Goodbye, My Love...

After talking it over for some time and deciding that I should get a newer vehicle (preferably one with better gas mileage that doesn't take up a big chunk of our garage), we decided to list my beloved Expedition in the local online classifieds a couple of weeks ago. What?! But Suzie - you LOVE that car! I know, I know. It's spacious, comfy, truck-like, and can win almost any battle with other vehicles, shopping carts, and even the rare cable car. We didn't expect it to sell necessarily...just thought we'd test the waters. Besides, Max was thinking that there was no way it would sell as he hadn't ever had any luck trying to sell one of his cars through the same popular classifieds.

As you've probably assumed by this post's title, it sold. We had several calls and a few people come to take a gander/test drive and in the end, the couple that came by Tuesday evening loved the car (though not as much as I did, I'm sure) and the deal was done Thursday morning. We even had another couple call a total of 3 or 4 times on Wednesday more or less begging us for the car - even asked if they could bring by earnest money - if it didn't sell to the other couple. Sorry, folks...

We spent a chunk of Wednesday afternoon looking at cars in hopes that we'd find the perfect new fit right away. No such luck. We looked at crossovers, a couple of SUV's, new and used cars, etc. but nothing totally clicked. The closest thing was a Subaru Tribeca but we weren't totally decided and wanted to make sure the deal was done on the sale of my car before moving forward.

I was a wee tad bit of a touch sad when finishing up the paperwork on my Expedition on Thursday morning. It felt so wrong to hand my keys over to the couple who purchased it. I know they are excited to have it and I know that they'll take good care of it. But it's MY car and I love it! No one else could possibly have the deep feelings for it that I did. But then again, for heaven's sake, self...it's a car, not a child (though if it were a child, it would be my best-behaved one...no attitude or whining whatsoever).

We spent part of yesterday afternoon looking at cars again. The first one that we looked at (and the only one that we drove) was...a newer Expedition. I won't get into the details of the car itself other than to say that it's a lot like my old Expedition but a whole lot nicer and prettier with more bells and whistles. I thought Max would immediately give it a big, fat "no" but he surprised me when he said, "It's like coming home." We both agreed that it was the front runner of the various cars that we'd looked at and driven but at the same time, we both want to make sure we check out other options before moving forward. This afternoon we're headed out again and if we don't make a decision today, we'll be driving all over kingdom come again tomorrow. I will admit that it's kind of fun looking for a new car but I'm afraid I'm being a bit difficult in what I am willing to get as my old Expedition is still tugging at my heart strings.

Goodbye, my darling. I will miss you (unless I get that newer one...).

Playing Catch-Up...Suture Removal, Swimming, Etc.

Plenty has gone on since Hudson cracked his noggin on that poorly placed corner wall a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, I've been too busy twiddling my thumbs, picking at my split ends, and fretting over the fact that I haven't posted lately to get on here and blog. Here's a little update for y'all:

1. Hudson got his stitches out last Monday.

He was fairly nervous about it and after I explained the process to him (including the fact that wiggling around or freaking out would not be helpful), he asked if he could squeeze my hand while they were removed. I told him that was the perfect thing to do. After his very friendly nurse gave him a quick briefing and showed him the instruments she'd be using, she started to reach for his forehead and he said, "Oh, Mom!" and grabbed my hand. She went to clip the first suture and he gave my hand a very tight squeeze. That grasp immediately eased up when he realized it didn't hurt one bit. He continued to hold my hand but happily counted the remaining three "snips" with the nurse. He was a little nervous again when it was time to pull them out but smiled all the way through, counting once again. When it was all done, he started laughing and talked about how he didn't feel it and that it wasn't bad at all. Much, much better than the tears he cried when the whole ordeal started a week before! We stopped at McDonald's on the way home and picked up a celebratory vanilla cone for Hudson's reward (and he got a lollipop and sticker when we left InstaCare...lucky kid!). His scar looked pretty good that day and it was obvious that it was healing nicely.

As of today, the little "zipper" dots on the sides are practically invisible and it's looking like it won't be too horrible when all is said and done. I haven't taken another close-up since last Monday and I really don't want to wake Hudson up with my camera flash right now so you'll just have to check future pictures out if you want to see his scar.

2. Claire started her 1st session of Level 1 Preschool swimming lessons.

A couple of weeks ago, Claire and I finished up a Parent & Tot swimming class together and at the end of the session, our teacher said that even though she wasn't officially old enough (and still isn't), that Claire was ready to be bumped up to the next level of swimming. We contacted the head of aquatics at the rec center and got approval for Claire to begin normal lessons this time around. After a week off over spring break, Claire was SO excited to be getting back in the pool. She talked about it every day and on the way to her 1st lesson. We were thrilled to have found out that she would be the only child in her class (private lessons at the group price - awesome!) and figured that she'd be jumping in the water at first chance. Guess what? We were wrong...

Upon seeing that her instructor was a guy, Claire completely froze up and started crying. Her teacher, Mitch, is rather intimidating at a good 6'3" and probably 300 lb. but sweet as can be. In spite of coaxing by both Max and I, she refused to get in the water. We finally convinced her to get in with Hudson and while she was okay being in the pool with him, anytime the instructor got within a few feet of her or touched her, the tears started flowing again. I'd say that she spent about 2/3 of the time out of the water and about 3/4 of the time sobbing uncontrollably. In the end, she got in with both Mitch and a girl named Liz (Hudson had her last year and LOVED her) but would cling to or scoot next to Liz anytime Mitch tried to inch closer. I felt SO bad for him and totally embarrassed by her shenanigans but everyone was so nice about it, saying that they're used to little kids crying, especially at the beginning of each session. On the other hand, Hudson had ZERO problem getting back into the swing of things. He has two instructors who co-teach a class of 5 kids and one of the teachers is Mitch. And to think that Hudson is totally okay with him. Weird.

3. This isn't a big monumental event but...we went to the zoo with 2 of my sisters-in-law and our little kiddies this week. I wouldn't mention it but I got some cute pictures and therefore, it is worthy of being in this post.

We three mommies brought sack/picnic lunches for our kids. After eating, we walked around the zoo and saw six super cute goslings (of the Canada Goose kind), a couple different baby monkeys, and the darling baby elephant; got an up-close view of the three now-ginormous tiger cubs and their mama; rode the carousel; and shared super yummy "flavor burst" cones at the end of our visit. The kids all get along so well and had so much fun together. We definitely need to do this more often!

4. We got crackin' on yard work this weekend.

And between the yard work and the zoo, I got going on my annual "pink tan". We did our spring clean up in the front yard on Friday afternoon and spent a good part of Saturday sprucing up the backyard. We weeded and raked gardens/beds, pulled up thousands of maple saplings/sprouts, and got a number of plants in the ground and/or pots. Unfortunately my brain wasn't entirely functioning when we started the process...before and after pictures would have been great. And now it's late enough at night that getting "after" pictures isn't an option. I'll post some pics of the yard in the next few weeks after a few more things come up and out of the ground (like my tulips...can't wait!).

Hudson's 1st Stitches

One day a year or so ago, Max commented to me that he was surprised that Hudson hadn't had to get stitches yet. He's an active boy (to say the least) and we knew that there was absolutely no way that he'd escape his growing years without them. Well, that impending day was yesterday...

I was sitting down here in my office/craft room when I heard a thud, then Hudson screaming a horrible scream, and Max calling for me. I ran upstairs and at Max's request made a bee-line for the laundry room where I grabbed a couple of rags. On my way to the two of them, Max said that we'd be needing to leave for InstaCare right away. Boy, was he ever right. Hudson had a beautiful gash to the left side of his forehead, thanks to his running into a corner wall with all of his 5-year-old might (same corner I broke my toe on back in December...bad wall!). I quickly made a round of calls, trying to find someplace to take Claire. Once that was squared away, Max and I took turns keeping pressure on Hudson's head while getting everyone ready to leave. Being a good mom, I made sure to grab our small digital camera on the way out the door. We dropped Claire off at a friend's place and then headed downtown. On the way there, Hudson commented that the builders of our house shouldn't have put that corner so close. Shame on them! Here's a little clip of Hudson during our visit to InstaCare:

In case you can't understand his explanation, he was throwing his favorite stuffed animal (a black lab named Miles after our dog) up in the air and catching him. On his final throw, he made the fatal move, smacking directly into that deadly corner while attempting to reach the dog before it hit the ground.

Prior to my taking the above clip, he "got to" have the wound partially numbed out in the waiting area (gel in a syringe...no needle). He laid across our laps and cried and cried as the nurse did her thing. Once the gel had started working, we were taken back to the triage area where they cleaned him up. We then shielded his eyes so he couldn't see as the doctor further numbed the area with a needle. He cried a bit at first but once the numbing agent settled in, he started to laugh. He found it extremely amusing that he couldn't feel it. And we were all glad he couldn't feel it and much preferred his laughter to crying. The rest of the procedure went beautifully. Hudson was calm and happy, talking to us from beneath his green drape, asking questions and counting stitches. When all was said and done, he had 2 interior stitches and 4 on the outside. Much to Hudson's delight, the exterior stitches are blue...his favorite color. Bonus!

In the collage above, there are two pics of him with his cool red post-gel headband in the waiting area (thumbs up because he's playing with Max's iPhone). Then you have a few shots of pre-suture fun such as measuring the 2 cm gash, getting numbing shots (you can see his smile/laughter), and pic of the Hudson and his un-stitched cut. Lastly, we have the final product...beautiful blue stitches in the forehead of a very proud boy. In case you can't tell, the one shot of him lying down has a thumbs-up for a job well done and a claw since he's now our little Frankenstein.

I did take two other videos while we were there - one of the 1st three exterior sutures being done and one of the final/4th exterior suture going in (it was a last-minute addition). Hudson was happy to pose for pictures during our time there but the video...now THAT was the icing on the cake for him. He just loves watching clips of himself. Now if I can convince him that injuries are not the best way to get me to take video of him.

First set of sutures down...here's hoping we don't have many (or any) more to go!

Easter Weekend

There was going to be a neighborhood Easter egg hunt 'round here on Saturday. Then Mother Nature decided to play a horrible prank on us and dropped 10 inches of snow in our yards a few days before. While a portion had melted by the weekend, we still had a few inches of the white stuff left and the party was canceled. But did we let that stop us? No way! We had our own little egg hunt in the living and dining rooms Saturday afternoon. My sister-in-law and I filled the plastic eggs Saturday morning and while the kids finished up their lunches, my brother "hid" he eggs in kid-friendly/visible places. The kids were (of course) thrilled to get their baskets out and find all of the eggs...and then eat the goodies they found inside:

Sunday morning the kids found their over-flowing Easter baskets. Before we could even notice what she was doing, Claire had stuffed a little Hershey's chocolate bunny into her mouth (I think she ate 2 immediately and then I found her sneaking her 3rd and 4th a short while later). We had a very relaxed Easter day and enjoyed listening to and/or watching our church's bi-annual conference. I turned Hudson's bunk beds into a "fort" at one point and the kids had a blast hanging out in there.

On Saturday afternoon I had dyed several hard boiled eggs in preparation for our traditional egg hunt on Easter. Once again, the snow put a damper on our usual outdoor hunt. Amazingly, the Easter Bunny was able to sneak into our basement when we weren't looking late Sunday afternoon and hid those dyed eggs. When the kids came downstairs with me to make sure they'd cleaned up the family room well enough, Hudson was ecstatic to spot a couple of eggs right off. Both kids grabbed their baskets (which I'd brought downstairs with me to "put away") and ran around the room finding the eggs.

Our dinner last night was a super yummy glazed ham (my MIL's recipe is the BEST), scalloped potatoes, green beans, orange Jell-O/Cool Whip mousse, and sugary orange rolls. All so yummy and along with all the chocolate I consumed over the weekend, it's all hanging out on my thighs for a couple of days. Must get exercising...