Upcoming Surgery

Our #1 little man is getting his nose cut off.


Well, not quite.

Though sometimes I feel like I'm going to wipe his nose off with as many times I've used a tissue on it. The boy has a yucky nose.

And smelly feet.

And a sweaty head.

And lots and lots of laundry.


For the last 2 winters, we had been in and out of the doctor's office so much that Mallory and Ethan would start adding it to the list of "fun places to go" because at least they get a sucker along with an antibiotic once a day for 5 days. We finally went to see and ENT back in February. He tested Ethan's ears and saw that they have fluid on them and that his adenoids were enlarged. Now, 4 months later, he still has fluid in his ears and his adenoids are still enlarged and his nose seems to get runnier and runnier, even on a daily regiment of Zyrtec.

It's just gross for me and it must be extremely annoying to him. And I know it's not good for my 2 year old to have sinus infection after sinus infection.

So, after much research we've decided to get his adenoids removed. The fluid in his ears are not causing him to have severe ear infections and his ear drums seem to be fine. But since he's "going under" for the adenoidectomy, the tubes are going in, too.

The surgery is for July 22.


I wish my boy wouldn't have to have general anesthesia, but I feel the surgery would help him out A LOT because enlarged adenoids are most likely the culprit of a very stuffy nose, so the he can breathe only through his mouth; snoring and trouble getting a good night's sleep; and ear problems. There is no guarantee that the surgery will improve these things, but there is a very good chance it will.

The ENT told me that Ethan's speech should improve quite a bit after the tubes are in, which doesn't make sense because the boy has a very impressive vocabulary and speech quality for a 2-year-old. I asked the ENT if Ethan will naturally turn down his volume with the ear tubes and he unfortunately said no. He also said that Ethan would have bad breath for about 10 days after the surgery too.

Great.



Bad breath and smelly feet. Such a lovely combination.

Swine.

Patrick has the swine flu. We have been infected by the dreaded H1N1. I don't really have the energy right now to wrap my head around contagious viruses that could put my 4-month old in the hospital if he contracts it. I have instructed Patrick to:

1. Only touch the children on the back if he absolutely needs to
2. When he coughs in his shirt, take it off and throw it in the laundry
3. Use hand sanitizer ALL THE TIME
4. Don't breathe on me or the children

Since I found out at 10am, I have stripped the beds, made the bed downstairs for him to use, made our bed, lysoled all the door knobs, wiped down the couch with soap and water, cleaned off the computer, and made a new gallon of gatorade for him to drink. And I fed the baby, the kids, the hubs and myself. Now, I'm hoping to get some rest. I've been sleep deprived lately and have a small amount of energy right now...and I don't think coffee will give me the pick-me-up it usually does. But, with 6 loads of laundry waiting to be folded, at least 3 more in the works, I need the rest to tackle this monster.

I have to praise God for giving me grace, though. I've learned through experience that walking by the Spirit and letting Him produce the fruit of love, patience, gentleness and the like, peace will follow naturally. And it's peace that I desire.

Lord, I submit. Please take over.

Our first trip to the ER with a child...

I knew it was bound to happen and it finally did. We took Mal to the ER today thinking she may have fractured her arm. She fell while she was at gym today and hurt her arm. We were heading out the door when an adult admiring the atics of her child backed into Mallory causing her to fall and hurt her arm. She had already had a difficult morning (lots of crying b/c she was tired) so I figured her excessive screaming was due to an overreaction, mainly because the woman who knocked her over tried to console her (she still has a difficult time with strangers). Anyway, after crying all the way home and not using her arm after she got home and screaming incosolably when trying to bend it, I figured it was time to head to the ER. Patrick came home, cancelled his appts and came to the ER with me while my dear neighbor, Ellen, sat here while Ethan napped.

Mal was tired, but did great in the hospital. Our hospital has a children's ER that is GREAT. They were very kind and treated Mallory with a lot of respect. The dr saw her very soon after we arrived and figured it was Nursemaids Arm and the dr "reduced it" (popping the radial bone back into place) while we were in the hallway before we entered the room! Mallory screamed quite a bit, but we could tell an improvement immediately in the movement of her arm. We had an x-ray done just in case, but it was clear. She's supposed to take some Motrin and rest her arm. Praise the Lord there wasn't a fracture.

I forgot to bring my camera, so I have no picture. Patrick took some on his cell, so once I figure out how to upload them, I will post them. Ahhh, there's never a dull moment with kids!

Thanks for sharing...

Ethan decided to share his cold with me. Thankfully, Patrick was here this weekend to take the "edge" off my care of the kids. Eventhough Ethan was still pretty goopy, Patrick took Ethan and Mallory out to Bojangles for breakfast on Saturday and then for a little bit of shopping. I had the morning to myself, which was just wonderful. I didn't start feeling the cold until yesterday afternoon, though I took it easy in the morning because I was just tired. I love quiet. I'm sure that when the kids are older and have left the house, which I'm glad is still a LONG way off, I'll miss the noise. But, for now I love quiet. And while the kids were napping I got to watch the Gators put Kentucky through the spanking machine. I love college football season.

Patrick had a great time with the kids and we planned on taking them out later in the evening to a fall festival down the road (more on that later). I took some cold medicine before we left and started feeling like a load of bricks hit me by the time we left the festival. We went to dinner at Cracker Barrel (a.k.a "The Barrel"), which is one of our favorite places to eat because the kids eat there so well. I had 2 cups of coffee, but was still feeling VERY tired and icky. When we got home, I realized I took night-time cold instead of day-time cold! No wonder I was draggin'! We got the kids ready for bed and Patrick watched a video with them before they were tucked in for the night. Patrick hung out with friends while I downed some probiotic and sucked on throat lozenges. Needless to say, I was out by 9:15.

I skipped church this morning since me and Ethan were both ick. E is doing better, but is still pretty goopy. I'm feeling better (I have great cold medicine!). Patrick is at church with Mallory tonight and E is already out for the count. I did vacuum today because my floors were so gross that I just HAD to vacuum! But, I'm on the couch after I fold the laundry...

Patrick and the kids:

Again? or shall I say STILL?

Ethan is sick again. I don't really know if he ever ridded himself of his stuffy nose last month, though it stoped running. Now, it's full blown runny-snotty yellow goop that has taken over his nasal passages. He's coughing, too. I just don't get it. Is it a myth that breast-fed babies rarely get sick? I heard it be true and as much breastmilk that my son has had, he should be well for the rest of his life! But, needless to say, he's been sick almost monthly. It's very sad and I just don't know what to do. I'll most likely sanitize EVERYTHING in the house, which will probably take a couple of days especially tending to a sick baby. Anyway, that's what's going on here. At least both kids are sleeping right now, which is unusual at 10am, but both kids need it. And so do I!

Chest X-Ray is good!

The nurse from my Dr's office called me today and told me that my chest x-ray is clear. Praise God!

In and Out

I was in and out of diagnostics within 15 minutes, which was nice. I should find out the results of my x-ray early next week.

I did have OK sleep last night. I fell asleep fine and woke up a few times in the night, once to help Mallory find Doggie amidst her tousled covers...Anyway, I did have good rest. Thanks for the prayers!

Please Pray...

I have been feeling a weird mild burn in my lungs whenever I inhale, sort of like the sensation I've been breating in cold air. It's been like this for about a week, the intensity being different each day. I went to the DR on Monday to talk to her about it. I had an EKG (which came out fine) and chest X-Ray done and I just got a call that they want to repeat the chest X-ray to rule out a possible shadow. It's unclear on the X-ray if it is a shadow, so I'm going in tomorrow morning for another X-ray.

Pray for:
1. Good sleep tonight
2. That the X-ray will show nothing
3. That the LORD will heal

OH, and I had a pregnancy test and it's negative. :-)

An update...photo style!

Here is Ethan in the beginning stages of walking pneumonia. As you can see, he seems perfectly fine. But, the crust around his nose and the red chapiness was irritating him. Oh, and the bruise? His daddy dropped him on his head. Seriously.



















Here is E partaking in his daddy's delicious pork. Patrick spent the day on Monday smoking a pork "Carolina style" and it was excellent, his best one yet! Mallory wouldn't touch it, but Ethan liked it!

Here is her highness, Queen Mallory performing DR duties on Icky Blue. This was BEFORE she actually went to the doctor. Please don't be under the impression that she finds stethoscopes interesting. In fact, I would say she dislikes them immensely. Ask her doctor.

And since I had been dealing with sick kiddos, I hadn't been able to make my escape to the grocery store like I usually can when I'm about to run out of something. But, I was about to run out or have already run out of very important items like Cheerios, Goldfish, laundry detergent and fruit. I called my dear friend, Dawn, and asked her if she could help me out with picking up some necessities for me. And not only did she pick up groceries, she gave us some wonderful lasagna for us to enjoy that evening. A double blessing!!! It helped me SO MUCH not to cook while manning a sick house. Here is proof that the dinner was yummy:

Sick. AGAIN.

Both of my kiddos are sick again. It seems as though they've been sick a lot lately and it's been very frustrating. I took both of them to the DR yesterday and Ethan was diagnosed with walking pneumonia and Mallory was diagnosed with tonsillitis.

We are downing antibiotics and trying to get rest. Mallory has been battling a fever, it's highest point being 104.4. It's now around 101. Ethan's had a nasty runny nose, but is still getting into everything, which means I'm trying to keep everything disinfected.

Anyway, keep us in your prayers. God is good in providing grace to us in enduring this!