Pics of my slippers.....

They feel like my feet are resting on clouds.....

Mail has been slacking

The past week or so has been so super slow.....the past week & a half i've gotten:

- 3 bras to test from U30 (cute but HUGE!!)
- $30 in amazon gc's
- 4 packs of Extra Fruit Sensations gum from sending a text
- $10 cash for a survey
- "Save the Hooch" tshirt (i'm not sure where this came from, but it's so cute!!)
- my amazon order came today. I actually treated myself to something!!! (I feel SO guilty about it, though) I ordered myself a pair of flip flop spa slippers made by Acorn....they are the most comfy things I have ever had on my feet! I'm a flip flop junkie anyway, and these things are AWESOME!!! I know they will come in handy when I get pregnant, too! I'll post a pic of them soon......

Back again

Ugh, our house phone has been such a mess!!! Sunday night it was working just fine and I was able to get online.....Monday morning the phone line was dead. :( AT&T said the phone would be up and running by Tuesday, and they were semi-right. It was working yesterday morning, but there was horrible static sound....every time I got connected online, I was immediately bumped offline. Two people came out and by 2pm all was working again. :) I asked if they knew when DSL was coming down this way soon, and I was told they were working on it but it would most likely be awhile. SO, I am up and running again online.....well, maybe not "running" since i'm on dial-up! LOL

Anyhoo, I had an appointment with our family doctor to have my meds changed yesterday, and it went great!! I am so glad we switched doctor's........this doctor is amazing!! He took the time to explain things to us and go over everything, and said if we had any questions or concerns to feel free to call him any time. Our old doctor NEVER got on the phone with his patients.....plus, he never really took the time to explain things as it always seemed to us that he rushed us out of the room. (there were other things we didn't like with that doctor, but this is a start) So, I got a prescription for a new blood pressure med and I got six insulin pens to start on once my sugar starts to creep up as I ween myself off of the sugar meds I am on now. I go back to see him the same day I have my IUD removed to make sure all is going well. We are on our way to getting started!!!

SO glad to have internet back!!

Wow, not having internet for 2 days was rough!!! We had a nasty storm come through on Monday that messed with the phone lines, thus no internet until this morning. :( Although, now that I do have internet back, it is sucking big time!! I keep getting bumped offline and it's driving me crazy.

The storm we got on Monday was SO scary!!! The wind was awful....and the rain!!!! There was so much lightning and loud thunder booms as well.....very creepy! We lost power (no big surprise anymore) around 5:45pm and it didn't come back on until 1:45am. It was rough sleeping, let me tell ya! There was a slight breeze blowing, so we opened up the house to get as much air as we could. The crickets/bugs were out in full force, too....the noise they made was SO loud!!! And, twice I heard the coyotes howling.....they sounded like they were right in our front yard at one point. Of course their howling got the neighborhood dogs barking........like I said, it was a long night!! I was dozing off when the power came back on......I jumped up out of bed and got the house closed up while Zane got the window a/c's turned on. Ahhh, it felt so good to feel that air. I got so comfy and settled that I passed out....that is, until the electric kicked back out about an hour later!!! Thankfully, it was only for a few seconds, but from that point on I slept crappy. I kept expecting the electric to kick back off. The next day we found out about the tree's down when we left for the doctors office. There was a huge tree blocking our road so we had to turn around and take a different road. Thank goodness we have an alternate road to use!! Otherwise we would have been stuck here!! The tree was still there when we got back from the doctor, plus we saw lots more that we missed on the way out....such a mess!!!

Yesterdays appointment with the hoo haa doctor went AWESOME!!! I actually saw the nurse practitioner, but I loved her!!! She was so sweet and just friendly in general. Even the nurses were awesome! She said everything looked great, and she was really excited that we were thinking about trying for another baby. She was ready to take my IUD out right there! LOL I told her I still had some thinking to do about it all, but she did talk me into making an appointment to have the IUD taken out next month. I was very impressed with them.....and, I love that they are right there at the hospital. The only downside to it all was their parking.....ugh, it was AWFUL!!! But, I am so glad I found them and will be dealing with them from now on. :)

Speaking of the IUD......Zane and I did some serious talking last night, and we have decided to keep the appointment I have for next month and get the IUD out!! By the beginning of September, we will officially be TTC!!!! I see our family doctor next Tuesday at 3:45pm to get my meds switched over. I'll have to go on insulin and be on different blood pressure meds, but it will all be worth it in the long run. I am SO freakin excited!!!!! By the end of this year, I could be pregnant.......WOOHOO!!!!!!

Ok, i've rambled enough. I need to get off of here and get a few things done. Hope everyone is having a great week so far!!!!!

My big boy helper

So I was in the living room cleaning and Tyler asked me if I was going to go outside, and I told him once I got the living room done and the clothes put in the dryer I would go out for a little while. He said ok and wandered into what I thought was the kitchen. I finished up the living room and sat down at the computer when he comes running back in and says "mommy! come here!" So I followed him into the laundry room and he said "I helped you, mommy!" He had gotten a chair from the kitchen, put it next to the wash machine, taken all the clothes out and put them into the dryer for me. He was SO proud of himself!!! I hugeed him and told him I was very proud of him and he said "Thank you, mommy....now you can come outside with me!!"

Why do they have to grow up so fast?!?!?

Mail so far this month

Well, mail hasn't been too bad......i'm sure it will slow down more since I didn't get to sign up for many freebies while company was here. :(

- Pup-eroni ribs (walmart)
- Dove soap & lotion sample (came in a cute lil' plastic zip bag)
- $3 Pinecone payment (paypal)
- Kotex sampler
- Multigrain cheerios (walmart) yummy!!!
- $5 Livewire check from a diabetes survey
- Proudct test from Pinecone (first one in a LONG time!!)
- Uh Oh doll
- Heinz Ketchup & Pickle pins* (finally!!! they are SO freakin' cute!! I love the pickle pin, especially since I call Ty my lil' pickle)
- Starbucks Houseblend coffee sample
- Red Zone body wash (walmart) it's the scent Zane uses, too....swagger!! mmmm, love that smell!!
- Fedex brought my second photo printer to test.....now to pick which one I want to keep!!!


*I think I am most excited about getting the Heinz pins. I had sent off for them back in February and really, really wanted them. Although, now that we have gotten them and the Honda Little League pins, i'm now wanting to start collecting things like that for Ty......just what I need around here, another collection!!! LOL

Mom!

So I finally got to talk to my mom today! It had been over 2 weeks since i've talked to her, and she sounded amazing!!! She sounded JUST like she did before she got sick...I almost cried hearing her sound like that! She is still in the hospital, but they are working on finding her a nursing home/rehab place that can take care of her, as well as do the therapy she needs. I only talked to her for a minute or so, but I talked to my dad for a few minutes and her said she is doing great. She still doesn't have her appetite back so she has a feeding tube/bag to help with that, plus she has a special bandage that is helping drawal out the infection she still has in/near the incesion that she still needs to use, so that is what is taking so long with finding a home/rehab place. They need to work with her with the bandage and feeding tube/bag, PLUS not be too far away. My dad said they have hopes of her leaving the hospital tomorrow. He also apologized for not updating me so often, and I told him it was perfectly fine! I mean, yes I miss talking to her and hearing how she is doing, but it is so hard on my dad going back and forth from home to the hospital every single day and I understand that.

SO! Once she is in the rehab place it should only be a matter of time before she is coming home!!!!

So sad :(

I'm not sure what is going on with my tomatoes, but I have had two turn red on me but were rotten on the bottom. :( I'm hoping it was just a fluke, because I have several tomatoes that are as big as a softball and would hate to see them turn and end up rotten on the bottom........i'll post some updated pics of them soon.

Company is gone

Well, the in-laws went back home this past Saturday. It feels so good to have my home back! I hate to say it, but it was such a long week with company here. My brother in law was his usual a**hole self. He had Tyler so scared of him the very first night they were here!! I was furious with him. He stayed here a few days then went to Pigeon Forge for 2 days. It was sad, because I told Tyler we were going to go pick up uncle dave and he asked "do we have to, mommy? He scares me." :( It got out of hand one night and I actually had to tell my BIL that if he continued to act the way he does he could pack up his stuff and go home and not come back. And of course, all I hear is "Well, that's just how David is...." Ummm, not in my home he isn't!! I don't care if that's how he acts all the time, there is NO excuse for it at all. I guess it makes him feel more like a man knowing he scared a 4 year old. And of course, my sister in law had to call like I knew she would. That or my mother in law would call her. Hell, they talked for close to 2.5 hours one day!!! Tyler got tired of granny ignoring him so he went in the house and played in the playroom. And the last night they were here, instead of spending special time with Tyler she just had to call my SIL "for a few minutes". A few times my MIL was on the phone Ty was asking me "mommy why is granny not talking to me?" or he'd ask "why is granny not paying attention to me?" How do I explain to a 4 year old something like that? And more than once he walked away from my MIL because she was too busy on the phone to acknowledge him. *sigh* It was a very draining trip, that's for sure.....

Anyhoo, I should be back to posting more regularly now that I can get to the 'puter........:)

Dessert I am making for tonight *updated with some finished cake balls!!*

RED VELVET CAKE BALLS

Ok, I found this recipe here. (BTW, you need to check out her whole site.....LOTS of yummy stuff there!!) I tweaked the recipe somewhat. Instead of cream cheese icing, I used Betty Crocker Whipped Cream whipped icing. I also am going to use Hershey Milk Chocolate to coat the cake balls with instead of chocolate bark.

First, I got the cake batter mixed up, poured and ready to bake:


After being in the oven for 35 minutes:



Once it cooled, I broke it up into a large bowl:



Then I added the icing:



After being all mixed up: (I mixed it up by hand, which is the easiest way...but it is super messy!)



Rolled into balls: (I got 60 cake balls!)



I stuck them in the freezer for about an hour, but haven't had a chance to roll them in chocolate yet. Tyler LOVES them just like they are, though!!!! Once I get pics of them rolled in chocolate i'll post them. :)

Ok, I ran out of chocolate so I didn't get to do all of the cake balls but here are what the finished balls look like. (they may not look pretty, but they sure are yummy...you can see where I took one from!!!!!!!)



Before I make them again I need to learn how to apply the chocolate better.....LOL If anyone out there tries this, PLEASE let me know!!!!!

Counting down the day

Only 3 more days until our company is here!! I'm really looking forward to seeing my in-laws. I can't wait for them to see how big Tyler is!!! He's excited, too......he keeps asking me "how many more days until granny, grandpa & Uncle Dave are here?" I'm just hoping my sister-in law chills out with calling my mother-in law so she can really enjoy Ty, and he doesn't have to keep asking my why granny won't talk with him. Knowing my sister-in law though, i'm sure she'll call constantly. :(

We had such a great weekend! On Saturday, Zane had to work a few hours since he was off on Thursday. He got to work super early so he wouldn't have to spend all day there, which was nice. When he got home, we talked and decided to treat ourselves to dinner. So, he showered and out the door we went.......we ended up having Red Lobster for dinner, and it was AMAZING!!! It also worked out that we had $60 in gc's for there! LOL We ordered an appetizer, which we never do since it can be so expensive. Zane ordered a pretty big dinner called an Admiral's Feast.....it had flounder, fried shrimp, fried scallops, fried clams and fries. Tyler kept saying he wanted seafood....I told him we were in the right place! LOL He got popcorn shrimp with fries, and I got fried shrimp with king crab legs and a baked potato. Plus they supply you with an endless amount of their super yummy biscuits....YUM!!!!!!! I tried Z's scallops and clams for the first time, and they were SO yummy! Tyler even loved both of those. It was so nice to have a sit down dinner like that. Plus, having seafood was a huge plus since we LOVE seafood!! Now I need to work on getting more gc's!! LOL

I talked with my mom on Sunday. She sounded so down. :( I know she has got to be sick of being in that hospital. Now, they have to put a feeding tube in her since she is just now starting to eat better. She went too long without eating and now she needs to have the feeding tube put in. The doctor said once she gets good nourishment into her, she will feel 100% better. Once she is feeling better, they are going to send her to another rehab place, but definitely NOT the one she was at before! She has been going through all of this for almost 2 months now........it is just crazy!!

Well, I guess I should get off of my butt and get more cleaning done.....I still have so much to get done before our company visits. For dinner tonight Zane is bringing home some of those p'zones from Pizza Hut.......ohhhh, I need to make a post about the dessert i'm working on!!!!! I can;t wait to try it!!!!

Mail for the past few days

Well, I haven't gotten the snail-mail for today......i'll update this post if I get anything good. ;)

$10 survey payment from Buzzback
Dove Deodorant sample
Gilette body wash