Greetings from Omaha, Nebraska

Tom, Alayna, and I have been in Omaha for 24 hours now and have mastered our 5th zoo in 2008. This one was by far the best that we have been to. This zoo is run my Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom and it shows. Our only disappointment was the kitties. They looked like they suffer from malnutrition. You could see all of their bones and they looked terrible. But, the other parts of the zoo were great. Most of the buildings were 2 story exhibits that you wind around in which makes it really nice to see.

Tonight we wanted a nice steak since we are in Omaha and understand that Omaha steaks are the best, but couldn't find anyone who knew where a good steakhouse was. So, we ended up at Famous Dave's BBQ. It took over an hour to get our food and that is really hard on a 5 year old. Alayna did really well even with the wait. They wouldn't even comp us a meal for our wait. I don't think we will be eating there again.

Kristi started her new job yesterday which meant that she couldn't join us in Omaha. We missed her but are glad that she was only un-employed for one day. She is working at Columbia College now in the accounts payable department. She needed a break from that job.

I got a call from a head hunter this week wanting to know if I was interested in a new job. She couldn't go into detail but did say that it wasn't in Columbia. I told her that I was interested, but have to send her my resume. The starting pay was about $10-15 thousand a year more and that would be nice. I am not sure if this is the best time in my life to move on though. Only time will tell.

Mom is doing really well. Is able to go 5 days between changes most of the time. She has been changing her own bag and plate. I knew she could do it, it just needed a little nudging for her to figure it out. She is starting to drive a little more and getting more strength everyday.

Larry came thought surgery with flying colors. I know that his recovery will be tough due to the pain, but also know that he will make it just fine. I am amazed that this year alone I have known 4 people with cancer and all 4 have come thought it just fine. This shows you that medical advances have really come a long way, but still have a long way to go.

I guess I had better get this posted. I have some things to do before bed. I have to say this motel is not the best...I miss my own bed. But, tomorrow night late we will be back home. We are going to make 2 stops. One at a park that has 2 train engines and then to a airplane museum for Tom.

More later.

Burn, baby burn...

When Brian moved out of his apartment and moved home he brought a couch and loveseat that were in very bad shape. They went on the burn pile. Then he bought a couch and loveseat that ended up being full of bugs after sitting in storage so guess where it went - right, on the burn pile. Along with the rest of our limbs and boxes that were already on the burn pile we were sent to burn in today. Guess what...way too much stuff on the burn pile at one time. We had an inferno that we really should not have had. Really scary. I thought we were going to have to call 911 because it got out of control for a little while. But, Tom didn't want to do that - he just took the garden hose and starting fighting the fire. In the end he got burnt on his face and arm. His face looks bad, really red. He is hurting right now. We were suppose to work on the yard some today, but he said that all he wanted to do was ride on the mower. I think he will be suffering for quite a while.

Yesterday mom developed a leak, so she got to change her own bag with Alayna and I watching. She must have done a good job since it is still attached. Way to go mom!!! She is concerned that she is filling her external urine bag and her attached urine bag at least twice during the night. In fact, she is emptying her bag about after 30 minutes during the day. Her right foot and ankle are still swollen so I think I am going to have to go to the cardiologist office and take up residence until they get her a new doctor. I think we need to see the heart doctor to make sure she is not having issues with the swelling. Today, she walked around in the yard for a short time and then sat on the deck. She made apple crisp this morning as well.

It has been awhile...

I can't believe that it has been so long since I had my last post. I thought that it was earlier this week, but I guess I did it in my sleep!

It has been quiet here, which is a nice change. Mom is getting better each day. This last Wednesday was 3 week since surgery - GO MOM!!! This was a good week since we did not have to go to the stoma nurse or the doctor at all. I called the stoma nurse on Monday to ask a question, but we didn't have to go see them. This is a great milestone for her. On Monday the nurse came out and put on a new bag after mom's shower around 11 am, and at 11 pm I put on the 5th bag for the day. That day stayed for 2 1/2 days - the longest yet. I think we are getting the idea, if only the nurses would. Mom is going to start trying to put her own bag on herself on at the next bag change. This way she can proceed to being independent again. We only have the home health nurse for about 2 weeks more (if mom doesn't fire them first) so she needs to be able to do her bag herself after that in case I can't get back home to change it for her.

Mom parked the walker on Wednesday, decided that she was going to do this on her own. The PT nurse wanted her to use a cane and mom told her "NO WAY." She only uses the walker if she goes outside or we leave the house.

This has been a busy week for us. On Tuesday Brian started moving out again. I was off a half-day on Tuesday so I helped him load the truck before Tom got off work. They decided to unload the truck that night while I came home and fixed supper for mom. The temperatures were hovering near 100 degrees with the heat index near 1000 I think. It was miserable. I felt sorry for the boys. But, Brian and Megan are moved in. I think Megan has stuff at her parents house, but they don't have room for it at their apartment yet so it will have to stay there for the time being.

Today Tom, Kristi, and Alayna are going to see Granny and Grandpapa. Tom needs to do some yard work for him since he is still recovering from his surgery. Alayna is really looking forward to seeing them. This leaves me and mom at home today - all by ourselves. I am not sure what we will do yet. Mom isn't up to traveling yet or we would go somewhere to get her out of the house.

Tomorrow we plan on doing more yard work. Still trying to clean up from the storm that we had a couple of weeks ago.

I know I am going to try to scrapbook today if possible. Maybe I can talk mom into quilting a little.