I don’t know what it is, but I have had no motivation to go near a computer since my surgery. But today is one week post op, and I feel like the fog is lifting a bit. I’m wearing contacts for the first time in a week!
Healing is going fine, but I’m not going to lie, it’s intense. But totally worth it. I won’t be able to see my final shape until the drains are out (ewww) but so far, so good!
Kristina’s been here since Monday and she’s been ruthlessly organizing my house. The boys came home last night from spending time with all of their grandparents, and they are doing their best to undo her hard work. But it’s good to have them back, hearing their sweet little voices.
I thought last weekend was busy. I mean, the one before this past one. (I’m a bit late blogging about it.) Remember, I posted about how busy it was? Yeah, that was just a practice run for this past weekend. Get a load of this…
Friday
Boys get off school at noon. I put in a whopping three hours of work before I have to leave to get them. (No aftercare.) We go have lunch at my friend’s restaurant.
It takes a little longer than anticipated, but the food is great. There was a French couple sitting at the next table who were delighted by Oliver’s rendition of “Alouette” that they overheard.
We leave the restaurant and go across town for haircuts. It’s worth driving across town for $10 haircuts. We’re out of there in half an hour. Another benefit of the $10 haircuts.
Blurry pic of new haircuts
We swing through the Starbucks drive thru for snacks and coffee for Mommy, and then back to school for parent-teacher conferences! I have mine lined up three in a row, and the boys sit in the hall* while their teachers tell me nice things about them.
Clearly, they were VERY excited.
*not really. They ran up and down the hall, poked their head in the doors, etc, etc.
Rundown of the conferences (all three teachers pretty much said the same things.)
– They’re much less shy than they were at the beginning of the year.
– They all play with other kids in addition to their brothers
– They love to draw and are really good at it
– They’re eating slightly better (i.e., at all.)
– They’re very smart, can do their worksheets without help from the teachers
All good things, no major concerns, music to my ears.
After the conferences, we had a little time to kill until we needed to be at the park for a birthday party for one of Miles’s classmates, so we ran to the grocery store.
They had a buy one, get two free sale on little boys. I stocked up.
Finally we headed to the park and the boys played while I talked to the other parents.
They were obsessed with playing tetherball. The older kids were so sweet and played with them.
We get home around 7:30, the boys get a bath, and off to bed. On the way home, though, I call my friend Teresa, desperate for a bottle of wine. She just happened to be at the neighborhood wine bar and we arranged for her to bring me out a bottle of wine when I pulled up outside. Superstar!
Saturday
Made some dips (like last weekend) while feeding the boys breakfast. And then off we went to Chuck E. Cheese’s for a birthday party. For one of Miles’s classmates. I was able to relax a bit while the boys played with their friends. Miles had a bad time with the C.E.C. that walks around. He doesn’t like.
After the party, we ran across the river to pick up a cake for my friend Amelia’s baby shower that I was hosting. Also some wine. Always good to have on hand.
Get home, drop Miles and Oliver off at home, and Linus and I go to my friend Steph’s house, where the shower is being held. Inexplicably, Linus wanted to come with me. So he did.
The shower was lovely. Linus played with my phone the whole time, so I don’t have any photos. Sad. It was hot outside, and muggy, but at least it didn’t pour.
Got home, did a bit of laundry and cleaning and relaxing.
Went out to meet my friend Anne and a friend of hers for dinner. Also at The Irish House. Was yum, had a great time. Home, bed, zzzz.
Me and Anne, looking very pink
Sunday
Fed the boys, etc. Went to Mary Catherine’s house to snugglephotograph baby Hank for a few hours. Then came home, relaxed for a bit, then headed to Audubon Park (with boys in tow) to photograph another set of triplets. And after that, we went to a nearby birthday party where the boys RODE THE PONY! TWICE EACH!! This may not seem like a huge deal to you, but trust me, it is. I was so, so proud of them for being so brave! My little cowboys. Sniff, sniff.
This weekend, among many other things (more on those later), I took newborn photos of baby Hank. This is the only photo I’ve edited so far, and I’m in love with it. I was trying to go for something as dramatic as this photo I took of Ann Frances last year, and I think I succeeded. Love squishy babies!
My heart, that is. My doctor called me back yesterday and let me know that the results of my echocardiogram were a-ok. Whew. I wasn’t really worried, but at the back of your mind there’s always a tiny worry.
And I just wanted to post this picture. This is the artwork in the bathroom at my plastic surgeon’s office. Strange choice.
Yeah, pretty much the most depressing newspaper front pages ever. Hmm.
Okay, fine. Not that kind, but how many people did I freak out, huh? Between that and the fact that I had a baby bassinet sitting in my office for a week, I’ve been giving people tiny heart attacks for a while now. Too fun.
Nah, it’s no biggie. My surgery is a week away, and yesterday I went for a pre-op with my surgeon. She heard a heart murmur (which I’ve always known I’ve had, but hell, I’ve run two marathons and ten half marathons [so can I say six marathons? Only kidding.] without a problem, so I’m not at all worried) so I’m getting an echocardiogram today. Which is apparently basically an ultrasound of your heart. Pretty cool. Except for the goo part. And hearts aren’t as cute as babies. But a heckofalot less work. Or not. Hmm. I’m babbling. I don’t even know if I made a complete sentence up there, with all those parentheses and brackets. Don’t judge. Maybe I’m a little nervous. Hmm.
In any case, it’s quite handy, because the echocardiogram place is a mere floor up from baby Hank! What a wonderful coincidence! So after I get a peek at my heart, I’ll get to sneak some snuggles in with this sweet little cowboy:
Oh please, enough with the pictures.
Dude doesn’t know what he’s in for. This weekend, I’ll be photographing him, and let’s just say there’s going to be a cowboy boot involved. Possibly a baby in a cowboy boot. Just wait.
Saturday was the baby shower for my friend Mary Catherine’s third baby, their first boy. (Yeah, yeah, say what you will about third babies and showers, but when it’s a good friend, why shouldn’t you celebrate every baby?) I was one of the hostesses, so I spent the first part of the morning making three dips. I’ll share the recipes because they were all delish.
Admittedly, the third dip (the white bean one) was the least exciting, so I don’t know if I’ll be making it again (even though I did put a sage sprig in the dip just like in the picture.) Maybe I’ll use a different recipe. But the artichokes with goat cheese? A definite winner. I don’t even need to tell you how good the Nutella dip was.
But before the shower, the boys had a playdate. Their first playdate! And with their best friends at school, Anders and Lewis. They’re twins. (Poor Miles doesn’t have an Anders or a Lewis in his class. But he does have a Millie.) We went to their {very very cool} house and the moms hung out while the kids played. It was great, and hopefully just the first of many.
Little boys wreaking havoc
After we left the playdate, I dropped the boys off at Granny and Grandpa’s, and raced across town to get to the shower in time. Just made it! Whew.
And since Mary Catherine is so very Southern, the shower was adorable and full of cute little touches, mostly thanks to her sister, who is also, of course, very Southern.
And I’m happy to say that baby Hank made his arrival this morning, safe and sound. I’ll be doing his newborn photos this weekend. Can’t wait!
Ann Frances is now a big sister!
After the shower, I was pretty wiped out, so I relaxed (child-free!) for the rest of the evening.
Sunday morning, I ran an 8k race. Yes, and I mean, I ran the entire race. I haven’t run more than maybe 4 miles in a row in forever. Maybe less than that! But my friend Heather, who I ran it with, said she wanted to try running the whole way, and I thought, “why not?” The weather was almost perfect for it (cool and cloudy) and it wasn’t THAT far – 4.8 miles. And we did it! I did have to stop for a potty break (darn tiny bladder) but the energy I expended catching back up to Heather was probably more than if I’d just kept running.
We finished in 58 minutes, woo hoo! I think it’s kind of funny that if I do run/walk, I can go faster (11 minute pace instead of just under 12) but I wasn’t worried about time for this race, just running.
After the race, we went to our friends’ Irish restaurant (where else) for brunch. And then I raced across town (in a car this time) to get the boys for a birthday party. Miles had a cough, so he came home with me while Oliver and Linus partied. (Their first drop-off party!)
I went to take photos of a very pretty triplet family, and then went to the grocery store, blah blah blah who wants to hear about my trip to Sam’s?
As of this morning, I have thirteen days until my surgery. That’s less than two weeks. Holy cow, how did that happen? It’s like pregnancy. The first trimester took an eternity, but the rest of it flew by. For this, it felt like eons passed while I waited to be able to say “it’s a month away” and all of a sudden we’re talking about less than a fortnight! (And now I’m patting myself on the back for being able to use “fortnight” in a post.)
Today I have a doctor’s appointment for a checkup, just to make sure I’m shipshape and healthy and all that good stuff. I’m not worried. I’m horse-like in my healthiness. But I can’t say I’m looking forward to getting blood drawn. On the other hand, I’m interested to hear in a quantitative manner how my health has improved since losing weight over the past year.
Next week is my pre-op appointment with my surgeon, which will partially involve both forking over a large sum of money and taking humiliating photos. I can’t say I’m looking forward to either of those things, but it’s all part of the process. And THEN, just eight days later…I’ll be gutted like a fish. Sorry. But it’s kind of true. Don’t search Google Images for abdominoplasty, btw. Unless you want to have nightmares.
A friend is loaning me her recliner, which is where I’ll sleep for a while. Kiki is coming the following Monday to help out for a week. Now isn’t THAT an awesome friend – it’s not like I’ll get to do anything fun. Fortunately, fun for her is organizing. And there is always plenty of that at my house.
But backing up – so many exciting things going on before the surgery. Two baby showers for dear friends, and the arrival of baby Hank in just a few days! The boys are particularly excited about seeing what Hank is going to look like. Melt.
Come on, time, move faster! Just for a little while!
And to make this post even prettier, I shall share some recent pics…
Photo credit: OliverBFFsLinus looking like a teenagerThis morning’s vibrantly green smoothie. Containing a shitload of spinach, peaches, blueberries, greek yogurt and almond milk. Deelish. Trying to pack in the vitamins and minerals in preparation for my surgery, which is two weeks from today!Ann Frances (or as the boys call her, Aunt Frances) is getting so big! And in just a few days, she’ll be a big sister.
I feel like I haven’t posted a real blog post in a while, so here goes…
The weekend before last was crazy busy. I had an Easter egg hunt (that I was an organizer of) on Saturday morning, a neighborhood party (that I was supposed to be helping out with) Saturday night, then a day’s worth of photography on Sunday. Busy, busy, busy.
The Easter egg hunt went great. We had about 200 kids, and all proceeds went to the March of Dimes. The weather was nice, and even though we didn’t have enough eggs, really, everyone had a great time.
The boys had fun playing with a portable microphone I borrowed from a friend:
Later that evening was a Candyland-themed fundraiser for our neighborhood park. I had volunteered to photograph people outside the “Gingerbread House”, but the weather went from gorgeous in the morning to freezing and ominous in the evening. Suffice it to say, no one wanted their picture taken, and after the boys whined at me for an hour and a half, we left. I dropped them off at Granny and Grandpa’s in advance of my photo day on Sunday.
Sunday was spent photographing seven of our triplet families. It was meant to be spring pictures, but it was, oh, 40 degrees. But at least it was sunny! I spent all day at the park, and had a great time. I was really nervous about doing this, but it went much better than I could have hoped! Here are some of my favorites from the day:
So that was fun, but exhausting.
And then last week, George became mobile again. Woo hoo! He’s still doing a bit of limping, but at least we were able to send the peg leg back.
This weekend was pretty busy too. Though I can’t seem to remember exactly what we did. There was a family lunch involved on Saturday, at Panera. The only thing I can say about that is, what crazy kids don’t like grilled cheese?!? (I am guessing you can figure out the answer to that.)
And then yesterday was the boys’ school fundraiser. I was asked to be the official photographer, but I got a VIP ticket out of it, so I consider that a good deal! It was very nice.
The only problem was, I didn’t get home until 11. The boys were staying with Granny & Grandpa since I was gone so much of yesterday at the event, and since I was called in for jury duty today, I had to leave the house at the crack of dawn, drive to G&G’s, pick up the boys, drive across town to school, then get back downtown to make it to court for 8:30. Ugh. I’m tired now. And it was cold and gray today, which just makes everything yuckier.
Fingers crossed I don’t get called back tomorrow, but we’ll see. I don’t find out until 5:30 the evening before. So ridiculous.
Looking forward to Wednesday – Tee and I are going to Cirque du Soleil! I’m so excited, I’ve always wanted to go. Yippee! And this weekend is a baby shower for Mary Catherine, and possibly a fun play date with friends, and maybe more triplet photos, and a St. Patrick’s Day race on Sunday that a friend roped me into. I just wish I liked Guinness. Ah well, it’ll be fun anyway!
Oh, and related to one of my last posts – I’ve been drinking smoothies every morning, and I’m really liking them. A bunch of spinach, a random assortment of frozen berries and fruit, some almond milk and a bit of greek yogurt. Yum!
It’s March, and in the next few months, a bunch of events are coming up that will necessitate gift buying. We have
– two baby showers (and the accompanying births)
– George’s birthday
– Emily and Ellie’s birthdays
– graduations
– Father’s Day
– Mother’s Day (though at least that’s the one holiday that I don’t have to buy for. Hopefully.)
Who doesn’t want to give cool gifts? Isn’t part of the fun of gift giving finding awesome, unique gifts that won’t be regifted or scorned? But there are so many places to look. What you need is a site is a carefully curated selection of gifts. Gifts for friends, kids, moms, husbands, cousins, the teenaged daughter of your friend… Read More
In light of the fact that my surgery is 23 days away (woo hoo!), I want to try to eat as healthily as possible for the next few weeks. And I thought it might be a good time to try smoothies for breakfast. So I’m looking to you guys for ideas. I know I could look on Pinterest and find a million different recipes, but I’d love to hear from you.
Here are my stipulations:
– No celery (I don’t care what you say, I *can* taste it. And even if I can’t, I’ll know it’s there.)
– No protein powder
– No soy milk
I guess those are my only stipulations, actually. I thought I’d have more. I don’t have a hardcore fancy blender, just a normal cheapish one. Will that suffice?
What do I want in my smoothies? I don’t know, I just want to get my body as prepared for this surgery as possible.
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