MIddle of Easter break happenings.

Just thought I'd check in with an Easter break update.

On Friday I woke up with a stiff neck and didn't think anything of it.  But as the day wore on it got worse instead of better and by Friday night I was in a lot of pain.  And when I tried to lay down to go to sleep,the pain was unbearable.  Needless to say I got no more than a few minutes of sleep here and there.

At one point, I went downstairs to sleep on the recliner to see if that would help.  My sweet husband came downstairs with me and slept on our little uncomfortable couch just to be near me in case I needed anything. 💕

On Saturday morning we headed to the doctor.  Our doctor's office has evening and Saturday morning walk-in hours but sadly, they were closed for the holiday weekend.  There was a note on the door listing three other places in the network that were open.  Two were in Winston and one was in Clemmons.

We headed to the one in Clemmons figuring it would be the least crowded and we were the first people there.  However, due to some weird computer glitch, I wasn't  the first one seen so we ended up waiting an hour. 

I ended up getting a shot in the rear end which helped with the pain within thirty minutes.  I also got a prescription for pain meds and a muscle relaxer.  I was told that if I didn't feel better in a few days I needed to go back for some imaging to make sure nothing was torn or broken. 

It seems to be resolving on it's on and now instead of pain it's mostly stiff.

Thanks to the shot of pain medication I felt good enough to go the farmer's market with Dan.  We picked up some tomato plants, some pepper plants and some herbs so that we can get our garden going.
 
And Sunday was Easter!  Before we headed out to the 11:00 Mass I snapped a picture of the kids with their Easter baskets.  Peter asked me not to put it on the blog but I'm going to do it anyway.  This blog is as close as we have to a family scrapbook and I hope that one day he appreciates it. Currently he is embarrassed by it.

After Mass we met my mom and brother and uncle and my cousins and their kid's significant others at a nice restaurant for lunch.  We came home from that and went to mom's because she always does an Easter basket for each one of us.

Tomorrow morning we are headed to St. Augustine, FL for a nice long weekend of sightseeing and relaxing on the beach.  I hope the weather is decent.

Spring break is here! So is my new washer and dryer! And so are my birdies!

Spring break starts this afternoon and we are ready.  The kids have been ready since mid-March.  I like a late Easter but that means a late spring break which makes for grumpy kids.

I prefer a first week in April spring break but around here spring break is tied to Easter in the public schools and even if the public schools didn't do it that way, our kids go to catholic school so spring break is always going to be tied to Easter.

They kids don't have to go back until April 29th at which point it might as well be May and then school might as well be over.  At least in my kid's minds anyway. All this to say, it's practically summer vacation!

Last Friday I was doing my daily one load of laundry and as I was getting the clothes out of the dryer I noticed they weren't quite dry.  So I started the dryer again and nothing happened.  It was dead.

When Dan got home he agreed that it was time to get  a new washer and dryer.  The set was 21 years old so I would say we got our moneys worth! So while he and Peter were camping this weekend, Sarah and I headed to Lowes to pick out and purchase the most basic of all washer and dryers because I didn't want anything fancy or flashy and I certainly didn't want a washer and dryer with wi-fi.

They were delivered yesterday.  I was ready with the broom because I knew when they removed them there would be some dust underneath them.  But, y'all, I was not prepared for the amount of filth that has collected underneath them.

I WAS HORRIFIED!

The delivery guy assured me that he's seen worse but I honestly don't believe him.  He mentioned that one of the hoses to the washer had a slight leak which we obviously didn't know about.  So the dust that had collected underneath had gotten a little wet thus turning it into mud essentially.

In January the detergent bottle fell from the shelf above the washer and spilled everywhere.  I got all of it up that I could see but I knew there was a little underneath the washer so I was expecting that.

But no, there was A LOT of detergent underneath there and in two months it had "dried".  Maybe hardened or thickened would be a better description than dried and then that dried much was covered in dust.

I had to get the scraper out and scrape the mud and hardened detergent off the floor before I could sweep the rest of the dust and dirt that hadn't yet hardened. 

There was also a pair of underwear, a sock, 18 cents in loose change, 3 bobby pins, a pen cap, and a bottle cap in the sludge.  It was filthy. 

Guess who had never moved her washer and dryer in the twelve and a half years we've lived in this house?  Guess who has vowed to have her husband move them regularly so she can sweep underneath them?  Guess who will forget this sacred vow in about two days?

Here's a lovely picture of my washer and dryer.  As Sarah would say, they are "so basic".  She was hoping for a snazzier model  but basic is how I like it when I'm doing laundry.

In other news, last night was the last regular season home lacrosse game.  Sarah has fulfilled her duties as manager aka water girl.  Well, the playoffs start after break so if any of those are at home she will work those but essentially she's done!

She signed up for something and even though it wasn't what she expected and even though the friend that she signed up with quit, Sarah stuck it out.  She said she didn't want to be a quitter and she wasn't.  I'm proud of her for sticking with it!

Dan and I called her the reluctant water girl because she always looked so uncomfortable out there on the field.  Dan snapped some pictures of her last night and she even smiled for one of them when she noticed him.  But as he kept taking them, she kept mouthing "STOP!"

And guess who's back?

Two weekends ago it was really warm so I put out the hummingbird feeders.  But then we got that weird snowstorm and it was really cold for the next few days.  And then it rained and then it got a little warmer and then it rained some more and nothing.

But finally this past weekend it was really warm and the forecast looked like we were going to actually get some consistantly warm weather so I loaded up the feeders again and ta-da!  Monday morning I had my first hummingbird to the feeder!  I'll try not to put a hummingbird picture in every future blog post but I can't make any promises!

Last Boy Scout Camping Trip

Peter and Dan went on their final camping trip as Boy Scouts  this weekend.

Peter wasn't that excited about going.  He has his Eagle rank now and already has the merit badge they were going to be working  and non of his friends were going because like Peter, they already have Eagle and are done.

But Dan was excited to go on this trip because it's one they went on four years ago and everyone had a great time.  They camped at the Coast Guard Base on Fort Macon at Atlantic Beach.  Dan loves a trip to the beach, camping, anything military AND they were going kayaking.  It was his dream trip.

Even reluctant Peter had a really good time.

The weather was iffy this whole weekend but the rain stayed at bay and they were able to get all of their activities in without issue.  Here are a few pics from their weekend.

5 years

Rebecca's birthday was last Wednesday. I didn't write about it or really even talk about it.  I guess I was trying to avoid it because turning five is such a milestone.

Or maybe I was trying to forget it about it because I'm still grieving the loss of my dad and I'm just tired of being sad.  Everything just feels very heavy lately. Even Dan said this birthday felt harder than the ones that have come before it. 

And today, April 15th,  is the anniversary of the day she died.

Honestly though, I  wasn't even thinking about it until my Google photo app alerted me that I had memories from this day in 2014.

As soon as I saw that alert I knew what it was.  My heart dropped.  I shouldn't have clicked on it but I did it anyway.

Each morning at the hospital for those 5 days she lived, Dan and I would take our place by her little NICU crib just thankful that she made it through the last few hours while we slept fitfully in a small bed in a room just a few feet away from her.

After we would get an update from the nurses and love on our sweet girl, we would take pictures.  We have hundreds and hundreds of pictures from those five days. Pictures that I'm glad I have but pictures that I don't ever look at.

In the  first pictures we took that day she looks so tiny, so sick. During that week in the NICU (and the entire 9 months before) I prayed fervently for a miracle and was expectantly waiting for one. I just knew God was going to heal her so I guess it's no wonder that I didn't notice how bad she looked.

When I saw those pictures this morning I couldn't stop crying.  She looked purple.  I don't remember her looking purple. I should have known what was coming.

Then there were pictures of us holding her later that afternoon after they had taken her off all the machines. In one picture I'm holding her in my arms and  I've got a sad tired smile on my face. 

But it was the picture of Sarah sitting beside Rebecca sobbing while Peter rubbed her tiny head that broke me this morning. That picture brought back all the pain and heartache from 5 years ago.

I know that God heals all wounds and redeems all things. And just as I prayed for Rebecca's healing, I'm praying for our hearts to heal. It's been five years and I'm still waiting expectantly.

Heal me oh Lord, and I will be healed; 

Save me and I will be saved,

for you are the one I praise. - Jeremiah 17:14

And all the people said, "AMEN!" Well, only me, but still..

Can you hear it where you are??

If not, please hit play because this is what I heard today when I finally FINISHED and E-FILED our taxes!!!

And with that, I can begin my weekend. And it's a fairly calm one but you know that's exactly how I like them.

Peter had a track meet last night and has another one tonight.  He is less than enthused about the one tonight because it is going to take FOREVER - it will include every high school in Forsyth County 1-4A AND it's raining.

I will be dropping him off at the track meet after I pick him up from school.  For some reason, even though the school is roughly 30 minutes away from his school, it is considered a home meet (I am grudgingly assuming it's because it's in the same county) and there is no bus service.  Can you tell I'm a little bit annoyed by this? Because I am.

Anyway, I will not be sitting on the wet bleachers for 4 hours watching my child run for 30 seconds total - that will be Dan.  However, I would like to note that he will most likely take his time getting there from work so he also doesn't have to sit there for 4 hours.  I don't blame him.

Here are a couple of pics from last night:

 

And look at my tulips:

It may be raining today but they are a nice pop of color outside my window.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Just another weekly update.

Since it's been a week since I last posted, let me update you on all the things....

Last Friday after we dropped Peter off at a friend's house for a party, we took Sarah to school for a lacrosse match.  The match didn't start until 7:30.  It was  over around 9:15 and we hadn't eaten dinner yet so we headed to the Waffle House.

Fridays in Lent while you are trying to eat low carb are the worst.  I am not a huge egg fan but I had no choice but to eat an omelette.  I got it with extra cheese and used a lot of their hot sauce and it was pretty good. 

Speaking of their hot sauce - it's called Senora Jackie's Casa de Waffle Picante.  I had to laugh at the name. I really enjoy it when businesses have a sense of humor.  While I was googling for this image, I discovered that you can buy a bottle on eBay for $17.99.  It was good y'all, but it wasn't that good. 

After we ate our fancy Waffle House dinner we still had time to kill before we had to pick up Peter so we walked around Walmart.  We are living the high life, aren't we??

Saturday morning I got up and baked a carrot cake from scratch!  It was delicious, if I do say so myself.  If you are interested in the making it, here is the recipe I used. There were quite a few steps and I had to drag out my Kitchen-Aid mixer (why you gotta be so heavy?) AND my food processor but it was totally worth it.  I will definitely be making this cake again.  Here's a pic:

Isn't she lovely??

Dan's favorite thing in life is to hike.  And since Saturday was actually a really beautiful day, he and Sarah and I headed to Morrow Mountain State Park and hiked up Hattaway Mountain.  It was only a two mile hike but it was marked as "strenuous". 

I was huffing and puffing as we reached the top but I did it!  I have lost about 10 pounds since November but I am extremely out of shape.  How do I know this? Dan (who runs 3 miles several times a week) and Sarah (who swims weekly)  huffed and puffed zero times. 

Sunday was Mass, lunch at mom's, and while Sarah was at painting class with my mom, Dan and I took a nice long drive together, ran some errands, and grabbed some coffee.

Over all the weekend was excellent. No complaints.

Monday was groceries, yesterday was catching up on things around the house and SNOW! 

We got a two hour snow shower and it was beautiful:

And the best part?  It melted as soon as it hit the ground and today is going to be sunny with a high of  almost 70 degrees!  I will take 70 degrees over snow showers any time!  Other than some rain and low 60s on Friday, the extended forecast appears to be 70s for the next 10 days.  Maybe, just maybe, spring is finally here!

On Sunday, Peter informed me that he had a ringing in his ears that started on Friday morning.  It was very mild and he could only hear it when it was quiet;  for instance when he was trying to go to sleep.  He had googled it and was very nervous that it was tinnitus and that it was the type that would never go away. 

On Monday morning he said he thought it was getting better but on Monday night he said it was still there so we made a plan and he met me after school at our doctor's office.  They have clinic hours that start at 4:00 and you can just walk in.   The PA took one look in his ears and could see a fluid build up due to his allergies (even though it snowed yesterday there has been a ton of pollen in our area) and also apparently he has been using his nasal spray incorrectly. Apparently you are supposed to shoot nasal spray into your nose at an angle.  If you shoot it straight up (as he has been doing) fluid can build up in your ear. 

So he is now taking Sudafed to clear up the fluid and if that hasn't worked in 5 days then we will go back in for steroids. Hopefully this will work and his hearing will be restored and no steroids will be needed because if I'm not mistaken, the steroids will be delivered via a shot in the rear end.  Wanna know who  would rather suffer a ringing in his ears than receive a shot in the keister?  Yep.

And with that you are all caught up.