And The Answer Is....

Hello all! I've gotten a wide range of guesses for our little contest and I'm sure that you've all been going mad with anticipation, so I'll end the suspense now.

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And the answer is...
---Andy's Stitches---
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***WARNING: If you're sensitive about body functions/medical stuff,***
***you might not want to read this!***
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I wrote in another post about how Andrew's incision from his surgery still hadn't healed after over a month of rest & recovery. Needless to say, we thought that was really strange, and we'd even asked the Dr. about it. He seemed to think that everything was OK, but Andrew still thought that something was wrong.
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The other night Andrew was looking at his scar & noticed that it was oozing a little bit of pus. Since he's a man & can't ever leave well enough alone, he squeezed it to get the pus out, and out popped this!

The rounded end came out first, so it totally looked like there was a worm coming out of his stomach. You should've heard the girly scream that came out of his mouth! And I had just finished watching Grey's Anatomy the night before- the one about the guy with worms in his head- and they looked EXACTLY like this stitch. So I was pretty freaked out, but couldn't show it because Andy looked like he was about to totally lose it.

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Upon further examination, I noticed that the top part of the suspicious worm looked like it was tied in a perfect square knot! Hmmm... I guess we had our answer. Somehow this disolvable stitch ripped out of the muscles INSIDE my husband & worked its way out of the tissues until it popped out last week. GROSS!! And even more worrisome, did that mean that there was part of the surgery that wasn't successful? Because we now know that there are muscles in there that aren't being held together like they're supposed to be. Ugh- will this saga ever end?
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Apparently the Dr says that it's fine. If the body didn't want that particular object inside, then it "dispelled" it. And he seems to think that the muscles will still be fine. Whatever. I guess we'll see.
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So thank you to all that participated- I've posted all of the comments & guesses that we received, so be sure to go back & read them. I think that Jamie would win the prize (if I had one) for the most guesses & enthusiasm. Although, I did really get a kick out of the idea that Wendy thought I'd put a picture of a booger on my blog! Too funny!

Update: Can You Guess?

This test is really Andy's idea, and he wants to see how creative you all can be.

And just so you'll all stretch your brains here's a hint:

It is not a hearing aid.

OK- go ahead & try again!

Can You Guess?

OK. Here's a little test.

I have an object & want to see if anybody can guess what it is!

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(Just for size comparison, that's Andrew's wedding ring around it.)

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You'll have until 8:00 pm on Wednesday night to submit your guess. I won't publish the guesses until after the contest is over so that no one can cheat.

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Good Luck!

I CAN Do This!

I have to admit, I did kind of think that the first go-round with Emma's "heart" hair might've been a fluke. I think I thought it was kind of accident that I got it right. But, Emma & I have established a routine of trying 1 new hairstyle every day after she gets up after her nap, & I think that I might just be getting the hang of this!

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We tried this "twisty" style on Wednesday & I only screwed up & had to look at the examples on the computer once to finally get it right. Now I think I could do it with no coaching from the hair blogs at all. Yea!

My next posts will be more interesting, I promise.

My Masterpiece

I am so proud of myself. I have ventured into the girly world of hair-dos & come out unscathed.

Behold my masterpiece-

No, not Emma- the hair! (Although I do think that Emma is a pretty great creation, too!)

I know that the back looks pretty messy, but Emma insisted that she wanted 1 more big heart in the back for Daddy. Never mind that she was DONE holding still- it was my job to make it happen. So even though the back looks kind of funny, I was pretty pleased with myself. Yea! Maybe I can be successful as the mom of a girly-girl after all!

I do feel the need to mention that this post is mostly for Emma. When I was showing her the pictures on the various hair blogs I was surfing yesterday, she had the nerve to ask me "Are you sure you can do that, Mom?" (I can hear you all laughing!) But I proved her (& myself) wrong. I'm sure there will be more pictures of my victories & failures to come. I will get good at this hair thing if it kills me!

Goin' Through "The Change"

So what do you think- is this a good look for me?

I hope it is, because I want to look the part when I go to church on Sunday. Andrew & I were just called as the librarians for our ward! You know how it's usually little old ladies or older married couples that have that calling? Well, apparently some members of our ward thought so, because I actually saw people laughing & sniggering behind their hands when we stood to be confirmed. But the thing that surprised me is I had more than 1 person tell me that they were jealous that we got this calling! Who knew?

And it shouldn't be too long before I look more like this lady than I would ever want to. Last night I found my first...

wait for it...

GRAY HAIR!!!!!!

I am still in shock, and pretty much in complete denial.

(Andy thought it was hilarious, of course.)

Help me- I'm getting old!!!!

One Sweet Day

Valentine's Day was awesome this year. Andy let me sleep in because I was up all night the 2 previous nights with sick kids, and when I did wake up, I heard a little tap on my door. Andy told Frank to go away & let Mommy sleep, but I heard Frank say "But I want to say Happy Valentine's Day!" It totally melted my heart, and needless to say, I was ready to get up after that! Andrew is AMAZING, and had helped the kids make homemade cards for me, and even created a masterpiece worthy of Hallmark from himself. It still brings tears to my eyes to think about them- they're that sweet.

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For a sweet activity for the kids, I made sugar cookies & let them go crazy decorating them.

Jack watched, but Mommy wasn't about to let him dig into that frosting!

The more Frank made, the less he put on them. Do you think that all of that candy is going to stick to that much frosting?

Emma is a "More is more" kind of girl.

Daddy & Jack having a conversation before we left for town.

Sticking to our tradition of doing a family date on Valentine's Day, we decided to take the kids to the movies & out to dinner. They LOVE being able to go on a real date with Mom & Dad, and it makes me glad that we do this for them. And they don't care if it's the dollar theater & coupons with dinner. They just love being together & doing something special with us.

When we got home, I let the kids choose a cookie to eat. Wait a minute- Mommy made that cookie, Emma! "But it's just so pretty, can I have it?" Hmmm..... Yes, I'm a good Mommy & let her have it, but that meant that I had to eat one of Emma's candy-laden delights. Ugh- most of the candy went in the trash before I even took a bite. I'm a "Less is More" kind of cookie person.

Hope your Valentine's Day was half as sweet as ours!

At Least I Tried!

I have long wished that I could be a crafty type of person. I see the cute & creative things that people around me create, and I yearn to be even a little talented in that area. But alas, it's just not meant to be. I remember my sister & mother trying to teach me how to paint cute little crafty plaques & even a nativity that my grandpa made for us. Theirs looked like they'd ordered them from a magazine, while my poor little nativity sheep is continually mistaken for a dog.

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"Did Jesus have a puppy when he was born, Mom?" Ugh.

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I have accepted my fate, and don't feel too badly about it anymore. I just accept that I'm much better at putting up tables & chairs than arranging the centerpieces at wedding receptions. That's just me, and I'm OK with me.

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But there are times when I do try to step out of my dull, bland existence & try to be more colorful & interesting. Usually these instances have something to do with my kids, and this week was no exception. It was Valentine's week at Emma's preschool, and I feel the same way about store-bought Valentines as I do about store-bought Halloween costumes. It's just more fun when you do it yourself!

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So I consulted one of my very crafty & creative friends for an idea. And I would like to thank Shannon for sending me an easy idea- one that I could complete without too much trouble. It's like she knows how craft-handicapped I am! So this it the inspiration:

Hmmm, I don't have stamps, or fancy paper, or even the ability to make fancy papers match one another. So the thing that really saved me is that I won a card-making kit at Aunt Josylyn's bridal shower. It's filled with color-coordinated paper, pre-cut shapes, and even fancy scrapbooking scissors. Hallelujah!

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So Emma & I sat down one afternoon & I let her call the shots. At first she wanted them to be very complex & fancy, but then she pared down the steps & just added the stickers. That's OK with me- they were for her friends, after all.

Emma did all of the steps except for cutting out the paper & punching the holes. I was very impressed! Good job, hon. I hope your friends liked them!

Taking a Breather

Whew! It's so nice to be able to sit & just relax for a few minutes. The kids are exhausted from playing in the snow this morning, so they're taking naps, and the baby is finally calm enough to sleep. It has been one heck of a weekend! My kids have been on a rotating schedule of needing Mommy. I will literally get 1 or 2 into bed, and by the time I walk out the door of their room, the other one is crying & ready for me. It's been absolute non-stop, and I am so grateful that I can just sit still for a moment or two.

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Last week was filled to the brim with Dr's appointments, meetings, kindergarten stuff, and family activities. So wouldn't you just know that the second we stopped to take a breath, Jack & Emma both came down sick. Jack barely had a tiny cough & low fever. But of course Emma goes from fine to deathly ill in about 2 hours. We barely had time to start her breathing treatments before we were calling the Dr & getting directions to start her on the steroids. And since she got so bad so quickly, they didn't work as fast as they usually do, and we've spent the last 3 days doing breathing treatments every 2 hours & coaxing her to take the nasty tasting meds. I was holding my breath all Saturday night & Sunday morning because I was pretty sure we'd end up in the ER. But luckily, she turned the corner on Sunday afternoon & we were able to keep her home. Poor girl- I can't imagine how sick she'd get if we didn't know exactly what to watch for & what to do the instant we noticed symptoms. Asthma sucks!

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This morning she was feeling well enough to go to school, and she even played outside in the snow for an hour without coughing. Yea! I thought Frank might be coming down with the bug, but he's been OK so far. Good, because he's really excited for his "Cookie Party" at a friend's house tomorrow.

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Other than kids having the cooties, we're all doing OK. Andrew is still on light duty at work, and wondering why his incision is still popping open & bleeding. (Shouldn't it be healed after almost a month?) And I'm just going to veg for as long as I can- until I start to feel to guilty & get up to finish the dishes I started an hour ago. Life as a mommy- it never ends! But that's why we get paid the big bucks, right?

4 Months Already!

Jack had his 4 month checkup this week, and he's perfect! He's 13 pounds, 4 ounces and 25 inches long. That puts him squarely at the 50% mark for both categories. His stats may say that he's average, but he's definitely not average in the personality department.

Jack has an amazing smile, and we'll do pretty much anything to make him grin. He is such a blessing to us, and I can't even believe that he's already 4 months old!

My husband has an overwhelming desire to feed our babies ice cream. I have pictures of all of them with ice cream dribbling from their chins way before they've even had their first taste of baby cereal. Thanks, Dad!

Check this out- I think it's a hit!