Childrens Discovery Museum

We received a wonderful and generous gift from My Aunt Shawn this week: a family membership to the Childrens Discovery Museum. All four of us went today for the first time and had a fabulous time! Avery was super excited for the Alice in Wonderland exhibit and could not stop talking about it. There were SO many fun things for us to do and it was really a great place for both of the girls. We stayed for a couple of hours and still did not see everything so we are excited to go back. I know this will be such a great place for the girls and I, especially on those rainy days! Thanks Shawn! We love you!!

Avery and I about to go through the rabbit hole

Bubble Making

Water Fun

This was a playroom for infants and Riley loved trying to crawl away from me. She is obsessed with climbing on anything and everything!
Pizza Making

Silliness

This is what happened when we tried to take the paper off of the icecream cone. I guess we should have just let her eat it.

A nice day for a swim

The other day we headed over to Mission Springs to see my lovely friend Robyn and her two beautiful girls, Ocean and Selah. Avery loves Ocean and they played very well together and had a spectacular time in the pool. Thanks guys for a fun day!

Gilroy Gardens

On Friday, my mom treated us to a day at Gilroy Gardens. Too bad it was blistering hot and we were super uncomfortable. We went on a few rides and then I made the mistake of going on the Garlic Twirl with Avery. I have not really had trouble in the past with twirly rides, but I guess a full stomach of Mexican food did not help the situation. If the ride had continued for just 30 more seconds, I beleive my lunch would have been splashed up on the sides of our garlic prison.
Before we left, we also enjoyed yummy soft serve cones. Riley loved it, but was not satisffied with simply taking little bites off my spoon. She grabbed the whole ice cream and squished it in her hands, followed by a temper tantrum when I took it away and tried to salvage the remains. She would not stop screaming so I gave in and handed her Avery's empty cone. She shoved it in her mouth and we enjoyed the rest of our icecream in peace. :) Needless to stay she is very stubborn and strong willed. We were very glad that when we bought our tickets, we received a pass for the rest of the year for free. Now we can go back anytime through November 23rd. Yahoo!

She's all clean now!

Random

Say what? Should you really drink coffee that has been laying around for 1001 years?

Favorites

1. My new sewing machine. My aunt Karen was cleaning out her closets and what did she find? An older sewing machine that she does not use and she thought of me! Fabulous! I have been wanting a new machine for quite a while since my old one is just that...OLD. It only does a straight stitch and nothing else. It has served me well, but it is definitely time for an upgrade and I am so appreciative of this great gift. I have not had an opportunity to try it out yet. A sick child does not make for good sewing conditions, but I have a bib all cut out and ready to go as soon as she can unattach herself from my hip.

Old on top; New below (In case you could not tell)

2. Sunflowers. Are they not just the happiest flower? I bought these from Trader Joes's, another of my favorite places, and they have lasted for over a week. I love seeing them on the table and they really brighten my day.

On another note, I read my friend Diane's blog the other day and she posted on how she always forgets her canvas bags when she goes to TJ's. Isn't that always the case?? I have such great intentions, but 90% of the time forget to grab them before we head off to the store. I hate that! Thankfully, when I went last Saturday I remembered (It is easier when you do not have to tote around 2 kids) and I got 3 raffle tickets for their monthly drawing. Maybe I will win :)

3. Good news about Jaron's ear. He went to see Dr. Inserra on Thursday and she took out more of the packing and was able to see part of the eardrum. What she could see looked good (she could not see the whole thing) and everything seems to be healing well so far. I was almost in tears after the news because this has been such a long and painful process. Jaron said he felt 100 times better after he left. I can't imagine it would feel good to have gel packing swishing around in the ear canal. He goes back in 2 weeks for another check. Jaron goes back to work on Monday and with the start of fall sports will be VERY busy so pray for a smooth transition and continued healing.

Bath Fun

I love these smiling faces!

Friday Favorites...

on Saturday. I have really fallen behind on my Friday favorites. I guess I have been a bit busy. Okay, drumroll please...

1. Kashi Go Lean Crunch. My absolute favorite cereal. Super yummy and good for you. Honey bunches of Oats with Almonds takes a close second.

2. Lilly Lamb. I made this lamb the other day and I think she is super cute. She has a few flaws, but it was my first time so the next one (if there is another) will be better. Jaron thinks she is quite creepy, but we all know he is a bit creepy so I chose not to listen. :)

3. Fun times at the beach with friends. Derek and Amy are up this way for a wedding so yesterday a bunch of us headed to Twin Lakes Beach for fun in the sun, hot dogs, and smores. Jaron made the trip over the hill as well and did pretty well. I think the elevation on the drive bothered him a bit, making him even more nervous about the ear, but hopefully he will be feeling good this morning.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

I love you, Super Grandma!

Beach Boardwalk

Last night we drove over to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for 75 cent night. All rides are just 1 ticket and the hot dogs, pepsi, and cotton candy are only 75 cents as well. We stayed for about 3 hours and had a great time. Jaron did pretty well, but was still in a semi-robotic out of it state. You can tell this in a few of the pics, but he did feel good enough to indulge in a deep fried twinkie! The girls loved it and Riley rode on her first ride ever...the merry go round.

Visiting with Grandma

reading books in the shade

sisters

Our dutch oven pineapple upside down cake

On an adventure with Dora

Water Fun

Riley Elizabeth

1 week post-op update

Scar from sewing my ear back onto my head...does it look crooked?

I’m starting to feel a lot better finally, last night I left the house for the first time to eat at Wahoo’s. I have had more pain after this surgery than I remember having after my prior surgeries. The first day I had almost no nausea/motion sickness which was great, that was the worst part of my first two surgeries. But I’ve had more pain, for longer. I think that was a result of them having to grind away more bone. They enlarged the ear canal to allow better access to do the repair, but that meant drilling out a bunch of bone and that has caused a lot of the pain I’m having.

Today I saw the doctor to follow up. She removed some of the gel foam that is packed in the ear canal, but wanted to leave some in place so she can not see the ear drum yet. She also uncovered the long incision behind the ear, it looks to be healing nicely. By this point after my last surgery, I could tell something was wrong…and I haven’t had that sensation this time, so that is good. Right now I just need everything to keep healing, and the graft and new ear drum to really heal over nice and strong. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Farmers Market

I cannot believe that I have lived here for two years and have not visited this local Farmers Market. I was inspired by Kelci's post on Community Supported Agriculture to try and either take part in buying from a local farm or supporting Farmers Markets. Since the only farms around are in Watsonville or San Francisco the first option would not work so off to the market we went! West Valley Community College (only about 3 or 4 miles from here) has a great market every Saturday from 9am-2pm. I took the girls and we had a great time. Since it was spur of the moment, I did not have a lot to buy since I had already shopped for the week but we got some fresh organic lettuce, cilantro, and strawberries. I was also enticed to buy bunches of my two favorite flowers - hydrangeas and dahlias. It was such a fun and friendly atmosphere and it was really not much more expensive than the grocery store. This is definitely the better option and we will revisit many Saturdays to come!

10 months

My recliner

What would I do without my recliner? I've been sitting in it for 23 hours straight now. I've slept about 3 or 4 of those hours, but mostly I've been watching TV. I've been watching the daily recaps of the Tour De France most every day during July, but this was the first time I watched the five hours of live coverage from 3:30 am to 8:30 am. Sure, my eyes were closed during much of that time because I'm doped up on Vicodin...but if I heard something interesting I would open my eyes and hit rewind on the Tivo. I've also watched 3 episodes of MTV Cribs (who the heck is Ryan Cabrera?), Judge Judy, Skateboarding on FuelTV, Deadliest Catch, SNL, Cowboy Flavor (my favorite cooking show), True Hollywood Story about Beyonce, and some other equally intellectual shows...I can actually feeling myself becoming dumber. Normally I would expect my back would hurt or butt would be sore after 23 hours in the same chair...but I guess Vicodin is the cure for that too. Keep that in mind next time you want to watch 23+ hours of TV in a narcotic stupor.

Surgery went well

The surgery went well according to Dr. Inserra. Jaron went in around noon and came out around 3pm. He was in recovery until about 6:15pm so we were home around 6:30pm. Dr. Inserra said that she removed a lot of bone and skin inside the canal and because of all the drilling, Jaron might experience more pain than before. She also put a tube in to help with the healing. All 3 bones looked good. Instead of simply repairing the hole, she repaired the entire eardrum, which she said is not much more work. The ear hopefully heals a bit nicer this way. Jaron is doing all right. Pain is tolerable but we will keep pushing the heavy narcotics :) The nausea is minimal and is not affecting him which is great. No yacking as of yet. He is currently sipping on a Mountain Dew...typical Jaron. Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes. We will keep you posted.

Before

After - giving the big thumbs down

I thought I would expand on Jenni's post about my surgery (see below).
I have had two unsuccessful tympanoplasty surgerys (12 years ago, and 6 years ago). So I still have a hole in my eardrum, and mild hearing loss (but I can blow bubbles out of my ear underwater). But now I also have some scar tissue growing into the middle ear, threatening to damage the hearing bones, etc...that would be bad. So I'm having a third tympanoplasty tomorrow, basically a skin graft to seal up the ear drum. This time to improve the chances of it healing properly they are likely inserting a small tube through the eardrum, and performing a mastoidectomy to "clean out" the bone behind the ear to reduce chance of infection effecting the results. Hopefully they sew my ear back on in the right position so my glasses fit properly. Stay tuned to follow my progress.

Betelnut

Yesterday we went to a delicious restaurant with Mom and Dad Olson. Betelnut is in San Francisco and one of their favorite restaurants. Jaron and I have wanted to try it since they first raved about it. For our 30th birthday gifts, they treated us to a yummy lunch. It is the kind of place where you order a couple of dishes and everyone shares. We love this style of eating because you get to try so many different things. We ordered the szechuan green beans, glazed short ribs, lettuce cups, spring rolls, firecraker shrimp, and seared halibut. Everything was quite tasty!! Thanks mom and dad for a scrumptious feast! Too bad we got a $40 parking ticket...we were 4 minutes late to the meter. Bummer!

Tympanoplasty

Tomorrow is the dreaded day of surgery for my darling husband. For those who do not know, he has a hole in his eardrum and the doctor is attempting (for the 3rd time) to repair it. You can google the procedure "tympanoplasty" and see some lovely images. I thought about posting one, but I will spare you. Instead, I am posting a pic of a cute dog with big ears. Jaron would have never elected to have this surgery again, but the doctor said it was necessary if he did not want to lose his hearing. I do not know all the correct terms or exactly how the procedure goes, but it is an awful surgery in which the ear is basically cut and peeled forward, a skin graft is made over the hole on the eardrum, and the ear is sewn up again.

I should say that it is the recovery that is so awful, not exactly the procedure itself. I have gone through this one other time with Jaron not long after we were married and it pained me to see him go through so much pain and discomfort. There is constant nausea, loss of taste, and tremendous pain among other yucky things. So, here we are yet again on the eve of surgery and I am asking for many good wishes and prayers that the 3rd time is the charm and the surgery is successful. My mom is coming in the morning to watch the girls so I can go with Jaron to the hospital. It is an outpatient procedure so we will be back home in the afternoon. I will post more updates (and maybe I will sneak some pics :) tomorrow.