Healing and yard work

Chloe is feeling better today. She spent more time coughing yesterday than she did the day she was diagnosed. She did well at taekwondo, but spent most of the ride home coughing. I think sparring was a bit much for her, but she has settled down now.

John and I set up the raised garden bed last night. I didn't get a picture of it today (too many things happening today). We still need to get in all the screws and the dirt. lol  We have plants to put in the bed when it is ready, then I'll fill the pots with annuals.

I have to admit I've neglected some plants in the yard, namely the butterfly bush. I didn't realize, until late last year, you should cut them back every year. I talked to my Dad last weekend. I told him the butterfly bush had already beginning to leaf, but I still had not cut it back yet. He and I decided I should go ahead and cut it back even though it may not grow out this year. Well. I went out there a couple of days ago. I think the bush knew what I was thinking. At the base of the plant, there were quite a few brand new leaves growing. Awesome! I cut everything I could with my loppers, which was almost all of it. There were two branches I had to leave about six inches because I needed the bigger cutters, but didn't feel like walking to the garage. I'll fix the rest over the weekend.

Happy Earth Day!

I had big plans for Earth day. In fact, I had been planning for a couple of weeks. But alas the best laid plans. Chloe started coughing yesterday morning, and by last night her throat was very sore. This morning she was diagnosed with strep. So, no Earth day plans and no school. Rest is what she has been doing.

Jesse has been bored all day and making sure I know it. I've been working on some projects that didn't get done over the weekend because I was helping John with a yard project.

The yard project is a raised garden bed. All the wood has been stained (Avalanche-white) and the boards have been pre-drilled. We just have to put it in place, fill it with dirt and plants. Then we're off! I'm hoping we'll get it finished this weekend. We are also hoping to get the pool area re-leveled. So much yard work! lol 

We spent Saturday at my parents' house. We were celebrating quite a few things: Easter, Mother's Day and our anniversary. My Mom dyed eggs with girls. I've decided that next I'm getting my Mom her own eggs to dye; she kept taking the girls! lol

I've lost count with how many times Hank has been to my parents now. But I think he is feeling comfortable.

Typical day

Today has been rather mundane. Chloe finished most of her school work this morning while Jesse volunteered. I actually got some grading done too, and almost finished writing up a history test for Jesse. I had three pages left to review when she finished working. Darn it! lol 

Jesse's mouth is feeling somewhat better, but she still is not eating solid (yes, you have to chew it) kinds of food yet. She is totally enjoying mac and cheese every day for lunch. Yep. She is a mac and cheese girl. She said her mouth is feeling much better. I'm hoping by the weekend she'll be able to chew some foods.

Everything else seems to be running smoothly. I did, however, forget to thaw out chicken for dinner so I'll have to figure something out there. We'll see how that goes later.

Well, I'll get back to working now. I still have a few papers to grade and that test to finish.

Jesse got her braces on!

Yes, today was the day Jesse got braces on. We took her in this morning. She was fine (with the pain) until this afternoon, when the Tylenol started wearing off. She has been eating, somewhat. Tonight for dinner we had Chinese food and she had the noodles. Poor girl could not eat her eggroll; they are her favorite food ever!

I have to say, so far, we are really impressed by Dr. Jernigan. Our first visit was in his brand new building, and it is beautiful. You can tell he really took his patients and their families into consideration with the design. He also has a new 3D imaging machine (I can't recall the exact name) that not only has "a fraction of the radiation" of his old 2D machine, but it also means no more "molds" of your mouth. Jesse actually saw a video of it and was glad she was not going to have to do that.

We were sitting around the living room when the phone rang about twenty-five minutes ago. It was Dr. Jernigan. Not one of his employees, but the man himself! He was calling to check on Jesse. Amazing! I'm so glad we didn't listen to the girls' dentist or mine (neither recommended Dr. J. even though he is on our insurance provider's list). What sold us was everyone we talked to, two close friends of mine and several of John's co-workers all used him and highly recommended him. I'm so glad we listened to friends rather than those who may have been trying to line their own pockets.

Here she is!

 

Yes, she is making faces at me. What else did you expect? lol

Another beautiful day!

We started a little earlier today, than we did yesterday. We made our Lowe's trip early. Of course, that store was out of the mulch we needed too. But they'll have more Tuesday. The sale ends Monday...of course! Oh, well. We'll get mulch later in the week, or try a third Lowe's. lol

We bought quite a few plants today: a tomato, marigolds, pickling cucumber, dill, basil, green pepper and three irises. The only plants that have been planted today, so far, are the irises. If you know our yard, then you know where the hosta/hydrangea bed is located. We had a few hostas that were in a part of the bed that got too much sun for hostas. I moved them this morning, then planted the irises in that spot. The irises should love it there. The hydrangea is growing nicely and the hostas are too.

John and I started working on clearing the area around the fence. John actually worked on it yesterday. Today, we split up. John continued working on the side he started yesterday and I started working on the pool side. It looks pretty good. We still have about 100 feet left to clear, then we'll start felling more trees. We are mainly going to get rid of the pine trees. (I'm allergic to their pollen, so they need to go!).

We finally got the girls to agree on a color to stain the swing set. While John and I cleared land, they started staining.

The one plant in our yard that didn't need any work done was the phlox. Every year they spread out more and more. I just love them!

I also realized today that I mentioned, months ago, about starting to use our Disney cups for utensil holders. I can't remember if I ever put a picture on the blog, so I'm adding one now.

Jesse goes tomorrow morning to get her braces. She is more focused on her favorite things she won't be able to eat for awhile: Dots and Milky Way Midnight bars. We bought her two boxes of Dots last week. She's had quite a few Milky Way Midnights lately too. I'll try to remember to have her some waiting in the car when she gets her braces off.

Let's go outside!

Today was absolutely beautiful! We headed off to Lowe's this morning for a few items. I believe every one in Camden had the same idea. We didn't get our mulch, because they were sold out, but John was able to find the screws he needed.

We spent the afternoon outside working on some projects. John even grilled tonight...Korean BBQ! Yummo!!!

I have to go now...

A moment in time

Some weeks, like this one, are super busy. Even so I'm trying to find time to relax. Today, the girls and I found ourselves in one of the most beautiful settings for lunch. We stopped by a drive-thru for food then went to Shaw AFB. I remembered there was park on the way to the PX, or BX (I forget which the AF uses). We took our lunch there to discover the park was up on a small hill and at the bottom was a beautiful pond. It was just lovely; between the warm air and nice breeze, I could have stayed there all day. The girls played on the playground for a few minutes after they ate. I think we'll have to find our way back there again, maybe with a fishing rod next time. The only thing missing was my camera to capture the moment, so this post will have to do.