I am soooooo not ready for this!

Lily came out of her room crying this morning. Big. real. tears.

My mind raced. Did she have a bad dream? Did she wet the bed? Did she fall down the ladder from her bunk?

When she got her sobs under control she told me that she thought she had an owie on her tooth.

Okay. I can deal with "teeth owies", so I thought.

I took a look.

No owies in sight.

I questioned her further...I don't see anything Lily, which tooth hurts?

She points to the bottom left center....the very first tooth her sweet baby gums had bore. Back when she was way too young and nursing was still way too difficult. Ugh! How quickly my mind returns to those days.

Okay, back on track.

This one, Lily?

In a terrified voice, she confesses that when she touches it, it WIGGLES.

Oh my goodness. I hold her tight. My baby CANNOT already be losing a tooth.

And then the squeamish part of me starts to gross out envisioning the process.

How long will it take? Will there be strings and doorknobs involved? Lots of blood?

Calm my heart.

Then I remember the adorable tooth pillow I spied a while back at a gift shop. Yes! It is no longer a splurge or an unnecessary item. I NEED it now.

My baby girl has a loose tooth! Retail therapy is in order!

Tickles, Giggles, and SMACK!

Tickling.

I cannot stand to be tickled. Ah...I hate it. The helpless feeling. Near suffocation from lack of breaths. Possibility of urinating. Whatever. I just do not like it.

My girls though?

They love it. They beg for it!



My apologies for the loud TV in the background...our beloved Mavericks are in the playoffs!

Next, the tickle monster attacks Lily by activating her "collapse button"...and things get a little out of hand...



See? Did you see, and hear, that SMACK at the end? Now I am wearing a busted lip. Just another reason to hate tickling.

Peonies

Well look what I found when I came around the side yard with the mower...


Peonies!

Who would have planted these on the side of the house? I guess my neighbor gets to enjoy them from her kitchen window.


I was shocked because I didn't think they grew in Texas. We picked 3 of the fullest blooms and I told the girls we could float them in a bowl of water. They smell wonderful! I got hung up visiting with a neighbor and the next thing I knew, Lily was bringing out my largest stock pot. She had been plunging them in the water.

Not exactly what I had in mind. Thankfully it looks like we'll have several more chances to get it right...the bushes are full of blooms!

A Peek at the Blooms in our Yard

We have been so blessed by inheriting a master gardener's yard. I don't think there is one non-blooming thing planted...even the trees are showing off gorgeous blossoms.

Azaleas

Dutch Iris

Chinese Fringe

Jasmine

White Dogwood

Yellow Lady Banks Roses

Narcissus

Japanese Maple

Pink Dogwood

Some of those have faded and new things are blooming now! Unfortunately it's not just the flowers that are thriving. The weeds seem to love this soil too. So if I gave you the full view...just to keep things real, you'd see this: OVERGROWN MESS!

As well as a dismantled play system that we finally got out of storage. Jerry got it pretty much put together this weekend...just in time for the rain and cold to set in. Boo!

Oh and the tour wouldn't be complete without a shot of another overgrown flower bed that the cats have chosen for their litter box. Lovely.

Of course I did say I wouldn't care where they went, at least I am not changing a litter box anymore. A neighbor just told me about Critter Ridder which I will be putting down soon. I love pulling weeds, but I think running into "litter" would take all the fun out.

Texas Bluebonnet Beauties

So wishing I had my good camera with me while we risked our lives on the side of the road to get a few bluebonnet pics...



but I didn't, so these will have to suffice.

From the mouths of Lily and Jade

I have to record a few mistakes in Jade's speech that continually make us chuckle. Soon she will heed our corrections and inevitably we will forget she ever did it.

body
I am sitting on my body.
Ooh. I can see your body.
I better get my panties on so you can't see my body.
body=bottom

cinderella
Mom, why are you bringing your cinderella?
We're going to need a cinderella today!
Where is my Pooh cinderella?
cinderella=umbrella

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Lily got so frustrated with me the other day in the van. She began telling me that she really wanted to watch "Hazel".
Me-Hazel?
Lily-Yes, Hazel!
Me-(completely stumped) Like your hazel eyes?
Lily-No! The girl who has the long hair!
Me-(relieved) Oh...you mean Rapunzel! Okay, well I'll look for that video.
Lily-So mom, do you think it would hurt to have a prince climb up your hair?
Me-Hmm. Not sure that I really want to find out my dear!

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To find out how other kiddos are making their parents chuckle, head over to:

Update on Dad!

Wow, it has been a whirlwind since I blogged Thursday morn from the OR waiting room. My dad was only in surgery for four hours and they successfully completed 5 bypasses. Amazing!

He had some panicky moments coming off the vent, but he did get off of that too...the same afternoon as surgery. Also amazing!

He had an unfortunate event with his catheter Friday afternoon and that has really been the most of his worries. I will spare you the details, but I witnessed it and it was not pretty.

After all that was resolved, he was up on the floor by Saturday afternoon. Saturday night was a rough night...he had some arrhythmia and ended back up on some IV medicine and was unable to sleep. When I saw him yesterday the IV port was still in his neck and he still had 2 chest tubes, but other than that, he was TUBE FREE! Pretty amazing...considering all the lines he had running before.

We are so thankful for the talents with which the Lord blesses physicians and nurses. I am guessing maybe he'll go home Tuesday. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.

A Heart Healthy Recipe

Who knew?!? The ICU waiting room is equipped with WIFI.

My dad went in for bypass surgery about an hour ago. He was in good spirits, joking around, and even mooned me purposefully from his hospital gown. He learned that from my grandpa apparently. Dear Lord!

My mom and sis are both waiting on me to type up a recipe for them, so since it is a heart healthy one, I will just post it here...typing it up will help ease my nerves and pass the time until the first update from the surgeon.

I got it from a good friend years ago when she hosted a cooking class at her home. Oh the things we did before we had kids!

Green Bean and Feta Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed (about 4 handfuls)
  
• 1 small purple onion, finely chopped
  
• 1 (6-ounce) package crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Preparation:

1) Roast walnuts 5-10 minutes on 350 degrees. Set aside until just before serving.
2) Combine dressing ingredients (olive oil through pepper).
3) Add onion and cheese to dressing.
4) Arrange green beans in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam 15 minutes or until crisp-tender. Immediately plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process; drain and pat dry.
5) Add the green beans to the dressing mixture
5) Chill green bean/dressing mixture in fridge for about one hour.
6) Top with roasted walnuts before serving.

It is a super tasty chilled summer salad...one that I plan on bringing over to my dad's once he is home!

My mom tried it on Easter with asparagus and it was super tasty as well...although from the top of my memory I had left out several ingredients! Oops...here it is in its totality, Mom!

Good thing Easter isn't just about the bunny...

otherwise Lily and Jade wouldn't have been able to celebrate.

We went early Friday morning to do an Easter breakfast and egg hunt at the botanical garden. The girls couldn't even concentrate on breakfast when the Easter Bunny got too close.


Jade's face cracks me up! I do agree that huge bunnies are a little strange! At least Santa is life size.

It did seem a little weird to be enjoying egg hunts on Good Friday, but all the other dates had sold out.
The girls really seemed to understand the Easter story this year. It seemed to especially sink in with Lily although Jade was definitely absorbing some of the facts if not the meaning. We opened up a new Resurrection Egg each evening after dinner and felt the anticipation of the empty tomb build. So thankful the Lord conquered the grave!

On Easter morning, Daddy was in charge of getting the pre-church photos while I finished getting ready. I think he did a great job getting some shots in front of the Dogwood tree.

Decorating the cross at church...


It was a great weekend! Jerry didn't have any church meetings due to the holiday so we really enjoyed getting to ride to church together as a family and hanging out at Gramma's that afternoon.

The cousins had fun...and I chuckled to learn that even big cuz' Avery shared in their Easter Bunny fears...he had to deliver her basket and goodies to my sister's car because Avery forbid him to enter the house!

Reminded me of when Lily requested Santa to use FedEx to deliver her gifts. Ah, kids!