Deer Park Farms: Toothaches, Shot Dogs, and Automobiles

OOOH man! Toothaches are the worst! Thank GOD for good drugs...I had a root canal several years ago (while prepping for my veneers), and over the last few months it's been acting up here and there...my dentist had referred me to a specialist, but due to our financial situation, I just powered through. This week, however, it hit with full force! My tongue skimming across the surface would send lightening bolts of pain up through my head...Jeffrey, being the caring husband that he is, called his cousin Jeff to get his advice. Jeff Rohde is the best, most gentle dentist anywhere (sorry, Dr. Samani!) and he pretty much made me promise that I'd call my dentist - even if it was after hours. I finally talked to the dentist on call, and he prescribed me an antibiotic and some Vicodin. That was Friday. I can tell the swelling has gone down, but the pain is still hanging on.

The cool thing about this, though, is that I have discovered that my previous tolerance for Vicodin has diminished! This may seem odd to many of you, but I have had to deal with so much pain over the years from multiple kidney stones (38 different stones since October 1994), that I had developed an insane tolerance to narcotics...during my pregnancy, I had a kidney stone coupled with kidney spasms, and NOTHING would help...the doctors ended up putting me on Dilaudid which is one of the strongest pain meds out there(even stronger than morphine)...lord, that was awful - especially the withdrawals. ANYWAY, all that to say ------ I'm so happy that the last year has been pain free. Until this week, I haven't had to take any pain meds other than over the counter pills! THAT, my friends, is a miracle - it's the longest I have gone since 1994 without passing a kidney stone! Here's to hoping that Ellie Graye balanced out my calcium levels!

Jeffrey got up with Ellie Graye this morning, so I could sleep in again today...which I was extremely happy about since EG had another bad night again last night. It's so nice that Jeffrey loves spending that morning time with her, as it provides me with a bit of time to catch up on my rest. He feeds the dogs and the horses - and has even gotten to the point where he can take the blankets off the horses! It's awesome! Before you know it, he'll be multi-tasking. Well...hmmm....maybe I took that too far!

It's always so nice to have a relaxing morning, playing with Ellie Graye in the living room as a family. My mother-in-law Phyllis spent several weeks (maybe months?) making Ellie Graye a scrapbook of her family. It's one of the most incredible gifts I've ever received! Each family member has a page, and Ellie just LOVES sitting and looking at all the photos...we spent a good 35 minutes today just talking about everyone. It's such a great way for her to stay familiar with faces that she may not be able to see all the time! (THANK YOU, PHYLLIS!).

While Ellie took her nap, Jeffrey went out to his gym to lift, and I started on making some more tidbits for the Halloween Bash. Jake's idea for using last nights' "dinner" as a filling was absolutely fantastic...it turned out great - and a perfect make-ahead and freeze party food! On top of it, I came up with a really cute way of displaying them too! So excited for the party! I think I'll just call them Chimichanga Rolls.

Chimichanga Corpse!

Ellie slept for quite a while...but woke when Jeffrey came back from his workout ------ without the dogs. Yeah. Without the dogs. I can't say I handled the situation with much patience or grace...thus, Ellie woke up. I hate that I lost my temper, but I did. Poor Jeffrey. I was so frustrated that the dogs were gone, that I just blew up! As Jeffrey was heading out to begin searching the property for them, my cell phone rang...

"Hi, are you the owner of Jax?"

"Yeah, do you have them???"

"Um. Yeah, and there's a beagle screaming like he just got shot. Is he yours?"

LIKE HE JUST GOT SHOT?!?!? Yep. that's what the guy said. Only in rural Oregon! So, sparing some of the ugly details (mostly on my end), I ended up driving down Wilsonville Road about a half mile to go pick up the dogs at the Hewlets. I hate the thought of them crossing that road - it's so damn dangerous. Needless to say, Jeffrey has finally agreed that he shouldn't take the dogs with him when he goes to lift because he just can't focus enough to keep them nearby. Hopefully, that will cut the number of these incidents down! We'll see.

Once everything settled down from that situation, we all went on a walk around the property as a family - dogs in tow! Ellie hasn't been herself, and after spending some time in the vegetable garden, actually let us put her in the stroller! It was nice to saunter along the pathways, chatting and enjoying the crisp air and fall sunshine.

Ellie and her Dahlia

The dogs in the wildflower field (flowers spring through late summer)

Looking back toward the house and the vegetable garden - Fall colors emerging!

The hill to the upper field (pasture grass soon to be planted there!)

Our bi-colored tree!

The view of the house from the far side of the lake

Daddy giving EG flowers

Later in the afternoon, we headed out to the Chevy dealership to look at cars. I can't believe it, but we're actually going to have to buy a big huge car. I was hoping that a Tahoe would work for me, but looking at it up close, and thinking about what I need - realistically, it's too small. With Victor, Lorena, Yovani, Ellie, Jeffrey and I, we need at least a 6 seater...but if we're talking about having this car for 4 - 5 years, then we have to plan for another baby...which means a 7 seater. You add in needing space in the back for a stroller and all the other things that we'd need to bring along - not to mention the dogs, and we've already outgrown a Tahoe!

I test drove the Suburban, and was shocked that despite my intensely critical attitude, it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. I tried parking it, turning it, backing it, gunning it...and it was far better than I had thought it would be. I'm still not thrilled at the prospect of having such a tank, but at least it drives decently. It'll be a shock to go from the Prius gas mileage to that, I'm sure! But it'll also be nice to be able to haul stuff around, and not have to borrow Colin's truck all the time. We'll get the tow package too so that we can literally haul with it. Next is to try the GMC Yukon XL...if any of you have any thoughts on the car situation - any input is greatly appreciated!

Dinner tonight was yummy - I had prepped everything while EG was sleeping, so once we got home from the dealership, it was quick and easy. Steak with Provolone and Spinach on top of Buttered Egg Noodles and Acorn Squash...yummmmmmmm.