Getting Ready

Well, I'm getting ready for my surgery.  It's supposed to happen on Wed and we are planning on that happening but there is a worry that it won't happen.  I'm praying that things will get fixed and the surgery will take place.  It's a long story so I won't go into it.  All you need to know is that I wasn't on the schedule for some reason and the hospital is working on figuring out what happened.

In the meantime we are planning on it happening.  I have someone set up to take the boys to school, pick up Eli from morning kindergarten, and pick up the other two boys from school.  I have a babysitter scheduled to come over on Wed to take care of Piper and Eli (once he gets home).  I have a plane ticket bought for my nephew to arrive next week.  We've cleaned the basement and guest room for him (let's hope the boys can keep it clean for a week).  Today we bought some funny looking plastic toilet thing with arms on it so I can get myself up from the toilet for six weeks as well as a seat for taking a shower.  I've got spiffy crutches (better than the normal ones since I'll have to use them for so long).

I still need to get the rest of the house clean, pump some milk for Piper for Wed while I'm in surgery, take Piper to get her shots tomorrow, call the school to tell them who will pick up the boys, and take Eli to a play date.  And if there is time, I plan on making a few other things to freeze.

And since we are on the topic of freezing meals, let me share what I've done in that area so far.

So far I have 36 meals completed with two half-way completed.  Here is what I've made:

Dinners
Tortilla Soup (1)
Creamy White Chili (1)
Enchilada Lasagna (2)
Lemonade Chicken (1)
Baked Spaghetti (2)
Lasagna (3)  (We made 4 but someone else needed it more than us)
Mexican Lasagna (2)
Chicken Spaghetti (2)  (My awesome friend made these two for me)
Chili Colorado Burritos (3)
Hawaiian Chicken (2)
Baked French Toast (1)
Beef and Broccoli (1)
BBQ Beef sandwiches (2)
Taco Soup (2)
Salsa Chicken (2)
Cilantro Lime Chicken (2)
Mexican Meat Mix filled tortillas (for Chimmichangas) (2 bags of 12)
Short Ribs (2)

Breakfasts
Pumpkin Waffles (1 meals worth)
Blueberry muffins (11)
Fiber One Muffins (8)
Cereal (8 bags!)
Apple Cider Syrup (for the waffles)

Sides
White Rice (3 large bags)
Spanish Rice (6 small bags)
Garlic Rolls (1 bag)
Garlic Bread (2)
Cookie Dough (2 containers)
Buttermilk Biscuits (1 bag)
Dinner Rolls (18)
Watermelon-Lime Smoothies (3)
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies (2)
Mixed Berry Smoothie (2)
Peach Smoothies (2)

We also have some Hamburger patties and hotdogs in the freezer as well.  If I have time tomorrow I will make a batch of cornbread and another batch of waffles.  Also, many of these meals will last more than one meal.  So the Taco Soup, Chimmichangas, etc.  Those will make more meals for us or at least give leftovers for lunches for Mike.

It's been so satisfying to fill the freezer up and cross off another meal on my list.  I have spent about three days making them, and had some friends come over one day so that made it so much easier.

I just realized that I can't make dinner with one leg.  And while Mike is a great cook--better than me in some instances--he will be taking care of me and everyone else and already has so much on his plate at work that I wanted to do something ahead of time to make his life easier.  And right now I can take care of myself and my family but my ability to do so will greatly decrease on Wed and I won't be able to do what I want to for six weeks.  That is so long!  On top of that, this ward has a lot of service to give right now.  Currently there is a sister with a flooded house, a sister with a broken foot, a sister on bed rest, a sister that just had a c-section, another sister that just had surgery on her shoulder, and a sister that also needs surgery on her knee.  And that is just what this month!!  So there is already a lot of chances for people to be making meals and serving people in the ward and I don't want to add to that if I don't have to.

Truthfully, I'm tired of people having to take care of me.  I just want to be able to take care of my little family and I feel satisfied in doing what I can when I can.  I will need a lot of help babysitting after this surgery and won't be able to clean at all so my house will be a disaster.  But for now, I'm happy to be as prepared as I can be.  It's a great feeling to be prepared.