Looking back...

As it gets closer to the end of the year, I start looking back and wondering where the year went and what did I do with my time.

I spent this year supporting, encouraging, loving, watching, teaching, entertaining, and enjoying my kids. I had my scariest "mom moment" ever this year when Owen fell off the deck and hope that I never have to experience anything like it again. I also had some of my happiest "mom moments" watching the kids enjoy the simplest things in life, like running through the sprinklers on a hot day and getting an ice cream treat from the ice cream truck.

This year I started school, showing my kids it's never to late. I can only hope that they do not get distracted like I did and they go straight to college after high school. All I can do is encourage and make sure they are ready. Matthew started school just a few weeks ago and I can already see what a huge impact it is having on him. He loves it as much as Leah does, and I can only hope the Owen loves it as much when he starts next year.

We played together, explored together, learned together, cuddled together, and laughed together. I know the year is not over and we have many more things to look forward to before it is. As I was watching Owen "play" his version of checkers, I realized again (I do this at least once a day) how blessed I am - I could reflect on all the things that I did not have but then I would lose sight of all the things that I do have.

An "I get it now" moment

So today I was getting ready to go to parent teacher conferences (the kids are doing great by the way) and I was in the back of house and told Matthew to put his shoes and socks on and to go tell Leah to get hers back on if she had taken them off. He gets aboout 15 steps away from where I am standing and proceeds to yell to Leah to put her shoes back on.

My mom got so mad at us when we were younger and would do this...I never understood why she just didn't yell herself. Let me tell you...I get it now!!!!

Time to Catch Up

I know, I know, I've been slacking on the blogging front and the last couple have been all about Owen so I decided that I would update about everyone this time. (What you don't know is that it took me over a week to do this one post.)

Here goes...I'll start with the youngest. Owen is doing awesome!!! He walks, runs, and jumps and other than a small limp after a lot of activity and 3 scars you can hardly tell he broke his leg. He is scheduled to go in on July 19th to have the rods taken out and the few times I've tried talking to him about getting them out he says they can't come out because...no reason just because. He is crazy cute and crazy stubborn and his current thing is to cover his eyes when you tell him not to do something or if he his mad at you,as if it makes him invisible or something. His favorite statement right now is "Don't talk to me!!!" He knows the entire alphabet and few of their sounds, he can call grandma all by himself at home and work, and even recognizes a few words thanks to Baby Can Read. Since I started writing this post he started reading a book called Max's Breakfast and I have only had to help him with a few words. (See video on facebook to hear him reading it)

Matthew is crazy...just crazy!!! He is a pain in my neck a lot of the time but he will just belt out "I love you Mommy" and my heart melts a little. He is so excited to start school next fall and I have the hardest time believing that he is old enough to be in kindergarten. He knows almost all of his letters and numbers up to 10 and he can write his whole name plus some of the other letters. We are hoping he will get the same teacher that Leah had because she is awesome. He loves video games and I determined one day last week that maybe I let him play them a little too much because when he was restricted from playing those games he and Owen used their imaginations to pretend that they were in a video game and they hunted for treasures and coins. Occasionally I would hear them say "pause game, down, down, down, quit game"; I chuckled everytime I heard this, but my favorite was when they would go into the closet, count to eleven (not ten but eleven), and then come out and pretend they were on a new level.

Leah has given me a new appreciation for that statement "7 going on 20". She gets so convinced that she is right about stuff and can't stand to admit that she may have been wrong and this next statement is for those that knew me when I was younger...I know she gets that from me. She did very well in school and reads at a 3rd, almost 4th, grade reading level; but as much as she enjoyed going to school, she is very excited that her summer break has started. She is growing up so fast and has started forming her own opinions about music, life, and just about everything in between. I cannot really figure out what she is into because it changes almost daily...but one thing that stays consistent is drawing and writing.

Jeff and I certainly have our hands full with the three of them plus our own stuff, Jeff with his work, still at Comcast, and me with my school. I recently started taking online courses through University of Phoenix to get my Bachelors in Education so that I can start my teaching career. We have tons of fun things planned for the summer, including but not limited to BBQ's, a trip to an indoor water park and an outdoor one, exploring regular parks, and free movies and bowling. I am doing this summer different than the last few and have actually planned out most of our summer so hopefully I won't hear "I'm bored" as much this year.

The next post will have pictures with some of the activites we have already been up to and maybe some video if I can figure out how to get them on here.

5 Weeks, 2 Hip Spica Casts, and 1 Surgery Later....

Okay, so it's a little past 5 weeks but he did have 2 casts (a blue one and then a green one) and one surgery that will leave him with 3 scars. He is doing tons better...it seemed like such a long road to get here but here we are. The first week home was an adjustment trying to get him through what I am guessing were nightmares about the fall, the pain and getting used to the cast. He slept quite a bit the first few days, although he did have trouble falling asleep...I think he was reliving the fall when he closed his eyes. I was struggling to get him to eat much although he was drinking pretty good. By the weekend I was starting to get the hang of things which was good because Owen would only let me do things for him. Jeff tried and tried but Owen put up such a fit that it was just easier for me to do things for him.

We were finally getting into a new groove and then we had a doctor's appointment a week later and found out that his bone moved out of place and so we had to take off the old cast and put on a new one. We scheduled it...went up to the hospital...waited while he was in getting it done...waited for him to wake up...then took him home and started all over again (well almost all over). We had to readjust to a new cast, it was the same thing but different; this one was formed differently and it had sharp edges that the other one didn't. Of course he was in pain all over again because they had to maneuver his leg to get it straight again. We were finally getting into a new groove again and then we had another doctor's appointment and found out that the bone moved out of place again. The doctor told us that at this point we would have to do surgery to have rods placed in the bone to keep it straight.

We went to another doctor the next day and scheduled his surgery for the day after that which was a Friday. I made arrangements for Leah and Matthew for Friday and Saturday since Jeff and I would be at the hospital all day Friday with Owen and then he would have to stay at least 1 night and Jeff had to work on Saturday. We got to the hospital in the morning, got checked in and settled Owen in; then after a little delay they were finally ready to take him in for the surgery. Jeff and I waited and waited and ate and waited a little more and then finally the doctor came up to let us know that everything went well. He told us that Owen had lost a little blood so they would check his blood cell count in the morning. We then waited a little while longer before the volunteer told us what his room number was going to be; once Owen was brought to his room we got him settled in and he went back to sleep and he slept and slept and slept. Jeff left to go see Leah and Matthew before going home to bed so he could work the next day.

Owen and I stayed at the hospital until Sunday; he drank good, ate terrible, watched a lot of TV, slept a bit and finally let me push him around the hospital on Sunday morning while we were waiting for the physical therapist to show up. She showed up and we helped Owen try to stand on his good leg but with everything leading up to this he was too weak to really do it so Owen and I headed home. He was in quite a bit of pain by then because he stopped taking the lortab because "it's yucky" so we were relying on Motrin to be enough. We spent the next few days adjusting again, getting Owen through the pain. On the Thursday after his surgery he had his first real bath in over 3 weeks and it's been all uphill since then. We went to doctor last Wednesday and the doctor was very pleased with his x-rays and took out some of his stitches. He gave the okay to take him swimming and even said  he could put some weight on his broken leg in the water so we went swimming over the weekend; Owen did not stay in the pool long but he had fun while he was in.

He is currently playing with toys in his room and is scooting around on the floor to get around from room to room. I can't believe how quickly he is recovering from the surgery; he is left now with a 3 inch scar on his thigh, 2 1 inch scars on either side of his knee cap and a fear of falling that I am hoping will be temporary.

Owen's Accident

Scariest moment of my life so far...it started out just another Tuesday. We woke up, we ate breakfast, and I tried to work on the house stuff. Leah's friend came over to play and they all wanted chicken nuggets for lunch so I decided to take them to McDonald's and then to the park to play. We got home from the park and the kids decided to go out on the deck to ride bikes/scooters, etc.

I was sitting at my computer watching out the window...I saw Owen playing in his Little Tikes car (see pic and pretend it's Owen)...I saw Owen get pushed while sitting in the car and I started to go tell Leah's friend not to push the car anymore...and then I realized how fast he was going and then he hit the rails and I took off running through the house. He never even saw it coming as his blanket was thrown over the top of car so it covered up the front and side views. As I am writing this I have to keep stopping otherwise my heart pounds and I start to shake all over again...I ran down the hallway, out the back door, down the stairs and finally around the deck; I should probably tell you now that our deck is about 10-12 feet high. I barely remember what it looked like...I remember pulling him out of the car and laying him on his blanket to check for blood or protruding bones; he was not knocked unconscious, I heard him crying while I was running to him. His nose was bleeding and he was reaching for me to pick him up; I scooped him up, walked up the stairs as quickly as I could with Owen moaning the whole time...the phone rang right when I walked in the door. I laid Owen on the couch and grabbed the phone, upon seeing that it was Jeff, the first words out of my mouth were "You have leave work now and meet me at the hospital!" I quickly told him what happened and hung up. I told the kids to get my keys, purse and shoes, they quickly complied and I scooped Owen up again and left to take him to the hospital. I was shaking so hard but at the same time trying to keep calm enough to drive; on the way there I called Mom and told her to meet me at the hospital to take the other kids. Owen whimpered the whole way there, Leah kept saying "I hope he's okay", Leah's friend apologized and Matthew was concerned with what we should do for him when he gets home.

When we got there I drove around the parking lot twice before I found a parking lot...I told the kids to get out of the car quickly while I got Owen out. He moaned and cried as I was walking quickly through the lot; poor Matthew was walking so fast that he ran into a parked car and fell over and as much as I wanted to take the time to love him I knew Owen needed to get inside the emergency room. When I got in I almost stood in the line to get checked in but knew I couldn't. I got somebody's attention and told them what happened...they had me sit down and Jeff walked in a moment later. A nurse took Owen and I back to a room where I could lay him down so she could check him over while Jeff stayed out with the other kids to get him checked in. Jeff came back within a few moments and the nurse started to check Owen out from head to toe...he cried when she touched his right thigh. Mom got there a few moments later to get the other kids, I asked her to call Leahs' friends' mom. She gave Owen a quick love and then left.

They moved us into another room and the doctors and nurses started coming in and out; they brought in a portable x-ray machine for x-rays of his chest and then his leg; they took him over to get a CT on his head, chest and belly; his right leg was put in traction and then we waited. They told us the CT was all clear, big sigh of relief, no head trauma or internal bleeding, but his right femur was broken and it looked like he would need surgery. There was not an orthopedic doctor who had enough experience with kids at this hospital so we would have to go to the children's hospital so now we have to wait for confirmation from the closer of the 2 children's hospital that a doctor was available to do what needed to be done. Then we waited for the ambulance to get there; Jeff went home to get our cell phone chargers because of our phones had died; the ambulance got there and I took my second trip in an ambulance over to the children's hospital.

Jeff met us there with some food and then we waited some more because the first hospital sent over the wrong information. Once they got the right info for Owen it was decided that he would get a hip spica cast, so they moved us to another area and started getting ready to put his cast on. They told us the cast would cover his whole abdomen, his entire right leg to the ankle and down to his knee on the left leg; what they didn't tell us was that his legs would put into a sort of sitting postion (see pic). They used a sedative and he slept through the whole casting process...once he was done they made sure he woke up a little bit, took a few sips of apple juice or water and then sent us home with a special car seat to allow for the awkward cast, care instructions for the cast and directions to bring him in a week later for another x-ray to make sure his bone is staying in the right postition.

We got home around 2 in the morning and went straight to bed. The next day we started adjusting to this major event.

Can't Forget the Birthdays!!!

All 3 wrapped up in 1 post...

Leaving Rain to go to Rain...

Getting closer...up to January 2010.

Christmas in Pictures

Wow...I am really behind!!!

Owen's Hospital Stay

Sometime the week of December 14th...

     So shortly before Christmas Owen gets sick...seems like a cold at first but then he doesn't get better, he stops eating and drinking, and starts running a fever of 105-106 degrees so I take him to the walk-in clinic at our doctor's office.

December 21st...

     The doctor listens to his breathing, orders a chest x-ray (which I have to go do at a different office), swabs for swine flu, and goes on to tell me that they think he has pneumonia but it could also be swine flu (even though the swab came back negative). They sent us home with breathing treatments through the night and said if he does not show any improvement by the morning to bring him back in.

December 22nd...

     I wake up every 4 hours to give him the treatments and by the next morning he is not better so I call and schedule an appointment with his doctor around lunch time. I take him back over and his doctor says it is most likely pneumonia but they are not sure if it is bacterial or viral (if it's viral, antibiotics will not do anything for him) but since he is on the verge of being dehydrated they wanted to have him admitted to the hospital for a heavy dose of antibiotics (in case it's bacterial or the swine flu, cause they still haven't ruled this option out even though the swab came back negative) and lots of liquids. So I call Jeff (cause he's at work) and Mom (cause she had the other two kids) to let them know that  I am on my way to the hospital to have him admitted.

     I arrived at the hospital just before lunchtime, got him checked  in and settled and since it is right before Christmas they have the room all set up with several small gifts (toys, books, stuffed animals, etc.) and a nice blanket that someone had made and donated to the hospita. It was really sweet. I went and had  lunch with Mom, Leah, and Matthew (cause they met me at the hospital and Jeff stayed in the room with Owen), and while we were at lunch they put an I.V. in Owen and took some blood. They gave him another gift after he had his blood drawn. By this time he has completely shut everyone out...only responding to yes or no questions and the answer always being no. Mom took Leah and Matthew home, Jeff left a little while later after Owen had fallen asleep and I settled in for the night. The goal was to have him home for Christmas but we would have to wait and see.

December 23rd...

     The nurse came in every two hours to check his vitals so it was a very long night. He cooperated very well for her but still would not talk to anybody other than to say no if you asked him a direct question. He had not eaten anything for dinner the night before, or anything for breakfast that morning, or for lunch, and you guessed it...nothing for dinner that night. He was not drinking much either...an occasional sip of water but at that point his body was pretty much relying on the I.V. for hydration. The medicine that they gave him caused him to have the runs (gross, I know) and he exploded more times than I care to remember so I spent quite a bit of time cleaning him up the best I could. His fever broke, he watched a bit of T.V. and slept.  I stayed at the hospital, Mom brought Leah and Matthew up to see me and Jeff came up after work (I think at some point I went home to shower and get some stuff). I settled in again for the second night and prayed that he would start drinking the next day or else he would not be discharged in time for Christmas.

December 24th...

     Christmas Eve brought visitors, that's right volunteer "elves"!!! They came bearing gifts...a Cars race track, Little Einsteins game, and the one that got the best response...a bowling set. Mom showed up a little bit later with some of Owen's favorite food and drinks (the doctor was ready to discharge him as soon as Owen showed us that he could eat and, more importantly, drink, of his own accord). She brought a happy meal from McDonald's with nuggets and fries, a slurpee, gatorade, a bag of chips, and strawberry milk. He wanted to play with the bowling set so we helped him out of bed and between rolls we got him to drink some of his slurpee and some water and eat a few chips. He continued to drink a little bits of water through the afternoon and later when Jeff came up, Owen drank a whole Capri Sun and took a little walk down the hall so the nurse called the doctor to see if he could be discharged. Then shortly before dinner we gathered up all of his stuff, old and new, snuggled him into the van and headed home, well actually to Uncle Martin's for a quick dinner, but he was out and just in time for Christmas.

December 25th...

     Owen was still quite weak on Christmas morning but he still had a good time opening presents and even managed to eat a little bit of Christmas dinner. We were just so happy to have him home for Christmas!!!!

Thanksgiving In Illinois

Trying to catch up...

Illinois was fun. We had a minor hiccup in the beginning when Martin realized after we parked the van and got on the shuttle for one those park'n'fly places that he forgot his drivers license. He called Mom and asked her to go get it from his house and bring it to the airport. We started getting checked in and they actually let him check-in without it and so we headed to security to see if they would let him through without his license  and as crazy as it sounds they let him through without his license (he had something else with his picture on it). It took him longer than the rest of us since they checked his bag and wanded him after he got through the gate but we finally got through.

When we got to Milwaukee (it was cheaper to fly into Milwaukee and drive to Plainfield) , Jeff and I rented the 2 vehicles since Martin didn't have his license. Driving down to Plainfield was my worst driving nightmare...in an unfamiliar large vehicle (an SUV), on unfamiliar roads with construction going on, at night and in heavy rain; but I did it! We got to our hotel and got checked in; it was a pretty nice place. Then we headed over to Will's house to hang out for a bit that night. The next day we shopped for all the pie ingredients and then spent the afternoon making pies; I made all the crusts, Chellie did the apple filling and Jody made the pumpkin. We just hung out the rest of the day and waited for all the stragglers (Mom) to arrive.

The next day we all got together and did what everyone should do on Thanksgiving...eat, talk, laugh, play, and nap. The food was good, the kids had fun playing (even the big kids), Matthew just loved trying to make Bella laugh, and of course there were naps. Of course, I snuck away to go get in on a good deal at Old Navy. We tried to get a picture of all the kids together but Bella was not enjoying the moment as you can see from the picture below.

On Friday, Mom and I got up before everyone else to go get a few Black Friday deals for Christmas shopping. We had breakfast at Will's before we headed out to the mall so Aunt Jody could spoil all her nieces and nephews a little bit before she went home. (Getting all the extra things home We only got lost a little bit and missed one toll booth on the way. After we were done shopping we went back to the hotel to have deep-dish pizza and swim (I think we swam that night).

(Matthew liked leaning against the "sun".)

Saturday was our sight-seeing day...we went into Chicago to the Adler Planetarium and The Shedd Aquarium. We got kind of delayed getting there so we didn't have as much time at either place as we would have liked, but what we did see was really fun. There was a pretty cool show at the aquarium but since my camera battery died at the planetarium I personally have no pictures; Martin took a few so I will try to get some from him to add. We were going to go to the Sears Tower but the time got away from us with our late start so we decided to stop back in Chicago on our way to the airport on Sunday. Of course it was completely overcast on Sunday so there was zero visibilty when we got to the top, but hey there was no wait to get to the top and we still got some fun pictures.

(These are at the top of  Willis Tower (formerly Sears) and no, they are not hanging upside down...they were laying on the floor and I was standing above them.)

The rest of our trip home was pretty uneventful...we got home really late and went straight to bed. Poor Jeff had to get up early the next day and go to work, but he got through. We had tons of fun and a few weeks after we got home Matthew asked me when we were going to go back to Chicago? Why I asked? Because he wanted to see Bella again.