Super Seth

My brother underwent his second brain surgery this week! It's been slightly intense and chaotic.. But he did great and is already home.

Basically, a couple months ago, his doctors started noticing that there was a little bit of growth going on in his head. It wasn't growing at an alarming rate.. But enough to make them consider the possibility of surgery or radiation. And after many days of contemplating his options (and several opinions), he decided to move forward with the surgery. Seth will still do a round of radiation after he has healed, but now that they have removed a large piece, there is less to radiate. Or at least that is MY understanding :) I still miss the boat occasionally on all of the medical terminology.

Anytime we get a chance to speak to Seth's surgeon, I think we all look a little dumbfounded. He came in right after the surgery on Tuesday and told us that everything went great.. But everything he said after that was slightly a wash. What I DID catch was that he removed part of Seth's temporal lobe that he didn't need. Mary and I both could not focus on anything else he said after that because we weren't sure why Seth would be missing part of his temporal lobe. But come to find out, there are several areas of your brain that go unused. The section that he took was the part that wasn't being used. ::sigh of relief::

Seth's surgeon (and their practice) has a nurse that comes around specifically to help us understand the dictations that the surgeon made. We are vey thankful for her. She always helps clear things up.

The weekend before the surgery was Clara's first birthday party. She did really great. She was very social and also managed to make a great showing with her personal birthday cake. She loved it until she was done.. And then we couldn't get her cleaned up fast enough!

I stayed with Clara a few nights while Seth and Mary were at the hospital and we had a really fun time! I've got lots of fun videos and pictures to post once I can sift through them and get them uploaded.

I was very sad to leave Salisbury on Thursday.. But I did get a chance to talk to my brother on the phone on Thur night and he sounded great. He's definitely on a quick road to recovery and is already making silly jokes about " losing his mind".

Just wanted to give everyone a little bit of an update.. And also say that we are very thankful for all of your prayers this week! All of the Facebook messages and text were very encouraging and helpful!

Happy weekend everyone!

And the crazy month begins..

The Tuck B&B has been very busy over the past week! I guess the second "B" is used very loosely.. considering all I offered were cereal and fruit :)

Anyway, Carly and her boyfriend Josh made their first visit down to Georgia to see us last Wednesday. Josh had an audition for a roll in a movie that he was applying for on Thursday afternoon. It was a very quick trip, but hopefully they'll come back and see us soon! And maybe the AC will be on for Josh the next time around :)

It's  true.. we're in the high 70's/low 80's and we haven't turned on our AC yet. We usually try and hold out as long as possible. The days are a little warm sometimes but the nights are still pretty cool. I mean it's only the beginning of April. It just seems to early for air! Not to mention that our check books aren't ready for it either. 

Anyway, continuing on, Lorraine and Tommy came into town on Friday afternoon and stayed until Monday morning. We fit in a lot of things over the weekend- a beer festival, grilling out, shopping, and the boys managed to get a day of golf in. Overall, the weather turned out to be perfect for all of these outdoor things we had planned.

After they left on Monday, I was sitting at our breakfast table having lunch.. and I heard a strange noise coming from outside. The dogs were out there.. and its not uncommon for Harley and the neighbors dog to chase each other up and down the fence line.. but this sounded a little different. I went out to see what was going on and saw that Harley had captured a squirrel and was holding it in his mouth. Needless to say, if you've seen Harley with his toys, the squirrel didn't stand a chance. I imagine it would of looked something like this:

We've had a pretty good week- just trying to get back into the swing of things. And also trying to prepare ourselves for this month. We've got lots of things planned and it's sure to fly by! I'll blog more about them as they happen :)

On a final note, I just wanted to mention that my parents had to put down our 12 year old Australian Shepherd today :( She had a tumor on her backside that was getting bigger and bigger by the week.. and it was really starting to affect her. She was having trouble walking and getting comfortable at all. 

My mom seems to be handling it well.. but I know she'll be glad to have some Harley and Wendy love soon. Shouldn't dogs get to live a little longer than they do? They have such as easy stress free life. It definitely makes me want to cuddle up with my doggies and snuggle with them the rest of the afternoon. However, before that, I think we'll go for a walk. The day is beautiful and I think we should take advantage of it. 

On one more final note, Happy early birthday to my sweet niece Clara who will be 1 tomorrow! WHERE did the time go?!

Ciao for now!

Helloooo Spring!

It's been a really beautiful week. Spring is definitely here! We took Wendy and Harley up to the common area in our neighborhood and threw ball with them (which we occasionally do). Sometimes we throw the ball in the grass and sometimes in the parking lot. One time when Thomas threw it in the parking lot, Wendy and Harley left a trail all the way across the parking lot where they had waded through the pollen. It was pretty gross.
Along with that, we have had our windows open for a few days. Yesterday, Thomas noticed that our bench seat in our bedroom (which is right under the window) was covered in yellow dust! I guess it's a small price to pay. I still love spring! My eyes do not.. but I do!

We've had a pretty low key week so far. I've done yard work for several days and Thomas has been hunkered down in his office.. staring longingly out the window at me in the backyard and wishing he could come out and play too :) Little does he know, there's not much play involved with picking up pine cones and sticks. However, I've made it my sole purpose to beautify our backyard before going back to work!

I officially opened my etsy account today. For those of you (::cough::cough:: Loraine::) that haven't ever heard of etsy, its an online forum where you can post items for sale (whether they be homemade, vintage, or antique). It's right up there with the addiction level of Pinterest. Especially as far as kids items go. There are some very cute things for sale at reasonable prices!
Anyway, I had an idea of making a customized headband.. and instead of going into more detail, I'll let you check it out for yourselves!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/catielou0

I've only got one item listed now.. but I hope to add other items in the future!

Happy hump Day.. and happy Hunger Games release week! woo woo!

Arrivederci! (practicing my Italian) :)