"May the Fourth" and More

Happy Birthday Mom!

Right after Spring Break and returning to school after my FMLA leave, we celebrated my Mom's 75th  Birthday!

The May the Fourth came..... that's a BIG day in our house for Ryan.

He woke up to this in our entryway. 

and this in our living room!

May the 4th was also a BIG day for my mom. She had skin cancer removed from her nose and then plastic surgery done the same day!  They allowed me into the room and let me take pictures (I'll respect her privacy and not show the gory details though!

Then we celebrated Mom again with a Mother's Day Celebration! 

As in the past, I like to create a little something for an end-of-the-year gift for my friends and colleagues I work with during the school year.  This year I found this chalkboard signs at Target.  I painted their names on them with chalk paint and then purchased these personalized wire bookmarks and included them in a homemade card.  I loved how they turned out! 

We purchased some flowering plants and Hibiscus Trees for the outdoors - hoping they stay healthy through the summer months! 

And finally..... My additions to my Skechers collection.....

Mid June already - Summer is flying by.  I have some pictures on my phone I want to post - check back soon!

Recovery

Bill continues to recovery from his total knee replacement.  I've been off work since March 13th and still have a week left on FMLA.  They authorized a month off!  He's doing very well and getting around since day 3 after surgery without any walker, crutches, or cane!  

Many people thought going out patient was insane - but it worked out very well for all of us!  His surgery was on a Monday and on Friday of that week we went OUT TO DINNER and he walked from the parking lot into the restaurant without any assistance!  Most people would be discharged or placed into a rehabilitation facility at that point!  

The biggest obstetrical was the pain medication.  The Norco made him extremely nauseous after taking off the anti-nauseous patch that was placed behind his ear after surgery.  The patch has to be removed after three days and that's when the side effects happened.  After the doctor called in anti-nauseous medication and he stopped taking the Norco - he was much better within 24 hours.  So since day three post surgery - he's only been taking over the counter Extra Strength Tylenol!

  It's a DePuy Trumatch Sigma - which is a patient specific component - made especially to fit his knee from a CT Scan.  Positioning and alignment are crucial to the overall performance as a slight misalignment can lead to uneven wear and instability. It's made from titanium and the doctor said he should get many decades from the implant! 

 This is what the implant looks like.

Prior to removing the dressing (which was my job) we weren't sure how large the incision would be.

The closed the incision up by using dissolvable sutures and glue!

His incision was 7 inches long - exactly!

You can see the bruising on the side of the knee and leg.

and comparing the two knees you can see the swelling. 

and then just 2 1/2 weeks later this is how well the incision has heeled. 

At the post-op appointment these are the x-ray's of the implant.  The doctor said the knee is lined up perfectly and he should have many decades of use! 

This is both the left and right knee. 

This is the knee's prior to surgery - you can see the left knee (in the picture, it's the knee on the right) is bone on bone.  He reiterated that his knee was a "disaster".

Looking a head:  I return to work in a week, Bill has 8 additional weeks of physical therapy and we go back for another doctor's appointment in 6 weeks. Bill hopes to return to work in the 8 weeks - but the doctor said unless his knee is strong enough he needs to be patient.

My latest additions to my Skechers collection:

I've started creating slides for my Lightbox......Here's my latest:

Thanks for checking in!

Surgery #3 - Total Knee Replacement

Look familiar?  This is where the journey of Bill's knee began in 2015 - his FIRST arthroscopic surgery for his meniscus tear.

After TWO arthroscopic surgeries, two rounds of gel injections, aspiration with steroid injections all  to try to repair torn medial and lateral meniscus and cartilage damage (the result of an injury at work), we ended up in Munster Indiana for a TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT!

~ OUTPATIENT ~

Yes, home the SAME DAY!

We are on day two of recovery at home.  

A home nurse will come for three days and Home Physical Therapy for 2 1/2 weeks and then he will continue physical therapy for at least 3 months and hopefully return to work a new man!

We had a BIG scare (which we still await a second opinion on).  During a routine CT scan for the knee, they found that Bill's lymph nodes are enlarged.  They were/are concerned because his blood work has been fluctuating a bit - which was thought to be due to the pain in the knee.  In order to be cleared for the knee replacement, they needed to do a biopsy on the lymph nodes a couple weeks back - so he's been through two pretty big surgeries in less than a month!  Thankfully the lymph nodes that were removed and tested came back negative.  Our primary care doctor wishes for us to go to a specialist for a second opinion to make sure we shouldn't look further into it.

Edward Hospital 2/15/17

On a brighter note - Ryan transferred to Lewis University in Romeoville to continue working on his Elementary Education Teaching Degree..... He earned ANOTHER degree from COD prior to transferring.

Here are my latest additions to my Skechers Collection.......

Keep Bill in your prayers as he continues to recover and heel from his surgeries and as we seek a second opinion on his lymph nodes.

June Happenings

Seems like a while ago , however, I thought I'd share the end of the year gifts I gave to out the last day of school.  Each bag had a wax warmer nightlight along with some Burt Bee Wax......which is why the card says: Wishing you a SCENT sational Summer!  I made notepads for some of the teacher who have purchased things from my TeachersPayTeachers store as a thank you.

One of the teachers was having a baby near the end of the school year - This is the adorable gift box for little Ellie. There was a chalkboard sign to label how old the baby is when taking monthly pictures along with an adorable headband and hat.

Bill's second surgery is behind us.  This time he had the lateral meniscus repaired.  Another summer home with me! He's still in physical therapy and will have an appointment at the end of July to determine when he'll return to work!

For Father's Day, I was able to use some of my new "craft tools"!  I used my new Alphabet Punch, Banner Maker and Pom Pom Maker and made a banner for the occasion. 

We hung the banner on the back of Dave's garage door.  We ordered Russell's BBQ and had a Root Beer (Dr. Pepper/Coke) Float bar! YUM!

I also got to use my Lightbox and changed the wording throughout the night!

(Enjoy Russell's BBQ - Rootbeer Floats)

I used my free teacher pass to Six Flags Great America to tag along with my brother, Dave, his girlfriend, Erica and Ryan.  Got some fun action pictures!

When I started trimming the bushes in front of our house it was apparent they were dying - they started disintegrating and the branches were becoming brittle and hollow.  I trimmed it but then couldn't get through the thicker branches - Bill and David worked and worked and worked - we finally put a chain from David's truck to the roots and pulled it out! 

Instead of planting more bushes - I put a log bench, solar three post light, some concrete stepping stones and some flowers................

much better!

Our flowers in full bloom!

We added a fence/gate to the side of the house where people seem to think they can walk through to get to the back trail - We're hoping this will keep people from doing so!

Of course, no blog post wouldn't be complete without pictures of my latest Skecher gym shoe purchases!

My latest project is book folding.  I saw one on Etsy/Pinterest and wanted to create a special gift for a friend who LOVES dogs.  So, I watched a couple YouTube videos and went for it.......

Two dogs (because I wasn't familiar with how many pages I needed and had 1/2 of book left once one dog was completed.....so why not make two!

This is a little hedgehog from a paperback book.

He's so cute!

Then I decided to give the bird cage a try - I LOVE how it turned out!

So I've been folding away - making Christmas Gifts (yes, it's July) Can't wait to see what other projects I can come up with from re-purposed books!

Ryan had to work on the fourth, so Bill and I headed to the neighborhood parade - I went shopping (to my favorite stores Michael's and JoAnn's) and spent the evening listening to the fireworks!

Lastly, I opened a new store on the Teacher's Notebook website:

stop by some time!

https://www.teachersnotebook.com/shop/Lisa+Sadler

and don't forget my primary store on the Teachers Pay Teachers website:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Lisa-Sadler-9956

Thanks for checking in!