Elmo Came Through Surgery with Flying Colors!

I don't know if you all know or not, but Elmo was really ill yesterday. Matter of fact, he had to have surgery. Dr. Emily Tomlinson started out by giving him several shots but that didn't seem to work so off he went to her room (aka the OR) and into her bed for surgery. She shut her door behind her so I asked if everything was okay and if Elmo needed help. She opened her door, stuck her head out with her stethoscope around her neck, said, "No thank you" and returned to the task at hand.

Shortly afterward, she came out asking for some help. Apparently things were pretty touch and go in the OR so she was calling in some reinforcements in the form of Mommy. I was handed a pair of scissors from the doctor kit. Oh dear! I have to admit I wasn't prepared for surgery yesterday afternoon. I hadn't even scrubbed yet! But I'm happy to say Elmo made it through the night and was well enough to go on some errands with us this morning! Whew! I'm sure you are all relieved. Here are some photos I was able to sneak in during surgery. You'll notice that Dr. Tomlinson got tired and decided to lay down with Elmo right after surgery. :-)

More fun with a two year old!

In my last post, I listed several phrases which are current favorites with Emily. I did forget one; one we've heard nearly every morning over the last few days. We still have a monitor in her room so we can hear her if she wakes up at night with a bad dream, when she wakes up in the morning, etc. We have had several laughs over the last year or so with what she is saying or singing first thing in the morning. The last several mornings she has said, "Mommy, come here! I need to show you someping." My first thought was, "Oh great...what has she done!" So the first morning when I went to her room to tell her good morning and ask what she needed to show me, she said another one of her current favorites: "I don't know."

This morning, a young salesman came to the front door selling educational books. Because #1 I'm not prone to inviting strangers into my home and #2 Our dog Zack was standing at the front door barking loudly, I chose to go out on the front porch to see what he had to say. Once he was all done (and I chose not to purchase any of his items) he asked me for a glass of water. I said I would be happy to go get him one. As I tried to open the front storm door, I realized with a sickening feeling, that the door was locked. My two year old was on the other side of the door, with our dog, and had her hand on the lock. She had locked me out. I wondered how easy it would be to get her to twist the lock back to the unlock position. After a few tense moments and me saying in my most stern voice to turn the lock the other way, she unlocked it, I went in to get the young man a drink of water, and another crisis was averted. Fun with a two year old! It must be Monday. Ha!!!

I survived!!

I survived my first week of being a stay at home mom! Better yet, my two-almost three year old-survived, too! It's been a good week of both of us trying to find our "routine." We took a walk nearly every morning this week before it got too hot. They were short jaunts around our new neighborhood but still gave Mom some exercise and Emily seemed to enjoy the change of scenery, too. Daddy works close enough to walk to and from home so we get to have him home for lunch each day. We've done some shopping, gardening (aka weed pulling), playing on the swingset, she rode her bike, did lots of sidewalk chalk, did painting and coloring with markers and the hit of the week was Emily getting a pair of her own scissors (don't worry, they are the kindergarten type with blunt ends and are ONLY used under Mom's strict supervision).

I hope to get Emily enrolled in a few classes starting in September: Toddler Story Time at the local library on Tuesday mornings and Wee Wigglers (a play group) at the local rec center. I also hope to join the Y this weekend so we might add a gymnastics class to the mix. Depends on how much she is up for. I think she is going to really miss the interaction with other kids. Yesterday we were on a walk and she saw some boys outside playing at what appeared to have been a home daycare. She heard them laughing and playing, commented on their play and said, "I play, too!" Unfortunately we didn't know these folks and they had all gone inside by the time we got to the house.

Phrases I've heard at least 3oo times this week: "Mommy doing?" "Why?" "I don't know." "Why?" "I mean it, Mommy!" "Why?" "I do it!" and yes, "Why?" again! Ah, the mind of a two year old! It's been fun for Mommy so far. Hopefully it has been for Emily. Several people have told me this is the most important job I'll ever have and I will never regret my decision to stay home while our children are little. So far, so good! :-)

Please check back again! I hope to stay on top of this blog now--at least until October 23rd or thereabouts!

Time goes too quickly!!

Well, my last post back in MARCH!! (shame on me) was titled "Mommy is a slacker." I can't imagine what I could title this post as I'm just now getting back to this blog. There have only been a few things going on in our lives these last five months.

First, in February we learned that Emily would be a big sister. Jeff and I are expecting a baby boy (that part we didn't learn until early June) on October 23rd. The pregnancy has gone well so far and I am down to my last nine weeks (again, time goes too quickly)! I feel like I have lots to do before the arrival of our new little one.

In April Daddy (and about 25 others) unfortunately was laid off from his job. And after only three weeks off work he was gainfully employed again, this time with Hutchinson Community College. Hutchinson is a town about an hour away from where we lived. Yes, I said lived...

We decided to make Hutchinson our new home and after having our house and land on the market for just four days, it sold and we were able to buy a home just three blocks from Jeff's office. So he walks to work now. This is a wonderful thing, especially with gas prices what they are. With these changes, we decided now was a good time for me to leave my position of nine years and be a stay at home mom for the time being. This is something I've always wanted to try and feel so lucky to be able to do. So effective last Friday, August 17th, I am no longer employed full time outside of the home. But trust me, a nearly three year old will keep me hopping, not to mention the new baby who will be coming soon.

So, pregnancy, loss of hubby's job, new job for hubby, moving and quitting my job are what I've been doing in the last five months! Oh, and I forgot to mention an international trip the end of June/first part of July to New Zealand to visit my husband's family. It was an awesome trip. I got to see his immediate family again and meet all kinds of new family and friends. Emily was a little trooper through all the travel ups and downs we experienced. What a good girl she was. She was often more patient than many of the adults we saw in the airports!

If I can remember how to post some photos, I'll try to do so. These are some photos from our trip to New Zealand (yes, our summer is their winter-that's why we are in winter clothes). I'm hoping to stay better on top of the blog, however am realistic that there is a little someone who is more of a priority right now.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Kim, Jeff and Emily