eye on him. I'm thankful!

My nieces Firefly and Lady Bug are flying in from Minnosota today and are spending 2 weeks with my In laws. I get excited when they come in. We only get to see them once a year. My half sister and her family are also up from Virginia visiting this week. I haven't seen her yet because of our schedules. I'm hoping to see her and the kids before they go back. If you don't see any new blog posts its because I will be busy enjoying family visits.

Have a happy Thursday.............

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

Yesterday my dog had the surgery to remove that gaping hole in his side. The emergency animal hospital thought it was a tumor that burst. Our Vet isn't sure that's what it was. He thinks it might have been a cist that burst. He said either way it was ugly and had to be removed. Lol. I agree! I snapped this photo just before they took him back. I think it's one of my new favorites. You can see the love my son and daughter have for that big ole beast. :))

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Today is the day....

It's going to be a running on Faith nail biting kind of day. This afternoon Hubby goes into the oncologist to find out his CAT scan results. Today could possibly be the day we found out once and for all if the cancer is back. To say I'm nervous is an understatement.  I have to admit it might be better to finally have an answer instead of this wondering. We haven't been able to make any future plans because of the not knowing if its back. We have been tossing the idea around to buy a vacation/rental house. We've been told treatments have gotten better since the last time he's had cancer. I just hate the thought of him going thru all of this again.

This morning I am taking our dog to the Vet. They might do his surgery at lunch time. If not then they will do it on Thursday. I'm praying everything goes well with that. I can't stand the thought of losing him too.

Have a happy Tuesday........

Monday, June 25, 2012

Almost a quarter of a century......

I wanted to put this post up yesterday but things got crazy around here. Yesterday Hubby and I celebrated our 23 wedding anniversary. Yep. You read that right. We got married so young. I guess you are wondering how we spent such a momentous occasion? Well...First we looked at a Jeep wrangler(four door). We tried to look at one. After driving 45 minutes the darn thing wasn't on the car dealers lot. Man,was I ticked off! We checked out a new outdoor shopping center. They have one of those dinner theaters there. Have you ever been to one? My 16 year old and her boyfriend went to one a couple of weeks ago. I like the concept of someone bringing me dinner and then I get to watch a movie. HA!And our biggest plans of the day???? Hubby rushed our dog to the emergency animal hospital. One of those kind of days. While we were out my 18 year old daughter texted us that the dog was just lying there and she thought he had an enlarged tick on his hind leg. Every time he moved it was oozing blood. She sent a picture of it. I couldn't even make out what the thing was. Anything with blood gets my attention. Quickly. We decided to cut our day short and come home to check on him. This thing was huge.And ugly. Mostly ugly. In the course of trying to figure out what to do,I happen to notice a pile of blood and what looks like a blood clot on the dinning room floor. I took a flashlight to look in his wound. It honestly looked like a puncture wound. I have never seen anything like this before and of course our Vets office is not open on a Sunday. They told us if we thought it was an emergency we could take him to their on call vet hospital but it would cost us 75.00 just to walk in the door. I was so afraid he would bleed to death there was no way I was waiting for the morning to take him to our vet. Hubby left at 4:30 to take him and I went to pick our daughter up from work. He texted at 5:30 to say he was still in the waiting room and didn't see a Doctor yet. 6:00 he finally got into the exam room with him. About 45 minutes later my door opens and in walks my Hubby and dog. My newly half shaved dog. He apparently had a huge tumor that burst. He's now on antibiotics and pain medicine. We have to take him to our normal vet. They will have to surgery remove it. UGH. I'm a little worried about the surgery. I'm hoping it's not cancerous and he's 9 and a half years old with other mild health issues. Oh and that animal hospital doesn't charge 75.00 just to walk in the door. They charge 110.00! Geesh. Nothing like taking advantage of desperate people.

Well gotta run and do errands.......
P.S. Notice how I spared you the pictures of that nasty wound.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Party.....

I thought I would pop in for a quick minute. We have a busy day on tap. We are having my daughters graduation party today. We decided to split the party into two. 1-4 her friends and 4-? our family and friends. When my oldest daughter graduated we had an open house all day long. You learn. Boy do you learn. HAHA! The only snag in today's plan is my daughter has no idea how many of her friends are coming.*Falls down on the ground* I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry. Its going to be good. HA! Praying for great weather today. The last few days have been so hot here and I'm worried about pop up thunderstorms. I don't think my house is big enough for all of the people.

Off to prep some food for today.......

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Heating up....

The last two days here have felt like summer. The hot dog days of summer. Today the temps reached 108. It was too hot to even swim. HA! I know there are parts of the country that get hotter than that. I'm sure people in Arizona or the south are laughing at me. It's actually been a nice change of pace here. We have been spending more time in the pool and cooking on the grill. My daughters have had the boyfriends over and today Foo had two of her friends over to swim. This is my favorite part of summer. Grilling,swimming and going out for ice cream. Life doesn't get any better than this.

How's your summer going?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

Two weeks ago I watched my second daughter walk across the stage and receive her diploma. Proud Mama moment! I'm excited to see where life takes her. Her big dream is to become an oncology nurse. 2 daughters down one more to go.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Goodies in the mail last week.....

Back when we got our first computer that had the ability to be online my good friend showed me how to send for free samples/coupons of products. (Funny thing is her husband was the one who built our computer. He is a computer programmer.) My girls loved getting things in the mail with their name on it. Actually they still do. Ok. So do I. HA! Every Spring I would look up products I knew they would like and send for them. That way they would get mail all summer long. The joy on their faces would be priceless when would receive something. A couple of years ago when I joined Twitter, Heather was one of the first people to follow me. Once I discovered her website I was in love. She posts all different links to freebies and contests that she comes across. A lot of companies offer samples,coupons and contest via their facebook pages. Every week on her site she posts what came in her mailbox so I thought this week I would show you what came in mine.

I got Purex laundry detergent,Dad's trail mix treats for dogs, and a Target sample pack.
Honestly there wasn't a heck of alot of stuff in the Purex and Dog treats but the Target bag woo hoo. Target was running a summer giveaway. It was suppose to run until June but when I sent for mine they were out by the end of May! They went quick. My understanding is Target ran one of these contest before and people were excited about them. Take a peek what comes in the box.


Cute box but wait until you see what's inside.

The cosmetic bag has the nicest fabric I have seen in a while. Its a very thick fabric. I usually find cosmetic bags to be very flimsy. Ready to see the inside of the bag???

Yep. It came loaded with stuff! Lotions,shampoo,conditioner,and lipstick. Did I mention the coupons that came in the bag??? I see why this offer went fast. I feel a little guilty that my girls didn't get one. Not guilty enough to give it to them. HA!

So....Is anyone else into samples and freebies?


*I did not receive anything for this post. This was on my own with no compensation from any company. I'm just sharing my love of stuff in the mail*

Monday, June 18, 2012

two weeks of updates.....

I know I have been promising to give updates and explain why I haven't been on as much. A few weeks ago Hubby found another lump. This time in his neck. It took a few days to get into the doctors office for an appointment. While he was the there the doctor discovered another one in his neck. Not as big but still another one. Due to my Hubby's cancer history,the Doc ordered a P.E.T scan to see if it was cancer and to check for other hot spots. After a week of waiting the Doc's office called back to say that the insurance company denied the request. They wanted Hubs to call his oncologist to get them to request the test. They thought maybe they would have better luck getting the insurance company to agree to it. After an other week of waiting,Oncology office said the insurance company denied it AGAIN. WTHeck??? Hubs Oncolist office issued a C.A.T scan instead. If that shows anything then they will get insurance to issue a P.E.T scan. Hubby had the CAT scan done this past Friday. Today we could learn the test results. To say I'm on pins and needles is an understatement. While all of this stuff was going on we have been keeping busy with life stuff.

Two weeks ago....
My mother in law went to the Er because of stomach pains. The hospital did an ultra sound and discovered she had Kidney stones. She was sent home with medicine to help pass them and to follow up with her Doctor in a few days. When she went to the doctors they realized she didn't pass the large stone yet. They scheduled surgery for the following week. The Doctor was unable to remove the stone and put a stint in her. She had to wait for another week to have surgery to remove them.

Hubby came home from work on Tuesday and said he had MLB tickets for Thursday. Bubby attended his first baseball game in the city. He loved it.

Wednesday Bubby had his well check for kindergarten. I forgot he would need shots. He was not happy. At.All. He now weighs 44 lbs and is 43 inches tall.

Friday our 18 year old graduated from high school. I was so proud of her. Our 16 year old decided to thru a tantrum and try to ruin the night for her sister. So mad! My mom and sister in law have never seen my daughter act like that and were appalled. Talk about embrassing. My daughter refused to have her picture taken with her sisters after the cemormy. Ugh. Most of my pictures I took during graduation didn't turn out due to the lighting in the gym. Double Ugh. I am on the hunt for a better camera. It was also the official last day of school.

Saturday was a surprise party for our neighbor and great friend's daughter. Coolest party. She rented a pavilion at the park. There was line dancing,volleyball,and playground equipment. Something for everyone. My friend made the cutest cake.

This past week.....
Tuesday the little guy and I did story time at the library. He loves it there. Its so hard for him to sit still the whole time. Mr. Antsy pants usually can only make it thru 2 stories before he starts talking to the other kids. HA! They are doing a summer reading program. The more you read the more tickets you earn. At the end of the summer your tickets go into a jar and they pull them out for prizes. Yep. He's super excited about that.

Wednesday we went out thrifting. I didn't find much. Sad. I know. I love looking for bargains. My mother in law went in for surgery. They were able to remove her kidney stone. She is now a happy camper.

Saturday we went to a country concert. We had two extra tickets in our group. Some people backed out at the last minute. Thank goodness. Due to my mother in law having surgery and my oldest daughter going away for the weekend we bought my 5 year old to the concert. I was so nervous about bringing him. He did awesome. He was some kind of chick magnet. Way too funny!

Sunday was Fathers day. Two of our girls were working and our oldest was still away for the weekend. Hubby,Bubby and I went out to lunch. Our 18 year old got him an outback steakhouse gift card. We have been wanting to eat there but every time we go there the wait is over an hour. We figured if we went for lunch maybe it wouldn't be that bad. I think we waited 10 minutes for a table. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be.

There you have it. The last two weeks in a nutshell. Hope you didn't fall asleep reading all of that. HA!
Off to finish some chores around the house. Hope everyone had a good Monday!


Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day

As many of you know,today is a tough day for me. When you lose a parent, days like this make you realize just how much you really miss them. You want to be at a Hallmark and be buying them a card. You want to be scouring the Internet looking for the right gift. These are the days that it smacks me in the face that my dad died. That I can't just pick up a phone and wish him a Happy Father's day. It also makes me more aware of the fact that a don't have much of a relationship with my bio dad. I watch as his other kids and their girlfriends post on his wall and know that we don't have that kind of relationship.Honestly,I'm not sure we ever will. Of course that makes me miss my dad even more.

Yesterday My SIL posted a photo and a poem that she and my nieces wrote for my BIL. I know my nieces have been struggling as well since my brother in law died. This year is the 1st father's day with their new Dad. I'm praying this year starts their healing and that the ache will go away for them.

Who knew a made up holiday could bring so much pain....




Friday, June 15, 2012

aloha friday

It's time again for Aloha Friday. This weeks question is:

Do you look forward to or dread when the kids are off for the summer? When my girls were younger I loved when they had off for the summer. It meant no running anyone to practices or school events. Time to just enjoy each other and have fun. We didn't have to do much. Some days we would have our good friends over and just swim. That's it. Nothing fancy. Nothing expensive. Just spend the day in our backyard cooking on the grill and swimming. Now that my girls are older. I.Dread.It. The last three summers I have had working teens but no teen drivers. Which means I spent more time in my car than home. I never realized how hard it was to coordinate every ones schedule. This year I have 2 drivers and my youngest daughter goes for her drivers test in a few weeks. Now  most days are spent listening to them fight with one another or us. The joys of teenage girls. HA! I can't understand why they can't coexist with one another for more than 5 minutes. It could either be a long or interesting summer. HA!


Don't forget to go over to an Island's life and answer her question.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

My heart hurts today.....

Last night while I was in the shower my oldest daughter received a phone from her friend. Yesterday afternoon one of their co workers was killed in a car accident while she had two of her kids in the car as well as her daughters boyfriend. Her ten year old son, who also has Autism, was severely injured as well. The daughter and her boyfriend suffered moderate injuries. The other car's passengers also suffered several injuries. I can't begin to tell you the emotions/thoughts running thru my head right now. I haven't been able to concentrate much today. I'm praying for the family today to find the strength to get thru this. I pray that their children and other passengers are ok. Most of all I pray that they can somehow explain all of this to their autistic son.

Hug your loved ones a little tighter today because you never know what tomorrow will bring.......

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Wordless Wednesday~Last year

The look on my son's face cracks me up. I can't help but laugh every time I see this picture. I have no idea what he was doing. This picture was taken last summer on our trip to Massachusetts. This is the actual place where the TV show Cheers got the name and the outside of this building is what you saw on the show. I'm sure many of you have never seen or heard of Cheers. It was a popular show in the 80's(I think I just dated myself. HA) that stared Ted Danson and Kirstie Ally.The guy who played Cliff on the show I swear has voiced a character in almost every Disney/Pixar movie out there. It was one of my dad's favorite shows. We watched it a lot. I don't think we ever missed a show!


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

1st day of summer vacation.....

Yesterday was the first day of summer vacation here. Our school actually got out a week earlier. We had such a mild winter and never used any of our snow days. I guess the school board decided to torture the parents with an extra week of summer. HA!*side note~I really wish our school district would rethink the school schedule. We go back before labor day and have a ton of "weird" days off. Do we really need a whole week off for Thanksgiving? I feel sorry for working parents who have to use their vacation days for school closings.*

I'm trying to keep summer as normal as possible for Bubby. His O/T and Behaviorist therapy has 3 weeks off in June and 3 weeks off in August. I am dreading this. I am so afraid he will lose anything he has learned in that time off. His behaviorist and I are working on a schedule to still meet during that time.

I'm not sure if it is going to be a long summer or a fly by fast summer. It does take a while before we adjust to having everyone home at the same time. My 16 year old has a hard time getting along with her sisters(and us too) and makes everyone miserable. We are going thru a rough time with her(again) the last few weeks. Out of my three girls she is the one who struggles being a teenager. She is angry a lot and screams. I think she has a hard time with the fact her sisters are older and can do more things than she can. I wish there was a magic wand we could wave over here and make everything all better. I miss the days when they were little. A hug and a kiss would make everything better. Sigh. Advice??

It did occur to me yesterday. This is my last summer with Bubby before he starts school in the fall. Bittersweet. I'm trying to get together with some childhood friends over the summer so our boys can meet. I'm afraid once school starts we won't have time due to half day kindergarten schedules.

Anyone else off for the summer???

Friday, June 8, 2012

Aloha Friday.....

It's time again for Aloha Friday. This weeks question is:

What is the longest time you have gone without writing on your blog. This week I haven't written for a whole week. I know how pitiful that sounds. I'm ashamed to admit that's not the longest I have gone. My middle daughter is graduating tonight and I have a ton of stuff going on right now. One of them is Hubby's health and a teenager who just doesn't want to listen. Ugh. If only there were a few more hours in a day. :)


Don't forget to go over to an Island's life and answer her question.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Aloha Friday

It's time again for Aloha Friday. This weeks question is:

What is on your summer reading list this year? I could really use some good book suggestions. I'm hoping since my son turned 5 in May maybe this summer I could actually read a book. You know something that's not a picture book or has more than one chapter. HA! The last time I read a book was the Harry Potter series. I know. It's been that long. Any ideas?

Don't forget to go over to an Island's life and answer her question.