Happy Halloween & Pictures

Happy Halloween everyone!!! I hope everybody had a safe, fun night of trick or treating. Our gang had fun. We only walked a couple of blocks and they were ready to come home. I think the candy was calling their names. Surprisingly, it was the older ones that wanted to come home...Tyler and Connor would of kept going. They had fun! We couldn't complain about the weather at all as it was a very nice fall night. Thankfully as the costumes were all pretty thin. We got lots of candy times 3! After we got home they were already talking of what they wanted to be "next" year! Ahhh...they exhaust me! :)

Meet our crew.....Red Ranger, Genie, Blue Ranger, Farmer, Spiderman!!!
My 3 little Superhero's! Can you tell the Rangers apart?
And off they go......
Mommy and Daddy have to have some fun too!!!

The kids are done. The bags are full, their feet are "hurting" and their tummies want some sugar!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Endocrinologist Update

The appointment went well. Not sure if I am more confused now or before the appointment. It seems that it's just not a cut and dry case here.

First let me say that my man amazes me with his willingness to listen to the doctor and be so good. He got a big scare on his face today when we got there. First of all the appointment was at the hospital. He's not exactly fond of those places. Then after the nurse took his height and weight - she gave him a gown and said he had to take off his clothes. His eyes got as big as saucers. Ya see - any other time he is given a gown that means we are walking through the double doors. I saw it in his eyes. I quickly jumped to reassure him everything was fine and that the doctor was just looking at him.

The doctor did his exam and then we went to his office to talk. Cody's TSH level has been off the chart. However his T3 and T4 have been ok. Doctor said of those two the T4 was the most important and that was ok. But the TSH points more toward the pituitary gland. While the doctor didn't say he has hypothyroidism - he said we are more like clinical hypothyroid. Meaning = not sure if this will be a long term diagnosis. He doesn't feel the need to do an MRI at this time. He prescribed him Synthroid 25mg once a day and we see him back in 4 months for another blood draw and to talk. He is really hoping that once on the drug for a few years we could look to take him off around puberty to see if he levels out. A little overwhelming that this is even for a few years. He's only 4. Doctor also said that it's just not normal for a boy his age to complain of being tired all the time. However his growth is right on target. Which is good. So while we have a thyroid problem it's not not clear cut yet as to what we are dealing with. I liked the doctor. He welcomed my questions and really took the time to explain. Only thing being a pediatric doctor I felt like he could of had a more kid friendly attitude with Cody - but for now I am over looking that. I just don't feel the need (at this point) to drive to Syracuse for a second opinion.

So I need to figure out how to get him to take a pill. Maybe I'll make up a pill chart and he can put a sticker on it. The doctor doesn't recommend putting it in anything (applesauce, pudding, etc) - said he can chew it but yuck. There is no other form of it (liquid) so a pill is it. I am hoping he is better at swallowing pills than I am. Brett can pop them dry. I have no doubt he'll do it. I'm also trying to explain this to him and not finding the right words. Our other "talks" have been easy. This one you can't see.

My next concern comes to paying for this medication. Apparently this drug does not come in a generic for children. It does come in a generic for adults but it's not recommend for children by the FDA?? I guess! So for a drug plan - it's a tier 3 and for me that's $40 a month. UGH! My MIL told me to write a letter to the insurance company and plead my case so I will. (She's a nurse and fights them all day / every day) The generic - would be $11.99 for a 90 day supply. Big difference there!

Tonight as I was tucking him into bed, I told him the doctor wants him to take a pill everyday and that he would have to swallow it. He said "Mom, I'll just drink juice". I LOVE this little boy!

School pictures that DIDN'T happen!

Today was school picture day. The boys all looked adorable as they headed out the door. I always wonder about these pictures as I am not there to see what type of smiles we get. Last year - we got great pictures in both the fall and spring shots. Cody and Dylan said there's went great today. No doubt, I am sure I will have great pictures from them in a couple of weeks. Tyler on the other hand..................UGH! He would not get his picture taken. I guess he sat in the chair and put his hands over his face and that was it folks. He was NOT taking them off his eyes. So no pictures!!! We had a big talk tonight and he said he would do them on picture re-take day but man I am so frustrated with him. I am hoping he'll cooperate because if he doesn't then he isn't in the class picture either. I guess it is only preschool but it's his first year! I can't force him though so I'll just have to deal. He has a stubborn streak in him a mile long!

Cody goes to the endocrinologist tomorrow. I'll update then. My nerves are good right now. We'll see what morning brings.

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we carved our pumpkins. The boys have been waiting to do it but tonight was the best night. I called Brett and asked if he wanted to come home from work for a few hours to carve with us and he did. He was so happy and so was I as we have always done this together. So he got home and we started. The boys told us what they wanted and Brett and I did our best to follow their wishes. They would of loved to cut themselves but I'm not that brave! They scooped some but they didn't want to get their hands dirty. Go figure - my dirt loving boys didn't want their hands dirty by pumpkin guts. (rolling eyes) We are expecting our first snow tonight and into tomorrow so we'll see what we get. I'm hoping for something light and that it will melt quick.
Tyler got so into scooping!
Cody liked scooping for a quick minute.
Dylan did stick his hand in for a second but that was it.
Cody wanted to cut really bad so Daddy let him cut a line.
My boys with their pumpkins. They thought of the faces.

SCARY............

What a Weekend and Baby Pictures

Phew.....the weekend is over and I am exhausted. Doing a marathon drive like that takes so much out of you. If you haven't been following....Kevin and Kristie had their little boy on Friday. Her water broke Thursday night so after much thought we all decided to get a little sleep (yah right) and wait to head to MD on Friday AM. We were on the highway by 5:30 am and arrived at the hospital at 11.

Jack is adorable and looks just like his Daddy. Kevin is great with him. It was so neat to see my mom teaching him how to change the diaper. We had a great weekend with them and had to leave this morning to head home. That was super tough. I miss Jack already and can't wait till they come North. I have 3 very anxious little boys that can't wait to hold him.

While I was gone, Brett had "daddy duty" all weekend. My house was in one piece when I arrived home so that was good news. :) He had to turn in 2 football games with me being gone so that kind of sucked but oh well. The only thing that cracked me up is he did the laundry but didn't fold ANY of it. I guess at least it was clean.

Now onto the much anticipated pictures of my new nephew!

The Flower Family...
Jack Brady Flower..............Sporting his "pumpkin" hat. The hat is orange and has a little green stem on the top! Very perfect for a Halloween baby!

I think he looks like his daddy!

Jack Brady Flower

My nephew was welcomed into this world this morning at 8:23 am. Jack weighed 9lb. 30z and was 21 1/2 inches long. Kristie had a very long labor. Getting to the hospital around 10ish, started epidural at midnight and started to push around 6am. She then pushed for 2 hours. Mother and baby are doing fantastic and Jack is a little cutie! Daddy is doing great too and has changed a few poopy diapers today! :) So neat to see my baby brother doing that. I have pictures but you all have to wait till I get home on Sunday.

Baby Update

Kristie's water broke about 10 pm and they are headed to the hospital. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers...... Us girls are headed to Maryland and can't wait to meet the new addition to our family. I will have lots of pictures when I come home.

We love you Kevin, Kristie and Baby Jack.

Funny Pictures and Baby Flower Update

A few cute pictures. Well this one is cute only if your the mom of these three kids. :) Dylan had the bright idea the other morning to "hey guys, let's pull our pants up".....so the other two followed and they did. I called them Erkel and they just looked at me with a blank look on their face and asked "who's Erkel"? Funny they will have no idea who that is. So instead these are my 3 little Erkel's.....
Tyler, Tyler, Tyler.....my little man. He's sporting a new shirt he got! I love it! Baby Flower Update: For those that are following....Kristie had her 40 week doctor's appointment today. None of us would of thought she would get to 40 weeks. The doctor did an ultrasound and assured them that Jack is head down. They also did a stress test and Jack did great and Kristie was showing some contractions. She is dilated 1 cm....and so we all wait. If she makes it till next week they will talk about inducing her. Jack apparently is very comfy where he is at. I'll keep ya posted!

A thought...

Our paperwork came today for the endo. Wow - a packet, they weren't kidding. Now... I am used to filling out medical paperwork. I have thought about copying it all and just handing it in at every office we have gone to. Even though the information is all the same, the forms are all different. So I just have gotten good at this. This endo paperwork though is something so different. They want details. So I have some writing to do. One part of this paper work though kind of struck a nerve. Because we are dealing with even more stuff that can be genetic (beside from the cleft) it is asking for more family history. So at first thought, no big deal I'll talk with my parents. Done! Then there is the section for father's mom and dad. Not possible as Brett has no idea as to his medical history of his birth parents. Not that it matters a 100% because I feel that it's not all about genetics, we learn so much growing up from our parents and Brett and I have had great role models - but when it does come down to this stuff and with Cody this is something that we think about a lot. (sigh) So that section will remain a big ????? I however, am really anxious for this appointment and it is all weighing very heavily on my mind. I just have no idea what to expect.

Then tonight as we are watching Nick at nite - on comes Home Improvement. I love this show even though it is nothing but re-runs. So I watch it and it's the episode about Randy having hypothyroidism. Just kind of bizarre.

On a baby note for those following......my SIL is 40 weeks tomorrow. Yeah, she's about had it. It's funny when we get pregnant we can't wait to get fat, wear maternity clothes, feel the baby move......then the months drag on and while we still love it all a tiny part of our mind is going "ok, enough is enough".......then by 40 weeks - you've had it! You are now wondering when on earth is this kid coming out, you can't see your feet, you hate your maternity clothes, it hurts to walk, you can't bend over, you are so tired of looking at your bathroom you have re-decorated it a million times in your head and sleep is NOT happening. I think most people will agree! So tomorrow is her appointment and we are really hoping these doctors get things going. We are all so anxious to meet Jack!

Haunted Hayride

Tonight we went to a Haunted Hayride. A chilly night to stand outside for 2 hours but the kids did wonderful and we all had a good time. Tanya and Karly came to - Shaun stayed home with Connor as he is to young and is not into all of this scary stuff. By the time we were done - Tanya knew she made the right choice. Connor would of freaked!

At first you had to go into a barn and hear a story - slamming doors, warewolflf in the mirror - oh yah that was fun. Then we walked through this tunnel where it felt like you were in the twilight zone. As you exited the warewolf scared you to death. Thankful he didn't do it to the kids. We got on our wagon and off we went. Followed the path by lit torches and then we went into the forest. OMG! It was really neat. They had skits set up the entire way. Kids jumped out from the dark, huge spiders hung over head, chain saws started, trees fell and then a guy got on the wagon with his chain saw and pretend to cut. I thought we were really going to loose the kids at that point. We didn't. Then we went past a pirate ship and a pirate princess got on asking for gold. Next we came to the witches and they flew over head. My husband said it was nice that I lent them my stick! :) We all had a great time. A little cold by the end but it was fun.

The gang is ready to go....Tanya and Karly

Practicing our scary faces......."aren't you scared?"

By this point it's been almost 2 hours of waiting and we are freezing! They were humoring me...thanks guys!My new favorite picture of us.

We have a date

The endocrinologist office called this afternoon - we have our appointment. The referral went through and they will see us October 29th @ 10:30. I am so happy that they got us in early. Our packet should come in the mail on Monday and I need to get that filled out and back to them. Now I just need to find some words to describe this all to Cody. Any suggestions?

Now just my luck, that will be the day they have school pictures and that will be the day that Kristie will have Jack. But I can't miss this appointment. It's so important to get Cody back to feeling good and answer some of my million questions.

Pumpkin Family

Let me explain the picture: Tyler made this in speech today with Ms. Tish. Of course Tish did most of the work - but Ty glued the heads on and told Ms. Tish what we should all wear. From Left to Right: Gimmie (wearing bracelets cause my mom wears 2 every day), Daddy (wearing his ref shirt), Mommy (wearing a necklace as I do most days for work), Dylan, Cody and Tyler (his order) Isn't this so cute???? I love it!

Talked with some doctor's today regarding Cody. The pediatrician called me back and is in full agreeance with having Cody see an endocrinologist. The referral is in and we just wait to see when our appointment is. I actually am going to call tomorrow and see as I want this before we see Dr. Tatum in November. Then I talked with Eileen (ST on team) and she really wants to wait to have any procedures done to test the adenoids. She said she has seen to many kids go from having great speech, to adenoids removed, to horrible nasal speech and a surgery to correct it. I agree and really think that the tiredness problem is from the thyroid issue. However, his airway is small so I really have no idea what we do. I will wait to talk with Dr. Tatum and then we need to make the best choice for Cody. That is the hard part - making the right decisions knowing that if we screw up it's Cody's future we are messing with! This part of parenting sucks! :) To put it bluntly.

Field Trip!

Today was the first school field trip of the year. We went to Fiato's Apple Orchid to pick apples, take a hayride, play in the hay maze and eat donuts and cider. We are having some great weather so the day was perfect. When we left we actually turned the air on in the van. All 5 of us went. The boys met up with all their school friends. Tyler kind of stuck with us but the groups were divided so he did have some of his classmates with us. It was nice for me to meet some of these parents. I am so out of the loop with Tyler's class as Brett takes him/picks him up. So I got to chit chat with the parents and start to learn a whole new group of kids names. We did get the orchid early and was able to buy new pumpkins for the boys. They got some good ones. These pumpkins will be kept inside until Halloween and then once put outside we will bring them in every night. Halloween pumpkins this year have cost me $36 this year. Way to much if you ask me!

The leaves are so pretty this time of year!

Tyler's first school field trip. Hard to believe he is my baby and is 3 now. Sniff, sniff! They grow to fast. On the hay wagon and ready to go! Dylan and Nathan.......One thing about today was I saw who the boys "paired up" with. It wasn't each other. They both had their "groups". That was neat to see! Last year it was just the two of them....this year they have expanded. Big step for them I think!After fun and games - it was time to pick our apples. They have all learned the proper way to pick an apple. (Twist and pull) The farmers were very happy. The trees that were ready had a tag on them and the kids were told to look for the colored tag. Then it was in search of the BIG apple. Dylan found his.....After some examining - Cody found his too......Tyler decided that he would get right down, sit down and pick out the perfect apple! Oh and they were only supposed to get 2 - Tyler is still learning and took 4. Oops!

UGH, UGH, UGH

It appears that somebody else needed our pumpkins more than us because somebody helped themselves to them last night. They have been on our steps since 2 Sat. ago. We put them out for the past 4 years and nobody has touched them. They were gone this morning. The boys are so mad. Dylan wanted to call the cops. Me to but honestly they have better things to do than track down pumpkins! :) So I told them we would tell Uncle Kevin. They were satisfied with that. It just really irks me that somebody took them. They aren't yours - you didn't spend your money on them - leave them alone. I hate stealer's. So.....we have to go get more pumpkins. My niece was a doll though and once my sister told her, she called me at work and said "Auntie, we have an extra pumpkin and you can have it". Very sweet of her! So I've learned my lesson and will bring them in from this point forward. I of course tried to give a teaching lesson about not taking things that don't belong to you - but really not sure if my 4 and 3 year olds understood that. :) I can try!

Tomorrow we go to Fiato's Apple Orchid for a school field trip! I told Brett these are like mini free vacations for us as all 5 of us will be going. I'm torn though as to who to go with. One of us will go with Tyler and his class the other will go with Cody and Dylan and their class. Only one camera. Tomorrow also marks 39 weeks for Kristie! We are all hoping to have a baby by the end of the week. Only Jack knows when he is going to make his entrance. I'll keep you updated.

Football Luck

Weird title I know. By the end you'll see how it goes together, promise!!! Today we did the homecoming parade. The kids all got lots of candy (although I think they got more last year) but still plenty to get them by till Halloween.

Waiting for the parade to start!

My boys!Then after a complete day of playing we all went to the football game. We had a great night and the kids had fun. Go Tigers!

Last night Brett had a football game. Apparently the finger that he used his finger whistle on is the same finger as his wedding ring. So for games he takes it off. Usually leaving it at home. Last night he wore it to the game and took it off in the locker room, put it in his shorts pocket and basically forgot about it. Till he got home from the game and went to put it back on. "oh shit, Kelly...>I can't find my ring". Panic struck him. He was convinced the ring had fallen out in the car he rode in. So he called the guy and he looked - no ring. We checked pockets, the bag, the laundry....where did it go. He had a call into the Athletic Director of the school and they would look for it. So basically we figured it was gone. He kept saying last night - I should probably go back to Wendy's parking lot (where he parked his car) to see if it fell out when he got out of the car and into his own. But seriously what are the odds of every finding it if it did fall out there. Well.........the odds are pretty darn good let me tell you. Almost unbelievable. He didn't go back last night. He didn't drive back by that same parking lot until almost 5pm tonight. Sun out - he said he drove super slow and something caught his eye. Wouldn't you know - it was his wedding ring! OMG!!! He was shocked, so am I. Can't believe nobody saw it and picked it up. The ring looks like it might of been drove over as it has some blacktop stuff embedded in it. But I think a good professional cleaning will take care of it. He is super Lucky!

A better day

Well after my pity party yesterday and into the night when my brain finally decided to just go to sleep....I woke up feeling much better. Still nervous as to what is to come with Cody. After doing some research and talking with others a lot of what Cody does is making light bulbs go off. I think the hardest part is I am in limbo until Tuesday when I can talk with our pediatrician and that is the hardest part for me. So while I can still say "why us, why Cody" I know that we will get through this too. The best part is I know I have lots of friends and family that will be there to cheer us on! And to them (they know who they are) a big ole thank you!!!!! HUGS....

I am so glad it's Friday. I'll get to see my husband tomorrow. :) He's only got one game tomorrow so what do we plan to do tomorrow evening you ask.....why go to another football game! But at least he doesn't have to ref it and we can all watch together. The boys are anxious and it's homecoming with two big rival schools playing so it should be some good high school football. Tomorrow afternoon is the parade and because we are experiencing an Indian Summer right now - I get to get back out my flip flops and the boys will be on a sugar high from all the candy that will get thrown.

Still waiting for my brother to call us and say "it's time". Kristie will be 39 weeks on Tuesday and we are all patiently awaiting the arrival of Jack. Patiently is the key word - is there such a thing when you are anxious for a baby to arrive!?? I text them today and said I was "up for a drive" but........we must wait.

Oh yah....one thing that helped today - Retail Therapy! I got a new purse for winter and I love it! :)

Emotional Day

Today has been an emotionally draining day. It started out early. Got to work and had the pit in my stomach that I had to call the pediatrician today to find out the results of Cody's blood work. So I called and waited for them to fax me a copy. I was on the phone with my sister when our receptionist came in and handed me the paper - my words were "wholy shit". In front of me was clear evidence that Cody has a thyroid problem. His levels are severely elevated, TSH coming in at a 9.06 (normal range is .4 - 4.0) . In June this same level was 9.10.......so we are back to where we started. There is something about talking to family on the phone that can make me cry. So yes, I threw myself a pity party today. My good friend Jeff went and got me a Dew to help. It did! I had a feeling this is what the blood test would find but I really was hoping I was wrong. Just once I want my mommy gut to be wrong! So.....I called our ped back to let them know I got the fax. First thing she said to me was "his levels are pretty high" and that was coming from the girl that answers the phone. Our doctor is on vacation till Tuesday so I have to wait to talk with him. I told her our history and asked for the pediatric endocrinologist number and I called their office. Apparently you have to have a referral from the treating doctor - not because of insurance but because I guess they don't want every crazy mother bringing their kids in based on a mommy gut feeling. I can understand. So I called our ped. back and she said they would make the call. I verified that this afternoon and the doctor has to sign something and fax over to them on Tuesday. Hopefully our first visit will be within the next couple of weeks. I want to get Cody seen and started on a treatment course ASAP. For his sake! He is so not himself and I have to remind myself to give him a little more patience as he can't help it.

While I was in the mood today, I also called and got our appointment with Dr. Tatum moved up to November. We have to discuss the adenoid issue and what our course of treatment will be. That will be 11/20.

I've done lots of crying today. Thankfully my mom and sister were down tonight and I could talk it over with them. I really want to yell "why us, why Cody" as I did the first few weeks of his life. Isn't having a cleft enough. I don't really know what our future holds and that is probably the worst of it. I am guessing medication but not sure. That tends to be the standard. I have a lot more questions as the thyroid controls the pituitary gland and that is a midline organ - same as a cleft. Midline defect. Along with this comes more doctors visits, more co pays, more money to come up with for medication, more who knows.......The other side of me is saying "bring it on", I can do this, I don't really have a choice as I didn't have a choice with the cleft and what that has to offer us. We will get through this just might shed a few more tears along the way.

So tonight as I held Cody a minute putting him to sleep I am trying to figure out how to "explain" this to him. Unlike his lip that he can see, he can't see this. I have to search within me to find the right words for a 4 year old. And then I read this poem and realized yet again I am in Holland! http://www.luckysmiles.org/inspiration.htm

Things I realized

There are a few things I realized today. I realized that I am so very proud of Cody. Ok, this isn't the first time I have figured this out but he was such a trooper getting his blood taken. Brett and he arrived at the hospital and he came walking down the hall carrying his backpack. I was curious.....he felt the need to bring his turtle, turtwig, dolphin, juice cup, baggie full of gold fish and donuts - all for a few minute trip to get blood taken! How cute is that! They drew the one vial and the guy put a bugs bunny band aid on him. The guy made the comment "he probably doesn't know who that is"....you are so right. Thankfully, they did have Spongebob stickers and he got 6 of them. He was so happy as he didn't have to ask for some for his brothers.

That vial of blood is going to determine our next step. If his TSH level comes back elevated again, I will contact the pediatric endo and set up an initial visit. If the level comes back normal then I will contact Dr. Tatum and see what he suggest our next step is in following through on the adenoids.

Yesterday I realized something else. My little boys aren't so little anymore. We have moved onto different toys. I actually had to go on line last night to look up Dylan's new favorite - Tech Deck. They have a website for this and an online community. Really! In case you have wondered what you do with these little skate boards that are way to small for anybody to stand on - well......your fingers become the "person" and you can do tricks on them with your fingers! So of course I need to figure this out! This is gonna be good. Then I went onto the Bakugan website - I swear they have a website for everything. I finally figured these things out too. The little ball has a magnet in them. In order to "battle" you need to place the magnetized card on the floor and roll your ball to battle. These come with accessories too - a battle ground, shooter and carrying case. Santa, Santa, Santa.......read up!

My last realization came last night. I realized that you can get a head in this world if you know somebody. Last night I read the online newspaper from my hometown area. I came upon a story with the word "smile" in it. I was intrigued so I clicked on it. It was about a little boy that has a cleft lip and palate and how he got his surgery done through Operation Smile. What I know about this organization is that they don't offer "free" surgeries to anybody in the US. They do all of there surgeries for other countries. While I won't say anything bad about that as they do offer great work - I know to many families living and struggling with this diagnosis right here in the US. So I choose to stay home on this issue. The family got to this organization because the mom's father works for a company and the owner of that company knows the CEO/Founder of Operation Smile. That is neither here nor there. Very happy the family/little boy is getting good care and it's not costing them a penny. However, at the end of the article they give Operation Smiles website and fundraising plea. What I know is that it is so misleading. If the family - two towns over read the story - and then a week later had a baby with a cleft and they lived in the US - Operation Smile is not going to offer them free services. I once contacted them about an Amish family and I got the "thank you for thinking of us, we can't help you, maybe these people could" response back. So......I know I am getting off on a tangent here BUT I guess this article just shows you can't believe everything you read. This family got free surgeries and travel cost because somebody knew somebody. NOT because this organization does this for families in the US.

I did however, contact the editor of the paper and ask to be put in touch with the writer with hopes of coming into contact with the family. I would like them to join Lucky Smiles and become a part of our NY family. Regardless of where/how they receive care, they are walking the same road as I am and so many other families and we are here to support them.

Sunday Best

Why is it that kids have no sense of time on the weekend. Our morning started out early - Cody rose at 7. I manged to keep him quite till 8ish and then I turned on the TV and that got me another hour. It felt so good. Then it was up and at em! The Sunday typical....breakfast, laundry, dishes, pick up toys, get another snack, another load of laundry....phone rings. It's my friend from MA who was in Corning all weekend for a fundraiser and she was going to stop by. Yeah! So I convinced my children to help pick up and I hit the shower. Got to visit with Karin and Andrew for just short of an hour as they had a long drive today. It was sooo nice to see her again. We've become friends through cleftAdvocate, usually have only see each other at the conference in Vegas. So it was so nice to see them. Then we had a christening to go to today. We didn't do the church service as I am NOT that brave with 3 boys. Just went to the house for a nice lunch and the boys got to play. Then it was onto Walmart for grocery shopping. I promised the boys a little "something" for being so good today. So we hit the toy isle. The Xmas list is growing for sure. Tyler found a matchbox yellow firetruck. Firetrucks are his new favorite. Dylan has had his eye on these skateboards. I am unsure as to what you actually do with them. They come with an extra set of wheels and a screwdriver and you can change them. He LOVES it. Cody has his eye on bakugan. I don't understand this just as I don't understand Pokemon. So we get down that isle and there is a section that is wiped clean. Yep, the bakugan section. Apparently this is popular. As we were standing there as Cody was making his decision of only getting "1"....a mother and boy come walking down the isle. Walking down the isle in that we know what we are looking for walk. They slow as they reach us so I figured they were looking for Bakugan. Yep....little boy was so disappointed. The mother told me she had just left Target and they had none. The boy had a Bakugan ball in his hand - just like Cody has and wanted another. Guess the stores sell out of these fast and when shipments come in on Tuesday you need to get to the store. That went into the memory bank for Xmas shopping. So Cody settled on a pokemon stuffed animal. Brett missed out on all of our fun as he had 2 games this AM and then work tonight.

Pumpkin Farm

Today we took the kids to the pumpkin farm. We had talked about it during the week but wasn't sure as we had some rain early this week and we weren't sure what the weather was going to be like. Today turned out to be a great fall day. A little cool but the sun was out and it was dry. You have to take advantage of these days. So Tanya called this afternoon and we said "let's go". We have a couple pumpkin patches close by but went to the "little" one and the kids had fun.
It's great when they cooperate for just a couple of seconds so we can get a picture!

As we all searched for the "BIG" pumpkin the boys found what they were looking for. I think they got some good carving ones.

Then it was onto the fun stuff. The bounce houses, playground and food. They wanted to do a tractor ride but I had to draw the line someplace. These fun days can turn out to be a $50 trip. So instead after we were done, we went back up to Tanya's and Uncle Shaun took them on a "hayride" of his own. I think they enjoyed it just as much.

Today was also Grandma Marilyn's birthday. The boys have been playing "let's go to grandma's house". They miss them and since we haven't seen them since August I guess playing this is rightfully so. Maybe Grandma will have to do a trip out soon. They called tonight to wish her a happy birthday.

Yesterday I got a much need haircut. I think Tanya was 2 cuts up on me. Just haven't worked it into my schedule. So I went and instead of cutting it, we decided it's time for a change. (Maybe a little inspiration from Tash too getting hers, thanks!). I have a lot of short pieces as I once spiked it, but it will grow and I plan to grow the layers out. I've gotten a lot of compliments so far, today was the first I did it and I think it looked ok. So......this will be a work in progress over the next several months. We'll see. The last drastic style change came when I found out I was pregnant for twins. Over 5 years ago. So time for a change.

Ortho Visit #2

We met Dr. Scott today. 2 words - LOVE HIM! Now onto the details.......

As we were waiting in the lobby, Cody played in the real boat that's in the office. Once inside the doors we were given a great tour of the entire place. The inside of this office looks like the inside of a ship. Awesome. Dr. Scott came right in and one of his first words to Cody was "I can't wait to be your friend". After some looking, poking, prodding, talking, questions, you name it - this is what we got.

On the questionnaire was a question on thyroid. I marked it as "testing" so we first talked about that. What were the signs - Cody always being tired - so then he looked at his profile xray and said "those adenoids are huge". (Not the first time we have heard that). He asked if Cody was a mouth breather - "yes". Basically being a mouth breather, you don't release the carbon monoxide out of your lungs. So your heart has to work harder to pump blood to your body. Hence could be why Cody is so tired. He said though to continue testing the thyroid because of his TSH level being high like it was. So we really don't have an answer about that. He also said that being a mouth breather - your tongue sits behind the bottom teeth. When you breath out of your nose - your tongue rest behind the upper teeth and snug up against the palate. In children and during their development, their tongue can help guide their upper jaw forward as they grow. But if you can't breath out of your nose then that won't work. Well because of Cody having his palate repaired and any scar tends to tighten up - that scar brought his palate in. So the thought is - we should look to clear his airway and get him breathing out of his nose and then with the help of an appliance and Cody's tongue and growth his palate will move out to make a better U shaped arch and his tongue will help guide his jaw forward. Hopefully preventing a jaw distraction later.

What does this mean.....well not a 100% sure yet. Dr. Scott will discuss with Dr. Tatum. Dr. Scott would like the adenoids to come out. I am hesitant to remove them completely as that tissue helps Cody's soft palate close off therefore when Cody talks he does not sound hypernasal. Back 2 years ago when Cody had his tonsils removed, Dr. Tatum said the adenoids were large but instead we tried to shrink them with nasal spray. We saw the xrays today and could see Cody's airway. It's not completely closed off but it's not as open as at the other end. (picture a garden hose) I will follow up next week with Dr. Tatum and see about a consult with him. We would normally see him in Dec. anyway. My heart is telling me surgery down the road. Dr. Scott would like to start the expander in the spring. He would do it sooner but because of the drive and our lovely northern winters - we are waiting till spring. It should be a 6 month treatment (hopefully) and it would be out before he started Kindergarten.

Things we have to do.......Dr. Scott gave us tongue depressors and would like us to place them behind Cody's upper teeth and have him bite down and try to move those front teeth forward. Right now they are at an angle. Keep brushing!!!! Talk with Insurance and see who is going to pay for what and how much out of pocket we need to come up with. Today was a shocker of $93. Hopefully insurance pays some of that back. Treatment plan is $850. Let the insurance battle begin.

Dr. Scott handed out many compliments. He asked me at one point if I was a nurse. No, but I sure do feel that way most days. I just choose to be a very involved parent. He said Cody's dental hygiene is awesome. He couldn't get over Cody's repair. He said it is fantastic and the lines are so symmetrical.

Other teeth things - Cody's palate tooth is a "hybrid". Meaning 90% baby tooth, 10% adult. He said if it falls out there doesn't appear to have an adult tooth behind it. If it stays, then we can pull it into place and reshape it and whala - a tooth! He also commented on the amount of bone in his gum. He really feels that if we can get the palate widened out - that growth will help to push that gum line together even more and maybe bone will grow on it's own. Otherwise, a very little bone graft. (which Dr. tatum has told us before).

That's for staying with me........What we decided so far. While we loved Dr. Mark, we believe the place for us is with Dr. Scott. The two teams really do do things differently and Dr. Scott is very in tune with what Dr. Tatum wants. Brett and I both left feeling extremely happy and it was Brett that made the comment first that that was "home".

After all of this - Cody being a huge trooper the entire day. Really charming the entire staff. We headed to the hospital for our photo shoot. Can I just say he has "Flower" in him and was very photogenic. They got several shots and I really hope what they were looking for.

Any questions - fire away!!!!