Surgery

My son's breathing started sounding like Darth Vadar while he slept at night. We had been dealing with this on and off for quite some time. It was usually as a result of a sinus infection. They were becoming increasingly more present. Our pediatrician told us his adenoids were very large and would likely need to be removed. Recently we've witnessed a few episodes of sleep apnea and immediately took him to a specialist to determine what our next steps should be. Who knew while at that visit he had strep throat and his tonsils were such a mess that he only had a sliver of a opening visible. This infection ultimately landed him in the hospital for several days with a antibiotic and steroid needing to be administered intraveneously. Our attempts to schedule his surgery were thwarted even further due to another infection and round of medication.

Last Friday my little guy had his tonsils and his adenoids removed. The procedure has changed considerably over the years. The surgery takes about 5-10 minutes and the recovery varies from 30 minutes to an hour. My son has had a few unpleasant experiences and this was a major ordeal. I was very concerned about how he would do. I prayed about it and knew everything would be ok. When we arrived his assigned anesthetist came in. His approach was very light and comical. Just want I needed. Our Dr. came in and went over everything with us and just as he was leaving he asked if he could pray with/for my son. I was so touched and had great peace after that. My son did great. He is such a trooper. Who knew anesthesia could make kids so combative. I wasn't prepared for that, but he recovered beautifully. Nothing like all the popsicles and ice cream you want. Darth Vadar has left the premises and all is well.

Gimpy

About 7 days ago I decided to re-up the sand in the kids sandbox. This required me to carry and maneuver a 50lb bag of sand to the backyard. This was going very well until I reached the gate. We have a gate that automatically closes via a spring mechanism. Well I cleared the gate, but as it shut full force, one of the barbs ripped the side of my foot open. Ouch! After several stitches and a tetanus shot, I've had the joy of spending the last week hobbling along on crutches. It really has been no fun trying to rangle 3 kids with a crutch in hand. There are days the kids are great and sympathetic to what ails Mommy, but other days I think they know I couldn't keep up with them if I tried. So I'm counting down the days to ditching the crutches and ridding myself of this major inconvenience. Some times it's easy to take for granted the use and mobility of all functioning limbs and body parts. Another week or so and I can get these stitches out. I can't wait. My coping skills have been dwindling, so I'm hoping my sanity will remain intact until then.

Houston We Have a Walker

Makinley is walking. It has been very exciting watching her confidence increase to take those first few stops solo. There have been a lot of ups and literally downs as she works to master this new skill. She has her eye on the prize. Picking up the pace and trying to keep up with her brother and sister. Just think in a few short weeks she'll have the stride down pat. She'll be moving right along and gearing up for running. For now it's 3, 2, 1 and she's off!

Summer Plans

Summer is one of my favorite times of the year. The beach, the pool, cookouts, family, friends and just lazy days. The kids have been out of school for about three weeks now. We've scheduled swim lessons, play dates, family visits and just days where we do nothing if we want to. We enjoy daily activities from finger painting, play dough, dance parties, catching fire flies @ night or just enjoying a evening walk together. We're converting to our 'summer' hours. Later nights and awesome mornings of sleeping in until 8 or later. I have vivid memories of our summers as kids. There were many road trips, train rides, cookouts, pig pickins, and visits to our relatives. As a kid, I loved fun childhood games, going to my book club, skating, swimming, movies, sleepovers, and a variety of sporting activities. I want to extend those same things and more to my children. I love seeing the them explore and enjoy new things. It's also great that a fun day could just be playing in the sandbox or adding to their stick collection in the front yard. The simplicity of chasing bubbles in the driveway or licking the juice from the melting popsicle in their little hands. Nothing beats enjoying days like this and creating awesome memories for years to come.

Bygones

Sometimes you have to revisit situations and make amends.
Make amends with situations, circumstances, people, pasts
and hurts. It may require you to look @ yourself and determine
what things you contributed or perhaps that you should have. Time
heals all wounds and hurts, but sometimes a simple apology
can go a very long way. Owning my part and moving forward.

Makinley turns 1

Our last '1st Birthday" was simplicity @ it's best....cupcakes, candles (well 1) and lots of joy and kisses. My two toddlers (Jalen & Mireya) grabbed their guitars and rocked out a tune they had been finessing all week. I've dubbed them my 'mosh pit' babies. They love all things heavy metal. Don't ask?! The song was definitely an original. A mix of celebration, Star Wars and all things princess. The lyrics will have to be ironed out, but Kinley enjoyed it immensely. It was very hype. She was pretty close to jumping off the ground from the kneeled position and clapping her hands wildly. Watch out folks we may soon have a trio...JM&M.