Riverbanks zoo, Columbia, SC

Getting back to my blog after a break-  It's been a crazy couple of weeks. 

A few days before my surgery our little family plus two borrowed kids went to one of my favorite places to visit; the zoo.  Before we moved to S. Carolina we literally lived within walking distance of the Milwaukee Zoo, so I got a membership for $80 for three years that included unlimited parking and visits, and for the four years we lived there I went weekly for walks and picnics with my oldest daughter (the youngest wasn't around yet).  Those were my most treasured memories.  We would even go in winter because there were several heated indoor buildings.

My little toddler was free to safely roam and play within my gaze and I was able to get out of the house and be amongst the amazing collection of animals.  Going so often we would see animals doing things you might not otherwise get to see, such as when they opened the cat house and  the tiger and lioness saw each other and were roaring and standing up on the glass.  It was incredible!  When we moved that was what I missed the most.

After a few years here, I got comfortable enough with traveling by myself, I got a membership for our family at the Columbia Zoo, and I have to admit that even though I have to drive, I like this zoo even better.  For an upgraded membership you can include unlimited attractions, and they have some incredible interactive things to do.  For example, you can feed the giraffes out of your hands and give lorakeets (little parrots) cups of nectar while they land on your arms.  The bonus is the zoo has an attached botanical garden to visit.  It is an all around wonderful place for families to go!

My surgery went well.  I am now minus a gallbladder and some endometrial tissue that was misbehaving.  The pain is not as bad as I thought it would be, and it is really strange to be on the patient side of the equation in a nurse/patient relationship.  The worst part of the entire experience is what must have been my reaction to the anesthesia.  I felt restless and like I couldn't breath, like a caged wild animal.  I couldn't get out of the hospital fast enough.  I didn't say anything to the nurses because I was still groggy and I wasn't quite sure initially what was going on.  I was afraid they would overreact and not let me go home.  What saved me was an old prescription of prn xanax that I had held onto back at home.  I thankfully had a good night thanks to one of those pills.  Now I'm back to normal but that feeling was bad enough to make me never want to have surgery again.

Azaleas take over the spring!

These are azaleas from my own bush out front.  They are all over down here and are as beautiful from a distance as they are up close.  When I picked these this morning they still had the morning dew on them and they looked as though they had sparkles.  Paired with my favorite summer coffee mug I can't wait for it to be beach weather!  It has been very warm, in the 80's already, but it takes a little longer to warm up at the beach.  The sea breezes that keep it comfortable during the hottest days of summer make it quite cool still this time of year.  When I was fresh from Wisconsin it would have been warm enough, but now I'm just like everyone else from the south, and I need it HOT!

This actually was grooming victim #2, and no, Dudley didn't shrink.  I forgot to take a before picture, but I was so afraid of messing her up I didn't take too much off.  This is Maddy, my parents' 6 lb. maltese, and she's so naturally cute I don't think I could make her look bad.  The biggest change with her was I trimmed her ears and tail because the previous groomer had left them ridiculously long, but in their defense my dad probably didn't explain it good.  She had been shaved too short once and wound up looking like a white chihuahua.

I'll try to get to Dudley this weekend.  He's looking miserably hot under that furry coat, and we haven't even hit the really hot weather.

Camping in Greenville

Well, I was going to share some amazing photos of hiking through the hills of Paris Mountain State Park, but as you can see, that is not going to happen.  What did happen over the weekend was pouring rain.  ALL day long.  On the positive side, it did NOT pour rain while my husband set up the trailer and when he hitched it back up again on Sunday.  So we agreed the lousy weekend could have been worse.

By the way, it didn't just rain.  The temperature dropped and we were pitifully underdressed because it was beyond need a sweater cold, it was need a coat cold.  And then the heat on our 2 year old camper stopped working, and then the refrigerator.  (Sigh) 

Well, all in all, we are in good spirits, and as my husband pointed out, we didn't get a flat tire.

So how was your weekend? 

Spring flowers!

This lonely little tulip is my first bloom from the bulbs we planted last fall.  The others are following slowly.

The spectacular wisteria making its' appearance.

The romantic Spanish moss blowing in the spring breezes.

And last but not least, the camellia which has been blooming since January is beginning to fade.  This is just the beginning of spring spectacular in lovely S. Carolina!  This weekend we'll be camping in Greenville for the first time, and also the first camping trip of the year.  Looking forward to that!  Happy Monday to you all!

Funny 4 year old stories

So we stayed in a hotel this past weekend and I have not one, but two funny elevator stories.

My husband and I loaded all our luggage up onto one of the hotel carts in the carport, at which he asked if I would be okay while he parked.  I foolishly said yes, and off I went, with the cart and my 10 and 4 year old girls in tow.  We got to the elevator and when the door opened, a young guy got off and my 4 year old ran in while I attempted in vain to maneuvar the luggage cart in after her.  As I struggled with the cart, with my 10 year old and the young guy from the elevator watching the circus unfold, the doors began to close and panic set in.  By the time I got to the door it had already closed and I pushed the button in the hopes it would reopen.  Thankfully it did, and my wide-eyed daughter quickly exited the elevator without a word, at which time we all got on, Izzy for the second time, while the young guy held the door.  Whew! 

Second story-  This time we are leaving, and my husband, who never wants to make any extra work if at all possible, decided it would be better to load us all up with luggage instead of going for the cart.  So even Izzy, the 4 year old, had a pink teddy bear and a princess suitcase on wheels which she pushed in front of her instead of pulling it behind.  We all made it onto the elevator, including my husband, who immediately disappeared and never looked back when the doors reopened, while I was left to try to get the kids off the elevator.  The 10 year old was holding the door and holding another carry-on sized bag with wheels while my 4 year old, still pushing the princess suitcase, tried ramming it into the one her sister was holding as if by doing so repeatedly it would magically go through it.  I tried to take it from her but was curtly told in a brief tug of war,  "I do it by myself."  I gave up and exited, and with me gone she had enough room to go around the other suitcase and they followed me off.  By the way, another man was waiting for us and my 10 year old said he was twiddling his thumbs.  Yeah, it's that bad!

Then as we were getting into the van, Izzy started to have a meltdown about something, and I made the offhand remark,  "Well, someone doesn't have good coping skills."  At that she pulled herself together, stopped whining, and in a shocked tone asked,  "Who?"

South Carolina, Home Sweet Home!

I make no claims to be a photographer.  I should have taken this picture about a week ago, when the tree was full of these blooms, and minus the electric wires, and on a sunny day.  But aside from these mistakes, I'm in love with this tree, and to expose my ignorance, I don't know what it is, but I want it.

We moved to S. Carolina from Wisconsin about 4 years ago, and I love it here.  I feel like I always should have lived here.  The climate is incredible, and spring is spectacular.  Just wait til the wisteria bloom!  I'll post pictures of those when they do.  Even in winter there is a bush/tree, camelia I think, that blooms rose-like blossoms in red or pink.  I want that too.  Plus we have the beach.

The people are great here too.  Most are poor and humble.  They still open doors for you, even the young guys with the pants hanging below the crotch!  They say, yes ma'am and yes sir still, and all the women call you "Honey", or "Sweetie", which I find endearing.

Southern food is great too.  I can't eat the fried stuff though because it doesn't agree with me, and they fry everything!  The BBQ is out-of-this-world though; much more to my taste than the northern variety.  It does not have the red sauce, but is vinegar based with a touch of heat to it.  Then there is the collard greens, black-eyed peas, and the dessert you find everywhere- pudding with bananas and vanilla wafers.  It's all simple but I love it all.

We are heading into spring now and the pictures I post will show how beautiful it is here.  That's all for today!

What did you say?

Sometimes between the wonderland of 4-year-old-dom and lisping preschool chatter you get some priceless stories.

We were driving home one evening with our two children in the the back of the van when our 4 year old announced, "There'z a hell!  We're going straight to hell!  Woohoo!"

My husband and I looked at each other with shock and horror.  Thoughts of- What movie has she seen lately?  Who could have taught her that?  all rushed through my mind until my husband said,  "Wait a minute, I think it's hill."

"Izzy!"  I said,  "How do you say hill?"

"Hell!"  She proudly announced.  After relief passed over us we had a good laugh at that one.