Just us - there’s a little of the before, but mostly it’s the after...: February 2011

My Little Helper

Addie was thrilled when I asked her if she wanted to go with me to take her Daddy a drink (as if she really had a choice).
Having the job of carrying the water made her feel like such a big girl and she waited patiently for me while I put my shoes on.

Her patience started to waver when I stopped to grab the camera.

By the fourth picture, she thought that maybe if she bartered the water for the camera, we would get moving a little quicker.

Chris cut down tree number two all by himself. Addie and I went out to help for a while, but sweet Addie was not content to just play.
She either wanted me to hold her or wanted to be right smack in the danger zone, so we had to retreat to the inside of the house.
She wasn't exceptionally thrilled about being ban from the yard, but she wasn't feeling too well anyway.

My Thoughtful Boy...

and silly little girl.

On the way to the hospital one day last week (pick a day, any day), we stopped to pick up a few things. Julien and I ran into the store and I told him that I wanted to find something small and cheap to give to Addie to occupy her in the waiting room.
It took him no time at all to zone in on a little pink calculator. He thought Addie would like pushing all the buttons. Julien is awesome.

My brother and sister were already at the hospital, so they offered to watch Addie for a while. When I finally made my way back to Addie, I was informed that she had been such a good girl! She enjoyed "talking" to everyone and had enjoyed talking on her new phone.

Yep. Silly girl is under the impression that the calculator is a phone and talked non-stop on the calculator for the entire night. Not only did she talk to everyone on the calculator, but everyone else had to as well.

She was so proud!

I think that was the best $1.11 that I have spent in quite a while.

Hmmm. Really and a Seriously?

Today was a somewhat productive day - somewhat.
When we left the house this morning, we had a whole long list of things we needed to accomplish.

It started with a hair appointment for Addie - she was so nervous, but did a fabulous job of sitting like a big girl while she got her hair cut.

Then, we had to go to the dreaded mall - which we normally avoid like the plague. Out of all the things that we had to find, we managed to find only one thing.

Next stop was to Toys R Us - heaven help us. We only find our way into Toys R Us about once a year, if that often. Chris and I were tag-teaming for restroom breaks. No sooner had he walked away, a woman passed by (with her child) and asked me how old Addie is. I responded and redirected my thoughts (because that is one of those questions where people are trying to piece it all together).
Chris came back and I left. As I was making my way back from the restroom, I heard him talking to someone. It was the same woman as before. Apparently, she had come right out and asked Chris what Addie's diagnosis is (which we are completely fine with). She went on to tell him that she had seen a show about Addie's condition (???) and she knew immediately when she saw Addie that she must have the same thing as the child on the show. It was an odd and interesting conversation all at the same time, but we were just grateful that this woman had the guts to talk to us. She was so sweet and nice and we appreciated her time and thoughtfulness.

After leaving Toys R Us (we needed a drink), we were emotionally exhausted. We were headed to the hospital when I decided to call my sister to see if she would watch Addie for us. She agreed, so we headed back home to get Addie settled. Addie loves my sister and my niece and was so happy to see them!

Chris and I picked up dinner and headed to the hospital for some much needed quiet time with Mom. We were updating Mom on our day, when she piped up to tell us that a few of the nurses had asked about Addie's diagnosis. I found that interesting, nurses never ask me anything about Addie.

Mom told me that two of the nurses just flat out asked what Addie's diagnosis is and then she hesitated before finishing with, "then another asked what was wrong with her". My Mother knows that grates on our nerves and was a little irritated that those words came out of the mouth of a nurse. But, hey...when my Mother is struggling to breathe through fluid in her lungs, I don't expect for her to point that out to anyone.

Mom was way more talkative today than she has been. The nurse tonight said that her lungs sounded better and Mom looks better, BUT, there is a whole new and awful concern that has crept up this week. Bottom line is Mom is now on IV antibiotics, has an entire team of physicians watching her and is waiting on an MRI before we know more. I'm trying to keep my temper at bay and trying to focus on making sure I stay positive (ahem).

I have officially started countdown to an event that will take some of the stress off of me, while at the same time, I'm trying to realize that there are so many people that have things so much worse. I am reminded of that each time I walk into the ICU waiting room and see the same faces that I have seen for the last three weeks.

The Year Long Discussion

It's rare that Chris and I disagree on anything and when we do, it's always over something pretty stupid.
Last year, he decided that he was going to cut down two trees in our yard.
Considering he does all the yard work, I think it is only fair that he makes the major outdoorsy decisions, but I had a problem with these two trees going.
First, they were home to a family of birds (I have no proof that the birds are actually related) and second, they gave me a false sense of privacy (from the things I don't advertise here on this blog).
So, we discussed this.
The discussion started last Spring.
Sometime around the middle of Summer, I told him that if the family of birds moved out during the winter that the trees could go.

For the next six months, we discussed the trees.
How can two trees consume that much conversation?
It all came down to timing.
The birds did leave for the winter, which left a small window of opportunity before new birds moved in.
Last weekend, tree number one came down.
Julien and Chris cut it down while Addie and I found our happy place around the back of the house so that we wouldn't see any possible injuries.

After the tree was down, we went over to help with the clean up.

Addie was enamored with the commotion and had to be right smack in the middle of it all.

I had given her veggie sticks to feed all the birds in our yard.

After she dumped out the entire bag, she helped herself to some of their treats.

After it was all over, we discovered that Addie did not make it through the ordeal unscathed.
She ended up with one ant bite on her hand.
That one ant bite prohibited her from participating in therapy on Monday.
All she wanted to do was to "talk" to her therapist about her "boo-boo".
:)

Tree number two is coming down tomorrow...and then we will begin the hunt for the two trees that will be planted in their place.
I wonder how many conversations we'll have before making a decision on those trees....could very well be next Spring before it comes to a conclusion.

Update on Mom

Thank you all for your prayers and continued concern for Mom.

As of last night, she was not any better. The swelling was worse and the fluid in her left lung and around her heart is not any better. There are a few other concerns as well.

We will see how today goes.

We have to get things turned around for her soon.

Happy 4th Birthday Trenton!

February 12, 2011
~~~~
We spent the afternoon with Trenton, his family and friends in celebration of his 4th Birthday!!!!
For those of you who might be new to the blog, Trenton and Addie have known each other practically since birth, they met at The Bell Center.
We shared a class, along with Baby Bergen.

(this link is to one of our all time favorite photos of the three babies. you should have seen it. the last picture was hysterical as the three babies raced across the finish line...we've been getting in trouble together since day one!)
It is amazing the people that God places into our path.
I am so honored to have this family in our lives.
We had a wonderful time celebrating Trenton's big day two days early, because keep in mind that Trenton is a Valentine's Baby.
He has a way of making people fall in love with him...

~~~
Addie loved spending time with her friends and her Daddy was more than happy to help her each time her turn came around.

Then...there's the mean Mommy.
I love this picture.
We're getting the cake all ready and I'm starting to panic, because I can so totally see Addie grabbing a handful of the cake and just shoving it into her mouth.
Yep, this is me telling Addie, "no touching".
Apparently, my child is a tad bit more refined than I thought...

she waited on a plate...and a fork before she dug in!

Sweet Trenton and his Mommy!

Happy 4th Birthday Trenton!
We love you!!!

Big fat liar...

That's how I feel lately.

Just when I say one thing, turns out I'm wrong...so, I guess I'm not an intentional big fat liar.

My Mom is back in the cardiac ICU step-down unit. Fluid in her lungs and around her heart

This is not the right direction.

Coming up next...

Our Saturday afternoon at a very special birthday party!

Wowed yet again...

My wonderful friend in Canada - Jenn - sent us flowers last week.

She knew how awful things were for us and wanted to brighten our day.

It brightened our whole entire month!

Thank you Jenn from the bottom of my heart!

(My poor camera is not feeling well! The pictures don't do the flowers justice!)

World Records

Holy Cow.

I'm tired you guys.
Just as I am sure you all are with everything that life throws our way.
Between Mom, work, the obvious and those things that Chris and I keep to ourselves, it's been tough...a lot tougher than usual.

When I managed to crawl into bed around 3:30 this morning, I checked every alarm clock and cell phone to make sure the alarms were off. I decided that today I would sleep as long as I was allowed.

Imagine my complete disbelief when I woke and the clock was showing 8:44! I got up and then just had to go back to bed. We slept until almost 10:00!!! I swear that has to be a record. Addie slept, Julien slept, even the cats were still sleeping.

I would say our day was restful, but it consisted of cutting down trees and painting the deck - a day without make-up....one more record set.

~~~I'm tired and I'm trying to play catch up.

My Mom is not any better, not any worse.

We had amazing luck with Home Health. Mom is all set up for nursing visits and PT and lots of it.

That is all that I can say in my little diary about that or in the words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I've got to say about that.".

February 10, 2011

A few more pictures from the Valentine's Party.

These two pictures are courtesy of Liv's Mom...my camera was not cooperating (Thanks K!)

My disclaimer always stands - if anyone has problems with pictures that include your child, please let me know.

I will be more than happy to remove them from the blog.

Old Goals Renewed

Part of me is just shocked that I am perfectly fine with the fact that my four-year-old cannot answer simple "age appropriate" questions.

Whether or not things upset me completely depends on the second of the day.
For whatever reason, not meeting the goal that I had for her last year, just doesn't bother me.
My goal last year was for Addie to be able to answer the question, "Addie, how old are you?".
We didn't meet the goal, so it has been renewed until December 30, 2011.

Well...according to Addie's fabulous special education teacher, Addie did answer that all important question when asked during a therapy session.

I don't have proof, so I can neither confirm nor deny it.

When Chris, Julien or I ask the little rotten Monkey how old she is, we get the response, "Twooooo".

All I can say is that she is giving an appropriate numerical response regardless of if the number is accurate or not.

Once again, she is a great representation of my favorite little frog...

Fashion Show at School!

February 10, 2011

~~~

This was the neatest idea for the Valentine's Party.

The children were instructed to dress up for the fashion show and in any manner of their choosing.

It was so incredibly cute!

Not only did they get to parade through the halls, past all of the parents, but

once everyone was back in their respective classrooms, another runway awaited.

The little girl with Addie is so, so sweet.

She is always more than happy to help Addie and loves playing with her each day.

(Notice the snow in the background? It was pretty the one day it lasted!)

A Very Long Eleven/Twelve Days

Not like anyone is counting.

Mom went home today.
Home Health will be seeing her.

Everybody keeps asking me how she is doing.
From a medical perspective, it could be so much worse.

I hope that each day brings more progress.

Do You Vaguely Remember the Simple Life

and hours of fun with plastic miniature army men?

Well...you probably have to be "my age" to remember that they existed before they became an app.

February 2, 2011

Julien conned my Mother into buying him a huge container.

Julien and Addie had so much fun setting up the battle ground

and

I couldn't help myself.

I had to "help" too.

Oh...look...he's so photogenic.

I bet none of these guys ever protested the American Flag.

....ouch...

Definitely Maybe

Mom is supposed to go home tomorrow.
Home Health will be coming out.

{

Right here in this big open space is a whole lot of venting - not about the hospital, but about other levels of care.

These last two days have not been easy and I don't like the situation that I have had to deal with.

Whew...those of you that know about the situation, I know you understand...and thank you for listening.

}

Please pray that Mom gets some really compassionate providers with some sort of personality, consideration and self-worth.
I seem to have an extremely low tolerance for professional caregivers who seem to hate their jobs.
In the best interest of everyone, this Home Health Agency needs to be stock full of really good people.
I'm seriously not in the mood to have to fight for something that should just be a given.

...and to all of the nurses that are so dear to my heart (yes, you at Children's E.D. and Alabama ENT Associates and a few random others scattered around), thank you for all that you do.
You are very few and far between.

Maybe/Maybe Not

Mom was supposed to be released from the hospital today.

Then my Aunt sent me a text early this morning to tell me that Mom is running a low grade fever.

I have no idea how that will impact the day.

In my professional opinion, I don't think she needs to go anywhere if she has any kind of a fever.

Who knows what the day will bring.

5,000 Miles

(I have the song "I would walk 5000 miles" stuck in my head)

I have read this sign about a gazillion times over the last ten days on the trek back and forth to the hospital.

For some reason, I find it incredibly humorous.

Happy Valentine's Day

Another glimpse into my private little diary.
My wonderful husband sent me a video this morning to brighten my day.
This is the link to one of the clips from the big Valentine's Fashion Show that was last week at Addie's school (pictures coming later).

It might take a minute to load.

Enjoy!

Small Update

Today was not a good day for Mom.
She fell yesterday and that may have caused a bit of a setback. She is also having chest pain and underwent a few tests this evening to try to determine what's going on.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. I still feel very confident in the nurses who are taking care of her each day.

I hope to know more tomorrow.

Hold That Thought...

I can't find the pictures that go with this post, so here is a temporary random sampling.

January 25, 2011

Thomas was thrilled that Addie opened up a belated birthday present with tissue paper on my birthday, that meant that he had something new to lounge all over.

My birthday was fabulous, I had an awesome lunch with my Mother and Chris and then a wonderful dinner with Julien, Addie and Chris - at J. Alexander's...which really is code for "carrot cake".

Try not to lose yourself in the awesome quality of this picture:

My birthday continued on into the week and on January 28th, everyone gathered at my house for dinner.

It just so happend to be Wacky Tacky Dress Up Day at school.

As everyone walked through my front door, there was the awful silence as they looked at Addie and then worked up the courage to ask me if there was a particular reason why my child was dressed the way she was...or rather, the question "you didn't send her to school looking like that, did you?".

I think she looks very comfortable...and quite content.

Quick Update

The weekend was incredibly rough on Mom. We have conflicting information regarding her possible release this coming week. Right now, we're waiting on Monday morning, hopefully to know more about how the week will be. We are trying to juggle schedules to make sure that she is not left alone at any point. I would have liked to say that we have seen great progress, but when I walked out of her room this morning, it just wasn't there. Her meds were changed today, so maybe that is the magic pill we need!

By the way...Happy Valentine's Day...please feel free to tie up every available reservation within a 50 mile radius of the Birmingham metro area. I'm skipping over Valentine's Day this year or at least rescheduling it for a more convenient time!

Update

The morning with Mom started out rough, but it wasn't long before the nurse brought her Zofran...followed not long after by her pain meds.

The majority of the day, she slept.

PT came in and Mom was able to walk to the hallway and back - and was more than happy to do whatever the physical therapist asked her to do.

It's progress!!!!

More Great Progress

Today was a very productive day in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.
When I saw Mom at 9:00 a.m., she was still full of tubes and wires and in a lot of pain.
When I saw her at 11:00, they had moved her to a chair, she was minus a few tubes including two of the drain tubes.
At the 1:00 visit, she was mildly-alert and irritable enough that I wished the nurses luck on my way out.
When I saw her at 5:30, she was in the step-down room and so well medicated that I am not entirely sure that she will remember the visit.

The doctor came in while I was there this evening and reiterated to Mom that she needs to ask for pain meds when she needs them.
He said she is doing good...and that's about all he said - I suppose there was nothing else worth mentioning.

I think tomorrow we will see even more progress.
I don't anticipate the remaining drain tubes to come out tomorrow, but I keep reassuring her that she will feel so much better once they are gone.

I was happier today knowing that I was just down the hall from her and it was nice to see the progress as the hours went by.

Everyone has been wonderful to her (except one nurse who Mom said had "an attitude" and I haven't seen that nurse since that issue was addressed).
The charge nurse is one of those people that I just want to pack up and bring home with me - love her - and the rest of the nurses, male and female, all have a sense of humor; which is a requirement when dealing with our family.

This little part of the hospital is polar opposite from the other parts that we have experienced.
What a relief!

Tomorrow will be better than today...because I refuse to believe that we will see anything but continued progress.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and concern!

A Very Special Birthday Present

January 25, 2011

~~~

Addie received a belated birthday present - and it is a very special present from someone who is amazing and so very close to our hearts!

Addie was so excited to see the baby and is being such a good Mommy to the new baby!

Not In Kansas Anymore

While at the hospital yesterday, my family (not my fabulous aunt because she has the same insane passion that I do) had a grand time making fun of my "Dorothy slippers" - my newest favorite shoes that are just beyond awesome.
They are, oh so comfortable, and extremely quiet.

I wish I had them on today.

Today has been exhausting. Addie made yet another trip to our ENT. She is having a really rough time keeping those awful sinus infections at bay. I'm so tired that I don't even feel like talking about the possibilities that were discussed right now, I just hope that she gets some relief soon.

My Mom has had a really bad day - as can be expected - which makes for a really bad day for my family.

Mom is still in ICU. Her day has consisted of a blood transfusion, unstable blood pressure, unmanageable pain, nausea, vomiting and a lot of confusion (from the astronomical amount of meds).

It was so hard today when I wasn't at the hospital, my sister called to tell me that Mom was asking for me - which made things that much worse.

Chris and I got there as soon as we could, especially considering we are bound by ICU visiting hours. As soon as we were allowed, we made our way into the unit. I had no more than passed the nurses station on the way to Mom's room at the end of the hall, when I heard my Mother say, "Jennifer?".

It was my darn shoes that gave it away!

I didn't have on my quiet shoes today, I had on my heels (no time to change). All I could do was shake my head. Leave it up to me to wear heels in the deafening silence of a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

At that moment, Mom was completely coherent. Other times throughout our visit, she was not. She still has a million tubes everywhere, including the drain tube and central line. I understand how painful that is and imagine that she will feel better once that is out.

We have no idea how she will progress from here, but at least we are seeing progress...and I'm good with that.

It's going to be a long road, but she's a fighter and this will all be behind us soon.

I have my Dorothy shoes ready for me to slip on in a few hours...this time she will have no warning that I'm on my way.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for your emails, concern and prayers. I named off a whole list to her today of people that have asked me to tell her that they are thinking about her and praying for her...I think she heard about every third name...she nodded that she heard me...and I know how much she appreciates you all!

Happy Birthday Tanner!

January 23, 2010

~~~

Addie was invited to Tanner's 4th Birthday Party and it was awesome!

I am always in awe of the people that can put together and pull off a party for a gazillion kids.

Tanner's party was all about dinosaurs - everyone dug for dinosaur bones, made goodie bags with dinosaur crayons, stickers and stamps and then made a dinosaur craft before digging into the cake.

We had a fabulous time and were more than honored to share this time with Tanner!

Unlike the other compliant children, Addie didn't want to wear her safety goggles or lab coat.

That was some tough work and Addie had no problem letting me do the hard part!

Thank you Kim for inviting us - YOU did a fabulous job!

Progress

off the vent, on pain meds

Thank You

for the prayers, concern and emails.

As of a few minutes ago, Mom is having a tough time. Vent is still in, she has a low-grade fever, limited pain meds and has been sick. I really was hoping the vent would be out by now and she would be comfortable, but apparently, the pain meds are being limited in order to get her to wake up more and get well enough to take the vent out.

I know it's all "normal", "typical", "standard" and "to be expected"...still doesn't make it any easier - for any of us.

I really hope tomorrow will be better and we will see a good improvement.

I'll update when I can - tomorrow is going to be one heck of a busy day.

All Went Well

The surgery took about four hours and everything is so far going well. She is in ICU, still not awake, but looks good -considering.

Rushing to get to Addie before daycare closes (chris is driving)

More updates later

Thank you for all of the prayers!!!!

-------
And YES we are heading to go vote....no more reminders are needed! :)

Things I Learned Today

~Cardiologists are mortal

~I ask way more questions than the average person

~Surgeons squirm when questioned on hospital levels of infectious disease and staph prevention protocol

~Six antibacterial wipes do not fully clean the sitting surface of a chair in a patients room

~Valets sing way off key and park my SUV way too close to cars that cost more than I make in one year

~I, apparently, look as if I work in a hospital and am available to direct people to their destinations

~HIPAA prevents nurses from sharing information in private patient rooms, but allows physicians to share information in busy hospital hallways

~The mortality rate for the average cardiac bypass patient is only 2 in 100

~Meatloaf looks like the ground up remains of Milo and/or Otis

~There is no other reason that my Mother is alive right now other than by the Grace of GOD, because this nations top notch cardiologists cannot seem to catch a massive coronary block although they have been advised by a mere little Internist for six months that the problem existed

~Top notch cardiologists should listen to lowly little GP's, FP's and Internists

~It should take approximately three hours to slice my Mother open, crack her chest bone, reroute her heart and put her back together

~Although my Dad went through it twice and recovered nicely, the procedure is still terrifying to think about

~There was no time to weigh any options, it is now or never

~~~My family could use your prayers~~~

The Sweetest Heart

January 21, 2011
~~~

Chris and I are constantly humbled by the amazing generosity from the least obvious of places.

Some of you will remember my post about the co-worker who read the blog and offered to make the slipcover for Addie's walker.

Two years have passed and she is still reading the blog (wow). Months and months will pass between the time that I run into her. This time our meeting just so happened to be the week of Addie's surgery. She stopped me to tell me that she wanted to make a treat for Addie and Julien since they had both been sick.

How amazingly sweet. The small, thoughtful gestures like that just completely wow me. This lady is amazing, sweet and awfully talented...and so very appreciated!

He only thought he was going to get out of taking an "appreciation photo".

All In The Eyes Of The Beholder...

January 15, 2011

~~~~

We were feeling slightly confident after our success with the Disney characters in Orlando, so when I read that the Backyardigans would be at a nearby shopping center, I figured there were worse ways that we could possibly spend an afternoon.

Chris, Addie and I decided to head out for the meet and greet and it was a good thing that we had another stop to make in that part of town, otherwise it would have been an awfully long drive for a five minute fright fest.

First of all, I realize that the characters were dressed really lame, but considering that Addie thought they were beyond awesome - from a distance - that's all that mattered.

As soon as she saw them, she started dancing to the theme song that I imagine was going through her head.

She was perfectly fine with them, just as long as they kept their distance and didn't try to touch her or come near her.

It was neat enough - considering it was FREE entertainment.

Our trek out to that part of town wasn't solely to visit the Backyardigans, my husband had business of his own to tend to - a trip to Bass Pro Shop.

I actually do like the Bass Pro Shop, but going in there with Addie is like a trip to the dentist for me. It has to be done, there's no way around it and as soon as I walk through the door, I realize that the whole experience just sucks rocks.

I don't know what it is with Addie and the Bass Pro Shop.

I think that it very well could be the hundreds (possibly thousands) of dead, stuffed animals lurking on every available space on the floor, walls, ceiling, tables and fake tree in the place.

It never fails, we walk through the door and she starts crying.

This time, she was crying so hard that a lady came over with her dog...which, I had no idea dogs were allowed in Bass Pro Shop...and this poor dog was seriously concerned.

I'm not sure if he was concerned about Addie's welfare or if he was concerned about his possible hearing loss, but whatever it was, he really wanted Addie to stop crying.

Somewhere along the way, Addie did stop crying and we made our way upstairs to the arsenal.

While Chris and I were looking at the deer hunting cameras, Addie spotted a dead, stuffed beaver right at her eye level.

As her little hand went to touch the beaver, I moved her hand away and told her, "no touching".
I told her that we do not touch the animals, we just look.

She was fine with it and was content to stare at every last detail on this poor animal.

When we started to walk away, another couple started browsing in the same area.

I was minding my own business when Addie all of a sudden held up her hands and yelled,

"no touching!".

She scared me so bad that I stopped and turned to look behind me and that's when I saw the couple step back and hold their hands up and start to laugh.

Apparently the lady had tried to touch the dead, stuffed beaver and Addie caught her.

At that point, I had to explain to this poor couple that we had just had a long conversation about not touching dead animals and I apologized for my little nosey dictator.

During it all, I couldn't help but realize that Addie must have been paying attention...and understood exactly what I had said to her.

That's my girl.

Thing 2

Thing 1 refused to participate in the photography session.
When anyone calls Thing 2, she comes running while saying, "Twoooooo".
She thinks she is such a funny little thing...

Picture of the Day

January 14, 2011

Thank You Mother Nature

January 10, 2011

~~~

As I was begging for embarrassed pity from our Northern Neighbors, I was so relieved that the State of Alabama was completely shut down for our winter ice storm.

You all must remember, I have Yankee Blood coursing through my veins. The Alabama heat, humidity and bugs just makes me absolutely insane and I daydream of those islands 3000 miles from where I sit. The islands where when the meteorologist warns of a winter ice storm, you better batten down the hatches and pray you don't go into labor.

I dream of taking Julien back one day to see it all...and then James Spann snaps me back to reality and out the windows of my home (for which I am oh so grateful for), I see what it was that gave me one more day to recuperate from the flu before having to return to work.