Day 9: Post-op day 1

David is recovering at home today.  He's feeling a lot better than yesterday and moving around pretty well.  Even though I worked on a surgical unit for over a year in my floor nursing days, I seem to be only half a nurse when it comes to family.  It's just hard seeing someone you love in pain.  I got dizzy and nauseated this morning when I thought back to yesterday and how out of it David was.  I could barely stand up when his post-op nurse showed me his surgical site.  And it's nothing!  How embarrassing!  I'm so glad he's starting to look and feel like himself again and I'm praying we don't have any more surgeries in front of us. 
Max knows something is up, so he's been hanging on to me for dear life.  I finally had to strap him into our new Ergo carrier just to get through the morning.  Thank goodness he loves it.  He just giggles non-stop when he's on my back.  Here we are after delivering David's lunch.

Day 8: A new belly button for Daddy

One of my new favorite children's books is called Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.  To hear the story yourself on You Tube, click the book title.   Well, anyway, if you haven't read it, Pete the Cat realizes that even though buttons come and buttons go, he will always have his belly button.  I think David maybe able to relate to Pete the Cat after today. 

Here he is in Pre-Op, ready and waiting for the anesthesiologist to take him back to the OR.  As he was being wheeled away, he was talking about our trip to Machu Picchu.  That is the last thing he remembers...and then he woke up in Recovery 47 minutes later.   Not sure he would have given me a thumbs up had I taken a picture afterwards, but I bet he'd give 2 thumbs up to the surgeon and staff.  They did an awesome job!

Day 7: Preparation Day

It was a busy day today.  Max and I spent all day getting ready for tomorrow, when David goes in for his surgery.  We took a break to get out of the house and go for a long walk.   Since it was a full sun day, I brought his shades.  I was super surprised to find that he wore them the entire walk!  He must have thought he looked pretty cool or else was happy not to sun sneeze.  Not sure what a sun sneeze is? - Click here.  I find it interesting that it's hereditary.  Genetic reflex or not, he's still a pretty cool dude. 

Max will be spending tomorrow with his new babysitter.  We found Sarah on Care.com and interviewed her last weekend.  We felt immediately comfortable with her and Max had no trouble asking her to play right away.  It's nice that I won't have to worry about him tomorrow.  I know he'll be in great hands.  And if it works out well, maybe she'll babysit again so David and I can go on a real date.  Even though it's our first time out together in 6 weeks, I'm not sure it would fall under the "date" category.  I prefer if my dates aren't completely incapacitated.   Anesthesia isn't so romantic.

Day 6: A trip to Tutti Frutti

It was so beautiful out today - a sunny, 61 degrees.  Max and I ran a few errands and then stopped at Tutti Frutti, our local frozen yogurt shop for a quick treat.  I haven't had frozen yogurt in forever.  And Max, well, never.  So, I served us up a 1/2 & 1/2 - Nutella for me and vanilla for him.  He thought the frozen yogurt was a bit too cold, but totally loved the big green booth and the pink spoon.  We drove home with the windows down....ahhhhh!

Day 5: Lunch Date with Daddy

David's meeting let out early this morning, so he invited us to meet him for lunch at one of my favorite spots - Red Robin, yummmmm!  Max spent the entire time whip-lashing his little head back and forth, too excited with the giant red robin statue, the lights, and the friendly patrons to actually eat anything, well, except for the crayons!

What's this?

Oh, I get it.  Mmmmm!

Day 4: A little excitement for a Monday

Max was overly excited to play with his new block set today.  He always gets excited for play time, but since he got his new block set from his godfather, Dan, it's like Christmas morning, every morning.

Learning about Raleigh-Durham

Okay, so we've been in Raleigh-Durham for almost a month now and I've been way behind.  We're getting along well here.  Our neighborhood is really quiet, our neighbors are super friendly, and I'm more than excited to do some exploring.  I'm kind of a closet history buff, and David doesn't really share my interest, but I do plan to drag him to some civil war sites while we are here, because, well, you just have to see them, right?  Especially now that I've seen Lincoln.  It's been a bit cold of late, with the exception of early last week, which was a perfect 74 degrees.  I'm hoping it continues to warm up so that getting out and about is more appealing.

So, here's what I've learned about our new city:

• Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill is what's known as "The Triangle," or Research Triangle, so named for the number of research universities within.  You've got UNC - Chapel Hill, Duke University, Wake Forest, and NC-State within a few short miles of each other.  It's one of the country's largest and most successful research parks and a major center in the U.S. for high-tech and biotech research.  
• Raleigh-Durham is the second-largest metropolitan area in the state, after Charlotte.  
• Center to a ton of history, including the role it played in the Civil War, North Carolina was the last state to secede.  Durham was the site of fierce fighting and the surrender at Bennett Place, now considered to have effectively ended the Civil War.  
• We're about 3 and 1/2 hours to the Great Smokey Mountains and about 2 and 1/2 hours to the Atlantic Ocean.
• Tobacco Road not only refers to the tobacco-producing area of North Carolina, it actually refers to sports played between rival North Carolina universities.   These are the universities listed above, also called the Big Four.  Huh.  Well, I've never been much of a basketball fan.  I guess I'm in the wrong state this time of year.  

Okay, so I haven't learned a ton yet.  But we're here for another 2 months, so I still have some time.   I'm excited to see more of North Carolina, especially the beach and the mountains and I think David is planning to see a Duke game in the next month.   It's bound to get a little crazy here for March Madness and then we depart on March 19th, the day of the seminar.   Makes it seem like it's going to go fast...

Day 3: Super Duper Do!

Max hit the hay just after kick-off tonight, so David and I are cheering for the Ravens for him.  Despite missing the game, he had a little "super" of his own going on today.
Max woke up today with a super duper do.  Check it out:

Day 2 - Happy Groundhog Day!

We attended the Groundhog Day ceremony in Raleigh, where Sir Walter Raleigh, groundhog extraordinaire, saw his shadow on this cold, but sunny day.  Thus, six more weeks of winter for us. 

Day One: Photo-a-day Challenge Begins!

So, in order to do a better job of keeping up my blog, I've started a photo-a-day challenge.  I've had a few friends who have done this in the past, and I've really enjoyed seeing daily life through their eyes.   February is a relatively short month, so let's see if I can keep it up!

Here is a sign I caught at Nordstrom Rack, advertising the price of, get this - infant clothing!  Yep, it's $209.97 and under, folks!  For babies! What?!  I checked the rack, and sure enough, there was an item for $209.97.  It was a white down bunting.  I forgot to check the brand, but geez, what a bargain!