There are no words....just read it all!!

Jack woke me up at 6:30 this morning. I was so bummed. Usually on the days I do not have to go to work (Tuesday and Thursday), the kids and I sleep till 7:00. I was really hoping for that extra 30 mins but not today. It started out to be my usual Thursday, laundry, house cleaning and whatever I wanted until I had to leave to pick up the kids (Katie and Jack) from pre-school.

Well, I had tons to do, mow the yard, register Katie for after-school care, go to the grocery store and I still was feeling not quite right. Some where in the middle of all that I put a chicken in the oven to cook the rest of the after noon. So by the time Phil got home I was exhausted. We finished getting dinner ready and all five of us sat down to dinner. Unless Phil is working late we usually all have dinner together.

So I am completely exhausted but starving, Phil worked out in the heat today so he is about the same........what am about to tell you will completely mortify my mother.......but I am going to tell you any way because it is just down right funny.

We are sitting at the table and Jack says he has to go poop. The bathroom unfortunately is about 5 steps from the dinning room table. Katie complains that Jack is going to stink up not only the bathroom but the dinning room as well. This turns into a huge disagreement as to who stinks up the bathroom worse Katie, Jack or Daddy and Katie and Jack wanted me to be the judge. need I say anything more??

I get Katie back to eating, Maddie eating her veggie puffs and Jack serenades with a sounding off of toots echoing from the toilet. I thought I was going to have to use the Heimlich on Phil and I have lost control of the table again. Mind you while all of this is going on I still have the worst sinus headache.

So again I gain control of the table, Phil no longer is needing oxygen, I start talking to Maddie and feeding he some food. Suddenly, it dawns on me,"Katie just tooted." I turned and looked at her because she did not excuse herself. I asked her if she just tooted. She told me NO. I looked at her and said are you lying??? She very plainly says YES. Dumbfounded, I had no comment and Phil was on his way to almost needing oxygen again laughing so hard.

There were so many words I wanted to say to Phil at that point, I couldn't because my luck they would be repeated at school tomorrow and I would get a call. I hate calls from the Directors office. They usually include some mortifying thing Jack did that I am so glad I am learning about it over the phone instead in person. That's a whole nother blog day though.

Needless to say, my bed is calling, I have no idea what happen to the normal people that used to live in my house. I am using Normal as a reletive term. If I find them I will let you know.

Hope someone laughed over this because there was nothing more I can do today.

TTFN

Updating.......

In trying to be a little more creative I changed the top photo. I played around in photo shop and this was the result. As I get more comfortable and experiment a little more things will change again.

An update on the kids.......Madelynn had a weight check and her last RSV shot today. She was 14lbs and 14.5oz. This is a 4oz gain. This is a little less than I hoped for but a gain is a gain. Madelynn has been cleared to go back to daycare and her first day back will be May 1st. Ms. Connie who cared for her before surgery is so excited she already has things labeled for Madelynn's return. It will be nice for somethings to get back to normal (whatever that is).

Kaitlynn is preparing for her pre-school graduation in about two weeks. They are teaching her songs for the ceremony. She walks around the house singing them. Kaitlynn is trying to separate herself from Jackson. It creates a lot of fights when Kaitlynn doesn't want to do what Jackson wants. She is very excited for kindergarten to start. We are excited for her.

As for Jackson, he just exhausts me some days. He is the only grandson on my side of the family and lost in the sea of boys on Phil's side. Jack is a middle child with a younger sister and older sister. I really do feel sorry for him some days. School has good and bad days for him. His accidents at nap are almost gone. The biggest problem is that he has NO problem telling his teachers NO!! he doesn't want to do something. That three year old mind is always testing the waters.

The kids are doing well as you can tell by the photos above. Enjoy the new pics.

TTFN

White Cloud

The last five or six days I have really felt bad. I have a cold kicking my butt. Unfortunately, my life does not allow for colds with Katie, Jack and Maddie. Phil has tried to get home on time or a little early, some days he can't. So, one or two days there was a free for all at my house and I just figured when I felt better I would get things back in order. Little did I know what was about to happen.

Katie got in trouble at school so when we first got home I sent her to her room. I let Jack play. Phil decided he would pick up Maddie. I did my usual thing changed clothes, checked the mail. I then went to Katie's room to talk to her about her problem at school. She stabbed a kid in the neck with a crayon.

I walked in the room and I smelled baby powder. I asked her why she told me the diaper genie smelled so she sprinkled baby powder around it. Sounded logically. I told her I would empty it today after we talked. I did the usual, what happened? why did you hurt you friend? I told her she had to stay in her room till Phil got home.

After dinner, still feeling really bad I took Maddie upstairs to do her breathing treatment, Phil sent the kids upstairs to play and he did the dishes. I was very glad because I had no energy. I heard the kids playing so I didn't think anything about it. When they get quiet is when I need to find them immediately!!!!

All the sudden Katie comes flying in my room running from Jack. She looks like she has aged about 50 years. Jack comes flying seconds later white cloud trailing behind them. Yes they emptied a brand new container of baby powder (about 3/4 of it) all over Katie"s Room. I called Phil upstairs as soon as he saw them I lost it. They were covered in baby powder. They had so much baby powder in their clothes and hair every time their body moved they were like pig pen. A trail of cloud behind.

Phil told them to get all the toys off the floor so he could vacuum. I finished Maddie's treatment and went to inspect the damage. The dust still had not settled so I took Maddie out. I was afraid her lungs could not take it. Yes it was that bad!!!! Phil finished the dishes and came back upstairs to find they had emptied the rest of the container in the room. That was 22 oz of baby powder.

To add to it, last September before I went back to work from Maternity Leave I painted the hallway. It is a dark olive kinda military green. As I walked the hallway after everyone went to bed I have found white hand prints about three feet high on the walls leading from Katie and Maddie's Room to our shower. I couldn't brush the powder out it had to be washed out of their hair.

Although, it really was quite hilarious... I was really hoping for a quiet day off to get a little extra sleep. NOT!!!!!

TTFN

LCK Picnic

The Levine Cardiac Kids (LCK) hosted their 2nd annual picnic this past weekend. We took a few hours and went out and had a little fun. Needless to say Katie and Jack had the most fun see below. Maddie, Grandma B and I sat under a shady tree and watched. We had lunch and took a wagon ride through the farm. There was a baby cow that was born a few days prior. The kids were so excited.

Katie and Jack spent most of their time bouncing in the entertainment set up. They were completely exhausted by the time we got home but they had a great time. Many people through the foundation have heard about Maddie and seen her picture on the LCK web page but never met her. They were very excited to finally meet her.

I was most impressed by the fact that Dr. Watts, one of the heart surgeons (he assisted in Maddie's procedure), and some of the CVICU nurses (Shawn, Kandi and Pam) came out to visit with the kids and families. There will never be enough nice things to say about these people who took time out of their busy schedule to come and visit with the kids. Some of them had only been off a 12 hour shift for about 5 hours.

There will always be a special place in my heart for the nurses in the CVICU. I could not do what they do day in and day out. I sent them a Thank You card and enclosed a photo of Maddie. They have a special board for these letters and photos and Maddie is posted up there. I believe it helps remind them of the good things that come out of all the hard work they put in everyday.

Enjoy the photos.....my bed is calling.....trying to avoid putting anymore towels in the refrigerator.

TTFN

On the brink of insanity....

Early Friday Morning Madelynn decided she would projectile vomit an entire bottle. We tried to feed her again a few hours later when we got up to get ready for work, she refused to eat. This was an all to horrible memory to be reliving and some panic started to set in.

I took her to the doctor and they could find nothing wrong with her. I know my daughter, that is the biggest bunch of crap. I called out from work and as the day progressed she still did not want to eat much. About 8pm I called the Children's Hospital to see who was on call. The Nurse Practitioner who helped care for Madelynn after her surgery was on call. So I left word for her to call me.

Over the next 24 hours I spoke with her 3 times and felt better about Madelynn's not eating and just worked with what I had. She was not dehydrated, she was eating to maintain, not to grow and that was okay for a few days. As frustrating as it was, I did my best to enjoy the weekend and offer her food every chance I got.

I went to work today only to find out she was refusing again to eat again this morning and decided to dry heave. I left work and took her back to the doctor still nothing. They ran a few tests that will take a few days to get results back. At this point there is still nothing I can do except exhaust every effort to get her to eat. Over all it isn't horrible she has only lost ONE ounce. So maybe in a few more days will turn around and this will all be a memory.

I don't think it will get to this but worse case scenario she would be labelled "failure to thrive" and admitted to the hospital. I don't think it will come to that if I keep working. However, exhaustion and certain comedic errors are starting to take place.

So how you know you need to get more sleep........you found cups that needed to go in the dishwasher in the trash, a stack of towels you folded in the refrigerator, clothes meant for the washer were found in the trash, and suddenly your set of eight silverware is missing several spoons ( I can only assume made it in the trash and I never knew they were there). I really seem to like the trash can.

Hopefully, things will settle down over the next few days and Madelynn will eat again and I can sleep again. Hoping you don't find strange things in your trash.

TTFN

Garden Vegetables

As Monday's go yesterday was just another one. It is a very busy day for me at work, Phil usually works late so we usually have leftovers from Sunday dinner. That is except for Maddie. I have been trying different baby foods with her. She loves the mixed vegetables or so I thought. I tried something called Garden Vegetables. She did not like it as well as the Harvest Vegetables. Can you tell? I felt like I needed a wet suit. There is one part of the dinning room I will be spending a little extra time on cleaning up. By the time I finally gave up, I just started laughing.

Needless to say by the time I was finished and stopped laughing We went straight up to the bathtub to get the food out of every crack and crevice. Places I didn't even know babies could get food, I found green goo. By the time the bath was done, I had found my beautiful baby girl again. Apparently, shooting her food at Mommy was pretty exhausting because shortly after bath this is what I found. (The Easter Duck makes a great pillow, can you see his feet??? Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Bacho)

Hoping your Monday didn't consist of someone blowing raspberries of green goo at you. TTFN

Our Stories

If you scroll down the right hand side of the blog there is a link for the Levine Cardiac Kids. Click on it. It takes you to their main page. On the top right hand side you will see a link for Our Stories, click on it. You will then see Madelynn's name. If you click on her name you will read her story. It is kind of cool, at least I thought so. They asked me about a month ago to get it to them. It was the first time I really had to sit and right it all out. Just thought you might want to read.

TTFN

New Beginning

Well I finally made the cut. I promised Katie a haircut and even let her pick it out. We went shopping on the Internet for hairstyles. She picked hers out and we printed it off. Little did we know that she had enough for a donation too. So Katie's first hair donation went to Locks of Love (link to the right). Mine of course went to Beautiful Lengths (see link to the right). Katie looks so cute and just loves showing it off. It completely suits her too.

With this donation of mine it makes a total of 38" of hair I have donated in the last 9 years. It takes me about 3 years to grow a good donation. So for me it is just a stepping stone. I would like to make one more donation and then I will stop. I wanted to donate a total of 48" or 4ft before I stopped. It is so easy for me to just let my hair grow. So starting today, I am on my next journey to getting another donation.

I am not sure what Katie will do. I agreed to let her cut her hair. I let her choose the style. The lady at the salon asked us 4 times were we sure this is what we wanted to do. I told her I made a promise to her now just cut it. Daddy thinks she looks just like Aunt Jenni. The cut is so cute on her I am not sure it will ever be long again.

We hope every one has a very Joyous Easter Sunday. As we start our new beginning we hope everyone will find one.

TTFN

The Zoo

We spent the day at the NC Zoo in Asheboro. Let me tell ya that was the most walking I have done in a really long time. We walked the Africa side twice because we missed a few things the first time. Then we went to the North America side. I have a lot of photos of the animals and some of the other sites. I will post those later. The photos of us, especially the kids turned out really good and funny. Patti and I took most of the photos. It really was a great day. The kids were pooped.

One little side note that only my parentsand brother and sister will enjoy. As we were waiting for the tram to take us to the parking lot I looked around and Jack was no where to be found. Phil ran up to the tram just about to take off and there was Jack siiting in a seat. Phil pulled him off. He just got mixed up in the crowd and followed the people on the tram. (He's tried the elevator trick but being an expert at that I catch him before the door closes).

Peanuts new trick

Maddie has been working really hard in her therapy and wanted to show you her new milestone. She has worked really hard and the therapist is just amazed at how fast she can get around. She has turned the commando crawl into the bunny hop trying to figure out how to make her legs work it is really funny. She is already getting so big and reaching milestones that I thought would take forever to reach. It is really great to watch. TTFN

The Park

Last Friday we picked up Patti and Joy at the airport. We had a great visit. One of the days they were here we took Katie and Jack to the park. While Phil was running a few errands with Peanut. Patti, Joy, Katie, Jack and I went to the park. It was a great day. I cannot ever miss a chance to get new photos of Katie and Jack.

10 years and counting......

Today is the day 10 years ago we bought our house. We did not expect to move in so quickly. We thought we were going to have to build. The memories already in the house is sometimes fun to think about......We closed on April Fools Day!!! The house was newly built so we are the only owners. All of the floors have since been replaced, every single room has been painted sometimes two and three times. Being an animal foster home for a while made for interesting finds when we came home from work.

Before the kids at our maximum capacity we had three dogs and six cats. The three dogs were Leia (died last year, she was 12 years old), Angel (adopted out), lady (still with us at 11 years old). Lady started having seizures when we would bring a new dog in so we had to stop and just kept Lady and Leia. The cats were Mr. Sophie (died, ill), Kelly (died, ill), Tigger (took from my sister and found a home), Sam and Boots(went to a new foster home), Forrest, Lt Dan and Bubba (went back to the shelter). We found out our son was allergic and we had to find homes for the cats.

It is still so strange to have a house with just one animal when the house used to be filled. Lady gets all the privileges and is spoiled rotten. But being a bigger dog and still occasionally having seizures she will only be with us for probably another year or two. I can't imagine her living past thirteen. Although our house will be very empty in one sense it will be very full in another.

Think about it in two years Kaitlynn will be 8, Jackson will be 6 and Madelynn will be 3. No need for the animals our house will be wild enough without any pets for a while. Phil and I always thought it was kind of funny we closed on our house on April Fool's Day. Later this year we will celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary. Where has the time gone?????

Have a Great Hump Day!!!

TTFN