An appointment and a wreck

Tuesday we had Reed’s follow up appointment in Little Rock. Just Reed and I went down. We got up early and headed out around 6:00 a.m. for our 9:00 a.m. appointment. The appointment was uneventful until about 20 miles from the hospital when traffic came to a standstill. It took me almost an hour to get there. I was sweating it! We got there with about 5 minutes to spare. Not that it really mattered because we waited for over an hour in the waiting room!!!! Torture with a(n almost) two year old!

The appointment went well. Reed is healing very nicely and the doctor said he was able to clean out the inflammation very well. He does have a 20% chance the cyst will grow back (up from 5%) because of his infections. I asked the doctor if it came back and we removed it again, if that would be it. He didn’t want to give me the next news, which was that it could continue coming back indefinitely. He said that his worst case was one which required seven operations! I hope that we don’t have to deal with this again, but I would not be surprised if it does grow back. Time well tell. We have one more follow up in 4-6 months and as long as everything is good, we’ll be done.

Reed was definitely a trooper for a long day. He’s handled this whole thing so well and has been so adaptable through all of this.

   

We got home in time to pick up Ava from school and then we had an errand to run. It was about 3:45, we were tired and ready to get home. After driving over 350 miles, we were getting off the interstate on the exit to our house and less than a mile from home, were hit from behind! I mean SERIOUSLY! Crazy how that happens.

I was stopped at the bottom of the exit because a car was coming and I was waiting to turn right. I’d been sitting there for a while, and the car had passed and I was about to pull out when I felt the crash. I screamed. I realized what had happened and it was like immediate shock. I was shaking and making sure the kids were okay. I turned my flashers on, grabbed my phone and got out of the car. I called 911 while checking out my car and then asked the other driver if she was okay. I got back in the car to check on the kids and Reed was so upset. He kept crying and was really scared. I also noticed that the impact was so hard it made my sunroof visor open! It’d been shut b/c I don’t drive with it open unless the sunroof is open and all of a sudden, there was an opening.

 

It was taking a while for the police to get there and I got back out of my car and noticed the other driver looking at my vehicle. She wanted to know why I’d called the police since there wasn’t any visible damage. I just told her I wasn’t comfortable walking away from this without calling them. I asked her if she wouldn’t have called the police if someone had hit her and she said no, not if there wasn’t damage. I just told her that I had two kids in the car and that my back hurt and she wasn’t happy to hear that. Someone pulled up at that point to ask if we were okay. She made a snide remark to him about how my back hurt and I just got back in my car and waited until the police arrived.

They took our statements and information and filed the report. We went on our way. I had a very stiff neck and back the rest of the evening and went to bed really early. I went to the doctor yesterday and he did x-rays and said there is for sure whiplash. He checked the range of motion with my neck which wasn’t the best. I’m going to get some treatments for a while until I’m better. I’m so very thankful it wasn’t something worse, but now we have the headache of dealing with insurance, getting the car checked out, getting it fixed if need be, going to doctor appointments and so on. It’s just a headache and after the headaches of Reed’s surgery I was hoping things would settle down for us a bit. Such is life. silly me for thinking huh?

So, definitely not how I expected our day to end. I know that we’re lucky it wasn’t worse. I am hoping my car doesn’t have too much damage either. Anyway. We’re safe, mostly okay, and Reed’s well. We’re blessed.

Days gone by

Life seriously feels like a whirlwind lately. I don’t have near enough hours in the day to do all the things that I need/want to do. And it’s a little overwhelming. Zach and I were talking yesterday and realized we do not have one free weekend until the end of October. I’m tired just thinking about it all. I guess that’s just the season we’re in – literally and figuratively. Fall is just such a busy time for Zach with school, and just this season of life – so much going on.

We are at least managing to have fun and we’re thankful for all the opportunities that come our way for having fun and spending time as family.

Reed is feeling soooooo much better. He really is. It’s amazing. He’s laughing this big belly laugh. He’s running around. He’s just happy. And that makes me SOOOO happy. It also makes me realize just how miserable he was. I knew it had to be painful, but this just confirms it. He is getting into mischief. I found him the other night and he had climbed up on this tub in Ava’s room.

 

We got Reed a new lunchbox and he is SO proud of it!

Ava and I were glad when Friday rolled around!!!

 

Saturday morning while Reed waited for me to get him some milk, he decided to try and close himself in the refrigerator and thought it was pretty funny! Silly kid!

We spent part of our weekend cleaning up the house. Ava loves being the one who cleans all the glass and mirrors. She also loves to vacuum. I just wish she enjoyed cleaning her room.

 

Sunday afternoon we celebrated the kids’ birthdays early. With a huge family, we just do it when we can, even if it’s not right on their birthday. We also celebrated my little cousin Caroline’s, who shares my birthday. The kids had a wonderful time, and loved getting celebrated.

The two birthday girls

  

One perk of celebrating early is you still get to celebrate on your actual day! And they still have a celebration coming up when we visit Zach’s family! Ava is also have a friend birthday party this year the day after her birthday. :)

We have a busy week ahead (surprise, surprise) so I wouldn’t be surprise if the blogging from me is scarce over the next little while. I do love looking back on the memories so hope to keep up with it semi-regularly! Hang in there with me over the next few weeks!!!!

Since the last time

Whew. It’s hard to believe it’s already been almost a week since Reed’s surgery. I’m SO glad we are on the back end of it. He had a few rough days over the weekend, but has improved so much. We actually had a really quiet Labor Day weekend to get him all better!

Friday he and I stayed home and he had lots of resting to do!

 

Zach took Ava to a birthday party that night and I actually found some smiles on Reed during his bath.

 

The antibiotic he was on were NASTY and he SCREAMED any time we said the word medicine. He would wrestle and fight it, and often times, it’d make him gag and throw up. That evening, I was doing the 2nd attempt at medicine, and promised him if he took it all he could have a cookie. We finished and were sitting down, and about 5 minutes later he asked for a cookie. I gave it to him, and he fell asleep like this before he could even eat it!

Saturday we were excited to watch the Hogs play in their season opener!!! We love our Razorbacks and the kids love all the band music and like to sing and dance to it!

Sunday Zach stayed home while Ava and I went up to MO. My great aunt and uncle were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. My aunt has been fighting cancer the last two years and I think there were times they weren’t sure they would reach this milestone. We saw a lot of family that we only seem to see at weddings, funerals, etc. We had a good time. Ava of course loved playing with her best friend/cousin, Caroline!

 

We laid low on Monday trying to get Reed rested up to head back to school this week. I’m trying to figure out when he started looking so much like a little boy and not so much like a baby!

We debated on when to send him back to school and finally decided that sending him for a half day on Tuesday might be the best. We could let him come home and rest after getting back into things, and then do again on Wednesday if need be. He seemed to have a really great day!!! I expected him to be WORN out and while he was tired, he didn’t look too exhausted and it even took him a while to fall asleep!

I went ahead and just picked Ava up when I got Reed. All she had left for her day was naptime and play time, so that saved me a trip back across town, and having to wake Reed up from a nap prematurely. I tried and tried to get her down because she was SUPER cranky that morning, but first we checked our mailbox and found the prettiest dress inside!!!! This adorable dress is a SheSheMade creation and I’m IN LOVE with it! I love the colors and that they can work for fall/spring/summer! 

 

I finally got her to settle down and lay down long enough to fall asleep! This provided a glorious, quiet afternoon for me to catch up on some things around the house. Man, I’d love to work half days all the time!

And FINALLY! September means ALL Pampered Chef stoneware and metal bakeware is 20% OFF!!!!! This is an awesome time to add to your collection. You can go to my site and purchase here! Also, while you’re there, check out the new fall products! If you have any questions, please ask!!

Five on Friday! Reed’s Surgery

I have a lot of updating to do regarding Reed’s surgery and it turns out the events are pretty much in five categories, so, I’m linking up again for Five on Friday!

 

1. The Before

We called ACH first thing Tuesday morning, and around noon the nurse called back. We relayed the information about the infected cyst and that we thought it had abscessed again. She said the doctor would have to make the call about whether or not we could come. At that point we hadn’t heard from the surgery center yet. They called about 12:45 and as they were going through the questions they have to ask, I had to explain the situation to them. She said she would also have to tell the anesthesiologist because she might decide she wasn’t comfortable. The lady informed me that if the anesthesiologist wasn’t comfortable, she would call me back, and if our doctor didn’t want to proceed, then to call her back. If surgery happened, it was scheduled for 8:30 and we had to be there at 7:00.

Around 2:30, the nurse called me back and said that the doctor had been busy with appointments and left immediately for a meeting, so they had to talk to a resident. The resident said it was impossible to make a decision without seeing it, so we needed to come, with the understanding that while in pre-op, the doctor could decide not to do the surgery. This wouldn’t be a big deal if we’d lived right there, but being three hours away, this possibility was kind of crappy, but it’s what we had to do.

So we headed down Tuesday evening after work. We stayed with my dear friend Chenin and her husband. They are wonderful to always offer us a place to stay if we need to be in the LR area.

Sweet boy on our way to LR

2. The Surgery

We arrived at the hospital and checked in right at 7:00. We waited for a while and then were called in to the admissions desk. We proceeded to answer the same questions as the day before, and it wasn’t the last time we’d answer them. Ha!

Reed watched a little Mickey Mouse while we waited and he was so happy. It hurt my heart wondering when we’d see that smile again.

 

When we got called back, we had to answer questions again, and we told the nurse again about the situation and that we had to wait for the doctor’s decision. She brought in the anesthesiologist who said she would proceed as if the surgery would happen and that from her standpoint, there were no issues, but warned of the risk that it might not. She asked to see the cyst and kind of made a face and said she’d be surprised if the doctor did it.

Our doctor came in and he took a look at it and said “We’re getting that out today.” He said it wasn’t inflamed enough to postpone, and after the second infection, we just needed to get it out, which we completely agreed with. We signed papers, they gave him his first round of anesthesia which made him very calm, and then we walked with him to the OR doors and had to leave him.

We sat down in the waiting room and the receptionist called our name at 8:57 to tell us they had just started.

3. Post-Op and Recovery

We’d been told surgery would last an hour to an hour and a half. We sat and the time passed pretty quickly. A little after 10:00 a nursing resident came out and told us they were finished and that everything had gone well. They then called us and told us to wait in a consultation room, which honestly, scared the death out of me. We’d seen numerous doctors come out to the waiting room and talk to waiting family members, so the fact that they put us in a room worried me.

The doctor came in and said he’d done really well. They removed the cyst, which he said looked like a classic thyroglossal duct cyst, as well as tissue and the piece of bone. He said there was a drain in there that would be removed the next day and explained about the stitches. He said they’d call us shortly to go back to post-op to see him.

We had been sitting down for approximately a minute when they called our name to head back to him. When we got to him, the nurse had him sitting up trying to get him to come to. She said that he had been asking for us. He really wasn’t with it though and finally wanted Zach to hold him.

He kept coming in and out and didn’t want anything to drink or a popsicle. We stayed in post-op until about 11:15 when they moved us up to our room.

     

Reed was pretty miserable most of the day. He would fall asleep and then wake up crying. He’d be restless for a bit and then would fall back asleep. He slept especially well after his first dose of Motrin. For some reason, he didn’t want me. He really only wanted Zach. I held him for about a two hour stretch of sleep but other than that, it was mostly Zach.

He finally woke up and seemed coherent around 6:00 p.m. He was awake for an hour, and then crashed again. We tried off and on all day for him to drink and he just wouldn’t. He woke up around 10:00 and sat with me for a bit while we watched Toy Story.

He slept fairly well despite the wake ups for vitals, medicines, etc.

The doctors came in around 6:30 to remove his drain. He did really well when they did that, and they said they’d write up discharge papers!

4. Coming Home

Our day shift nurse came in and said that we could go home as soon as Reed drank 4 oz. His breakfast had arrived shortly before that and he actually ate a sausage patty, which made him thirsty. He was about halfway done, but was turning away water. So, we ordered him another sausage patty. ha!! That did the trick!

He drank his water and we were heading down to our car by 9:30 a.m. They sent a wagon for him, and he wouldn’t let the volunteer pull it, but wanted me to. I love this picture and how unsure he looks in his eyes.

 

We waited a couple extra hours for his last dose of Motrin so he could have it right before our drive home and he went to sleep almost immediately.

He was excited to be home and got many of his toys out. He had moments where he felt really good and moments where he felt really bad. We had to change his wrappings and he screamed through all of that – I think his incision hurts. He’s also still taking his antibiotics which he HATES. We were SO tired when we got home b/c sleeping in the hospital wasn’t comfortable for mom and dad!

5. What Now?

We have to keep him calm, or as calm as we possibly can, for the next week or so. He does have stitches as I mentioned and they will dissolve. We have to return to ACH on September 10 for our follow up appointment. When we visited with the doctor pre-op, he informed us that due to the continuous infections, Reed’s risk of the cyst coming back in increased. He said that if it comes back, it is typically in the 6-9 month time frame. If we make it to one year, he should be set and it won’t come back.

It’s been an exhausting, emotionally and physically draining week and I’m so thankful that we have this behind us. We thank everyone who has prayed for us and are so appreciative of everyone who has prayed for us during these days. Thank you for loving and caring for us and our son!!

Praise Jesus for letting us get this taken care of this week and for watching over us and Reed throughout this all!

Birthday fun and Reed’s surgery

Another birthday come and gone! I’m THIRTY! ha! Doesn’t really feel much different! Here are a few picture highlights of my weekend!

 

We celebrate birthdays at work, and milestone birthdays are celebrated especially big! I knew something would be coming, but lately, WHEN is the question. I thought I’d get there yesterday morning to a decorated office. I walked in and there was nothing. My friend/boss came in and said I owed her b/c she’d decided to save it all up for HER boss who has a milestone birthday in November. I thought, okay, but didn’t quite believe her because she loves to get people! She told there would be cake that afternoon.

Before I get to the surprise, I need to mention that Reed’s cyst got infected again over the weekend. I noticed it on Saturday morning and immediately called the doctor. We started him on an antibiotic, and are desperately praying he will be okay for surgery Wednesday. He must take his medicine three times a day and I knew that I couldn’t ask his teachers to give it to him b/c of how we have to wrestle him to get it in him. I planned on just running over there and giving it to him, but I left it at home. Knowing he couldn’t afford to miss a dose, I went home to get it (and his lunch which we also forgot this morning), and when I got back, they had done a quick decorating job and were waiting for me!!!!

My boss loves to bake and made this adorable “30” cake for me. It was so good too!!!

I think my FAVORITE thing though was these cups! My boss turned 40 earlier this year and her husband had a surprise party for her with a photo booth. We took a picture with all the people from work and I put on these crazy glasses and was being silly! I knew when these came back that this photo would resurface for my birthday! They printed it on a label and put them on these cups!!!!!! HILARIOUS!

It was a fun day and I was so thankful I walked back into that b/c I had left Reed at school crying “mama, go home!” and I was so upset about him. I was fighting back tears and probably would have gone back to my desk and cried when I walked into the fun!

As for Reed, his cyst seems to have abscessed again. I’m not sure what this means for his surgery. We are waiting to hear from the surgeon’s office about our next steps. We covet any prayers for our sweet boy as we desperately need to get this cyst out of him. I will update when we know more.

Thirty Things I've Learned in my Thirty Years

Today is my 30th birthday which hardly seems possible! In honor of that, here are 30 things I have learned in my 30 years!!

1. I am capable of far more than I think.
2. When I worry & can't see how something will work out, God ALWAYS shows up & shows me otherwise. ALWAYS!
3. Sometimes life just isn't fair. It just isn't. Period. The end.
4. It's necessary to laugh at yourself.
5. Losing friendships doesn't get any easier as I get older.
6. No matter what you do or how hard you try, some people just won't like you. And that's ok.
7. Life is short, too short, and every day should be treated as a gift.
8. Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. - Rent
9. There will be people who are going to let you down.
10. Honesty IS the best policy. If you aren't honest, you have to remember who you told what.
11. In many disappointments, God has proven to me time and time again that His plans for me are far better than my plans for myself!
12. Only you can decide your limits. In all areas of your life, make them and stick to them.
13. When I make a fool of myself, my family will remind me of it for years and years to come!
14. It's okay to tell people NO!
15. Growing up we were always fighting, but as adults my siblings are some of my best friends.
16. Even when you do the right thing, things may not always turn out in your favor.
17. I am my own worst enemy.
18. Trying new things can lead to something new you really love!
19. "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
20. Don't take yourself or life so seriously! Laughter is the best medicine.
21. The only person who can make you unhappy is you. I cannot change people or situations. I can only change how I can react to them.
22. Giving is far far greater than receiving.
23. Sometimes it's okay to relax and be lazy.
24. If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.
25. Think before you speak.
26. Be humble.
27. It's okay to accept offers of help.
28. My husband and our kids can make any bad day infinitely better.
29. It's okay to make mistakes. They teach you something and give you the chance to grow.
30. I am blessed more than words can say.

Reed Funnies

These days, Reed is talking up a storm and he is SO funny. This is a for mommy post, meaning this is really for me so I can remember all these things when he’s grown!

• Whenever he can’t find someone, he blames someone for taking it and says “Daddy take paci” or “A-yuh take night night”. It’s quite comical.
• Whenever someone is gone and we ask where they went, he’ll usually say “they go bye-bye”. Then we’ll ask him where they went and he always says “al-mar” (wal-mart). Funny kid!

This video is actually a combo of both of these things!

• He is excited about his new cousin Baby Caroline and I looooove the way he says her name!!

• He says he “needs” something. “I need my mom.” “I need more cheese.”
• I love it when i ask him something and he says “I think so mommy”.
• He says please and thank you very well.
• If someone is going to the bathroom, he says “I go potty” and will sit on the little potty. He also tells us he has poo-poo anytime he goes to the bathroom.
• His favorite Mickey Mouse episode has a song that says bam-bam goes my hammer, so he calls his toy hammers his “bam-bams”.
• He tells us he loves us and its the sweetest thing.
• When he gets in trouble by one of us, he immediately “needs” his other parent

This age is definitely trying, but it’s also so fun. I love seeing him learn new things and I love that he is able to communicate so well with us!