Yes, we are fine. All three of us.
Husband is recovering well from hernia surgery on Friday. We dropped Big T at a friend's house very early Friday morning (for the car pool to school patrol), then headed off to the same hospital that took good care of Mother-in-Law earlier this spring. Bunches of tests, two magazines and one large latte later, the surgeon told me it went just as expected. No pesty, extra tears. No complications. Just one piece of Gore-Tex(!) inserted behind the belly button and a bunch of stitches. I was surprised to find Husband awake and cheerful when I got to the recovery room. In fact, we got home about an hour earlier than anticipated and well before the school bus.
He's been pretty much a model patient. We are keeping up on the pain meds, and grateful for the refillable hospital ice pack that Husband has rigged to be a giant necklace. It falls into place just over the stitches. Our family room coffee table has become a desk, and the sofa a bed. He's been holding forth from the couch, yelling round the corner and down the stairs to the visiting parent of Big T's friend and taking phone calls. Keeps thanking me for taking good care of him, but really, he's been very easy.
We stayed up til the late hour of 9:30 last night, watching a DVD of Seven Pounds starring Will Smith. Brother #2 found it to be filled with surprising twists, while Sister-in-Law thought it was predictable. Both recommended the movie, so we "saved" it for the recovery weekend. Husband and I each caught on fairly early, but still enjoyed predicting each of the seven events. Not to be the spoiler, but Husband also caught on to an odd pet much earlier in the movie than I did. It definitely gave us something to talk about.
Spyro must know that something is up, because he has let me sleep through the night both nights. Husband usually is the one to let him out in the middle of the night; I was concerned that I might not hear the dog whining and it would interrupt Husband's recovery. Although after being good for the whole night through, Spyro did wake me mighty early today.
This after Spryo's big night out last week. Early in the week I awoke to find Husband standing over me just before 6 a.m. "Why are you still home?" I asked... turns out the dog begged for a nighttime outing and then dashed out the door before Husband could put the leash on him. At about 2:30 a.m. And he still wasn't home. "I really need to leave for work," Husband said. We left the patio door open -- with treats strategically placed inside the door -- figuring the dog would be tuckered out at some point. He tentatively ventured in, took a treat, and when I tried to close the door behind him, he darted out again. This time he was gone only about 15 minutes before returning and I did get the door safely closed. Little stinker.
Big T spent the night at a buddy's house and then had another friend over for most of the day today. The new skateboard ramp is getting a good workout on our perfect long, flat driveway. As is the bike. After being such a late bike bloomer, Big T has been putting some miles on his trick bike.
Which might be partly due to the discovery that the Holiday convenience store is within biking distance. Yes, Big T will tell you that cookies are 3 for $1.29, and can also quote you prices for his favorite candies. The old allowance is not lasting nearly so long as it used to.
He's still keeping up with his Monday night cooking deal. Recent menus have included pancakes, pigs in a blanket, tacos and (as predicted), quesadillas. His pal R had dinner with us last week, and set a great example by putting lots of fillings into his own quesadilla -- cilantro, chopped chicken, browned onions and peppers. Big T stuck by his usual plain cheese.
I am a slow learner, but catching on to the fact that I need to be planning meals to serve four, including two tweeners. Yes, Big T had dinner guests five of the past seven evenings. The three dry-rubbed pork chops with cinnamon sweet potatoes for the grill turned into that dinner for Husband and me, plus cheeseburgers and a foil packet of tator tots for Big T and friend. And so on. Friends tell me that I'll get so used to cooking for the tween and teen guests that I'll continue long after the nest is empty -- and wonder what to do with all that food!
For now, I am still using the list I made when I cleaned out the freezer. I generated a sheet of paper naming all of the frozen meats, breads, vegetables and breakfast items and then began meal planning to use them up. Tonight, Husband and I ate the orange roughy (happy surprise: I had twice as much as I thought!) cooked with rice (a mix I found while cleaning out the pantry -- not the flavor I usually use for this recipe, but it worked just as well), all of our leftover vegetables and seasoned with lemon and pepper. We've grilled brats -- including buns, enjoyed meatballs, finished breakfast sausage and added the cubed chicken to our quesadillas, all for "free."
Tomorrow's adventure will be to coexist with two adults working from the house. I've got a some glitches to work out with a new computer, plus some deadlines to meet. Husband will be trying to manage his work long-distance and likely make some telephone sales calls. Yes, he's feeling better, but not yet up to traveling to the shop. Big T has school and then he'll do his first grilling for dinner. We're all involved in homework. In other words, same old/same old and back to the school year routine.
It's all good.
