Addi's Tonsil Surgery

Addison is recovering very quickly after having her tonsils out on Tuesday last week. In fact I had to give Tylenol for two days and then Thursday wondered if I should continue or not. Descided to stop unless she needed it. She has been eating everything presented to her, she can breath with greater ease and is sleeping thru most of the night - in her own bed. I have been very pleased with her quick recovery.

So very Thankful she is doing well and counting the many Blessings in my life!

Having her taken from me by the nurses as she is drifting off from the oral medication was probably the hardest thing about the entire surgery. We arrived at 6 am, she was taken in just a little after 7 am and we were home by 9:30 am. Dr. Flaiz was wonderful and the entire group at the hospital involved in her care were absolutely awesome she was not scared at all. When she was waking up from the anastetic was hard for mom as well but she was pretty much awake when she returned to me. She couldn't stand or walk without staggering all over the place but I survived the ordeal.

OOCH!!!!

Well, last night after playin' all evening and mowing the lawn. Austin was being so helpful before we went inside to take a bath. He drove his sister over to the garbage can to throw away some of Moose's toys that had holes in them. I went thru the house to drop off the dinner dishes and heard a "blood curdlin' scream" outside.... a second later a second 'scream'..... I went running out side to find Austin holdin' onto the garbage can lid crying.... When I got there he said, 'a bee stung me'.... I said "where?" Here -putting a finger to his lip.... I'm thinking -{What a wierd place to get stung.} So what to do 2 screamin' kids crying from the top of their little lungs!!!
I scoop them up and run into house -- find the baking soda make a paste and slap it on his cheek. Yes, I still had two screamin' kids - I think Addi screamed louder and longer than Austin did as she was scared that Austin had an owieee!!

Sympathy crying from Addi!!!

The swollen' lip and cheek!!! "Mom dont' take any pictures!"

The magic medicine-- Not sure where Tony got this from but he had it in some camping stuff. I worked wonders... no stinging after applying it. Serious, Austin's response was "ohhh, that feels good!!"


The evening ended with mom holding Austin and Dad holding Addi. No Bath!!! oh, well maybe tonight.

I feel asleep with Addi so I didn't even get a chance to post a Blog.

Today, his face is back to normal and no signs of reddness, swelling or pain.

Guess the BEES are out and are staking there claim.

CH-Raisins

Ok!! Just for the record. I am not the DOMESTIC type but lately I have had the opportunity to do a few things... I LOVE SUMMER!!

So Tony went over and got some "more" Cherries from his mom's orchard yesterday and I tested out my new dehydrator that I got for Christmas last year from my dear mother in law. The Cherries actually turned out pretty good not to dried and they actually were like raisins. Tony and I thought they were great but Austin and Addi thought differently. As Addi stated "their turble mom!!" and spit them out in my hand.

So tonight the Kids helped again tonight and I was able to get a few pictures because I couldn't find my camera last night.

Do you know how much longer it takes to pit cherries when you have two little helpers?

The Cherries went from this ----

To Ch-raisins in 12 hours!!! Boy, they are good.

Strawberries

Last week Addi and I had a couple of mornings together while Austin was at VBS. He was having fun and so were we.... We went and picked strawberries and my little kiddo was a trooper.


"Come on Mom! Get your bucket!"

"Mom can I have one!" Before I could say no - She had it in her mouth.

Does this look like a little strawberry picker ---- she had such a blast she wanted to come back the next day.

I just love this picture of her with the buckets of strawberries.

We made some freezer jam and ate a bunch of them. I hope the jam turns out.... it was my very first attempt.

New Hair Cut

Well, Austin finally did it -- just like everyother kid I've known (nieces and nephews). He took his scissors to his own HAIR!!! I couldn't even tell he did it until Tony realized it -- I thought his hair was just messed up from wearing his Cowboy hat --- I'm so oblivious sometimes.

You can't really see the big 'CHUNK' gone from the front of his hair. He was so cute trying to tell me how he did it... "I just picked up some and I cut my hair."

I sure hope that when Addi attempts this it is not noticable either.

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I'm still here.......

I bet you all are wondering where the pics of Austin's 4th Birthday party are?
Why I haven't blogged in over a week?

Well, my internet line has been down for almost 3 days -- I'm finally back online -Yeah. My dad was in town on Sunday night and we had a short visit with him.... Austin and Addi just love to see their "Bampa!!!" (as Addi would say)
My kids have been so demanding at night when it is bedtime that one or both of us have been laying down with them and we are so exhausted we end up falling alseep and then getting up and going to be about 11:30 every night.
Work has been paperwork, meetings, phone calls, evaluations, visits, and more and more paperwork.... I'm beginning to think paperwork is the 'pits'.
Tony has been on call and is still on-call for the next few more evenings.....

We actually went for two bike rides with Austin on his new bike but where are the pics.

It's LIFE fun, we all have our busy season of the year..... we all have things that keep us so busy that we can't seem to enjoy our friends, or we feel like we are in a whirl wind of STUFF!!
I hope your day and week are going great.... Have a great weekend.
I know we are making plans to enjoy ours!

Pictures to come soon!!!

Busy - Busy LIFE!!

What a busy and hectic few weeks we have had in the Garberg house.

Work has been overwhelming difficult paperwork, meetings, paperwork, visits, more paperwork, conferences, and more and more paperwork..... I am so far behind in paperwork -- I'm really not sure where to start. I really don't like being so disorganized....

We are gearing up for Austin's 4th Birthday party tomorrow (pictures to come). He is so excited and has had a difficult time wanting to be 4 already.... "Am I four today?" has been the top question every morning for the past week. So the BIG day is tomorrow.

Addison has had swollen tonsils for a week and a half -- no other signs. Still waiting for some other signs--- fever, white spots or signs of infection etc.... but nothing. I really don't know how she is swallowing her food -- luckily she is choosing soft foods right now. I'll keep monitoring....

Tony has had a hectic week and a half at work as well. Employee issues.... and now he is on call --- pretty much for the next 2 weeks secondary to an unexpected employee issue... He has been at work since about 6:30 this evening and it is now 11 o'clock. He is tired, overwhelmed and stressed.... not a really good combination for my wonderful Husband.... but this will soon pass.

I am making it a point to blog more this month ----- I only have about 5- more weeks left of school and then SUMMER break!!!! Yippeee, Yeahooo!!!

Making Memories!

It started with an Easter Egg hunt Friday morning at Daycare..... to a flashlight egg hunt at the park Friday night..... Austin and Addi had so much fun hunting those eggs the Easter Bunny left behind. Now what's your priority ??--- hug the Easter Bunny or pull up the pants... Addi chose Hug the Bunny first....
{she has no clue this will embarrass her later}

It's hard to stop when your running in Flip Flops.... Austin almost did a header -- but only lost his headlamp!

HURRY!!! HURRY!!! HURRY!!!

"I have two mommy!!"

Finally a picture with the EASTER BUNNY !!!

Saturday morning New Hope Easter Egg Hunt.... fun with the jumping houses, petting the animals, face painting, riding a pony... lots and lots of fun.

Easter Morning -- "Mom it tastes like 'Chicken'!!" Now seriously - I don't know where he got that but it really cracked Tony and I up.... it had to taste like a mouth full of sugar if you ask me.
To the afternoon- Having fun with friends.

"OK mom if I smile one time can I go play on the slide!!!"

Mom go away!

We had such a wonderful day with friends and with each other...

Making Memories to last a lifetime.

Easter EGGS!!!

It was a FAMILY activity this evening of coloring EGGS!!


Two little eager "bunnies" wanting to get them colored.... and of course doing it all by themselves... or as much as mom and dad would let them without making too much of a mess.They were very intent on the activity.... They love to paint and painting eggs was a major bonus.

Austin making a special one all by himself. Face paint from the Easter Egg Hunt at New Hope.

Addi was so intent on painting the eggs. She is my {creative} one.

Both kiddos were very proud of their "Tie Dye" EGGS.... it was so much fun to watch them coloring them and being very careful not to make too much of a mess.

Having a FUN!!

Ok, am I with worst mom in the world.... letting my almost 4 year old son give his 2 year old sister a ride on his 4 wheeler.... the alternative would have been 2 kids having major melt downs.... {not 1 but 2}, what mom wouldn't want to do anything to avoid this???

It was worth the 15 + minutes of running around the yard and taking a few pictures... to see the SMILE on their little faces and having so much FUN!

and Moose had a blast chasing them around as well.

However, the next day they wanted to do it again and there was a {power struggle} of who was steering the 4 wheeler and over it went.... it took Addison about 30 seconds to take a breath and make a sound, luckily no one was hurt.... it didn't take more than a couple of minutes after flipping the 4 wheeler over and getting both of them back on it to ride it around the yard until Dad got home....

No, I probably shouldn't have let him give her a ride, but they had such FUN!!!!

My Little Helper!

Addi loves to help mom with all activities around the house. This was her helping with dinner a few weeks ago.



This is the finished product....mmmmm!!! They were good.

She is a big helper with the making cookies, dishes, sweeping etc. I sure hope she continues to enjoy helping as she gets older.

I guess I just need to keep making things fun - right!!!

She loves to wear her new found dress up shoes --- funny thing they are too small.... I have to find some bigger ones.... she is going to be all GIRL soon.....

I sure love this Little Princess of mine.

Thinking Back!!

Ok!!! It all started at this rock 6 years ago! TODAY!! No April Fools Joke!!

This is were my husband proposed to me -- a beautiful evening and also very romantic spot..... with life begining all around us leaves beginning to bud/blossum. He tried to make it as romantic as possible but I was not as willing I was soo tired that evening and just wanted to go home. It all turned out great because 5 months later we were married and look at us now.....

Two Wonderful Children {Austin and Addison} and a black lab named "Moose". Life is good. Life is not always easy and marriage has its ups/downs. The challenges we face are sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating, and sometimes just plain crazy. I love you Forever and Always Tony {even when your sick and being a whimp -LOL}, thanks for making a wonderful change in my life... I love where we have been and look forward to where we are going... hand in hand and loving each other raising our Children the best we can.

While we were at the Nature Trails.... Austin and Addison were so intrigued with the fisherman... they were having such fun just watching.

What's for Dinner??

Yep, with a husband who has the flu and two kids that don't care.... this is what dinner consisted of.

I miss being able to have cereal or ice cream for dinner -- oh, gone are the college days of having what ever I wanted. I only get to do this when Tony is gone or sick...which isn't very often. I am just glad I had Lucky Charms in the cupboard -- that is Austin and Addi's favorite.

I sure hope he feels better tomorrow. He has been in bed since just a little after 6pm this evening.

Heart Full of Thankfulness!

Today was not as gorgeous or as nice as yesterday, but I am thankful I was able to get so much done yesterday as we did.

Sore from all the hardwork yesterday, but thankful I am able to feel the muscles in my body and move around where I want to independently.

Spent all day inside, but thankful I was able to clean up some things that were bugging me {I really need to get organized}.

My kids were loud, fighting, wanting attention, but thankful that my ears could hear them, thankful I could see them, thankful I could hold them, and thankful I have them.

My husband frustrated/irritated me, but thankful I have a wonderful husband that is willing to say "I'm sorry" and willing to help out with and without asking. I do love you honey with all my heart.

Didn't get my kitchen cleaned, but thankful a dear friend brought me an apple fritter and she drank coffee and I had a diet pepsi just enjoying an hour together this morning.

Even if the things we bring to the LORD are not going our way, we still need to be Thankful for the many blessings we do have in our lifes.... there is always a brighter way to look at your hour, day, week, month and year. Remember to give PRAISE to the LORD don't just petition for your wants, needs and desires..... remember your friends that are griefing, stressed over lifes issues, who don't have a healthy child, or a healthy body. Don't sweat the small stuff---- that stuff will still be there at the end of the day.
My Heart is full of Thankfulness today, I hope yours is too.

What A Day!!!

Wow!!! It was such a gorgeous day today... 60 degrees, sun shining, minimal wind {that's the best} a great day to do yardwork.... yep, yardwork.... we {Tony and I} spent all day over at the rental house and we were seriously up to our knees in "Crabgrass". That stuff is the worst..... poor Tony is going to have sore hands, arms, back and abs... he was using a tiler tool.... it worked great but man that stuff is tough. The place looks great... just a few more little things to do tomorrow. I was able to take a break for a about 45 minutes - to meet Kristie for our taxes.... I was really hoping Tony would have been done when I returned but no such luck... we took another 45 minutes to dump the truck load of trimmings from roses, shrubs, iris, weeds and crabgrass (with a bunch of sand) and of course eat lunch. Then it was back to the house until about 3:30 and I was exhausted with all the bending, pulling, raking, ect... Tony went to dump truck load # 2....

When I picked up the kiddos - we went home to Austin riding his 4 -wheeler and Addi riding the riding lawn mower with me so when Tony returned he could fertilize our lawn, too.

Then high light of my day was going to feed two little 'bummer' lambs at our friend Chris' & her daughter, Kelsey. We were able to feed them a bottle of milk each. Well, ok Addison and I held one bottle and Austin just watched. He was a little nervous, even though he was so excited about going prior to getting there. The only thing he was interested in was seeing the "DADDY" - his name was "Mannly" -- Austin thought he was pretty neat. Addison was so cute looking over the fence at him as I held her on the fence.

Here are a few pictures

Austin and Addi looking at Manly over the fence....

Petting one of the little bummer lambs.... they were so cute.... Addison was willing to pet them but Austin wouldn't touch them at all.

This one with the 'black' face had her eye on Austin the whole time.... Chris said she was a first time 'mommy' and was being very protective of her young lambs. Seriously though I was nervous as you see in the next photo she had Tony and the kids up against the fence and staring them down. Austin didn't even care what was going on.... just wanting to 'look' around for the daddy sheep......

I was nervous for my own 'babies' -- not that Daddy couldn't take care of them. But I was being a little {protective} myself.

Thanks a Bunch Chris for such a special outing --- the kids just loved it.

It's been awhile.....

Ok! I am not doing very well with Blogging & yes Shirl you warned me -- Facebook is very addicting... So here is a little update on me.

I am officially on Spring Break.... Yahoo!! Gotta love the school schedule!

Monday - spent most of the day organizing my 'stuff' to get ready for our tax appointment - yes I made it for later this week. Mowed and weeded at our rental home-- I just wanted to give our renter a jump start on the Spring work.

Tuesday - spent a little time with my little guy unloading all the grass clippings etc at the dump. Then took our time to go back to Daycare {gotta keep them on a schedule}. Went back to the rental to trim some shrubs, pull some weeds, etc. and back to the dump to empty the load. Had lunch with Tony at the hospital -- first time in along time we have done that.... we didn't even have to chase kids or anything... It was nice just sit and vist with him all to myself {well except for the other 50+ other people in the cafeteria}. Sat down to watch Days of Our Lives !!! I don't even have a clue what is going on.... what a waste of time. Got a call from DayCare - Austin PUKED!!! Had to pick him up early. Tony picked up Addison later.... spent the next 5 hours cleaning up PUKE!!! What an evening.

Wednesday- Hung out with Austin all day-- he's feeling better. Our only outing was to go get the dog that ran off to the neighbors so a good excuse for me to go get a Fountain Diet Pepsi!! Worked on organizing my Tax Info -- I sure hope Kristie appreciates all this work... I really am so unorganized. Had left over soup for dinner, gave the kids a bath, read a book to them, watched cartoons {whatever they wanted to watch}.

Well that is my Spring Break soooo far.... Tomorrow may be different.

CHOICES --- This or That????

This evening I had a CHOICE---- I could lay with my daughter and cuddle while she fell asleep, rubbing her head or I could let her lay in bed and cry herself to sleep to go downstairs to do the several things that needed to get done (which still need to get done ie dishes, laundry picking up toys, paperwork etc). Well the choice was easy.... I stayed and cuddled - which also made my day.... there she is laying on her back in her bed beside me feet in hands, and singing -- twinkle twinkle, itsy bitsy spider but the one that really cracked me up was her singing Patty Cake and her throwing the cake (her feet up) for mommy, daddy.... she was slapping her feet together and rolling her feet with her hands.... I just wish I could have grabbed the video camera and she would have continued to sing or at least go to sleep after I interrupted..... she finally fell asleep.... it is such a peaceful sight to see your baby resting so quietly.

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It has been an on going thing over the past several months with my little man making CHOICES....some good and some not so good. We have had to give him choices of This or That??? I guess the choices thing starts really early in LIFE!! Some choices he has made have not been a This or That --- just a bad decision to do something, say something or even just Not doing something.... CHOICES!!

As in Deuteronomy 11: 26- "...the blessing if you obey... the curse if you disobey."

The lessons he has had to learn from his 'choices' the consequences have been difficult for me- grading appropriateness for the misbehavior, etc. I am learning, I know that I have many lessons to learn myself..... I have CHOICES as well. I hope that I am making the right choices to raise a wonderful son who appreciates GOD, me, his family, his things, and himself.
CHOICES---

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So over the past several months Tony and I have had to make CHOICES!!! Choices about our future, our finances, choices about our words, choices about work, choices about our family situation, just plain choices. I sometimes wonder are we really making our Choices as GOD would want us to make or are we influenced by the enemy......

Sometimes LIFE has some difficult and painful choices we need to make; having FAITH that GOD is helping guide us throught these tough decisions.

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We as individuals are making choices daily..... don't you ever just want to run away from responsibilities, take a break, veg out, do nothing, avoid the consequences etc. There have been times when I have to realize I cannot make a CHOICE for anyone else-- I can try to influence good behavior, good choices but when it comes right down to it.... the CHOICE is not mine to make it is up to the individual.
Being there for someone who is going thru a "CRISIS" (a tough time) is a CHOICE -- I just need to make sure I am not judging them for their CHOICE -- hopefully they are able to seek forgiveness from their choices.

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I also see that CHOICES are being made at many levels in LIFE!!! Not only personally, not only at work, or on a local level, a state level, but at a National level.... decisions to be made and choices they have to make between THIS or THAT and the consequences for each have to be weighed. Today several people in Pendleton lost their Jobs, with FLEETWOOD closing.... I think about the things that would go thru my mind --- the stress, oh, the stress. How are we as a Nation going to get out of this MESS!!! What are the CHOICES--- are we really going to get out of this recession.

Faith and Trust --- we have to have both..... Making good CHOICES is a not always easy and sometimes when we make the decision to do something, say something etc.... wouldn't it be nice to be able to rationalize or look into the future regarding each option and be able to miss out on the tough consequences --- but then how would we learn!!!!

Lessons in LIFE -- CHOICES we have to make good, bad and indifferent. EMBRACE them all.

The Hustle and Bustle of LIFE

Well, I have finally had time to sit down and blogg. You probably thought I was done blogging, no just LIFE got in the way. Over the past two weeks, I feel like I have had a whirl wind of "STUFF" some fun, some not so fun experiences. I have been trying to take advantage of just sitting and enjoying my kiddos in the evening and when they go to bed, I have been trying to catch up on some 'paperwork' stuff from work and sometimes I was just so darn tired I couldn't sit down with the computer. I am so far behind, I really don't know if I will ever catch up..... I'm sure I will but right now it doesn't seem possible.
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A couple of fridays, ago I had a great opportunity to have a little girl time = meeting for dinner, laughs and off to a movie.... was it great, OH it was FANTASTIC!!!! Just to spend a little girl time with no interruptions from the little ones. I just love to sit and 'laugh' out loud-- you know the type the BELLY jiggling, tears come to the eyes, stomach hurting laughing..... we had so much fun. You are probably wondering what I did with my kids..... well the BEST husband in the world volunteered to watch not only our 2 kiddos, but my dear friends 3 little girls. Did he take on too much??? Probably, and I was so shocked he agreed. Did I feel guilty, no.... did my dear friend, no.... did we have a BLAST --- YES!!!! Do I owe him big???? YEP. Now for the next probably 6 months I will owe him for this wonderful gift he gave us. It was so worth having a little girl time.
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Last weekend I went to a Women's Retreat with my Sisters' Dear Friend, Joan. It was such a blast, we laughed and laughed; talked and talked. The drive to and from Canby we did not have the music blarring and we chatted and chatted so much that I am not sure we even took a breath. We stayed up late both nights and talked, laughed and were completely worn out. We met some wonderful ladies from Stanfield at lunch on Saturday and laughed and laughed.... they gave us some wonderful insight into marriage, raising kids, and just being a "MOM". These wonderful ladies gave me 'hope' to know they made it thru, this challenging thing we call "LIFE as a MOM & WIFE". I love the role, hate the role and get so frustrated with THINGs, but I will make it thru making memories along the way.
My sister was suppose to come with us, however some unfortunate things occured and she was unable to join us. We missed You Sis and I hope next year You will be able to join us for many, many laughs too.
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I realize I am just babbling about my last few weeks but I guess that is why I started blogging. Just to get my thoughts out. Sometimes frustrations and saddness can have a positive twist if you get it out. Spending time with and enjoying Friendship time is a much needed form of R&R. So my recommendation is make time for {YOU} you are just as important to the family you are raising and you will be a much better wife if you take care of {YOU} too.

The ONE....My Valentine

yep,,,, he's mine all mine.
Happy Valentines Day Honey....
you are my husband, partner for life, and best friend.
Thank you for all you do and are.
You are the {King} of my heart.
I love you Forever and For Always

Learning from the BEST!!!

What I have learned this evening --

• Don't let potatoe soup boil-- it ruins it :)
• Baking soda down the drain followed by vinegar can clear a slow drain.
• Ice cubes and lemon in the garbage disposal can sharpen the blades and makes it smell good.
• Aluminum foil around celery helps it stay crisp.
• How to make my own laundry soap - if I had time- thanks to Karmen.
• How to make my own fire starter with laundry lint and a toilet paper roll -- great for camping.
• A papertowel with a loaf of cheese will decrease the mold ruining it.
• Vinegar in with new clothes makes the clothes color last when you wash it for the first time.
• BUDGETING is a good thing--- I need to get organized.
• COUPONS can save {BIG} $$$$--- I need to get organized.
• GIRL time is PRECIOUS time --- love the laughs and chit chat.

I just love spending time with the gals at MOPS. I really enjoyed learning all of the wonderful things everyone has to share with their~ LIFE ~experiences.

When I got home this evening after spending a couple of hours at MOPS - I found my husband in bed with both Austin and Addison reading "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".... he is the BEST father and husband a girl could ask for. I continue to {learn} how lucky I am to have such a wonderful husband --Thanks I really do appreciate you.

L'tle Ms. Independent

My little Princess is becoming more and more independent. This was taken Sunday morning and she did not want any help.... actually she took off her jeans to put back on her pj's and then took off the pj's and put back on the jeans BACKWARDS.... it was so funny to watch.

"I did it!!!"

Is she a little stubborn??? probably more like her mom than I would like to admit. I just love to watch her learn and grow. Her favorite phrase right now is "me do it, no mama, me do it."

And she is my little artist as well... She just loves to paint.