Friday Nights, Saturday Mornings

No matter what time Cader goes down,  he is always up at 7:00am.  We have experimented for years on weekend sleep ins and have never found a solution for the boy.  Our Friday night is considered our movie night which we have never officially labeled it as such and don't religiously stick to it or plan it,  we just usually find ourselves in the mood for a movie at the end of the week.  Family movie night consists of three different movies, three different TVs in three different rooms.  Occasionally Jen and I will watch the same thing but eventually during the evening we gravitate to our perspective corners of the house where we dive into something that is interesting to us.  Last night was no exception,  and on Jen's way home she stopped by the store and picked up a couple movies for Cader and one for her,  and as I had mentioned earlier that my Amazon shipment came in and it contained some movies that,  when Jen heard the titles to, raised only eyebrows and used the expression "Great".  We were set for the evening and in excited anticipation we scarfed down our purchased chicken tenders and fries (ohhhh,  so healthy)  washed and dressed the boy and turned on his movie.  I talked Jen into watching my movie,  so we settled in with popcorn and drinks and cranked on the classic To Kill a Mockingbird,  with Gregory Peck and  Robert Duvall.  I had recently finished the book and wanted to see the film.  I think it was maybe 5 or 10 minutes into it, Jen was on her way down the hall with her movie in hand,  one by the title of  27 Dresses (glad she never asked me to join her).  Cade with his movie,  me with mine and Jen with hers the house was in total peace.  10:00 pm rolled around and Cader was the only one still ready to go.  We wrestled him into his bed,  locked up the house and hit the sack.  This morning we were awaken at 7:00 am by a little brown haired boy requesting that one of us get him some MILK,  due to the fact that he was almost dying of thirst.  I'll get up and let Jen sleep (it's just better that way,  trust me) and get him his milk and fetch a thousand other things he happens to think of.  Then the funniest thing happens, round about 10 in the morning .

Clots of Fun!!!

Today I find myself in the same position that Jen has found me in for the last week.  Flattening my backside in the same chair in front of the TV,  with the Laptop at my side.  The days following my surgery have been filled with movies, some books and a huge helping of the Internet,  only interrupted by the 4 hour pain pill ritual.  This has began to take a toll and has made me irritable.  I try to keep a positive attitude and smile as often as I can,  but the pain sometimes gets the better of me and I become short with Cader and Jen.  They have been awesome with the whole ordeal and very supportive and helpful.  Saturday I began to try to ween myself off of the medication and made it to about Saturday afternoon.  Sunday I noticed a pain in my calf muscle that increased throughout the day.  It feels like a charlie horse feels at the very beginning.  I started to complain to Jen and she wasn't having it,  so I Googled it and read that I was supposed to be doing rotation exercises with my foot in order to keep from getting a blood clot.  I questioned Jen about the nurse telling me this and she said that I was told.  I guess it was right after I woke up and didn't remember.  I began to do said exercises, but I guess it was too late.  When I awoke this morning at 5:00 I wanted to cry.  The pain was worse than anything I've ever felt.  I managed to crutch myself to the kitchen and get a glass of water and took some pills.  Then I crashed on the couch, only to be woken up by Cader giving me a morning hug.  The pills kicked in and I made it to work.  About 8:30 I called the Doc and left a message for him to call when he got out of surgery.  He called back at 12:30 and I told him of the pain I was having.  He instructed me to go to the hospital and get an ultrasound for blood clots.  Jen came and picked me up and we made it in time to have Sandi punish my leg with her gel and ultrasound machine.  After looking at the pictures she took them to the Radiologist and I went to the waiting room to meet back up with Jen.  Sandi returned and asked if I had a cell phone and gave me the Doc's number and asked that I call him.  He stated that I have a blood clot in my leg and that if left untreated, blah, blah, blah,  "Dead".  So he put me on a blood thinner medication and that should do the trick.  I will have to go in and do a blood test on Friday to see how thin my blood will be,  but other than that everything should be good in a couple of weeks.  Bright side of the day is that my Amazon stuff was on the front porch when Jen brought me home.  SCORE!!!

Under the Knife/Scope!

I'm alive!  That's all I could think about when I awoke yesterday afternoon.  Getting ahead of myself a little bit I will start from the beginning.   I was instructed to be at the Hill Country Surgical Center at 11:00 am Tuesday to in process.  Jen awoke and promptly got ready to go to the gym.  We got Cader up and dressed and Jen split to drop him off and get a quick workout.  I began to kill Germans on the Wii.  At 9:30 I decided to get showered and ready (have to look good for the Nurses).  Jen shows up and began to get ready,  the whole time I'm thinking that we will be late and I will get a chance to give Jen a hard time.  Well,  we leave the house and have to stop to drop off a car seat for Cade to a friend as a backup plan in case surgery ran late.  Then we had to stop at Sonic so Jen could get something to drink and eat (which she rubbed it in because I could not eat or drink since midnight).  Finally, after being in the car for thirty minutes we were on our way.  We arrived at 10:55 am,  in which I was reminded of the time and how good Jen was.  After signing in and paying (first thing was the paying part) we sat in the waiting room and chatted.  I was nervous and Jen ignored me which made me feel better.  The nurse came and got me and led me to the Pre OP room where I was instructed to remove my clothes and place on the Gown.  Not Cool!  However, I complied and was ready  to go.  The nurse came back in and started an IV and left to retrieve Jen.  We were then visited by my Doc, the head Nurse and the Anesthesiologist, all very nice.  Then it was time to go and Jen collected my glasses and wedding ring and left me with a kiss.  Now at this point I was given a sedative, and rolled down the hallway.  I began to not care about much and realized that it was kicking in.  I was elevated to the height of the operating table and scooted over.  Staring up at the ceiling I thought to my self "I hope this goes quick".  Then I woke up with the Doc standing near me holding a cup of my knee in his hand.  He was excited and was saying that there was more than he had thought.  I was still out of it, and my recollection today is that the cup was right in my face.  Then He was gone and Jen was there and life was now good again.  Getting some graham crackers and ginger ale and a couple of Percocet, I began to feel whole.  After an hour they let me get dressed and out the door I went.  Jen drove me to the house via Wendy's (I was starving) and I settled to my chair and have been here most of the time.  Pain pills, the remote control and a book have been my companions and right good ones.  So,  as I began this post, I'm alive and that's a good place to be.

Birds of a different Father!!

Today is Father's Day, my fourth so far and I have yet to receive a tie (guess it would help if I wore ties).  Asking Cade what he was going to get for me this year he stated "that it will probably be some paper".  It is a picture of Cade on a fill in the blank questionnaire where his answers are fabricated beyond belief.  When asked what his favorite thing to do with me was, he answered, play basketball and go hunting.  I guess it's wishful thinking on his part.  He did however state several times that he enjoyed playing with his dad.  After reading this I felt bad,  thinking that I have ignored him to some degree.  I guess it made me feel that I wasn't providing the same childhood for my son that was provided for me.  But then,  is it supposed to be?  I,  like my father have a problem with change.  Don't get me wrong,  I like change when it's something I have initiated.  But when it's out of my control I can do without.   So going off of this principal I strive to keep my little world the same, dragging along my family.  Jen has told me on many occasion that it doesn't have to be the same as when I was a kid, and she's right.  Our little family can be unique, and yet I can still strive to keep it like my own youth.  Christmas time we have breakfast for Christmas Eve dinner,  something new,  but I still have the obligatory Christmas picture with all presents lined up.  These are traditions that will go on and on until they are changed by Cader when he starts his family.  I'm just glad I was given the chance to be a father and start some traditions with my son.

i Kneed you!

Funny how life throws curve balls...(I know how most sappy crap starts out like that).  At least I used to think that until I received my first curve ball. First the news on my knee deal.  I have dislocated my knee cap.  Doesn't sound so bad,  but when it left it's place of origin it took with it a quarter size piece of cartilage and a little chip of knee cap bone with it.  Well,  said piece of knee  decided to stay on the outside of my leg as the knee cap moved back into place.  According to my doctor(who by the way has monogrammed shirt cuffs) says it's not good and requires surgery(good way for him to pay off some form of car, boat or both).  Long and short of it, surgery is required next Tuesday to fix the damage.  This bring us to our second point of the post.  Until now, I can't think of any other time in my adult life that I have ever relied on someone else so much.  Just the simplest thing are hard to do, and require more effort than before.  I have never thought of what life would be like if I couldn't bend my knees.  Well,  Jen has been good to me,  from letting me slide on my chores,  to cooking dinner and driving me to and from the many doctors appointments.  I guess what I'm saying is that it's good to have somebody around to be there for you when you need them,  but to be thankful for them all the time.   So I guess that the curve ball was for a reason(getting a little big for my britches).  

Anyone got a Joint?

Well, I find myself in a very painful position this morning. About a month ago I was invited to play in a softball league. Me, thinking this would be a good idea for some exercise (as much as softball will allow) and that I could get to know the people that Jen works with (it was setup through her company). The first couple of games were uneventful other that the fact that I'm out of shape and getting older. Last night however, was a blowout. No I literally blew out my knee and spent 4 hours in the Emergency Room only to be released with a splint, crutches, prescriptions and an order to report to my local orthopedic surgeon for an MRI. I guess time will tell what the official outcome will be, but by the way it feels I'm thinking Surgery is in my future. So back to my original question. Anyone got a Joint?

Adventures in Childhood Memories

As I grow older I reflect back on my childhood and the memories that still remain. Camping was a big part of my childhood, where as far as I can remember the family was unified in great joy at the outdoor adventures which would ensue in faraway places like Hyrum Reservoir. At least it was such in my young mind. Wanting to give Cader the same opportunity for camp memories, and new ones for me and Jen, I started out to gear us up for camping. I first began by raiding the sporting goods store, filling my two carts with a tent (just under circus size) some cots, sleeping bags, Coleman stove and lantern (same as dad has). The entire time Jen stood faithfully by not saying a word of discouragement or jest. She only stated that she would try camping in a tent once, since Texas has many creatures that Utah does not. I accepted this and pushed forward with thoughts of many father/son outings.

Well the goods were purchased, the plans were made and the goods sat on a shelf in the garage for a month. No words spoken about camping after that. One weekend while preparing to do nothing, Jen suggested that we go shopping for a travel trailer, "Camper" as they're called in Texas. We Loaded up and hit the road in search of mobile paradise. Searching for only two days we located the perfect addition to our home. It is a 29 foot Jay Flight made by the Amish, to what extent I'm not sure but were probably not the installers of the TV and surround sound. None the less it contains a queen size bed and a twin bunk over a full. Along with sleeping arrangements it also has a full bathroom, dinette, full kitchen with freezer/fridge, stove, hot and cold running water. Ahhhhhh! Really roughing it. First trip was taken over Memorial weekend to the Big Chief RV resort (known as the Big Cheese to Cader). As I lay in our queen sized bed that first night of our camping trip, listing to the air conditioner hum and watching the local news I thought...

Just like when I was a kid. Ha!

Camera

Many times have I been shopping with Jennifer and thought to myself, Wow!  that's going to look good in our next Garage Sale.  Easy as it is to point the finger in one direction it always point back.  So I recently purchased a new camera.  Being tired of the old camera as that it was a point and shoot and that I have personally not been allowed to buy anything for myself in some time.  It is a Nikon D60 10 mega pixel SLR with an extra 55-200 mm lens and a accessories bag at no additional charge.  It was, like most purchases made by Jen or myself,  more of an impulse purchase.  I am hopeful that it will motivate me to take more pictures not only of my environment, but my family.  It was a great buy and I'm excited to play and educate myself.  Speaking of great buy I will be selling my old camera cheap.  So those of you in the market for a good used one shot camera let me know.  

New Blog

This is the first post of our new BLOG.  It has taken quite a long time getting here from the initial conception of Blogging.  I find it difficult to begin due to the fact that I cannot set my mind on one thing or another.  So giving up I have decided to go with what I have down and change it as I go.  My hopes are to become a Pro quickly, allowing me to more efficiently distribute our Texas stories to those who care.  I call and check in with Mom and Dad on a regular basis and tend not doing it with the siblings.   This will hopefully fill the gaps of the short visits we make to Utah.  As said before I will try to keep up with new stories and attach pictures often.  Please let me know if there are thing you see that need attention or tips from you Blog Pros