T-shirt Quilt

A couple of months ago I was cleaning out my drawers for my annual cleaning.  After going through my second t-shirt drawer (yes, I have 2), I noticed how many college t-shirts I still had.  Unwilling to get rid of them for the memories they hold, but not really wearing them anymore, I remembered hearing about a t-shirt quilt company.

After looking in the back of my Rachel Ray magazine, I found the company I was looking for, Campus Quilts.  I went to the Internet site trying to find out the specifics.  I got very excited about this idea, and Andrew and I decided to pool all of our old college t-shirts.

Here is the end result.  I'm amazed  how well this turned out.  I almost wish I never would have gotten rid of the dozens of other shirts I had collected over the years working for various Campus Recreation departments.  I probably could have made a king size if I would have kept them all, but alas I didn't.  Regardless, this is a 6x6 square quilt, each square being around 19 inches.

Isn't it pretty awesome?!  I have a gorgeous quilt with a ton of memories and clean drawers!

Sprinkler time!

My family knows it is officially summer time when we break out the sprinkler in the backyard.  Of course once Jackson is allowed to go swimming again, we'll be going to the pool.  Until then, sprinkler time!

 Sawyer was sitting under a tree in the shade with me.

Father's Day present for my Dad

Father's Day is this Sunday.  Matt, my brother, and I were racking our brains trying to think of something to get our dad instead of the usual gift.  My mom told us he wanted some pictures from the past year.

Instead of sending him pictures from the past year, we decided to put a photo book together of pictures from when we were kids through the present.  Matt and I pulled out all of our old pictures we had stored in boxes after moving umpteen times.  After finding suitable pictures and scanning them into the computer, we made a pretty good photo book.

Dad got it yesterday, hence the reason I'm sharing it today.  Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Wedding Anniversary!

Today, Andrew and I are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary.  I can't believe we have been married for 7 years already.  It seems as though we were just at LSU and living in Baton Rouge.

Andrew is my best friend, confidant, an amazing husband, and an awesome dad to our three boys.  Every year, I thank my old supervisor, Jacqui, for sticking her nose into my business and setting Andrew and I up.  Thanks Jacqui!

Happy Anniversary Andrew!  To a lifetime more of happy moments together!

Surgery and Recovery

I am glad today is a new day.

Jackson had surgery yesterday to remove a cyst from inside his scrotum. I took him down to the surgical center while Andrew took Cullen to preschool and watched over Sawyer. On the way down, I hit a hell of a traffic jam on the interstate. It was past rush hour, but our city has the nation's 5th worst traffic according to some recent study. Lets just say, I avoid the interstate like I avoid the plague, normally.

After arriving exactly on time (I left early just in case), we were whisked away to pre-op. The only thing Jackson wanted to do was play Angry Birds on my phone. I usually don't let the kids play games on my phone, but it kept him occupied and calm during the wait. Meanwhile, I filled out paperwork, signed my life and his away, and answered the same questions at least 3 times to 3 different people. I was told all the risks, up to and including death. Love the thoroughness. The nurses and doctors were all great. Eventually, he was whisked away on the rolling bed (which he loved) to the operating room, and I was walked into to post-op to wait.

An hour later, Jackson's doctor came in to tell me about the surgery . It was a success! She said the cyst came out completely in tact, and there was no need to have a second incision. Jackson was wheeled into his post-op room about 20-30 minutes later. He eventually woke up completely from the anesthesia about 1 1/2 hours later.

His first question, "Mommy, can I play Angry Birds?"

I laughed and knew everything would be just fine.

Since the anesthesiologist gave him a low epidural (called something special which starts with a C), he couldn't walk or feel his legs adequately to stand. It was pretty funny. I was getting him dressed, and his lower half was flopping around like a rag doll. He is also quite talkative when on pain medicine. I got an earful on how big he is and other things. I almost wish I had an extra pair of hands around to video tape it.

We arrived home a little before 1pm. He inhaled a vast amount of food because he was starving.

All in all, it was a long day.

Andrew and I are glad it's over. I'm quite thankful for the technology of our phones. I was able to keep Andrew up-to-date almost instantly. It's the next best thing to having him there with me.

Thank you all for your prayers before, during and after surgery. He's already back to his normal self.

The glasses have arrived!

Sawyer's glasses have finally arrived, lenses and all.  He looks really cute in them, in my opinion.

We go back into see the ophthalmologist in two weeks.  Hopefully, we'll know more about how the eye correction is going then.

Until then, please enjoy my handsome little boy.

Drinking Quotes

My kids crack me up sometimes.  In our household, drinking alcohol is not a big deal.  Andrew and I have decided it will be completely normal for our kids to see us drink.  That's how it was in my house and around all of my family growing up.  It was never a taboo thing and never thought of as anything but normal.  And I turned out just fine!

Because of this, our little kiddos have even come to appreciate Mom and Dad's adult drinks.  Hence, the following quotes...

"This is my little beer," Jackson said while holding up his glass of ice tea after trying, unsuccessfully, to talk us into giving him his own beer.

"I need to drink some of that," Cullen said while following Andrew after he pulled out the bottle of tequila.

"My drink," Cullen said when the waiter at Ninfa's put my margarita down at the table.  He went as far as sticking his fingers in my rita before I could pull it away and licking his fingers saying, "Mmm."

It will be interesting to see what else they come up with in years to come.