Surgery day

As much as we've tried not to think about it, surgery day is upon us. I admit, I've been a little nauseous for the last week or so thinking about this day. Nathan did so well this morning being woken up at 5am. He thought he was going on an adventure with Mom and Dad in the truck, and kept commenting about how it was still dark out. We got him all bundled up, and he topped off his outfit with his customary "security blanket"....his eyeglasses. Our boy is obsessed with glasses of all kinds.
He did really well at the hospital, and we were even laughing hysterically at one point when the sedative started taking effect. That silly moment quickly passed though, as I watched my sweet little boy heavily sedated getting ready for surgery. I don't even need to say this, especially to the moms, but I can't even describe the feeling when they wheel him away from us. Rip out my heart, and stomp on it.
The hour passed fairly quickly....I managed to get some work done while waiting. When the surgeon came to meet with us, I anxiously searched his face looking for some clue. My fear all along, as been that this "lump" would be more invasive than they thought, and the surgery would go differently than expected. That's exactly what happened. Originally, they planned a one-inch incision to remove this "3 cm" mass. It ended up involving a three-inch incision to remove a 5 by 7 cm mass. The surgeon said he had never seen anything like it. Apparently, it was almost sponge-like in appearance, and ended up being multiple clusters of very small fluid-filled cysts. It extended down well past the point where the visible lump was, and also around to his back.

Recovery was positively awful. Put our sensory-sensitive boy in a strange environment, with an IV in his hand, monitors hooked up to his toe, strange clothing on....oh, and add sedation and general anesthesia. Not pretty. He was pretty much unconsolable until we left the hospital. He was a totally different boy once we got him into the truck. I was concerned about him when we left because he still hadn't been able to keep anything down and was having some blood sugar issues. His body temp was at 96...he was cold, clammy and pale. Fortunately, once we got him home he started to eat and drink, and recovered fairly quickly!

He was so excited to receive the get-well card and present Emma picked out for him...such a sweet girl. He took a good nap today, and we've tried to keep the pain meds flowing. Tonight at bed time was the first time he complained about it hurting...otherwise, he's been more than happy to show it off!

We didn't quite get to breathe the sigh of relief we'd hoped today, since we still don't know what it is that they removed from our sweet boy. While the surgeon doesn't think it looks like anything scary, we won't be able to fully rest well until we hear back from Pathology on Thursday. We're so glad to have today behind us, and hope he has a speedy recovery.

Sunday...a day of rest?

So, here's what I did today:

1. Washed, dried, folded and put away 4 loads of laundry.
2. Made three freezer meals.
3. Made 5 loaves of bread.
4. Prepared a "Thanksgiving" feast for dinner (since Judy cooked on Thanksgiving!).
5. Vacuumed the entire upstairs and downstairs.
6. Canned turkey leftover from dinner.

Yeah...perhaps I'm trying to stay busy to keep my mind off of surgery tomorrow?

So the lump is a.....

We still don't know. The surgeon today didn't beat around the bush....it needs to come out. He said he felt that the MRI was an unnecessary step, since that still wouldn't tell us WHAT it is and his recommendation would remain the same.....get it out. No one seems to think this is anything scary, which is comforting, but we won't know for sure until Pathology gets a hold of it. SO, our little guy has surgery scheduled for November 29th at 7:30am. We have to be at the hospital at 5:30. I hate the thought, but figured it might come to this. We'll cross our fingers that all goes well, and he has a speedy recovery!

Lumps are NEVER good.

When is a lump a good thing? Can't come up with anything. Case in point.....who likes lumps in their gravy? Anyone?
How about mashed potatoes? Nope.


What about sweet little boys?

Definitely not. Imagine our concern when we found a strange lump on the side of Nathan's torso last week. We decided to let it go over the weekend, but when I returned from Seattle last Sunday and saw that it was still there...I got him right in. We managed to stump two pediatricians that day, and were sent right over to the hospital to have an ultrasound. It was there that we stumped a third doctor. Never comforting to hear a doctor say, "I don't know what it is." Nathan's pediatrician is recommending an MRI, but wanted to have a surgeon's opinion before putting Nathan through something like that. So, Tuesday we'll meet with a surgeon and hopefully get some answers. Until then....I walk around with a bit of a sick feeling most of the time. Hopefully it's nothing....hopefully we can learn that without putting Nathan through too much. Updates to come.

Halloween!

It was so fun to take all the kiddos out trick-or-treating this year! Last year, Darrin took Nathan and Emma out for a bit, while I stayed home (with a sleeping Matthew) to hand out candy. This year.....we cheated and left this on our door:

And took off on the 4-Wheeler!! Emma was an adorable 50's girl, while the boys were (very appropriately) Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat. Emma and Matthew were REALLY into it.....even when it was dark and super c-c-cold, Matthew kept saying, "Let's do some more!" Nathan was over it a bit quicker. He was more interested in looking inside people's houses and saying things like, "You got stairs?" or "My mom has glasses....you have glasses too?" Such a funny little bug. They did great though...it's amazing how quickly the little ones grasp hold of the concept...run to the door...look really cute.....get candy!!! We had a great time....now I'm off to pick through the loot and grab the good stuff while the kids sleep! : )

Free Potatoes Anyone?

So, what do you do when you have access to an entire storage tub of free baby red potatoes? I found out this year. I had no idea you can CAN potatoes! Judy and I worked for 6-7 hours, and I couldn't believe how many potatoes fit into one storage tub. We ended up with about 115 pints of potatoes. Yeah. I'm totally hooked! They are fabulous to have, and I'm so thankful for the extra stock in the pantry! Oh, and I'm glad we got to use Judy's kitchen to make the mess in! : )

Road Trip!

We don't do this very often....but we had the chance to take a road trip! Mike and Colleen decided to bless baby Aimee in Utah rather than California, so Mike's family didn't have to travel. That made it possible for us to be there as well...we were so thankful! We took the day before to do a few fun things, and the kids did great all things considered...despite the scorching heat!

Potty Party!

I finally decided to tackle it....Sunday we did an offical "say goodbye to diapers" potty party for Nathan. We just celebrated Matthew's birthday, and Nathan loves all things party....if they are for him at least! So, we did a little party, complete with a little cake (so he had a candle to blow out) and presents. He was delighted to be the center of attention, and we were ready to take the potty world by storm!



Now we're a few days in, and I'm HORRIBLE at this! He's three and a half, but showing no signs when he feels that he has to go, and doesn't seem to be bothered when he's wet. I'm surprised by that...and a little unsure of how to proceed. Sigh.....we'll see how the next few days go, I guess.

Head Injury

So, I've been swamped lately. I mean REALLY swamped. I've had the most difficult time keeping up on everything, and feel like I'll forever be behind. I'm a pretty independent person, so I think it surprised Darrin just a bit when I actually begged him for help one day. THAT'S how overwhelmed I feel. It's been a couple weeks back now, and I pleaded with him to get off of work as early as he could that Wednesday. Wednesday is the day I put all the week's signs together, and it's always a full day. I hoped that by having him home a bit early to go through the evening with the kids, I might be able to get enough done so I could be in bed by midnight. He assured me that he could be home in the early afternoon...no need to stress. I was SO relieved by the thought.

When I got home from errand running at about 5, I was surprised that he still wasn't home. The phone rang shortly after that, and it was his friend, John. The first words out of his mouth: "Darrin's okay, but...." Now, that's the second time in the last few years I've gotten a phone call that started that way. The first time was when Darrin sliced his hand and ended up in the ER. THAT injury required surgery. So John tells me that Darrin "bumped" his head a little bit, but it was being taken care of. I immediately panic, get Papa over here to sit with the kids, and rush off to Dr. Harper's office. I get there just as he's finished up. Here's the story:

Apparently, he stepped on something as he was stepping off the curb, and his feet went out from underneath him before he could even blink. He fell back, and hit the back of his head on the curb. Fortunately, all of this took place in the parking lot of Dr. Harper's new building, so John helped him across the lot, and right into the procedure room. 16 staples and a pressure wrap later, we're on our way home. I immediately signed off on the work that had to be done that week, and had to notify clients that their signs wouldn't ship until Monday instead. Sigh....it's quite a nasty wound, and it makes me crazy to think how much worst it could have been. Things like that tend to put life into a bit better perspective....

A day in the life...

Today has been a WILD one! It's the day I ship signs out, and I am a little bit behind this week. I have spent all morning packing up signs, and basically leaving the kids to their own devices.

Here's what we've dealt with this morning (so far):

Spilled cereal on the living room carpet (dry, thank goodness)
A burp cloth sucked up the vacuum
Cereal down the heating vent
Spilled pink milk in the entryway
Matthew fell and bonked his head
Nathan got a bug bite of some sort just under his eye

I'm going a little bit crazy, and hate that I'm so busy and have to get this stuff done, rather than sitting down and giving the kids the attention they need. Matthew and Naters are both down for naps now, and I'm listening to Matthew sing and talk himself to sleep. Just now, I sneezed a couple of times, and he heard me from his room next door. So, in his adorable voice, pacifier still in his mouth, I hear "Bless you, Mommy" from behind his closed door. I immediately start to laugh, and feel some of that stress melt away. I call back, "Thank you, Matthew." And of course, ever the polite little guy...back comes, "You're welcome, Mommy." He just reminded me why I do this "Mom" thing....the little moments. Thanks little man!

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Happy, happy Birthday our sweet little Matthew! It's CRAZY how fast the last two years have gone. We had a fun little party with the usuals....Nana and Papa, Trev and Missi and the kids, Brad and Katie and the kids, and John and Stacy and the girls. You weren't nearly as interested in your cake this year, but definitely had the present thing down!! We love you so much....bring on the terrible two's! : )

A bit of bragging...sorry!

This post is dedicated to our sweet Emma. School is out now (yay!) but several weeks before school ended, she brought home some information on the 2nd grade spelling bee, along with a list of over 200 words to study. Well, the spelling bee brought back so many fun memories from when I was little, so we set about studying! We went through the list once, and then just focused on the ones that were a little challenging for her. She really seemed to get into it, and was ready (but a little nervous) when the day of the Bee came around.

The first day, they just did some practice Bees in their classroom. She was so exited to come home and tell us that she won both of them! The next day was the real deal in her class. Again, she won both times, for a total of four wins in her classroom. The top four students in each class would compete the next couple of days against the rest of the top second graders. She came home the first day still in the running, and she was feeling good. Well, the final day, I'm not sure who was more nervous....me or her! I showed up at the school to watch her talent show, knowing that the Bee had been decided already. My sneaky little girl tried to tell me that she wasn't going to tell me how it went until she got home from school......THAT definitely didn't fly! Well, she goes over to her backpack, and pulls out the FIRST PLACE medal!! I was blown away!! Not that I doubted her for a second, but there are lots of smart second graders! Words can't even express how thrilled we are for Emma.....she learned an amazing lesson about how hard work pays off!

Just a bit more bragging, and then I'll stop. Along with her final report card came a report on her reading tests from the end of the year. Em has always been an amazing reader, and we're used to her testing above her grade level. But we weren't quite prepared for THIS report! Lil Miss Thing is reading at over a 7th grade level!!! That's in the 98-99th percentile for second graders NATIONALLY! Such an incredible little girl.....all academics aside!! We love you sweet girl!

Father-Son

Once again...I'm way behind on blogging. Sigh....but, the good news, is that I've started a blog for each of the kids, and have been pretty good about keeping up on those. I've given up on ever getting into scrapbooking again, so blogging is the answer! I write each blog directly to the kiddos, and include things that are unique to them. It's been fun!

But, it's also fun to share with everyone, so here are a few pics from the Father-Son a few weeks back. The last time Darrin tried taking Nathan, he wasn't even two years old, and it didn't go so well! He is such a little creature of habit, and couldn't handle sleeping somewhere other than his own bed. After listening to him cry until about 10:30pm...he had enough and drove home!
Fortunately, this year went incredibly well! Nathan really liked the campfire, and sat with Daddy and just watched the flames. Then, Brother Hammar broke out his guitar, and something in him clicked! Darrin said that he was so fascinated by the guitar...he went right up to it as Brother Hammar was playing, and just followed his finger's movements with his eyes. Since then, he's been stealing Emma's mini-guitar as often as she'll let him, and will just sit down and play. He makes up his own songs, or sings one of the many Primary songs that he knows by heart. We love it!! Such a fun little guy!

More shopping pictures!

I promise I won't post shopping pictures every week.....okay, I'll TRY not to post shopping pictures every week. I just love what I can get for my money since I started coupon shopping, and it's hard not to share. I'll spare everyone the elaborate details, but here is what I got today:

5 tubes of Colgate Total toothpaste
2 Aveeno Baby Wash
2 Aveeno Lotion
2 Children's Tylenol
2 Tylenol PM
2 Pond's Moisturizer
4 DayQuil Sinus

4 packages Yoplait smoothies
5 loaves of Harper's Homemade bread
2 Smucker's Uncrustables
2 Corn Chex cereal
1 gallon of milk
4 packages hot dogs
4 Yoplait yogurt 4-packs
2 8th Continent soy milk half gallons
2 boxes Keebler fruit snacks
4 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
4 French's Mustard
1 box Keebler's Wheatables
1 bunch bananas
2 boxes Ore-Ida Bagel Bites
2 Dreyer's Ice Cream
5 bags Ore-Ida Fries
9 boxes Aunt Jemima Waffles (10 ct.)
2 boxes Red Baron Singles Pizza

Total Retail Value: $249.08

My total out-of-pocket cost after coupons and promotions: $113.52

Pretty good, but not GREAT you may be thinking. Well, when you consider that between Walgreen's and Albertsons (two of the stores I hit) I also received $41 in catalinas....it sweetens the deal! For those of you who don't know, a "catalina" is a coupon that prints after you pay for your shopping order, and it's good toward your next purchase of anything at the store! So basically, if you factor in the catalinas I received, it's as if I will be paying about $72 for $250 worth of groceries! I feel great about my shopping day, and am excited to have stocked up the freezer a bit!

Addictions aren't always bad.....right?

Yep...I admit it. I have a new addiction...COUPON SHOPPING! Yes, I have become one of those women who shops with a large binder full of coupons. It's as if I figured juggling a 3-year old and an (almost) 2-year old while grocery shopping wasn't quite challenging enough. A good friend swore by coupon shopping (thanks for all your help Kerstin!), and like many, I just wasn't interested at first. It just seemed so overwhelming and time-consuming, and I just couldn't see how clipping a couple of coupons good for 50 cents off was really going to save me any money. I can now shamelessly say how wrong I was, and I can't imagine shopping any other way! I got really grumpy the other day that I had to pay $3.99 for a package of string cheese....why didn't I have a coupon for that! Grrr...

I have been coupon shopping for just over a month, and really have to restrain myself from artfully arranging my purchases every week, and taking pictures. I can't believe how much I can get for how little! Here are a couple of examples. The two pictures below represent two separate shopping trips in the last few weeks. For ALL of the items in each grouping, I spent less than $50. That's over $200 worth of items in each photo. Not bad for a rookie!



In the last month, I have gone from basically NO food storage (unless man can survive on oats and rice alone!) to having a closet overflowing with extra items, that we will be using over the next several months. I have accumulated a year's supply of many items such as laundry soap, dish soap, ketchup, toothpaste, body wash, razors, and Children's Tylenol. For my entire year+ supply of laundry soap, my out of pocket cost is about $10. I LOVE IT!

I have become a total coupon dork, and have no problem admitting that sometimes I open this closet just to admire. I will also admit (since we're all friends here) that it's difficult for me to take naps on Sunday anymore. That's the day all the coupons come in the paper, and I look forward to it all week! Wow....if that didn't just make me sound like a middle-aged Mormon mommy, I don't know what will. Sigh.....

Life-SAVER????

Today was kind of a breakthrough day....for a couple of reasons. When Nathan saw Matthew enjoying some mini M&M's he started hysterically begging for the same candy. Of course I gave him one, since all Nathan ever does with new foods that he's curious about is carry them around for a while. No need to worry that he's allergic to milk....he won't eat it anyway! Wrong....he quickly ate it, much to my surprise! That is such a big deal in our house!! And he loved it! And of course he wanted more! Well, the last thing I wanted was a life-threatening allergic reaction on my hands, so I tried to find something in the pantry to distract him that he could safely have. Ahhhh...Lifesavers! He loves to hold those because they look like wheels. The most he's ever done before is lick them a time or two. So he was immediatly placated with a "wheel candy." Again, much to my surprise, he ate that too!! And of course he wanted more! So I gave him another one, and went about my business.

It was music to my ears when I heard all three kids running around the living room, playing and laughing together.....until that turned into quite a different sound from Nathan. He came running over to the room I was in making this horrible gagging sound. I immediately figured out what had happened, and tried not to panic. Fortunately, I could tell that he was able to breathe, but still turned him over and tried to beat the offending Lifesaver out of him. It didn't go easily, but ended up going down the pipe after about 10 seconds. Nathan immediately says, "There....that's better." All I could do was lock him in a tight hug and relish the feel of him breathing easily. Life-SAVERS??? The name seems a bit ironic to me.....

What do you get.....

What do you get when you cross the following:

The Couch...

The Vacuum...

And a silly boy named Matthew?

The answer is:

Is that the saddest picture or what? He honestly looks like he can't quite figure out what happened....or why his mouth feels so funny! Breaks my heart.....sigh. That's what we get when we have a little guy who watches his older siblings play and rough house with Daddy....and thinks he can keep right up! He went tumbling right off the couch, and tried to make out with the vacuum handle. Fortunately, it looked a lot better the next day! : )

Our world turned upside down...in a good way!

And this little guy is the one responsible! Nathan, our little acrobat, has thrown us for a loop since his very difficult birth. He's just always marched to his own beat, followed the path less traveled....you get the idea. Long story short, we're still trying to learn every day how to make life a little easier for him, while still teaching him that certain things aren't negotiable. To add to the chaos of life, Nathan started preschool today, and will be going two mornings a week. We're hoping that the introduction to structure and routine (by people other than Mom and Dad) will be beneficial to him in preparing him for school.

His teachers said he did very well today...Mom had a harder time. I'm not sure I'm ready to share him with the world, though I know it is the best thing for him. I spend moments of every day wishing he was past these difficult stages, but more moments in a panic over how quickly he's grown up. We'll see how he does in the coming week...it will be a good thing....I think.

Favorite Photos

I realize that I'm terrible about updating this blog. As I've been creating a new blog post for my vinyl blog every day this month, I've been inspired to be better at updating on the family. I decided to post some of my favorite pics over the coming weeks....enjoy!

This was way back when Matthew only had a couple cute little teeth on the bottom....when we first realized what a mischevious little bug we had on our hands. Always into something....and I mean ALWAYS!

A time to reflect....

This is a wonderful time of year for reflections. A time to reflect on the birth of our Savior, a time to reflect on the ways we want to improve our lives over the next year. More than ever this year, it's been a time to reflect on the arrival of our sweet little boy....exactly three years ago. Witnessing the arrival of a good friend's baby early in December, and welcoming a new neice just a few days ago has brought it all back even more. How is it possible that our little guy is three already? This miracle baby we waited over five years for...

Nathan has become such a sweet, funny, sensitive, joyful boy. We have learned so much from him, and love him more with every passing day. I sure wish he would stop growing up so fast, but I'm so excited to see who he becomes in the coming years. We love you so much Nathan....happy 3rd birthday!

In case anyone is wondering....no, Nathan still has not had any birthday cake at age 3. I couldn't even entice him with the cool cupcakes with cars on the top! Of course he wanted the cars....just not the cake.

This sweet boy opened his first gift....a toy helicoptor from big sister Emma, and was content. He was all set! It took a bit of work to get through the rest of the gifts. Note to self...next year, only one gift? : )

Matthew and Emma were more than happy to help him with the present-opening task. I think I am more excited about this gift than Nathan is. I actually found a little boy potty with WHEELS!! Is that perfect for Nathan or what? Now we just have to convince him to USE it rather than DRIVE it.

Now THIS he can drive. I think he will have so much fun with his very own car to drive. Again, demonstrating his sweet nature....he immediately wanted to have a seat for Emma or Matthew in here. Love this boy!