P365

I'll let you know up front that I don't have a picture of Friday.

MONDAY

Monday Dustin brought home the bunk beds that we purchased for Drew over the weekend.  We put them in the garage so that Dustin would be able to stain them and get them ready to move into Drew's room and the guest room.  We're going to keep them as twin beds for the time being because (1) Drew likes loves to climb on stuff and we're afraid that he'll really hurt himself on these beds and (2) we're giving the queen bed to my aunt and I'll need the other bed in the new nursery for when the baby gets here.

TUESDAY

I traveled to the Valley on Tuesday.  My original plan was to make a few stops along the Valley and then head to Atlanta to stay with Dad for the week.  It rained and drizzled all the way there.  I HATE driving in wet conditions (every wreck that I've had has been in the rain.)  The trip to the Valley took an hour longer than it usually would.  I stopped in Opelika to pick up some meds from Aunt Linda to take to Dad.  I then went to my cousin's house (Natalie) to drop of some box tops that I had been saving for her.  Next stop was at the house in town to make sure no one had tried to mess with anything.  I'd read in the local paper where thieves were now targeting vacant homes for copper wire.  After that I went to the lake house.  By the time I made it out there Dad called and told me that the roads were supposed to be bad between there and Atlanta and we decided that it would be best for me to stay at the lake house and travel the next day.  Since Mom and Dad haven't been home in a while there wasn't anything to eat in the house so I went to Aunt Linda's for dinner and visited with her and Victor.

WEDNESDAY

I finally made it to Hope Lodge around 10 in the morning.  Dad had a clinic appointment so after the grand tour with Randy Kimble I took Dad to the clinic.  They drew blood, he talked with a doctor about the results, which were good, and then she ordered a potassium infusion.  We ate lunch at the cafe (rueben sandwiches and chicken noodle soup) and then went for the infusion.  This took 4 hours.  After that we went to Melton's App and Tap for dinner.  We both had French dip sandwiches with steak fries.  I was very impressed with Dad's appetite while I was there.  He ate really well.  The picture below is of Hope Lodge.

THURSDAY

The fire alarm went off at 5:00 am.  Dad seemed disgusted but didn't move.  I didn't know it but it had happened before.  I went out into the hall to see was was going on and could smell no smoke.  I walked to the front window so see if anyone was outside or if the fire department was on their way.  No one was outside.  It was very cold.  There were people gathering at the elevator when I headed back to the room.   I heard someone say that everyone was to go back to their rooms.  Then I saw a woman who was staying down the hall walking toward me and she said in a very tired and disgusted voice, "It's a false alarm."  I went back to the room and Dad still had not moved.  The alarm finally stopped and we slept well until 7:00 am.  I went downstairs and got a bag of Dad's IV fluids out of the refrigerator.  It has to come to room temp for about 2 hours before he can hook it up.  I then went back to bed and we both woke up about 10 minutes until 9:00 which was perfect because he needed his IV at 9:00.  He got hooked up and I got dressed and went downstairs for some breakfast.  At 10:00 am the fire alarm went off again.  I finished my breakfast and was told by several people that I couldn't stay in the building.  I told them that I was going upstairs to check on my Dad.  His stomach  was feeling right so he had laid back down.  Of course it was another false fire alarm so I just stayed in the room and got things packed up and ready to head to the lake house.  Wouldn't you know it.  At 10:40 the alarm went off again.  When the alarm goes off there is a very loud, piercing screaching sound all while bright strobe light constantly flash.  Each room and the halls have this noise and lights.  I learned that if I closed the door from the living room to the bedroom that it would slightly muffle the screaching.  I did that and finished packing.  Dad's stomach finally settled down and I loaded the car and we were on our way to the Valley.  Once there we had several stops to make before finally making it back home for the night.  First stop, the house to pick up a package, then to Monica (the tax lady), then to Charter bank, then Merl's for a catfish lunch.  Once again Dad ate really well.  After lunch we went to State Farm to pick up some mail, then to Frontier Bank, then to Designs R Us to pick up some jackets that Dad had embroidered for he and Randy Kimble.  I also met Natalie there to drop off even more box tops that I had scalped from Mom's and Aunt Linda's house.  We then went to see Johnna who had had surgery Tuesday.  We visited for a while and Dad sort of cat napped on the couch.  Johnna got to feel baby Will kick a couple of times.  Finally it was time to head back to the lake.  We made it back around 5:00 pm and Mom had already made it home and was waiting for us.  Aunt Debbie pulled up at the same time we did and we visited with her for a bit.  Mom then heated some stew-soup that the neighbors made and brought over and then made grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it.  We visited a bit then finally headed to bed around 10 pm.

FRIDAY

I headed home around 10 am.  When I made it back home I wasn't feeling too well.  My stomach was not wanting to cooperate with me.  I went to pick up Drew but he was napping so I visited with Ms. Angie.  When Drew did wake up I went to get him thinking that he would be excited to see me.  Instead he just kept looking at me like he was trying to figure out if I was really there or not.  Then when Papa came home I no longer existed!  He wanted to play with Papa.  Dustin came over when he got off of work and we went to dinner with his folks at O'Charlie's.  My stomach was really in an upheaval after I ate half a dinner roll.  I asked to be excused to the bathroom where I threw up everything that I had eaten all day.  I didn't tell anyone what had happened but just say back down and when the food came I felt like I could eat so I did.  I was afraid to put too much grease or fried food on my stomach so I peeled the breading off of my fish.  I kept everything down all night.  Once I got home I told Dustin what had happened at the restaurant.  We thought that I may have a touch of what my Mom and Dad had gotten this week.  I called Mom and compared symptoms.  She said that it didn't sound the same.  I was up several time through the night with diarrhea.  Finally around 4:00 am I took some Imodium and was able to sleep until Drew woke up.  I don't have a picture of Friday because frankly I didn't feel like digging the camera out.

SATURDAY

It was a wonderful and beautiful day today!  Too bad I missed it.  Dustin moved Drew's beds into the house and Drew thought he'd just gotten the best toy ever!  He loves to run and jump on his new bed.  Once he went down for a nap I did too.  We both slept for about 4 hours!

SUNDAY

I felt so much better after a long nap and a good night's rest.  I cooked breakfast and then we got ready for church.  After church we met the Lemasters' for lunch at Calypso on the beach.  After lunch we went to Pier Park.  The guys (Dustin, Keith and Graden) sat and visited at Hofbrau House while Holly, Drew, Miles and I went walking around.  It was so nice and the weather was warm and wonderful.  It was a really good day.  The picture is of Drew before getting ready for church.  He likes to try on his daddy's shoes and try to walk in them.

P365

Ah yes, another week in the life...

MONDAY

Monday Drew and I went to the Panama City Mall to do a little shopping.  Not much.  Just to get out and do something.  I still have some gift cards to spend.

TUESDAY

Tuesday was just another day in the big toy box.  Drew loves to get down in the floor and play with his Daddy.  It works the other way around too.

They wrestle and play and yell and growl at each other.  It's great play for boys.

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday Drew and I met with Nana at IHOP for breakfast.  We really enjoy our outings with Nana.

THURSDAY

Thursday was filled with bubbles!  One of Drew's most favorite things to do is to play with bubbles.

He found out that he could hold on to my pants legs and lean way back and let the bubbles fall and pop on his face.  If they didn't land right on his face then he would lean over and make them land on him.

Then he figured out that he could just sit in the floor and wait for them to hit him.

FRIDAY

Friday was grocery shopping day.  We went to Sam's, Publix, Dollar Tree (for birthday party supplies,) and then after Drew's nap we went to Winn Dixie to finish the shopping.

SATURDAY

Saturday we bought Drew some bunk beds at Allgood's.  This is a place that sells unfinished furniture.  We really liked the beds and Drew seemed to get a kick out of them too.  Afterward we met Nana and Papa at Wendy's for lunch.  Drew got a new "Cankalin" (Franklin) book with his meal.

After we put him down for a nap then Dustin and I got busy making our own brats.  This was a really neat thing to do.  It also gave us a chance to break in the new meat grinder that I got for Christmas.  Dustin used one of his gift cards to buy a sausage stuffer too.

Later that night we went to Gram's and Bernie's house for dinner.  We grilled steaks and let the kids run wild.  We had a really good time.  We haven't visited with them in a long time.  We always have fun when we do finally get together.  At one point, Gram laid on the play room floor which caused a pile up of Sophie, Nathan, Charlie and Dustin.  Drew was too occupied with one of Charile's power tool toys.

SUNDAY

Sunday we went to church and then had Rob and Cara over for lunch.  We cooked some of the brats that Dustin and I had made the day before.  Cara is a vegetarian so I made her a veggie quesadilla instead.  The brats turned out really good.  We boiled them in some cheap beer and a cut up onion.  When they were done boiling then Dustin took the brats and grilled them.  I then cranked up the heat on the onions and carmelized them while adding a little butter and some salt.  OH MY!  They were fantastic!  We also had sour kraut and spicy mustard.  MMMM MMMM, Yummy!

That's it for this past week.  Today, I'm getting ready to spend the week with Dad.  I'll be taking my camera, of course.  Got to go.  I have a lot of packing to do now that all the clothes are washed.

P365

So much for the Christmas post, right?  I'll get it posted, I promise.

I didn't get to the computer long enough to put up the post for the weekly Project 365.  I've decided that Mondays will be better for me.  I also didn't get a picture of Tuesday or Sunday and that's fine too.

MONDAY

Monday was a cooking day for me.  I usually try to cook up a bunch of stuff that we can re-heat throughout the week.  It also works out to where I can send stuff with Dustin to work during the week as well.  This particular day I made a big pot of chili, a big pot of meatballs and marinara sauce and a meatloaf. 

To give you a little back story on these 3 things...the November after I had Drew I said, "enough is enough!" when it came to the weight that I had packed on.  I saw that my mom had great success with an eating plan called Michael Thurmond's 6 Week Body Makeover.  I asked her a bunch of questions about it and did my own research online and decided to purchase the plan.  These 3 recipes come with the plan.  I really like them and they have a lot of taste once you get over the fact that there's no salt in them.  I too ended up having great success with this plan and lost a little over 50 pounds.  Then I got pregnant again.  Now that I'm not allowed to be on a diet I still have not totally abandoned the plan.  I still eat things from the plan but I just don't follow the portions or the eating time table.  I'll get right back on that once this baby is born.
I didn't get a picture of the meatloaf because it was in the oven and it was going to be part of dinner that evening.  Turns out that Drew really loves meatloaf and loves, loves, loves to eat it with ketchup.  He ate meatloaf almost every day this past week! 

TUESDAY

Like I mentioned above, I didn't get a picture for Tuesday.  I did, however, get a really cute video of Drew doing the Tomahawk chop after dinner.

 

He wasn't prompted to do that he just started doing it.  Couldn't you just eat him up?!

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday Drew and I met Nana at IHOP for breakfast.

She'd had a doctor's appointment that day so we met her there when she was through.  None of us had been out of the house all week and all 3 of us just talked and talked like we wouldn't see each other for another week.  After breakfast we went shopping at Kohl's and World Market.  Drew was very patient with us while we shopped.  He took a good nap once we got back home.

THURSDAY

I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday.  Just the monthly checkup to ask questions and what not.

I really like this group of doctors.  In this practice you get to see all of the doctors because you never know which one will be on call when you go into labor.  I've been seeing Dr. Edgeworth mainly with this pregnancy.  I really like her a lot.  I asked if I could schedule the C-section for April 28th of this year.  That was my grandmother's birthday.  She told me that she would have to calculate how far away that would be from my actual due date.  The hospitals have been really cracking down on them to do them no more than 7 days before the actual due date.  She got a call to deliver a baby so I told her that I would calculate it on my own.  April 28th is 8 days before my actual due date.  *frowns*  Dustin's grandmother's birthday was April 30th but that falls on a Saturday this year.  Oh well.  We'll just have to wait and see how things go.  Either way this baby is coming within that week.

FRIDAY

Friday we did nothing besides stay at home and play in the giant toy box we call "home."

We have toys in every room in our house including all the closets.  Yes, I've even found them in my pantry!  Drew has so many toys!  I know, what kid doesn't these days?  I feel like we literally live in a giant toy box.  Drew's toy phone is on the back of the toilet in my bathroom, he has books and other hand held toys in my bedroom.  I've found one of his toys in my closet.  The picture above is just a sample of what's in the living room.  He also keeps his wheeled excavator somewhere in there.  There are refrigerator magnets in the foyer that goes to a toy on the fridge.  There are an assortment of books and toys in the kitchen.  Then there are the loud toys that we put in the guest bedroom (where he's not allowed) so that we can hear the TV when we're watching a movie.  His favorite toy in the utility room is a mop.  This child loves to act like he's cleaning!  He'll play with a mop and vacuum cleaner for hours.

SATURDAY

Saturday was a big day.  Drew slept until 9:30 and we had a very light, late breakfast of peppermint and chocolate chip scones.  Then we met Nana and Papa at Tom's Hotdogs for lunch in downtown.

After lunch Dustin, Drew and I went to the marina where a tall ship from Brazil is docked.  They were giving free tours so we decided to go check it out.

It was very neat to see this vessel.  It was gorgeous with the wood and stained glass windowed doors inside.  Drew seemed to have a really good time.  There were stairs on the front, back and inside.  Drew loves stairs.  I think Dustin really enjoyed it too.  He's into naval and maritime histories.

SUNDAY

I don't have a picture from Sunday either. We went to church then ate lunch with some friends at Old Mexico.  After that I put Drew down for a nap and Dustin got ready to go hunting with a buddy of his.  When Drew woke up from his nap I loaded him up and back to church we went.  I keep the nursery for the 5:00pm service.  I found out that the other couple keeping the nursery with me have stepped down.  I really hate that but can understand.  The husband had surgery on his back and that can be taxing when working with infants and toddlers.  The wife is pregnant and due the same week that I'm due.  Keeping the nursery wasn't bad.  I had 4 teenagers helping me and we only had my Drew, one other one year old and one infant.  Nothing some goldfish and some bubbles couldn't entertain!

I got a call from Mom today.  She's really worried about Dad because he's just not rebounding.  He's weak and shakes some.  He's only half way through his recovery of 100 days so my guess is that this is just part of it.  I didn't find out until today just how bad Mom has been taking it.  She always puts a brave front for everyone.  She put on the caringbridge website that she had a bit of a breakdown and cried for nearly an hour.  She's really torn about wanting to care for Dad and having to work.  She needs to work but she feels like she's abandoning Dad whenever she does.  I believe that Dad is in good hands and in the right place for the care that he needs.  I think that Mom feels like something will go wrong if she's not there and that she will be able to prevent anything bad from happening to him.  Poor thing, she's slowly killing herself with worry.  God has everything under control.  His word tells us that He does.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.


Perfect submission, perfect delight!
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest!
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness, lost in His love.

This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long; this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long!

Project 365

My cousin, Karen, got an idea from another blogger buddy of hers to do something called Project 365.  Take one or two pictures a day and then on Sunday post them and blog about your week.  I thought this was a really neat idea so decided to do the same thing.  My project will be more like Project 362 because I didn't start taking pictures until a couple of days later.  Oh well no harm, no foul.  BTW, Christmas was absolutely WONDERFUL!  I'll blog about it later this week.

MONDAY

Not much happened Monday.  Drew and I played and read books.  When Dustin came home Drew immediately wanted Dustin's belt.  I put it on him and he just thought it was the funniest thing. 

TUESDAY

 Drew had a snack of Strawberries and Pineapple.  Afterward he wanted to use the plate as a hat.  It had so much juiced from the fruit that it stuck to his head.

WEDNESDAY

It rained Wednesday.  It actually rained pretty hard with lightening and thunder.  Drew and I sat at the window and watched for a little bit.

THURSDAY

Drew loves it when his daddy comes home from work.  He always runs to him yelling, "Daddy!  Daddy!"  When Dustin got home Thursday Drew wanted to play on his leaptop with daddy.

FRIDAY

Friday I made a cake to take to the Coleman's house for a cookout.  Yes, in Florida you can have a cookout outside in January.  This cake took longer than I had intended to make.  It's called Better Than Sex Cake.  It's really easy...just purchase a box of chocolate cake mix, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, 1 jar of caramel sauce, 1 8-oz canister of whipped cream, and 1 Heath bar.  Bake the cake according to the directions on the box.  While the cake is still warm poke holes all over the cake.  Once the cake cools then pour the can of condensed milk over the cake.  Then pour the caramel sauce over the cake.  Crush the candy bar in the small pieces and mix it with the whipped cream.  "Ice" the cake with the whipped cream mixture.  Sounds easy enough, right?  Well, I got hung up on the milk and caramel part.  Once I poured the milk over the cake I kept spooning it back over the cake because it kept pooling around the bottom.  Once the cake soaked up enough of that then I did the same with the caramel sauce.  I only used half a jar of the sauce.  It turned out the be a very good albeit rich cake.  What I thought would take only about 45 minutes (with baking time) actually took several hours.  Oh well.  It was still good and a big hit at that.

SATURDAY

While Drew napped Saturday Dustin and I decided to do a little yard work.  I trimmed the hedges then Dustin trimmed the oak tree.  He cut down about 8 huge limbs that were touching the house.

It actually looks much better now that they're cleared out.  Drew woke up just as Dustin was cutting the last few branches and wanted to go outside with Daddy.

The sun was going down and it got pretty cool out so we put his coat and mittens on him.  He then decided to inspect the neighbors garden hose.

SUNDAY

After church we visited with Nana and Papa.  Then it was time to go home and put Drew down for a nap and then Dustin got to work on cutting the limbs down to size so that the garbage men would pick them up.  Here he is playing lumberjack with his chainsaw.

That's pretty much it for this past week.  I'll put out a post on Christmas some time later this week.