Surgery is OVER

OH BOY!  That was a wild ride!  The boys did really well!!  Ryan and my mom were a HUGE help- the show would not have gone on with out them.  But, the show couldn't go on with out me either... UGH. 
The morning of surgery (Thursday) I woke up feeling very sick to my stomach.  Ryan was going to work and my mom and I were going to tackle the surgeries together.  Well, luckily, Ryan's parental guilt kicked in while he was at work at 4:30am (!!) and he decided he couldn't miss his boys having surgery.  My mom got here about 9am and took John outside to play.  I showered and played with SJ, while Ryan tied up loose ends for work.  We all headed down to Children's at 10:30 with 2 starving children!  We got the boys checked in- My mom and JR played stickers, and Ryan and SJ played with little trucks.  I tried to answer the questions the nurse had about the boys' health history etc.  I was so confused by the end of it:  When is the last time John has had Tylenol?  (ME: Saturday)  When is the last time Stephen had Tylenol? (ME: Tuesday) Is he allergic to any medications? (ME: WHO?!?!!! )   The nurse was so confusing- jumping back and forth until everyone was confused about everything. 

SJ and his daddy.  SJ was so cute in his little hospital jams- Koalas riding in space ships. :)

Grandma Mitty took JR over to the neuro-surgery area while I was trying to answer the health history questions... they found a huge chest full of little toys and booklets of stickers!!!  John's dream come true- he climbed right into the chest and picked out a Christmas sticker book. ;)

This picture doesn't even do it justice-  he had probably 60+ stickers on his shirt. 

John's surgery was scheduled for 12 and Stephen's was for 12:45.  At 12 we headed down to the waiting room to meet with the anesthesiologist and Dr. Malone, late- I think so!  John got to put strawberry flavor into his gas mask -- this is something I will never forget from when I had surgery when I was 5, the strawberry chapstick!  After a lot of back and forth of who was going to take the boys back to be put under, Ryan did the job for both.  I wanted to, but  at the same time, I couldn't imagine seeing the operating room and having my babies go limp in my arms- plus, even worse then that, was the level of nausea I had at that point.  As Ryan walked John back to the OR, my mom held SJ the whole time in the waiting room, watched all of our gear and watched my cousin Jed playing basketball at the Target Center (!!!!!) (Good game Jed!  That was an amazing game- did you see how excited your coach was when you made that 3 pointer?!?!!) And, I was running down the hall looking for a bathroom, the vom was in full effect.  Now, I am sure you are thinking, why didn't I just go home?!! I know, I would have if I didn't need to feed SJ!

John's surgery lasted 20 minutes- Dr. Malone said his adenoids were HUGE and that this should help with his eating, talking, hearing, drooling, and fevers!!!  Oh, I hope she is right.  As Ryan, my mom and I waited for SJ to get called back for his surgery and JR to wake up from his surgery we watched Jed's BBg.  Ryan took SJ back to be put under.  Right as he left, JR was waking up.  So, I went to hold him.  It was one of the sweetest moments I have ever had with him.  He just laid in my arms, not fighting it at all, and wanted to cuddle with me.  He was calling my name and daddy's name.  It was so sweet.  But, as sweet as it was, the breath from the surgery and my nausea did not go well together.  So, Ryan came back to be with him and I went to lay down in the waiting room with my mom.  JR was admitted to 3232- him and Ryan went upstairs and my mom and I waited for SJ. 

Stephen's surgery lasted 55 minutes! :(  It seemed like forever!  Dr. Malone came and talked to me about how it went, and everything went great!!  His adenoids were "disgustingly huge" (umm.... thanks?) the tubes were in perfectly, the little cyst on his ear took the longest of the 4 things, but looks great and his DA Bronch showed his larynges are closer then they should be, but will keep moving apart with age.  Yay!!  As he woke up, all I wanted to do was throw up-  this was the worst time for a mom to be sick- when both of your boys are having surgery!!  SO, I laid in the bed and nursed SJ as they admitted him to 3232 also.  What a mess.

John bounced back to health very quickly!  He was begging Grandma Mitty for gummy bears as soon as she came in the room with me and SJ.  John ate them all... and just about everything else he could get his hands on.  He laid and watched Elmo, eating gummy bears and snuggling with Nana's blanket. 

I laid with SJ nursing him, he wasn't as happy as John though.  Poor guy was pretty sad- he had a lot more done though.  Ryan ordered Jimmy John's for everyone- Maybe that was why I was sick? I hadn't eaten anything??  So, I ate 1/2 of a sandwich and for about an hour I thought I was OK.  By 5pm, my mom left to go home to get ready for work the next day, John was happy watching Elmo and the rest gets very fuzzy for me...  I have no idea what SJ was doing...  All I know is that OK quickly became terrible.  Ryan called my mom and told her she needed to come back and Sara was going to come get me so I could go home to sleep.  I started "walking" down to the front entrance... well, actually, I was running from one trash can to the next throwing up.  I actually never made it to the front door -- A nurse practically carried me to the ER and I was immediately seen... in the hallway!!!! The ER Dr said all the rooms were full, but that they needed to get an IV in me asap...umm, NOOOO! I tried to explain how both of my boys were in 3200 from having surgery, but they both had strep on Saturday.  I told her ALL I wanted was a strep test... well, that came back as a big negative! They gave me 12MG of zofran and viccodin for my migraine headache and brought a bed into the hallway for me- LOL.  She decided I must just have some kind of flu, and to keep up with the zofran and pain meds.  Poor Sara was waiting outside while all this happened in the ER.  (THANK YOU) I didn't go home because SJ needed to nurse, and I was OK again.  When I got upstairs to 3232, John had thrown up from a steroid they gave him- poor boy.  But he was still a champ! I knew that my mom needed to leave eventually because she needed to work the next day, and John was NOT going to sleep- all he wanted was to watch Elmo re-runs.  And our nurse was terrible- it never failed, as soon as they were quiet or sleeping, there she was, "I'm here to check vitals!" "REALLY?!! NOOO!  Please, please don't wake them up again!" 

It was getting later, and JR wasn't sleeping, I was still sick, SJ was screaming, my mom needed to go home and Ryan couldn't possibly deal with 3 sick people by himself.  So, we begged and pleaded with the nurse to let us go home.  That way, John would sleep, I could sleep, SJ could sleep in his swing and Ryan had somewhere to sleep.  Nope, the nurse was a jerk.  (I'm sorry, but she was.) She said she called Dr. Malone and that Dr. Malone said that is was "against her medical advice, and if SJ leaves, our insurance would cover NONE of his surgery, but John could leave" (And, she said it all with a smirk on her face) AHHH  ...  Ryan took John home and he went right to bed, my mom stayed to try and get SJ to sleep, and I slept for a couple hours while she rocked SJ and fed him (the only thing he would eat...) ice cream! haha  At about midnight, after the staff had switched over, my mom talked to the new nurse and told her that she could NOT wake SJ for any reason, and that I was super sick.  THANK GOD.  She never woke him all night and he slept until Dr. Malone came at 7:30. 

Dr. Malone walked in the room and said, "What the hell happened in here~!?!!!"  And, I looked back at her and said, "This is what you get when you make a sick mom stay at the hospital with her baby!!  WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME LEAVE??!!!"  You should have seen the look on her face-  she was SO so confused!!!  She said the nurse never told her I was sick, all she said was that if it were OK, could we leave?  Dr. Malone was mad then too, she said had she known I was in the ER, and SJ and JR would have done better at home where I could get help, she would have never had us stay at the hospital- EVER!  We were immediately discharged, and all the nurses were apologizing to me, none of them knew what was happening in 3232.   UGH.

Ryan and John came and picked SJ and I up.  I was still sick, so I went right to bed- I didn't get out all day expect until about 3pm when I checked my temp- 102.0!  John was his normal self, running around screaming, and playing.  SJ slept most of the day, but was still pretty sad and batting at his ears.  Everyone was in bed at 8pm...

Today, I am not as sick to my stomach, but I still have the migraine.  JR and Ryan went to Menard's to look at fence stuff and then to go see Auntie Alana and SJ is sleeping. 

Now, really, if I wasn't nursing SJ, this would have been MUCH more simple.  Ryan and my mom could have done this with out me there... Never will we do surgery if I am sick and nursing the patient!!!! 

Thank you mom and Ryan- you were life savers!  And, to Kelli for taking off work on Friday to help, and Sara for waiting at the ER for me for 2 hours, and everyone else for all the offers...we just don't want anyone to get WHATEVER I have! D: 

I can't wait for Ryan and my mom to read this... let's just say, this was all a blur... I am simply trying to remember what seems like a dream~  WOOF  LOL

On a VERY VERY exciting note:  I CAN WEAR MY WEDDING RING AGAIN!!!  I got it re-sized... I haven't worn it since I go PG with John, 4 months after our wedding.  It had been too long to not wear my wedding ring.  I am so excited!!! I love getting at wear it- size 5.5 was too small~ 7 is perfect! :D

Surgery

Well, since John has been sick (almost) all week with a fever, and Stephen has another double ear infection.... I went ahead and scheduled their surgeries.
I have to say, I am not at all wanting to do this.  I am anxious and exhausted just thinking about it.  We are doing theirs both at the same time.  I am praying that everything goes smooth and they both have very speedy recoveries. 
John is having his adenoids out.
Stephen is having his adenoids out, tubes in and a lung study done.

Another week full of appointments ahead of me...pre-ops for both, John's speech/OT x3 and of course the surgeries...

It will be nice to get this done before it is super nice outside! =)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!!

Today, John got to play with his Uncle Mark!  Being St. Patrick's Day, and it being Mark's first St. Patrick's Day of age, I was very impressed he wanted to spend it with his nephew.  I was thrilled though! =)  I had an appointment to go to, so I took SJ with me and JR and Mark stayed home to play. 

Mark reading Three Little Pigs

They read books, played with water and soap in the sensory table, counted potato chips, ate very buttery Mac & Cheese, and Mark taught him how to shoot rubber bands.  Clearly, they both had a blast!!!  John took a 4 hour nap this afternoon...

One of John's favorite parts of the day is when we get the mail.  He just loves tearing apart all of the junk mail and even our bills.  Well, tonight JR and SJ got a card from Nana and Bompa!  :D  They sent a sweet St. Patrick's Day card for the boys, the best part is that they sent shamrock stickers too!!!  Very fun! Thank you Nana and Bompa!

Stephen wearing his shamrock sticker.

As we were reading the boys' card, my parents stopped by.  They brought a green spider! (plastic of course!!) haha  We chatted and hung out.  I very low-key St. Patrick's Day here. 

John has been sick this whole week-  On Tuesday morning, when Ryan went to check on him before he left for work at 5am, he found JR had thrown up all over in his bed.  On Tuesday, he seemed ok, but as we were putting him to bed we realized he was running a fever. He had a fever all day Wednesday, woke up today without a fever, but threw up again tonight.  Stephen has a double ear infection this week again--- 9th one of his 9 month life. 

I am so excited for the weather to warm up!!!!!!!!!  We have been getting estimates for a wood fence for our backyard this week, it will be great to have our yard fenced in.   

Cornbread, Sensory Table Fun and Popcorn for a Bedtime Snack!

As the weather has began to warm up, I decided that we better eat up our chili's and stews in our freezer.  During the winter, if I make a soup I would always freeze the extras for a cold night that I didn't have time to make a dinner.  White Chicken Chili it was for this week! 
I thought it would be fun to make cornbread with John to eat with dinner.  He could measure out the ingredients and help mix it.  What could go wrong... it was corn bread!?  Well, all was going well until I tried to take a picture.  I asked John to hold the can of corn meal for the picture... umm...

Darling smile John...  :)

Then, As I was setting the camera down, he poured all the cornmeal into the bowl!  Well, we have a ton of cornbread muffins now! haha

After our dinner of white chicken chili and cornbread, we had some sensory table fun!

Snow + a little green food coloring = easy peasy fun! =)

Sporting the fireman hat!  (backwords of course!) ;)

Nummy! Snow!! 

John was having the boat carry the snow.

BRRRRR!!  The snow was super cold!

Smile big John! I love you little man, you are so sweet!

After Stephen went to bed early, Ryan and I decided to make popcorn with John for a bedtime snack.

John saying, pop! pop! pop!!

More popping! =)

Carefully watching, waiting for the first kernel...

And the fun begins!

DONE!  :D  However, he was not a fan of the popcorn...  Ryan enjoyed the buttery, salty treat! ;)

XO John!

Our Weekend!

Pizza Party!
On Friday night, we had some of my cousins and Sara over for a low-key pizza dinner.  It was so much fun to catch up with Miranda, Tina, Rachel and Jake!  All, while John, Stephen and Jack played toys. 
Miranda had a lot of news to fill us in on regarding her and Javi's wedding!!  EEEk! We are super excited for their wedding on August 19th-  the colors sound amazing!  You will be a beautiful bride Miranda. 
Jake and Rach were sweet as ever, Rachel brought a yummy Snicker Bar pie to share with everyone.  It was neat to hear a little more about Jake's family business and life in Lonsdale! :)  <3
We would love to do this again-  you are all the ideal guests!!  We had a blast hanging out with you!

John and Jack playing on the Trampoline


Saturday Night With the Travelers!
Jana and Steve just got home from Cabo on Friday night, welcome home!  We had them over for dinner on Saturday.  It was great to hear about their trip with Lauren- deep sea fishing seemed like it was the hit! 
Jana brought John a huge sucker, he was thrilled! :)  We had pork tenderloin, cheesy mashed potatoes, carrots and crescent rolls.  It was a great meal, SJ ate his heart out! After dinner, Jana and I bathed the boys and Ryan and Steve cleaned up dinner.  John had a blast jumping on the bed after tub-time. 
Once the boys were both fresh and smelt of baby lotion JR and Nana built with our big cardboard blocks as the men watched the HS Hockey Tournament.  All of the sudden, JR said "HOC-KEY!" I am so glad that the Patrick grandparents were here to hear him say hockey for the first time!

Sunday-Funday!
About a month ago, my mom called me and said that her and my dad want to watch the boys one evening a week so Ryan and I can have some "us" time. Wowo!  I was thrilled when I got of the phone-  dates, every week??!!!  I'm there!  However, the more the idea was talked about, the more it was not going to happen. My mom works (very) long days- she doesn't get home until 7pm (or later) - and we go to bed here by 8pm.  That was just not going to work for either of our schedules... bummer!  My mom pushed the subject again- (yay!) and we came up with a plan for Ryan and I to do Sunday morning dates.  Much more our style!!  Now, we have been going to church together (kid-free) and then to run errands.  
This week we went to Assumption in downtown STP at 9:30.  From there we made a return at Kohl's, stopped at the battery store for a new battery for my Polar watch, and then to Target to get the boys their Easter baskets!  Ahhh, SO FUN.  I picked out bubbles, pinwheels, sport shaped eggs, and matching trucks.  Ryan picked out chocolate bunnies, jellybeans, chocolate eggs, a Nerds rope, and stickers!  We love being parents to our little bunnies!! :D 

STA Pride

I am still a CDH Raider- I will always be one!  But, I am happy for Ryan! 

He was very excited that STA won the HS State Hockey Tournament!  

 He wore his STA gear all weekend, and even had SJ wear JR's sun hat from when he was a baby. 

Congrats STA - you deserve your title!

Tired Daddy!

Tonight, I started dinner- chicken, brown rice and steamed broccoli & cauliflower.  I asked Ryan to see how things were coming...was the broccoli and cauliflower going to be done the same time as the chicken?? 
Well, he said "everything was perfect!"   OK! Thanks dear!! :)

Well.... I went to check on him checking on the dinner.... this is what I found....

He was sleeping under the counter!  Ok, I get it, you are exhausted from life. 

Thank you Ryan for all you do!!  I know you are burning the candle at both ends- being a dad, husband, working, and getting your masters.  I love you, thank you.

And, yes- Ryan went to bed tonight at about 8:30.  Sound asleep... until the 5am buzzer...

A Little Story Time

JR and SJ looking at books while I was making breakfast.

Nap Time! Really??!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Two Year Old Moments

As I sit here watching John on the little monitor while he is at speech.... they are learning animals, specifically the giraffe or as John just keeps saying neck.  haha

We drive past 3M where Ryan works almost everyday, sometimes a few times a day.  I started pointing it out to John, saying "Look John!  That is where daddy works!!  ... He drives there every morning in his truck and reads books about money all day!"   (Ok, I was simplifying things for the sake of talking to a 2 year old!) ;)  Anyways, now every time we get on to a freeway John screams, "Dada VVVERRR" (that means dad driving in his truck)  Then every hotel and high rise that remotely looks like the color of 3M's main building on 94, John screams, "Money Books!!! DAD! Money BOOKS!!!" 

John is really into the word "ME" ... Everything is ME!  
When I try to change SJ's diaper, he says "Yuck! Poop! Baby!!" Then, he tries to get in on the action, "ME!"  Umm... NO! 
He wants to zip every zipper, put on every shoe, do everything... ME!

John has been asking for Nana.  Well, Nana is in Cabo and then she is going to AZ for a few weeks.  Eeek!  It will be a while until John sees Nana.... I knew we needed to address this request that was coming often throughout the day.  So, after the potty party at the MOA, we went to the airport to see "Nana's airplane leave"  ... I know what you are thinking!  BUT- it worked perfectly.  We talked all about how Nana was going on a vacation to the ocean with Bompa and Lauren.  So, we waved bye-bye  to about 30 planes... and each one went like this... "Nana! nero-nero (that is the airplane sound he makes...) Bompa! Doggie, Woof woof- Bye-BYE!  NO! WATY WATY!!  YEEEAAAAA!  Bye Bye Nanny."  (all that means: Nanna went on an airplane with grandpa Steve, Sabo did not go with, and Nana and Bompa went on to the ocean/water. I am sure you followed that...) haha

When John is walking down the steps in our house he has decided to wants to be very independent.  We have very steep steps, so I worry he may loose his balance and could fall.  He will not go down backwards anymore, he won't let me help him, nothing.  So, I would tell him everyday, "hold on to the wall, it will help you if you get tipsy"  So now every step, every step John says, "Wall, Yeap!  Wall, YEEAP!" All while nodding his head in agreement with my request to carefully hold the wall so you don't fall. 

When we were at the mall yesterday, I was returning something at Nordstrom's  ... and it was taking a few minutes which seemed like forever at the time.  John saw a bra, and loudly said, "Boob! YUUUCK!!!!"  I wanted to die.  Then, he turned around and saw a big (yes, they were quite large) pair of undies, with his arms in the air flying he yelled, "A  BIG-A, BIIIG!"  Oh, boy-  couldn't the lady speed up this return??  I wanted to sink into the floor.  But, at the same time, I was SO excited that he was talking... LOL.

Oh, I love having a 2 year old... even though he hasn't learned to edit.... haha  John, I love you so much!

Do the *CLAP* *CLAP* Potty Dance!

This morning I woke up John woke me up at 4:40AM because he was ready to play... I was not.  I fought keeping him in bed until 6:30 and by then I realized it was a battle I was done fighting.  I was not going to get back to sleep.  By 8am I had a headache and was not too excited for the rest of the day so I decided to rally and find something to get us out of the house.  That is when I realized my Mom's group was hosting a get together at the MOA for Ralph's Potty Dance Party!  Wahoo!  I got the boys ready, packed a lunch and got together some goods I needed to return/exchange at the Mall.
We got there at 10:10am... Just in time for the 10:15 start! :)  Holly and Christin saved me a little space to dance!  The boys had a blast, it was very well organized and they sure put on a show! haha




Me and John, He really was having a great time!  I just couldn't get him to look at the camera! : /


  Stephen dancing away to the Potty Dance!







We had a blast!  Are they potty trained now?? haha, NO.

After the dance party we went and had lunch and then I did loads of returns/exchanges! I love how good it feels to get that done! :D 

Stephen was alert .... very alert until ...

His after lunch food coma set in!!! LOL 

A little tuckered out you might say....

(Thanks Holly for taking these pictures for me!! )

Stephen at 9 months

Stephen was last weighed about a 2 weeks ago, at almost 9 months he weighed 20lbs. 10oz.  and was 28 inches long.  He is wearing size 24 mo on top (shirt size) and 12-18mo for pants.

Eating:
Stephen loves to eat!! He eats 3 meals a day of table food.  I can't even pick a "favorite food" for him- he eats everything offered.  He is really good at feeding himself but also will eat from a spoon if I am going to feed him yogurt/soup/cereal etc.  So far I have not held back about what he can or can not eat other then peanuts, honey, eggs, strawberries and milk (not dairy in total, just milk.) He has shown no reactions or sensitivity to anything- YEAH!  I am still nursing him full time, and he has gotten over the biting phase for the most part. 
He has 4 teeth on top and 2 teeth on the bottom. 

His schedule:
5:30-6am: Wake up, nurse and snuggle
8:30am: Breakfast  (oatmeal, fruit, cereal, breakfast meat, toast, yogurt, etc.)
9:30am If we are in the car driving, he will take a morning nap....  Otherwise, he will just play all morning with his toys, crawl around, sing and snuggle.
10:30am: Nurse
12pm: Lunch (Deli meat, fruit, veggie, crackers, pasta, soup, beans, etc.)
1pm: Nurse him and then he takes a nap
3:30: wake up and nurse again.
5:30/6pm: Dinner  (meat, veggies and grain)
7pm: Bath time and then snuggle and nurse.
8:30 bed time!! :)

Sleeping:
Stephen sleeps in his swing at night and is pretty good about sleeping through noise and light.  He really likes to sleep with
 a blanket.  We wrap him up and then he holds onto the edge of the blanket almost white knuckled! haha
We don't let Stephen sleep with us ever, he is super mobile, and I am so tired that I need to sleep when he is.  It wouldn't be safe, even though John was still sleeping with us at this age.   I must not have been as exhausted when I only had one babe... because, now when I lay down to sleep I am instantly sleeping!

Movement:
Towards the end of February Stephen began to pull himself up on me but it quickly progressed into standing up at many things.  He is crawling everywhere!!   However, sometimes he will still do the "belly crawl" (it kind of looks like an army crawl.)  Luckily, he hasn't been interested in the steps.  He usually crawls right past them and hasn't yet given them a second thought.  (BUT, it won't be long until he is interested....) 
Stephen used to be stuck when he was sitting up.  I loved this! haha  But, now he can go from sitting to being on his stomach to crawling all in the last couple days.  If he pulls himself up to a standing position, he is stuck there.... he needs help getting down- obviously!

Stephen almost never ever cries!  He only does if he is poopy or  hungry.  Go figure!  He has an infectious laugh and dimples on both of his cheeks.  He says, "dadadada"  and  "mamamama"  and babbles and sings a ton! 

When I asked Jana about what Ryan's temperament was as a baby she once told me that Ryan was the kind of boy that would sit and play with a wooden spoon for 4 hours on the kitchen floor.  I used to think this must be an exaggeration.... Let's just say, I believe her now!! haha  And, on that note... Stephen definitely gets his temperament from Ryan! :) 

9 months.... where has time gone?!!!!!!!

I couldn't resist!  Here is Stephen with his first sucker!  He loved it- 

When we were at the MOA today, I bought John a sucker but he didn't like it.... so SJ wanted it when we got home.  I really didn't think he would like it because it was sour raspberry!   He cried when I took it away, I know... MEAN MOM. :D

Grandma's Birthday at Mad Jacks

Sara organized a lovely birthday card for my mom.  She mailed it to our out of town siblings; Ryan and Jinette in SD and Mark in St. Cloud.  Kelli signed it before she left for her cruise and last it was dropped off on our porch for John to finish the card with his art work and stickers.  Sara delivered the card to my mom with all of her kid's, grandson's and husband's signature's on it!!

John looking at the menu, hmmm.. Mac & Cheese, strawberries and french fries sound GREAT! :D

Waiting for dinner... it is hard to wait for food when you are young and hungry!  But the crayons and snacks helped.  Stephen ment businesswith his little snacks. 

John was practicing saying "happy" to my mom!  We have been working very hard on the phrase happy birthday with John... he can say happy as clear as day!!  It is really cute!  And, his Great Grandma Glennie Ann would be so proud- Happy is her favorite word.  :) 

Birthday Girl!!!  Posing with her Sundae... and then it quickly got passed off to the grandsons. 

John was not interested in the ice cream, but Stephen was in heaven! :D

SiStErS!!!! 

We look like triplets! haha  Kelli is all tan from cruising the ocean and Sara is sporting her new 'do!!  :)  Love you Sara and Kelli. <3

Outside time and Avocados!

John had a great time outside last week.  It takes him forever to trudge through the snow.  I love it!  The fresh air is crucial for John- he needs it everyday.  Lately, he has been "shoveling" the snow. 

As I was changing the laundry, John helped himself to an avocado.  Ok, I get it... you are hungry?! 

Stephen got in on the action too.