4 Year Pictures…

 

We had our 4 year old pictures done a little while ago and we got them back this weekend.  They are terrific. 

Hard 2 Hold Photography always does a super job with Erin.  She is comfortable with both Keelie and Jessica and they manage to capture Erin just as she really is.  She never looks stiff or posed.  I love that they get her spirit on film.  (Saying it’s on film is better than saying they capture her spirit on digital!)

We went to Huntsville for these shots.  We went to 3 locations and had 2 outfit changes.  Erin was so good thru all of it.  It rained on us when we were heading up there but cleared up in time for the pictures.  It started raining again when we left. 

Here’s what we got.  I hope you love them as much as we do.

 

The Dogs…

 

I haven’t updated the blog in a while with Scooby and Mae status. 

Scooby has completely become a part of the family and you would never know we haven’t had him since puppy-hood.  I had hoped that he would calm Mae down a little and help work out some of her bad habits, but that isn’t the case.  She’s made him bad!!!

Scooby is like me and he’s an early riser.  Mae is content to stay in her house a while, but Scoobs is used to getting up before the crack of dawn with me.  He turns in tiny little circles round and round and round dozens of times in a row in the morning inside his kennel until I get up with him.  His little toenails click on the bottom of the kennel and it sounds like he’s tap dancing. 

Tommy still hates both of the dogs.

Speaking of that, about a month ago the gate was somehow broken and they managed to get out at dinner time.  We didn’t even know they were gone.  I was giving Erin a bath when some random woman called the numbers on Mae’s tag.  She was able to catch Mae, but Scooby wouldn’t come close.  So, Tommy had to go pick them up.  He told me later that he wished the lady had never called!

I have to admit that Scooby has become a little annoying at times.  He discovered the squirrels in the back yard along the fence and runs like a crazy man after them.  Even when they are not there… he just runs and barks.  He has worn out a path in the backyard along the fence. 

Eve, the little girl next door was over the other day and told me she wrote an English paper about our dogs.  I asked if it told how they bark all the time and she said yes, and that they’re annoying!  Nice.  Now everyone at Broadway Elementary knows about Mae and Scooby Mize.

I try to be a respectful neighbor and only let them out for a little while and always pull them in if Scooby is in full bark mode.  They actually do spend a lot of time in the backyard without making a peep.  I would be annoyed at them if they barked all the time too, but there is not a lot I can do.  Our neighbors have 2 dogs too and that’s what our dogs bark at most of the time.  If all 4 of them are out there’s a stand-off at the fence.  Josie is a digger and she tries to dig her way into our yard.  Scooby is aggressive with her and tries to put his face in the hole she’s digging.  I’m not really sure what would happen if they ever met up, but it sounds ferocious.

They love that I’m working from home now.  I let them out more during the day and they have more freedom.  The only problem with that plan are the UPS deliveries.  Since I work from home now they are shipping me supplies and things I’ll need for the job.  I get random deliveries every day and the doorbell is public enemy #1.  They go nuts when someone rings the doorbell.  I really don’t know why either.  Scooby taught Mae to do it, but they both run for the door and bark thru the lead glass window as the Man in Brown walks away.

I know they are annoying but they’re part of the family.  I love that Erin has dogs and that she knows there is a responsibility with owning pets.  She gives them treats and helps us feed them in the evenings.  Every kid should have a dog in my opinion.  It’s the best kind of love when you’re young.

A Little Martha Stewart…

 

I don’t post recipes, DIY step by step project instructions or other handy things on my blog, but I have found something I have to share.

My friend Bridgette turned me on to Zote soap bars.  She uses them on her boys baseball pants and loved it.  I gave it a try and it is wonderful at getting stains out of Erin’s clothes.  I was picking up a bar in the Mexican section of the laundry detergent at Walmart when I saw Zote Flakes.  The bar worked so well I thought I would try the flakes. 

I bought my regular box of Tide and mixed the Zote flakes in with it.  Love it!  I’m a genius.

My clothes come out cleaner and if you use the bar Zote directly on the stains and then the mixture, things come out with practically no stains.  Now, some things are beyond removing, but for the most part our clothes are really clean.

I’ll get off my soap box now!  But try Zote Flakes and Tide mixed together.

Early Riser…

 

Erin has always been one to get up early, but lately it’s even earlier.  Up until now, she NEVER got out of the bed until we went in her room to get her.  Now, in the mornings she gets up on her own.  It’s sort of a milestone and sort of a bad thing at the same time.

For the last couple of days, she’s requested Tommy sleep on the couch upstairs so when she wakes up she isn’t alone upstairs.  He didn’t mind at first, but he’s got to be getting tired of couch time.

We leave a little lamp on in the bathroom and hopefully this is just a phase.  This morning she was up at 2:00 and got Tommy to get in bed with her.  I watched on the monitor and then heard them again at 5:30.  She woke up and wanted to watch TV in bed.

I’m not sure how we deal with this new behavior.  She’s waking up to go to the bathroom which is a good thing, but she’s doing it even earlier than before.  I bought one of those am/pm clocks to teach kids when they can get out of bed and she hated it.  This was about a year ago, so maybe I’ll break it out again and see what happens.

In the meantime, we’re up and at it bright and early.

Working From Home…

 

Not surprisingly, I’m really enjoying working from home. I still get up at the crack of dawn out of habit, but I really don’t mind.  I play around on the computer waiting for everyone else to get up. 

Lately our routine is to have me take Erin in the mornings and Tommy picks her up.  The only drawback is that it requires me to get dressed in the morning.  Otherwise, I would be working from home in my pajamas!

I’m doing on-line training until the middle of November when we go live.  From then on I’ll be stationed out of my van.  Yes, stand back and be jealous…I’m getting a huge work van to drive everyday.  Yay!  They take everything out of the back and install a desk and chair back there.  I’ll set up my printer and have a docking station as well.  The premise is to go to inspections and write the estimate and payment while you’re there.  Oh, and don’t forget the huge ladders and ladder racks on the top of the van.   

This is going to be different. 

I’ve already gotten the world’s oldest Blackberry as a company phone.  It’s brand new but I can tell it’s been sitting in a warehouse collecting dust for a while.  I also got my mi-fi jet pack so I will be connected at all times while on the road.  That’s pretty cool and it is the latest version.  I got a printer delivered the other day and a Bluetooth headset.  I’ve always thought people that wear those are a little weird.  I guess SF wants me to be hands free while driving and on a roof somewhere.

I talked to one of the guys on my team and he was telling me about things I’ll need to buy to do the job.  One of them was an expensive pair of roof boots.  The other was a cheap fanny pack.  He said I’ll be able to put everything I need in there.  So, I ordered a fanny pack.  But, in Angela fashion I ordered a purple one.  If I’m going to be on a roof, then at least I’ll bring it with flair.

Disconnected…

 

My in-laws live in the country on a dirt road off a dirt road.  Needless to say, they have utilities problems from time to time.  For the passed 2 weeks they’ve been without internet.  It wasn’t until that happened that I thought about it.  WOW, I would have lost my mind by now.

The first problem was the router so I took one up there and fixed it.  The very next day a storm blew thru and knocked the satellite off balance.  They’ve been waiting for their trusty tech but she seems to be MIA.  My suggestion was calling Geek Squad and paying the arm and leg it will cost them to get over there from College Station.

I think after 2 weeks of being off the grid I would gladly pay them anything. But, then again, my MIL does love the simple life!!

Surgery, Erin Update…

 

We had the surgery for Erin’s ears on Thursday.  Everything went well. 

Texas Children’s really is the bomb.  There are toys everywhere for the kids to play with to occupy their time.  Erin was so busy playing that she didn’t realize we got there at 8:00 and had to wait for her turn until 10:00.  There are bright colors everywhere and you actually forget you’re in a hospital.

When it was time to take her back, Tommy and I went with her.  She put on the hospital pjs and we waited some more.  The Anethesiologist came and talked to us and Erin was very timid with him.  He asked how she was going to do when we separated and I told him she was nervous and would not do well.  So, they brought me a suit and I suited up and went into the OR with them. 

They put her on the table and put the mask on her and I sat beside her talking to her the whole time.  The gas smelled like strawberry and she was fine.  The doctor warned me about what would happen and he talked me thru it as she reacted to the gas.  Kids apparently thrash around and look like they’re having a seizure when the gas starts working.  I knew what was coming but it was scary anyway.  I kept my cool until she was out then my eyes watered up.  The doctor told me I did great so I sucked it up and put on my brave face again.

Tommy was waiting for me in surgery holding and Gram and Pawpaw were in the waiting room.  We went back out to the waiting room and about 20 minutes later they were calling us to the Recovery room to be with her.  She was still crashed out but she came to and sat straight up.  It was the weirdest thing.  She then layed back down and was out off and on.  They gave her a popsicle and try to get her to sit up in the bed but she only wanted to lay down.  I had to feed her the popsicle thru the bed rail!!

We were in Recovery for about 45 minutes and then they let us go.  Her surgery started at about 10:15 and we were on the road by 11:45.  Truly remarkable.  I have all the faith in the world for Texas Children’s.

Dr. Giannoni was fabulous.  She was more personable then the first time we met with her and she put all our fears to rest.  After the surgery she told us that Erin had a lot of fluid behind her ears and that they got most of it, but her right ear was worse and it may continue to drain because it was so far backed up into her ear.  Both tubes were put in and she said Erin would have instant relief.

She was right.  When Erin woke up I asked her if she could hear better and she said yes.  But, she still didn’t hear as well out of her right ear.  The next day she was fine.

Thursday night she started running a fever and I was worried.  I called the TCH hotline and they said it was too soon to be surgery related and that it was probably a virus or sinus infection.  She’s been fighting that without a fever for about 2 weeks.  So, they recommended we take her to our pediatrician the next day.  I made the appointment with our doctor and we went.

She wasn’t running fever Friday and Dr. Leonard said it was probably just her body’s reaction to the drugs and surgery along with the sinus infection.  It’s all connected so they think that’s all it was.  No fever on Friday and you would never know anything was wrong with Erin.  I took her on to school when the appt was over.

Tommy and I have both noticed that she doesn’t need the TV and her Ipad as loud as she used to.  Poor baby just couldn’t hear.

I’m glad it’s all over with and in hindsight I’m glad the whole thing moved so quickly.  It’s better for Erin and it was nice to go to the doctor and have the surgery the next week.  No having it hang over us !

Dr. G and the staff at TCH are great.  Glad we switched to Dr. G as our ENT.