Life with Premature Boys

No Training Wheels!!

2010-09-29T20:00:00.004-05:00

Elias made a huge step in development this afternoon at Gigi and Bobpop's house. He is officially riding his bike without training wheels! The begging began about two months ago to get out the wrench and take off the safety net. We raised the wheels around June and then again in August. He has been practicing riding down the sidewalk without either training wheel "making noise" for the past month. Finally today my dad decided it was time and off he went! He didn't struggle and was zooming up and down the hill for about 20 minutes.

We kept warming Elias to SLOW DOWN and not ride like a kamikaze. He didn't listen and the result wasn't pretty. Rounding a corner, he clipped a patch of grass and spun out. I heard his skin scrape across the sidewalk from my parent's front porch. Once I reached him he was crying and bloody. Carson walked his bike back to the house for him and I carried the soon to be band-aid boy.

Once he was bandaged up and had sufficient hug time, he was back on the bike and zooming down the hill again. Lesson NOT learned but boys will be boys and Elias is ALL boy!

National Museum of the United States Air Force

2010-09-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

Al's parents were up for Labor Day weekend and instead of sitting around the house and twiddling our thumbs, we decided to pack up the cars and head off on an adventure. The National Air Force Museum was within driving distance and as an added bonus is free so it won first prize on our trip list. We all had an amazing time learning out the history of our U.S. Air Force. The boys couldn't believe how big the planes were and even were able to experience a flight simulator. There was a model airplane air show on the base during our visit and those plane were fantastic! Carson and Elias loved when the models flipped and zoomed past our heads just like real fighter jets. Ohio also blessed us with the perfect early fall day for our excursion.

Great family. Perfect weather. Free admission. History. Learning. Who could ask for more?!

Give me a K!

2010-09-01T14:24:00.004-05:00

Elias began kindergarten this morning after a long week of waiting. Every morning during the past seven days, Elias woke up, ran to our bedroom,and asked if it was his turn to go to school yet. The official day finally arrived and he couldn't have been more excited. After deliberating over three different outfits he settled on a pair of jean shorts and a green polo shirt. Since green is his favorite color Elias decided it would be easier for his teacher to remember if he wore it the first day.

Breakfast consisted of mango juice and wild blueberry oatmeal in addition to his usual gummy vitamins. With his hair properly moused and his teeth brushed we headed out to the front porch to take the obligatory first day of school pictures. After countless cheesy grins and a few squabbles between the boys it was time for Carson's driver to pick him up and Elias and I to walk to school. We stopped two doors down to pick up one of his good buddies who we are fortunate enough to have in his class.

The two boys enjoyed walking to their first day of "big kid school" together and walked hand in hand into the elementary school by themselves. I thought I would be sad to see our teeny baby growing up and heading off to kindergarten but Elias is enthralled with school and incredibly ready for the year ahead. I can't wait to see the explosion of learning that will take place in the next nine months. Kindergarten is so much fun!

We're going to the

2010-08-28T21:15:00.005-05:00

ZOO, zoo, zoo! Today was a gorgeous late August day in Ohio. The sky was perfectly blue and it was only in the mid 80s. Al and I both were off from work so we packed up the boys and headed to the zoo. It seemed like most of our neighbors decided it was a great day for visiting animals too. The zoo was packed!

Carson and Elias wanted to head straight to the aquarium to see the manatees, stingrays, and sharks. They even were able to touch a few various sea animals with the help of zoo staff.

Next up was the reptile house. The boys both pet a snake right off the back. We carefully observed all of the pythons, vipers, rattlesnakes, and gila monsters before heading back out into the sun.

The primate area was calling our name so we walked down the path to the sounds of monkeys and gibbons. One of the large silver back gorillas was putting on a show. We were able to watch a few of the baby monkeys and see two red river hogs. Elias thought it was awesome that the monkeys had a playground with monkey bars! That is until he saw there was monkey poo all over the slide. Then he kept calling them dirty little monkeys.

Carson was tired at this point so we headed towards the car. Thankfully our zoo membership allows us to pop in for a few animals here and there and not worry about wasting money on a short trip. Until next time animals!!

First day of second grade!

2010-08-25T18:47:00.003-05:00

Today was the first day of second grade for Carson. He was very excited this morning and couldn't wait to get dressed, eat, and head out the door. Last night he carefully picked out his outfit and draped it over his desk chair. This morning he was starving and ate two strawberry waffles and two servings of apple cinnamon oatmeal washed down with a large glass of milk. Our obligatory first day of school pictures took place after face washing and teeth brushing. Elias had to peek his head in a couple of them too. I will have more information about his new school, IEP, and wonderful staff in our new district. Let's keep our fingers crossed for a fabulous school year ahead.

Four eyes

2010-08-09T20:19:00.003-05:00

Today's eye doctor appointment added another small complexity to our lives. Carson is getting glasses just in time for the start of second grade. With a father who is nearly blind without assistance and a mother who has a killer astigmatism, Carson didn't stand a chance. We must have tried on a thousand pairs of frames this afternoon. After much debate (and a little whining), he decided on a nice, navy blue pair. The finished product should arrive in about 10 days and training on how to care for glasses begins. Carson only has to wear them at school and while watching television so hopefully recess/play/sport accidents won't be an issue.

Here's a sneak peek of our new little bookworm

Book review coming soon!

2010-08-03T15:44:00.003-05:00

Stay tuned for my review of The Preemie Primer by Dr. Jennifer Gunter. I am just about finished devouring all of the preemie goodness that fills its' pages and can't wait to add another terrific reference for our preemie community. While you are patiently waiting for my input, feel free to stop by www.preemieprimer.com to see what all of the buzz is about.

Photo Update

2010-07-29T20:17:00.002-05:00

Crawling out from under my rock

2010-07-07T21:34:00.003-05:00

Happy July everyone! I know the past three months have been sparse on posts to say the least but I really do have good reasons for not being on the computer. Life is wonderfully busy and our family is enjoying our limited time together without technology in the way. So far this summer has been jammed packed with meetings, appointments, deadlines, work, school, fun, and moving. We officially closed on our house Friday June 4th and began painting and moving in that weekend. Al and I couldn't have made a better choice for our home. We love everything about it and can't imagine being anywhere else. Carson and Elias are bouncing between their rooms, the basement, and the yard at whirlwind speed. It is great to see them spread their wings and truly enjoy their own space for the first time in their lives.

Carson is spending the summer as a peer model in an autistic private school. He goes every weekday except Tuesdays from 9-4 and have transformed into a responsible,calm, level headed child. We have seen a dramatic change in his personality since leaving his old school and we are hopeful for a successful school year in our new district. It seems like every week he grows taller and gets smarter. He is already in size 3 shoes for goodness sakes! He has rediscovered The Boxcar Children chapter books and we frequently find him in his room reading at his desk or on his bed. Unfortunately that is about the only time his bed gets used because since our move, he refuses to sleep in it and instead chooses to sleep on the floor under one of his windows. We are at a loss on how to remedy this sleeping situation but for now he is happy on the floor and getting sleep so we aren't pushing it. Carson is extremely caring and we have finally (knock on wood) found a schedule and medication regimen that allows him to love his life and be successful. It is amazing to see what a difference the past year has brought.

Elias is a ball of energy in constant motion with continuous talking. He is spreading his wings and testing limits as expected for a five year old. We took a giant leap of faith in May and removed his feeding tube to see how his growth would be without supplemental calories. He is proud of his MIC-Key-less stomach and shows off his new scar to all of his friends. So far eating and growth have been on the low end and he has lost some weight. We are choosing to monitor growth and utilize a positive feeding program all summer and reevaluate in the fall. He still aspirates but has managed to stay clear of pneumonia for most of the year. Elias made it through the winter without a single inpatient stay for the first time in his life. His blue snake AFOs are getting a little small but we won't be getting new braces for 6 months or so. Elias will start kindergarten in the fall and tested with amazing results this spring in all areas except attention span and functional feeding skills. He is adding, subtracting, spelling, and reading simple books. We've come a long way in five years and the future looks promising!

Al is soaring with his new career and couldn't be happier. He's learning the joys of home ownership. I bought him a grill for father's day and he is becoming one heck of a grill master. We have enjoyed having friends and family over for cookouts at the new house.

I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off. School is fantastic and I know it was the right time to continue my education and get my NNP. Clinical hours started full time this summer and I am learning the NNP role at a delivery hospital. My preceptors are excellent and have both been NNPs for over 20 years. I'm learning my skills and how to juggle being the one giving the orders as opposed to the staff RN. Work has been difficult this summer with a few unexpected tragedies and changes but I'm excited to enter my new role on our unit next summer. Al surprised me with a new porch swing for our 8th anniversary and we spend our free nights swinging and listening to the sounds of our new neighborhood. I couldn't ask to be more blessed.

New pictures and posts to come next week. I am going to try to post at least once a week since this is not only a blog but documentation of our boys growing up.

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T21:26:00.001-05:00

In all of the chaos of school, moving, growing boys, and life in general I thought I would take a minute to post an important reminder. *thanks to AD for the words*

Memorial Day

Most of us will spend the weekend grilling burgers and visiting with relatives, or lounging on a beach somewhere, or watching a baseball game in an opulent stadium, overpriced beer and hot dog in hand. And most of us will have forgotten the meaning of the day.

So when you partake in your Memorial Day festivities this weekend, try to remember a few things.

When the smoke from the grill blows into your eyes, try to imagine the terror of the young pilot as the smoke fills the cockpit of his F4 Wildcat, spiraling into the sea off Guadalcanal.

When you sample those pork ribs, remember the Iowa farm boy whose life blood stained the surf at Normandy.

When you eat a bite of potato salad, think of an Idaho preacher’s kid who died with a prayer on his lips, asking God to forgive him for the enemy soldiers’ lives he had taken.

While you enjoy the warm summer sun on your face, take a moment to think of the frozen bodies of American soldiers strapped to jeeps and tanks at the Chosin Reservoir.

When you welcome your niece’s new boyfriend to the table, remember the black kid from Mississippi who died right beside his white buddies in Vietnam, though he wasn’t even allowed to eat in the same restaurants back home.

When you scold your misbehaving grandchild, think of the little boy whose only knowledge of his father will come from stories told by family, because Daddy died on a dusty street in Fallujah while he was still in the womb.

When you fetch your wife another glass of tea, think of a young wife living in base housing at Fort Benning, as she hears the news that her husband died at Ia Drang.

When you invite Grandpa to say grace before the meal, think of young men cut down by a hail of fire from a Maxim at Belleau Wood.

When you reflect with pride on your daughter’s recent graduation, think of a young woman cartwheeling into the sea in her F14 Tomcat after a failed carrier landing.

When you look with distaste at the tattoos on her new boyfriend, think instead of the former gang kid from Detroit who found a way up and out of poverty in the Army, only to die from an IED blast in Baghdad. And remind yourself that what matters is how he treats your daughter, not the ink on his arms.

Whilst you enjoy your beer and bratwurst, remember the 19 -year-old Army private who died in a training accident in Grafenwohr in 1960, one of many young men who knew they’d be little more than a speed bump should the Russians ever come pouring through the Fulda Gap. Yet still, they served.

When you sit at the table, think of a Navy Captain, a husband and father, who died at his Pentagon desk on September 11. His death was no less honorable.

If you’re traveling today, think of the passengers of United Flight 93, for in a field outside Shanksville they became the first soldiers in our war on terror.

When your boys fight, as boys will do, remember the boys on both sides who died at Gettysburg.

If a loved one can’t make it to the gathering today, think of Mrs. Bixby and her five sons.

While your kids play in the pool this afternoon, think of other kids not much older, trapped below decks as the Arizona went under at Pearl Harbor.

If you have bemoaned the layoffs of friends and co-workers in the recent economic crisis, think of the Navy SEAL who lost every single one of his teammates on a rainy night in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.

When you take a shower tonight, think of young men reeking of machine oil and sweat, desperately trying, and failing, to surface their wounded submarine somewhere in the Pacific in 1943.

**********

I tell you of these things not to spoil your appetite or your day, but to remind you that the things we enjoy in our lives are made all the sweeter when you consider what made them possible.

Remind yourself also that your sacrifice is infinitely easier. All you need do is sacrifice a moment of your time every few years to pull a lever. The way to honor a dead soldier is not simply to fly a flag on Memorial Day. Vote to preserve the freedoms they died defending. Elect leaders worthy of those rough young men and women who stand ready to do violence on your behalf.

And stop by your local Veteran’s Cemetery and put out some flowers on the grave of your choice. It need not even be the grave of someone you know.

Bring your children along, and explain to them why. It’s important

Builder Boys

2010-04-24T12:49:00.000-05:00

Saturday mornings our local Lowes has amazing workshops scheduled for children to learn how to build and garden. The classes and materials are free and all you have to do is sign up on-line. This morning the workshop was building bird feeders. The boys strapped on their aprons and goggles and got to work.

The hammering throughout Lowes was loud and constant as C and E banged nails into wood pieces as the directions demonstrated. Carson was a great helper to Elias and surprisingly they both had fairly decent hammering skills. I braved getting my fingers mashed several times to hold pieces in place while Elias whacked away. Thankfully there were no incidents and I will still be able to work this afternoon in the NICU.

After finishing their bird feeders they each received directions on how to properly feed birds in the neighborhood including which seed was best for each bird species. The best part was showing off their feeders with proud smiles as we walked out of the store. They told everyone we passed how they just built the feeders "all by themselves". Lowes also gives the children a patch to sew onto their aprons after completing each workshop. I can't wait to sew them on!

First Time!

2010-04-12T22:31:00.000-05:00

Al and I placed an offer on a house this afternoon and the buyers accepted this evening! We will be first time home owners if everything goes as planned by the beginning of June. After eight years of apartment/condo living I can honestly say that the idea of living in our own home with a yard and bedrooms for the kids is incredibly exciting. Our realtor is amazing and we can't wait to experience all of the ups and downs of the home buying process over the next 6-7 weeks.

In an interesting twist of fate, the house we eventually chose is in the neighboorhood I grew up in. It is the only property we looked at in this area and the last house we viewed. Once we walked in, the house immediately felt like home and we couldn't ignore it. C and E love the back yard and the finished basement. They are already planning our garden and the cookouts we'll have with their friends. I love watching their faces light up when they are planning their own rooms.

An added bonus on top of everything else is the $8,000 tax credit we qualify for. When we started searching for houses (again), we truly did not consider the tax credit because we thought it would be awhile before finding "the one". Surprise! We found our home and are in contract within the established time frame and should close with plenty of time for the deadline. Now we have to pass the inspection, finalize our mortgage, and pack all of our things. The only problem I'm having is controlling my desire to buy all kinds of new things for the house!

Chicken Fun

2010-04-10T14:40:00.000-05:00

On a whim we took the boys out for lunch at Chic-fil-A. We do not usually eat at this restaurant but the boys begged us as we drove by so we stopped. They gobbled up the chicken and fruit salad and pleaded with Al to go play on the playground. After having two preemies the thought of germs on community restaurant playgrounds sends chills up our backs. Thankfully the boys are finally at a point where we aren't worried about lung-related hospitalizations from every little virus out there. That little voice inside your head that has developed through extreme prematurity parents still yells out, "NO!" when the occasion arises. Change is hard. :)

C and E had a blast chasing each other through the tunnels and climbing up the ladders. The playground was empty except for the screams of the boys and my camera snapping pictures. Al has learned to live with my constant photo documentation during normal, everyday activities. They are growing up so fast that I don't want to miss any of it!

Toothless

2010-04-09T21:18:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not talking about the new found gaps in Carson's smile. We decided to take the boys to see How to Train Your Dragon this afternoon. C and E have been wanting to see it and Al had some time off of work so off we went. The movie theater was happy because we splurged and bought both boys a movie kid pack to enjoy during the movie. The theater was pretty full for a matinee showing but we were able to score perfect seats. Heading to the movies with the boys has certainly become easier over the years and now we are actually able to enjoy the show instead of referee and tend to constant needs/wants.

The movie was fun and both boys now want a pet dragon named Toothless. They came home and immediately began telling our dog Macy all about the new friend she was going to have and how she shouldn't be afraid because dragons are really nice. I would recommend seeing this movie if you have adventurous kiddos like ours. It was not too long and the storyline kept the boys entertained. Too bad we won't be getting a pet dragon named Toothless anytime soon!

Tigger-ific!

2010-04-08T21:01:00.000-05:00

This morning the boys and I had the pleasure of joining one of my good friends from work and her two children for a play date. Amanda and I choose to take the four rascals to a local "bounce house" since it was a rainy, grey day. We are two smart mommies! Whoever came up with the idea of an indoor gym filled with bouncy houses and mazes was a genius. It was only a total of $10 for the kids to bounce and run all of their energy out for the entire morning. I can't think of another way to spend ten dollars that would have been more beneficial to my afternoon studying and mental health. Oh, and the kids had a blast too!

After all of the bouncing had finished and the kids started complaining about their legs being tired, we headed off to grab some lunch. With four kids under the age of seven, our dining experience needed to be fast and accepting of noise. They agreed on Wendy's and off we went. Amanda and I could tell the kids were fading fast but they gobbled up their food and had an impromptu art session at the table. While the kids created works of art, Amanda and I were able to chat and relax a bit. We noticed yawns and some bickering back and forth so our play date was over and we said goodbye until the next time. I hauled the boys to the car and buckled them into their booster seats only to pull away and see this in my rear view mirror.

What a play date indeed.

Field Trip

2010-04-07T18:48:00.004-05:00

The boys were able to go on a fantastic field trip today with their daycare. They hunted butterflies and learned about their life cycle. A huge layout of electric train models entertained Elias. Multiple indoor and outdoor waterfalls fascinated Carson. Crafts were crafted and gifted to parents. There even was a park and playground. It goes without saying that both boys are asleep already and it's only 7:30. Hooray for field trips, butterflies, and early bed times.

Hoppy Easter

2010-04-04T18:40:00.001-05:00

Al's parents came up for the holiday weekend and it was amazing to spend time with them once again. We miss them like crazy and wish they would migrate north (hint, hint!). The weather turned out beautiful although Saturday afternoon was incredibly windy. Mr. Easter Bunny hopped over and delivered two baskets of goodies for the boys filled with their typical art supplies and a bit of candy. Check out the new shades the bunny gifted Carson and Elias too.

Mr. Conductor

2010-03-24T14:37:00.001-05:00

You want soap with that?

2010-03-10T22:03:00.002-05:00

This evening at the dinner table Eli fell off his chair (again) and out of his precious little mouth came, "Crap!". Carson looked at me and Eli tried to read my reaction. I said, "What did you say? You know that is a bad word and we don't say it".

He stared straight into my eyes and asked, "Why? Are we only allowed to say SHIT?".

After stiffling my anger and laughter Al got a phone call about his potty mouth and Eli had an appetizer of soap. We are going to have our hands full with his sassy attitude in the future.

RIP Petey

2010-03-08T20:00:00.003-05:00

A wonderful dog died this morning. Our Pete Man was 13 years old and gave our family lots of love over the years. He will be sorely missed.

And the clouds parted....

2010-03-06T15:05:00.004-05:00

Thankfully the sun decided to show it's lovely face after months of hiding behind grey, snow filled clouds. The boys are recovering from strep and I am on day 4 out of 6 of antibiotics since they decided to share. Al is busy volunteering at the local fitness extravaganza today so we headed out to the park. About 6 inches of snow still campused the ground but the equipment was dry and the sky robin's egg blue. Carson and Elias sprinted to the castle park and were non-stop for about an hour. I snapped a few pictures in between navigating through the snow in my 2.5" heeled boots. Trust me, I didn't realize there would still be so much snow! Today was a glimpse into spring and we can't wait!!

Strep

2010-02-28T17:03:00.002-05:00

The boys are sick and Elias tested positive for strep yesterday. They both are hacking, feverish, miserable shells of their normally active selves. Al and I are showering them with loads of snuggling and comfort foods. Carson was on day 9 out of 10 of antibiotics for a sinus infection so he isn't on any new meds. Elias is now on a free antibiotics that should wipe the strep right out of him. Hopefully my boys will be feeling better in no time and I stay far away from any illness!

Snow Day!

2010-02-09T19:45:00.001-05:00

Two Extremes

2010-02-04T16:48:00.000-05:00

My boys are enjoying the two extremes of sandy beaches and snowy backyards this weekend. Both Carson and Elias can't get enough of the outdoors no matter what the weather. Amazingly children have the ability to find happiness in any situation. I wonder when that intrigue and bliss for the world starts to fade?

Carson playing in the snow as I get home from work

Elias enjoying the beach with Gigi and Bobpop (the sound was lost)

Beach Baby

2010-02-02T20:33:00.002-05:00

Our little Eli is having the time of his life in Florida with Gigi and Bobpop. I'm sure they are spoiling him rotten as usual. It should take about 3 weeks to get things back on schedule once "vacation time" is over but it's well worth it. We all miss him and the house is so different without his curly hair and class clown humor. Carson even said that he "can't wait until Eli is back!". After today's adventure on the beach, I'm sure coming home is the last thing on Eli's mind.

Check out our little man loving the ocean and playing with the waves.

Super Dogs

2010-01-27T19:32:00.004-05:00

Due to Eli's upcoming trip to Florida with Gigi and Bobpop, the boys and I drove over to the fabric store. I make the boys a new blanket every year for Christmas and they always pick out the fabric ahead of time. Elias is a bit nervous about being away from Mommy and Daddy for 10 days so he wanted a blanket that smelled like us to take with him. Unfortunately all of his train blankets are way to big to haul onto the plane. Carson also wanted another sensory blanket to snuggle with so I told them both to find a pattern they both agree on and I would get it. They found a nice doggie pattern that worked and we headed over to the "scrap" material to see if there was anything that matched the dog pattern's color scheme. We found just over a yard worth of solid red that fit perfectly.

After both blankets were finished and slept with overnight, Carson and Elias decided to play "Super Dogs" using their new found blanket capes! They had a blast running through the house saving dogs and pretending to be super heros. Certainly worth the ~$10 spent in fabric and 60 minutes of craftsmanship.

Super Dogs to the Rescue!!

I need a bigger lap

2010-01-17T21:51:00.002-05:00

Cloudy with a chance of sharing?

2010-01-16T00:05:00.000-05:00

Tonight the boys decided we would have movie night. I was cooking a feast for dinner and so we finished up at the grocery store and then headed over to the movie rental place. After much debate they convinced me to rent Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and G-Force. I picked up The Hurt Locker for our adult movie. We arrived home and once Al made his appearance, stuffed ourselves on pulled BBQ chicken, homemade four cheese mac and cheese, honey baked beans, potato salad, and slaw. Yummy! The boys couldn't wait to have their special movie night and they begged to have a private showing in their room.

Usually this would be a bad idea and lead to someone getting pushed, punched, or hit with a pillow but I was feeling nice. I set up the portable DVD player in their room and they spread out across Carson's bed with their snacks and blankets to watch the movie. The lights were turned out and laughter was heard on and off for two glorious hours. There was no pillow fighting. No hitting. No kicking. No teasing. I think G-Force puts a spell and children (at least ours!). Tomorrow we will see if meatballs have the same effect. It was great to see Carson and Eli enjoying time together and getting to feel a bit grown up. I know I say this every year but it's so rewarding to see the brotherly love and companionship develop. Here's to many more nights of bonding to come!

Why you don't run with your shoes untied!

2010-01-15T16:00:00.001-05:00

Carson learned the hard way today at recess that you should NEVER run with your shoes untied. Poor boy is all torn up and looks like he fell off a motorcycle. How he did this wearing a fleece pullover and a winter coat is beyond me. We even had to go out and buy bigger bandages! He's been practicing tying his shoes tighter all evening.

The String Bean

2010-01-15T11:40:00.000-05:00

Eli had a follow-up appointment with his physical medicine doctor this morning and he is growing! I was surprised when Carson had a friend over last week who just turned 7 and Eli was about the same height as him. I guess I shouldn't have been so shocked because he is TALL! He was 45.25 inches today which was quite a gain from his last appt in September. Unfortunately he is only growing up and not out. Our string bean lost about a pound and is down to 38 pounds. This puts him in the 97th% for height and the 50th% for weight. Who would have guessed he was a micropreemie? His weight-for-length ratio could use some work (<3rd%) but we'll get there.

Good news on his CP as well. His tone is a little tighter because of the quick linear growth but our stretching is really helping. He is still toe walking without his braces on but when you remind him he self corrects for a couple of steps. This is great progress. The doctor loved his blue snake AFOs (she had not seen them yet) but it looks like Elias won't be wearing this exact pair for much longer. He has already almost outgrown them and he's only had them since the fall! They think by his next appointment in May he will be ready to get casted for a new pair. Keep your fingers crossed that the insurance battle won't be too long!

Winter Gala

2010-01-14T20:39:00.000-05:00

The boys had a special evening planned with daycare for all of the parents last night. They had put together a winter gala complete with activity stations, snacks, and a performance from the older kids. It was so much fun to see them beam with pride. I love those boys!

Eli showing off his snowman picture

Carson standing by his "iceburg" with his penguin drawing

Eli's polar express picture with snowman background

I'm trying to edit the video of Carson reading his polar bear poem in their performance. Hopefully I'll have it up soon.

Japanese Snuggie

2010-01-02T19:55:00.001-05:00

Eli was "freezing" last night and insisted on being able to use my Snuggie to warm up. Since he has a terrible cold and is hacking like a chain smoker, I let go of common sense for a minute and wrapped him all up. Of course the traditional method of Snuggie wearing (albeit not extremely attractive) would not work for a 4.5 year old boy. Elias suggested we "burrito" him like we did when he was swaddled as a baby. This didn't work either so what were we left to do?

Meet Kimona Snuggie Elias!

It's Raining Roses

2010-01-01T22:49:00.001-05:00

After much anticipation and great adversity The Ohio State Buckeyes reign champion of the 2010 Rose Bowl! What a game! I can't wait to cheer on the team in the fall. Go Buckeyes!

All I want for New Year's....

2009-12-29T23:23:00.001-05:00

...is my two front teeth!

I kept telling Carson that it was only a matter of time before his top two teeth wiggled their way out of his mouth. We were hoping for Christmas but I guess today is close enough. Our baby lost his third and forth teeth this afternoon about 4 hours apart and is now sporting a wide, toothless grin. He wrote a creative note to the ToothFairy before bed and left both teeth for her on his nightstand. The Tooth Fairy may have boosted her usual fare of $2 per tooth since Carson provided a double whammy today. I can't wait to see his face when he discovers five $1 bills and a note in the morning. Let's just hope he doesn't try to whistle in excitement!

The Important Things

2009-12-25T23:52:00.000-05:00

As I sit here in bed at 11:38 on Christmas night I feel the need to write down the little things from this day that may get forgotten over time. I want to remember the little things like:

Eli going to bed with his snow boots on, hat in hand with his Polar Express ticket inside just in case the magical train pulled up outside our house to take him on a Christmas Eve adventure
Carson jumping two feet in the air when he saw the LEGO city construction box
Al's loving smile as he watched the boys share their new found toys with each other
My little sister being taken care of by her new husband since she spent Christmas day not feeling well
Carson opening Aunt Yaya and Uncle Keith's gift and telling them he loved it but had found it when he spent the night at their house last week and didn't want to tell him and ruin the surprise
Eli playing for hours on end with the Steaming Thomas battery train that Santa and his elves worked so hard on to make for him
Hearing Al's parents voices on the phone and wishing they were here to spend more time with us
Watching all the doggies cuddle together on the couch and take turns chewing on the ham bone outside
Having four generations together in the same room celebrating the birth of Christ
Realizing that I am incredibly blessed to have so many friends and family surrounding me in my life and to have the opportunity spend precious time with all of them

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T20:40:00.000-05:00

We tracked Santa on NORAD all evening as Carson exclaimed, "Rudolph really exists!". Carson and Elias carefully wrote their letter and laid it out amoung cookies and milk. They plugged in the Christmas lights and rushed to get jammies on and teeth brushed. We relaxed in my bed (since I'm not allowed up!) and read Christmas books until sleepy eyes were drooping. After kisses and hugs and Merry Christmas wishes the boys are sleeping soundly at 8:30 Christmas Eve.

What a magical time. I wouldn't miss any of this for the world!

Surgery (again)

2009-12-24T09:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had surgery and am now at home recovering. My full time nurse Al is taking excellent care of me in addition to both our boys. I was having intense pain for the past few months in my lower left quadrant and had chopped it up to pain from my previous surgeries (hysterectomy and endometriomas in my rectus muscle). Unfortunately it wasn't pain from previous surgeries and my ob/gyn needed to do surgery to see what was going on. The surgery was originally more involved and complicated but my amazing surgeon worked hard to keep it through the scope (almost two hours) so I wouldn't have to recover from another open lap. He found extensive adhesions encapulating my bladder and adhering it to my left ovary. My sigmoid colon was also wrapped in adhesions and stuck to my posterior wall. After preparing myself to wake up post-laparotomy with both ovaries removed, I was thrilled to not be in surgical menopause and only have three small incisions. My doctor rocks and I can't thank him enough for working hard to keep everything as least invasive as possible so I can recover faster and be home for Christmas.

Thanks for all of the prayers and help everyone. We couldn't do it without you.

Jam Session

2009-12-19T20:50:00.000-05:00

My uncle and cousins came over on Friday night and brought a 12 string guitar and a drum. They both are incredibly talented musicians and since Carson and Elias are becoming more and more interested in music, we thought a jam session would be perfect for Christmas. Michael is going to start doing private guitar lessons for the boys in the spring and I can't wait. Carson found the drums to be more to his liking and played the heck out of them. Although the 12 string was almost as big as him, Eli was a natural. It was a great evening with family and fun. I can't wait to get the boys instruments of their own!

Christmas Boys

2009-12-12T21:57:00.000-05:00

Early Presents

2009-12-02T20:40:00.001-05:00

Granny and Papaw were able to come up for Thanksgiving and brought along with them the gifts Santa dropped off at their house. Carson and Elias were shocked when they learned Granny and Papaw were going to let them open their Christmas gifts early. Carson marveled at Lego City and Elias could hardly contain his excitement when he saw battery trains. Santa made much too large of a trip to Granny/Papaw and Great Granny's house this year. We are truly blessed.

Pool Party!

2009-11-23T21:17:00.003-05:00

The boys had a birthday party on Friday for one of their little girlfriends. The pool was warm and they both had a blast. Splashing, sliding, and swimming their hearts out alongside all of the neighborhood kiddos. Too bad summer is gone and the pool will be few and far between. Carson and Elias are natural born fish!

Two exhausted boys asleep at Gigi's house post-party.

Fight For Preemies

2009-11-17T22:49:00.006-05:00

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. The March of Dimes continues their campaign to prevent prematurity and set November 17th (today) as a day to Fight for Preemies. As everyone knows, prematurity has rocked our universe twice and left a lasting impact on our lives. Carson's arrival ten weeks premature at 30 weeks gestation was shocking as first time parents. We fought through the NICU, attended follow-up appointments, pushed early intervention, and researched like crazy people. As I was being admitted at 23 weeks with Elias we couldn't believe prematurity was going to impact our family once again. Twelve days later at 25 weeks Elias was pulled into this world in an emergency c-section septic from my chorioamniotis secondary to pPROM. Terrifying as it was to be in the NICU again, it was even more frightening to have experience in that strange world and fear going through it all with a micropreemie. Elias has always been a fighter like his brother but he has endured so much in his short 4 years. Prematurity is only one aspect of our children's lives but it has played a substantial role in their direction and experiences.

I found a career I cherish through the experiences prematurity gave me and now have the privilege to care for premature infants through the NICU. The ability to see both sides of the NICU rollercoster is often a blessing in my nursing but bittersweet. Prematurity needs a voice, awareness, understanding for us to combat the continuing rise of early births and their implications on life. Please stop by the March of Dimes and learn more about how you can help the fight.

Lost in Leaves

2009-11-17T20:46:00.001-05:00

Down for the Count

2009-11-13T08:10:00.003-05:00

This is what happens when an energetic first grader who has been running at full speed for the past two weeks attempts to go color at 7:45 in the evening.

One minute he is jabbering at light speed and skipping to the art supply shelves and then next he is sprawled out across the dining room floor. I guess when you're exhausted you can fall asleep anywhere in a few seconds! Carson didn't wake up when we carried him upstairs, changed him into pjs, or tucked him in. This morning he said that his head hurt so he just laid down when he got to the art bins. I better go clean the drool out of our carpet now.

Thank You

2009-11-11T08:07:00.000-05:00

Happy Veteran's Day! Thank you to every brave and honorable man and woman who has served this country and continues to serve this country. God bless America!

Snake Feet

2009-11-10T08:01:00.000-05:00

Elias finally received his blue snakeskin AFOs this week. They fit so much better and we are already able to see a difference in the tightness of his legs. He says that they are "snake feet". Chasing Carson around the house while wearing them has become one of his favorite pasttimes. I can only imagine what design Eli will pick out when he outgrows this pair of AFOs.

Spooktacular

2009-10-31T22:03:00.002-05:00

One scary "bottle bones" aka skeleton and one fiercesome ninja. Happy Halloween!!

Craziness of Life

2009-10-21T15:23:00.003-05:00

I realize that it has been five whole weeks since my last update. My goodness, where has the time gone? Well...let me tell you.

1.) Carson and Elias
These two are growing and changing in so many ways. Carson has a new found love of reading and thinks heading off to the local library is a treat. His reading vocabulary has taken off exponentially and we are almost to the point of easy chapter books. Wow is all I can say. Elias is also expanding his presence by shooting up to incredible heights. I can't believe my itty bit is this tall at 4 years old. He writes his name and is starting to do simple word recognition for reading. His new braces still have not arrived due to United Health Care loosing the request for payment and Al and I not having an extra $2400 laying around to pay cash. I will post pics when the famous blue snake skin AFOs arrive.

2.) Cooking
I have become slightly obsessed with fall cooking over the past month. Pumpkin pancakes, Buckeye brownies, beef roast soup, pork loin with roasted vegetables, and more. The downside of my cooking is that I'm gaining a bit of weight but at least I'm happy!

3.) School
I have yet to officially talk about my new adventure on this blog aside from alluding to it in my last post so here goes. Last spring I began the process of applying to Graduate school at The Ohio State University to get my Masters degree with specialty in Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. My work awards a scholarship to NNPs and I applied on the recommendation of several NNPs on my unit. The process was long and included papers, nine interviews, and a lot of anxiety over the span of 4 months. At the end of July I was awarded this amazing opportunity. My employer is paying for all of my tuition and books for the two years of grad school. I also have an educational stipend to ensure that I can continue providing for our family and succeed in school. This entails me working 16 hours a week and receiving 36 hours a week of pay. I have to work my usual 36 hours when school is not in session (winter break and spring break). After completing my program and becoming a licensed, certified, and credentialed NNP (and getting my certificate to prescribe), I will have a two year commitment as an NNP on my unit. It is an amazing, once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm so blessed to have it.

School is exciting, stimulating, and exhausting. I am taking five grad courses this quarter and reading so much material my eyes feel like they are bleeding! Next quarter I only have two classes with one being the first in a series of three neonatal pathophysiology courses. I am learning so much and enjoying being back in school. The papers and reading are intense but so far I am balancing well. It's great to be a Buckeye. O-H-!

4.) The Hubs
Al's new job is working out wonderfully with our family life. His hours are flexible but stable. Seeing him walk out the door every morning dressed in a suit isn't so bad either. He is a marketing, sales, education, nursing machine and I couldn't be more proud of him.

So, as you can see, there are plenty of mentioned and unmentioned reasons for the poor blog not being updated in over a month. I promise we are all alive (barely) and living life. I have many posts up in my head to get on here but they will have to wait until the course work I have left this week is finished. Until then, happy fall!

Extreme Prematurity - A Realistic View

2009-09-15T17:52:00.003-05:00

As a NICU nurse and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner student (more on that next week), I feel that the public needs a wake-up call on extreme prematurity. My professional experiences have shaped my personal views in addition to being the mother of both our premature boys. Seeing Carson and Elias born at 30 and 25 weeks gestation was shocking to say the least. Watching the hardships and hurdles they have gone through in the past six and four years has been impossible at times. Our boys are fairly unscathed from their prematurity based on their gestational ages even though both will deal with long term impacts of early birth for their lifetimes. To hear about a campaign to change the law in the UK based on the birth and death of a 21 week fetus and the misconceptions surrounding extreme prematurity is disheartening.

Stop over to Reality Rounds for a realistic view of extreme prematurity and response to the Justice for Jayden movement entitled Is letting a 21 week premature baby die considered health care rationing?. She has it right and hopefully the public perception will shift towards the actual impact of extreme prematurity instead of becoming wrapped up in the hype of "miracle" stories that the press promotes.

Miracle Grow and Casting

2009-09-10T15:03:00.004-05:00

My mother always told people she sprinkled Miracle Grow on my cereal in the morning because I grew like a weed as a child. Either Al is poisoning our children or they grow just like the two of us. Elias had a physical medicine appointment on Tuesday to check up on his cerebral palsy and make sure his braces were appropriate. I knew the little man had grown but the numbers were shocking. He is now 37lbs (with clothes on) and a whopping 45 inches tall. No wonder he needs size 5 jeans this fall! Those numbers place him at the 55th% for weight and way off the chart for height at the height of an average 6 year old! Too bad his BMI is only 5.6 and he's below the 3rd percentile in weight-for-length. We grow them tall and skinny though because Carson is built the exact same way.

This amazing growth spurt seems to have created a small problem with his AFO braces however. He needs new AFOs casted and made for a taller version of Eli. His phys med doctor said that he looks pretty good and the AFOs are definitely making a difference in his gait and heel tightness. He is hyper extending his knees a bit though so his new AFOs will be made to create less free movement in his knee joint. Today at the orthodic office Eli picked out blue snake skin patterned AFOs with navy blue straps. He patiently let his leg molds dry and walked up and down the hallway for them to assess his gait. A Scooby-Doo sticker and watermelon sucker were his rewards for the day and he was glowing as we left.

After his appointment we headed up to the dam to test out Gigi and Bobpop's new boat. It was a surprise for Eli and he was ecstatic. Elias threw on the life jacket and jumped into the boat. We had a little picnic out on the lake and Bobpop even let Eli steer the boat for a few minutes. When we picked up Carson from school Eli couldn't wait to brag about driving the big boat. Carson can't wait to have his turn at the wheel. Now we wait for our main insurance to deny coverage on Elias' AFOs so BCMH can cover them. Policies and procedure, blah, blah, blah. I just want to see him running in some super cool snake skin braces that actually fit!

Hot Rods

2009-09-06T20:39:00.000-05:00

Labor day weekend brought a few classics up towards our house. It was a nice day for the beginning of September so we packed up the boys and drove over to the local car show. Carson and Elias love cars and trucks so what could be better to wear them out in the middle of the day?

There was a wide variety to look at (but NOT touch!) all the way from a 1915 car on wooden spoked tires to a brand new Lamborghini and everything in between. Carson is fascinated by Mustangs and couldn't get enough of the restoration pictures each car owner was displaying. I have a feeling we will be rebuilding a car or two in our future with him. Eli liked the cars but loved the flame painted monster truck.

My parents ended up joining us and when the boys asked for lime green snow cones, Gigi made a beeline to the vendor. Both kiddos enjoyed their green mustaches and cold tongues before participating in Goo Golf. The sponsors set up a golfing game for kids where they had to use a marshmallow as a tee and hit another marshmallow off of it. The object was to hit a Goo Ball into one of the hula hoops to win a gift card. The big hoops were 5 points and the little hoops were 10 points. The boys didn't get any points but had a blast swinging the clubs at sticky, half melted marshmallows.

Here's to end of summer car shows and the last snow cone of the season!

Buckeye Fever

2009-09-05T21:22:00.000-05:00

Today was the big season opener for The Ohio State Buckeyes. OSU vs. Navy in the Shoe and was a gorgeous day it was for the start of college football. With everyone dressed in their scarlet and grey we cheered on the Bucks to victory. A few kinks certainly need ironed out prior to USC coming next Saturday but Tressel will whip them into shape. Here's to another great year of Ohio State football in our house!

The Wheels on the Bus....

2009-08-31T20:30:00.000-05:00

Elias strapped on his bright yellow backpack and climbed up the familiar steps of his bus this morning. He woke up early and even ate all of his breakfast this morning despite being so excited he could hardly sit still (he doesn't sit still much normally!). After a few pictures and brushing his teeth, we headed up to the bus stop. Looking back through these pictures is breathtaking for Al and me. We could only hope this day would come 4 years ago while we were still in the NICU. What a gift we have been given!

Don't mind my "morning" face....no makeup yet!

Eli seeing the bus pull up!

Heading off to school.

First Grade

2009-08-27T21:05:00.000-05:00

Our baby is not a baby anymore. Carson set off for first grade this morning. He is now officially in school a full day! He enjoyed choosing his school supplies and carefully thought out the exact color he wanted his backpack to be. Last night Carson told me that he "doesn't take baths anymore, just showers". When I asked him why he wanted to switch he informed me that "baths are for little kids and all you do in the bath is play. I'm a big kid now and just need to get clean and play a little air guitar". I couldn't help but laugh because he was 100% serious.

I started up the shower for him and he washed off, scrubbed his hair, and proceeded to play air guitar for 5 minutes. It was took cute. He also wants to wear boxer briefs or boxers only now because briefs are for little kids too. When did my baby start referring to a group of children as little kids??? Wasn't he just in diapers?

I can't wait to see what first grade has in store for our big guy. He is ready to dive head first into everything at the moment and we are loving it. Six years old has turned out to be so much fun!

Elias heads back to preschool on Tuesday with the same teacher and schedule as last year. He can't wait to see his friends but today he was sad that Carson was going to be gone the entire day. They really do love each other even though some days they fight each other on every little detail.

Beautiful

2009-08-26T18:02:00.004-05:00

Saturday my little sister was married to Keith. They had a gorgeous wedding and everyone danced the night away. I followed two funny, well put together speeches from Mark, Keith's best man and Brooke, my sister's Maid of Honor. Unfortunately I was a tad nervous and botched the ended to my speech. I meant to say, "Here's to Lori and Keith!" but ended up fumbling out an awkward, "We'll see how it goes....".

Nice. What a great sister/sister-in-law I am! ACCCKKKK!! Well, the night was perfect aside from my little mishap and Lori and Keith are happily married on a cruise in the Caribbean.

Congrats to Lori and Keith! Here's to a lifetime of happiness, health, and prosperity. Cheers!

Guitar Heros

2009-08-11T18:35:00.004-05:00

The boys have been busy perfecting their Guitar Hero performance today. To Al's delight they both have attached themselves to Korn's "Freak on a Leash" and sing/play their little hearts out. Here is an a cappella rendition with Eli on the guitar and Carson on drums/vocals. They are having a blast and even though it's an "Al" song....I have to smile!

Wedding Shower

2009-08-01T21:02:00.002-05:00

I threw my little sister a bridal shower today and it was so much fun! I cannot believe Lori is getting married in just three weeks. It seems like I was just bouncing like a lunatic on the trampoline all summer long. Who told her she could grow up and become so successful, beautiful, and confident? Geezz.....so much for the bossy big sister gig. I better switch into Matron of Honor mode and fast!!

The shower was a blast and so many of Lori's great friends and family were able to come. Thanks to everyone who made it memorable for her. She missed everyone who couldn't be there but the turnout was fantastic. I just can't wait to watch my little sister walked down the isle on the 22nd. I bet there will be a few tears coming from my eyes! Here are a few pics from the event taken on the fly. Mom has the better pics but unfortunately I don't have access to those yet.

Typical Mom and Lori

Brooke and Ashley

Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Game

Grandma Helen and the Blushing Bride

Our 1st Family Race

2009-07-25T19:48:00.000-05:00

Kellogg's (insert copyright symbol here) holds a 5K run and 1 mile walk each year near our home for a charity food bank called Christ's Table. My father works for Kellogg's as a consultant now and prior to "retirement" in their product development scientist role. This run is fun and I have pictures from last year's race too. On Saturday we all work up early and made the hour trek out to the race. Unfortunately the skies had another plan and decided to open up with a thunderstorm of fury approximately 15 minutes prior to the gun going off. Everyone took cover in their cars and watched the light show until the storm passed. The rain took the edge off the temperature but certainly added a stickiness to the air. The race started about 25 minutes after the posted time and Al and Dad took their turn at the head of the pack. Carson knew ahead of time that he was going to run the 1 mile with me and Eli was going to walk with Gigi. As most plans go with a 4 year old running around, things changed right before the race. Eli wanted to run "just like Carson and Daddy" but insisted on me going with him. Carson is big enough to head off on his own ahead of us on a closed race course so he ran hard as I cheered him on. Eli made it about 1/4 mile running on and off and then decided his legs just couldn't make it and wanted me to carry him. The hard part was that he wanted me to "run so Carson didn't beat him". Let me tell you, hauling a 35 pound 4 year old and running a race is not a picnic. We caught up to Carson at the halfway mark and he was standing with his hands on his hips waiting on me. He was a bit nervous and had stopped until I met up with him again. Gigi agreed to walk the rest of the way with Elias and Carson and I took off. He was smiling from ear to ear and couldn't wait to run through the time gates. By-standers were urging him to run faster and we raced through the finish line together. He ran the mile in less then 10 minutes with a rest period in the middle while he was waiting on me!! Eli picked up the pace and followed his brother across the finish line with Gigi about 6 minutes later complete with a big boy grin. I couldn't be more proud of my munchkins. Gigi, the boys, and I started to watch for the big guys and Al came running in at just over 21 minutes. My 57 year old father shocked all of his co-workers by crossing the line in 29 minutes!! It was a wonderful day with good exercise for us all.

After all of the racers were in Kellogg's provided veggie burgers galore with fruit, chips, and drinks. The air was cool and the food tasted delicious. Nothing like a spicy black bean burger straight off the grill! The boys both won a free Frosty from Wendy's and I won a free meal from McDonald's. The event was beneficial to the community as well because all proceeds from the race ($10 per person entry fee) went straight to the food kitchen. What an amazing opportunity.

Open wide!

2009-07-08T20:39:00.000-05:00

The Tooth Fairy has arrived at our house to gather Mr. Carson's first tooth! Our wild man lost his bottom tooth the other night while pulling a straw through his teeth. He was quite shocked when his wiggly tooth was no longer attached but instead laying on his lap. After much anticipation and excitement, our big man finally lost that precious first tooth at 6 years old. Most of the kids in his kindergarten class last year had already been visited by the magical tooth fairy and Carson was becoming increasingly inpatient.

He wrote the tooth fairy a note and left his tooth under his pillow. Since he just happened to be having a sleep over at Gigi and Bobpop's house that night, the tooth fairy made a pit stop at their house as well as ours! Carson was overjoyed to find two letters (both in red ink which is her favorite color to write in) in addition to money. What is better to a 6 year old boy except a magical money giving fairy who also corresponds?! Overall the toothless wonder made out for his first lost tooth. The fairy left items at both sets of grandparents houses, our house, and several aunts. Much daydreaming ensued over the multitude of items he could purchase with his tooth loot. He decided to buy a digger for the sand and dirt. Quite fitting. But I had him read the price at the store, count out the correct money for the cashier, and buy it on his own. These lessons aren't free!

In honor of the missing tooth, the boys headed off to the dentist for another cleaning and check-up. Carson sat through it all like an old pro and was beaming when the hygienist asked him about the hole in his smile. Elias was a big more leery but once he was allowed to hold some of the equipment and flirt with the staff a bit, he opened right up. Both boys had no cavities and were given a gold star for great brushing. They picked out new toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, and of course a little toy.

We didn't realize how soon the Tooth Fairy would be visiting our house after the visit and quickly learned that brushing your teeth can cause you to loose them too! Carson came running downstairs from his room after brushing and held up his 2nd lost tooth. The matching bottom tooth came right on out into the sink and you could already see the ideas of tooth fairy visits running in his head. If anyone sees Carson, ask him to say a tongue twister with S sounds.....it's quite amusing.

Independence Day

2009-07-04T20:33:00.000-05:00

My work schedule has been quite flexible for traveling this summer. I ended up with seven days off in a row so we packed up the car and headed south once more. Al's parents are certainly getting to see the boys much more this year than any year prior. The 4th was fun including a cookout, some thunderstorms, and big, booming fireworks. The boys couldn't wait for the fireworks to start and we were able to watch them from the back of Uncle Aaron's truck. Carson loved all of the colors and noises this year but Eli was terrified of the "boomers". He even wanted to get back in Al's car to make them stop. All and all it was a great day and another enjoyable vacation to Tennessee.

Pilot Fireball Classic 5K

2009-07-03T22:46:00.001-05:00

Al decided to run a 5K race in TN the night before the 4th. He bribed his childhood friend Tommy into racing as well. The whole family and Granny/Papaw decided to pack up and make a night out of it since the race began at 9:00pm and was at the University of Tennessee. There was food, music, and most of all, almost 1,000 runners! Al and Tommy both did wonderful and my hubby placed 115 overall. YAY Al!! The boys love cheering Al on in races to it was fun for them too.

Always Growing

2009-06-24T12:44:00.002-05:00

Current stats from yesterday's pediatrician appointments:

Carson- 6 years old

weight- 49.5 lbs (65-70th%)
height- 50 inches (off the charts tall--50% for an 8 year old!!!)
BMI- 7.5 (long and lean)

We need to continue his current asthma regimen and keep up the good work. Carson's 6 year old molars are poking through on the bottom and his front bottom teeth are loose. Hemaglobin was 13.7 and he finished up his Hepatitis A series. Carson didn't cry and watched the whole time. When he was done he picked out a ninja toy from the toy tower. Overall a wonderful 6 year appointment.

Elias- 4 years old

weight- 36.2 lbs (50%)
height- 42 inches (85%)
BMI- 5.5 (long and lean....but great on the growth charts for the first time!)

Eli had a great appointment as well. The ped was quite impressed with his growth over the past year although was didn't like that was still rely on his feeding tube so much. Good nutrition and growth is wonderful any way they get it! Little man's hip was okay although he is still limping on and off with too much activity. He also was started on a 10 day course of Omicef due to a bad episode of aspiration last week that is developing into aspiration pneumonia. Hemaglobin was 13.1 and Eli got a sticky frog out of the toy tower for the blood draw!

It's amazing that they are growing so quickly but so much fun to watch.

A New Nurse in the Family

2009-06-21T07:59:00.004-05:00

Our family proudly gathered downtown to watch Al graduate with high honors from nursing school yesterday. After 15 straight months of classes, clinical, and studying, we now have a new nurse in the family. Congratulations babe on your second degree and welcome to the best profession out there!

Al and his Dad

Walking the stage

A hug from Elias

Al and his proud parents

Happy Birthday Boys

2009-06-17T08:12:00.000-05:00

My little babies are babies no longer. Carson is now six and Elias is four. My goodness time has flown by quickly. I couldn't be more in love or in amazement that Al and I created these two astounding children. How far they have come in their lifetime already!

Carson always needs to know how things work and what processes are used in everyday machines and products. He shocks us by randomly figuring out simple multiplication in the backseat of the car to reading words and books at a level we didn't think he had mastered. Art continues to be a stable outlet for Carson's energy and we often find him settling into a craft or drawing instead of running around out of control like he did when he was younger. Our big man also played on a soccer team for the first time this year and loved every minute of it. He is caring and empathetic but most of all just a lovable kid. Next up....first grade! Happy Birthday big guy!

Elias is a true character and comedian. Sarcasm is not lost on his young four year old mind. Throughout each day you will find him teasing Carson and Daddy, laughing at himself, and making silly faces in the mirror for entertainment. Girls are his weakness and when you ask him about his "girlfriend(s) of the week" he blushes and gets bashful with a sly little grin across his face. Eli is fiercely independent and wants to help make his own food, mix his own thickener, buckle his car seat belts on his own, and put his braces on without help. He is a cuddler but incredibly stubborn and bullheaded at times. That strong will has gotten him through life this far and will carry him throughout adulthood successfully. He laughs when he falls and bounces right back up saying, "I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay". I can't wait to see how his personality develops over the next year. Happy Birthday little man!

Where have you been?

2009-06-07T14:29:00.002-05:00

Lazy summer days are ahead but my schedule has been packed during the past two weeks. Al finished school and will graduate June 20th with his LPN earning a 3.96 GPA!!! I'm so proud of my husband and can't wait until he can discover the joys of nursing. Carson finished soccer for the season and had a class field trip to the zoo last week. Elias is learning his letter sounds and can now write his name on his own. Tuesday I took my GRE to get into the neonatal nurse practitioner program and I'm glad that sucker is over! All of this has been happening in the midst of doctor's appointments, IEP reviews, and birthday parties.

I will post pics of the boys and their parties in the next few weeks but first we are going on vacation. That's right.....I have 16 straight days off of work. I won't know what to do with myself but it will be worth it. Al and I are going to have a trip without the boys for the first time ever! We will be dropping them off at Granny and Papaw's house Monday night and then leaving for Florida Tuesday morning. Sunday we will head back to Granny and Papaw's house and stay through Friday. Al graduates Saturday the 20th and then I have free time with the family until the 25th. What a glorious month this will be. So, send great vacation vibes and tell the sun not to turn me into a lobster. I may post a few pics so everyone can be jealous but if you don't see an update for a few weeks, you'll know why.

Alphabet Soup

2009-05-21T20:47:00.003-05:00

This morning I added seven new letters to the end of my name. Over the past few months I have been studying to take the American Association of Critical Care Nurses' CCRN certification exam in the neonatal specialty. The test is a 150 question computer based exam over three hours. At 0900 I walked into the testing booth, sat down, took several deep breaths, smiled for the picture, and began. Eighty-nine minutes later I walked out with a slight headache and a huge smile. I passed and earned my CCRN-NIC!!!

You know you have little kids though when you go out to Bob Evans for lunch to celebrate :)

Toad-aly Cool

2009-05-21T18:05:00.000-05:00

Meet our new friend Blacky. Eli found him in Gigi and BobPop's back yard when they were hunting for worms. He started yelling, "I caught a frog! I caught a frog! Come quick 'cause I caught a frog!". Well, he was right....halfway. He caught a toad. I could not believe he actually snatched it up and didn't squish it to death by the time I ran to the back to the yard. Eli was so proud of himself. Carson was a bit turned off but still excited. I took the toad from Eli and we looked him over and named him. Of course this is when Blacky decided to pee all over me (don't worry, there was plenty of antibacterial soap and water post-Blacky tonight!). The boys decided Blacky would like to live under the raspberry bushes in the garden and eat all of the bugs that live there. Eli grabbed him up and found a good spot and let him free. Hopefully Blacky will be there tomorrow when they search for him.

Park Play Date

2009-05-15T20:46:00.004-05:00

My friend Amanda and I met at the park for a fun play date with our kids on Tuesday. She has two gorgeous munchkins who are five and one. We met at the train park and let them loose. Little did we know that we would spend the next two hours watching non-stop action and endless energy. Carson and Eli had a blast chasing Emmy and Wesley found the boys quite fascinating. Here are some photos...

What a perfect day!

Spring!

2009-05-13T21:25:00.002-05:00

After an unexpected change in Mother's Day plans late Sunday evening, I found myself sitting on the screened-in porch at my parents' house and relaxing while the boys played with trucks. It was a lovely night even if the original plans fell through and I have enjoyed every single minute of these lovable, snuggable, growing boys this week. I need to post all of the fun pics of our escapades tomorrow but for tonight I will leave you with a few snapshots of their cuteness.

When did they grow up into almost 4 and 6 year olds?

Not Me! Monday #2

2009-05-11T20:37:00.002-05:00

It's time for another Not Me! Monday. After reading all of the incredible things I didn't do this past week, head over to MckMama's blog for her weekly "Not Me! Monday" post.

One day last week after putting the boys down for nap I certainly didn't lay down and sleep for three-and-a-half-HOURS before waking up to cook dinner for the family. I would never need that much sleep in the middle of the day when my morning was spent lounging, drinking coffee, and surfing the web while Al studied. Nope, not me!

An OCD mama like myself could never send her almost four year old to school wearing plaid red/blue/tan/white shorts with a lime green shirt and yellow socks. Completing the look with blue AFOs with planes, cars, and streets signs adorning them and blue/white tennis shoes. I would not!

On Wednesday I never would have worn my Victoria Secret yoga pants all day long instead of my jeans because I didn't feel like seeing if my butt had grown larger in the past few days. I didn't eat a bag of Archway Soft Iced Molasses cookies in three days on top of that incident either :) Wouldn't do it!

What things did you not do this week??

Strawberries

2009-05-05T08:11:00.003-05:00

Carson's illness didn't seem to fit the diagnosis of croup and asthma exacerbation when his symptoms grew and his fever/malaise increased yesterday. He wouldn't get off the couch and was restless sleeping. This morning he woke up at 8:30 (two hours later than his normal rise and shine) and yawned really big. This is what I saw....

Now I know why he's feeling like crap. Off to the pediatrician at 2:10 to get a script for antibiotics. Too bad it's not going to be just a follow-up appointment from the ER visit.

***** Leave a comment with Carson's diagnosis and why he will need antibiotics and I'll mail/bring you a special treat! *****

Not Me! Monday -- New Edition

2009-05-04T17:25:00.002-05:00

I have been inspired by MckMama over on her blog with her weekly post entitled "Not Me! Monday". The concept is writing about all of the embarrassing, non-perfect, brutally honest things you did over the past week. The catch is to blog about them as if you didn't do them! It is quite therapeutic and fun which is exactly what every Monday needs.

This past week I certainly did not fudge the words in a bedtime story book because I was exhausted....and get caught by my almost 6 year old. I guess Carson's reading skills are advancing faster than I knew.

Throughout the week I did not eat three generously heaped bowls of Cherry Cordial ice cream and then complain when my scrub pants were just a tad tight at work on Friday. That wouldn't make any sense!

Last Wednesday I definitely did not forget to re-order Elias' tube feeding supplies for the month and run out of MIC-Key button continuous feed extensions. I would never be that unorganized!

Head over and read up on MckMama's not me moments, blog your own, and share them for everyone to read. Perfection in motherhood is far fetched. Why shouldn't we get a little stress relief and humor at our own expense?

Love's Boundaries

2009-05-04T16:53:00.000-05:00

Tonight while snuggling with Mr. Sick and Mr. Bouncy they started telling me how much they loved me. Elias started first by saying he "loved me more than the Polar Express". If you know Elias at all, you know that is a lot for him! Then Carson countered with "I love you all the way to Mars and back home". Finally Elias proclaimed at the top of his lungs "I love you all the way up to heaven and that's the farthest you can go!".

God I never want to forget this age and these priceless moments.

I love my boys to infinity (and that's forever and ever!)

Mr. Sick

2009-05-03T19:11:00.000-05:00

Healthy and playing "Surgery with Construction hats" on Saturday night

Carson woke up sick this morning. Wheezing, barking cough, fever of 102.7, and feeling just plain crappy. I was at work when I received a call from Al around 9. Al never calls me at work. I think this may have been the second time. He said he was bringing C-man to the emergency room at my work and dropping off Elias at my parents. He put Carson on the phone so I could hear him breathe and ask him a few questions. Man did he ever sound bad. Thankfully I was able to take a few minutes off the floor (thank so much Anne!) and meet them downstairs.

They diagnosed him with croup and an asthma exacerbation. His history of asthma and tracheal stenosis in addition to countless ED visits and treatment lead them to this. After filling him up with dexamethasone and sending us home to watch for worsening symptoms, we grabbed a juice from the cafeteria and I kissed Carson and Al goodbye. It was so hard to be stuck at work while my oldest babe was in respiratory distress with a fever. I ran out of work as fast as I could and arrived home in record time for snuggles and hugs.

Sleeping with Daddy

*****UPDATE 5-4-09:*****

Today Carson missed school. His fever is bouncing between 101 and 103 with Tylenol. He has been laying around the whole day. Carson does.not.do.that! We are heading to the pediatrician tomorrow at 2:10 and hopefully they will have good news. Right now he is curled up on my lap with his head resting on my shoulder and legs dangling off towards the floor. Send get better vibes to my big guy. He certainly needs them.

Sick Baby

One of Elias for good measure

Snuggling

2009-04-24T09:55:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Carson started getting sick. Nothing serious, just your run-of-the-mill common cold. Thankfully. He was sneezing and blowing his nose all afternoon and evening. It was different compared to other times my big guy has been sick. Carson was acutely aware of his symptoms and trying to process what each of them meant. He is growing up!

Sneezing - "I need to blow my nose."
Fever - "I'm hot Mom. Can I have some Tylenol?".
Lethargy - "Can we please snuggle on the couch with your super soft blanket Mom?".

Of course we can Carson. I would drop everything to get some snuggle time with my almost 6 year old first born. How could I ever say no? We snuggled up on my queen bed wrapped in the blanket my little sister gave me for my birthday. He let me run my fingers through his hair and hold him close. Anyone with an almost six year old boy knows that this was nothing sort of miraculous and a special treat for me. He fell asleep on my chest and I carried his cold ridden body to his bed and tucked him in. I hope today brings less illness but allows me to keep the snuggle time with my big guy.

I'm a soccer mom

2009-04-14T21:07:00.006-05:00

It's official....I'm a soccer mom. Well, minus the mini-van. Carson started soccer off with a bang this evening. His club had a special "Soccer Rocks" night with the local professional soccer team. The kids were able to perform drills with four of the teams stars, get a fun t-shirt, and have an autograph session with the guys. Even though it poured and was about 50 degrees, all of the kids had a blast. Carson was in heaven and ran around like a free spirit. He was one of the few kids who had not actively played on a soccer team before but for the most part, you couldn't tell he was a newbie. The parents probably thought C-man was in the wrong age group because he was a head taller than all of the other kids but was in the middle of the 4-6 year age group.

Carson playing keep away with Gino!

Carson and Crew Cat

I was a typical proud mama on the field (which by the way was super cool to be out on in the middle of the giant stadium). I took video and pictures on my camera and cheered for my Carson. The players couldn't have been nicer. They truly enjoyed interacting with the kids. Carson especially like playing around with Gino because he played keep away with Carson and made him work for the ball. Overall it was an amazing opportunity and I'm glad we didn't stay home because of the rain. Carson is rearing to go for practice on Thursday. Wish him luck....their first game is this Saturday!

Video of one of the drills-- Carson is in the lime green t-shirt

Quick Catch-Up

2009-04-08T20:32:00.003-05:00

Busy is not even the word for our lives lately. Things are going great and I can't complain. Eli's upper GI and abdominal u/s went better then expected. He does not have gallstones but his Nissen is still intact, loose, and NON-FUNCTIONING. He went for an endoscopy with biopsies last week and his stomach and duodenum took fabulous. His esophagus had mild irritation from his GERD and some bacteria growing on the top few layers of tissue samples. We will continue his current med regime and try to treat his reflux with adjusting pump feeds during the day and at night now on top of being maxed on meds. A repeat Nissen is something we want to avoid if possible due to the high probability of him not being able to eat orally again post-op. His GI and surgeon are in agreement with us and so we will see how things progress from here.

Carson is doing well also. I was able to go to his school for career week and speak to the kids in his class about neonatal nursing. Carson was excited to show me off and his classmates loved seeing the tiny preemie gear from Carson and Eli's NICU stays. I brought along a few stethoscopes for the kids to play with and you would have thought they were gold! It's hard to believe Carson is going to be finished with Kindergarten and getting ready for first grade. He is not a baby anymore and every day he is asserting his independence more and more. His teacher went on maternity leave about a month ago and the permanent sub is having trouble reading Carson's signs. This has brought on a few behavior issues at school and home from frustration but we are working it all out. His reading is skyrocketing and Carson is incredibly proud of his increasing knowledge. It is really fun to watch this stage of development.

I'm back to exercising and dieting. Ugggh. No fun at all but I feel out of shape. I started on the Jullian Michael's 30 Day Shred 9 days ago in addition to putting in my food intake in www.thedailyplate.com to track my eating habits. So far I feel stronger, more toned, and healthier and it hasn't even been two weeks. The boys think it's funny when I work out and they always want to try and exercise with me. Crazy little turkeys that they are.

Al is almost done with his LPN program and will graduate on June 20th. I can't tell you how proud of him I am. He has really taken his education seriously and fought for each A he has earned. Graduating with a 4.0 is almost in his reach! He also finally made good on his promise to me to quit dipping Coppenhagen. It has been tough but on 4/1 he stopped and hasn't had a dip since. :)

Well, this update grew into more then a "quick note" so I better get back to studying for my CCRN-NIC. I take my test on 5/21 and can't wait! Wish me luck.

Nursing and the Economy

2009-03-18T22:08:00.002-05:00

Browsing through blogs tonight I caught a post on http://realityrounds.com that really struck a cord. The author is also a NICU RN and her blog is quite interesting. I find that I agree with this post of hers and am irritated when people casually mention that they will "just become a nurse" so they can get a job right away because the economy is tough. GRRRRR.....it's frustrating! Thankfully I'm not the only RN feeling this way...

Do You Want to Make More Money? Become a Locksmith, or a Nurse!
Posted by realityrounds on March 6, 2009

The economy is in the tank, unemployment is at 8.1%, a 25 year high. There are 4.4 million unemployed, with countless others who are underemployed. So what are the media pundits solution? Become a nurse!

I have to admit, this rubs me the wrong way. It is a huge pet peeve of mine. I read quotes from CNN of a former real estate agent becoming a nurse because it is “a more stable job”. I hear the Governor of Michigan talking on “Meet the Press”, saying a solution for all the recently unemployed in the auto industry, is to retrain them in health care.

Yes, there is a nursing shortage that will only get worse because of the aging of the population. Yes, we need more nurses. But, no, we do not want people going into nursing because it is a “stable” job, or they are desperate for work. The media pundits make nursing out to be a job that any sucker can do.

Nursing, by the way, requires a college education. You cannot become a nurse through a Sally Struthers training catalog. “Do you want to make more money? How about a career as a locksmith, TV repairmen, or a nurse!” It takes two years to complete an Associates Degree in nursing, and four years for a Bachelors of Science degree in nursing. Hopefully, we will be out of this recession/depression in two years.

Please, do not apply for nursing unless you have the following qualifications:

A love for science and the scientific process
An academic mind, with good problem solving skills
A love of medicine, health and social sciences
A good attitude
Not minding long hours on your feet, working weekends and holidays, and off shifts
A genuine desire to help others maintain health, gain health and promote health
A desire to promote the image and professionalism of nursing.
It would be great to have a new pool of nursing candidates who can bring some of the above qualifications to the profession. But, please do not apply if the only reason you want to be a nurse is because you can’t find a better job. Just become a locksmith then!

RR

The Week in Review

2009-03-12T17:24:00.003-05:00

Is it only Thursday? This has been one week packed full of obligations and appointments. Sunday I worked my normal 12 hour shift and came home to a fabulous dinner prepared by my hubby. Monday morning I had coffee with my mom and caught up on the past week's events. After inhaling too much caffeine and sugar I headed back home to grab Carson off the bus and get Al and Eli in the car for appointment #1 of the day.

Carson had his routine check-up in the Behavior Clinic at Childrens at 1230. The appointment went quite well and his NP was pleased with his progress over the past three months. Al and I are quite happy with Carson's new skills in self control, calming techniques, and redirecting himself when he gets overstimulated. Carson was able to show off his intelligence a bit by reading and spelling all kinds of things and throwing a bit of math in the mix as well. He is such a fun kid. Growth over the past three months has been good and his new stats are 48.8" tall and 48lbs even. Not too shabby at all. No wonder everyone thinks he is 8 though!

Next Elias had his GI appointment at 315. We went over all of the symptoms he has been having over the past few months as well as his recent test results. His weight gain is poor but he is tall. New stats are 41.75" and 34lbs. He needs more weight on him. They ordered him a new feeding pump that he will be able to wear more comfortably during the day (the Zevex Entralite Infinity)- we have an old Zevex Entralite now that is bulkier and heavier. He is also going for an upper GI on Friday to make sure his Nissen fundoplication is truly undone. Our GI doesn't want to send him back to our surgeon for a re-do without a recent upper GI study showing it is undone. He is also getting an abdominal ultrasound on Friday to check for gallstones due to his recent severe right sided pain and clay colored stools. Hopefully that comes back negative. We will see where to go once the test results are in on Monday.

Tuesday was Eli's appointment with Phys Med where he officially received his cerebral palsy diagnosis. Spastic Diplegia. Right into his chart. It seems so permanent even though we have been living with it and talking about it for years. To have it be in black and white finally seems awkward. His doctor said that since his studies have shown no other reasoning for his chronic aspiration, it is linked to his CP and will most likely be permanent as well. That was a blow but we will deal with it. He is loving his AFOs and doing quite well with them. They are working his muscles and will say, "my legs are tired, can you carry me?". We won't do it but at least he is showing us that the braces are forcing him to use the correct muscles to walk and breaking that tone down.

Tuesday I was also supposed to meet some wonderful friends for lunch but woke up with a fever and feeling like someone hit me in the face with a baseball bat. Wednesday wasn't much better and Eli started feeling sick. Today is worse but I don't have a fever finally. End of winter colds are no fun at all. I thought I had escaped it but unfortunately the bug attacked me hard. We have gone through way too many tissues in our household this week!

So....there's the update for the week. Tomorrow we have testing but it's Friday(even if it is the 13th) so it has to be a good day. Thanks for reading if you got this far and sorry for the venting. :)

Badges of Boyhood

2009-03-07T21:53:00.004-05:00

Today was an unusual March day for Ohio weather. Over 70 degrees, windy, and perfect for two little boys to play all day outside. Carson and Elias spent the day riding bikes, flying kites, digging in dirt, and getting into mischief like every young boy should on a day like today. The two of them looked like they had taken a bath in the back of a dump truck and then spun around in a cement mixer for a few hours once nap time rolled around. Every small request from, "Can you please put your shoes on the steps?" to "It's time for nap now, head upstairs" was met with tears and spaghetti noodle limbs.

Awww...the moment you know as a parent that your children are beyond exhausted from playing their hearts out. When they fall to the floor into a pile of childhood flesh needing a good hug. This is what the beautiful day brought to our house this afternoon. Unfortunately it also brought a few reminders from their great adventures. Carson is now the proud owner of a gash on his elbow, upper arm, and forehead from racing on his bike AND tripping on the playground. Elias, not to be outdone by his older brother, decided he would take flight off of his bike too. His new nickname is Rudolph and he keeps asking when the skin on his nose is going to grow back.

A few scrapes, band aids, kisses, and hugs later all was well again at our house and the boys were off to dreamland. They both couldn't wait to show me their war wounds when I came home from work tonight. Their badges of boyhood.

Trauma! Emergency! Practice?

2009-03-02T22:57:00.000-05:00

My little sister's best friend is an EMS-basic student and invited Carson and Elias down to school for their pediatric assessment lab this week. The boys participated in training for assessments, C-spine, trauma skills, and vitals. They had a blast and ate up all of the attention. Thanks Brooke for thinking of us and including the boys in such a great activity. I'm glad we were able to help you guys out in learning pediatric assessment skills for the field.

Here are a few fun pics of our little trauma victims....

Casting Day

2009-02-24T22:49:00.000-05:00

Elias was casted for his AFOs today. The doctor was very nice and let Eli help with the entire process. He even gave Eli the left over plaster to take home and show Carson since there was only a tiny bit remaining on the roll. After looking through three pages of designs and colors over and over again, Elias finally decided on the blue ankle foot orthotics with the firetrucks, cars, airplanes, and street signs. They will come up the just under his knee and extend to his toes. The doctor was optimistic on the length of time Eli would need to wear his braces. He guessed that we would need them for 2-3 years depending on how well Eli responds. Let's hope that the wonderful doctor is correct and our little guy will be brace-free by 1st grade :) We should get them in around the 2nd week of March so I will post pics then.

Recap

2009-02-18T21:54:00.004-05:00

What an incredibly hectic month packed full of cuddling, vacation, work, studying, hospital visits, craft time, cooking, and the occasional nap. We are all doing well and making it through the longest feeling but shortest hourly month of Ohio winters.

Carson spent ten days in Florida with my parents on vacation during the first half of February and came home with freckles dotting his nose and two scrapped knees. He built sand castles, visited the Kennedy Space Center, watched wild alligators, waved at the Disney cruise ships as they left port, and was spoiled rotten by Gigi and Bobpop. We missed him terribly and the house just wasn't the same without his quirky comments and big bright smile. Gigi took him on his first ever plane ride on the way home from Florida and even let Carson have the window seat. C said the houses looked like beetles and cars were like little ants on their way to the ant hill. What a fun kid!

Elias was lost without his big brother but was in turn spoiled rotten by Al and me. We had special dinner dates out, trips to the park when it was warm enough, and Al even took him to the movies one Sunday while I was at work. Eli finally started recognizing a couple of letters this month and we couldn't be happier. He is practicing writing his name over and over again. Sometimes you can tell it says "Eli" and other times we just tell him what a good job he is doing with all his hard work!

As for the medical update. His swallow study didn't turn out very well and he is definitely aspirating on thin liquids. We are back to thickening everything again and Eli is mad. He study also showed that he refluxes the entire bolus almost every time he swallows. That explains why he is refusing to eat more and more and we are back to using his feeding pump during the day again. We go to the GI soon to see what the new plan is. The bone density scan came back GREAT!! No osteoporosis or osteopenia so his foot break was just a fluke. He is getting casted for solid 90 degree AFOs (ankle foot orthodics) on Tuesday to help with his tone and CP. His MRI went fairly smoothly including the anesthesia and intubation. They ended using contrast after all since they saw some bright areas on the floor of his 4th ventricle and the foramen of Magnie. Thankfully the contrast showed no abnormal areas and the MRI was read as normal. Still no concrete answers but we will continue to treat his symptoms. If anyone has advice on AFOs I would love it. The great news is Eli's lungs seem to be doing awesome right now and he is running around causing havoc like every other almost 4 year old boy I know.

Al is in the thick of his final quarter of nursing school and working his tail off. His class schedule is insane going from 5-11 on Mondays through Fridays and then for 6 weeks on Saturdays for 6 hours each day! Ouch is all I can say. It will all be worth it in the end though when he has that license and can say he is a nurse. I am so proud of him and can't wait to see him walk across that stage.

Sorry for the lack of updates this month. As you can see we have been a bit busy with life but I will add pictures soon. I have tons of adorable shots of our two boys.

Snowday pictures

2009-01-28T21:49:00.004-05:00

Today we had a big snowstorm. The boys didn't have school, I didn't have work, and Al's final was cancelled due to the weather. What was left to do??? Play of course!!

We made cinnamon rolls for breakfast along with yogurt and hot tea. The boys gobbled it up and asked for seconds. After gorging themselves the bounced off to play Legos. Carson sat and built creations with his new Lego set for hours today. He made a little dog and his owner. They needed a house and a dog house both with windows of course. The dog owner also needed a truck so Carson built one too. The Lego building was a blast and Carson was super proud of his architecture.

Eli wanted to make pictures with glitter glue. He gathered all of the glitter glue containers in the house and laid them out on the table. After picking up each color, shaking it to determine how much goo he could squirt out, and then organizing them by "prettiness", a masterpiece was created. Blue construction paper covered with piles of glitter glue layered the kitchen table. Elias was grinning from ear to ear with hints of silver and green glitter flecks across his lips and cheeks. I can only imagine how long it will take for his masterpiece to dry!

After lunch we had nap time. This always takes forever at our house but Al and I bribed the boys with time in the snow if they went to sleep. It worked and they were out cold in no time. Nap time ended and the snowsuits were pulled on. Carson and Eli looked like little stuffed piggies all bundled up for the cold. Al went outside and had a snowball fight with them and build a snow castle fort. Six rosey red cheeks later and everyone was inside eating homemade chili for dinner. My parents came over to eat and we had a great time. The boys watched Thomas' Snowy Surprise with some cherry cheesecake ice cream and hot tea for snack and then headed up to bed. What a great snowday!

MRIs, Uvulitis, Bone Density, and Fungus???

2009-01-28T18:30:00.000-05:00

ACCKKKK!!! I don't think my brain can take anymore of this crazyness. In the past two weeks we have had more medical intervention than the past two months. I am stressed to the max and exhausted. It all started in the beginning of January when Eli broke out in a weird fungal rash all over his trunk and upper limbs. They took a culture but it somehow was lost in transit to Children's Hospital. He has been on grisefulvin (and antifungal) for 4 weeks now with 2 more left to go. The rash just now started to clear up a few days ago and we (as well as the doctors) were getting worried. They do not know why his immune system allowed him to have such a wide-spread fungal infection which is rare but he seems fine otherwise.

His physical medicine appointment was another story. Eli has been doing worse over the past few months in terms of his gross motor skills and swallowing. After he got his cast off Al and I immediately were worried about his gait and external hip rotation. He couldn't walk and when he did it was dragging his right leg behind him. Going down steps was a no go without one of us holding both hands or carrying him all the way down. Eli was falling a ton and kept saying his legs hurt in addition to his ankles being super tight. One night after bath I was putting lotion on him and he had extended clonus only on his right ankle which concerned me a great deal. I guess I was right because his phys med doctor was quite alarmed by his declining neuro status as well.

She ordered a bone density scan to make sure there is nothing wrong with his bones because he shouldn't have broken his 3rd metatarsal jumping on a matress. We had the scan on Monday and I will get the results this Friday. She also ordered an MRI of his brain and spine. It was supposed to be done on Monday right after his bone density scan but the anesthesiologist was concerned with his aspiration and respiratory compromise so it will now be done intubated and under general anesthesia on Monday Feb. 2. My poor baby has to be put under for yet another procedure. His doctor also ordered another swallow study to evaluate his dysphagia next Thursday the 5th. Cross your fingers for that one. Eli will be getting casted for AFOs in the coming weeks due to the decline in his gait and function of walking. I hope he pics out a pattern that he likes so we don't have to fight him to wear them!

With all of this going on I have been a mess. I hate having things pop back up from his NICU days. It has almost been 4 years since his scary arrival 15 weeks early and during times like these I hurt inside for the struggles he continues to face. We are unimaginably lucky and blessed with how unscathed Elias has been for a 25 weeker but neuro changes and g-tubes somehow eat at my soul when thinking of my rambunctious little man. It truly is a journey that we will get through together.

The uvulitis came into play with the only member of our household that seems to NEVER get sick....Al. He woke up at 3am yesterday choking and when he calmed down enough to let me look in his mouth, his uvula (the dangly thing in the back of your throat) was swollen to the width and length of his pinky!! We called my parents to come sit with the kids since they were sleeping and headed over to the ED. He got a steriod shot in his hip and put on oral steriods for the next five days. The ED doc said someone had to stay with him for 24 hours in case the swelling got worse and blocked his airway so I had to call off work :( Everything ended up okay though and he is now sitting next to me complaining about me still being on the computer!

Haircuts

2009-01-22T22:35:00.003-05:00

The boys both got new haircuts this week. They were looking rather shaggy so it was time to break out the scissors and comb and trim those mops up! Carson and Eli sat still better than usual and then enjoyed a long bubble bath filled with their favorite bath toys. Check out the photo shoot from post-bathtime.

Cast Off

2009-01-13T22:05:00.003-05:00

Today was the big day .... off with the cast!! Elias had his whole day planned out. He was going to school, eating lunch, playing with trucks, getting the "stinky green cast" off, then coming home for the longest bubble bath known to a preschooler. Thankfully that is exactly how the day went (with a trip to Starbucks for a treat thrown in after his ortho appt). The only unfortunate part to the entire day was when Eli tried to walk for the first time.

He simply could. not. do. it. ACKK! What were we going to do? He was crying because he was scared. I was nervous because of what a big set back this was in his muscle strength. Carson was worried about his little brother. And Al just wanted everyone to calm down and recollect. The ortho said it will take Elias awhile to get back to walking normally because he lost a lot of muscle mass in both legs on top of his underlying hypertonia and tight tendons. He basically has to relearn to stretch out that ankle and straighten out his hip and knee correctly again.

The poor thing is scared to walk not and gets very frustrated. He said the kids will make fun of him and call him a baby at school. He is doing a bit better after his bath and a good, long stretch. My God was his leg nasty! Al wouldn't even touch it. The skin was sloughing off and stunk to high heaven. He also has some reddened areas along his bony prominences from cast pressure that will need to heal. The xray looked great though and we don't have to see ortho again!! Back to full time physical therapy and adaptive physical education. YAY!

Trip Around the World

2009-01-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

Carson is learning about the World at school right now. His teacher is having them research a different continent each week and travel to a few new places that are found on that continent. They get to sample food common to each area as well as discover language, culture, dress, and environment. Carson is loving every minute and comes home on the bus each day with new facts bubbling out of his mouth. This week is North America week and they had a Ohio State day, Mexican feast, and on Thursday will be learning all about Hawaii. He gets to wear sunglasses, a beach hat, and a flowered shirt!

The first week back he made a craft globe with all of the continents drawn and painted on it. You could see the pride in his face when he pulled the colorful sphere out of his bookbag. His words of the week were North America, South America, Antarctica, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Carson sat down with his flash cards and nailed each word. Tuesday morning he couldn't wait to get on the bus and let his teacher know that he did his homework!

This time has been so an enjoyable experience for both Al and I. I cannot tell you how proud we are of our big guy. Carson is shining and soaking up all the knowledge he can get his growing hands on.

Late one night

2008-12-30T22:58:00.001-05:00

After Carson fell asleep tonight and Eli finished getting a bolus feeding, the house was filled with giggles. I grabbed my new Nikon CoolPix camera (thanks mom and dad) and started shooting. Isn't three a fun age?

Brotherly Love

2008-12-28T22:51:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to All

2008-12-25T22:33:00.000-05:00

I am not going to write a long drawn out post about each toy, book, funny comment, or argument the boys had over the four Christmas celebrations we had this year. There was so much joy and celebration in Carson and Elias' eyes and the magic of Christmas oozed from their beings this year. Each moment was filled with family and friends in addition to great food and fun. Thank you everyone for making this holiday season one of the best ever. Our family is truly blessed to be surrounded by such caring and loving people. Merry Christmas!

Ouch! Rearended...

2008-12-23T22:08:00.000-05:00

Oh how I wish the roads were always dry and no one got into car accidents. We were on our way to TN this afternoon to celebrate Christmas. Unfortunately the weather about two hours into our drive decide to turn from windy to freezing rain and snow creating a lovely sheen across the highway. After slowing to a crawl (or about 25 mph) then hitting a bridge of solid ice and almost running under an 18 wheeler, Al saved our lives and corrected the slide and stopped the car in our own lane.

Whew. We were safe. We thought.

Five seconds later as I turned my head towards the back seat to make sure the boys were okay, an old Ford Ranger slammed into the back of us. Ouch! I shouldn't have done that. Thankfully Al and the boys are fine and I only have some fun whiplash to deal with. The cops were called but were only responding to non-injury accidents due to the number of severe accidents around the area. Crap. Exchange info, call insurance, calm the kiddos, oh...and ourselves too. Then we find out the guy who hit us has a MO license along with expired Arkansas plates!! But we were saved because he intelligently bought car insurance on December 10th. Whew.

Geico sent Enterprise out with a car to pick us up and a tow truck out to get Al's car to the shop. The entire back end will new replaced and maybe some frame straightening. Geico was wonderful and we can't say enough great things about them. We were set up in a rental car and our car was towed to the shop all within 35 minutes. The kids didn't get cranky and our rental was a brand new 2009 with less than 1000 miles on it. Everything has worked out until the weather got worse and we ended up in a hotel honeymoon suite with both kids for the night. We'll see TN in the morning once things settle down and we don't have to ice skate south.

School Gifts

2008-12-19T21:37:00.000-05:00

Today our loving boys each brought home a school made Christmas gift for us.
There is no material gift more special than getting presents created from the hands and love of your children. Unpacking the boxes to decorate the tree and house each year is always sentimental because of those painted wooden boxes or those beaded wreaths. Every item brings a memory and takes you right back to your child at that age. Carson and Elias added to our priceless collection today with two wonderful additions.

Carson's gift came first stuffed into a manila envelope covered in crayon writing and pictures. It said "To Mommy and Daddy. -- From Carson" He had a silly grin on his face and we could tell how proud he was of the contents inside. Al and I opened the envelope and inside was a beautiful clay wreath ornament hung with a nice red ribbon. On the back his name and the year were scratched into the clay with a toothpick so next year we can look back and remember this moment.

Elias came bearing a long tube shaped package wrapped in white paper painted with red and green splatters and tied with red ribbon at the ends. He kept saying, "Open it! Open it! I made it!". Inside was a wall hanging with green painted hand prints in the shape of a wreath along with fingerprint holly berries. It will hang next to Carson's reindeer wall hanging from a few years ago next Christmas season when we decorate once more.

I hope everyone out there with little kids is having fun with their handmade school gifts and enjoying the holidays with their little miracle. We certainly are.

We have Kittens!!

2008-12-18T21:54:00.000-05:00

This morning our mama rat Storm gave birth to four bouncing baby rats. She has been waddling around for the past few weeks looking more and more uncomfortable and this morning we woke up to the sound of tiny squeaking. Little Miss Mama is busy nursing the babies, chowing down on everything we feed her with, and reorganizing her house. We congratulated Ghost on becoming a Daddy and he just looked at us like we were crazy. Perhaps we are but the boys sure got a kick out of it.

I'm betting half of you are trying to figure out why I titled my post "we have kittens" when I'm obviously writing about rats. Well.... I was bored the other day and Carson and I did a little research on pregnant rats and rat babies. We learned that a baby rats are called kittens. Isn't that funny? What irony for the rats. We need to wait a few weeks to name our new little ones and I can't wait to find out what namesakes Carson and Elias give our furry friends.

*******Post written on December 18th and pictures added December 26th*******

I want the GREEN one please!

2008-12-11T21:48:00.004-05:00

Today was our big date with Dr. Ortho Surgeon for Eli's broken foot. The staff at the ortho clinic was simply amazing and I can't say enough wonderful things about them. They truly made the experience fun for Eli instead of intimidating and scary. Hooray for awesome medical teams!! Elias' x-rays didn't look any different and he is having increased point tenderness over his fracture. This is most likely caused by the little monkey thinking he can run (awkwardly) and attempt to jump on his bed again!!! After partaking in such bad behaviors, Eli will crawl over to us, whine about how badly his foot hurts, and then explain how he has to crawl and/or be carried everywhere because of his broken bone. Too bad restraints are not allowed outside of the medical establishment for rambuncious three-and-a-half year olds!!

Dr. Ortho Surgeon ordered a cast up to the knee for the next four weeks. Elias said "okay" and wanted to know right away where the casting room was. He picked out his favorite color which happens to be a bright shade of spring green. Then when the casting started he wanted to know what the man was doing and why EXACTLY! He kept asking where his old shoe went and why his foot had to stay still. It was comical but then the cast was finished and Eli made a poor attempt at walking. He became very upset that walking was so difficult with his new attachment and wanted it off. Thankfully things have gotten easier on the walking front throughout the night and he is hobbling along fairly well. I'm sure he'll be leaping off his bed in no time once again!!

No more monkeys jumping OFF the bed!

2008-12-08T19:07:00.000-05:00

We had a friendly jaunt to the ED this morning with Elias. Last night he decided to be his usual crazy self and bounce around the room like a nut. During a brief moment of insanity he stood on the front of his firetruck toddler bed which stands about 16" off the floor and jumped off towards his toy bin. This of course ended in injury since Elias has such exceptional balancing skills. Carson started calling for Daddy and Eli was crying but not too badly. He limped the rest of the evening but there was no swelling, bruising, or point tenderness noted. Only silly limping and poor weight bearing. We chose to wait until the morning to see if his gait improved before rushing off to the ED but this morning came and Eli was still hobbling along and saying "Ow, ow, ouchie Mommy!".

The doc at the ED didn't think it was broken for all the reasons we didn't think it was broken but ordered a series of x-rays to make sure. Unfortunately for Elias, he fractured his third metatarsal (the middle bone in your foot). They gave him a Reese shoe to wear which is basically a soft walking shoe along with PRN Tylenol/Motrin orders and a date with an orthopedic surgeon for Thursday. He hates his new shoe and wants to crawl or be carried on and off. We'll see how that lasts.

Elias in the ED after finishing a green popsicle!

Christmasy

2008-12-02T20:00:00.002-05:00

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I'm a wrapper complete with ribbon, bows, silver, and gold.

2.Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial trees for this family only due to the rugrats and their asthma and me not loving pine needles all over the floor.

3.When do you put up the tree?
Within three days after Thanksgiving. Al and the boys surprised me this year and decorated the entire house on Sunday while I was at work. It is gorgeous!

4.When do you take the tree down?
After Christmas and hopefully before New Years. Depends on my energy level.

5.Do you like eggnog?
I love eggnog and so do the boys. Al could care less about the delectable drink.

6.Favorite gift received as a child?
Santa wrapped the garage door and left a giant trampoline in our garage and my little sister and I jumped on it all day long in the garage! That tramp was used until the springs fell off in warm weather and cold.

7.Hardest person to buy for?
The boys because I want to get them so many wonderful things but also only want to buy them things they will truly enjoy.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Al. Pretty much anything makes him happy as long as you stick to his main brands.

9.Do you have a nativity scene?
Sure do. My aunt bought it for me and now the boys help me put it up every year. It is a Precious Moments nativity scene.

10.Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail them and then use the digital image of my creation as my e-mail signature for the Christmas season.

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A barbie doll when I was 14 years old. I always hated Barbies anyways but come on, 14 years old?

12.Favorite Christmas Movie?
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

13.When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I find some little things throughout the year that are sentimental items or really good deals then do the bulk of my shopping in December.

14.Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
White Elephant party gifts have certainly circulated throughout the years.

15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Our traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast and my mom's famous cheeseball.

16.Lights on the tree?
We have all white this year.

17.Favorite Christmas song?
Jingle Bells, Rudolph, I like them all

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Usually stay at home but if work gives us the opportunity we head down to Tennessee.

19.Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s?
Of course, when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. I need to touch up on that trivia for the boys.

20.Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angels definitely.

21.Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
One gift on Christmas Eve which is always new jammies for everyone. Then you wear them to bed and wake up Christmas morning to open up everything.

22.Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
The crazy busyness of it all.

23.Favorite ornament theme or color?
My favorite ornament is the Christmas spider. The story is beautiful and although spiders give me the creepy crawlies this ornament holds special value to me. (I'll post the story in a few days)

24.Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham with all the trimmings.

25.What do you want for Christmas this year? Healthy kids, happy family, friends to share memories with, oh.... and a pair of Danskos for work would be nice too.

Marshmallow

2008-12-01T12:21:00.000-05:00

We welcomed a new member to our family this morning as well as a Christmas tradition. My mother brought over the Elf on the Shelf and the holiday fun began. I opened the box while the boys were sleeping and carefully removed the little cloth and plastic elf along with the hardback book filled with the magical story of the elf. After breakfast we all sat down on the couch and I told the boys I had a surprise for them. The four of us squeezed onto the love seat (because why on Earth would we sit on the perfectly good couch?) and fell into the story of Santa's helper who was coming to live with us for Christmas. The elf would watch over the boys and their behavior to see the naughty and nice things they were doing until Christmas Eve. The boys could tell him what gifts they wanted from the Big Man and he would let Santa know. Each night the elf would fly back to the North Pole and report back to Santa all of the things he saw and heard and Santa would decide on Christmas Eve what things they got out of his red sac.

There were three things the boys had to do though.

1.) Never touch the elf. He would loose all of his magic and not be able to fly back to Santa!

2.) Find the new hiding place where the elf was residing each day when they woke up.

3.) Give the elf a name so he could become a part of the family.

Al and I were sure the boys would have no trouble with #2 and #3 but that tricky #1 was going to be tough for our 3 and 5 year olds. We shall see how they do but I'm sure it will be fun no matter how it goes.

Carson and Elias were thrilled to have a new game as well as a magical elf straight from Santa's toyshop living with us. They kept whispering back in forth that them better be good so they would get their trains and Lego cities and tool sets. It was fun sitting back and taking in their childhood imaginations. Back and forth they went trying to pick the perfect name for red felted friend.

Would it be Macy? "No, that was already the dog's name, " shouted Carson.

What about Snow? "No, no, no," said Elias...."the elf wasn't white enough!!"

Finally they looked down into their hot chocolate mugs and Carson said, "What about Marshmallow?". Elias loved the name and they both grinned from ear to ear. They ran over to me and said, "Look Mommy, his name is Marshmallow and he knows Santa!!". Can you get any sweeter than that?

I've been Tagged!

2008-11-10T20:32:00.003-05:00

Michelle tagged me and I'm just a little bit late on responding but here goes....

1.) I can play the piano and viola. I had piano lessons for 12 years of my childhood and am starting to teach Carson some basics. Viola was an interesting avenue that began in 5th grade and abruptly ended at the end of 8th grade when I realized I didn't want to be in high school orchestra. I still have my viola though.

2.) Al is frequently entertained by my sleep talking. My parents say that I started chatting away in my dreams at a young age and I've never stopped. Sometimes you can even get me to incoherently answer questions while I'm sleeping. How odd is that?

3.) Nursing is the only profession I can see myself in for the rest of my life. I absolutely love constantly learning new things, meeting new people, and taking on a variety of challenges every day at work. Who wouldn't love the opportunity to be involved with a family and entrusted with their most precious gifts?

4.) Blue is my favorite color. Absolutely any shade of blue will work. The color of a gorgeous Ohio fall sky is one of the best. The hue of Carson's eyes get me every time. But wearing smurf (aka royal) blue scrub pants to work everyday does get a little old.

5.) I am adopted. For the first 7 months and 1 day of my life I lived in foster care until my wonderful parents finally got me. I am truly blessed to be adopted and couldn't ask for better parents. Adoption is an incredible gift.

6.) I hold the high jump record at my high school. My mom says that she still doesn't know how I was able to get my booty up 5'4" over the bar. Somehow I did but those days are long gone!

7.) College football is an addiction of mine. I follow the season from pre-season until the bowl games and love every second. Of course The Ohio State Buckeyes will always be my team but I enjoy all the games, highlights, recaps, and polls. ESPN is a regular on our tv throughout the fall and I can't get enough.

Since pretty much everyone has been tagged already due to my great ability to procrastinate, I will leave it open to anyone who wants to let me in on your life/personality. Just leave a comment on the page so I can go visit your 7 things and learn a bit!

Voting Day

2008-11-04T23:45:00.001-05:00

Today we packed the boys up and drove over to our polling place to do our civic duty and teach the boys about voting. Carson has been very interested in the election process during the past few months and Eli pretty much just reiterates whatever comes out of Carson's mouth. They were nonetheless excited to go help mommy and daddy vote (the promise of Starbucks after voting helped a little bit too!). We all dressed in red shirts and waited for only about 40 minutes for the entire process. Eli stayed with me and Carson with Al. Eli started signing Old MacDonald while I was voting and attempting to push my touch screen computer screen. I told him that he was only 3 years old and it would be a decade and a half before he could do it for real. Carson was very well behaved and really observed what all of the voters were doing. The nice polling lady even gave each boy their very own voting sticker when we were done.

After the voting commenced and Al and I gathered up the rugrats for a Starbucks run, we ran to the park with my mom to meet Aunt YaYa for lunch. The boys ran and played and jumped all over everything! All of the voting seemed to bottle up a ton of energy in 3 and 5 year old boys. Thankfully everyone had a nice nap so we could watch the election results come in. Unfortunately our guy didn't win the election but we were able to teach Carson and Eli about voting and participating in your country's electoral process.