1-21-09

Bad day. UTI. Not fun.

January 20, 2009

I'm going to borrow an idea from Misty, Project 365 sounds like fun. Heaven knows I take enough pictures to make a flip book of my life (more like of the kids' lives), but narrowing it down to one will be interesting.

Today I was in my room watching the inauguration coverage, and there were a ton of birds out on the balcony. So I opened the sliding glass door (I love this house) and got my camera out, and was just enjoying the birds and the news. (in between the dog trying to escape out there, and Max running in scaring them away.) Flipping through the pictures this one made me stop and laugh.



"Do you mind?? I'm trying to eat here!"

Drug Altered Max

Max is usually pretty silly in his normal state, alot like his brother, Cameron the Entertainer. So imagine him on a big ole dose of tylenol with codeine. I felt bad laughing at him, but it was too funny. As soon as it hit him, he sprung to life. He was laying in my lap and reaches up, pats my cheek and says, III luuuuuuuuuuvvveeee yoooooouuuuu, mooooooom! lol. I told Ivan I couldn't find the thermometer. He started making up words that rhyme with thermometer. Flerbobeter, Merflopteter. Cracking himself up. Mumbling a million miles a minute. And he's apparently a physical person when he's under the influence. Like the girl on friends that would punch Joey. Does it in a nice way, but still, ouch! He told Ivan, I'm gonna beat you up, daddy. lol. "Calm down, Killer," he told him. And then there's the reaching for things in the air, that really aren't there. He only did that a couple of times. Anymore then that and I'd start to worry. lol.

He's been sore, more sore every day actually, but I assume it's part of the healing process. He walks kind of bent over, he looks like a little old man shuffling around. He's been living the life, though, King Max. He's played video games so much that he voluntarily turns them off because he gets tired of playing. !! He mostly stays in my room, but moves downstairs to that tv a couple times a day, for a change of scenery I guess. The first two days, he wanted to eat upstairs in my room. He doesn't use a sippy cup anymore, but I pulled them out for the occasion because I can get him to drink more that way. Plus he's on my bed!

On Tuesday I started a blog, detailing the whole day Monday. I got half way through, and it was far too emotional and sappy to subject others to. So I'm going the photojournalist route. I didn't take many pictures. I only had my camera phone that day. But here's what I got.

This was Monday morning, before I woke him up. So sweet, and so not deserving the torture he was about to endure.



Here he is when we got to the hospital. They had his room set up with a tiger hospital gown, a stuffed dinosaur and a book about sick dinosaurs. This was before the IV (which he didn't like, but he did VERY well.) They let him be in charge of the cartoon remote.



This is after the IV. I think he was realizing all the scary things he'd imagined were starting to happen to him. But he was being very brave, and everyone noticed and told him so. The anesthesiologist was especially impressed with him; he even stopped by afterward to commend him.


This was after the surgery. He was sleepy, confused, angry, sad, and in pain. When they wheeled him in he looked so tiny and helpless and it broke my heart.


This was that night, after he was feeling fiiiiinnnee. Showing off his spongebob bandaid.


Thanks again for everyone's good thoughts and prayers. :)

My Little Max

I've been sooo extremely lucky, having three boys who are so healthy and strong and perfect. I don't usually say this outloud, as to not jinx it, but we've never even had a broken bone, in the 27 collective years these boys have lived. How is that possible? (I've broken 2 toes and a foot in that time. Better me then them, I say.) I'm thankful for my blessings.

That's why Max having a minor surgery on Monday is such a foreign situation for me. Poor Max. He has what's called a hydrocele. Quoted from a website that will say it better then I could: "During normal development, the testicles descend down a tube from the abdomen into the scrotum. Hydroceles result when this tube fails to close. Fluid drains from the abdomen through the open tube. The fluid builds up in the scrotum, where it becomes trapped. This causes the scrotum to become swollen." It usually closes up soon after birth, but the Dr said if it hasn't by now, it's not going to and it will always cause problems if we don't get it corrected. What I first noticed was the swelling. It didn't hurt him at all, but it wasn't normal so I took him in. Our family Dr said it's probably a hydrocele, but sent us to a urologist. (Wow, a urologists office is the anti-gyn; male receptionist, manly decor, very strange. I felt out of place for sure.) Of course tumor and Lance Armstrong were going through my head, but luckily it was only fluid in there. The urologist shined a little flashlight through his scrotum to determine that, most inexpensive ultrasound ever! And, Max thought it was pretty cool when the lights were all off and his 'stuff' became a laser show. lol. He's been a trooper through this, considering how many times he's had to show his unmentionables to strangers. I keep telling him how brave and grown up he is. We've known since November that he needed surgery, but we didn't really discuss it with him until Friday, when we went for the pre-op appt. We met with the dr again, who went over with us how it'll go, and told Max he had to stay in bed and be really still for a few days. All Max heard of that was NO TRAMPOLINE! BUT, PLAYSTATION ALL DAY LONG! lol. Then we had to go to the hospital for pre-op stuff, and had a fantastic nurse. She talked to him on his level, she gave him teddy grahams, she was a hit! She told him how cool it would be to pee in a cup...he didn't find it so cool, only odd. Also, the dr had ordered a blood draw, and she really didn't want to do that to him, so she hunted down the anesthesiologist to get permission to skip that, so she wouldn't have to stick him. She was great with him, and really made a difference in his feelings toward surgery.

(He was feeling good about it, until we came home and Cam's friend Jacob told him how they were going to take all his blood out, then put it back in. And told him his uncle had to swallow a camera that went all through his body. I told him that wasn't true, that wouldn't happen to him, and managed to calm him down again. Kids!!)

During surgery, the dr will make a little incision above all his 'stuff', kind of where his waistband would sit on his belly. They will drain the fluid, then close off the opening, then close it all up with dissolvable stitches. Will take about an hour, and we go home the same day.

I know it's very minor, and the risks are small. But that's my baby! The nurse told me I have the best team of drs, and a great hospital. Yes, but that's my baby! My biggest fear is the sedation. People don't wake up!! !! I know he'll be fine, but a mother worries, and I'm good at that. Luckily Ivan's taking the day off and going with us, more for me then for Max I think. Wish us luck. And wish me luck keeping Max down, and not zooming down the stairs head first on his belly, which is his usual mode.

We went to Mcds and to the park after the appointments.

Christmas Memories

Around the time I was in middle school, and on into high school, I had a great, close-knit group of friends. Every year we'd have birthday parties for everyone, and every year we'd have a Christmas party and exchange gifts. Mostly homemade gifts. I still have many of them, and while taking the tree down I took some pictures, since I'm back in touch with alot of my friends. I know who made the first three of these, but I want someone else to guess who they're from. The last one I do not remember who made it, if someone knows please tell me. :) This is so much fun!








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Leaves!!

(This post was started on Dec 7, but saved to the draft file when something more pressing came up. Now I'm back, to add pictures and post a fall blog on the day after Christmas. Better late then never...?)

As a kid I thought the most fun you could ever have was jumping into a pile of leaves. This fall, as I watched the leaves fall around my yard, I tried to imagine what half an acre worth of leaves would look like in one pile. Wow! I went and bought two more rakes, and told the kids the plan.

(Click on the pictures to see them enlarged.)












Gus had a blast jumping into the leaves.



Before:


After:











The kids with their friend Dillon.

Me Facts

Here's how it works. Change the items to bold that you have done in your life.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (Does 6th grade band count?)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (my husband did, co-owned with his brother, does that count?)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House?
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved some one's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Potato Cheese Soup

This is my family's absolute favorite. I don't make it that often, it's almost like a special occasion meal, for cold days. So good.

6-8 potatoes, peeled and diced
2-3 carrots, sliced
2-3 celery stalks
1 onion, chopped
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 can (10 oz) cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 cups milk
bacon bits (or 4 bacon strips, fried and crumbled)
salt & pepper

Place potatoes, carrots, celery and onion in a large kettle; cover with water. Cook until tender.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, butter and soup. Stir well. Add milk, salt, pepper. Add mixture to vegetables. Heat thoroughly. For a thicker soup, drain vegetables before adding cream cheese mixture. Yield 10-12 servings.

Now for my touches. The original recipe said to put the bacon in the pot. You can if you want, but we always have bacon bits on the table, and put them and a slice of kraft cheese, and stir it in. Also i usually put more carrots and celery then it says. And i never drain the water.

I usually let the soup simmer for a long time, at least an hour. Its easy, and kids love it and it warms you up.

Benji

Two weeks ago, Cameron was assigned a project on Benjamin Franklin. A poster board telling facts, and a costume. Two nights ago, Cameron mentions this project. He's very good at that, sometimes I get notice the morning of. So here I am, learning all about good ole Benji. I knew about the kite and the key, but digging deeper he turns out to be a pretty interesting guy. I found this excerpt from his autobiography, and it made me stop and think. I thought I'd share it.



Virtue

Franklin sought to cultivate his character by a plan of thirteen virtues, which he developed at age 20 (in 1726) and continued to practice in some form for the rest of his life. His autobiography lists his thirteen virtues as:

"TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation."
"SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation."
"ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time."
"RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve."
"FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing."
"INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions."
"SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly."
"JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty."
"MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve."
"CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation."
"TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable."
"CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation."
"HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates."

Franklin didn't try to work on them all at once. Instead, he would work on one and only one each week "leaving all others to their ordinary chance". While Franklin didn't live completely by his virtues and by his own admission, he fell short of them many times, he believed the attempt made him a better man contributing greatly to his success and happiness, which is why in his autobiography, he devoted more pages to this plan than to any other single point; in his autobiography Franklin wrote, "I hope, therefore, that some of my descendants may follow the example and reap the benefit."

Feeling the Love

Since I've been nagged to update my blog, I guess I will. ;)

I'm sitting here watching the cowboy game with Ivan, my dog snoring at my feet, the boys clean, with full bellies and getting ready for bed. All feels right with the world right now. I love when I can feel at peace like this, it's pretty rare that I'm not growing ulcers, worrying about everything. I might seem cool on the outside, but I've always got thoughts in the back of my mind, tapping me on the shoulder.

Ivan was on call this weekend, but he only had to go out once, for a few hours. Some weekends he doesn't have to go at all, others he's out starting on friday night sometimes, and we don't see him all weekend. You never know. He has to stay kind of close to home, too, when a unit goes down he has an hour to get home, get his work truck, and be there. And his jobsites are scattered all around. It's frustrating sometimes, but we knew this is how it would be when he went into this field of work. It's not too bad usually.

Saturday morning Ivan left, the kids and I just hung out, I did laundry. Joyous laundry! A few weeks ago, my washer died. We paid big bucks for this stupid washer, it had some great features and I loved it, but it had problems from the beginning. Ad it repaired over and over, always something different. When my 3 year maintenance plan ran out, they wouldn't even let me renew because they had so many problems with this one washer. There was even a lawsuit, but it didn't include my state. As much as I've wished this machine out of my life, I didn't really mean it. So I go to craigslist. I've used that site numerous times with success, never had a bad experience. I find a washer that they guy said was pretty new, less then a year old. We talk to him on the phone, he says it's like new and a good washer, blah blah. Ivan asks for directions (he lives in FtWorth, kind of far) and the guy even offers to load them up and meet us halfway. That's cool, what a nice guy. By that evening when Ivan got home to hook it up, I had a pile of dirty clothes waiting, and my mouth was practically watering. (I'd been washing some clothes at my sister-in-law's house, but only what was absolutely necessary, the rest was taking over my bathroom.) Turn it on, try to run a cycle, and something is wrong. Ivan calls the guy, he says he had just used the washer, it was working perfectly, and asked ivan if he could look at it and see what's wrong, and if it's not an easy fix, he'll "make it right." Ivan takes some stuff apart, and discovers the water pump is bad. This cannot be happening. Turns out that was the last time we'd talk to our buddy Rick, he never answered again. Ugh. We spend $50 more, and buy a water pump online, because no one had it in stock, and wait another agonizing week for it to get here. I've never been so happy to do a mundane chore. Something needs to be clean for tomorrow? I can do that! Weee! Never take your washer for granted! :)

And that's where I stopped typing and fell asleep watching the Survivor Finale. lol. I will finish this tomorrow. :)