Seriously?! Part 2

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Remember that post back in March, titled Okay, Seriously?!  Well, I'm thinking maybe I should make that a weekly feature or something, because that is the only word that can sum up this past week.  And it's only Thursday, people.  You may also remember this post where I admitted my over-use of the word seriously in my life, but I just can't seem to shake it.  In fact, I searched for the word seriously in my blog and found 9 posts where I used the word.  So, a weekly feature?  Maybe.  We'll see. Should I call it "Seriously?! Sundays"?  I don't know, but today is only Thursday and I just could not wait.

Let's see... So it all began last Thursday night.  Martin went to a fundraiser at a local new restaurant, and I had been waiting all night for him to come home with my dinner (that I had specifically picked out from the online menu).  Well, he came home at about 9:00pm when I was starving and said the restaurant ran out of food.  Say it with me, people - "Seriously?!"   Then he told me that they took his money anyway and gave him a bunch of substitutions instead - things that I don't eat, like pork spareribs, pulled pork, etc...  So we had a ton of take out containers full of food that I don't eat.  Lovely.  

Fast forward to this Tuesday....I had two coupons for free meals at Chili's to try some of their new food (see this post if you want free stuff like this too).  I was really looking forward to not cooking that night and being able to have an almost-free meal at the restaurant.  I gave the coupons to the waiter, who gave them to his manager.  He was the type of manager that you look at and just know that he is not a nice guy.  He glared over at our table and crumpled the coupons up in his hand.  Okay.  Seriously?  Are you like 12 years old?!  He storms over and says "You may not use both of these coupons.  You have to buy at least one meal and then I will honor one of them."  (Well, he didn't know that I had already been to Chili's and used these same coupons with no problem 2x before).  I proceeded to tell him that he is mistaken - if he reads the coupons he will see that it says no other purchase is required, and each person in your party can use one coupon for each meal.  I then tell him that if he has a problem with that, we will just leave and go somewhere else.  He tells me "Maybe I'm mistaken.  I will go have to do research on this.  In the meantime, I guess I will honor the coupons."  Well, wasn't that a pleasant meal?  We just knew that he probably spit on our food before it came out.

From there I went to my hair appointment, which I was SO looking forward to since I haven't had a hair cut in about 8 months, and when I get there, the receptionist tells me that I do not have an appointment.  I proceed to try to pull her voicemail reminder up on my cell phone, but I had erased it.  Thankfully the hair stylist fit me in, and I channelled all my anger towards her cutting off ALL my hair practically (well, not all, but about 10 inches).  It felt so good! She was wonderful.

I then went to pay for my new "rage cut", and the receptionist said "Um, your card declined." Okay.  Face beet red:  "Um, here's my Discover Card".   She replied, "we don't take Discover." (All the while I was thinking "I just deposited a $325 check into this account. I know there is money in there!")  I gave her my third card and it went through.  I then drove the whole way home stressing about why my card declined.  When I got home, I found out that the check I deposited was withdrawn again because the person forgot to write "hundred" on the line, so only $3.25 was deposited into my account. Just lovely.  It was fine, though; thankfully nothing bounced and it was all fixed by the morning.

So, it is now Thursday and I can say that Jaden officially entered the Terrible Two's this week. The screams and tantrums have been taken to a whole new level.  And just last week I was finally thinking that life was getting easier since Micah is now almost 4 and is so much easier to handle now (well, most of the time) :)   That was short-lived!  Ha!  Now Jaden stepped it up a notch to make up for Micah.

I guess it's just been one of those weeks!!!  Greatly looking forward to tomorrow - Friday- and hopefully a chance to unwind this weekend!  I hope your week has been much better than mine! :)

All Better Now

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Today was Day 12 of "Operation Tonsillectomy Recovery."  Micah is doing great.  We can tell that we are officially "over the hump" which occurred on days 7-8 for him.  On those two days, he was in a lot of pain- more than the other days- especially in his ears.  He woke up at night crying in pain and we'd need to give him his medicine.  But thankfully on Sunday we started weaning him off of the pain medication and today he only took 1 dose of regular Tylenol in the morning!  I also took him back to school today for an  hour and he did really well.  Overall it was a pretty easy recovery; he did not cry or complain a lot, but mainly slept and wanted to be held whenever he wasn't feeling well.  His voice changed yesterday; it sounds a little higher now, and I'm not sure if that will ever go away or not.

However, one little side effect from the surgery is what I will refer to now as the "mamma's boy" effect.  Micah now clings to me like I am going to leave him forever if I am gone for even a second.  He wants me to do everything for him - feed him, hold him while he's eating, take him to the bathroom and "help" him go potty, dress him, etc...  He doesn't want daddy to do any of this right now and has a complete meltdown if I cannot help him do the littlest thing.  We figure that he was probably a little traumatized by being in the hospital and just needs that added security right now, so I am happy to oblige (but hoping this pattern doesn't continue on forever) :)  Little man has been a little more emotional of late, but understandably so.  I am just so thankful that the worst is officially over!

My Favorite (Kids) Foods

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Sometimes when I read other mom's blogs, the ones who only feed their kids organic foods, make their own hummus (okay, sometimes I do that too), grow their own veggies and drink goat's milk, I end up feeling pretty lame. I could try to persuade my kids to eat cous-cous for lunch, garbanzo beans for lunch and steamed veggies and tofu for dinner, but I'd end up wasting time and money. I don't have anything against people who do those things - to the contrary, I respect and admire them. But my life motto seems to be lately "I'm just doing the best that I can."

So for all you moms out there who can't grow it all, make it all, steam it all and puree' it all yourselves, here are some of my favorite, easy foods that my kids actually eat. I try to walk that fine line between healthy food and junk food :)

From Trader Joe's (if you don't have one near you, you can try to find similar items at stores near you):

Apple Carrot Fruit Sauce Crushers
My sons love these! They taste like applesauce but have carrot sauce mixed in!

You could probably make this yourself if you pureed some carrots and added them to applesauce. I always look for applesauce that has only two ingredients: apples and water. The rest almost always has added sugar, but you can almost always find the pure stuff just by looking at the ingredients.

Trader Joe's Oatmeal Complete:
Has added calcium, B6 & B12, Folic Acid, Flax Seed, and Soy Protein.

I could have a whole blog just about Trader Joe's foods that I love, but I realize that not everyone has a store near them. So here are a few other favorites that can be found almost anywhere:

Mott's For Tots Juice Boxes.
I'm not a big fan of giving kids juice, but sometimes juice boxes are great to have on-the-go. These are 50% water and the other have is pure juice. No artificial sweeteners. My boys love these and since all they've ever had is watered-down juice, they'd never be able to tell the difference.


Annie's Macaroni & Cheese
Some households are adamantly against mac & cheese. This household could not live without it. Sometimes I hide things in it, like probiotic powder (see below), peas, or sweet potato puree. (But mostly we have it plain) :)


Primal Defense Kids Probiotic Formula
This is great for boosting kids immune systems, especially if they have digestive issues. You can mix this in any food, although I mix it in yogurt or juice since it has a slight banana taste.

You can order this online here.

Also, these are all Tonsillectomy-Recovery Approved!  I have had to try to find some soft foods that are still somewhat nutritious, that Micah will actually eat, and these all do the trick.  There are many more, but I'll start with these for now :)

Sailing Through, and Jaden's Two!

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We are on Day 3 of Micah's recovery and are amazed at how well he is doing. We have seen this child react to pain in the past (but nothing of this magnitude), and knew that he does not like being hurt. But this recovery has surpassed all of our hopes and dreams so far. All I can attribute it to is the power of prayer. We know that anywhere between 50-100 people at least have been praying for him, many from our church. Micah has not cried or complained even one time about the pain. The only thing he HAS complained about is having to take the antibiotics, and he doesn't like being woken up twice in the middle of the night to eat Jello (my concoction of Jello and his medication, mixed, is the only way we have found that he will take his pain meds - without knowing it). He has been eating pretty regularly, although not a lot, but it is keeping him hydrated. Tonight I weighed him and found he has lost one and a half pounds in the past 3 days. Today we were successful, though, at having him eat some watermelon, oatmeal, applesauce, mac & cheese, canned peaches, popsicles and a little water mixed with juice. I have heard that for some kids, days 2-4 are the worst, and for others it is days 5-8 (because of the scabs that form on the back of the throat), so we will continue to wait and see, and hope for the best.

Today is also Jaden's 2nd birthday! Normally I would blog a letter to him about the past year, but since I can barely see straight right now (don't get me wrong - even though Micah's recovery has been relatively easy, it is still draining and tiring, and he wants me to hold him all day), I will wait on the letter. Here is a picture from May 16th, 2007:



May 16, 2008



And this week:





We celebrated his birthday at my parent's house last weekend. Today I made cupcakes (something Micah could actually eat), and laid low at home.

Oh, and here are a few out-takes of some pictures Martin took of the boys for my Mother's Day gift. It was a frame with 4 pictures of the boys holding signs that said "We Love You Mom!". (These are also my experiments with different settings in Lightroom):

It is Over, and Has Just Begun

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How do I sum up this day into words?  I am so thankful to be home.  I am so thankful for our wonderful ENT doctor and our amazing hospital.  I am so thankful for insurance.  I am so thankful for my husband.  I am so thankful for my sister (who took care of Jaden for us today).  I am especially thankful for our resilient little boy who did amazing today.

Last night we kept Micah up until about 9:30pm and fed him Del Taco, the one thing I knew for sure he would eat and would fill him up since he wouldn't be eating until at least 1:30pm today. We thought for sure if we kept him up late, he might wake up later today, making him forget about his hunger.  Not so.  The boys woke up at 6am and the first thing Micah said was "I'm hungry, Mommy!"  Martin did an amazing job of keeping Micah really busy until we left for the hospital at 9:30am.  At that time, Micah did not want to get in the car.  He was so scared, and we also had some trouble getting him into the hospital once we got there.  But he didn't fight us too much and was very quiet once we got inside.

We had to wait about an hour and a half before surgery, and Micah played with the toys and got into his gown.  We had bought him a new toy that he could play with while he waited, which he liked a lot (highly recommend that, by the way).  A therapy dog that came to visit while we were waiting (sorry for the bad picture quality - all I had was my cell phone!)



At about 11:30am they finally took us back to the surgery room, and Micah was again holding on tightly to me and was really scared.  Then I realized that my son is a lot like me:  he fell asleep in my arms right before the surgery.  He must respond to hunger and stress like me - SLEEP!  We thought that was perfect, since he probably would sleep through the transition to the surgery bed. BUT he woke up right as Martin laid him on the bed, and he was terrified.  For about 15 seconds he cried and then he was out.  The anesthesia kicked in.  

Martin in his "outfit" to be with Micah


Micah holding onto me before surgery:

The surgery went great. The doctor said it went wonderfully and showed us his gigantic tonsils that he had removed.  Soon after, the nurse came back and told us he was waking up, so we hurried into the recovery area.  That is when I lost it.  I saw my baby hooked up to monitors with tubes coming out of his arms and his feet and I heard his screams, and I broke down.  He screamed and pulled at his IV, his wires, was tossing and turning and moaning, and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to see.  The nurses were trying to get me to sit down and Martin was holding me but I just needed to cry for my baby.  After a few minutes I sat down and held him, and he cried and screamed for about 30-40 minutes.  They told me it was normal, and I had heard that I should expect this, but I guess nothing prepares you for it until you actually go through it.  Some of it may have been pain, but most of it was him just coming out of the anesthesia.  

After the 40 minutes was over, he calmed down and they wheeled us up to his room.  There was another family in there whose son was getting discharged; he was 2 1/2 and had swallowed a penny the night before that got lodged inside of him.  When they left, we had the room to ourselves.  We had the BEST nurse who was so comforting and great with Micah.  For the next 4 hours, we were there watching cartoons and snuggling.  Micah never once complained of pain, and ate up Jello, popsicles, juice, and anything else they would give him. 

This one just breaks my heart... In recovery:


Going Home!

When we left around 5pm and came home, he got upset that he couldn't have pizza.  But other than that, it is now almost 10pm and he still has not complained of pain at all.  I keep asking him "does your throat hurt?" and he says no!  I have heard that the pain really hits in the middle of the night and the subsequent days, so that's why I entitled this "It is Over, and Has Just Begun." Not only has the recovery just begun, but hopefully a healthier future for him.  Please keep us in prayer this week!  

Emotional

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Do you ever have those weeks where the tiniest thing makes you tear up and get all weepy?  I don't mean those PMS weeks (although it happens then too), but those emotional weeks where you ask yourself "what is wrong with me?!"  Allow me to illustrate.  Today.  2:25pm.  I look at the fridge and see this:
 


And suddenly I'm a pile of tears. "What in the world?!" I think to myself. Why would this picture of a friendly shark surrounded by the ABC's make me tear up? I sit there for a few minutes and think. This is one of the only moments of silence I've had all day since the boys are taking their naps (oh wait - one of them is in there messing around as I write. Today I'm choosing my battles.) Anyway, I started to think. "Why am I all teary lately?" Ahhhh, yes. It is coming clearer. Because tomorrow morning we take our "baby" in (I still call him that even though he's almost 4) to have his tonsils and adenoids removed, and tubes put in both ears. And I am just so sad for him. I'm sad that he can't eat past midnight tonight and I never want my baby to be hungry. I'm sad that his surgery isn't until 11:30am and the Nazi nurse was mean to me when I asked if we could move it up (her response to everything I ask is "No, we can't do that.") I'm sad that Micah is scared to go to the hospital. I'm sad that he will have about 5 days of excruciating pain that I will not be able to soothe. I'm sad because I remember having this very same surgery when I was 4 and it terrified me to wake up in the recovery room and not know what was going on.

So THAT must be why I am all teary. Today Micah saw this postcard that was sent to him and was so excited. He wanted to display it on the fridge and I watched as he ever-so-carefully placed each letter around the card as a border to hold it into place. I love how such little things bring him so much joy. And how for the past few days all he's wanted to do is collect Roly-Polys from outside and put them in a box so "they can be friends." And how last night in the bath he told me all about how he and Sophia played house at school and they pretended that they bought the "playing kitties" (that we saw at the shelter) and how "he was the boy and she was the girl" and they wanted to go to Disneyland. I just love this boy so much that my heart wants to burst, and I'm so sad at the pain he's about to endure.

Wow. Sorry for such a depressing post. But I really needed to get all that out, so I promise I'll make a happy post sometime soon :) I know, I know.... It will all be okay, he will do fine, there's nothing to worry about, God is in control, etc... I know those things. But I just needed to be a little emotional today. :)

Not-So-Crafty

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I do not consider myself a crafty person, BUT, let me tell you, I found this amazing website! I got so inspired that I made my Mother's Day gifts this year for the moms in my life. If I can do it, you can do it! These are Scrabble Tile Necklaces that I found on this website. Here is my version:


They were pretty easy to make, and a huge hit. I've already been asked by a few people to make some more for them, but I'm not sure if I want to get into that business or not! :) You can order your own here.


I was so inspired and found them so easy to make, that I made about 30 total. I used scrapbook paper, old cards and stationary that had pretty designs. They are not expensive to make, although the most expensive part is the chains. However, I used cheap chains that only cost me .99 cents and they worked well.

I hope you enjoy making them as much as I did!  You can find a ton of easy crafts on this site, all with step by step visual instructions.  People will love all the things you make and you'll find you might be more crafty than you think!

Getting Older

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This year I turn 33. A few people who are older than me have jokingly said "After I turned 30, everything started going downhill for my body!" (In more ways than one, ha ha!) I have definitely been feeling that this could turn out to be true. This is the year that I found my first gray hairs. I don't think anyone else would notice, but when I look closely, I can see at least 5-10 long, definitely gray hairs staring back at me. Another thing that has started staring back at me are some new wrinkles. I see them on my face, and especially in the space between my neck and chest (what is that called, anyway?!) You know, right where a necklace hangs and draws attention to the "crows feet" that I'm now sporting. Nice. I was showing a friend (who is older than me) my nice wrinkle lines and she said "Oh, I'm sure those are just sleep lines from when you woke up!" Well, nice thought, but it was like 11am and I had woken up at 7. Maybe not.

When I wake up in the morning now, my body has aches and pains. My joints hurt a bit. Not bad, but I do feel a bit creaky. But the worst problem I'm having is with my knees. Last year I fell flat on my face in a parking lot and got a genuine knee injury. It took at least 4 months before I could even stand any pressure on my knee. I couldn't kneel down for anything. I had x-rays, saw a doctor, did special exercises, but the doctor did not see any permanent damage. It still bothers me when I first wake up in the morning but especially after I exercise. But now I have a new issue - to the left of my knee is this tendon. You know the space right next to your knee where you bend it? Well, something in there is hurting me so badly that I can barely stand up. It hits at the most random times throughout the day. Today and yesterday, it was while I was using the toilet. I know, TMI, but seriously. All I did was sit down to do my business, and needed help getting up. I seriously need crutches now. I have no idea WHAT in the world is happening, but it hits me when I'm bending my knee and then lasts for awhile, and then goes away and comes back. What in the world? Am I seriously 80 years old now?

Oh, and that's another thing. I find myself using the word "seriously" all the time. Um, I'm almost 33 now, so I should probably stop that. I listened to a message at church that I gave a few weeks ago and realized that I still sound like a valley-girl sometimes. Why can't my language catch up to my body?   I wonder if I'm going to be 60 years old, still saying "like, no way!" and "shut UP!" and "seriously?!"  

I still feel 23 inside, but each day my body is definitely telling me otherwise.  Have you ever taken that Real Age test? My results were right around my actual age, because I don't smoke or drink or lay in the sun all day. But really, I feel like my "real age" right now is around 40. What about you? :)

Open House

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Pictures from Micah's first-ever Open House!


All of the classes for his day and time. Can you find him?


There's our boy! His first time on stage :) He was a little unsure about all of this, but he did great!


His Mother's Day gift to me - so cute!


Hmmmm.... never been to a farm with him, and I don't like to vacuum, but okay! :) Love it! (Especially the part about the green pants)


Both boys on the couch in his classroom

And lastly, Micah practicing his letters on our pine coffee table at home. Oops...

Pre-Op

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Today we went in for Micah's pre-op appointment for his surgery scheduled next Thursday. While we really love his ear, nose and throat doctor (ENT), we are not too thrilled about the office staff or having to wait an hour to see the doctor each time we have an appointment.  Seems to be pretty standard for every doctor in this area, that you have to wait at least an hour in the waiting room.  So lame. 

Anyway, as we were leaving we found out that Micah would need to have a blood test done.  I should have asked why, but at the moment I was just trying to get out the door.  I know it's standard procedure for his patients but I just didn't think Micah would need it.  My stomach sunk and I thought I would throw up.  I had a list in my hand of places we could take him for the blood work, and I thought "how are we going to get through this? and when will we have time to both go do this since our schedule is packed this week?"  I knew we'd need both of us present for the event - one to hold him and one to distract him.  We were driving by one of the locations when we decided just to stop in right then and see how long the wait would be.  Amazingly, they said it was their slowest time and it would be perfect to bring him in right then.  Micah knew we were somewhere for him, but he didn't know what we were doing there.  We went back and forth while we waited, wondering if we should tell him.  Before we actually did it, they called us back.

My husband is brilliant and brought his IPod for Micah to watch while he was having his blood drawn.  He put Micah in his lap, put the headphones in his ears, and turned on a cartoon for him.  The nurses danced for him and laughed with him and made him comfortable.  They inserted the needle in his arm and I watched as his eyes grew BIG and tears started welling up, but he just kept his eyes on the cartoon.  He glanced a few times at the needle but was just so brave.  After it was over, he fell apart in the waiting room on our way out and just sobbed.  I felt so bad for him.  You might remember my post about Micah holding in his emotions until later - that's pretty much what happened.  But we were so proud of him and he did such a great job.  Hopefully next Thursday will go great, too.