Packing up.....Happy Early Turkey Day!

Well tomorrow we are heading to the in-laws for a nice long Thanksgiving break. We spent the evening packing and getting ready. You know, I hate packing when it's winter. I mean the clothes are thicker, take up more room, need to have extra cause I'm sure we will be outside in the snow. Oh yah, don't forget the boots, gloves, hats, snow pants - that's a whole other bag. But for the most part we are packed.

I hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving. I am ready for some turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, and don't forget the deserts. YUM! The boys colored turkeys at school today and listed their favorite treats. Dylan said Turkey....Cody said Lollipop. Um......OK.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Connor

Today was my nephew's birthday. He turned 2. Ah...the terrible two stage. I have to say though he entered it about 6 months ago. I always thought 2 was tough but Tyler is in the horrible three's and I am thinking this is worse. Can't believe Connor is 2. I remember when Karly called me and told me "my mom's gonna have a baby". I was stunned silent - and that doesn't happen often. :) I always thought my sister was just going to have Karly - and honestly they did too. Connor was their surprise baby. Those surprise babies sure do have a way of sneaking into your heart. Connor had a John Deere birthday party on Saturday. He loves tractor's, footballs, telling people that his grandpa cut down a tree, beating up his cousins (while they sit in awe because he is the baby and we are gently with babies), he cracks me up as he tells me "shut up auntie" with the cutest little grin on his face. He of course gets in trouble but it's still cute.

The very yummy birthday cake!

Happy 2nd Birthday Connor!
He loves his football!

Today, Jack also turned a month old! That's hard to believe too. He is recovering well after surgery. Taking his bottle without all the fuss afterward. You hate to see the kids spit up but I can't imagine seeing them vomit the way he was.

Mom mom is on the mend. She stayed in bed all day and got some more much needed sleep. Tonight as I left Tanya's.....Shaun wasn't feeling well. Tanya confirmed tonight - he is the next to get this. Knocking on wood that we don't! Time will tell. I just hope we get to enjoy Turkey!

It stopped raining...

Ok, I'm not really talking about the rain. :)

Both Jack and my mom were discharged today. Jack has kept his bottles down and is doing well. He had laproscopic surgery so only 3 small incisions and no stitches. So that is a good thing. My mom got discharged last night. She came down with a flu bug and was dehydrated. So I guess rather she had been in NY or in MD she would of ended up in the ER. Just wish it had been NY so Tanya or I could of been there with her. Sorry to any of the men out there but they just aren't compassionate. I do have to say I am very impressed with my husband and how he took care of my mom. Something about a Mom - they just want to be there for family when going through a hard time. She hates she got sick but there is nothing she could of done about it. She didn't plan it or want it. Brett let her sleep the whole ride home and she had 3 little boys very excited to see her when she got home. The flu is a wicked thing and now we are just waiting to see if any of us get it. If so, I hope it's before we get to Cuba this weekend. Time will tell.

We have a nice short week this week. Tomorrow is Connor's 2nd birthday so we'll go have cake again. Yum! Tuesday night we'll be packing (although the boys were packing their toys today - they can't wait to go to grandma and grandpa's) and Wednesday we travel. Still wondering if I am going to hit the Black Friday sales. Looking forward to seeing family over the holidays!

When it Rains it Pours!

The events of the last 24 hours seem to be some what of a blur. It all started last night, I took my gang up to bed around 8 and was hoping for everyone to fall asleep fast so I could have some time with my husband. Instead it was 10pm and Tyler had just fallen asleep when my phone rang. Odd! It was my sister. She never calls that late. Something is wrong.........

She informed me that my brother had called and Jack was needing emergency surgery. OMG! Your kidding right. No. The poor little guy had a pylorus valve blocked in his stomach and has been the reason for his discomfort. So they were being transported to another hospital for surgery. I of course had a million emotions run through me as pediatric surgery is not new to me. But man did I feel so sorry that my brother and Kristie had to go through this too. My mom wanted to go and because my children took forever to go to sleep - Brett got a nice 2 hour nap in. So he offered to drive my mom down so she could be there. They left after midnight.

To top it off - today was Connor's 2nd birthday party. To be honest we went through the motions but were thinking about Jack and my Mom the whole day.

You ask why about my Mom? Well at some point of this afternoon my mom became very ill. She thought she needed something to eat but as they got to the cafeteria she got sick. A doctor walked past and went to be with her in the restroom and ended up taking her to the ER. She was dehydrated and very ill. So they hooked her up to IV's and ordered blood work. She feels horrible and is miserable knowing that she went there to be with Jack. So tonight they are both in the hospital - except on different floors. Ugh. Brett is there with her and we are hoping she gets discharged tomorrow so she can come home. I am at a loss as to what to do. I really can't do anything but hope for the best come morning.

So tonight as I close my eyes I am hoping to get some shut eye myself. I just would like to be in MD right now.

Update from today

Cody and I went to Syracuse today for our 6 month check up with Dr. Tatum. We went to check his ears and discuss his adenoids at the request of our ortho. His adenoids are large but at this time Dr. Tatum does not want to do anything about them. Our ortho is concerned due to growth. Cody is a mouth breather and when you breath primarily out of your mouth it can affect the way your jaw grows. However the adenoids give him extra tissue in the back of his throat to help with his speech. Dr. Tatum said he can "fix" a jaw much more easily than he can "fix" his speech. I agree. And there is nothing saying he will have a jaw growth problem. Only time will tell on that one.

He checked his ears and he said they are just full of wax. So what he could see was limited. He had the nurse do a tympanogram on him and the ear drum didn't move much. He believes the tube in the left ear is out and there is fluid. The right tube is either out with fluid or there is a hole in the eardrum. Right now he just wants to watch for infections. If we should get any then he wants to see us back and he'll have to do surgery to replace the tubes. If we don't have any infections then we see him in July for the team visit.

I did get great news though while there. Back a couple months ago, Cody went for a photo shoot. The team was interested in putting his picture in their brochure. I was very honored that they wanted to use it. After all though his smile does show off Dr. Tatum's handy work. So we did the pictures and was told they would see what looked best. Well today I was shown and then handy their new clinic brochure - and on the front cover is a great picture of my smiling boy! Here it is:

We were thanked for allowing them to use it. I contribute his smile to the wonderful hands of our surgeon. He "fixed" something that almost 5 years ago I never thought could be "fixed".

Meet my friend

While at work today I happen to be checking my emails - I know not supposed to be doing this at work - but I was! I got an email from a dear friend. A friend I met for the first time at the conference in Vegas. He spoke for about an hour and I just thought he was fantastic. So did Brett. Just this past July he came back to the conference and we got to "meet" again. This time it was different. He remembered me. I was amazed and shocked. He is a dear dear friend of the cleftAdvocate organization. He tells a story like no other. Your cheeks hurt when he is done talking.

Meet my friend - David Roche.

I'll share something from his website........
" make my living as a performer, speaker and author. The time has come for me to blog. For more info about me, please visit my website. And, oh yes, I have a facial disfigurement. And I am very funny."

The email you may ask.......the email was that David has a blog. You all know how I love to blog. Well now I am so excited that I can read David's blog. I've read his book - he amazing. He is an older gentlemen, like he said that has a facial disfigurement, he is married, he leads a truly fulfilled life, he is my friend, he will rather he realizes it or not teach me how to prepare Cody for the world.

As I read this post of his, I closed my eyes...I was sitting on the chair in the Ballroom at the Tuscany, David was talking....I was laughing - this is what he was telling us: http://davidroche.com/myface/2008/10/at-middle-school-2/#comments

Relaxing Sunday

Well our weather did a complete 180 from yesterday. Yesterday it was almost 60 and warm. Today it was very, very cold and as I type my car is now covered in snow! I knew it had to come sooner or later. We had a very relaxing Sunday. We got to see my brother as they headed back through to MD. Sad when they left as I am not sure when we are seeing them again yet. I'm thinking a trip to MD is in our plans shortly. After they left, we all vegged out. The boys played, I did what I normally don't do and sat on the couch and watched TV. Just didn't have it in me today. I did a little bit when I had to but all in all it was a very relaxing day. Which is soooo nice! But I had to get out the camera and take a picture!!!! I think this is my new favorite!