There is No Such Thing as Minor Surgery

Last week I sent out a tweet asking for prayer for surgery. (Thanks for praying!!) I didn't really offer any explanation, so here it is.

I've had sinus and allergy problems my whole life. I've done allergy shots (still do), medications, nasel sprays, Breathe Right strips, and more. But, no matter what I tried, I still felt like I could never breathe though my nose. And, I still snored. Not only was I uncomfortable, my husband was ready to divorce me. For snoring, not breathing. Heh.

So, I recently went to see yet another ENT doctor. I felt like he was the first one to take me seriously. I had a severely deviated septum and turbinate issues. We decided to do surgery to correct my problems.

I convinced myself that it was "just minor surgery", so I didn't really think about it. Then, the day before, I started to get nervous (hence the tweet). I was nervous about going under, and I was nervous about the pain. I had absolutely no idea what to expect.

What I learned this week is that there is no such thing as minor surgery. Unless we're talking removing a splinter with tweezers. I'll give you that. Anytime you get a general anesthetic, it's a big deal. Anytime you go under the knife, it's a big deal. And, if you're a big wuss like me, it's a really big deal!

The nurses and doctors were as nice as could be. My nurses were so comforting and caring. They gave me warmed blankets (like fresh out of the dryer feeling!), which I know they probably give to everyone. But, that made me feel special:) Everything went smoothly, and I was back home later that day.

Mr. Incredible totally lived up to his name and stayed with me the entire time. He even picked up my prescriptions and went to the grocery store (for like the 5th time since we got married), so this was a big deal too! Thanks, hon!

Our friends and family are taking such good care of us. Even though I'm in pain, I'm feeling so incredibly blessed.

So, what's going on with you this week?

This post is linked to What I Learned This Week at Musings of a Housewife

The Sickies: Daycare vs. Home

We attended a parent meeting at Dash's daycare last week. Several issues were discussed, including some child health issues. The director said that there is a study (or several) out there disputing the myth that daycare kids get sick more often than kids that are home. I'm sure there are studies that favor both sides, but it got me thinking...

I used to think that Dash got sick more often than his friends since going into daycare. I'm not sure if I believe that anymore. Especially since joining Twitter last year and seeing the tweets of at-home moms. I really think that we're even. Actually, we have been enjoying a nice healthy run. Great, now that I say that, I'm sure we'll pick something up!

So, what do you think? Do you think your kids have gotten sick more often from daycare? Or, do you think it's even with kids at home?

This post is linked to What I Learned This Week at Musings of a Housewife

I.Made.Bread.

I made my first two loaves of homemade bread this weekend. For those of you who missed it last week when I made homemade pizza crust, I admitted that I was afraid of yeast. I don't know why. It just seemed so easy to mess up. So, since I've been getting braver in the kitchen, I decided to give it a try.

I used the Honey Wheat Bread recipe from the back of the Gold Medal whole wheat flour bag. I used my KitchenAid mixer, but did the rest by hand. No bread maker here. (Although the funny thing is, I had one for years and never used it. I just sold it at a flea market a few months ago.) I also like Jo-Lynne's step-by-step instructions with photos here.

I'm pretty proud of my first effort. Not so proud that I remembered to take a picture, though. Dangit. The loaves came out more dense than a traditional sandwich bread you buy at the store. And, it tastes REALLY good! I will probably have to make it a few more times to get it perfect for us.

What did I learn this week? I learned that I need to stop saying "Oh, I can't do that." Because I most certainly can. And, because who really cares if I fail at making a loaf of bread?

I can see how this translates into other areas of my life. I've been a bit on the timid side my whole life. Playing it safe. Too scared to get hurt/fail/look stupid. It's funny, as I get older, I find that I don't care as much anymore. Not that you will ever find me sky diving or mountain climbing mind you. Really uncoordinated people know their limits. But, I want to try new things. I think this calls for a list. Hmm... I will have to start working on that.

What have you tried that has taken you out of your comfort zone?

This post is linked to What I Learned This Week at Inmates to Playdates (guest hosting for Musings Of a Housewife)

You Get What You Pay For

When am I ever going to learn? Quality has it's price. And, it is (almost) always worth it.

I have been on an obsessive search for new bedding for Dash's room. We moved everything around a few weeks ago and he is now in his real and final big boy bed. Except he will probably be too tall for it by the time he's 13. And, well, then he just better get a job.

This used to be our guest bed, so I did have a set for it. Sort of. I had been using an extra king-sized comforter, and it's just too big for the bed. It was annoying me. Especially with the toddler guardrail. And, it was all flowery and I felt bad for the kid. (Note: Dash did not care about it being flowery, nor does he really care about covers in general. He kicks them off. All. The. Time.)

So, what is my problem? I don't know. I wanted to have a nice "boy" bedroom for him. I think I need to write another post on why I obsess about things that don't matter. I can already hear Mr. Incredible shouting "AMEN!"

Anyway, back to the bedding search. I looked everywhere: Target (all twin stuff, no full), Walmart (poor quality), TJ Maxx (no kids bedding), Home Goods (an ENTIRE AISLE of GIRL bedding; one boy set, not my size), Pottery Barn Kids (gorgeous stuff, super pricey).

I love Pottery Barn kids, don't you? Dash's crib set and rug are from PBK (mostly gifted to us). I just feel so guilty spending the money on their stuff. But, it's what I really want. And, it's good quality.

Uggghhh. I hate this. I wish I could be more like my husband. When we go out to dinner, he orders what he wants. Forever the penny pincher, I try to order something inexpensive that I may not really be in the mood for. Am I the only one that does this? Please, just say no so I can feel better.

Anyway, I took Dash to Walmart the other day and decided to check their kid's bedding again. They had a big, ugly Batman comforter. Dash made a beeline for it and declared it his. The feel of it kind of made my skin tingle (not in a good way). I figured, what the heck? For $40 I will no longer be annoyed with an oversized comforter, AND my kid will be happy. (He thanked me profusely when we got home. He is a thankful little dude, thank God we're doing something right.)

Are you ready for the point of this post? Whew, I am. The quality of this comforter is not very good. I threw it in the washer, fine. Then, I put it in the dryer. One of those "old school" dryers with no moisture sensor. Yeah, I sort of fried the batting in a few parts of the comforter. I made it worse.

So, what did I learn this week? Go for quality, even if it costs a little more. And, don't put a crappy comforter in a small dryer. Now, to do something about those flowery curtains in the boy's room...

This post is linked to What I Learned This Week over at Musings of a Housewife

The Crud [And Some Movie/Book Reviews]

Things I learned this week:

• If your child picks up a stomach virus at daycare, don't delude yourself into thinking you won't get it. You will. And, your husband will too. The cats will not. [Why is that anyway? I've never seen these cats get sick. Which is all well and good because Cheli pukes enough on her own. Must Google that.]
• Don't be afraid to ask for help if you get aforementioned crud disease. I have the best mom ever. Truly. I called her from my sick bed couch, and she popped right over to pick up Dash. Thanks, Mom. I also had several offers of help from friends (thanks, everyone!), but didn't want to risk infecting anyone who wasn't related to me. And, would still love me if they got the crud.
   
• After you recover from All the Evil, you will find you only have energy enough to lay on the couch and click the remote buttons. Which brings me to a recap of the movies we watched. So, here you go.

First up was No Country for Old Men. I'll just admit it. I don't get it. I don't get the hype (it won Best Picture 2007) and I don't get the movie. I guess there was a slight point. Maybe. But, it was loooong and basically everyone dies. (That really won't ruin it for you, even if you go against my advice and spend two hours of your precious time watching it.) Tommy Lee Jones had a great character, but other than that? Blah.

Mr. Incredible took a computer break as his crud started before mine, and he could sit up at this point. Instead of lying like a heap of wet noodles on the couch like me. So, on to Mamma Mia. Hmmm... how do I put this? No one in the movie can sing. And, it's a musical. I take that back. Amanda Seyfried can sing. That's it. Meryl Streep: steller actress, beautiful, amazing, lovely, great dancer, can't sing a note. Colin Firth, my main man. Pierce Brosnan, Bond hottie. Why? Just why? If you can get past all that, it's a cute story (do I really have to tell you that it's based on the Broadway show based on the songs of ABBA?) with beautiful cinematography.

At this point, I crawled back into bed for a few hours and Mr. Incredible watched Dragon Wars. He said it was bad. I can't even find it on imdb.

We were still making our way through the stack of $2 movies we picked up at Blockbuster. Can you tell? Next up was In the Name of the King. This movie is much like The Lord of the Rings, but not as good. Burt Reynolds plays the king, but doesn't seem to have an accent, while everyone else does. Ray Liotta (whose best role of course was Henry Hill) is, well, terrible as the evil Gallian. Matthew Lillard (Scream, Scooby freakin' Doo!) plays the king's nephew and is also terrible. Jason Statham is awesome and his sidekicks to a good job. But, unfortunately, the good does not balance out the bad. Stick with The Lord of the Rings series.

I also watched Passengers with Anne Hathaway (who is gorgeous as always and one of my favorites). I'd never heard of it--did it go straight to DVD? It was pretty good. Not very original, though. It reminded me of a few other movies, but I won't list them as not to spoil it for you. Oh, and David Morse was in it too. Why don't people play Six Degrees of David Morse because holy crap, he's been in a ton of movies and TV shows.

I finally finished Careless in Red by Elizabeth George. It's probably bad that I picked this book up first instead of starting at the beginning of the series. I knew that it was a series, but didn't realize that this book was the last. A friend told me that this book was not her favorite in the series, so I may start at #1 and see how I like them.

I was not a big fan of this book. First off, it's huge--over 600 pages. There were too many characters and it took way too long to get interesting. I would say I finally got into it around page 250. If you are going to write a 600 page book, it better be good amazing!

I don't think I would recommend this book. But, I will probably start at the beginning one day to give Elizabeth George and Inspector Lynley a chance.
 
I'm now about a third of the way through Bel Canto, which I'm reading for my book club. So far, so good. I'm eager to see what happens next.

This post is linked up to What I Learned This Week at Musings of a Housewife.