Another Joshua Update

We are home. We got home about 11:30. The surgery went well. It is a quick surgery. We were able to go back to the recovery room when he was more alert. He did not look good at all. He was eating a popsicle, but was very quiet. He was extremely quiet all the way home. Jack brought him in and put him on the couch and about 2 minutes later, he threw up. We knew that could happen. He looks a little better now and is resting on the couch watching videos. I have had a hard time getting Tylenol in him. I have gotten a few sips of water down him, and I will feel better once he starts drinking again. Jack went to get the kids and is picking us up some lunch. Josh said he wanted something, so hopefully he will eat. Thanks mom, for watching the kids. I didn't know who else to call and there is no way they could have sat that long.

The doctor said it was a good thing that we caught this. The eardrums were starting to collapse inward and in time, it would have caused major damage. The ears actually looked worse than his initial evaluation. We'll probably keep a closer eye on him from now on. We go back in two weeks to find out if the fluid is gone and if the hearing has been improved.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I know this is a "simple" procedure, but as a mom you still worry. It is hard to answer all his questions. It's still scary when your child goes under. I know I am emotionally exhausted. If it weren't for Jacob and Jenna, I think I could snuggle up for a nap myself, especially in this raining weather.

Joshua Update

Joshua needs to be at the surgery center at 8:20. His surgery is scheduled for 9:50 tomorrow! Thank you all in advance for your thoughts and prayers! I know it is simple surgery, but I appreciate it! I'll post tomorrow after lunch once things get settled and calmed down.

P.S. I just saw from another blog that Chick fil A is offering free breakfast on Friday's for the month of March. Tomorrow it is a chicken biscuit, next week it is chicken minis, then the biscuit, then minis again. I did this last year and they gave everyone a freebie (including my kids). Check it out!!

Party of Five Please......

Sometimes I feel like I am running a full service restaurant and hotel. My kids have gotten in a bad habit of wanting to know what is for every meal!! Joshua for some reason now gets in the car and asks me "what's for supper?". How about "Hi, mom, how are you, I missed you today, what's for supper?". Now they wake up and the first thing out of their mouths are "what's for breakfast"? Well, we don't eat anything fancy for breakfast kids. You know it's either pop tarts, bacon, toast, waffles, or hashbrowns. There are days like today where I would just like to figure out what to wear first!!! One day I would love for someone to cook for me (and clean up after)

Then yesterday I wondered how we have so much laundry. I know we are a party of 5 (hmm....that could be a catchy blog title) but why can't I ever get caught up on laundry? Just when I get caught up, there is another load waiting. I think the clothes get up and walk or something! Welcome to another day in the life in the McLean Household! I'll post later today with Joshua's surgery time. I should find out between 2-4.

Thunderstorms, Joshua, And More

I am a 3? year old woman (no need to show how old I am) and I still don't like thunderstorms. Last night, I must admit, I was scared. Poor Jack didn't get much sleep. I think by 12-12:30 I finally dozed off. I remember as a little girl growing up in Illinois, how scared I was of them. I remember how I used to crawl under my covers thinking this would protect me somehow. I also remember thinking the thunderstorm was over, but in Illinois, our storms would change directions or something, and come right back and I would be right back under those covers. Luckily, my kids slept through the entire thing!!!

Joshua did well during his appointment, although there was nothing too it. We had to watch a video about the procedure, which he said was very boring! They gave us instructions like no food or water after midnight, what to expect, blah blah blah. I won't know until Thursday afternoon what time his procedure is, but I'll try to give a quick blog once I find out. Joshua was asking me a bunch of questions. I know it is very simple, but I am nervous about it. At least Jack will be with me.

I survived yesterday. I got home at 4:10 and then scrambled to get the meal for Kathy prepared. Thankfully, I had cooked the chicken in the morning, or things would have been bad. I left about 4:45 and took the meal over to her. We got home after 5 and I came home to all the dishes I had messed up during the entire process. That made me mentally exhausted! I got through them, got our meal prepared (thank goodness we had baked potato and salad), got Joshua's homework done, kitchen cleaned, and baths complete! I am so glad all my days are not rushed like that! I told Joshua I was sorry that his day was so rushed, and he said "it's ok mom...I don't mind, and you can't help it). Maybe I can sleep in carpool line today!!!

Oh, and right now Joyful Jay-walking is winning. If you want to vote on blog titles, see yesterday's entry and pick your favorite!

Blog Titles And More

Today is one of those crazy days! I have to work until 12, and then at 12:30 we have a staff meeting. I have to leave that at 2 to drive over to get Joshua early for his 3 pm pre-op appt (his surgery is Friday morning) and then when I get home, I have to take a meal over to a co-worker who just got out of the hospital. Whew! Maybe by 5 I can come home and breath before I start our dinner and homework.

Ok, I had a few people who helped me out. I was hoping for more, but this is what I got. And, my husband DID NOT help at all! Here are the ones I like....tell me which ones you like:

1. Jen's Gems
2. J-Walking (I could say Just Jwalking, Joyful J-walking or any other creative)
3. The Breadwinners Baker
4. McLean Matters

So, which one would you choose? I have three of these that I really like.

CVS 101

I have been studying the blogs of these women who are very thrifty and get all these free things for their family. It is amazing. Some of these women have grocery budgets for 35-40 dollars a week. I don't know if I could ever get ours that low, but maybe I can slowly start to try. I don't know if these people actually buy meat, and we have to have meat. We don't eat it every meal, but we do eat it a lot. Anyway, here are my CVS deals for the week. I started small so that I could get the hang of things. I'll continue to study and get tips from others, and hopefully, I can get a ton of stuff free too.

1. Colgate toothpaste---this was easy. It was $2.99 at CVS, and you get $2.99 back in extra care bucks to spend the next visit (anything but prescriptions, gift cards etc), so they are really giving it to you. I also had a 75 cent coupon so mine was free plus 75 cents.

2. The Venus razor...it was on sale for $9.99, with $6 in extra care bucks. I also got a $4 coupon so again, it was free!! Now, I have $8.99 to go back and spend on next weeks deals.

It's really fun. I am also going to Walgreen's today to get some more free stuff. Again, this may not seem like a lot, but if I could ever get up to speed with these other ladies. They are incredible. They really search these ads and coupons and are extremley helpful!

Family Fun

My brother noticed that I hadn't posted in two days and wondered if I was ok. Yes, I am ok! We didn't have much going on, and I was a little sad with Jack being gone plus not being able to go on the ladies retreat, but he is back and things are better. I think he missed me and felt bad for me, so today we took the kids bowling. It was so funny. Joshua did really good (takes after his mama ha ha) Jacob "threw" the ball, and Jenna just rolled it. I practically fell asleep while her balls were going down, but we had a great time. We had two coupons for Texas so we went there after. It made me feel better about not going. I am happy to have Jack home!!