Doing Well!

After 1 1/2 hours in surgery, he was finally out! We were getting very concerned because we were told that he would be about 30 minutes. Well, once they decided to take out the adenoids, they had to start an IV and intubate him. They had much trouble getting an IV in. It took at least 15 pokes, and they finally got one in his foot. He's got 10 little poke marks on his hands alone! Thank goodness he was asleep and I wasn't there! Then during the case the endotracheal tube became obstructed. Apparently they noticed this because his heart rate dropped significantly and oxygenation began to drop also. So, they had to place a new tube.

And the findings:

1. He still had "Glue Ear" pretty severely.
2. The first set of tubes were in REAL good and took a lot of work to get out.
3. The new set of tubes are in REAL good and supposedly are not going anywhere.
4. After all the work on IVs and intubation, they got his adenoids out without any troubles.
5. God gave me strength not to go APE on the nurse anesthetist and anesthesiologist after I saw all the little holes in my baby's hands, wrists, arms, and feet.
6. I was very appreciative that things are getting taken care of.
7. I think that our son is trying to end up in a medical journal. I told him that he might as well give up on that melarky, because it's not going to happen.
8. We're still going south! We leave tonight or tomorrow for the big city and fly out Thursday!

In Surgery

Bug is in surgery as we speak. They decided to take out adenoids. They just finished his tubes and now are taking out the adenoids. He's been in the OR for an hour now...feels like forever. Hopefully we'll have him in our arms soon! Thanks for your prayers. Got some cute photos in his hospital jammies...will post later.

Updates

We went to see our ENT doctor yesterday. Bug's ears are still having bloody drainage and look infected. Since we have tried topical and oral antibiotics and it hasn't seemed to fix these issues, we are going back to surgery...Monday...7:15am.

The doctor thinks that he is reacting to the material that the tubes are made of. So she plans on putting new ones made of different material in. Also, there is a high probability that he will have his adenoids taken out as well. If she decides during surgery that the adenoids need to come out, they will intubate him and put an IV in. He will then be under anesthesia for about 30 minutes.

We are doing okay. Of course, a little anxious because we're going back to surgery. We know that God is in control though and have comfort in that! We would love your prayers if you think of it. In addition to praying for Bug, please pray for his doctor, nurse, anesthesiologist, nurse anesthetist, and surgical tech who will be in the operating room. I know that this surgery is fairly common and routine, but as parents, we are still a tad nervous. I hope our little Bug gets things fixed this time around!

December Snow!!

December has come...and so has the snow!! We went outside for a whopping 5 minutes. Baby it's cold outside!!! During those 5 minutes, we had a rip-roaring-snot-blowing-good-ole-time.

Glue Ears?

Here's an update on the Bug's ears...

*3 1/2 weeks ago he had tubes placed.

*2 1/2 weeks ago was his post-op check up. Failed his tympanogram. Both tubes were blocked. Right ear infection. Treated with drops for 7 days. Had lots of GROSS ear drainage that first looked like rubber cement and then morphed into a sero-sanguinous drainage.

*Today we had another checkup. Failed his tympanogram. Tubes no longer blocked though. Left ear infection. Drops for another 3 days. Oral antibiotic for 10 days. What's next? Another check up in 2 weeks. If things aren't cleared up, then we'll do an X-ray of his adenoids to see if the tissue is enlarged. If so, we'll go ahead with another surgery to remove those. If possible, they like to wait with adenoids until he's older because he has to be intubated in surgery and the risk of damage is greater since he is small. I went into the appointment feeling discouraged that these tubes weren't working. After some reassurance, I'm now a little more hopeful that things are going to clear up without the surgery. The NP said that he had "Glue Ears," which means that the fluid in his ears was glue-like consistency. Kids who have that bad of fluid on their ears often have a couple of ear infections while the fluid is being cleared out. The reason antibiotics never worked for him before the tubes was that the fluid was so thick that the antibiotics could not penetrate past the surface...hence they were never clear...hence Glue Ears...hence our current situation.

I felt bad for him...so...I bought him a stuffed Elmo...
and he is obsessed with it. He can't stop hugging and kissing him. I wanted to take a picture, but my dang batteries are dead. Stupid Batteries. They are charging. I hope he still loves Elmo after his nap!

Check out this cute blog!

This lady is cute and crafty. Check out her blog @ V and Co.
She reminds me of Martha Stewart, but cooler!

Frozen Tundra?

What a beautiful day in the Frozen Tundra (as some of my friends like to call it). I say, "That's the nice way of putting it." I love being a mom...have you ever heard me say that? We had a play-date with a couple of our MOPS friends at a local play-land. Bug really enjoys playing on the cars and going down the slide. Mr. Fixit had the day off. His morning started with a little bit of bird hunting. We went on a family hike this afternoon in a beautiful park. I love Fall with all of the colorful leaves- it is my second favorite season, next to summer. But, what I love almost equally is when I get a chance to sneak in a few last days of fall before Jack Frost makes his way here. Today was one of those days...we hardly ever have 60 degree days in November! Stay away, Jack, we don't want you yet!!
Mr. Fixit took this photo of Bug and I on our hike.
I did say that I love being a mom, right? Each day we are learning new things- Bug's vocabulary is growing. He's able to communicate with us more and more. It's so nice that he can tell us what he wants sometimes! What a blessing he is to us.

Work all day...

There is no rest for toddlers! Here's his early used Christmas present. I've been fretting the cold subzero temperatures that are to come and was trying to brainstorm activities we could do this winter to keep from getting cabin fever. I'm a huge fan of the local activities (i.e. library, indoor park thinggy, etc., etc.), but I don't think that I'll be a fan taking him out too much when we are at peak sick season. Our little play set will hopefully come in handy. Then it's playdough, books, youtube (yes, we are a fan of sesame street on youtube), and whatever other fun exciting crafts and projects mommy can think of. I liked the idea of a kitchen set for him to play with...but...achem...apparently that is not acceptable! ha-ha! No hard feelings Dad...I mean, anonymous person who thinks a kitchen set is a bad idea!

But for now...we are enjoying each day of beautiful fall weather that we can. I think tomorrow mommy will bring out the lawn chair and watch Bug play outside all day while she catches up on her reading!

Bug and Little Mister. Check out those curls he's getting!


Playing in the window-well.

What a cutie!

Tradition...Tradition!

Well, we can now call it Tradition. Each Halloween, we get Bug dressed up and bring him over to family and friends' houses. Each time we get to Will and Rita's, he is fast asleep!
Last Year...

and this year!

We did have a good time over at the Peskes. Bug decided to wake up and play with his buddy Ben.

Baby got some NEW ears!

Yesterday was the BIG surgery day! Bug got tubes put in. We went to the hospital at 6:00am. Had surgery at 7:30am and were leaving the hospital by 9:30am. He was a little fussy for the first part of the morning, but by 11:00, he was back to himself! Amazing how quick it went. Hopefully we are IN with tubes and OUT with ear infections!!

H1N1 is pretty bad in our town. The hospitals have restricted visitors. School attendance is down like 30%. It's all anyone talks about!

Do you find that H1N1 is all you talk about? Well, here is a happy baby you can look at and talk about to get your mind off all the bad things happening in the world!! My healthy, ear infection free, growing boy, who loves puppies, balls, and dadda!

Beautiful Fall Day

Weekend

We had a great weekend with my family. Mom, Dad, and Kayla made it up. Bug was busy playing with everyone. He's starting to say "Nana" and "Papa." I think I have to let him say Papa instead of Boppa because when he wants to play with a ball he says "Ball-Ball". Well, those two just sound a little too much alike...but we'll see what happens! This morning he was asking for "Papa" and went to his little photo album and pointed to Papa. So cute!
Our Cozette is back. She made a quick trip to Petsmart for grooming. It's so sad looking at my beautiful Cavalier with no hair on her ears! Hopefully her hair will grow quickly. I think Macy is driving her crazy. But, the Bug has taken quite an interest in tackling Macy- so surely Cozette enjoys that show!
The men worked on plumbing this weekend! Here are their prized cast iron cut-outs! Mr. Fixit has his 3 inch pipe, and Dad has his 4 inch pipe. Us girls made them take a picture of their pipes before the weekend was over!
And there you have it...the Bug...the men...and their pipes! Ferocious! Mr. Fixit did want to point out that he made a cut on that big pipe too...and that the picture is a little bit misleading! I'm so happy that our new bathroom is almost plumbed! Can't wait to get the bathroom furniture in there! (Is that what you call the shower, vanity, and toilet?)

Fall Comfort Foods

What types of recipes do you love once the weather starts getting colder?? We grill all summer...and once fall comes, it seems that all of our recipes are soups and casseroles. Can't forget the cookies. Bug helped make cookies for his "Nana" and "Papa" who are coming this weekend! Mr. Fixit and "Papa" are going to be plumbing the basement.

pumpkin patch!

We went to the pumpkin patch today. Beautiful day, but windy! Good thing the patch has lots of trees to block the wind. Bug enjoyed the outing. He's been indoors the past two days sick. Still have lots of snuffles, but hopefully it's getting better :)

Into it all!

Did you say something??? Hold on, I can't hear you. Let me clean out my ears...

Oh, you think I'm into EVERYTHING??
Hey, give me a break...I'm 17 months old!!

The year of the yard...

As we speak, the yard is being watered. If we spoke earlier today, it was while the yard was being watered. If we speak this afternoon or evening, please note that it will be while the yard is being watered. Why this craziness? We overseeded on Sunday with hopes to get really nice grass. You know, the kind you want to roll around in? So, this is my yard before, and here it is at present...

I know, it looks like we need to bail it!

Bug is cuter than ever...so is his buddy Ben! They had a great time at the carnival playing on the blow up slide with the big kids! Bug wanted to get into the dunk tank too. Oh, and look who's walking in my shoes!

Wednesday and Wired

Well, Bug had a horrible last couple of nights. He was up for the majority of both nights. 1st Night was with dad, and last night was with me. Good thing I was on a night schedule (worked the last 3 nights). He woke up at 1:00 and I put him back to bed at 1:30. Then he was up from 4:00 on. We went to MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) registration today. That should be fun :)

Mr. Fixit is working like mad to get the basement done. Saturday he and a buddy rented a cement saw and jackhammer and cut the drains for the bathroom. Of course, there had to be a little problem that they ran into...there was a sewer line/pipe that popped out of nowhere while they were cutting, and the jackhammer went right into the lid of the pipe. So, they were taking on a bit of gas! Eww...

The landscaping is complete! E and I (hee-hee sounds funny) finished laying the mulch on Saturday. Everything looks great. Photos to come. And we are enjoying green peppers and tomatoes from the garden. BLTs today for lunch!

And now...I'm off to nap...Bug is pretty much comatose...I think I'll join.

Water Boy!

We've been spending lots of time in the water! Bug is loving it. He loves being sprayed with the garden hose (very therapeutic for mommy!). We made it to the little wade pool. And Grandma gave him coffee. Between Grandma Kelly giving him Diet Mt. Dew and Grandma Bug giving him coffee, rest assured that he's getting his caffeine intake! Also had fun picking raspberries at P & A's. By the way, just ran a spell check on raspberries---why is there a "p" in the word? Does anyone pronounce it that way? Maybe the Aussies do! Got lots done on the home-front the past couple of weeks. More boards are going up downstairs, kitchen was painted (color: banana pudding), towel bar fixed in the bathroom, screens fixed on the doors, and I can't remember what else. Oh, and we bought a van!! It's a 2007 Honda Odyssey...very nice!