Recovery

I haven't blogged in a little while and the reason seems to be because I was a little worried about Zoe's surgery. She had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy yesterday and is now at home recovering. She is doing well, but is still complaining of pain. She did have a longer than expected recovery time at the hospital yesterday because she wouldn't go back to sleep after the surgery... even though they were giving her tons of medicine (w/codeine) for the pain and she kept fighting the sleep. She ate tons of popsicles and jello yesterday for her all liquid diet. Today we are gradually working our way into soft food. She slept good last night... hardly any movement and no snoring!! She is completely different than what Cole was like 2 yrs ago when he had his removed. It is good that my children are different, but this has been a struggle... Let me tell you why... Before they start any procedures for the surgery at the hospital, the children are given a "happy" drink. This drink is to make them feel like they are drunk... for the main reasons of relaxation and no memories of the process. Cole was so funny right after the drink... he was laughing and seeing double... his eyes were even crossed. Cole was also laughing and waving when they took him into the operating room. Zoe was very quiet and would giggle once in awhile. It took a good 30 minutes before we seen anything strange from Zoe. She started mumbling and slurring her words, giggling under her breath because daddy had 2 heads and she cried when it was time to leave mommy and daddy. Zoe also fought her sleep afterwards whereas Cole went right back to sleep. Recovery at home has also been a little different. You would have never known Cole had anything done as he was eating normally the same day.... Zoe on the other hand is a little more on the winey side and complaining more of pain. We will see how the recovering goes the next couple of days...

Undercover Wear Party

My sister, Tracy, had an Undercover Wear party Friday night at the Rt 20 Bar & Grill. I had never been to one of these parties and I knew my mom wouldn't be at this one (since she was at the last one), so I decided to go but not without bringing others with me. I decided to take my good friends, Elizabeth and Erin. We had a fun time... What more could you ask for when you have friends, drinks and fun girly talk? The 2 1/2 hours flew by and we didn't mind that it was literally freezing outside. My advice to you... If you get an invite, go... we had a blast and really laughed a lot! They do carry spa items and pjs... The pjs were felt very soft and looked comfortable. I am including some pics per the request of my experienced blogger friend, Elizabeth. Please come to your own conclusions...

Massager

The Diving Dolphin

Larry the Cable Guy

We went to see Larry the Cable Guy last Thursday night... He was hilarious!!! It was a short show, but worth it... I have not laughed that hard and long for a long time! I am attaching a few clips... Enjoy!

Larry the Cable Guy - Part 2

Here is another short clip from our Larry the Cable Guy experience...

You Gotta Listen to this Video...

I seen this video and had to post it... it is so darn cute!!!

Winter Fun

The kids decided this was the weekend to have their annual winter fun minus the snowman making(we started this last year, but I don't know how many more years it will continue as our yard is not that big). Todd also thought it would be a good time because we don't have a ton of snow. Todd plows a nice track with his 4-wheeler in our front yard around the two trees... yes I said in our front yard. He then takes Zoe's sled and ties it to a long rope... you are probably asking yourself "what does he tie the other end of the rope to?". Well he ties it to Cole's 4-wheeler.

We supervise as to hopefully eliminate any serious injuries... Cole always like to cut the corners sharp to see if he can tip his sister off the sled.


Zoe decided she was going to drive this winter... she does pretty good since we were practicing over the summer, but she is just not heavy enough to get out when she goes off the track.

I had to drive for awhile so Cole could have some fun... and I also try to go fast and cut corners to tip Cole off...

This will occupy the kids for a couple of hours on a not so cold day and burn off some energy... Of course the best thing about this (according to Zoe), is that you get to have Hot Chocolate when you come inside.

I just wonder what people think when they drive by and look at our yard...

Thankful for School

I am so glad that school is back in session! Cole and Zoe are also showing my enthusiasm, but not for the same reasons. Cole & Zoe were so glad to get back into their schedules and see their friends! I am glad to have my semi-peaceful days back... at least from 8am-3:30pm. It really makes a difference having 4 more kids running around the house during the day... not only to keep track of, but to entertain and feed! I did take some extra days off during the holiday season to spend with the family (which was great!), but found that we really got off our schedule and have had a hard time adjusting back into it. I did get a lot done... okay so maybe not, but I did spend some much needed one-on-one time with both kids... gotta love it!! I feel like I accomplished the world!

Teeth... Very Complex...

Okay so we have had some concerns lately about Cole's front tooth coming in... After all it has been a little over 2 yrs since he knocked it out at a friend's bowling birthday party. The dentist keeps reassuring us that the permanent tooth suffered no damage from the trauma (since the tooth and root both came out) and that the new one will appear one of these days.

On the other hand his other front tooth has been loose for at least a month now, but he has been unsuccessful in pulling it out. We started telling him last Friday that he needed to get wiggling and get it out as it was starting to be discolored. On Saturday he said he couldn't pull it out because it hurt too much... However the tooth was crooked... He did look a little strange. Monday morning we still did not have any luck with the tooth, but I decided to wiggle it before he headed off to school. I could see the very top of the front of the tooth and knew that he would loose it at school... probably when he was eating lunch. I explained to him that he needed to pay attention when eating and realize that his hamburger is not hard... so that if it came loose while eating that he wouldn't swallow it. When he arrived off the bus... I got a huge smile! The tooth was gone... He proceeded to tell me that he was eating his hamburger and realized that it was in his mouth... Talk about a mother's intuition!

So the tooth is out and we are now hoping that both front teeth come in soon... We can see the new tooth coming in for the one he just lost, but the other one is just not through yet... I am not sure how much longer we need to wait for that one, but I hope it is not another 2 yrs!


Oh and by the way... He still doesn't have all of the one bottom tooth in... so you could say that he is minus 3 teeth right now.

A Couple Good Recipes

Here are a couple of recipes that my family and I have tried over the holidays and they are awesome! I hope you try these and enjoy as much as we have...

Apple-Dew Tart
2 cans of Crescent Rolls
3 Granny Smith apples
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), melted
1 tsp cinnamon (plus more, for sprinkling on top)
1 12oz can of Mountain Dew

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a 13x9 baking dish or pan with a non-stick spray.
*Peel and slice each apple into 16 pieces. Wrap apples in crescent rolls, and place rolled slices in pan, making 2 rows.
*Place additional apple slices between the rolled slices and between the rows.
*Mix melted butter, sugar and cinnamon together. Pour mixture over wrapped apples.
*Pour the can of mountain dew over all ingredients in pan.
*Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with ice cream.

Little Smokie Beer Appetizers
1 package of Little Smokies (1 lb & 1 can beer - may need less watch the sauce)
1 jar of BBQ sauce (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBS ketchup
1 tps mustard

*Put the smokies in a skillet with the beer and simmer for about 10 minutes.
*Drain the smokies and put in the crock pot with the BBQ sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup and mustard. If the mixture looks too thick, add a little beer - not much. Just a splash or so as indicated.
*Let these simmer along a couple of hours.