Again

Phil is back in the hospital.

He was progressing and then he stopped progressing and then it began to digress. He certainly is much better than he was four weeks ago when he first went in so at least we aren't starting at 50% O2 again.

He is at 100% O2 with the BiPap and around 94% with the mask and full oxygen. His left lung is 80% full of fluid and gunk.

Cultures should reveal what is going on. We should know by Wednesday or Thursday if the staph is back (it may have been hiding out on the port) or whether it is only the pneumonia.

He is exhausted and discouraged.

Giveaway!

Phil's niece has a great and original Etsy shop. She makes/sells baby and toddler belts. She's having a giveaway for V'day. You should check it out! Note: don't leave your comment here, you've gotta go to her blog (linked below) to actually enter.

Valentine's Day Giveaway!

For Valentine's Day I am having a

BELT GIVEAWAY!

You have three chances to win. I am giving away two girl's fashion belts and one boy's leather belt raffle-style on Valentine's Day. Each belt will be your choice of style and size with free shipping as well. You can see styles here. To enter leave a comment on the giveaway post here with your e-mail address. The raffle ends at 7:00 pm MST February 14th.


As an added bonus you can get a second entry if you post this giveway on your blog. Leave a extra comment here with the link to your blog.

Results will be e-mailed out February 15th.

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary ...

Our backyard is full of huge, tall, leafy (really leafy) trees (not anything you would ever see in Utah - these babies are tall and did I mention, leafy?). This was one of the things that really caught our eye when we decided to buy this place. We loved the backyard with all its shade and leafiness.

Then fall came and we had to remove all those leaves.

Then spring came and we had no sunshine for a garden.

I've never  been successful at growing things. I need all the benefits I can get and too much shade hasn't helped my attempts at gardening.

Enter the hero of our story: Brother Price. He is an awesome guy. Our first home teacher here and also one of the instrumental people in convincing Phil how very much he needed me. He has offered us some space near our house (behind his dental office). He also happens to be an awesome gardener.

I have a good feeling about our prospect this year. We might actually grow something edible!

Here is where I need your help.

Question 1: should I plant:
A) seeds.
B) purchased plants
C) plants I have sprouted in my kitchen

Question 2: what should I plant?

Question 3: from where should I purchase my seeds/plants?

Question 4: what great advice do you have for me?

I am so looking forward to this project! Yippee! Fresh veggies are coming my way!

Yup, lots.

We

logged over

8000

medical miles in 2009!

Pics of Mr. Pneumonia

When we were being discharged from the ICU, the nurse told me she was lining up the "suite" for us. She wasn't fibbing. Check this hospital room out! That couch had a hide-away bed in it (but I just slept on the couch). My mom thought I was joking when I said we had our own ballroom floor, but check it out. I guess that is what you get when you are on isolation.

Here he is at home with his "only one" and his O2:

And here he his saying "howdy" to all y'all:

Home-n-stuff

It is good to be home.

Pneumonia is bad stuff. Makes a fella tired, and weak. Bodies get weak fast. Get strong not as fast. Feeling like an old dude. Not fun. Rude pneumonia.

Oxygen is good stuff. Doc says to go down to 1 liter. That's good.

Lots of coughing. Don't like it, but gotta get it out. It hurts. And annoys.

Eden is busy. And loud. And busy. And emotional. And funny.

Heidi is tired. And busy. And emotional. Girls are weird that way.

Overall: doin' well. Progressing. That's good.

She likes me ... a little bit ... or does she?

Lately Eden has been saying, "I don't like you mommy."

I'll admit, it hurts. I figure it is good preparation for when she is 13 and tells me she hates me. ouch! She's so funny though because one second she says, "I don't like you" and the next she is saying, "I NEED you!" Fickle girl.

Today she said, "I don't like you so much, I just like you a little bit." (yeah, like that is much better!)

On Sunday she was going to go to Corrie's while I went to branch council but I ended up not going (silly antibiotic took 1 1/2 hours instead of 1 hour!). She was disappointed. I asked her, "is Corrie's house just your favorite?" (I meant, your favorite place to visit!) Her reply, "yes, but I still like you mommy."

Fickle indeed!

Call for help from more experienced mothers: 
is it best to ignore the "I don't like you" business or to address it? I figure that if I show her it hurts, I'm just giving her a weapon to use in the future so I try to not react in that way. At the same time, I think she is being rude and needs to learn that talking that way (to anyone) is not kind. What do you experts say?