More Recovering and Good News

I thought this surgery would be an easy one. Compared to a joint replacement or a spinal fusion, I didn't anticipate much of a recovery. Was I ever wrong!

Last Friday I had several procedures done including a D & C to remove polyps, the removal of a large and growing external tumor, and a laparoscopic bilateral sapingo-oophorectomy. After the first twenty-four hours the pain has not been too bad, and I got the good news yesterday that everything that was biopsied came back as benign.

It's five days post op now and I am still quite tired and needing my naps. I was taking two a day initially but on Tuesday I made my first foray out of the house to pick up some things for Titan's quiet book at JoAnns. Only one nap coupled with walking around a store was all it took - I was exhausted and pretty much useless after I got home!

I have four places to go today (picking up my new glasses, the post office, visiting teaching, and to a Lip Sense/LulaRo party) and hope I can hold up.

Titan's Quiet Book

I make each grandchild a quiet book for their first birthday. Due to last summer's upheaval (our moms died and I had a spinal fusion) I made little progress on Titan's and thus missed his first birthday in August. I began sewing in earnest in January after the holidays were over, and finally finished it today!

Since Titan's middle name is Rex, it seemed appropriate that there be T-Rexes and other dinosaurs on the cover fabric!

 A tying activity on the cover page.

 An old favorite that has appeared in just about every quiet book I've made is Katy Caterpillar.

I redesigned this page by making the garage much, much larger than the one in the pattern book. Inside are two Matchbox cars for Titan to play with.

Another family favorite. My mother had the idea to add the bees and the dotted lines indicating their flight patterns. She helped me make a few of these books, and so when I added those dotted lines, I felt very close to her. Nice to know a piece of her is still in her great grandchildren's books.

I'm not much of an artist, but I can look at pictures and then try free handing some cattails and rushes!

This is a brand new page that I designed for Titan.  I couldn't figure out a feasible way for the caterpillar to chew holes in the food as he does in the book, so I made it a page where he chose the foods he wanted to eat and put them in the basket.

Another redesign page is this football. It is supposed to be sewn down onto the page, but that makes it very hard to lace. So, I made a loose football that attaches to the page with velcro. And, I drew the crowd/grandstand. Jessica and Andrew are Seattle Seahawks fans.

Another oldie but goodie. I embellished the bucket with Titan's initial and added a circus tent appliqué to the background for interest.

 I designed this page for Braden and Kyle. My kids loved the story, Caps for Sale, so the monkeys originally were being scolded as they are in the book. I changed it so it goes along with the jingle, Five little monkeys, jumping on the bed! I hid a monkey under the bed - I hope Titan likes that!

 A BYU patch reflects where both Jessica and Andrew went to school.

I created this page originally for Whitney. The cow has a real bell attached to it, and you jump it over the moon. I had planned to add a wordstrip saying, "Jump the cow over the moon" on the blue felt, but there just wasn't enough room.

Lastly, I drew this dino for Ian's quiet book. It's a bit large and needs to be resized, but it's still fun. I use pinking shears to open the zipper, and that gives the effect of teeth.

Now that Titan's is done, I am going to begin working on Mila's. I have her book all planned out so I'll be able to jump right in tomorrow morning.

Recovering

Craig snapped this photo of me as I was trying to wake up from the anesthesia on Friday - something I don't do very well.

I was trying to wake up but just could not keep my eyes open! I'd drink a few sips of water or eat a small spoon of applesauce, and then back to dozing I went.

I did finally wake up and we got home around 6:30 PM. I am feeling pretty well, but had difficulty sleeping once I got home. The irony!

Shipping Boots? In Surgery??

Yesterday I had surgery and several procedures done. Since I have had a lot of surgeries (13 prior to yesterday) I wasn't nervous or anything, but I was anxious to get the two hour surgery done so I could  move forward.

When you have had that many operations, you have seen a lot of needles, tubes, meds, and other items needed for the surgery. Even the nurse who prepped me for yesterday's surgery was familiar - she prepped me last year when I had my spine fused! (We had a nice time catching up.)

Blood clots are a complication from surgery, and a dangerous one at that. I'm used to wearing Tens stockings post op, but I don't remember ever wearing compression devices during surgery. So when the prep nurse put these on, it was a surprise. And, it made me laugh!

(Both photos are file photos from Google image search.)

The nurse set those out on my gurney and told me she was going to put them on and why. Inside, I was giggling. They sure looked like shipping boots for horses!

See the resemblance? Since the nurse is not a horsey-girl, I didn't say anything about that to her, but I did to Craig after she left. He thought it was funny, too.

Groompa Camp Begins

Groompa Camp! A time when we grab our grandchildren, ditch their parents, and have fun! It began ten plus years ago with JC and Trinity, and we have taken it to Florida and done it with Kyle's kids, too. Ian and Mila are a little young for camp, but we decided we would try a day camp and just do mornings with them this summer.

Tuesday was our first day. Vanessa dropped the kids off at 8:30 and traded cars with me so we could go on a field trip.

We began camp with an activity - painting sun catchers.

 Ian went to town with his!

 While Mila needed assistance from Boompa.

He did a spaceship while she did flowers. After the sun catchers were done and drying, I put ribbon loops on them so the kids could hang them up at home in their windows.

Then we hopped into the car to take some apple spaghetti and carrots to Abby.

 I won't say too much about that since I already blogged about it in a previous post.

 But what I didn't blog about was our tour of Tim's carriages, wagons, and buggies in the new barn!

 Ian especially was fascinated by the line up of all the vehicles.

 Craig helped the kids into the paddy wagon....

 ... and the family surrey.

 Me, Mila, Ian.

 The buckboard wagon.

After a brief rest on the benches by the door to the new barn, we headed out to Prophetstown. Aunt Leslie was waiting to give us our own personal tour of The Farm at Prophetstown.

 We had barely arrived before we saw animals - a duck relaxing in the grass by the berry bushes.

 Then, Ian spied a chicken hopping out of the hen house.

 Aunt Leslie showed us some freshly laid eggs - they were still warm!

 Ian watching the sheep and goats.

 Mila copies her big brother.

Just as he'd liked Tim's vehicles, Ian was thrilled to go into the shed storing the farm's wagons.

 We sat on a hay wagon with Aunt Leslie and played with the hay. (It smelled so good!)

 Then we explored the trolley that the farm uses to ferry visitors around the sites.

 Aunt Leslie drove an antique tractor around for a while.

It took a bit to get Ian to leave the implement shed behind, but soon we were on our way again.

 We visited the miniature horses. (Ian showed a real interest in the maps and signs on the property.)

 The pigs were wallowing in a lovely mud bath.

 Ian and I both got spattered with mud when one of the hogs got out of the mud and shook himself.

 We petted Elmer, one of the farms' rabbits.

 Mila was a little hesitant and needed some help.

And Ian rang the farm's dinner bell.

Sisters!

All in all, we had a lovely first day of Groompa Camp. Sadly, Boompa became ill at Prophetstown and I did as well an hour or so later. We both had the stomach flu and had to cancel our temple service that evening and the next two days of camp.

The plan is to reschedule later this summer when we can all get our calendars to align.

They're Big Animals!

Since I am around horses so frequently, sometimes I forget how big they might appear to a small child.

Yesterday, Ian and Mila, two of my grandchildren, came with me to the barn to take Abby some "apple spaghetti" (peelings from having made apple crisp.)

 Mila was okay with approaching the gate, but Ian hung back despite my best efforts.

 I picked Mila up so that she could pat Abby's nose...

 .... but when Abby reached out to say "hello," Mila leaned back away from her.

I showed Mila how I fed Abby, but she was content to stay on my hip and just watch.

I tried to encourage Ian to come up by making some jokes, but it didn't work.

As I look at these pictures of me holding Mila, I can't help but think back to a year ago prior to having had my spine fused. Back then, I could not even hold Mila as it was simply too painful! I could barely stand for more than a few minutes, and had some real concerns about becoming wheelchair bound in the near future. Go here to read about my first visit with Abby post-op.

Anyway, I'll take Ian and Mila out again this summer and I am sure that, as they get used to being around the horses, they will warm up to them. They are, after all, my grandchildren with horsey blood in their veins!

BBQ Brazilian Style!

There are a several Brazilian families in our ward, most of whom came here to get their MBAs from Purdue. Some are still in the process, others, like the Castro family, have become residents post graduation and are working on getting their green card to stay.

We are very good friends with Wagner (pronounced "Vagner") and Jackie. So are Curt and Vanessa as Curt and Wagner got their MBAs together plus, since Curt served his mission in Brazil, they can speak in Portuguese together making communication easier at times. (Wagner speaks English very well but Jackie came here as a non-English speaker. She does really well now!)

A few weeks ago, Jackie approached me at church and said she knew I was busy as it was the end of the school year and said she'd like to cook me dinner. I was touched by her generosity, and although we didn't get it scheduled before school dismissed for the summer, it still touched my heart!

Friday night was the big night, and the food was delicious. I don't know the names of everything, but we had steak that was grilled and then cut into strips, rice, a salad made with a powdered vegetable from Brazil (it looked like bread crumbs), bacon, and hard boiled eggs, and another salad with cubed potatoes and carrots in it. For dessert we had a pudding shaped in a ring and cinnamon roles.

Jackie, Curt, Vanessa (with Ian photo bombing over her shoulder as he sits atop the slide), and Wagner.

Ian and Pietra playing in the sandbox. Brenda and Ingrid, Pietra's sisters, are twelve and ten. They mostly hibernated in their rooms.

 Mila was so proud of herself as she conquered the slide.

Unfortunately, she toppled over the side and did a face plant right after I snapped this. (She was okay.)

After dinner, Wagner pulled out his guitar and began playing for us. 

 He's an accomplished guitarist.

 Jackie, Curt, Craig, Pietra, and Ian share a laugh.

 Vanessa and Ian.

Vanessa and me.

We sang and laughed and chatted until almost 10:00! Curt has often spoken of how much he likes Brazilian food; I can see why. Thank you, Castros!