Ten on Tuesday

1. Sam's surgery went well. My boy who no longer has tonsils, adenoids, fluid in his ears, or a pesky polyp (caused by a tube that didn't come out quite as it should) is one week post-op and I think has finally turned a corner. We were at the hospital for a long time on the day of surgery because he wouldn't drink enough for us to be able to leave, and he kept falling asleep. Finally he ate half of a popsicle and they let us go home. The child-life specialist was awesome, and Sam woke up at one point asking for "the girl with the toys." For the past week he's woken up 3 to 5 times a night. I'm hoping those days are over. He was back to his more energetic and trouble-making self today. I'm counting that as a good sign.

2. Pat just started training his replacement at work this week. That means hopefully soon he'll be starting the new job he was hired to do in January. He's excited. I'm excited. Same company, different team.

3. We used some of our tax return and bought an awesome swing set at Costco. I think it will be my salvation this summer. But currently, we're ripping up grass (and when I say we, I really mean Pat and his dad). And digging lots of dirt. And considering options for fill. Did you know different materials can prevent brain-damaging falls from different heights? Do I splurge for the more expensive materials that lets my child fall from higher, or gamble they'll never fall from said height and purchase materials that lets them fall a few feet lower. Anxiety, I say. I have shovelled a little. And the kids have been in dirt heaven. Do we really need that swing set, or just a 30'X30' patch of dirt?

4. Charlie is full of smiles. His skin infection turned out to be Strep-D, different from the Strep-A the rest of us had, but some heavy steroid creams and antibiotics have him looking a lot better. He's so close to rolling over- maybe this week.

5. My dad has been improving some. We currently work on word associations and tongue twisters in our free time as some of his speech therapy exercises. Pat read a tongue twisters all about felt and printed it off to hang in his cubicle.

6. Addie shared the following with Pat's dad today: "Guess what, Grandpa. Don't tell my mom. I took a roly-poly and put it on my book shelf. It's my new pet." Pat's dad instructed her to bring it back outside. It took her two trips inside to finally locate said roly-poly and return it to its outdoor home.

7. Last week Addie was the "Dino-mite kid" at school (going along with the year long dinosaur theme). I got to go to her class and do an activity with the kids. We made friendship bracelets, and Addie loved it. I was so glad to get to spend some time with her, especially during a week when so much of the focus was on Sam.

8. Tonight at cooking group I learned that cooking steaks with butter on them is delicious. Not something I'll do regularly, but maybe a few times a year that splurge will definitely be worth it.

9. I received a sweet and unexpected package a few days ago from a friend. Note cards, nail polish, and hand and foot care creams have never been so appreciated. I need to make it a point to send good mail more often. What a treat.

10. Last week was rough. I had a good cry. I had some good time to think. I had a good talk with Pat. And I received a good dose of perspective. With everything going on, things have not been easy. I often have felt like I'm wading through mud, having a hard time with each step and not really getting anywhere. I've pictured myself in mud to my waist, sopping wet with the rain beating down. Pat gave me the most beautiful blessing. Suddenly I realized that even though I might feel like I'm wading through mud, I chose to walk into it. I knew it would be hard and I still did it. And I know I'm going to walk out on the other side, better and stronger and happier. And I'm so blessed to have my sweet family with me through it all.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The Good:
-Strep seems to have left the building, coughs are decreasing, and I think the sickies are starting to go away.
-The sun is shining and it's 60 degrees.
-Friends and family are helpful and kind.
-The gospel brings peace.

The Bad:
-My dad had a mini-stroke on Saturday. We spent 6 hours at the hospital. Much of the progress that he's made is gone again. His speech was affected, as well as his balance, and he's lost some of the movement he had regained in his left arm. We're doing all we can to prevent this, but strokes still may continue to happen.
-Charlie had his 4 month check today and has some undetermined (possibly staph) skin infection that has spread through his body, causing his lymph glands to swell and possibly causing the blood in his stool. I'm off dairy again. I have to bathe and lotion the poor boy twice a day. We'll find out culture results on Monday and return to the doctor Monday to see if he's improving.
-Sam's tonsils are coming out on Tuesday. He's on antibiotics until then because he's still got a slight cough going on and they won't do the procedure if he's still coughing. Fingers are crossed we can make it through several more days of antibiotics and the tonsils will go ok.
-Addie got her cavity filled yesterday. They found and filled a second one while they were in there. Pediatric dentistry is the field to go into. All of this was to the tune of $700. Hopefully insurance will pay a chunk, but I'm sure we'll still be left with more than we'd like to be. Seeing her sedated was hilarious and sad all at the same time. The poor girl couldn't stand up, and at one point she asked me if I had two faces. Sedation is funny, but not $700 funny.

The Ugly
-I need a date with my eyebrows.
-Sam decided to rub Addie's pink shiny lip gloss all over his face as eye make-up. It just isn't something you want to see on your little boy.

How We Felt- An Update

Today we felt grateful. Grateful for kind friends who show up and don't take no for an answer and do the least favorite chores. Grateful for kind friends who send e-mails and comments and phone calls and prayers on our behalf. Grateful for family who helps on a moments notice. Grateful for medicine and for health insurance. Grateful for forysthia branches blooming on my counter. Grateful for dry underwear after a 3 hour nap (way to go Sam). Grateful for sleeping children. Grateful for treats from my childhood share by my brother. Grateful for Friday's off. Grateful for a good weekend ahead (conference+Easter=awesome). Grateful.

How We Felt? Really Want to Know?

Today "we" felt tired. And worn out. Today we were called at home by our doctor for the second time this week. After being in to see them twice last week. Today they were checking to see if the strep infection (a result of issues that have been going on since the birth of child #3) that has spread through our entire body (did you know strep isn't just reserved for throats?) has gone away yet. And the answer is a resounding no. Chills and fever started again during the night last night. Luckily we have been on antibiotics long enough to not be contagious. Unluckily, they're not working to kick this crap. Unluckily all the children have been sick (with strep, ear infections, impetigo, and pink eye to name a few), and the husband (with a miserable cold), and now the dad who is thinking he probably has pneumonia (and he is the expert since he gets it pretty much annually). Luckily child #1 is feeling better and has been back to school. Luckily child #2 took a good nap today. Luckily child #3 is a pro at taking his medicine and seems to be doing not too bad. Unluckily we are living in squalor because we are too tired to clean our abode. Luckily we have a brother and sister-in-law coming tomorrow to help out. Unluckily we feel a little embarrassed at the current state of our house and don't want to get the family sick. Unluckily we feel like a total flake on many fronts, not accomplishing much of what we desire to do. Luckily we managed to blog and explain our absence. And if we're really lucky, we'll be feeling better pronto and back to blogging and cleaning and all other life pursuits in a timely manner.

Kind Words

Yesterday I received an email. It was from a woman I know who is about 80. Some of her peers probably wonder what she's doing with an email account, thinking it's only for people younger than them and they have no need for such a means of communication. It makes me love this woman even more because she has an email account. Her email was short and sweet. Really sweet, actually. She wrote kind words and feelings she had for me. It was only a few lines long. I read it first thing in the morning and it stuck with me all day long. It made me think about the power we have with our words to uplift and strengthen. It made me think that I want to build others with my words, and not hold back with compliments or admiration. One thing that made her email so nice was that is was so unexpected. I want to share praise with another who isn't expecting it. I could make it complicated and pull out the stationary and then dig for a stamp and then drive by the post office. Or I could keep it simple and send an email. Probably the best email they'll get all day. And as much as I hate to admit it, sometimes the packaging doesn't really matter, it's the words that do.

Here we go again...

Remember Addie's imaginary friends? Cleaner and Nemernade (Lemonade) were regulars at our house for a long while. If you dig through the archives (which I'm not currently taking the time to do, but if I were really dedicated, I would) you'll find a few posts regarding the imaginaries. Sam has now welcomed an imaginary friend to our home. His name is Jacey. Or maybe J.C. Maybe even adapted from our good friend J.C.W's. Who know's where his namesake is from. But I'm not sure why imaginary friends have such naughty ideas sometimes. Today when it was time to go pick Addie up from preschool Sam didn't want to have anything to do with it. According to him, Jacey said he could stay here "by his delf" and he didn't need to come pick up Addie. And he wasn't scared, because Jacey told him where the police were in case he needed a grown up. And those are Jacey's rules, so of course we needed to follow them. Not sure why I try to reason with a 3 year old. I let Sam know that if Jacey couldn't obey our rules he wouldn't be allowed to come over. Hopefully Jacey can tell Sam how cool it is to use the potty. Not likely.

Five on Friday- Sam edition

1. We're in the throes of potty training. I've forgotten just how much time+patience this task takes, but Sam is having success mingled with a few accidents, and I'm glad to hopefully see a light at the end of this tunnel.

2. Sam is the one who initiated training which is exactly what I was hoping for. He put the seat on the toilet himself a few nights ago and had his first successful attempt. He requested little marshmallows as a treat for using the potty. I told him I only had big marshmallows. He told me, "It's oday, I wike dose ones too!"

3. Sam has been hilarious. He's constantly asking me who he knows that uses the potty, and then wants to pretend to be that person. For example, "I'll be Danny, you be Danny's mommy, Charlie can be Date, Addie can be Dis, now I'm going to use the potty" and I can only refer to him as Danny. Repeat this scenario for Henry, Addie, James, Jane, and anyone else he can think of, each of us getting an assigned role as he pretends to be the awesome person who already uses the potty.

4. As one strategy to get him to relax, I've told Sam to listen for things to hit the water and to close his eyes. He tried to use this on me the other day. "Close your eyes, Mom. Ok, now close your mouth." Not sure how closing my mouth helped things, but I must've looked ridiculous with my eyes closed and my mouth hanging open.

5. Sam talked to my mom on the phone the other day and was telling her about using the potty. She told him he was being a rockstar using the potty. Now he tells me he wants to have rocket-star poo-poos. That would be great, especially if he chose not to put them in his underwear. Sadly, that's the only place they've gone so far.

I can't believe I just wrote a whole post on potty-training. I'll definitely have to post again soon so this is not around forever!