Good Monday morning to you!  Today is Dave’s one-week check up for his back procedure…most of what we’re going for is to get those staples above removed.  That entire cut is about an inch long and is healing very nicely.  But those staples are driving Dave mad and he can’t wait to get them out.

We’re starting to see a trend — Dave awakens in really good shape, he takes it easy during the day, with a walk or two up and down our street (about 1/2 mile at most).  Most of the day, he’s in decent shape and in decent spirits.  By dinnertime, Dave get very sore and his muscles begin to seize up.  He isn’t as debilitated as he was on his first day home from the hospital, but we’re hoping the evening discomfort eases up some soon.

Dave is craving visitors.  Big time.  He wishes he can sit at his model railroading workbench and work on all sorts of projects, but he can’t.  He wishes he could get going on the next block of his Air War College studies, but he’s on hold until they grade the test he took the week before his surgery (he can’t move forward unless he receives a passing grade on the test).  So he’s watching a LOT of TV.  Mostly movies on HBO and Showtime.

The kids and I took it easy yesterday morning, and in the afternoon I took the kids to our local Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Pensacola for a birthday party.  We were invited to a set of triplets’ birthday parties…for the first time, the girls were getting three small separate parties.  We go to church with the family and the triplets are in Timmy’s Sunday school class.  You could see their separate personalities come through even with the themes of their three parties: one at a bowling alley, one at a local pet shop and one at Chuck E. Cheese’s.  Since we live about an hour away, the boys chose one of the parties and we brought Littlest Pet Shop gifts for all 3 girls.

The birthday girl is in the hat, one of her sisters is on the far left, and I don’t know where the third sister is.  The little boy to Chuck E. Cheese’s left wasn’t part of our party.

Now that I’m feeling better from my cold last week, I think I can start on my household to-do list: organizing closets, sorting through toys and clothes, and washing/waxing our vehicles.  I hope to take a Honda-Pilot-full of stuff to the Hurlburt Thrift Shop by Thursday or Friday for donation/consignment.

Tomorrow I’m planning a long-overdue recipe post!  Cincinnati chili made with ground turkey — a family favorite!