Friday Favorites: Almost Back to My Old Self Again

 This week has shown huge strides in my post-op recovery!  I made it out of the house for two walks (not hikes yet), a few errands, and lots of driving Alec back and forth to school.  I went the whole day yesterday without taking any Motrin or anything until bedtime so I definitely call that a win!

I had my two week post-op visit on Friday because of the Columbus Day holiday on Monday (my actual 2 week date) and I took it nice and easy until then.  We had a beautiful misty sunrise over the lake.  I was up nice and early with Alec making sure he was all set for his day at school.


My mother in law drove him in and my sister offered to pick him up after school since I had my doctor's appointment.  He was pretty bummed he didn't have time in one day to build, paint, and finish his entire Weasley Burrow but no one else did either.  Typically they'd have 4 days in each shop to do these projects but they're trying to shorten the process up this year to just 2 days to cycle these kids through quickly before/if we have to go all virtual.  I assured him it was still pretty impressive; it's made of Butter Board-- a special architectural material (and we now know he got a 99 on his 2 days in architecture!).  


I was craving something sweet and chocolatey and while I didn't have saltine crackers to make our favorite Saltine Toffee Bark I tried making it with graham crackers and it was just as good!


I had a great check-up at the doctor's and came home to heat up a turkey pot pie we had in the freezer for dinner. 

I spent Saturday writing up a grocery and Bj's list.  I worked on a fun Cricut craft for fall and made a few cards too. Ian went to work with my husband and I helped Alec made some more 2 ingredient bagels. 



I changed the sheets on our bed with Evan's help and we even ran to the library to pick up books we had on hold.  By the time I finished lunch I was ready for a nap.  Alec went with my husband to BJ's to do some shopping. 

After napping I helped prepare dinner. We had marinated chicken, rice, broccoli, roasted squash and salad.  Then we watched Back to the Future together. My husband surprised me with some roses.


After a late breakfast Sunday morning I talked my husband into letting me go grocery shopping with him.  It felt wonderful to do something so normal. 

As soon as our shopping was done and he had everything put away we worked together to make all our fall apple pies.  Alec rolled out the dough, Ian and my husband worked to peel and cut apples, and I mixed up the rest of the filling.  They smelled amazing! 




I made a salad and some dressing to go with our steaks and baked potatoes for dinner.  We finished our night with some apple pie, ice cream and Back to the Future part 2. 

With Columbus Day on  Monday, Alec didn't have school and I didn't make the other two boys do any schooling either.  I spent most of the day in bed watching TV.  I did manage to get some laundry done (with the help of the boys).  I got all our photos put into albums and cleaned up my scrapbooks.  I even started on my Christmas shopping!

Evan and I went for a short walk just before I started heating up the lasagna my girlfriend had brought over after my surgery.  We had that with salad for dinner. 

I was feeling good enough on Tuesday to drive Alec to school.  He had his first day of hairdressing where they learned how to give shampoo/conditioner massages, blow dry hair, and set curlers.  Ian was off to work with my husband and so that just left Evan and I at home.

We finished his schoolwork pretty quickly-- reading/history, spelling, math, grammar, & science.  We even began a science experiment.  We covered up one of the leaves on our plant to compare it with other leaves that still get sunlight. 


For dinner we had pineapple teriyaki chicken fingers, rice pilaf, and salad. Then Alec headed out with my husband to get their hair cut and Ian went with my mother in law to his driver's ed. class. 

I drove Alec to school again on Wednesday morning and then the other boys and I settled into work.  

They got their schooling done in just a couple of hours and then Evan and I headed out for a walk at the Thompson Dam.  I made it a full hour before feeling tired.  

This puddle "face" in the path made us smile



A red squirrel

I picked up Alec, helped him with some of his schoolwork, and then he headed off to karate with my mother in law.  

My husband came home and we made burgers, hot dogs, French fries/tater tots, & salad for dinner.  

I didn't sleep well and was up super early on Thursday.  I am trying so hard to go with the flow on all this public school virtual stuff but we've really been struggling with getting the tech. side of things to work and we had received word that Alec had gotten two failing grades (he still has an overall A in the class but still...) we struggle to turn in the work in a way that the teachers can "see" it.  He does his assignments and does them all on time but the computer doesn't always read it as being turned in.  With his email down right now (we are waiting to hear back from the tech. department about this) there isn't much we can do.  It's so frustrating but I keep trying to reassure myself that he is doing awesome with all of his overall grades and I'm pretty sure when every other grade is literally a 100 the teachers can see it's not "him" so much as the "situation."  

I finally just shook it off and brought Alec to school for the start of his two days in culinary.  He was so excited to finally be back in the kitchen at school!!  Ian was picked up by my father in law to head off to work so it was just Evan and I home for the day.  We tackled a bit of schoolwork.


When he was finished we headed out on another walk and ran a few errands too.  





I picked Alec up after a quick run to the grocery store for some fruit.  He chatted excitedly the whole way home.  He had been put on the salad station today and came home with a yummy recipe we'll be trying (and sharing!).  Once home he tackled some more math homework-- the only real subject they cover every day of the year whether they are in shop rotation or academics.

We made dinner together; pesto pasta with mixed vegetables.

Linking Up With: On the Edge








Comments

  1. Yeah! So happy to see this- awesome job on your recovery Joanne!

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  2. Replies
    1. Thank you! They're still going strong and smell so lovely.

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  3. So glad you are on the mend. :) It can be so hard just sit sometimes. The Burrow looks great! :) And tech issues are so hard. Hopefully the teachers are understanding. : ) Have a great weekend!

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    1. Most of the teachers are very understanding... some are not though. :/

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  4. Those are some awesome looking pies! It's good to know that you are on the mend.

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  5. Look at all those beautiful apple pies! Friend, I am so glad you are feeling better and healing nicely! You look so cute in that blue sweater and leggings! How sweet of your hubby to buy you roses! I hope you get to have a beautiful weekend!

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    1. Thanks! My mom made that sweater and asked me for some pictures of me actually wearing it.

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  6. That’s so great that you are feeling better! Those homemade pies look amazing!

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  7. Woo hoo! I'm so glad you're recovering well! Hopefully things will continue to progress rapidly and you'll be back to normal in no time!

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  8. I'm glad you're feeling better! Gabbie had a similar problem with the work being not submitted even though it was and she has two 0s in art, which should be an easy subject! It's obviously a mistake, which doesn't make it less frustrating!

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    1. Ugh! It is so frustrating especially when some teachers are so great about checking to make sure they can see the submitted work and others act like the students should just know what they're doing.

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  9. Yay!! I am so glad you are up and around!
    That butterfly on the ground was spectacular. :)

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    1. Isn't that butterfly beautiful? MY son and I were so impressed with the details they got out of chalk!

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  10. So happy you are feeling more like yourself!! Its a wonderful feeling right?! Just like Kari said above, that butterfly on the ground is brilliant, what a thing to stumble upon. :)

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    1. It is a wonderful feeling to feel more like my old self again.

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  11. I'm so glad you're feeling better and making such good progress! Can't wait to see the new salad recipe!

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    1. We're getting the ingredients this weekend and he's going to try and get the salad dressing recipe today too if he can.

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  12. Glad you are starting to feel better. Those pies and the saltine cracker/chocolate bark look amazing!!
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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    1. That cracker bark is a huge family favorite... like my son and I were literally fighting over the last few pieces!

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  13. It's great that you are feeling better Joanne. It's so pretty there and I love the pretty colors of the leaves. The baking sounds like a lot of fun. Happy Friday and weekend.

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  14. I'm so glad you're feeling better and were able to get out for a few walks. Those pies look like they turned out great! I love that your sons helped you. I hope you have a great weekend!

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    1. It's almost always a huge family affair to make our pies; I was joking with my husband that he better hope they never move out as I'm not sure I'd want to tackle making so many all by myself.

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  15. I am glad that you are starting to feel better and getting out a bit. I know how hard that is. You guys did such a great job on the pies. Everything for dinner this week sounded amazing!!!

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  16. Oh that's great! It just takes time doesn't it! Enjoy the weekend!

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    1. It does take time and I'm trying to remember that and be patient.

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  17. I am so, so happy to hear you are starting to feel more like your self! Recovery can be hard, but you have been doing a great job of taking care of yourself. Happy weekend!

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    1. Thank you! I hope you have a wonderful weekend as well.

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  18. I am so glad you are feeling more like yourself!! I love the wooden sign you made and that sunrise on the lake! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thanks! I was pretty impressed with how well that sign turned out too.

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  19. Glad to hear that you are feeling better! That chalk butterfly! Wow! We are having similar issues with my son and the virtual side of his school. I totally understand the frustration when it's a tech thing and not the child at all. Those apple pies and that bark! Yum! Have a great weekend!

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    1. I keep trying to remind myself we can't be the only ones having these problems and we know of at least a few students in his school that haven't attended (what seems like) any virtual classes so I'm trying to take it all with a grain of salt... but man, it's time like that that I really do miss homeschooling and hope we aren't making a huge mistake allowing/encouraging him to shoot for a more traditional high school experience.

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  20. That school just sounds awesome. What a wonderful opportunity. I hope the tech side gets worked out soon. SO glad you are doing better. You sure are getting lots done during your recovery.
    Blessings, Dawn

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    1. I definitely am getting more done post- surgery than I thought I would.

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  21. Joanne, I am so glad that you are recovering nicely. You look amazing in that first photo and I really like that cute cozy outfit! The color is so good on you. I have to tell you a little twist on the toffee cookies. We have been making them for years and if you get flavored candy canes and crush them and then sprinkle them on while the chocolate is still hot, you can create some of the most amazing flavor combinations. Our favorite is blueberry candy canes. It tastes like chocolate covered blueberries and you just can't get enough. As a result, we renamed these toffee cookies Christmas Crack. Hahaha. Thanks for linking with me!

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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    1. Oooh... We've added crushed Heath bars to our "crack" before (we shortened the name a few years ago since Christmas Crack implied we only ate it at Christmas and that is just not true!). For blogging sake I refer to it as cracker toffee since crack just doesn't sound quite right! LOL. I had never thought of chopped flavored candy canes before-- we'll be trying that for sure this winter.

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  22. Glad to see that you are doing better! It's a process but sometimes it is slow. Sorry to hear of the school frustrations. There are internet problems here that sent students back into the schools because it was impossible for them to learn anything with so many internet interruptions.
    Take care,
    Melissa | Little Frugal Homestead

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    1. I was worried about our internet but so far the school has been having more problems with theirs than we have been with ours.

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  23. I know this was posted a bit ago but it was so great to read a more "normal" blog post from you. I'm so glad you were feeling better and able to do more regular things!!!

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    1. It is so nice to have life feeling back to normal.

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