Bowling alley in our driveway

Anyone who knows us well knows that Hubby is an avid bowler. He has something ridiculous like 30 300's (yes, you read that right, 30 perfect scores!),  high average of 242 and a high total of 865 (that's for 3 games for you non-bowlers). So, I guess it's only natural then that Lovebug would want to pretend bowl while we were playing outside on Sunday. (Hubby was in the house installing our ceiling fans in the bedrooms, woo hoo!)

So, first he gave me a basketball and told me that we were going to bowl on the driveway. It's so funny because he bowls lefty (I think he's going to be a lefty, he bowls and bats that way) and he has great form. When it was my turn he told me to make sure I lifted my leg up, LOL. We did that a couple of times and then he decided that we couldn't get our balls back anymore because we didn't have a machine to bring them back to us. So, we would bowl and they'd have to stay at the end of the driveway. Hmmm, that creates a problem because we only have so many basketballs.

So, out comes the chalk and Lovebug asks me to draw a machine to bring the balls back. So, I of course draw a "ball return machine".  (ignore the flower going through it and the fireworks around it, that was from earlier in the week).

 This is a picture of the top of the ball return machine and you can see the balls next to it waiting to be used. Yup, it's a bit crooked because I was trying to finish it in the middle bay of our garage and had to curve that way. Who says that a ball return machine can't have curves anyway? Again, ignore all of the random drawings around the alley, those are leftovers from the other day.

So, now we had our ball return machine but we of course now need some chalk bowling balls. So, under the watchful eye of Lovebug, I was doing all of the drawing and he was doing all of the supervising and telling me what to draw, I drew a bunch of bowling balls. And if you're a bowler, you'll notice that I even made a Storm bowling ball.

And I kept drawing because for some reason, no matter how many I drew, it wasn't enough. You'll notice that this one contains a "spare ball", it came out more crooked than the others so I decided that it made a nice spare.

And in this one, other than the "daddy" one and the one that looks like an Easter egg I was trying to get that marble look that all bowling balls seem to have. Kinda hard to do with chalk.

So, after we were done drawing all of the above and I use the term "we" lightly. We pretended to pick them up and bowl and then of course the balls came back up the ball return machine. Around this point Hubby came out and pretended to bowl with us. Then Lovebug kept telling me that I needed to make the hole, I had NO idea what he was talking about. I asked if he meant where the bowling pins were but he didn't really say, so I drew a square and that wasn't good enough so Hubby added in the "pins".

So, there you have it, the bowling alley in our driveway. What's funny is that we've never brought Lovebug bowling, he's been to a bowling alley to watch Hubby and he has a play bowling set but he's never been bowling. I guess we'll have to do that some rainy day.

Addition: Phew, it's a good thing that I took these pictures last night when I got home from work. We haven't had rain in quite a while but it poured early this morning and washed everything away. I'm glad I didn't wait another day to do it.

July 16th's 5 Question Friday

So, I'm sitting here waiting for my thirty-one party to start. Have a bit of down time before everyone arrives. Have you seen the thirty-one products? They are ah-maz-ing! Check them out Thirty-One. So, what better would I do with my time than a little Five Question Friday from Mama M, I mean, I could be cleaning the rest of my house but I'd much rather sit and relax for a few minutes. So, here goes. There were some tough questions this week.

1. Do you collect anything? Do dust bunnies count? LOL, Ok, why is my font freakishly large? I can't figure out how to get it the same size as the font up above..weird! Back to the question. I suppose I could say that I collect Department 56 North Pole Houses. I have the entire collection *ahem* I mean that my parents have my entire collection at their house. I also have a small collection of Willow Tree Figurines although they haven't been unpacked yet so they're in a box somewhere in the basement.

2. Name 3 celebrities that you find good looking.

I would have to say...

Bradley Cooper

Wentworth Miller

Tom Cruise (from his Top Gun Days)

3. Do you have any scars? If so, what's the story behind it (them?)? 

Where to start? We'll start at the oldest and work our way to the newest.

I have a scar on each of my knees where I had surgery. When I was growing up I danced A LOT, my inner thigh muscles were stronger than my outer thigh muscles causing my knee caps to be pulled crooked, it was PAINFUL!! So, I had my right knee operated on over April vacation in 8th grade. I had my left knee done the summer after 8th grade. It was the same surgery for both, they had to trim the muscle.

I guess my next scar is from my c-section. That was from Princess. I was ready to start pushing, the doctor did one last check and discovered that she was breach. In I went for an emergency c-section.

My next 4 scars are from 7 weeks after that when I had my gallbladder removed. Turns out I got the ever-so-wonderful pregnancy induced gallstones and one was actually blocking the duct. So, in I went for emergency surgery to have my gallblader removed.

I think that's all of them.

4. What is a food that you like to eat, but others might think it's gross or weird?

Hmmm, I don't think I eat anything too strange. Of course Hubby thinks that any seafood is gross or weird so I guess anything in that category will count for him. LOL I have been known to eat raw oysters which some would probably think is gross or weird.

5. Have you ever seen a tornado in real life?

Nope, can't say that I have. I live in the northeast and we don't really have tornado's here. I'm perfectly happy with that too. We have had some tornado warnings this year because of the freakish spring/summer weather that we've been having. 

P.S. I started this last night before my thirty-one party but then didn't get to finish it until Saturday. Oh well...

5 question Friday! Woo hoo!!!

Yippee, I've been waiting ALL week to do my 2nd Five Question Friday!! Is it sad that this is what I've been looking forward to ALL week? Wondering what questions will be asked, will they be easy or hard, will I remember come Friday to do it? These questions come from Mama M.

1. What is one thing you miss the most about childhood?

I would have to say being so carefree. Not having ANY cares in the world. Being able to play all day and it's perfectly ok because the kitchen isn't waiting for you to clean it or the bills aren't waiting for you to pay them.

2. Are you still friends with your friends from high school?

Sadly, I lost touch with most everyone from high school once we graduated. I have reconnected with quite a few of them though thanks to Facebook. But no one lives near me, or maybe it's that I don't live near them, so it makes it hard to get together on a regular basis. It's one thing I do regret, I wish we had stayed in better touch.

3. Is there a catch phrase, cliche, or word that just drives you bonkers every time you hear it?

Hmmmm, I'm sure that there absolutely is but for the life of me I can't think of one right now. I'm going to have to think about this one some more and come back to it.

4. What is one thing that you think symbolizes America...besides "Old Glory"?

Fireworks, the patriotism you see around the 4th of July holiday. Seeing flags on Main Street as you drive through different towns (oops, that was Old Glory).

5. What are your 4th of July weekend plans?
 
I hope to bring the kids to the lake since we DID pay for the pass and I'm determined to get my money's worth. My dad's birthday is on the 4th so we're going to a picnic at my parents house. And that's probably about all the excitement that there's going to be.

5 Question Friday

So, my dear friend Kelly did this last week. I saw it on her blog yesterday and eagerly waited to do one myself today. I'm hoping that I can get more traffic to my blog this way, although I never have anything exciting that I post. It originally comes from Mama M  and I'm very excited to be doing my first 5 Question Friday!

1. Do you know how to play a musical instrument?


I used to, does that count?!? I started playing the piano at a young age, can't remember for sure when. I took lessons for quite a while. If I were to sit down at a piano to play, would I remember how? That's questionable. I can still play chopsticks though but really who can't?

I did also used to play the clarinet in school although I was never really good at it. I played through middle school and at least through my freshman year of high school which is when I probably stopped. I hated practicing it and just never really liked it. The whole thought of sucking on that stick, what the heck was it called, to get it wet to play. It was like dragging your teeth across a popsicle stick! Have you ever done that? Ack, just the thought sends shivers down my spine, I HATE that feeling!
2. What is your pet peeve while driving?

People who don't know how to merge! Seriously, drives me CRAZY!!! There are quite a few spots on my way back and forth to work that the traffic merges and people are insane. It should be alternate merging as the signs say but some people just don't understand that. The ones that drive me the most crazy are the ones that are at your tail bumper and then at the last possible minute speed up to get in front of you. Seriously? Did you HAVE to do that?!?!

I also find it quite annoying that in a state where driving while using your handheld cell phone is banned, it's perfectly acceptable to be reading a newspaper, a book, lighting a cigarrette, etc. How is that any more safe?
3. Would you rather have a housekeeper or unlimited spa services?

Ohhhh, this is a hard one. Can't I alternate week to week? I think I'd have to take the housekeeper...no, I'll take the unlimited spa services...no, I'll take the housekeeper. Aaahhhh, I can't decide!!!
4. Is there a song that you hear that will take you back to the moment, like a junior high or high school dance?

Oh, where to start. Let's see...there's Hotel California which was played at the end of EVERY dance in high school. Or, there's the song that played at our graduation, the one from Breakfast Club, you know the one. "Don't you, forget about me"...Can't you hear me singing it? When I'm home and edit this blog I'll include links. There are so many others, I may need to add some additional songs later.

*edit* I'm home now and wanted to add in links to the songs. So here is Don't You Forget About Me by Simple Minds. This is the song that was played at my high school graduation.
And here is Hotel California which was seriously played at the end of EVERY school dance. (Oh wait, now I'm repeating myself)

5. What song best represents your life right now?
Manic Monday except it would be more appropriate if there was one for every day of the week, LOL.

And of course any childrens song because we spend SO much time singing them in my house.

And since Mama M mentioned the song that she'd like for her mother-son dance, here is the one that I'd like when Lovebug gets married The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Lovebugs surgery

Well, today was the big day, that day that Lovebug got surgery. We went this past Saturday for a tour at the hospital (Connecticut Childrens Medical Center, CCMC). Can I just say that this was the BEST.THING.EVER that we could've done. It really gave Lovebug a good idea of what to expect today. I really didn't realize how great it was until we got there today and he was totally at ease with everything that was going on. When the nurse was explaining to him again what was going to happen and asking him questions, he was able to answer them and tell her things that he had learned on Saturday. I should also note that we went to see Toy Story 3 after the hospital tour on Saturday so maybe he thought we were going to do that again.

We got the call the other day with the time of the surgery. I was a bit disappointed that we weren't scheduled until 12:00 pm. I thought "how on earth am I going to keep him from eating or drinking all morning and it's going to be ABSOLUTE torture".

We kept Lovebug up later last night and gave him a snack around 9 and then sent him to bed. This morning I got up, got Princess up and to my parents before Lovebug got out of bed. That way he wouldn't see her with her milk and yogurt heading off. He didn't really ask for anything until I was drinking my coffee, but I reminded him how we talked last night that he can't have anything or he'd get sick and that helped. While we were waiting to leave the house, he watched some Handy Manny and played with his iPhone (yes, he has his own iPhone, it's one of our old ones, that he uses to play games).

We left the house around 9:30, making sure not to forget Froggy, his blue blanket and his iPhone. We made sure that Froggy and the blanket stayed safe on the way to the hospital by strapping them in to Princess' car seat. 

 

 We got to the hospital at 10:30 like we were supposed to (had to park on the TOP floor of the parking garage, UGH). When we walked in and registered, a volunteer gave Lovebug a beanie baby. That must be something that they do for patients having surgery because we'd never gotten one before when we'd been there for minor things. *read more on the irony of the beanie baby below* We went up to the registration area and got him all checked in. It was great, they had bubbles for him to play with which amused him while I was confirming our information. They put an ID bracelet on Froggy and his new beanie baby too. We were informed that we were fast tracked because they had a cancellation. We sat down for a few minutes then they called us in to Pre-op.

In pre-op we were met by a TON of nurses. They were great with Lovebug and gave him dinosaurs to play with and a coloring book. We were also told that he wouldn't have to change (huh?!?) but I still had to wear the gown, cap and mask when I went in with him. He was fine the whole time we were in pre-op waiting to go in. He just played with the dinosaurs, talked to the nurses when they came over. Here's a picture of him in pre-op, perfectly happy!

When it was time to go back to the OR, I had to put on all of the safety gear, it's such a great look. I did comment to Hubby later on that I think they just make the parents wear the outfit to amuse the kids. Lovebug was wearing his clothes & sneakers into the OR and that wasn't an issue so why would my clothes be an issue?

 We left hubby in pre-op and I went with Lovebug to the OR. At CCMC the kids get to drive a car from pre-op to the OR. Lovebug saw the cars when we came for the tour and this was what he was looking forward to the MOST. We got to the cars and he had a hard time deciding. He finally settled on the green one like "Daddy's tractor", he put Froggy and blanket in the trailer in the back (again just like daddy's) and drove to the OR. He did a great job and didn't hit anything.

We got into the OR and he sat up on the table with Froggy next to him. They put the mask on him that smelled like strawberries (the scent he had picked out) and he blew up the balloon. He did such a great job. It was a matter of seconds and he was asleep. The nurse brought me back to Hubby and we went to wait in the waiting room. In the waiting room they have a screen that you can check to see where the patient is (pre-op, OR, post-op). It really is great so you know what's going on. We were in there for probably 5 minutes when I noticed that he was in post-op already, then the doctor came in. He said that Lovebug was all done. We waited a couple more minutes for the nurse to come get us to bring us to the recovery room. Lovebug was doing fine until he saw us, he started to whine a bit but it was more because he wanted milk and he wanted to go home. He got to eat a grape popsicle. We were in there for maybe another 15 minutes then got to go home.

Lovebug was fine after we left. He acted like nothing had happened. A couple of times he said that he had balls in his ears, I wonder if maybe he can feel the tubes?, but that was about it. We came home and watched a movie (he didn't NAP!).

I did ask if he could hear me any better and he said no so we will see if that answer changes in a couple of days, I really hope so.

I just want to end this by saying that CCMC is an absolutely WONDERFUL hospital. They certainly know their stuff when it comes to kids. From the toy that he got coming in, to the stellar treatment throughout, we couldn't have asked for any more. They make the whole experience so pleasant for everyone involved, the child & the parents.

*The beanie baby story*
On the way to the hospital, I was commenting to Hubby about how many dead skunks I've seen this week and how horribly smelly they've been. There were 2 on my way to work on Monday, 3 on my way to work on Tuesday, I saw 1 this morning on my way to bringing Princess to my parents and we saw 1 or 2 on the way to the hospital. So, when Lovebug was handed the beanie baby as we walked into the hospital, by the sweet old man volunteer, what do you think it was? A dog? A bear? NO, it was a SKUNK!!! Are you serious!?!?! Hubby and I just looked at each other and started laughing. What are the chances!

Oh Man!!! A post all about Princess

This has become a favorite phrase in our house. I believe it comes from Swiper on Dora. Lovebug was saying it for a while. Princess has since started saying it. Even while I'm typing this..."Oh Man!". If either hubby or I say "Oh Man!" back to her, she says "No Oh Man!" and wags her little finger at us. Cutest thing in the world!

Princess has also started saying "Yeah" with this little accent like she's from Sweden. So sweet! For the most part she says "Yes", something she learned from Lovebug but every so often she'll say "Ye-eah", I don't even know how to type it out.

And the other day I could tell she was pooping. I said "Princess did you poop?" and she said "no". Then immediately said "diaper" which means that she has a poopy butt and needs her diaper changed. Ahhhh....

Lovebug needs tubes

About 6-8 weeks ago we brought Lovebug to the audiologist & ENT to have his ears tested. This was after he had 2 bad hearing tests at the pediatrician. We found out that he had fluid and his ear drums weren't vibrating which was preventing him from hearing. He had mild to moderate hearing loss. We went for a follow up appointment last week and it's not any better.


Also, at the first appointment, we found out that he has a double uvula (the dangly thing in the back of your mouth). We never knew this before.

So, he said at this point our only option is tubes to help the fluid drain from his ears. He said that because of the double uvula, the muscle that helps to drain the ears isn't working properly. Now, when he went to the ENT before and I first learned that he has a double uvula he told me that it wasn't a concern and won't cause any problems. Now, he's telling me the real truth this time around. Hopefully the tubes will help drain the fluid and then his hearing will improve. If the muscle doesn't start working properly then there is a chance that Lovebug could need multiple sets of tubes and could possibly need them throughout his life. That was a bit of a shocker to hear.

So, his surgery is scheduled for June 24th. On June 19th, we're going to the hospital for a tour, I guess they really show the kids everything and they get little motorized cars and make it fun for them.

I don't think his speech has been affected by the hearing issues so I'm curious to see what happens when he has the tubes and can hear better.