Birthday Parties!!

As a break in the hospital stay, Zoie & I went to a birthday party for my friend Amy's little girl, Sawyer. She had fun stuff for them to do like make foam sticker door hangers, play with balloons and of course all of Sawyer's toys! Zoie loved the play vaccuum cleaner...hmmm, have to remember that one! We didn't stay long but it was a nice distraction and is always great to see Amy & Sawyer!!







Next, we went to PCJ's 2nd Birthday party...it just doesn't seem possible that he is two already! The kids had fun playing - especially in the ball pit that PC & Wendy had out! They had a surprise for all of their guests; a new addition to the family named (Chuck) Taylor - a very sweet puppy!! I was very excited about the puppy...I've got puppy/baby fever but know I can't/shouldn't do either so it was nice to get that fix!








(My camera battery was REALLY low so I don't have many photos...)

A Hospital Stay and the Splits

Like a lot of people, we've been fighting sickness the later part of winter...Zoie's had some times here & there where she's had a really bad cold that the Dr thought might have been strep (it wasn't luckily) and then another with severe fever (over 102 degrees) that was a little bit of ear infection...in between Zoie's bouts, Mom has gotten a really bad cold, too. We thought she had gotten over it and then wham! - it came back full force, with fevers, aches, and all that in tow. One plain old Wednesday evening, Mom was resting and I went to check on her and she was on fire and delirious...I called Gary (my brother) and we decided to get her to the emergency room to get checked out (I was really worried it was the flu) - the only problem was that, in her feverish state, she was a little combative and wouldn't go anywhere. I told her she could go in the car with me or I'd call the rescue squad - guess what option happened? Yep, flashing red lights & sirens it was...along with a fire truck since they had to administer oxygen. Talk about a fantasy...7-8 firefighters were all surrounding her bed! LOL She gave them a hard time as well but then got her to get up and on the stretcher and to the hospital. It turned out that she had pneumonia in BOTH of her lungs...yikes!! They got the oxygen going and IV anti-biotics, plus breathing treatments, and she just got to rest for a good 5 days.

Zoie & I were there with her as much as we could be. I thought Zoie might be afraid of going into the hospital but she was rather intrigued and interested. She was very glad to see Gramma and liked laying in her hospital bed and watching the tv up on the wall! Ha! Gramma always tried to get 'extra' goodies from the nurses to have waiting for Zoie - all the good hospital stuff like jello, pudding, 7-up, ice cream & cookies!




Mom is home now and resting still...getting stronger every day, thank the Lord!

Well, until the next post.......oh, wait...the "splits" part of the post title?

Ok - Leave it to me to do something like this: As the EMTs were putting Mom on the stretcher outside our front door, I was up on the stoop but was in the way so I stepped off into the grass with one foot (quite a leg stretch to begin with) and when my flip-flop hit the wet grass...ZOOM!..into the full-on splits I went then BOOM on the ground!! I don't think the EMTs knew whether to help me up or bust out laughing (I would have laughed myself)! I scraped up my left ankle and really strained & bruised the hamstring on my right leg but in light of what was going on at the time, I was fine. Maybe subconsiously I was trying to get the attention of the hunky EMTs...NOT. My flip-flop did leave a nice skid-mark in the front yard though.

And It Begins...

What is "It," you ask?! IT is the wonder, the marvel, the joy that a young girl feels upon receiving her first Barbie (R) doll!! Pop-pop Jim got her one that was to be for a Christmas celebration at his parents' home, but it got cancelled so he brought it to the house. She was SO excited about the pretty doll! And I, as a mom of a daughter who wants her to have good self-esteem, was excited that they've modified the body of the doll to not be such outrageously proportioned - they're much more realistic now! (I have to honestly say that I'm also excited to get to play Barbies again - especially with her!!) Anyway, she would not put that doll down the rest of the evening, even wanting it with her when she went to bed! Notice in the pic how she's holding on to it even in her sleep!

Catching Up

I haven't posted anything for quite a while so I thought I'd better do some catch up! I'm so glad that we're on the downside of winter. We are SO ready for spring! Over the past couple months, I didn't think a lot had happened until I started looking back at the time in photos and I guess there've been a few things going on!

1. Through my job, I had to go to Topeka for a week, and because of having family all around there, I was able to bring Mom & Zoie with me. Mom hadn't been down for a visit for at least a couple of years so I as glad that she was able to go. Zoie LOVED seeing everyone and being out in the country! We got to see people we hadn't seen for a long time...Josie & Zoie had a blast playing together; the last time they were together, Zoie was 3 months old and she is almost 3 years old now! She also really like hanging out with Spencer and playing on his bunkbed and taking a bath in Shelly & Tony's big new tub!

For me, it's always great to see family, although there is never enough time to see everyone, especially since I was working. I think Mom got to either see or talk to quite a few people, but I know it wore her out. Her, my aunt & a longtime friend of theirs who lost her husband about a year ago spent an afternoon/evening catching up, reminiscing and sharing life.





My Aunt & my cousin live near each other near a local recreation area & lake...their views for sunset watching are PHENOMENOL!!





As for me, I did get some neat photos of downtown Topeka since I was working near the capitol.




2. After coming back from Kansas, Zoie & I went to our friend, Connor's 3rd Birthday party! It was great fun with pizza, ice cream & cake, and a pinata!! And, can I just say, Zoie totally hits like a girl! Ha! I'm sure it had to be confusing to a 2 year old mind that you drive into them that, "We don't hit!" then you hand them a stick and tell them to beat a cardboard animal senseless...







3. Dodge City - Another work trip, this time to the Wild West!! Dodge City, KS, is gateway to history. The Santa Fe Train opened there in 1820 and Fort Dodge was established in 1865 as a refuge from marauding Native American Indians at the time. D.C. was a buffalo capital and huge herds roamed the plains near there. It is also where Wyatt Earp became the legend that he is today. If you're a cowboy/wild west buff, this is your place! It was a nice town, small and looked like it was trying to keep going but I'm sure it's a lot more lively in the spring/summer/fall than January! I have to say, though, that as I read about the history of Dodge City, I couldn't help but wonder about all the things that happened there...first the Indians living undisturbed through-out the seasons then all the new advances of the 'civilized people'...pretty amazing to think of all the footsteps I must have been walking in. I have heard that they are undertaking a HUGE project to overhaul the town's tourist appeal, which is good to hear - too much rich history there to let it fade away.







4. I got some friends together in late Feb to celebrate my birthday...we had a great time! Thanks to all who came out!