Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho, it's off to Cincinnati we go!

I know I haven't updated in a while since little M2's surgery, but he is doing just fine. After his surgery and stay in the Complex Airway Unit at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, he came home to recover. And did so, wonderfully. Dr Cotton had said after the surgery that he wanted to see M2 back in no less than 6 weeks, and true to their scheduling M2 is headed back to Cincinnati tomorrow morning, 6 weeks to the day of his Airway Reconstruction Surgery.

Waiting in Pre-Op for a new airway.
M2 had a bit of a hard time at first, having a new airway means learning how to breathe, eat, drink and talk all over again. He did fine with the breathing, and not to bad with the eating, but the drinking and talking was a different story. When we were discharged M2 hadn't even tried to form a word, let alone try to speak one. We were told that was normal and to let him heal, he would start talking again when he felt safe doing it. And true to their word, M2 started talking, laughing and even crying again about 1 1/2-2 weeks ago.
He came home on 'thickened' liquids, meaning we put Simply Thick into anything he drank so that he won't aspirate on his liquids. When he first starting drinking again (about 3 days after surgery) every time he took a drink it came back out of his trach. So when we first came home we were putting 2 packets of thickener in every cup of milk. We've slowly stepped it down aver the last 6 weeks, and last week he was back to drinking regular fluids with no aspirating!!!

Playing in his bed in the Complex Airway Unit after his airway surgery.

So tomorrow we are going back to Cincinnati, Dr Cotton will take M2 back into the OR put a scope down his airway and look around. If everything looks like it's healing well M2 will go to a room and his trach will be capped! Which basically means he will have to learn to breathe, eat, drink and talk again!!

Hubby buckling M2 into his car seat to come home after the last surgery. Do you see that he is clapping his hands??

If he can do all of those things and keep his oxygen stats up he will come home with a capped trach! Which means we are one more step closer to getting rid of the trach!!

So hopefully we are home by the weekend with a happy little boy with a capped trach and he can continue doing what he does best. Playing and bringing smiles to the faces of the people who love him!!

Howdy Ya'll, Welcome to the Farm!

The Birthday Boy, this is my favorite picture of him!!
M1 likes tractors. A lot. So it was no surprise when he decided he wanted a 'tractor party'. I tried to convince him that a pirate theme would be much more fun (I had visions of a treasure hunt, complete with treasure chest) he insisted that he did in fact want a tractor party. So the John Deere invitations were sent out, and the house took on a farm theme.

The guests were welcomed by a sign, hay bale and tractor. Along with pumpkins, mums, corn stalks and scarecrow (which will stay up and double as fall decorations).

The decorations were pretty simple, we sponsored alter flowers at church the morning of the party. I had called the florist to see if the arrangements could be all yellow, to keep with the green and yellow of the John Deere tractors. They were nice enough to oblige. Here's a picture of one of the arrangements and one of the decorated tables. I literally just put vegetables from the garden on the tables and buffet for decoration and it turned out great (and cheap)!!

Keeping with the farm theme, I made a farm cake..

Close up or the barn...

I thought I had taken a picture of the buffet table but I guess not. We served hamburgers and hot dogs, pasta salad, cheese and crackers, chips, pretzels and dip and watermelon. It was a hit!

Thank goodness it was such a nice afternoon (Sept 13, I'm a little behind posting) and most of the party took place outside.

These two are going to worry me when they grow up...

M1 and all the presents...

Ready for cake and ice cream....

I the 'tractor party' turned out pretty good. The decorations were beyond easy, and cheap!!

My NEW Mudroom

I've always wanted a Mud Room. When we decided to move last year, we didn't want to have to move again until the boys had left and we needed to downsize. And as with most people we had a LIST of stuff we wanted in our new house. A mud room was on my list, so was a craft room (I had one in the old house). However when we got an offer on our old house it was Jan 1, and we had to be packed and moved by Feb 9, and little M2 was due in March! Leaving not a lot of time for searching.

The moment we walked into our house I was instantly in love. It was exactly what I wanted. Except it didn't have a mudroom (or a craft room but that's another story).

After living there for a couple months I quickly decided that the first floor laundry "room" was not going to work out. And my mind started spinning. Hubby agreed that it wasn't working and told me to figure out what I wanted. I wanted a mudroom. But the laundry "room" was off the kitchen, and the door to the garage was around the corner by the front door. So Hubby and my Dad did what any good Do-It-Yourselfer would do. They moved our garage door to the laundry "room" instantly creating a Mudd Room!!

The room is a weird shape, kind if line an oblong triangle. I drew a picture of what I wanted and Viola! Hubby built me a mudroom!

That's the garage door to the right. My washer was where the 'built in' is and the dryer was where the door is. It was a tiny and cramped space. The washer and dryer have been moved to the basement. Right now it's an unfinished basement. But I'm sure that will change too!

Each family member has their own hook above the bench, Hubby also added an extra hook 'for guests'. Although I'm glad there is a hook for our guests I'm pretty sure that was a hint that he wants another M.

The built in is stocked full of baskets and is a great overflow for things from the pantry and the kitchen!

Here's a close up of one of the M's hooks. We bought a standard black hook from the hardware store and then I bought letters from the craft store and painted them black with polka dots. Just a fun little touch.

This is also where my key hook hangs, it all ties together pretty well. I think my Dad and Hubby did a great job in a very small space! Now if we could just get the garage cleaned out enough that we could park in it and actually use the mudroom that would be great!

Not me!

It's Not Me Monday!!

I did not change M2's poopy diaper on a bail of hay Saturday nite with nothing under him. I would never do that, I always change him on appropriate places like a changing table and laying on a changing pad!

We did not swing through McDonald's drive thru on Saturday afternoon and let the boys eat Happy Meals in their carseats so that we could save travel time by not stopping.

I did not complain to a store manager this weekend about how incredibly rude one of the workers at the store was to both me and her co-workers. That store manager did not in turn tell me that the worker was already on her way out and then proceed to fire her. I also did not get a very pretty fall flower arrangement from the store for my troubles!

I did not ask Hubby to dig out the Halloween tubs last night 'just in case' I want to look through them this weekend!

What did you not do this week?

The Mouse is in the House

A friend's daughter turned 4 last Friday and as always I was in charge of the cake. You may remember her sisters cake from here. This little one was having a Mickey/Minnie party. Minnie appeared in her best dress, pink and purple of course. I put pink food coloring in the cake mix and the cake was about the same color of pink as Minnie's dress.
It was a hit, she loved it.

And for her actual gift from us, a pink and purple tutu. Home made by yours truly...

with a princess crown to match!

Now I just have to make a tutu for M1's future wife, her birthday is fast approaching!

It's a Jungle in there....

You know what (one of) the best things about being a Mommy and owning your own house is? Getting to decorate your house however you want, even if that's with 'kids eyes'.

You see when I was a child I wasn't allowed to hang things on the walls of my room or my bedroom door. I wasn't allowed to paint the walls or anything like that. My room had white walls, mauve curtains, blinds and carpet. With, guess?, a mauve bedspread. Needless to say I hated that. When I got pregnant with M1 his room was decorated with dinosaurs, M2's room is with rockets (I'll take pictures and share some day). And their bathroom, well it's decorated with a bit of a Jungle theme. Actually if I remember correctly it's called 'Monkey Business'. How fitting!

This is the shower curtain, looking into the bathroom from the hallway it looks pretty basic right?
Wrong!! The newly painted 'Vanilla Chocolate' walls got another paint job. A palm tree, a monkey, a giraffe, some grass, flowers, a cloud and a ...
...bird have all moved into the bath. I LOVE every bit of it. Every time I walk in here I have to smile!!

Here's the sink and accessories that match the shower curtain....

The monkey is swinging from a palm tree branch that is behind the mirror and sink.
Doesn't he just look so ornery?
And seriously!?!? Could think guy look any happier? I mean he is just oozing with cheery-ness (is that a word??)

Doesn't that face just beg you to be his friend?

This is the rug that matches the accessories. I am seriously considering painting the vanity that blue color. It's the standard oak vanity but the sides of it are a little scratched up.

I also think I am going to paint the trim of the medicine cabinet in a zebra strip to match the sides of the soap dish. It's oak and boring!!

All in all this project cost me NOTHING! We already had those bathroom accessories, shower curtain and rug, I free handed the animals in chalk from looking at the shower curtain and then used craft paints that I already had to paint the chalk outlines. After the paint dried I took a black paint pen and outlined everything. I did the animals and the tree during nap time, and added the flowers, grass, cloud and outlines after the boys went to bed. All in all it took me maybe 4 or 5 hours.

If I wasn't so in love with my own bathroom I would definitely move into this bathroom!

I'm up to my ears in stickers!

As I mentioned last week, M1 gets a sticker for learning his Bible Verse at school every week. So far we are 2 for 2. Not to mention he manages to score stickers every where we go, and he usually leaves Target's Dollar Spot with a sheet every time we stop in there.

Most of the stickers end up in a basket with his coloring books and he uses them as he colors. Seeing those stickers he's getting for reciting his Bible Verse took me back to childhood. I remember sitting in my friends room showing each other stickers from our sticker book and suddenly I felt M1 Had.To.Have a sticker album. One problem, they don't make sticker albums like they use to! (Wow, I sound old!) These days stickers come in a book, no blank pages to stick stickers!

So I made one!
I picked up a sketch pad from Michael's (using a 40% off coupon of course)
Picked out some scrapbook paper measured it to cover the front and wrap around to the inside cover as well.

I attached using Martha's Brand of Mod Podge stuff. If I were to do it again I would use something different to attach. This made it too wet and even after it's dried you can tell it was too wet. But it's for a soon-to-be 4 year old, who will carry it around and probably trash it in no time so I'm not overly concerned.

I sat a heavy book on the top while it dried. (Adult Beverage is optional) Waiting for it to dry was the hardest part!!

After it dried I decorated it with, well, stickers and ribbon!

I also added some of his stickers to the first couple pages to help get him started!

I had so paper scraps so I added those as well for color!

Update: This was part of his birthday present and he went nuts!! He loves his book! More on his birthday to come, it was a John Deere theme party!!

Has anyone seen my soapbox?

There it is!!

Give me a minute let me climb up here.

I don't do this often but every once in a while I just gotta get it out!!

~~Jon Gosslin, you are an ASS! I mean seriously??? You can not go on national TV (thanks ABC) and say that you despise the mother of your children and then follow that up with everything I do is for my kids. Hey Moron, they are going to see that clip some day!! And the twins are old enough to understand what you just said.

And really? You don't know why every one thinks you are out drinking and partying all the time? Are you seriously that stupid. You, at a bar, drinking and smoking with girls hanging on you are on the cover of every tabloid. Those tabloids might make stories up, but those photos speak for themselves. Is the partying, drinking and smoking for the kids too?

And one last thing douchebag, you called the cops on the MOTHER OF YOUR CHILDREN!?!?! How are you going to explain that to the kids!?!?!

Ok, I lied, this is the last thing. Kate just got a Playboy offer. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

~~The Haters of Duggers. Yes, they have 19 kids. That sounds like a lot to me, but I can barely handle the 2 I've got. Have you seen how good those kids are? If my kids were that good I might have 19 too! (Hubby, I'm just kidding!!) So everyone is bitching that they have too many kids. But guess what people, you are not raising those kids, the Duggers are. The kids seem happy and they are getting an education. And guess what?? They DON'T collect welfare. Leave them alone!

~~OSU Buckeyes, Could you bring your game on Saturday. Please?!? You are going to be playing USC on Saturday. U.S.C. Got it?? Try not to forget how to play ball. Yea, you won last week against Navy. Barely. It was Navy! Try not to get your faces smashed in this weekend!

~~M1, when did you get this big? Seriously, you are (almost) 4?

Wasn't this picture taken a week and a half ago?? (Not to bad for 18 hours of labor huh???)

I know this picture was taken last Saturday, right? This was your first OSU game, you were 3 days old. This was last Saturday before the Navy game right?? Right???

How can he really be almost 4????? John Deere Birthday Party on Sunday, Birthday on Monday!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!

Here in Buckeye Country Football Season started last Saturday. Our beloved Buckeyes have taken the field, and the season has started.

With Football Season comes a change in decor!! It's easy to decorate for a sport. Just show your team colors!! Just like the inch worm here.

These little guys were added to the Scarlet and Gray collection last year. I just love them. The big guy did have a buckeye around his neck but I think a squirrel stole it from him last year. I'll have to pick another from the Buckeye Tree and stick back on his necklace.

Yes, we have a Buckeye Tree.

New this year is a wreath for our front door. I struggle every year to find a 'not so tacky' scarlet and gray wreath. This year I think I have succeeded. I used the same idea as this wreath, and TA-DA!! I LOVE IT!

Also new this year is this GINORMOUS OSU Flag for the garage.

And of course, no garden is complete with out a Garden Gnome. This one just happens to be a Buckeye fan as well! And that garden flag we have had since the first year Hubby and I were married. It's looking a little bad but it's bad luck to change a flag in the middle of the season (or something like that) so it will be retired at the end of the season. Which hopefully (although doubtful) will last until January.On to the inside....
This little guy has decided to spend Football Season on my end table.

See the football decor here?

Need a closer look? The football is taking a break until next Saturday in my Scarlet and Gray Longaberger Basket.
And these are the Cat's Meow of the Buckeye Decor (HAHAHA, Get it?)
We have 5 doors leading into our kitchen and the Buckeye Cat's Meow sits on 3 of them. These guys are out year 'round.

Do you decorate for football season?