Congrats to your D, Oregon!
Thanks to all for the well wishes and prayers for B. All went extremely well; doc said it was “best case scenario.” B was in surgery for a total of 9 1/2 hours – about 1 1/2 hours longer than SIL had been told for the max. So, towards the end we were all getting pretty anxious while trying not to show it to each other. Waiting was a family affair – SIL, my 89 year old father, B’s identical twin & his wife, and me. My father, especially, was convinced the extra long time meant bad news. Thankfully it didn’t.
B will be in the hospital for 5 - 10 days, depending on how he heals. Then a lengthy recovery, as well as adjusting to the neo bladder. SIL will have her hands full trying to keep him from doing too much too soon.
Congratulations to your D, @oregon101.
Glad to hear the surgery went well, CBB.
Good to hear, CBB. Good thought sent his way.
Congrats, Oregon on engagement and residencies. CBB, good to hear re your brother and family support.
On our front, ShawSon is staying with us for the first two weeks post-surgery. Jaw wired shut. Lots of pain because things are getting less numb, but he is more alert than he was before the surgery. The doctor said one usually doesn’t see the effect for 2 or 3 weeks after the surgery, but we saw it at a week.
My mother was discharged from the rehab hospital after hip surgery despite feeling dizzy. I have to call and see how she is.
Wishing quick recoveries for your S and mother, shaw.
Oregon - great news! Glad that she received the choices she wanted. Looking forward to news of the engagement. 
CBB - So happy things went well. Wishing for a speedy recovery for him.
Good weekend here. Picked my dress for the wedding. It’s this http://www.jasminebridal.com/product_detail.asp?hidP_kind=MOB&hidP_style=COUTURE&hidj_line_order=1&hidP_Style_ID=J195006 in Navy.
Now on the hunt for shoes. Need something that can be worn outside in grass so no heels although wedges would work. Nothing too high. I’m thinking a rose gold would look nice. So feel free to help me out if anyone wants to try on line shoe shopping. Also need comfortable. I have a feeling I’ll be on my feet a lot that day.
I love that dress, RM!
I agree about the lower heels/wedges. You might also want to stash a pair of cute flats somewhere so you can change if you need to. I wish I had done that at D’s wedding. My heels were so uncomfortable I wound up in stocking feet for the entire reception.
Thanks FG - I do really like it.
Pretty dress, RM! Kinda begs for some strappy, blingy foot ware but that might just be my predilection for same 
Kudos to Orgeon and great news Shaw and CBB on loved ones surgeries.
So, the “astro crib” is finally painted/stained and my knees survived the last 4 hr installment of ladder aerobics. (Astro-crib is our pet name for mch’s astronomy observation dome and the railed raised wood platform constructed for same. Very high for a short person to paint.
Of course, mch and I on a project together are a bit Dee and Dumbish…while he was exuberantly installing wifi-controlled LED rope light right where I wanted to paint next I pointed out that at our core, we’re lone wolves who don’t pair well on home projects
Next up is a reboot on our salt water aquarium after new floor in the family room. I’ve convinced him its time to rig up reverse osmosis waterline…ever since we moved her on well water we haven’t been able to keep my favorite (and fussy) leather coral. AQ guy says its the well water and its time to run a line. So next month he’s bringing back a new set up with sump etc. and we’ll be cycling anew.
CBB… glad all went well withe surgery! What a relief!
oregon…Woohoo! Wonderful news! So happy for all of you!
shaw…continued fairydust and prayers for your mother and shawson’s recovery.
RM…LOVE the dress! It is beautiful! I wore wedges for D2’s wedding. They were perfect, especially for outside photos.
Agree KMC - definitely strappy, blingy foot foot ware which is probably why I’m thinking rose gold. 
So starting the hunt for the perfect shoes to go with said dress now that the dress is on order.
Oh that just sounds like H and I KMC with H always seeming to be where I want to be. We are constantly in each others way when we are doing a project together.
Wood stairs are in. We just put in hardwood stairs leading to our upstairs and he is in the process of doing the upstairs hall as well. I think he might have finished but ran out of wood this weekend. He always underestimates. I keep thinking I should do the math for him as math is NOT his strength but I hate to get involved.
So based on our new stairs our old dog is not being relegated to our downstairs. Not that I’m worried about her scratching them - they will get scratch anyway in due time but she fell 3 times this weekend and I"m worried that she will fall and break something. 90 lbs and almost 13 doesn’t bode well. If anyone has any ideas I’m all for them because this means that she is sleeping downstairs by herself and she has always slept in our bedroom - on the floor not on the bed - that would be like a whole other person on our bed at her size.
RM, love the dress!
For the old dog/stairs, can you put down something temporary just for the dog? As our dog aged, he was having difficulty slipping on our wood floors. I bought several yoga mats and that gave him the traction he needed.
Love the dress, @RochesterMom. I’ve started the “hunt,” too. Many of the dresses I had been perusing online are royal blue, which I love – but that’s the color of the bridesmaid’s dresses, so that’s out. I’m not doing long, due to the camp setting. Would love tea length. And definitely no heels; most likely wedges. I found one dress in navy that I like and D loves. Pretty sure it’s not in any stores near me, so I’ll have to order it online. If I could also order the model’s body, it would be great!
In other wedding news … we have a florist! And also a bakery to do pies – assuming our road trip to NH in 1 1/2 weeks for a pie tasting goes well. The bakery is well rated on Yelp, so hoping for the best. D also found a string duo for the ceremony and reception. Check, check, check.
Drove to the hospital in NH yesterday to visit B. He’s doing well, all things considered. No pain since he’s still on an epidural; he may well be uncomfortable when that stops. Lots of tubes and bags – SIL is hoping there will be fewer of those by the time he goes home. Later yesterday he was supposed to be moved into a private room, which will be good.
CBB - glad to hear that your B is doing as well as he is. Hopefully things went well and continue to progress.
I too would love to order the models body! I decided on navy because the girls are in a light blue/grey color. Figured the navy will go with that. Guys will be in a dark gray. Just hope H and I don’t end up looking like we are dressed in the same color!
Just picked the tablecloths and napkins. Ivory tablecloths and navy napkins. The light blue that they have we didn’t think would match and this way it doesn’t appear like we tried to! Cupcakes are ordered. D ordered 16 doz. Well there will be plenty of cupcakes and they are minis. I’m on the hunt for shoes for both me and D. I really like the looks of these http://www.zappos.com/p/badgley-mischka-terry-ii-platino-metallic-suede/product/8854510/color/331813 but the color isn’t quite what I’m looking for and well a bit more than I would like to spend.
World events make me so very sad…sigh 
^ Yes, sad and scary, too. I got out of a long meeting at work and found a text from D about London. She had gotten in touch with S and let me know he was safe. I texted him anyway.
FG, glad your son is safe. My D is arriving in London Saturday before joining me in Edinburgh next Tuesday.
I agree about the world events, and also the events in our country. I feel like everything is so volatile and uncertain.
The MOB dress is lovely - but I’m so glad that I’m not having to make wedding plans this spring. Enough going on without that.
So, after crossing my fingers and toes, no, Son will NOT be finished with his undergrad this spring. He will still be able to walk. He received a D in an online class in his major last semester. He didn’t know that he needed a C and no one in his department caught it until last week. He shouldn’t have been allowed to student teach but he’s too far into it for the school to stop him. So he will re-take the class in the summer and officially graduate then. Sigh sigh sigh. It really shouldn’t adversely affect his job prospects (I hope). It seems like a lot of students walk in the spring but are officially summer grads. Online courses are the bane of his existence. I will say that his wife was super supportive of him when he worked up the nerve to tell us the story.
FG - so glad your S is safe!