Down the Tubes

Henry had tubes placed in his ears yesterday.  We were shocked at how fast it all happened.  We went to the ENT and he scheduled us for 2 days later.  I didn't even have time to get the word out!

Henry has had a few ear infections since April and it just seems that he is always on an antibiotic.  He has been on a different antibiotic every week this month.  Our doctor sent us to the ENT last week after the 4th ear infection.  He checked his ears and said they both looked terrible and Henry was taking medicine!  I was shocked and just hate that my sweet angel lives in pain.

We got to the surgery center at 6 am, filled out paperwork, and waited to be called back.  Filling out the paperwork took longer than the actual surgery!

My sweet baby lying on the bed before they took him back.

They sent us to the waiting room to wait on the doctor to tell us how it went.  We literally had enough time to get a cup of coffee (Neil) and sit down before they came to get us.  The doctor said his ears were full of fluid and that he did great.  We got to give him a bottle as soon as we got him.  He was irritable for about 10 minutes and then went on about his business the rest of the day.  In fact, when we got home he wanted to play!  I thought he would have wanted to sleep but NO!  We didn't sit around the house either.  We picked up Bennett from Veggie Tales camp and went to our weekly Gymboree class.  He was a total trooper and basically acted like nothing even happened.

The Buteaus were so sweet to drop off this Get Well balloon for Henry!

While Bennett is away...Henry will play!

Bennett got to stay in Ruston for a couple days so Henry got a lot of one on one attention. I love that they both get special attention sometimes.

Henry and I had a lunch date with Amy, went to a Level 3 Gymboree class, and to the ENT.

The ENT sure wasn't the best part because we were there for 2 hours and learned that Henry needs tubes in his ears. My poor angel is on an antibiotic and his ears still looked bad. I feel guilty for wishing he would quit crying and sleep! My sweet boy has been in pain. Hopefully these tubes will make him better.

Please say prayers for my Henry. We go in tomorrow for his procedure. I'm just really nervous for him to be put under.

Family Produce Trading

For a while now my dad and his cousins have been meeting in Longview for dinner and produce trading.  Sound a bit old fashioned to you? It's not.  It's a good time for them to talk hunting, food, and land.  They talk a little about the good ole days and enjoy each other's company.  I'm just glad Henry and I went along for the ride yesterday.

Denny grows lots of vegetables in his garden.  Don picks up Noonday onions every year.  My dad just eats the stuff.  We met Denny at the truck stop in Greenwood and all piled in to meet Don in Longview.  All of us Louisianians drove to Texas to eat at a Louisiana "cajun" restaurant. 

They commented the entire time about how well behaved Henry was and how he was a "good little rascal."  I was so proud.  

Denny brought a box of tomatoes for each of them and Don brought a bag of onions for each.  I reaped the benefits because my dad picked up the check and I have a big bowl full of fresh tomatoes and onions to show for our trip.  I see a Tomato Pie in our future!

Denny, me/Henry, Don, and Dad

Denny with his bag of onions and my dad

Ruston Visit

We went to Ruston on Sunday for a fun little family visit.  We had a fabulous lunch of homemade meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  Janine treated the girls to pedicures that were excellent.  They basically had every single took imaginable and used it!  We met all the boys at the Lewis Boutique and then headed to swim at Gigi's house.  

Maxin' and Relaxin'

Gigi feeding Henry

all of us

Gigi

Bennett loves to be thrown off the diving board.  Richard took this awesome picture!

I am so glad that we have a fun place to go to see our family.  We get to take a little time to enjoy each other and do a little something different.  We love that Bennett loves to stay with Nana and Grandad.

Friday with Dad

Neil is able to work 10 hours days and be off on Fridays during the summer. We are so excited to have him home with us! It was like a little vacation this weekend.

We got up bright and early to a delicious breakfast of pancakes made by Chef Neil. We headed out early to to buy hinges, go to the library, lunch, Gymboree, and finally a little nap for everyone.

We are going to try and plan a lot of fun stuff on our Fridays with Dad!

We like to Party!

It's not secret that we like to party.  And by partying we enjoy children's birthday parties.  We have a couple every weekend it seems.  Some are mandatory and some are not.  Does anyone else know what I mean about that?  If it is a family member or a very close friend...it is mandatory for all 4 of us to attend.  If it is a kid in the class or someone like that...we will go if we need an outing.  Most of the time Neil does not attend those.  This weekend we had 2 mandatory parties on Saturday.  I love mandatory parties because this means that someone close to us is having a birthday.  It means that we get to see people that are close to us and celebrate a little person's birthday!

We started out with Connor's 5th birthday.  I remember holding him in the hospital when he was born.  I cannot believe he is 5 now!  The party was at Party Central's splash zone.  I told Neil that he might want to bring a bathing suit or a change of clothes but he did not listen.  So, when Bennett wanted to ride the bumber boats...he wished he would have listened to me.  The bumper boats came with a water gun attached so both boys were drenched when they got off!  hahahaha!!

Bumber Boat Boys

Scott and William

Chad and Connor

Bennett almost fell in the water because he was standing up on the boat.

Elizabeth loves babies and I was happy to have her hold Henry while I took pictures

Neil/Henru, Green, Scott, and Carolyn

Bennett and Clara

Henry and me

love that sweet face!

After our 10 am party, we ran out to the camp and then came home for a nap.  We headed to our dear friend's 1st birthday!  I cannot believe Jake is 1.  Last summer there were about 5 of us who were pregnant and now all of our babies are turning 1.  Time sure flies when you are having fun.

Leigh and Jake Jake

Lennon (2 days older than Henry), Jakey, and Henry

I can't believe our babies are turning ONE!  I am in the planning stages of Henry's party! I love planning my boys' parties!!!

Oh this is Ladies Night

We do a monthly girls night at a random house or restaurant.  The boys joke that we go somewhere once a week...it really is 1 time per month.  

Dinner at Windrush with a bunch of Sunday School girls=fun!  

Swim lessons 2012

Swim Lessons this year were OK.  I just think I really need to invest in one on one lessons for Bennett.  He will do one more week at the  swim school and then I will do private lessons next summer.  He only had 3 other kids in his class...he just isn't in the water long enough in a group class.

Stream line arms

Trying to reach and pull

Stream line arms with his teacher

The last 2 days of the lessons he got to do the rope swing...he loved it!

Fantastic Father's Day

Our Father's Day started really early this year.  We were up by 6:20 full on energy and ready to go.  Neil got to sleep in a little bit while I made breakfast.  He is a good daddy so I thought he deserved a morning to sleep in!! :)

The boys gave Neil a couple of fun little things including a Batman card that Bennett said he wanted Neil to have.  We were at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago and I let Bennett pick one out.  He immediately found the Batman card even though I was trying to persuade him to get a cuter one.  I'm just not into super heroes.  Anyway, we hid the card in the buggy and went on about our business.  Neil walked over to the cart and Bennett grabbed the card and said "look what I got for you, I want you to have it!"  It was really sweet.  He colored it beautifully and even added a few circles to it.

We headed to church where we were going to meet Richard and Rebecca.  We received a text saying Rebecca decided to sleep in so they would just meet us at home for our Father's Day grill and chill lunch.  Rebecca "made" kabobs for the crew and I handled the sides and dessert.  It was a totally fun, relaxed meal.

Neil received this awesome "Who Dat Nation Saints Fan" certificate.  He sent me a link to that said "Father's Day gift idea for me" in the subject line.  Done and done.

It was dated 2010, but no one is looking that close!

Bennett acting like Otis

adorable pic of my boys

Adorable picture of Richard and his kids...only thing missing was Andrew

My dad with me and my boys...just missing my brother.

I found a cute card idea for Father's Day on Pinterest here.  I knew it was perfect for our granddads because they both have a sweet tooth.  They loved them!  If you are making one of these candy cards...shop early.  I went to 4 places before I found everything I needed.

All the dads grilling.  I said I would grill so Neil wouldn't have to do anything, but he didn't want to relax.

Bennett helped Grandad open his presents.  

The afternoon went off without a hitch until the hose popped out of the back of the washer and flooded the laundry room AND Bennett decided to get in to a can pf spray paint!

Bennett and everything he "painted."

Bennett went outside while we were finishing up our dessert inside.  He goes out in the back a lot so it wasn't a big deal. He came inside about 5 minutes later and got one of my white cloth napkins to wipe his hand.  The conversation went something like this:

 me: "What is that?"

Bennett: "It's just paint."

me: "What did you paint?"

Bennett: "Just everything!"

me: "What is everything?"

Bennett: "The baseball glove."

So yes, he painted the baseball glove, the ground, the WINDOW screen, chalk table, our new to us patio furniture and I am sure we will find it other places!  I guess we need to watch him 24/7 or not leave spray paint out.  I couldn't really get mad because I am the one that left the paint out on the table.

The day ended with a surprise massage from me and my dad for Neil while I got the kids bathed and to bed.  Our favorite massage therapist is affordable and she comes to your house!  If you need her info...let me know!

Our Last Day in ChuckTown

Our last day in South Carolina was a great one. We had a leisurely morning and didn't get started until 10:30 am!  We were up and out every other day by around 8 so this was late for us.  We  headed to Sullivan's Island for a beach day and of course, FOOD.  

We ate at Poe's on Sullivan's Island.  It was a fun little beachy place that had great food.  All of the food had an Edgar Allan Poe reference.  Neil and I shared the Tell Tale Heart chicken sandwich.  It came with a fried egg on top!

All of us

We were pretty much the most unprepared people on the beach that day.  We had 2 towels between the 6 of us and the Buteau's brought those from their hotel.  Thankfully they let me borrow one. We had to lay out on our cover-ups and t-shirts we bought from Poe's.  It was just plain sad.  I was trying hard not to over-pack on this trip and I really ended up under packing.  So, we had no towel, no beach bag, and our sunscreen was out!  Being unprepared did not stop our fun.  We got a little tan and relaxed by the water.

Neil kept trying to take "artsy" photos.  This means turning the camera in an odd direction.

After the beach, we headed to McCrady's, the oldest restaurant in Charleston.  We had 2 other reservations for dinner and cancelled them to go to McCrady's.  The food was crazy exotic and not my favorite.  But, we had to eat at the place where George Washington used to hang out.  The food was very eccentric...Neil and Matthew even ate octopus!

We decided that in 3 1/2 days in Charleston we ate/drank/tasted at 17 different places!  Wow...that is a feat.  

Peach dessert at McCrady's

Neil's octopus course

We decided to have 1 last hurrah after dinner at Kaminsky's, the little dessert place.  We all split a Toll House pie and a snickerdoodle cake.  We had to improvise since there we no tables left in the restaurant so we went over to the City Market to chow down.  I just loved this spontaneous little dessert adventure.