Easter then and now

This is Easter 2008....what a difference a year makes! Our girls are growing up!!



This is Easter 2009 and the now infamous photo that took us all day to take.

Happy Easter!!!

We had quite the fiasco trying to get photos taken Saturday. The girls were so excited that the place we get photos taken had chicks, ducklings and rabbits again this year for Easter photos. Saturday was the last day for this opportunity and we had a noon appointment. We arrived a few minutes early and found out that their camera had broken and they were trying to get a new one right away. (Why they don't have more than one camera was my question!) Anyway, they were running about one hour late. The girls were getting very hungry and bored waiting that long, but once we got started it looked like we were going to get some really good shots.

After the photos were taken. Jordis had a birthday party to go to. Daddy took her and ZoraLin who was SCARED to death of the big Easter Bunny at the Mall. RaeAnne, Kendalan and I went to see the Easter Bunny, then ate at the Chinese buffet and then we wandered back to the photo studio to see if they had our photos ready to view. We patiently waited for others to finish picking their photos and while we were waiting for them to upload our pictures they helped three other families who came in to pick up their photos. Then the girl came over to me and asked me if my other girls were in the mall somewhere?! Seems that they had LOST our photos and we had to return last night at 7:30pm to have them retaken! Out of the batch of retakes, only one photo was half way okay....and if it wasn't for the fact that they had told us it was free because of all the mix up...I don't think that we would have even picked one! I will pick it up Tuesday. However, I think that the photo of Rae, Kendalan and the Easter Bunny turned out pretty cute!



After the girls finally went to sleep last night, the Easter Bunny's helpers were quick to get the baskets out and packed full of goodies. The Easter Bunny was pretty tired last night and it was still raining cats and dogs outside, so the baskets were left on the kitchen table. ZoraLin was the first up at 7am and of course, she had to wake up everyone else to let them know that the Easter Bunny had left them each a basket! They were very excited and each couldn't wait to see what the bunny had brought especially for each one!




It has been a cold, rainy Easter for us. What a good time to stay inside and color Easter eggs!

Happy Easter from our house to your house!!

Follicular Neoplasm

So they tell me. It is 2 x 5 cm. in size and is on my right thyroid gland. I felt a lump in my neck sometime in October. I was battling sore throat #23 of the season and I was rubbing my throat as I swallowed trying to see where it hurt the worst. At first I thought I was wrong, I must be pushing too hard on my throat and just think I feel a lump. But the lump was still there a few weeks later. ZoraLin had an appointment with one of our ENT's in December. So after he told me that her hearing was fine I asked him to just take a feel of my throat and tell me what he thought. He says, "Oh, there is definitely a lump, you should go see one of the endocrinologists." Of course, you can't just call the endo doc's office and get an appointment. You first have to see your primary physician who will decide what they want to do. (In this case, lab work and then a thyroid ultrasound.) Then you can get a referral to the endo Dr. who wanted to do a fine needle biopsy.

Then the endo doctor has the results of the biopsy. Next stop...back to the ENT surgeon who felt the lump in December! Surgery is scheduled for April 27th. They expect me to be off work for 2 to 3 weeks. Benign? Won't know until it is all removed and pathology has a chance to dissect it. Not exactly the vacation I was thinking of this summer. In fact, looks like it will be the only time off this summer because I don't have much extended illness time-off or vacation time to use. The endocrinologist tells me that for being a pretty simple procedure, it can really knock you for a loop. Just what I always wanted to be......loopy!!

Hard decisions....revisited.

Sometimes things don't always work the way we think they will. Take for instance, Pugston going to live somewhere else. The day that Pugston was supposed to go meet his new family, ice happened. Then work happened, then somehow I softened a little and maybe Pugston realized his days were numbered. After a new gate was installed to keep him out of the bedroom, bathroom and laundry room, we also "fixed" the stairs so he can not get down them. Of course, it is an extra step we must take to get around things too, but for Pugston and the girls....it is a great LEAP!



I'd say that Pugston may have figured things out at the right time and Mother Nature helped give him the extra time. He knows which girls to give his kisses too!

The latest Fashion.......

Kendalan has really been into picking out her own clothes lately. She gets very upset with Mom when I ignore her and pick out the clothes that I want her to wear. Sometimes she will listen to my reasoning of why she needs to wear play clothes to "play" and leave the dresses for a day when we are going somewhere. Somedays when she is not getting me to cooperate with her choices she will then ask me "Mom, do you work tomorrow?" Yes! She knows that Daddy will let her pick what she wants!

And then there are days that I am not sure what line of fashion she is trying to be in. Like these two outfits. Yes, she agreed that she was a bucket head while sporting the leftover Valentine's bucket. However, I thought she was a chef or surgeon or maybe a mix of both with the apron and surgical cap. She just put her hand on her hip and told me very matter of factly, "Mom, I'm just a people!" Okay sweetie, what ever you say punkin pie! Whatever she is....I think she looks pretty cute!!! Of course, I am kind of biased!!

Spring?

It seems like just a few days ago I was posting about new shelves in the garage and how nice the weather was.....oh yeah, it was just a few days ago! Gotta love Kansas weather! The saying is, "If you don't like the weather wait a few minutes and it will change!" And change it did! Good thing the girls wanted to get some sledding time in. They had ample time today before the snow melted. Now our backyard looks like a swamp!

Hard decisions........

Being a parent has many joys. Unfortunately along with all the fun there are decisions that we must make that can be hard not only on the parents, but on the children too. We have had to make one of those hard decisions here recently. As much as our family has enjoyed having a new pet, along with the good times come the bad. Pugston has become quite the problem dog. We had been told that he was "mostly" housebroken. Well, he has "mostly" decided that our basement is his bathroom. No matter how many times or how far the girls or I walk him, he evidently wants the privacy of the basement to do his "duty". He does poop outside some of the time, but we clean up fragrant piles downstairs several times each day too. I have also discovered that he has been peeing on things down there too. Eeewwww! ZoraLin was not very happy that he watered her pillow and blanket the other day. I never knew that Clorox could smell so good!


Seems he also has this chewing issue. We have spent a small fortune on toys and chew bones for him, but even so he has this infatuation with Berber carpet. He can get his teeth caught in the Berber and then shred the carpet. Bad Dog!!

He also pretends to not know us at times. Those times are when we think he needs to stretch his legs and we let him off his leash to run with Wyatt. He thinks he needs to visit the cows that live WAY across the busy street. No matter how loud we call him, off he goes without a care in the world! No matter how much traffic there is, he crosses the road without a sidewards glance! Even the girls are already tired of cleaning up after and walking him. So we have found someone who wants Pugston and we will be taking him there this weekend. I thought there would be more tears to deal with....everyone agrees with me on this one.