This Unfamiliar Road

August 25, 2011

Prayers Answered

Everyone has been SO supportive of my friend Ashley so I thought I should give you a little update! (Ok, BIG update!)
Mac & Paisley were born Friday, August 19th-at 35 weeks exactly!
Ashley did an amazing job and was able to avoid a C-section (can you believe it?!) Of course, I wanted to jump in my car and head to Chattanooga the minute she sent me the text, "My water broke" but I know they need their family time, so I am waiting patiently (kind of).
Both babies and Momma are doing well, and everyone went home together on Sunday!

(I had to steal these pictures from Ashley)

Image by Studio D Photography

Congratulations Ashley & Jordan!!

August 21, 2011

Rowen Eats a Staple

Andrea 10:46 AM 0 Comments

<Warning: graphic content>
Well, what an exciting week we have had! Two weeks ago, Rowen began experiencing some GI symptoms, including vomiting. We kept a close eye on her and figured she may have eaten something. We continued to feed her small amounts of a bland diet-sometimes it stayed down, and other times it did not. However, when we returned home one evening to a bed full of vomit and bile (sorry...told you it would be graphic) we knew something was wrong. I also found a little plastic piece of something in the middle of all of it. I collected it and we made plans to go to the vet the next morning.
She became significantly more lethargic and dehydrated during the night and I knew we had a sick pup on our hands. At the vet, everything checked out physically so Dr. Jan decided we needed to do an XRay to figure out why she was so sick.

She called me back to look at it, and I fully expected to see this:

Not exactly what we found...but what we did see was a tiny staple-as in, to staple your papers with. Gah, I couldn't believe all of this could be caused by something as small as a staple. But, Dr. Jan said whatever is in there needs to come out. I decided against a scope to remove the objects because we didn't know how sharp the stuff was.

So, back to surgery she went (of course, after a panicked call to my mortgage lender...) and a few hours later, we got the call that Rowen was out of surgery.

When I went to pick her up, Dr. Jan wanted her to stay on some IV fluids. "Are you comfortable taking her home on an IV?" Well, how much different could it be than humans?

We had to bring her out via stretcher

At home, recovering

My house turned into a hospital

<Graphic Picture> This is what was embedded in her belly : (

Hair, yarn, grass, plastic pieces (?), rubber...and a staple

Trying to get her to eat..she loved the ground beef, but not the rice

Meds 3 times daily

So now..only about a week after major abdominal surgery-Rowen is back to her old self. We even arranged a supervised play date with brother Jack because she was so bored and had so much energy. Her incision is healing nicely and she is eating normally again. The one major thing that has changed is that Ben and I are now locking her in "her room" when we leave. She doesn't typically chew or eat random objects, but we can't take the chance again!

Thanks to everyone for checking in on her!

# Pets

August 05, 2011

Un-Fitness Friday

Andrea 10:28 AM 2 Comments

Un-fitness Friday....because sometimes you just need a little grease : )
Between the garden at Ben's work and the one at my MIL's house, we are never out of fresh veggies. Not at all a bad problem to have! However, I am finding that there is only so much you can do with veggies that is fun and healthy. Sometimes, you have to add some butter.
My Mom's best friend, Susan (also the talented lady who arranged ALL of my flowers at my wedding) is the queen of improvising. Don't have any [fill in the blank] on hand? No problem-we will find something. I was perusing her blog one day and was inspired by her post about things to do with zucchini!
Ben's mother had given us a zucchini that resembled a bowling pin-in size and shape. I thought about grilling it..or chopping it up raw for salad toppings..and became bored with all of my options. Then Susan's post reminded me of fritters! OH YUM!

My bowling pin zucchini

I grated that whole thing...

My zucchini mush...I promise it gets better!

Added in some goody!

And fried some patties

And for the healthy part...(garden tomatoes and cucumbers!)

I don't really have an official 'recipe' for this, but I will try my best:

-Large zucchini, Onion, 2 eggs, bread crumbs, flour, cheese (any kind), garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, vegetable oil

-Grate the zucchini and set aside on a paper towel (to soak up all the liquid)

-Finely chop the onion (mine went into the food processor)

-In a bowl, beat the eggs and start adding in the remaining ingredients. I added my zucchini and onion first, then the flour and (Italian) bread crumbs-probably about 1 1/2 cups total of the dry ingredients. I used shredded cheddar, but Parmesan would be good too!

-The spices are all to taste-I think I added about 1/2 tablespoon each. To the last batch, I added some cajun spices for Ben.

-Heat the vegetable oil in the skillet, then patty up the fritters and drop them in the hot oil!

Next time, I will probably roll them in some cornmeal for extra crunch. They were great heated as leftovers too! I also thought about making a big patty and putting it on a bun like a crab cake sandwich.

# Food # Recipes

August 03, 2011

Inspection passed!

Andrea 8:55 PM 3 Comments

We had our home inspection today, and as we were finishing up, I asked our inspector, "If it was your decision, would you buy this house?" A smile and a definite 'yes' made me feel confident that we had made the right decision.
I know there are still a few things that could happen between now and closing day on September 15th, but most of the major stuff is behind us now. I took lots of pictures today, but because we still don't technically own the home, I think a sneak peak will do for now!

Front of the house (garage is to the left)

Future plans for this space: make a front porch!

A great kitchen (must have!)

Master bath with separate vanities

Deck is great for entertaining

The future man cave : )

I can't even count how many times today I said, "Uh...we are about to buy this house!" It's an exciting (and scary!) new adventure and I see lots of home projects in our future. And the only down side to all of this? We have to PACK and MOVE! Booo

# Goals # Home

This Unfamiliar Road

August 25, 2011

Prayers Answered

August 21, 2011

Rowen Eats a Staple

August 05, 2011

Un-Fitness Friday

August 03, 2011

Inspection passed!

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