Surgery

I'm trying to catch up on some events that took place over the past few months.  One of these days, I want to print my blog by the year so these posts are a great way to keep a timeline! 

As you all know, my husband had back surgery on June 25th so here are a few photos.

 This was the big "D" before surgery.  He was all wrapped in warm blankets while we waiting for the surgeon.  The day was long, that's for sure.  He was scheduled for surgery at 8:30 and they took him back at about 8:45.  We were told it would take about about 2 hours but, at about the 1 1/2 hour mark the nurse came out to tell me all was going well.  I waited and waited and then at the 3 1/2 hour mark, the nurse came out again and said it was taking a lot longer than expected but all was going fine.  Finally, about 45 minutes later they told me he was in recovery and it would be about an hour.  Well, two hours later, the nurse came out and said he was out cold thanks to pain meds so until he woke up I could "relax" in the waiting room.  Well, to keep an even longer story short, I did get back to see him and was told he would be sent to a room within the hour . . .ready, TWO hours later we were still waiting for a room!!!  He was finally taken to his room at about 6:30 that evening.  Considering the fact that we expected to be in a room by noon that day, well that was just crazy.  Once Darryl was settled in, I went to our favorite Mexican place and picked up some dinner so it made the long day a little better!

 We had a beautiful view out the window of his room - there were storms rolling in - it was pretty cool to watch.

We finally got him sitting up for a bit but he was pretty sick for a few days and in some severe pain which caused our hospital stay to be longer than planned - the doctor had hoped to get us out on Friday but we stayed until Sunday as it took that long to get his pain under control. 

Family Gathering

My oldest brother and sister-in-law, Kel and Deb, and my nephew Micah came home from Brazil in mid-June and we finally got to see them the weekend before Darryl's surgery.   We all gathered at my niece's house for a cook out and lots of laughing.

 My brother, Kel, loves my boys and my boys love him!

 Big and Little kids alike love the hammocks my niece has hung between some awesome huge trees in her backyard.

The boys are in their glory because their favorite person in the whole world was at the gathering - my niece Kate.  They also love Uncle Kenny because he plays with them too.

 It was a beautiful day so we spent a lot of time outside just catching up with everyone.

 My nephew Kaleb is doing an internship in MA but was able to come to Michigan for a week to see his family. 

 Micah - my nephew.  He will be heading of to college this fall . .. he can't be that old, can he?

Kel - my oldest brother - I love him dearly!!!

 My parents.  They look pretty good if I say so myself.

 Ahhh, my sister-in-law Lynnette.  She is awesome

The boys getting beat up :-)

 The host and hostess - Alex and Alicia.

 Nana got into playing some games with the boys.

 My brother Jeff and sister-in-law Nora.  We don't see them often so having them at the gathering was a real treat.

My three brotheres trying to look mean.  Ken, on the left, finds that next to impossible :-)

 Brothers - Micah and Kaleb.

It really was an awesome day.  We laughed, ate, laughed some more and then just sat around and visited for awhile.  I will admit the drive home was long.  The boys had gone home with my parents so it was just Darryl and I - we did a lot of really loud singing with all of the windows open while driving down the expressway during the last hour of the drive but it was well worth the trip!

Homeschool Happenings - K-5

It's July.  I'm sure you all realize that but it hit me the other day that I'll be starting K-5 with the boys in the month of August.  That is next month.  Reality.  Sure, we will be starting at the end of the month but still . . .August seems so close!

I used Darryl's days in the hospital and worked on some lesson plans.  With K-5 it is key (at least in my mind) to find a balance between key subjects like reading, math and phonics, the fun subjects like Science, History and PH and the skills like handwriting and "calender time" all while remembering that at this age you only get a couple of hours out of the kids at the most.  Our schedule is pretty straight forward - I just broke our morning up into 15 or 30 minute segments.  The plan is as follows:
9:00-9:15 - Calender time.  Yes, quick and to the point.  Just going over the date, weather and a little time study.
9:15-9:45 - Math.  We'll go through "Life of Fred" each day for about 15 minutes and then they will have workbox work to do (I'll get into work box stuff at a later date).  They will have Math Worksheet(s) and Handwriting to work on during down time.
9:45-10:15 - Phonics.  We'll work on our SSWR lesson and workbook pages
10:15-10:30 - Break time and snack time as needed.
10:30-11:00 - Reading - This is the time we will work on Five in a Row lessons which will include reading the story and doing some quick activities.
11:00-11:30 - This time frame is busy.  I would like to do some basic US Geography (very, very basic), go through lessons in our Science Magazines, do some PE Lessons on a few days, ect.  We may do some cooking (which counts a science, right?) We may do learning games or computer games during this time too.  So, as you can see, it will vary based on the day.
11:30-12:00 - The boys will need to finish up any worksheets not done and then will be able to do an activity in their workbox until lunch which could include computer time, a game or reading or . .yes, just play time.

I will not be super strict about the time frames.  Some days we may finish Math in 20 minutes so we'll move right on into Phonics.  Or if a reading activity takes longer on a given day we will skip the "extra" stuff that day.

The other strategy I have decided to do is to plan in groups of 6 weeks.  The lesson plans include 5 weeks of straight plans then, week 6 is mostly "catch up" on subjects.  We may be current on everything except Phonics so we'll spend time working on phonics lessons but take a break from the other stuff.  This week is also a great time to plan a field trip or give the boys the opportunity to go to Papa and Nana's house for a few days.  OR this "Sixth Week" allows freedom in the other five for the extra things because I know we can catch up before hitting the next 6 weeks.

The boys are getting excited about school especially when I tell them that by the end of the year, they will know how to read.  I'm excited about it too!  This is what many of my days consist of right now:

 (A Huge stack of books, wookbooks, and printables - trying to organize and figure it all out)

("The Wall" - redoing the classroom wall with only what we need!)

Planning, Planning and more planning!! 

Playing in the Rain

Every since we put up the pool on Father's Day the boys have had fun almost every day hanging in the pool.  A few weeks ago, we had a rainy Friday but the boys wanted to swim in the rain and who am I to say no . . .despite temps that barely were in the 60's HA! 

I was surprised how long they lasted in the cold pool but even after getting out they enjoyed playing in the rain.

 The boys loved riding bikes in the rain too.  Notice that Nate has put on his PJ pants, a jacket and rain boots while Josh braved the chilly rain in just his bathing suit.  Josh is my "hot" kid!!

After spending time in the rain, they came inside to dry off, warm up and do what all boys love to do - play Legos for hours! 

This was the last day the boys were home before being gone for two weeks due to Darryl's surgery so I love that they got to have "special" fun as a great memory!!

Meet Harley

As you know, we lost our cat of 19 years back at the end of April.  At that time, I knew I would want another cat but I just wasn't sure when.  Darryl and I talked about it and decided what kind of cat we wanted and we would just wait until the right one came along. 

At the beginning of June, a former co-worker posted that she needed to find a new home for her cat because her dog was using it as a play toy.  When I said I was possibly interested, he was already "taken".  Then, she contacted me about a week later and said that Harley was still in need of a good home if I was still interested.  Now, Darryl and I had decided on a few musts for a new cat - we wanted a male because they are much more laid back and tend to love hanging with kids a lot more, he needed to be neutered, and declawed.  Well, Harley is a male, about 4 years old who loves kids and he is neutered and declawed.  Not to mention that he is the dark grey/dark brown tiger stripe we both like.  Add to that, he was free.  Yes. free.  Part of what was keeping us back from finding a kitten was the cost and God took care of that part too . I asked a lot of questions and set a date for Harley to come to our home. 

Harley has quickly become a great part of our family.  It took him about a week to a week an a half before he would come upstairs due to China.  Finally, one day, I just hauled him upstairs and sat with him on the couch.  Now that he saw what he was missing, he started to make his way upstairs a lot more.  Harley is a people cat - he loves to be around people and rubs all over anyone that comes close to him.  He is a beast weighing in at about 14 pounds (Compared to Misty who was barely 6 pounds - Harley is a beast!).  One thing we are trying to change is the simple fact that Harley is nocturnal HA!  He sleeps all day and keeps us awake stays awake all night. We really have already fallen in love with this cat - he is so much fun.  He loves to play and be petted.  He and China are still trying to figure out who is boss but we have seen huge improvements over the past few weeks so I have no doubt that in a few more weeks, Harley will be ruling the house HA! 

Welcome Harley!!

Food Friday - Slow Cooker Honey Ginger Chicken

Slow Cooker Honey Ginger Chicken 
adapted from Mommy Hates Cooking

So, this is an awesome recipe but I have a few things I changed.  One, I used pork instead of chicken, two, I did not put ginger in the recipe (we are not ginger fans) and three, I did not have any cornstarch on hand so the sauce was thin.  BUT the flavor, wow, it is good.  I put a pork loin in the crock and then after about 6 hours, I pulled it out and cut it into "chops", laying the chops down in the sauce - perfection!  The pork was fork tender and the sauce was the right combination of salty and sweet.  I can't wait to make it again! 

Ingredients:

• 2-4 Medium Size Chicken Breast (Use your preference on boneless or bone-in/skinless or with skin)
• 1/2 Cup Honey
• 1/2 Cup Soy Sauce or Gluten Free Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Ketchup
• 1 Clove Crushed Garlic
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 8oz Can of Pineapple Chunks, Reserve Juice
• 2 Tbsp Cornstarch
• Cooked Rice (optional)

Directions:

1. Spray a 5 quart slow cooker with non stick cooking spray.
2. Place chicken in the slow cooker. Then add in the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, ginger, and pineapple juice. Save the chunks to garnish the dish at the end.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours.
4. Once done, remove the chicken and place on a plate. Then, stir the juice in the slow cooker (sauce) with cornstarch to thicken it just a bit.
5. Serve the chicken over a bed of rice, garnish with pineapple chunks and drizzle with sauce.

 

Weekly Menu

I figured a good place to get back into posting would be the weekly menu post because, well, it's easy.

Do you have a favorite snack?  I've been searching for "the" snack that would meet the sweet and little salty craving I get.  I've tried peanuts, the new salted-caramel peanuts, cheetos, cookies, animal crackers . . .and nothing really met that craving.  Then, I opened a box of Vanilla Wafers I bought weeks ago and guess what?  They fit the bill!  It's the perfect snack - count out 8 crackers/cookies and it meets whatever craving I have!!

I did not take any food prep photos this week and I should have!   I cut up a whole watermelon, boiled eggs, cooked up bacon (for lunch with leftovers for salad), chopped lettuce and seperated out a huge package of chicken thighs.  One night for dinner last week I put out a salad "bar" for Darryl and I that included chopped bacon, chopped ham, eggs, pickled beets, and croutons.  It was awesome. 

Anyway, here's our menu plan for the coming week:

Friday - A friend of mine asked what she could do for us right now so, she is bringing us dinner.  She is one of the best cooks I know so I know it will be good!

Saturday - My brother, sister-in-law, and niece are tentatively coming for the evening and, if it all works outs, they are buying pizza.  If it doesn't, well, we will order in anyway :-)

Sunday - I kinda have no idea right now . . .  .better decide before I go to the store on Saturday! 

Monday - Our church is graciously bringing us meals a few times a week and tonight is one of those nights.  We are looking forward to a wonderful meal cooked by someone else!

Tuesday - This is leftover night.  Generally when people supply meals, there is extra food.  I do have simple things in the freezer as back up such as ham slices to go with eggs, waffles or pancakes for a quick meal if needed.

Wednesday - Sour Cream Bake - a friend brought us a meal before surgery and it was this recipe.  I loved it and wanted to make it again.  I'll add some rolls, green beans and salad and everyone should be happy!

Thursday - We are looking forward to another home cooked meal cooked by someone else!