Update on Carlsie

In case you haven't heard, my little sister had to take a break from teaching.
Five weeks into her first year as a teacher, she had an appendicitis attack, so Sunday night she had emergency surgery to have her appendix removed. And therefore has to take a week off from teaching.
Carl had told Mom that she had a stomach ache, but she attributed it to digestive issues. But by Sunday it wasn't better, and she called Mom crying. For those of you that don't know Carlsie, she doesn't cry. And Mom told her to go to the hospital. They transferred her to a bigger hospital an hour and a half away, where Mom met her after the surgery was over.
What is it with my sisters and emergency surgeries? Two weeks ago, my older sister had to have "semi-emergency" surgery to fix a hernia. (Apparently "semi-emergency" means: not important enough to do immediately after the Friday doctor appointment, but important enough that it can't wait until Monday.)
Anyways. That's what's up with that. Keep her in your prayers.

Update

I can't believe it's Saturday again already. This week has gone by so fast - and I haven't even done anything! I really mean nothing. You should see the house.
This cold has really taken it out of me. I could take a nap every day and still be dead tired by 10 o'clock. I fell asleep on the couch watching a movie - at 7 in the evening!
I've had a time this week with Nathan. It probably seems worse because I don't feel well, but I have been to the point of pulling my hair out several times - almost yelling at him. (Well, "yelling" in my book consists of raising my voice firmly and saying, "You need to stop.") The littlest thing sets him off. I know it's temper tantrums, and he's just experimenting with what he can get by with. But after the fourteenth time in one hour of doing something he doesn't want you to do (like close the refridgerator door or taking the computer's mouse away from him), he throws himself down on the floor and screams..... I don't know what else to do.
Then compound that with the fact I'm trying to get him weaned.... Nursing has always been my solve-all solution. Sleepy baby? Nurse him! Cranky baby? Nurse him! Sick baby? You get the point. But if he's ever going to be weaned, that's got to change. It's tough for me, though. Not because I don't want to wean him (I am so ready to have my body back!), it's that I know I have something that will make him stop crying, but I have to choose not to use it. It's like having a weapon you know will end a war (and, yes, some days it feels like a war), but knowing it's in your best interest to not use it.
Sigh.
Today is the church's annual hog roast at the lake. Paul's working, but Nathan and I are going to go out. Providing the water's not too cold, I'm going to take him swimming after lunch. He loves water - almost to the point it's startling, because he just has no fear whatsoever.
Anyhow. Must get things gathered up.

Happy Birthday to Nathan!

Today was the big 1st Birthday Party. I can't believe he's already a year old!

Of course, I got sick just about the time I needed to start the major preparations - I have another stinking cold. Luckily I got most of the house cleaning done before this kicked my butt.

We went back and forth for what to do for a cake. "Tractor Cake" won out, because I didn't want to buy a pan. And since I wasn't feeling particularly inspired due to being sick, I didn't even try to do a tractor-shaped cake. We pulled this little beauty from Paul's collection and went to work trying to make chocolate frosting look like a field being disked.

Of course, Nathan wasn't interested in the cake. He just wanted that Cat tractor!

But once he decided to go for it, he chowed down. He liked his cake that Daddy made and helped decorate (because Mommy was too wiped out the night before when they were trying to make it)!

More on the adventure later. Even though I took a nap after most of the guests left and the remaining ones cleaned up for me, I'm still wiped.

The Red Room

It's finally done.... Painting, cleaning - everything.
I love it.
We've only had one day of sunshine since last Monday (a week and a half ago). Natural lighting would be nice, but it's supposed to be cloudy until at least Sunday, so..... Take what you can get. The red is as it showed up on my camera - I didn't try to edit it to be exact to the color of the walls, because every monitor will show it differently, so I didn't bother.
As much as I'd love to sit in here, admiring my work, while listening to the rain on the roof, I must get more cleaning done while my Munchkin is asleep. His big birthday is on Sunday, and we will be having company, therefore the obsessive-compulsive in me must clean. Really clean - the kind that involves actually dusting and mopping!

When I Said "Red" - I meant RED!!!

Two gallons of paint, four coats, three rollers, and seven almost-blisters later.... We're almost there. I have about 5 drops of red paint left, which I will need tomorrow when I peel off the tape from the trim. I tend to get a little over-zealous in my peeling, due to the fact I'm so excited to see the finished product. I inevitably peel off some paint with the tape, so I'll need all I have left to fix those.
I still have the trim to paint, but I figure that going from white to barely cream isn't going to be that much of a shocker. I am excited to get all the stuff put back where it belongs - everything is pretty much in one big pile in front of the wood stove (which is what I'm talking about when I say "the fireplace").
And we have a while before the whole project is completely finished.... We have to buy some trim and some tongue-and-groove paneling to put around the leftover porch lights. But that's going to have to wait for another paycheck, I fear. And then because everything else is all fresh and new, I need new blinds (it really is a need - the old ones were blech, and not able to be cleaned), and I'm going to put up curtains. It will be the first I've bought for this house! (Although after looking at prices, I may be making them....)

Wow. It just hit me. The adrenaline of "Get done! Get done!" wore off, and I'm about ready to fall asleep at the keyboard.

When it's all painted and finished, I'll post better pictures. (If the sun ever actually shines again. Natural lighting makes a huge difference in how it looks.)

If This Doesn't Make You Smile....

....I Don't Know What Will.

The Project That Is All Consuming

There's no turning back now.

More pictures to follow.... In like a week, when I finally get it finished.