Just when you think things are back to normal

Good morning everyone!  I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend.

I had such wonderful ideas of how the weekend was going to go,

but as someone once said

"The best laid plans of mice and men".

Friday my body decided to "pass" another kidney stone.

Let me tell you, that is NO fun at all!!!!

So, I spent most of Saturday resting.

Yesterday we did go to church

but I was not very comfortable at all.

By last night I was feeling better - most of the soreness is gone

(it feels like someone sucker punched you in the kidney) after

the stone is "Passed".

So, once again, I am hopeful that I am FINALLY on the

way to feeling better.

We were suppose to start keeping the baby this weeks along with "big" sister, but my daughter has decided to let me 'ease' into keeping the little one -

we will keep her two days this week, three next, and then have her full time in a couple of weeks (depending on how things go).

Dan and I are hopeful that we can get some projects done around the house in the next few weeks - if I can stay healthy!

We are getting rain most of this week - Today and tomorrow - dry on Wednesday and then more rain on Thursday and Friday!  That's okay - we can use the rain - we'll just have to find something to keep our big girl occupied.

We are also going to have to take Samantha to the vet as she is having difficulty using her back legs (although she can stand up and move she is just having problems jumping up).  I don't think it is a disc issue but a weight issue - but we shall see.

I hope that you guys have a wonderful weekend and I'll talk to you soon!

Hugs -

Carol

Emergency Room

I guess by the title of this post you can tell it has been a rather eventful week.

As you probably know, I have not been feeling all that well for over a month but I kept thinking it would get better.  Well, last Monday I was in quite a bit of pain to the point that I finally told Dan that I needed to go to the emergency room.  Now, some of you might ask "why not go to your regular doctor and not the emergency room", and that would be a good question.  We don't have a "regular" doctor here in Lake Placid - all our doctor's are in Lakeland (insurance) and that's a two hour drive away, and most of the time that really isn't an issue.  Monday it was - so, emergency room it was.

We get the the ER around 5:00 and are taken straight back to triage, where all the vitals were taken and symptoms revealed.  On my way to my "room" I had to make a liquid deposit into the "little cup" and then it was time to wait.  The lab came up and tried to find a vein to draw blood, but after several pokes he left to find someone who knew what they were doing.  The head nurse (a very nice gentleman) came and with one little poke had a vein and about 10 vials (okay, probably only five - but a lot) and had me set up for an IV.  Around 5:45 I received some really good pain medication and then we preceded to wait for a CT scan.   Not really sure what time they came and got me for that (really good pain medication) but it didn't take long.  Finally, around 7:30 the ER doctor came in and told me I had - (1) an urinary tract infection, (2) a kidney stone, and (3) diverticilous.  Four prescriptions later, and another dose of pain medication, I was released where I came home and went straight to bed.

Tuesday and Wednesday was spent almost entirely in bed - sleeping most of the time.  Thursday I was finally up about 3/4 of the day and Friday we were back keeping little bit, but only for 1/2 the day.  Saturday I felt well enough to get out of the house for awhile, but then Saturday night I started hurting again - and I think I 'passed' the other kidney stone.

I am hopeful that after I finish with all the antibiotics that I am on I will finally feel like myself again and be up and running at full speed in a very short amount of time.

Life is certainly interesting.

Hugs!

Carol

AWOL!

I can't believe that it has almost been a month since I last posted!

  I really don't have an excuse,

 other than I just haven't taken the time to sit down and write.

Sorry!

Let's see if I can catch you up on the goings on around here.

We still are not keeping Ady full time yet, but

we have kept her a couple of times

for 1/2 a day while Melissa

had meetings that wasn't appropriate for her to take the 

baby with her.

Melissa had to take her in for another

weight check the first of February

and the doctor wasn't happy with her 

lack of weight gain.

This time he told us that we needed to 

supplement Melissa's breast feeding

with formula and then bring her

back in a couple of weeks to check her

weight again.

Last Friday, Melissa took her back

and this time she was FINALLY over

9 pounds!  Yeah!

So, it looks like we might have found the

secret recipe.

Here's a couple of pictures of the sweet

little one.

Ady is a happy baby and as cute as a button!

Big sister Lorelai is growing like crazy!

She is talking more and more everyday

and makes us laugh

at all her antics.

She is a BIG help when doing laundry - 

she will load all the clothes in the washer by herself

and then put the clean clothes in the dryer.

All I have to do is add the detergent/dryer sheet and

turn on the machines on.

I haven't taught her how to fold/hang clothes yet,

but I'm sure that won't be too far in the future!!

LOL!!

A couple of weeks ago I went to see

Saving Mr. Banks at one of the theaters

up in Sebring.  Yes, I went by myself since Dan

has difficulty understanding the dialogue with

all the background noise.  I really enjoyed the movie

and plan on going to see something at least

once a month.  Next on the list - Monument Men.

(Maybe this weekend?)

Valentine's Day the kids surprised us with a nice card

and some sweet gifts "from" the girls - Dan got some

candy and I received a gift card to the movies.

I made a special breakfast for Dan and Lorelai

Heart pancakes for Lorelai and I "tried" to make

Dan a "moose" pancake.

It didn't turn out exactly like I wanted, 

but Dan seemed to enjoy it.

I fixed Lorelai some Heart shaped pancakes, 

that I forgot to take a picture of, but

I did get a picture of what was left.

She seemed to enjoy her lunch

Don't you love her "bib"?

Anyone have a guess what it is??

Valentine's night Dan and I enjoyed a nice

dinner for two on the

back porch

and then a nice fire in the fire pit.

It was the first time we used the fire pit

even though we bought it three years

ago - right after buying the house

on Lime Road and getting off the road.

We are still working on doing little

"tweaking" projects here in the house -

I'll share them in a future post.

Lots of organizing and 

purging!

The beginning of this week we were able to take a

trip up to Dowling Park since the kids had to go down

south for Justin's grandfather's funeral.  We went up on

Sunday and came home on Wednesday.

It was great fun seeing all our dear friends there

and we even took a little side trip to

Honey Lake Plantation.

There were many lovely buildings at the plantation.

This is the main building where we had a fabulous lunch.

This is the building where they serve Sunday brunch.

It has a much larger dining room than where

we ate Tuesday.

These are "apartments" that you can rent

or where people stay when they

come to the Plantation for a "hunting expedition".

Really roughing it, huh?

Three of our wonderful friends that went with us.

One of the other buildings that is at the Plantation

is this beautiful church.

The church is located right on the lake and is a beautiful

venue for many weddings

as well as Sunday services.

Beautiful woodwork throughout the entire church.

Can you imagine walking down the aisle and standing in

front of this beautiful setting?

One of the things that make this church so 

pretty are the gorgeous stained glass windows.

Here are some pictures of just a few

of them.

These windows were from an old church in Madison, Florida 

that was being torn down.  

The plantation was able to save them and

installed them in their church to preserve them.

There was one other thing at the church that I thought

was really beautiful, beside the view, the wonderful woodwork, and the incredible windows.

This beautiful bronze sculpture is

located in front of the 

church.

So, that is how we have spent this week.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures

and I'll talk to you soon!

Hugs!

Carol

Another Week

It has been quite a week around here.  We finally got some of that really bad weather that the rest of the country had been experiencing. 

Now, we didn't get any snow, but we did a LOT of rain -

four entire days of rain!  Plus the temperatures were down in the mid thirty's (if only it had been a few degrees cooler we might have gotten some of that snow).  Between all the rain and cool temperatures it made for a really miserable week.

Melissa has been able to work from home two days a week for a couple of weeks before going back into the office full time (that will happen next week).  Right now it looks like when she has a meeting outside of the office we will be keeping both babies - but we won't have the little full time for about another six weeks.  Melissa really wants to try and wait until the baby is three months old before we get her full time.  We shall see how that plays out.

Thursday we had to take Adalyn in to have her weight checked again.  The doctor is just not happy with her weight gain.  She is gaining weight, but not at a rate that he is comfortable with.  Thursday she was up to 8 pounds 11 ounces and he was happy with that - we'll see what she weighs in a couple of weeks when she goes in for her two month check up.

Melissa and Justin have been talking about getting a new car for quite a while now, Melissa's car was just not very big (a Jeep Compass) and they were not able to get both car seats, the double stroller, and drive comfortably.  Melissa was having to sit at an awkward angle with the car seat behind her seat.  Since we were out on Thursday, they had decided that she would drive up to Lakeland (really Bartow) to the Ford dealership and look at cars.  There was no way she would be able to do that with both girls by herself, so I went with her.  After an ALL  day excursion - in the rain - with two babies - we drove home in her new car (which is beautiful, by the way).  So many new gadgets and safety features - push button ignition, heated AND air conditioned seats, blind spot warning, park assist, so much I can't remember it all.

She and the girls will certainly have much more room (the trunk is enormous!).

Friday was a normal day with us keeping Lorelai and spending the day playing while finishing up some chores around the house - but something was just off.  I slept until 10:30 am Saturday morning after going to bed around 10 on Friday night - which is VERY unusual for me.  I drank my coffee, took a shower and then Dan and I headed out to the little County Fair down on the circle (sorry, I don't have any pictures).  Saw Marsha, our friend from Michigan, who was our next door neighbor when we lived on Lime.  Then we just walked around a little - I just wasn't in to walking and looking - so we loaded up in the car and headed up to Sebring to go to WalMart to pick up a few things for the Super Bowl (chicken wings) and milk (for Lorelai).  When I got home I told Dan that I just didn't feel good.  I couldn't name the reason why, but I felt bad.

We went to bed Saturday night and I went to sleep with no problem, but I woke up sometime in the middle of the night in intense pain - radiating from my back.  I went into the bathroom then tried to sleep in the guest room, as I didn't want to wake Dan.  I wasn't in the guest room 10 minutes before Jessie came to check on me - followed quickly by Dan.  I told him that I was fine and that I would call him if I needed him.  I was able to doze back off but woke up again - once again in terrible pain - so bad I actually went in and woke Dan.  I tried lying on the couch, on the floor, anywhere I thought I could get that might relieve the pain.  After several trips to the bathroom it finally started to back off.  Dan was ready to load me up in the car and head to the hospital, but I convinced him to hold off.

Well, to make a long story short, the pain finally backed off and I'm doing better.  After doing some research we are pretty sure that I had a kidney stone - which I think I finally passed Sunday morning.  I'm still sore and ache - but I have not had any more of the intense pain.  I'm drinking lots and lots of water and hope that I won't have any other trouble. 

Weather here has warmed back up into the mid 80's and we the forecast for us reports that we will have this type of heat through next week.  I think we jumped from winter to summer!  

Fun!

I'm not even going to talk about the Super Bowl - it was such a disappointment.  While I wanted Peyton to win another title, I really didn't care who won as I like the Seahawks also.  The best part of the game was the commercials - and there really weren't that many good ones.  I really liked the Budweiser commercials (especially the puppy one) and the Doritos commercials were cute - and that's about it.

So, another season is over - and now there is REALLY nothing on TV.  

I'll close with that thought.

Hugs!

Carol

Play offs!

We started the week with really cold weather (for us) - we even put the

electric blanket on the bed and used it; however, we have the air conditioner on now and it has been running all day with temperatures up in the 80's.

The weathermen are saying that we are in for some rain tonight

and then another couple of days of "cooler" weather

(which means highs in the 50 to 60's).

That is one thing about Florida in the winter time - 

if you don't like the weather just stick around for a couple of days and it will change!

I have been keeping Lorelai during the day while Melissa is working from home.  She still has a few more weeks before she is suppose to go back to the office.  I don't know if she is still planning on taking Ady to work with her but I don't think she has been pumping any - so I assume from that that she is. 

Today Ady is one month old.

She is growing so fast.

She is changing so much everyday and staying awake more and more.

 She is starting to be more

aware of things around her.

Lorelai is a doting big sister.  When I go over in the morning to get her she has to kiss Ady goodbye before we leave and the first thing she does when I take her home is give Ady another kiss.

If Ady is crying for some reason, Lorelai runs to find her pacifier.  A couple of weeks ago I went with Melissa to take Ady and Lorelai to the doctor - Ady's first appointment and Lorelai's 18 month check-up.  Well, Ady started crying when the doctor was examining her and Lorelai got upset.  So, when it was time for Ady to get a shot I had to take Lorelai out of the room.

So cute, and funny.

Looks like Lorelai is going to be a protective big sister.

I have been on an organizing and cleaning out "stuff" frenzy this week.

I have cleaned out the desk, all the files, the drawers in the buffet, 

and started working on the recipe notebook.
I still have to work on the closet in the master bedroom and
the guest bedroom.  I am going to go through all my 
clothes and probably get rid of about 3/4 of everything I own.
If it doesn't fit, or I haven't worn it, it's GONE!

There are still some areas that need to be worked on - I want to get my craft supplies organized and Dan has given me a rolling cart that he wasn't using for me to put my supplies in.  That will empty a cabinet in the garage for him to use for some of his stuff.  I would really like to get the garage straightened up again but I think that is a never ending battle - LOL!  But, if anything, I'm stubborn and I won't give up (at least my car is still in the garage).

I also want to go over and really work on the storage unit - I am ready to get rid of about 1/2 of what is in there.  I know that we can't get rid of some of the big furniture pieces - I'm just not ready to get rid of my Hoosier cabinet - and it would be silly to get rid of the top part of the china cabinet even though we can only use the bottom portion in this house.  
But there is stuff that can go away.  I'm hoping to get that done while the weather is still somewhat cool - I sure don't want to be over there working this summer when the temperatures are in the 90's!  

We have also been doing some running around and accomplishing things

 that we have been putting off (or forgetting about) since we sold 
the house on Lime Road a year ago.

We went to the Tax office on Tuesday and renewed my driver's licenses and Dan changed the address on his.  

In the state of Florida you are suppose to change your address within 30 days of a move, but the state charges you $50.00 to change the address and send you a new driver's licenses. That would be $100 for the two of us to change our address when we knew that we would be moving again in six months and have to do it again.  
So, we put it off.  

Plus, now the State is requiring you to have so much stuff to "prove" you are a US citizen - Passport or birth certificate, social security card or medicare card, two different bills that show your current address (one of which has to be a utility bill of some sort), and a tax bill or the closing statement from the purchase of your house or rental agreement with the address shown on the agreement.
Can we say major PAIN in the backside?
(You don't have to have all that to change your address, just
a passport or birth certificate, and your social security card or medicare card.)
However, I was also renewing my licenses so I had to have all the
things mentioned above.)

Anyway, we provided all the information they needed and we are now
"legal".

On Thursday we went into Sebring and filed for Homestead Exemption.  Since we are permanent residents of the state of Florida we can get a slight break on our property taxes - hey, every little bit helps, right?
There was some information we needed there also - Social Security card (again), Florida Driver's Licenses number, Florida car tag number, and the tax bill for the house.  Once again, we provided all the proof that was needed and we were able to get that little chore done.

I know that we did some other running around - but I sure can't remember what it was - but I can say that we think we have everything taken care of that we had to do.

Which brings me to what I do on the weekend -

It's football play-off season and the last two weekends we have games on Saturday and Sunday.  As long as that is going on my weekends are pretty much spoken for - I'm going to be sitting in my chair watching the games.

(Watching New Orleans/Seattle game now.)

Well, I have rambled on and on about a lot of nothing.

So, I guess I'll close for now.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Talk to you later!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

I really hate to complain, especially after seeing

the temperatures in the northeast and northwest.

When you see temperatures in minus numbers

you really feel for those that

are having to deal with

it.

While we have had a very mild winter - temperatures in the 70's or 80's -

however, that is about to change.

The weather men are saying that we are in

for our coldest weather in decades.

Now, even though we are going to be

colder than we have been, it is

no where near what they are expecting

or are experiencing in the north.

I mean when you are talking

about the highs being minus 20 degrees! YIKEES!!!!

That's the actual temperature - NOT wind chill.

Once you add that we are talking minus 60!!!!

The Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49's are suppose to

play a play-off game in Green Bay tonight.

Temperatures for the game - minus 20 degrees!!!

How can they play in that kind of weather????

I just don't understand how the NFL would allow

players to subject themselves to those types of conditions.

(and heaven forbid people actually being in the stadium

to watch them play!)

When you think about these types of temperatures

I really should not complain when they are 

calling for us to have temperatures

in the 30's.

(but darn, if you have ever lived in Florida you 

would know that temperatures in the 30's

are "chilled to the bone" cold)

I hope and pray for all those that will be experiencing these horrible frigid temperatures will be safe and warm.

Okay, enough about the weather, let's talk about what Dan and I have been

up to this last week.

Crystal left to go back to Nashville on Tuesday.  She didn't want to travel on New Year's day - and the weather men were calling for snow on Thursday - so Tuesday just seemed like the right day.  She made it home in about fifteen hours with no weather related issues.  However, Friday she was experiencing brown outs in her apartment complex.  She did let us know that she got power back yesterday - and had spent a lot of time on the couch wrapped up with a blanket and "cuddling" with Madison.

Wednesday, we spent a quiet day at home watching football.

Actually we have spent the entire week watching different bowl games.

Some of the games have been good ones - others, not so much.

The UCF Knights won their bowl game - even though they were the

biggest underdogs in bowl history - and Vanderbilt won their bowl game for the second straight year.

However, some of the big games haven't gone exactly the way I wanted or wished.

For example, Alabama.

In my opinion, they just weren't into the game -

I think one of the commentators nailed the reason they lost - 

some schools WANT to be at the bowl game they are at, and

some WANT to be at a different bowl game.

Alabama WANTED to be at a different game.

Same for Ohio State - 

they just weren't "there".

That being said - the BIG game is tomorrow night.

FSU - Auburn.

I don't know about this one.

Everyone is saying that Florida State is going to dominate - but, that is the best way to LOSE!  

My hope is for a good game - we shall see.

(I'll give my prediction at the end)

Okay - Thursday the fence people came and installed the posts

 and then came back on Friday and installed the fence.

I'm excited that we were able to get this done.

Now, Lorelai can play outside and we don't have to worry about

her going into the canal.  One of my goals

for the new year - spending more time outside with her.

She needs the time outside and she LOVES to be

outside - plus it is so much better for her

than sitting in front of the TV.

Now, I can sit on the back porch and watch her play, or I can

go out and play with her.

Yesterday, Dan and I went out to breakfast at Main Street

  then went by the storage unit and found our electric blanket (told you it's suppose to cold here).  The kids came over for a little while to see the back yard and let the little one run around - and I got to spend some Nana time with Ady.

Then we all went out to lunch at a new place on the circle called the Happy Chef that just opened last week.  Dan and I had their lasagna and it was very good.  The kids had sandwiches and Lorelai had a grilled cheese.

I do think that we will go back  - it is nice to know that there is a nice place to go that you don't have to have FRIED anything.

After lunch Dan and I went into Sebring and made a stop at Michael's to pick up a couple of things that I needed to finish a project that I'm working on.

Then a quick trip into WalMart for dog treats, and few

other necessities - such as fish hooks.

Then it was home again to watch some more football - 

only this time pro games.

Still can't believe that Kansas City lost their game -

and so happy that New Orleans won theirs.

Today we'll watch the next set of pro games and feel for

those in Green Bay - which brings us full circle.

So, I think I have rambled on about nothing long enough.

Before I go I promised a prediction 

for the Monday night game -

so, here it is.

FSU by 7.

(but, I'm still not sure)

See Ya later!

Happy New Year

Just a quick note to wish all of my

friends and family

a very 

Happy New Year!

Also, for those that are interested, I am starting a new blog on Monday.

It will be where I post the decorating, projects, menu's, and

cooking experiences.

I will continue to post here - but it will be more of just a personal

diary - it will probably end up being a lot of Lorelai and Ady - but

there is nothing wrong with that, in my opinion.

If you are interested in following along on the

new blog - just let me know

and I'll give you

the new blog

address.

Thanks to those that continue to read my

ramblings!

Once again -

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Carol