16...I am not well....

 So just THIS.....

Happy SWEET 16 babe. I wish you wanted to eat in ice shacks but it's YOUR day...😉

Thanks for being the guinea pig at this Mommin' thing and keeping me in check...

You are wise beyond your years, a friend like no other, a fierce competitor, and one of my 2 favorite people to cheer on from the sidelines, bleachers and track. 

You have a gift with tiny people and those that could use a little extra and to see the light shine in them (and YOU) is something to behold.

I'd throw you back in that 5 point harness in a hot second but to hang with the best version of you now is beyond my wildest dreams. 

You're just cool kid and gosh we love yah.

Wordy Wednesday

 On this... the day we celebrate our 25th 2nd 1st date ANNIVERSARY :) ....

I wanted to document a day in the life post-double-hip replacement but honestly... taking pics felt like too much... but I don't want to forget the details...

5:30AM Up and out to get the coffee... say good morning to Miss B who is getting ready in the downstairs bathroom, drop Husband's coffee on his kitchen chair (table), take the pillow that has been stuffed under the mattress and put it under the cushion on the love seat to prop him higher when he's sitting, put the remote on the arm of the couch and make sure there's a cozy blanket within reach. I go back to my bed for coffee and devos... I'm almost done the WHOLE Bible again! 

6:00AM Upstairs to shower and get ready for the day, say good morning to Minnie who has taken over Husband's side of our bathroom :)

6:30AM Come back downstairs... gals have emptied and refilled the dishwasher, let the chickens out, taken the dog out, fed/water him, refilled the cat food and Mr. Allaire picks them up by 6:40AM

I'm getting pills, fresh water (with a lime :), breakfast for Husband, making my lunch, filling my water, taking out whatever we need from the freezer for dinner that night, ice packs for his hips, wipe down the kitchen counters, replace the dish towels, check the bathroom for trip hazards (that dang bath mat! :) make our bed so it's ready for him to do PT and spray my new favorite Cranberry Crumble Febreeze EVERY.WHERE. :) YUM!

7:00AM Kiss the Husband goodbye

7:22AM Punch in (phew if it's before 7:23 it counts as 7:15 :)

Sometime in here someone comes to visit and to help with lunch... breaks up his day and getting food from the kitchen with the walker is def. tricky....

3:22PM Punch out and head for MMS

4:07PM Pick up Miss B, head home

4:50PM Unpack, fill dishwasher with work dishes, tidy up, check in with Minnie who was brought home by either Mimi or SIL L :)

5:10PM Minnie and I head to either MMS or MHS depending on where practice is

5:50PM Back home... get dinner, help Husband with the shower, eat, hang out, clean up

7:30PM (MONDAY NIGHT) Help Husband DOWN the deck stairs and INTO MY CAR to come pick up Minnie WITH ME!!!! WHOOP WHOOP!

8:35PM The three of us are back home, I am getting ready for bed, Minnie is showering, Miss B is hanging on the couch THINKING about going to bed, move the pillow back under the foot of the bed, tag team making coffee (hard for Husband to fill the carafe :) meds for Husband and finally CRASH... at 9:00PM... an EARLY NIGHT...

PHEW.

Everyday is just a little better for him and SOOOOO thankful for how well he is DOING! SO proud of him! SO grateful for our village, the rides, the meals that were brought, the babysitters that come at lunch time to break up his VERY long day...very very GRATEFUL

The Weekend Report

Minnie's first scrimmage was on Friday night... to say it was A LONG week would be an understatement... Miss B offered to stay home and "babysit" so when SIL L asked if I wanted to ride with them and I was SOOOO GRATEFUL to only drive to her house... MIL, SIL L, Sky and I cheered Minnie on!

Won the tip!

and I won the best seat in the house with this girl in front of me :)

My girl has been struggling this week but she came out guns blazin' and made amazing defensive moves!

It was good for them to PLAY....

and always fun to WIN...

On Saturday Minnie had practice bright and early and then we rested....Tricky and Julie popped over to grab our things for the dump (Bless THEM!) Husband is doing well zipping around in his walker. The biggest complaint is not sleeping at night... he is used to 20,000 steps and manual labor outside... but we are trying different positions with pillows and he's making it!

Late afternoon, Minnie got ready to go to C-Line's 16th birthday party.... I told her on the way that NEVER in my WILDEST dreams did I EVER think that 16 years later these two bumps would be enjoying a murder mystery birthday party! :) HA!

GORGEOUS girls... 

I mean how lucky are they to have their entire lives photo documented? hahahaha

Such a fun and special night of AMAZING girls! So happy Minnie was able to participate!

On Sunday, gals slept in (WHOOOHOOO) and we went to church but left early because Miss B wasn't feeling well...I did Hannaford and then talked to Tamarah on the phone... she encouraged me to just move slow and tackle only the prize closet ;) it felt nice to be in my bedroom with my cozy fire (ha!) getting organized before Black Friday! :)

The rest of the day was really just rest... football... and relaxing...

It was MUCH needed!

Ready for a short week and more down time! HOORAY!

Brand New Hips

The day Husband had been told 18 years ago would have to happen.... HAPPENED ON MONDAY... the den project was transformed to our temporary sleeping space... Husband and I moved the bed down, I moved the end table and lamp... made the bed, plugged in the fan, brought down the juice boxes and chapstick... you know all.the.things. 

and got ready for the day... joggers and my sweatshirt because BOTH girls had bball tryouts that day as well... no easing into ANYTHING at the Mouse House.

We picked up MIL around 10 and headed to the surgery center. They were running WAY behind so he didn't get prepped until he was SUPPOSED to be going INTO surgery... we spent a couple of hours answering questions, he got his IVs, more questions, BP checks (and rechecks because it was so high) but he was READY...

I came out to the waiting room to the CountryRents and MIL when they took him back around 2... and by 5:30.... THIS is what was happening!

I was SHOCKED! He walked all the down this hall, went through those doors, down another hallway and at the end was his overnight room!!! 

The surgeon called me before he left the OR and said... "those hips were a MESS... He should be set up for EXCELLENCE now..." 

He spent Monday night and as soon as I dropped the gals at their schools I was back up there to spring him! He was cleared by PT, IV out, and in my car before 9:45! He thought that he and I would be fine to get him into the house alone (and he was probably right) but I asked him to call Guinny for ME so I could have some support... he did GREAT getting up the stairs and into the house... he visited with Guinny for a bit and then I got lunch ready.... so happy to have my guy on the other side of this MAJOR surgery and home HEALING....

Not pictured are the trips back and forth for SIL to care for the gals (and Barks), organizing rides to school, babysitters for Husband when I went back to work on Thursday, emotions running high, basketball drama, meals brought over, texts checking in, visits from his friends, the pile of treats that keeps growing, the laundry that keeps happening, the practices that have me on the road from 3:30-8:30, and the sleepless nights... but we are together (sometimes ;) and he is on the other side of it...let the healing begin...

Little Catchin' Up....

 Before the big "goings ons"....

Minnie caught a cold (likely from her VT trip) and then generously shared it with Husband... ack!

Here is how she feels about hot beverages in general....

but we showed my school RN that she was able to choke it down... poor kiddo was DOWN... she even missed school on Friday.... 

but she rallied when I got home so that we were able to go finish the process of "never getting this time back in our lives"....

The "OG" "gaming" :) Miss Mary...

Paisyn slept over because Miss B had planned to decorate for Christmas... she was sooooo EXCITED! Please note, Christmas tree truck PJ's, Santa socks, and the Yeti from the Christmas movie...:) Love these two!

Husband was zipping around getting things tied up before surgery and he walked down with me to steal some shelf space from Eric and Heather for my dahlias! :) I'm not optimistic that I will be able to "winter" them but we are giving it a concerted effort!

Drilling holes in the tote and EVERYTHING!

When we got home I snapped a couple of pics of the gals handiwork... they did a GREAT job!

The Mouse House is cozy and ready for our Christmas tree after Thanksgiving!

World Diabetes Day

The Week Thus Far...

Time in our life we can't get back... dealing with cellphones...

BUT.... BONUS look who we got to SEE!!! (Abbey was already with us...)

but BONUS HO-HAHN!

We took Abbey home with us for dinner and Barks was SOOOO HAPPY for the SNUGGLING!

On Wednesday, CJ came over for burgers... *ahem* I mean to do a project :) See that cord hanging down??

 

Yay!

Wordless Wednesday

 

The Weekend Report

 Both gals had VERY fun Friday/Saturday plans... Minnie left school at 10:30 on Friday with Coach Blair and her Skylar and headed for VT to watch the New England XC meet and support Abbey!!!! Miss B was headed to Reese's house for a sleepover before going to a horse show on Saturday morning.... Husband and I threw around the idea of leaving RIGHT when I got home from work on Friday to "skip up" to Rangeley for the night and I even called our favorite hotel to see if they had space (which they did) but then I started thinking about being 3 hours from Miss B and I just.couldn't.do.it. 

So once I dropped Miss B and Paisyn with Reese's Mom... Husband and I headed south to enjoy our gift card to the Steakhouse...YUM! 

Minnie was living her best life... ran the course with Abbey on Friday...

Played games in the hotel room...

and went out to eat!

Meanwhile I was getting pics from Miss B's fun... her perfect night... snuggled on the couch looking at horse books with a dog... :)

Abbey ran a GREAT RACE on Saturday and these two had so much fun cheering her on!

I was happy to have everyone back under one roof by Saturday night and Sunday we kept it low-key with church, groceries and deep couch sitting...