Bubby's tummy trouble

Well it all began about a month ago after Bubby was diagnosed with strep throat. Besides the sore throat and fever he also complained about a sore tummy. The doctor said that it was common for children to experience stomach pain with strep and that it should disappear with the treatment of antibiotics. Well the sore throat went away but not the pain in his stomach. We decided to take the "wait and see" approach since he was not having any other issues other than a tummy ache. It seemed to bother him mostly at nap time and bedtime. We thought maybe because he was still and had no distractions that maybe it was just more noticeable to him. Anyway over the course of weeks the ache began to seem come more often and bothered him more. I decided to take him to a pediatric gastrologist this past Friday. We have PPO insurance and I thought I would just bypass the middleman (our primary doctor) and go for the source since I could. She recommended that we do a EGD and some biopsies on Monday and see what's going on since it's been going on for so long. A scope?! Wow I didn't expect that at all! Right off the bat I didn't like the idea of him being put to sleep for any reason! I told her that I needed to talk to my husband before making any decisions. She said that she wanted to go ahead and set things up and if we decided not to move forward with it we could just cancel Monday morning. I agreed but my plan was to get myself home and get on the internet and see if there was something I could try and maybe not have to put him through it. Well to shorten the story, it was a very bad weekend for Bubby. He was having alot of pain when lying down to sleep. I mean crying out in pain. It was awful! I ended up feeling like we had no other choice but to go ahead and get the scope done. So today at 1 we went to Medical City and had the procedure done. To my surprise it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and Bubby did great. He amazes me alot. He was not afraid at all. They let me stay with him until he went to sleep with some gas and then brought me back in before he woke up. He even said "lets go" when they put him on the gurney! They used this cherry scented mask for him to breath the gas. He himself gassed himself down! He held it over his nose until he fell asleep! He told me later that the cherry smell turned into rocket fuel! He is so funny.
I kind of had a light talk with him so he would know what to expect and not be too surprised.
So after all was done the doctor told me that she saw nothing abnormal but for some redness that indicates that there is some reflux. Again I was surprised that is all they found after watching him hurt so much this weekend. But VERY glad that was all they saw!They went ahead and took about three biopsies one from the upper and lower stomach and in the small intestines. We should find out about those later on this week. She prescribed some Prevacid for now to help with the acid reflux. Hope it works fast!
Daddy Dude and T-Bone came along. We were all there together as a family. We are all VERY tired and have not had much sleep this past weekend and of course it's been a bit tense waiting for today to come. Whew, I'm glad that's over!!!

Cloth diapers and making brew

Well let me first say that our first incentive was to save some money. Hey isn't everyone these days?
But with the added bonus of things being healthier and being a little less dependent on the outside world (Walmart) was also an added decision maker.
Let's start off with me telling you about my new exciting find! Cloth diapers! Yes you heard me right. I only have one now in diapers and I considered it after talking to a close friend of mine about spending so much on milk and diapers. Well ok so it was my husband idea after I told him about our conversation. But anyway I did give it some serious thought. I couldn't stop thinking about my mom doing it for me and my sister. I have memories of her swishing a poopie diaper in the potty and then wringing it out while caring for a neighborhood baby. Wow. That's impressive. Talk about getting your hand dirty by babysitting! And baby sitting was cheap then too! Well I thought about the pros and cons of it. Pros - save money (did you know that on average one spends close to 2,000 in 2 1/2 years for disposable?) Cloth diapers go through several children before they are spent. , Healthier, they breathe and no more weird beaded gel stuff, Very comfortable. Cons - upfront cost can be pricey if buying the more fancy kind that are fitted and have snaps/Velcro. , requires some more time since you change them more frequently and no more just tossing them into the trash while your out and about, and some new learning skills if your using pins., and of course some more laundry (maybe one or two small loads (.25 - .50 per load) per week.
Well I decided to give it a go. After two days I love them! Surprised myself alot. I started with using the cheap system of prefolds, pins and those funky vinyl pants. Didn't want to invest alot into it yet. Well today I walked into the deeper end and got some cool fitted ones off of craig's list.
I'm still pinning and using some nicer fitted covers too. Clean up is not bad at all. If it's a poopie, I just plop it into the toilet and flush. Never have to touch it. I'm blessed with my son having nice bm's I guess. ") Pee pee's go right into the diaper pail. I'm pretty proud of my handy work with the prefolds and pins! See pics.
As for Daddy dude well he's doing his part as well. As most of you know he loves dark German beer. You know the expensive kind. I think that there is only two places in Dallas that carries his brand and of course they are across town. Poor mans been drinking Miller beer lately from Tom Thumb! Any way as a requested gift for Fathers Day, he is going to start brewing his own beer. He's got all the gear and all he needs is some time to sit down and get started. Again, price is SO much better and he can skip all those additives that help with shelf life and profit. I'll keep you posted.
One of the reasons that he was unable to brew this weekend was that we decided to open up our new camper and check it out. It was a bit of a bear getting it up in the hot Texas heat! We ended up sitting inside of it most of the day with the AC on. The boys even had dinner in it! It's a great pop up and I can't wait to take the family out in it. We took the time to clean it out and make sure everything is in working order. We are thinking about trading our 91 Ford Explorer for a larger SUV to get a better tow with it. Which in turn means more gas money. But hey we are saving a bundle on diapers and beer right? ")

Our new (well new to us) pop up camper

Well as you can see by the above picture, we are now proud owners of a 1999 Coleman Utah pop up camper. After scanning Craig's list, Dallas Morning News and green sheet for a few months we finally able to snag one before anyone else could get it. I never would have thought that they would have such a high demand! They sell like hotcakes! We spent alittle more than we wanted but it was a great price for what it is. It's also huge and we did do some nail bitting on the way home wondering if we could get it through our gate and into a good position in the back yard. Well after much sweat and teamwork we figured it out. Even our neighbors came by to encourage and offer help.
So now what? Well after we recover from pushing it around in the backyard we hope to do some looking/cleaning in it and make it "ours".
As I said before, we got a great deal for what it is. It has two king size beds and slide out dining area for more room. The dining table and another bench area can be made into beds as well. It could sleep 4 adults and 3 children comfortably. It has an indoor and outdoor cook top, refrigerator, sink and a potty and a shower too. And of course a Texas must, an air conditioner! The previous owners was kind enough to give us everything in it but the boom box. Dishes, blankets, fan, microwave, tools and some other camping necessaries. They are in the process of moving and downsizing. Since their kids have grown they know longer had use for it. They were very kind and took alot of time explaining and showing us how to use it. Something we really needed. ")
We hope to use it for a long time with the boys in the great outdoors!
We are pooped. We had gone out to Terrell and looked at another one before seeing this one. It was a very long day for us and the boys. Alot of driving. Daddy and I plan on kicking back and drinking some nice cold beer and maybe some fast food for a late night dinner!

News about the mower

Well the mower has been retired. Daddy has come through!
We have spent several days looking on Craig's list with nothing to show for it. This morning I told Daddy that I didn't care whether or not he repaired the old one or got us another one but by the looks of the length of the grass something had to be done before the city tagged us!
Well after some thought he decided to give his mom a call and just see if by chance she might have a spare one to sell us. Well great news she not only had one but it's self propelled like the old one! Yeah Grandma!Though she didn't "sale" it to us she did tell Daddy to come and borrow it and just not return it. Yeah Grandma again!
So here is some pics of the new beauty. Hope we share a long life together ")

Cutting hair and grass

Today was haircut day for the boys. Since cutting Daddy's hair for several years I decided to start cutting the boys hair as well. I don't really mind doing it for the most part but it seems like their hair grows like a weed. So I feel like someone is always due for a cut. Daddy hair is fairly easy to cut and I know how to do it pretty good though sometimes I get carried away and cut it a bit short. As for Bubby's, his is SO easy. He now is able to sit still in front of the tube and let me get it done. Since it's so curly, it's a breeze to cut. I just take off a few inches all around and we are done.
T-Bone's hair on the other hand is a bit tricky for me. It's thick very straight and has more than a handful of cowlicks all over the place. I have to be honest and say that I am never really happy with the way I cut it. It ends up looking like a fluffy baby chicken on top with some scagily looking bangs in front! I think that I need to go have it cut at a salon and see how they would do it. I'm a very visual learner and can do it if I see it done. Well today I was brave (or not too bright) and decided to do a fade cut on the sides. With Daddy's much needed help in the restraining area I got the clippers and comb and got busy. The end results? Well maybe not too bad for a first time but still kinda chickeny on top and the sides don't "fade too well. T-Bone seemed to be happy with it. With so much gone from the sides I sort of teared up at the sight of it. (One of the main reasons that I started to cut Daddy's hair, since it seemed imposable for a barber to not scalp the man! ) I ALWAYS cry at the sight of a short hair cut even when it's not my own. Then my little Bubby man speaks out and says "Mommy what a great haircut!". I smiled with tears in my eyes and the moment passed. Daddy's next but the barber is taking a break for now maybe the shop will open later. ")
On another note we are trying to make a decision whether or not to "retire" our lawn mower. As most of you know I enjoy doing yard work (most of the time). I have been using the same mower since Daddy and I got married (12 years). It's a great mower and I have always had it in my mind that I would run to the ground before giving it up. Well we might have reached that point now. While mowing the front yard this past week the other hand bar broke in two. Thankfully I was almost finished. The other side had broken a few months back and repaired with zip strips and good ole duct tape! You can see what's left with my handy work in the picture above.
I've been keeping my eye out on Craig's list for a new one but nothing as of yet and my grass is growing by the second. I think Daddy going to try and do a repair. Maybe put a metal rod inside the two pieces and then drill a hole in both sides and use bolts to keep the rod still. We'll see.
Part of me wants a nice new mower but I sure hate to see my long time buddy go!
With so much anticipation, I'm sure to keep everyone posted on what happens!