Zzzzzz

A face only a mother could love...

They're baaaack :)

You can about imagine my excitement when I spotted these tasty "limited edition" White Fudge Oreos back on the shelves at Target. I now have 3 boxes hiding in the closet right next to my 8 cans of pumpkin :) We will see how long it takes Shane to find these...

Weekend in Wisconsin

FRIDAY - This morning I made my way to the Northland to pick up my brother and head to the airport. We are off to see my sister, brother-in-law and nephew Tanner in Wisconsin for the weekend.

It ended up being an uneventful flight into Milwaukee and from there we rented a car and drove to Neenha, WI where my sister lives. We spent the afternoon hanging out, playing outside with Tanner as well as having fun with Play-Doh & looking at zoo animals on the computer.

Once my brother-in-law got home from work, we all went out to eat at a dee-lish Mexican restaurant. Tanner LOVED the chips and it was much fun watching him dip them in salsa & then eat them. He is too cute! We arrived back home bellies full & super sleepy from our early morning and day full of travel. We were all in bed by 9pm :)

SATURDAY - Today is Tanner's 2nd birthday - the main reason we came to WI for the weekend! It ended up being a beautiful day with temps in the upper 60's. We started out our day by playing outside, blowing bubbles and riding the "jeep" all around the yard! My brother-in-law Ben put my brother Steve to work for the day & helped him cut & hang siding on the shed that he has been building.

While the boys were hard at work, my sister Jen, me & Tanner ran some errands to get ready for Tanner's birthday party later in the evening. Our first stop was to the bakery to get Tanner's Elmo cake:Once we got back home, Tanner got to open his presents and had much fun ripping paper and playing with his gifts! The Fisher-Price barn w/farm animals from mom & dad seemed to be his favorite and he squealed when he opened it & saw what it was.

Next up on the agenda, party hats & cake:

SUNDAY - Can't believe we are heading home already today - what a fast weekend! Ben made us all breakfast this morning consisting of pancakes, toast & sausage and then my brother & I were back on the road to Milwaukee to catch our flight. We tried to take a few more pics before we left but unfortunately, Tanner was not wanting anything to do with saying "cheese"! My brother was the only one lucky enough to get a pic with Tan Man before we left:

It was a great weekend spent with family & I look forward to going back to visit them in January to meet my new niece or nephew (my sister is due Dec 2nd)! Can't wait!

Music to my ears

Woo hoo - the Christmas music has begun!

Everyone that knows me, knows my obsession with the holidays. So you can imagine my excitement when I got into my car this morning, turned on the radio station to Star 102 & hear Christmas music being played throughout the speakers in my car. I instantly got goosebumps! I cranked the holiday music way up and enjoyed my Peppermint Mocha coffee all the way into work! What a great way to start the work week!

Tis the season....

The girls do Hermann, MO

Today I woke up early and ventured out with the neighborhood girls to the Amtrak station to make our way to Hermann, MO for the day. We first stopped at Starbuck's and all got coffee and then enjoyed the pleasant 3 hour train ride to this beautiful little town. Time just flew with us girls chit-chatting & laughing all the way there.


Once we arrived, we made our way through the streets of Hermann to find somewhere to eat lunch. We decided on a little place called Simon's on the Waterfront and enjoyed a really good meal. After we ate, we made our way to the visitor's center to get some information on the wineries located throughout the town. We met a lovely elderly lady there named Dolores who was so very helpful. She provided us with a map of where to go and we were on our way. She had told us where her house was along our walk & informed us we were more than welcome to stop and rest on her porch. About 2 blocks into our walk, we passed her home & we did just what she had told us to & made sure to get a picture:

Our first stop was Stone Hill Winery. Little did we know it was located on top of a steep hill and since we were walking, we had to walk up that hill to get there. I thought we might lose Michelle during our hike but we all managed to get to the top - sweaty, winded and ready to try the wine!

This is on top of Stone Hill Winery. You can see the road we walked up to get here!

We all decided to take the tour of the winery which ended up being very interesting. I just love listening to history and it was quite fascinating learning about how they make their wine. Here are a few pictures from our tour:

Barrels of wine that are left to "age" for several years

Huge steel cisterns where wine is presently fermenting

Unopened bottles of wine left behind from 1965

After our tour, we got to sample the many different kinds of wine that Stone Hill winery has to offer. I would have to say I enjoyed the reds the most :)

Next stop was the Hermanhoff Winery. It was another beautiful place and we decided to enjoy the beauty of the grounds with some wine & some snacks!

Our last stop was the Tin Mill Brewery. This was a really small bar but offered a lovely little "sampler" of all their brewed beers which we enjoyed trying:

After we finished our "sampler", we made our way back to the train station to head home. You can tell by these next few photos that we were all feeling pretty good at this point from all the wine and our samples of beer:



There weren't any seats together when we got on the train, so we made our way back to the snack car and sat at a table back there the entire way home. We did crosswords, took turns playing "name that tune" on our iPods and reminisced about our fun day.

The weather was beautiful as was the town of Hermann and all the wineries it had to offer! It was such a fun-filled day with wonderful friends & I can't wait to have another "girls day" with these awesome ladies in the future!

Halloween in the "sac"

This year all the families in the cul-de-sac gathered in Dave & Gael's driveway for our 4th annual Halloween extravaganza. I made a huge pot of chili & pumpkin cupcakes while everyone brought a little something to share with the group. We all handed out candy to the trick-o-treaters and had so much fun checking out all the cute little kids and their costumes.

It ended up being a bit cooler this year than last but we had the fire-pit with a nice fire going and Gael's hot chocolate to keep us warm. As well as hot chili and a few beverages :)

It was another fun evening shared with the neighbors and we are all looking forward to our upcoming annual holiday progressive dinner in the next couple of months!

Hope everyone else had a fun & safe Halloween :)

Girlz Day Out

Today I met the neighborhood girls out for a day of lunch & shopping. We all gathered at Spin! Pizza where everyone enjoyed pizza/salads & much fun catching up.

Next stop was the highly anticipated event of the year that I SO look forward to - Holiday Mart! This has been a yearly tradition of mine for awhile now & I was so excited to get to share it with the girls from the neighborhood. Holiday Mart is put on by the Junior League of KC. It features over 200 speciality retailers from around the area & attracts over 22,000 shoppers. Proceeds from Holiday Mart benefit the Jr. League of Kansas City, its volunteers and financial commitment to children's literacy. So basically it is shopping for a good cause :)

When we first walked in, everyone agreed that it was a bit overwhelming. There were so many vendors to see & they were all packed in the building like sardines. Once we figured out where to start, we enjoyed going up and down all the aisles shopping & checking out what everyone had to offer. I managed to help the economy out and buy a few things for myself but kept the spending under control :)

Once we were on our way home, we made a stop at Sheridan's Frozen Custard & treated ourselves to a Pumpkin Pie Concrete - think DQ blizzard with a piece of pumpkin pie mixed into it! It was oh so yummy and a perfect end to a great day!

OW - my eyes!

I was standing in the checkout at Kohl's today and I couldn't help but be blinded by the sight that was before me. I didn't think I could fully explain the pain & suffering my eyes were feeling at the time through words so I took out my cell phone & discreetly took a picture to truly show you what I mean:YES - that is horizontal stripes with plaid shorts and was it BRIGHT! What was this guy thinking when he left the house today? He can't seriously think this looks good together?!? Sorry, but I just had to share this "fashion-don't" with others with the hope that you don't let your husbands dress like this & leave the house :)

Game Plan for Millie

So after giving it much thought and spending an hour talking with Millie's vet, we have decided to delay the surgery for at least a month and start with putting Millie on a very strict diet to try and get her to lose some weight. Dr. Lineberger is very concerned about her recovery after surgery with all that extra weight on her. She is entirely way to obese and he would like to see a goal weight loss of 20 lbs by spring - may be an unrealistic goal for her but we are going to try our best! SO, we are going to start her on "Weight Watchers for Bullies" today and begin with a very strict diet and special diet food. I am to take her in for weekly weigh-ins to see how she is progressing.

She is going to remain on the pain and anti-inflammatory meds and as far as I can tell, she doesn't seem uncomfortable or hurting but she does struggle to walk & get around limping on that back leg. If she can at least lose 5 lbs in a month that would be awesome & then we will do the surgery - unless we see that she is in pain all the time and miserable then we will do it sooner. To us humans, losing 5 lbs doesn't seem like alot but Dr. Lineberger says you can compare it to a human losing 25 lbs so 5 lbs of weight-loss on Millie would be quite significant!

So for the next month, she has to stay confined to a small room, no stairs or slippery floors & we have to use a sling to hold up her back end when she walks outside to potty - which is easier said than done because she HATES it. Will probably keep her down in the family room and put a baby gate at the steps to the kitchen. It is going to be a rough month but it is what we have to do.

Thanks everyone for your concern and for all your well-wishes! Will keep you posted on our progress! Hugs to you all...

Disabled Bully :(

I have a bad feeling that Millie has torn her ACL in the left back leg :(

I came home from work Thursday & she was overly excited to see me for some reason. She got a case of the zoomies, raced down the stairs, ran smack into the couch and knocked herself over. I had to laugh at first because she looked like a "june bug" stuck on her back trying to wiggle herself back over. She appeared to be fine but when she came back inside from going potty she was pulling her left back leg up and not putting any weight on it. We crated her for the night and by morning it wasn't any better! I called & made an appt with the Orthopedic Vet and the soonest we can get her in is Monday morning. In the meantime, they prescribed her some Rimadyl (anti-inflammatory) and Tramadol (pain med) twice a day.

After work today when I let her out to potty she seemed to be "toe-tapping" with that back left leg but she is hardly putting any weight on it. I can tell she is in pain & I feel so bad. It is so sad to watch her hobble around and grunt in pain :( She'll stand at the bottom of the stairs & whine because it hurts her to go up them. Poor baby!

I pray it isn't an ACL because I would hate for her to have to go through another big, painful surgery (she had her luxating patella fixed on the right back leg 2 years ago) but I have a strong feeling that is what it is. Bulldogs are prone to getting ACL tears due to their short legs & bulky bodies - & as you know, she is a bit chunkier than most :) I'm surprised we have gone this long without any ACL problems from either one of them! Whatever the vet says, we are prepared to do whatever needs to be done to get things fixed so that she is not in anymore pain.

I will post an update again on Monday after the visit to the vet. Wish us luck...

I Told You So - Day 2

Valium & Icy Hot are my new best friends :)

Took Valium before bed last night and slathered Icy Hot all over my back and I slept great! I felt SO much better when I awoke this morning. My back is still really sore but I am able to bend over a bit and sit without much trouble. Haven't had anymore spasms - thank God! Going to stay off the pain pills today and keep applying the Icy Hot and start alternating ice & warm packs. May take a pain pill before bed...will see how I feel. I am going to try and return to work tomorrow.

I'm off to take a shower and see if I can't get in the car and run to the store. 1st stop - Bed, Bath & Beyond to buy pet stairs for the bed :) My mother will be happy!

I Told You So - Day 1

It was bound to happen sooner or later. My mother has warned me several times and I hate to say that she was right but she was. It was only a matter of time before the "incident" would happen.

It was 5:30am and I had gotten up to go to the bathroom. As I returned, I see Bentley on the floor wanting up in the bed. So, as I have done so many days and so many nights, I lifted him up in the bed. And that's when the "incident" happened...I felt a zing in my lower back and I was frozen. I literally couldn't move. I dropped Bentley and felt my back start to spasm. Now I had thought I had a pretty high threshold for pain but I have never felt pain like I did at that moment. If labor is anything like that kind of pain then I am SCREWED! I started to BAWL! The pain was SO intense that I was instantly nauseous & I swore I was going to throw up.

Poor Shane...he stood there not knowing what to do to help me. And then the distant memory of his dirt bike accident with his back injury came back to haunt him and he went into "nurse mode" and told me exactly what to do. I was SO proud of him for knowing what to do to help me. He remained relaxed and didn't panic at all which really helped. He is going to be a great birthing coach if I ever get the chance to go into labor :)

He finally got me back into bed reminding me to breathe and relax. For some reason I start doing Lamaze breathing which helped me tons and I just sucked it up through the muscle spasms. Once I got back into bed I felt like I couldn't move. As soon as I laid down I had this instant strong urge of having to go the bathroom. It wasn't going to wait so I had Shane help me out of bed to the bathroom.

I was amazed at all the ways you use your back muscles. I couldn't sit up by myself without having a back spasm. Couldn't bring myself to sit down on the toilet without having a spasm. Couldn't stand up without a spasm. By this point I started to see stars and felt like I was going to pass out. Shane finally got me back into bed and I was there for the next 6 hours! Shane had leftover Valium & pain pills from his accident so I took a Valium & ibuprofen, put an ice pack under my back and slept. It was the best 6 hours of sleep I think I have ever had :)

So the rest of the day has been nothing but Darvocet, ibuprofen, Icy Hot, ice packs and rest. By this evening I managed to feel a bit better and hadn't had any back spasms since this morning. Hopefully I will get a good nights rest...bring on the Valium :)