My Mother's Day couldn't have been any more wonderful. My schedule of events:
7AM - soccer game w/ Owen. Just the two of us. There's very little that I like to do more than watch my boys play soccer.
9 AM - trip to the gym and Lowe's (by myself) to buy gardening supplies.
1130-1430 - ALL of my boys (husband included) worked outside WITHOUT COMPLAINING to pull weeds, plant flowers, and work on our landscaping. It was so much FUN! We laughed, listened to music, talked, and had a really, really great time working together. BAUER POWER!
1500-1930 - Work - what a great day to be a part of a wonderful family having a new baby.
2000 - Only Eddie and Owen awake when I got home. And, Owen was giggling when I walked in, so I knew something was up. Upstairs I went to my bath awaiting me (with Toy Story bubbles). Bathroom lit by candlelight. Warm because of the space heater in there. Robe hanging next to the bath. Ipod in there playing jazz. Nook color on the sink waiting for me.
I told you my day was perfect.
At least until I dropped my nook color in the toilet....and that's another story...
Oh - and if thst wasn't enough, Eddie took 4 days off surrounding Mother's Day, so I could have a mini vacation at home. And, I had the most wonderful, quiet time. I went shopping, went to the movies w/ friends, went to lunch w/ friends, got a pedicure, got a haircut, went to the gym every day. Eddie completely did everything w/ the kids, and I did whatever I wanted when I wanted. And, Eddie kept his "favorite parent" award bequeathed him by Owen at Christmas, because he took Henry to the park EVERYDAY!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Most Wonderfulest Mother's Day EVER!
Owen's present to me
Owen gave me a super sweet card and letter for Mother's Day with a poem at the end that he wrote by himself (and was super proud of his plant them!). I will cherish this for a super long time, since Eddie got the letter for Christmas that claimed him to be the "favorite parent". Redemption - at least a small bit anyway...
Emmett's present to me
Emmett's present to me was a stack of coupons, that he could fill in himself. Such as "Happy Mother's Day - I promise to: clean my room, fold laundry, empty the diswasher.
But my witty 7 year old decided to sign his brothers names to each of them. So the whole stack has "signed by" and either Owen or Henry next to it!
You should have seen Owen's face as I was reading them - he was all OH NO! I did NOT agree to do these things!
I told Emmett's teacher what he did a few days later, and after she stopped laughing - she said she just gave the students a stack of coupons each and told them to fill them in. She had NO idea that he didn't sign his own name to them. HA!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
RAIN!
Syracuse doesn't get a lot of rain - more than Fort Collins, but less than St. Louis. We average 5 inches of rain in the month of April. So - when we hit 8 inches of rain in the month of April and broke a record, my backyard - along with everyone else's became a big pond. Perfect for 2 boys to play in!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Henry's rough month...
My baby boy hasn't had it easy. Henry had surgery on March 18 to repair an epigastric hernia, remove his tonsils and his adenoids, and put tubes in. 12 days before the surgery - that we had planned for a long time - he had pneumonia and bilateral ear infections. There was talk that we would have to reschedule his surgery, but thankfully, they rechecked his lungs days before and said they were clear enough to proceed. And then,they also discovered he had thrush (which he's also had before - due to all his asthma meds and antibiotics), and then they weren't sure they would do the procedure because of the thrush. OH MY GOODNESS!!!
Thankfully, they did. 2 surgeons worked in tandem to take care of all 4 procedures. The poor baby didn't tolerate it very well. I wasn't surprised. The ENT wasn't surprised. Henry doesn't eat or drink well on a good day. His pediatrician and his pulmonologist are forever trying to push Pediasure on him (but...I can't quite figure out why they think he would drink pediasure if he won't eat or drink real food? That stuff is nasty!) He's only gained 1 pound over the last 6 months, and he was underweight to start with. His surgery was scheduled for 8 AM. We arrived at the hospital at 630 AM, and the surgery was pushed back until 1030. It wasn't until 10 AM that he asked if he could have a drink of something. He never mentioned food. The kid doesn't eat or drink well on a good day. I KNEW he wouldn't tolerate the surgery well!
Anyway, to make a long story short, Henry spent 4 days in the hospital before he would eat or drink enough that they let him come home. I'm sure glad the whole thing is over!
This photo was taken before he went back for surgery. He had no idea what was coming....
We took lots of rides in the children's wagon to the fish tank. There also was a Cold Stone Creamery and Tim Horton's down the hall from his room. We spent way too much time and money at Cold Stone trying to get Henry to eat. He would say that he wanted to eat a certain flavor of ice cream, so we would get it (because we would have tried anything!), and he would take a bite and be done. Guess who would finish eating it?
Days 3 and 4
On days 3 and 4, they stopped IV fluids in hopes that it would encourage him to drink more. He still has an IV in his left hand, but there are no fluids attached. Next time he has surgery, I need to remember to request that they put his IV in his right hand. He's left handed and the IV in his left hand bothered him almost as much as anything else. Notice his mangy looking dog, Moppett, snuggling next to him. Henry got that dog from a friend when he was in the ICU at St. Louis Children's Hospital. It's been his lovey ever since.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Home!
Post - op tonsils, adenoids, tubes, and epigastric hernia requires 2 weeks home following surgery. The poor baby had a really rough time when we got home. 12 hours after we got home - he started vomiting (during the middle of the night) and continued to vomit for a total of 11 times. Because he was already not eating and drinking well, his ENT doc wanted to readmit him for more IV fluids and to rule out the possibility of him having an ileus. He even said we could skip the ER, and he could be directly admitted to the chidlren's floor of the hospital. But by that point, he has stopped throwing up, so I talked him into letting us wait. We talked to the ENT a whole lot those next few days. He gave me his cell phone, and called me no less than a couple of times a day. He's operated on all of my children, and knows me and my family well. He very much knows that I often wait too long to bring my kids in when they are sick, so he was really worried (remember when Owen had that neck infection and I took him to the ER and it was busy, so we left? 6 hours later that same ENT called an ambulance from his office for Owen and admitted him to the hospital for 3 days of IV antibiotics after his airway almost closed). And when Henry started bleeding the next day (the day after vomiting) and was drinking and eating very little again, he threatened to personally come and pick him up and bring him back to the hospital :). I talked him into giving me ONE MORE DAY. I promised that if he vomited one more time, or if he started bleeding again, or if he wouldn't eat or drink, I would bring him back. And, guess what? 3 days after we got home from the hospital - one week after his surgery, he turned things around. He started eating and drinking - though not much. But, enough. It took a full 10 days before he stopped complaining about his mouth hurting, though. It was 10 full days before he stopped waking up in the middle of the night crying that his mouth hurt.
It was a really, really long 2 weeks. To occupy our time, we opened up a big box and poured flour all over it for him to drive his cars through. Entertainment at any cost....
And...lots of time watching big brother playing ipod touch (and playing it by himself when his big brother isn't watching). Henry got a nice - brand new leapster - that I thought might entertain him. I was wrong. He only wants to play the itouch. He can play angry birds better than your average teenager. I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous - but he may be getting an itouch for Christmas. Owen came down w/ strep throat one week after getting home from the hospital. His tonsils are next to come out.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Finally - new photos of the bathroom!
Our house is completely finished - and I'll try to post photos...this is the boy's new bathroom - the bathroom that originally flooded. We replaced the toilet. Replaced the flooring w/ sandstone? silestone? something like that.....(love it!). It's like tile - and even has grout in between - but it's not as hard or cold. Replaced the toilet. Replaced light fixtures. Replaced counter top. Painted vanity white and replaced the knobs. Oh - and painted it BRIGHT YELLOW! My mom hates the color. My hubby loves it. I think it's appropriate for 3 little boys!