The Colborns Unembellished

The Preemie Project

2011-10-26T16:12:00.004-04:00

I realize that it's been a year since I last blogged and I really need to pull it together. I am currently pregnant with my 4th high risk pregnancy and a friend of mine has asked me to help her with a project. Seeing that I have already had 3 preemie babies and this will likely be my 4th, this cause is very dear to my heart. If you can help in any way, please do!!

http://embroitique.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=233&products_id=1271

Happy Halloween~

2010-10-31T23:04:00.005-04:00

For Halloween this year Madelynne was a mermaid (not sure how the magic wand got in the picture) , Bridger was a Knight and EmmaLeigh was the cutest Leprechaun you have ever seen.

It was hard to come up with a mermaid costume that Madelynne could actually walk in but, I think it worked out ok. It was a tad dangerous with her tail so accessible to other people walking by. We had a few incidents but, nothing to harmful. She did lose her skirt once when someone decided to stand on her tail as she was walking away but, other than that her costume was a success. If you ask her what the best part of her costume is, she would undoubtedly say, "I got my hair dyed pink" Yes, we did spray some pink streaks of washable hairspray in her hair on Friday...3 days and 2 showers later, it is now Sunday and her hair is still pink!! She's in heaven.

EmmaLeigh found this hat a few months ago when we were at Toys R Us. She put it on her head and wore it around the entire store. It was so funny that I had to buy it. Luckily it was only a dollar something. It was the perfect inspiration for her Halloween costume this year. With her red hair and tiny little body, she makes for a perfect Leprechaun.

~Mommy's Lucky Charm~

Bridger wanted to be a super hero this year. We had his costume all set and then Thursday he changed his mind. He found this helmet and shield at the dollar spot at Target and knew instantly that he had to be a knight.

~My Knight in Shining Armor~

Fall Fun at the Lawerance's Fall Festival~

2010-10-31T22:31:00.006-04:00

Every year my friend Staci and her family throw a huge bash full of fun, games, crafts, food and
prizes for all the kids. Last year it was a spring fling and this
year it was a carnival themed Fall Festival. The kids always have so much fun!!

Arriving at the Fall Festival. The kids are cashing in their play money for tickets to play all the carnival games. They were super excited.

Getting ready for musical chairs

Cute lil' pumpkin

I love how Madelynne's hand is sticking out perfectly from the side of the picture. lol

Lunch was a yummy assortment of Circus peanuts, hot dogs, chips, pretzels, cotton candy, fresh popped popcorn, red kool aid and funnel cake.

EmmaLeigh having some scrumptious lunch. I asked her what she was eating, thinking she would show me her peanut in her hand but, opened wide just as I snapped the picture. Notice that she has a mouth full of peanuts...shell and all. mmm, mmm good. lol

Shoveling in the cotton candy.

Our trip to the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-21T23:28:00.007-04:00

In years past we have not had to have any rules when picking out pumpkins at the pumpkin patch however, this year we found the need to add 1 tiny stipulation...

"If you can't pick it up, you can't have it"

It seemed to be taking the kids an especially long time to find a suitable pumpkin that they could actually carry by themselves so Madelynne had an ingenious idea. She would ask her brother for help. Here they are trying to pick up a pumpkin together. Even with the power of 2, the pumpkin was still too heavy. lol

EmmaLeigh had no problem finding a pumpkin instantly. She toted her prize pumpkin all around the pumpkin patch.

We can't wait for Halloween so we can carve our pumpkins and roast our seeds.

I just couldn't resist adding this last picture of these cute little witches potion bottles I just made. Aren't they adorable? :)

Life is life and that's all I have to say about that

2010-10-20T00:53:00.018-04:00

Madelynne was in the hospital yet again for Pseudomonus. We were there for over a week on I.V. antibiotics. We came home with a crazy voodoo regamine that we have to do every single night. Bleach baths, hibiclense showers, gentimicin injections directly into her bladder...the list goes on. On an up side she met a "best friend" Jenna while she was in the hospital. The two of them spent every second together that they weren't being poked and prodded by the doctors.

Madelynne got herself "bedazzled"

Madelynne and Jenna doing makeovers

Giving a few Pokes of their own during some supervised medical play with Child Life.

My littlest models in one of the newest in the hoop embroidery designs by Embroitique

Greg took Bridger out in the woods for some pre season hunting preparations. EmmaLeigh cried for 30 minutes because she wasn't allowed to go. Luckily she didn't go because Bridger came home with over a 100 seed ticks and chigger bites all over his little body. Poor little guy!!!

EmmaLeigh turned 2

Here she is saying, "I two"

Auntie Lara came to live with us for a while. Lucky us!! She brought her cute little dog Theo. We love both of them and the kids are over joyed to have a pet.

Madelynne lost her first tooth. You can barely tell since her permanent tooth grew in sometime ago but, she was elated to have her first visit from the toothfairy!!!

a long blogging hiatus

2010-06-08T10:07:00.037-04:00

I guess it's appropriate to say that life has been full lately. I hate that it has been too crazy to blog. We have had so much going on. To start off, Madelynne STILL has psudomonus!!! This is probably the number one reason I have not been around. I am so over this stupid infection! Too bad this bacteria can't seem to get the memo. We met with some Lawyers from Meadows and Macie. They are wanting to take our case on contingency (if they can get the Dr. to back them) I really pray he does!! Poor Madelynne has been through the wringer. It would be nice if she had something positive to show for it. It would also be nice for Target to take responsibility and help ensure this doesn't happen to someone else. There are too many details of the rest of life including, all three children having Von Willibrands Blood Disorder, Madelynne missing the entire last 7 months of school, Madelynne going to summer school, Greg receiving a new calling as Bishop, Madelynne getting her new custom Wheelchair, EmmaLeigh finally getting more than 6 teeth, several of my designs being featured in a magazine, lots of summer trips planned...

We have managed to mix a few fun things in with the drama. Here are some pics of what has been going on in our world...

Madelynne "rolled" her first 5K. After receiveing her wheel chair we signed up for the "Run from Hunger" 5K race. We were all going to run but, when we got there it was POURING down rain. The 2 younger kids and I stayed under the cabana while Greg and Madelynne ran the race. He pushed her the entire race and when they were finished, she wanted to know when they could do another one.

EmmaLeigh waiting in the rain for Madelynne and Daddy to finish the race. Bridger was sliding down the wet slides in the rain.

Rolling into the finish

Finish Line Greeter.

Madelynne was so proud of her winning medal, "first place in the wheelchair division.

The Daddy Daughter Dance

Greg took the girls to the annual Daddy Daughter Dance at the church.

Here is my attempt to take a picture without that stinkin bottle...This is so much better. lol

We got to go to the Georgia Aquarium

Can't resist a chance at getting your face painted!

EmmaLeigh loved all the fish

Madelynne and her friend Aubrey in front of the giant fish tank

Bridger loved touching everything...I was so surprised. He is usually a big wimp about stuff like that.

Bridger and his friend Dawson inside the viewing bubble

EmmaLeigh was so tired at the end, she grabbed her blanket and empty bottle and called it a day.

EmmaLeigh and Sophie hiding under the table, getting into mischief. They are so sneaky!

EmmaLeigh protesting her photo shoot...

This will have to do. Tear streaked but, atleast her mouth is closed.

We remodeled our powder room

New flooring, vanity, mirror and light fixture

I love how it turned out.

This is my newest embroidery design that will be for sale very soon.

Just doing my part to make the world a little safer

One super hero at a time!

I couldn't resist! This is my favorite shot of them all. It is probably the only picture you will ever see of EmmaLeigh without a bow but, I just couldn't help myself.

Easter 2010~

2010-04-04T20:58:00.007-04:00

Happy Easter

Thank you Lord for the blessings you bestow upon me and my family every single day AND Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice, for without that, we would have nothing!

Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives,
"I know that my Redeemer Lives"!

Madelynne and EmmaLeigh sneaking a look out the window at the eggs being hidden for the Easter Egg Hunt.

I love all my babies but, don't you just want to eat this little Carrot Top right up. She is so Sweet! Look at those perfectly pink cheeks and rosy red little lips!!!

Here is Bridger hiding out under the deck. He set himself up a little picnic. While everyone else was getting the food ready he was hiding under there, chowing down. What a funny boy!

Madelynne was so proud of her new Easter Dress from the Easter Bunny.

EmmaLeigh, ready for the hunt to start.

Bridger was a great egg hunter this year

Look at that baby doll...she knew just what to do with those candy filled eggs!

It was a great Easter. It was nice to not have to be to church until noon. Conference was really great even though the girls were pretty antsy for the duration. EmmaLeigh was her normal circus animal self while Madelynne was so excited about the afternoon egg hunt that she could hardly contain herself during church. Poor Bridger was pretty sick today. He slept the entire time we were at conference and then perked up for the egg hunt of coarse. He came home from the festivities with a 101 temperature and went straight to bed exclaiming, "I'm not feeling better". I'm sure his breakfast of goldfish wrapped in cotton candy didn't help. They all crashed hard once the sugar high diminished and I think I may follow suite!

Happy 3rd Birthday Bridger!

2010-03-31T09:24:00.006-04:00

My 3 little Pirates getting their swords from Wally World before the party.

It's no news that life is crazy over here but, with life as it is Bridger's party was almost cancelled this year. I had huge plans for his special day. He's been looking forward to his birthday all year. He wanted a pirate party and every time we see anything pirate he asks, "can I have this for my birthday?" He wanted to have a party at McDonalds with all of his friends and have a pirate cake. I even started early and ordered party decorations and favors online. I even got the fabric for his party hat and pirate outfits for him and the girls. I was feeling pretty organized which is a rare occasion lately. Then at the beginning of March my machine started sewing funny so I decided to send it in to get cleaned. It was only supposed to take a week. Tomorrow is april 1st and still...no machine. March 10th Madelynne gets sick so we go to the Dr. and get her urine cultured. On the 15th they notify us that she still has psuedamonous and want to admit her to the children's hospital. So, her and I spend the week in the hospital getting a pic line and IV antibiotics which she continued at home until Friday the 26th. Then a re-culture on Monday the 29th which was Bridger's birthday. Hmmm...not a whole lot of extra time to put together a pirate party. I tried to think through how I could post pone it or get it together last minute but, nothing seemed like it would work out. Saturday the 27th I decided I would just do a lunch party on Monday and whoever came, came. Obviously I didn't have time to send out the adorable invitations that I had planned to make so I just sent a message on Facebook to the mom's of all his little friends to meet us for lunch at McDonalds if they could. Kind of lame but, it is what it is. I had planned to make this amazing pirate ship cake and outfits for all the kids but, with no time, no machine and no sleep I ended up borrowing a machine and making his party hat and an outfit for Madelynne. Bridger had one from last halloween and we just made do for EmmaLeigh. The cake...we bought 20 minutes before the party at Walmart. We headed to McDonalds and I hoped at least 1 friend would show so he wouldn't be sad. To my astonishment, there were 11 children that came plus my 3 making 14. It was a great party. Luckily I had put together 12 pirate loot bags consisting of a captain hook, an eye patch, a hoop clip on earing, a retractable scope, a tiny pirate game and I wrapped them all up in a pirate bandanna. I had the kids take the loot bags at the beginning of the party so they could wear their garb for the festivities. We decorated pirate swords, played on the play land, ate lunch, had cake and opened presents. You never would have guessed it wasn't exactly as planned. Bridger had a GREAT birthday!

Bridger and "his" Sophia

Some of the kids having lunch.

The tiniest pirate having an apple.

~Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday dear Bridger...Happy Birthday to you!~

and finally...the loot.

Thank you to everyone who made this day so great for our little Matey! He really had a great 3rd Birthday and it couldn't have been more perfect!

Brace yourself...it's a doozy!

2010-03-07T20:23:00.007-05:00

I can't even begin to sum up the past couple of weeks but, I'll try to give the cliff notes version...

Feb. 3rd: Take Madelynne to Dr. and culture her urine. Definite UTI start her on cephelexin

Feb 5th: Take Bridger to urgent care with a 104 degree temp and vomiting. EmmaLeigh with fever and Madelynne with sore throat and fever. Bridger has Flu, EmmaLeigh has a double ear infection.

Feb. 8th: Culture comes back pseudomonous resistant to cephalexin start her on Cipero

Feb. 9th: Madelynne becomes increasingly ill

Feb. 10th: Cath Madelynne, urine looks like prune juice because it is mostly blood. Take her to Scottish Rite ER where they give her two rounds of IV antibiotics. (Rocephin and Gentimiacin) They instruct us to continue the Cipero.

Madelynne continues to complain and cry and do poorly. I continue giving her the Cipero twice a day.

Feb. 14th: Madelynne wakes up screaming. When I get to her room she is rolling around on the floor in sever, excruciating pain screaming that her bottom hurts. Unable to calm her, I give her a Tylenol with codeine and a ditropan pill.

Feb. 15th: Madelynne sleeps until 11am. I dump a pill into my hand from her Cipero bottle and notice it looks different than the ones I had been giving her for the past 7 days. I dump all the pills out and find one that looks like correct and give it to her. Then I think, hmmm maybe I should call the pharmacy and make sure that all of these pills are what they are supposed to be. The pharmacist tells me that different manufacturers pills look different and if I just bring it back they would give me a new prescription. Confused as to why I need a new prescription if the drug is what it is supposed to be, I ask why I have to get a new prescription. The pharmacist says, "I'm going to have to call you back" About 15 minutes later someone else calls me back from Target and asks me for the nearest Target pharmacy. She says, "I'm going to go ahead and call you in a new prescription" again, I protest in confusion as to why I need a new script. She him haws around and finally says, "I'm under the assumption that two of the pills in the bottle you currently have are the correct prescription. We are going to go ahead and fill the rest of the script for you" OK, now I am REALLY confused. So, I ask "what are the other pills in the bottle?" Trying to avoid the question she replies, "well, your daughter is fine, right?" In complete shock I reply, "no, not realy...she is very, very sick" The Target Pharmacist says, "but, she is acting fine right?" to which I say, "NO actually she is not acting fine, WHAT HAVE I BEEN GIVING MY 5 YEAR OLD, TWICE A DAY FOR THE PAST WEEK?"!! Reluctantly she responds, "I am under the impression that it is a pain pill" I respond, "A Pain Pill??? What kind of pain pill?" The pharmacist says, "she should be fine". By this point I am getting extremely irritated and concerned for Madelynne. I respond by saying, "She is not fine, she is very sick. She has a deadly infection that has not been being treated by an antibiotic, instead I have been giving her a pain pill. We have been back and forth to the Dr. and in and out of the ER. She's had to have 2 rounds of IV antibiotics and NO, SHE IS NOT FINE!, WHAT HAVE I BEEN GIVING MY 5 YEAR OLD FOR THE PAST WEEK?"! Finally she responds, "I am under the impression that it is hydrocodone and acetametaphine, I will call your pediatrician so they are aware and call in your new prescription free of charge" That was so sweet of Target don't you think? To give me a new script for free. WHAT?!! The Conyers Target couldn't have the script ready until after 6pm because they were too busy. I thought that was pretty funny considering they nearly killed my 5 year old with an adult dose of Vicoden. We ofcoarse picked up the correct script as soon as it was ready and spent the entire next day at the Dr. and hospital getting her checked out to make sure she was stable. They were even more concerned with the amounts of acetametaphine that she had received and now possible liver damage. ugh! What a scary mess.

Wed. Feb 16th: Madelynne wakes up hysterical around 11pm. I go to cath her and I can't get the catheter in. I try 6 different catheters and finally stop, unsuccessfully, when she starts bleeding. I call the on call urologist who tells me to take her to the ER at Scottish Rite ASAP. We spend all night in the ER. Her bladder is so infected, swollen and inflamed that the urologist can't even get a catheter in. He tries for 4 hours to get a catheter in. Poor Madelynne is completely traumatized and bleeding severely from her stoma. Finally at 6am he gets a catheter in and empties her bladder. 900+ cc's of urine. poor Madelynne. (200 cc's is usually very uncomfortable for her) We got home around 8:45am.

Thursday Feb 17th: Madelynne woke up around noon. I tried to empty her bladder with the placed catheter and it was clogged. Back to the Scottish Rite ER. The urologist met us there and planned to surgically implant an indwelling super pubic tube into her lower abdomin. He was able to place a catheter into her mitroffinoff without having to surgically implant one.

Feb 20th: Madelynne's culture from the 17th comes back as staphyliccocous Epidermidis. She now has a staph infection in her bladder. They change her script to Macrodantin.

Feb 23rd: EmmaLeigh has a fever of 104 so back to the Dr. With a lot of symptoms we leave with all tests negative and no diagnosis, just the advice that if she is still sick on Thursday to bring her back. That was a waste of $25. EmmaLeigh continues to cry all night for the next 3 nights.

Feb 25th: Madelynne complaining of stomach ache, has fever and says her throat hurts. I am certain it's strep. So, back to the DR. Culture comes back negative. They take a peek at EmmaLeigh who is still sick and discover a double ear infection. Start her on Omnicef.

Feb 27th: Honda Pilot needs 4 new tires and a new battery. We decide to go look at new cars. Trade 2006 Pilot in for 2010 Honda Odyssey EXL.

Feb 28th: Teach lesson at Church ( which has a very funny story but, seeing that this is already 3 miles long, I'll spare the details)

Madelynne is finally, mostly recovered and started back to school on March 3rd. All of the kids now have colds. lol I'll take a cold over what we usually have for sure.

Now you know why I've been MIA. Mostly I'm just trying to survive life. I don't mean to avoid anyone or not return calls or miss birthdays. I'm just so completely overwhelmed with my nutso life that I can not even remember the simple things like, going to the bathroom or my shoes. I actually left the house without them the other day and had to return home to get them. One day it was 31 degree's out and I forgot the jackets. Good mom, I know. I did however have plenty of catheters, diapers, wipes, a syringe and even a stethescope. lol

Among all the craziness a few delightfully memorable things have happened. One day Madelynne asked, "Mother, when I grow up, do I have to be a mommy?" I replied, "no, I guess not. Not if you don't want to be" She said, "oh, good! because, I'd much rather be a princess or a mermaid" I have to agree, there are many days that either of those two aspirations seem pretty great.

Bridger has discovered all of his male body parts. In the bath tub a few days ago he asked, "mommy, why do I have eggs under my penis?" I had no response. A few days later he asked me, "mommy, what kind of bottom do you have?" I replied, "I have a girl bottom" His response, "you don't have a penis, right" I said, "No, only boys have a penis" He said, "I really wish I didn't have a penis" Then I said, "if you didn't have a penis, you wouldn't be a boy" He said, "I not want to be a boy, I "yike" to be a girl."

My poor boy. He is surrounded by fluff and fuss. I guess Greg better get him out in the woods to do some boy stuff.

Who Knew?!

2010-01-23T21:42:00.005-05:00

I did some "deep" cleaning today. Let me just say that my version of "deep" has gotten more and more shallow with the birth of each child. Anyway, a few weeks ago, Greg had brought home a seriously corroded can of Walmart Brand "Great Value" lemon scented furniture polish. He had found the can in a bunch of junk at work and decided to rescue it and bring it to a new home.

I took one look at it and told him that I was afraid to even bring it into the house for fear it may explode or something. He told me I was ridiculous and to get over it. I am a little finicky about my cleaning supplies. I'm not a snob by any means. I'm all about a great deal but, I know what I like and I use what I like. Walmart brand furniture polish doesn't happen to be something on my list. In Greg's attempt to boost my confidence he sprayed the front doors on the kitchen cupboards under the sink with it and polished them up. (The floor just under where he sprayed got so slick that every single member of our family has slipped and fallen in that spot.) Proud of his high gloss finish, he set the spray on the kitchen counter where it sat for the past few weeks, untouched and unattended to. Well today I picked it up to throw it away and noticed the label...

Cleans and renews furniture, formulated to keep dust away, removes dust, dirt and smudges. Protects from water spills and stains. Works well on Finished or Sealed woods, STAINLESS STEEL, Leather, Marble and Granite.

Stainless steel? Really?? I was totally intrigued. Hmmm...that's interesting. So, I put it to the test. I polished all my stainless steel appliances and let me just say. For $1.47, "Sam Walton, I am hooked"!

Before

After

The Colborn General Hospital...Welcome to the O.R.

2010-01-22T10:58:00.009-05:00

All Prepped and Ready to Roll

Yesterday morning when Madelynne woke up she asked if she could have a catheter for her baby. I said, sure and gave her one. She proceeded to cath her baby. I should add that all of our baby dolls have holes ripped in their crotch just for this purpose. At first it may seem alarming but, the doctor says that it is good for her to play this way and know that this is a part of her "normal" life. As I stood there watching her cath her baby I decided to intervene. I said, "I think your baby needs to have a surgery so you don't have to cath her in her bottom anymore. Don't you think she would rather you cath her through her tummy?" Madelynne jumped up from the floor and with utter excitement exclaimed, "Mother, let's take her to the hospital, right now!" I just started laughing at her joy and enthusiasm. In my response I said, "Well, they don't do surgery on dolls at the real hospital but, you can do surgery on her at home" She just looked at me with this look like I was crazy and said, "Mother, I am not a doctor and I do NOT know how to do surgery" This was extremely funny to me considering all of the medical procedures she has attempted to perform on her younger siblings. I told her she could do it and I would help her get things set up. She quickly gathered all of her medical supplies. I helped her get the IV started and then I told her I was going to have to do my own work.

Mid Surgery. She's looking good.

She busily attended her patient until Bridger woke up. He curiously wandered over to her O.R. and peeked into the bed where her patient laid peacefully under anesthesia. He stood there for a minute and then picked up a syringe and attempted to inject her patients IV with some medicine. Suddenly world war three broke loose. I tried to mediate telling Madelynne that people having surgery usually have more than one doctor and it was ok for Bridger to give her patient a shot. She wasn't buying it and insisted that he get his own patient and leave hers alone. So, Bridger quickly went to the pile of dolls and picked one out. Being careful to select one that was clothed. I helped him get his IV started and then the two of them played all afternoon in their adjoined operating room. I must add that they had completely different approaches to medicine. I think I prefer Madelynne's, no offense Bridger.

You can't see it in the picture but, Madelynne made sure her patient was treated like a princess. She had her magic wand right at her side.

Is this what they mean by under the knife?
YIKES!

So Much For Service...

2010-01-17T21:57:00.006-05:00

Today after church I called a family that was unable to come because they were all home sick with the flu or something really unpleasant that is closely related. I asked them if I could help them in any way and then offered to bring over dinner for the chidren who were not throwing up and anyone else who thought they could stomach it. I also stopped and got 7-up for the ones who couldn't eat. I was feeling pretty good about helping someone out and also very happy that I only had to bring one child with me because Greg didn't resist to letting 2 of them stay home with him. This feeling of peace was short lived. As I walked in the door I was greated by this grinning face...

This would have been fine, even kind of cute and amazing that she was actually trying to apply the lipstick to her lips. It was not this cute face that caused my peaceful feelings of charitable service to turn to panic and horror. It was THIS...
Yes, that is lipstick smeared and ground into the carpet. It was/is much worse than it looks. I scrubbed and scrubbed and faded it quite a bit but, I fear it will be a life long reminder of the service I did for a family in need. Oh, the blessings are just so sweet.

FYI:
When left responsible for a 1 year old, one must actually watch child with eyes open, checking frequently as to what the child is doing. Silence is not a sign of relief but, rather a sign of warning that nothing good is going on.

Crafts on the side~

2010-01-16T16:33:00.005-05:00

Peek A Boo!

The past week has been pretty unexciting. I guess that isn't saying much considering my life but, for me it's fairly monumental.

Remember when I was saying how I wished 2009 would never end. Well, last Thursday I was really wishing that very wish. We had a regular day FULL of Dr's appointments. Normally not a big deal, other than the overwhelming feeling, once you get home and get all the kids in bed, that you have been on an all night binge and need a trip to the loony bin. This week it was much different. I was notified on Tuesday that our benefits department at Swift where Greg works, had a "Glitch" in their system and instead of reinstating our benefits at the beginning of the year, they had actually dropped us. They said, it should be fixed by Thursday when we had our slew of appointments...This is "me" we are talking about so of coarse, that certainly was not the case. We had 7 different appointments and the first 6 went somewhat well considering the circumstances. Most of them were quite understanding of my predicament and allowed me to go ahead and see the doctor. The 7th appointment was not understanding in the least. It being the last of the appointments, I was already close to my wits end. The receptionist said, "I'd be happy to let you keep your appointment if you pay for your visit up front" WHAT??? Even if I had the extra $300 to see the Pediatric Opthamologist I would never pay upfront and then have the insurance reimburse me once things were back in place. That would be like punching out someones tooth and telling them not to worry, another one will grow in. Not only painful but, highly unlikely and if for some reason one did actually grow in, it would take an excruciatingly long time to do so. I had already spent 6 hours on the phone with benefits and the insurance on Tuesday and I now spent another 2 hours on the phone in the eye doctors waiting room. I am not really an overly emotional person but by this point in my day I was seriously near tears. Finally, the billing lady in the doctors office allowed me to see the doctor and said they would process the appointment in the hopes that the insurance would be back in place.

What a mess!! I can honestly say that I hate my insurance however, I don't hate it enough to get rid of it!

Madelynne was supposed to have another slew of testing this week to determine if she is to have a bladder augmentation but, after several attempts on my part to find out when the appointment was, they finally called me back on Wednesday afternoon to notify me that I had missed it. The funny thing is that I wouldn't have missed it if they had called me back on Monday, Tuesday or even the previous Friday when I had called several times on each of those days. UGH!!! Now we have to wait until the 27th to do the testing and the 4th of February for the follow up with the doctor to discuss the results and plan of action.

Madelynne was fitted for a custom wheel chair on Thursday. She got to race around the doctors office in the mobility clinic testing out the different models and even got to pick out what color which surprisingly she picked "Pink". I'm sure you are all in shock. After the appointment she asked if we could go to that doctor every time she had an appointment. She finished the conversation with added enthusiasm saying, "they didn't even make me cry or hurt me one time"

I have been working hard on my business ventures lately and trying to take the blog to a new level. (The Dainty Couture blog: http://www.thedaintycoutureco.blogspot.com/) I am doing a free tutorial every week on how to make something adorable. I'm also giving one pattern away every week this year. Hopefully it will help to promote my business and jump start this new venture.

This coming week's free tutorial are these sassy little aprons made from dinner napkins. How cute is that?

Bridger and Cami modeling their new aprons

EmmaLeigh, ready to hit the kitchen

I thought it would be cute to do a long apron with a tie that wrapped around and tied in the front for EmmaLeigh. I think it turned out perfect.

Poor Girls Shopping Spree~

2010-01-10T16:59:00.004-05:00

Me, Liz and Cecily...Let the games begin!

Friday was my 34th birthday and usually a birthday means absolutely nothing. Just another day filled with dirty diapers and housework usually a Dr's appointment or even a hospital stay. If I have cake, I made it myself and dinner is usually the same. Well, this year I decided to take a long overdue day off and do something that I wanted to do. Hmmmmm....what would I do if I had a day off. After reading my friend Cecily's blog, I had an idea. I would go on a "Poor Girl's Shopping Spree". I'd love to go on a Rich girl's shopping spree but, seeing that I am far from Rich it had to be a Poor Girl's Shopping Spree. Liz, Cecily and I all have our birthdays this month so we decided to go together. The rules were simple... You had to purchase an entire outfit including top, bottom, shoes and accessories and you absolutely could not spend more than $100. The whole point was to spend the least. There was a points system for the least money spent and the one with the most points at the end of the game won. We would also have an outside/unknown participant judge for a "best look" winner and there would also be a most money saved winner for both single item and entire outfit. There was a list of stores and time limits in each store. Each person had specific things that they were only allowed to look/buy in each store and everyone's list was different.

We started at Maurice's, then TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack, Target and the Great Mall of Georgia where there were more assigned stores. At the end of the shopping spree we would wear our new outfits to dinner. Regardless of the fact that it was only 19 degrees outside and we were freezing, it was sooooooooo much fun!!!

Liz Freezing in her fluffy hooded coat.

Dinner at the Cheescake Factory

mmmmmmmmmmm....my dinner was sooooo good!!!!

3 candles...one for each of us.

We had the hostess judge our outfits and she picked Cecily's as the Best over all look.

Cecily's winning outfit

A skinny belted cardigan

a pair of gold snake skin ballet flats

Liz's outfit was super cute as well...

These mock Tru Religion Jeans were from Rave for under $30

This sweater was from Dillards for $9.99

And I have to say these are the hottest shoes!!! $29 from Wild Pair!

I am proud to say that I saved the most money and spent the least! My outfit was worth over $250 but, I only paid...

$29 for this adorable chetah satin lined Trench from TJ Maxx

$12 for these super cute jeans from Nordstrom Rack

Brace yourself...$6 for this satin, tie-neck blouse!!

(I paid full price for my jewelry but, it was only $6 for each of the 2 necklaces that I bought - from forever 21 - and I used one as a bracelet)

This was the best deal of all though. I bought these Panther shoes frm White House Black Market, origianlly $98...I paid, $18. Read it and weap ladies!

For a total savings of $169!!!

Not to Shabby for a "POOR GIRL"

All I can say is..."when can we go again, and who wants to come?"

And then again, maybe not.

2010-01-03T16:10:00.010-05:00

I've decided that recovery is just a myth. Madelynne was back in the Hospital on Thursday getting her bladder scoped. The Dr. says that the good new is that her bladder caths perfectly when it is empty..."WHAT"??? and why on earth would we need to cath it if it was empty? Good question. Anyway, the problem is that it does not cath/empty when it is full. WOW! How's that for a diagnosis. We are now having more tests scheduled and a probable bladder Augmentation which means an extended hospital stay. UGH!!!

On a happier note, I have been sewing a ton lately, trying to get my designs into easy to follow patterns in a PDF format so I can sell them in my online boutique. I currently have 10 patterns for sale which is not too many but, it's a long drawn out process to get my crazy ideas into comprehendable directions. I just made the cutest church outfits for my girls and an adorable bowtie for Bridger. (which by the way he refused to wear because daddy was wearing a necktie)

We had a little photo shoot before church today and here are the results.

Would it kill you to smile on 3? Even EmmaLeigh smiled...I don't know if he'll ever get it.

~Mommy's girls~

This is by far my favorite picture.

The Jacket is going to take some thought and time before I can get it into pattern format.

BUT...

(The inside of the bubble skirt)

...The skirt PDF/Pattern should be for sale this week! I have to say it is so much more rewarding, sewing for my own family!

Recovery...Almost There

2009-12-20T21:48:00.012-05:00

It has been a loooooong couple of weeks. Madelynne has been a real trooper. Things have not gone smoothly to say the least. When we got home from the hospital, the entire family came down with some sort of dysentary. In one night EmmaLeigh threw up atleast 15 times. I changed the sheets on 3 different beds in less than an hour a different night. Poor EmmaLeigh had diarrhea for 3 1/2 weeks straight and still has it off and on. They tested her for everything under the sun and found nothing so I have decided it is now just a life style. I think the pinnacle was the day we went for a follow up visit for Madelynne. Doctors visits are always crazy. First of all it's an hour and a half just to get there (if traffic is good). Once you get there you wait for atleast an hour to get into a room and then for another half hour in the room for the Doctor to come in. Bridger was spinning around on the spinny stool and said, my tummy hurts. We just figured it was from the spinning so we said, "stop spinning on that chair". The appointment was like some sort of out of body experience. Madelynne was seriously FREAKING OUT!! Nothing was accomplished and we left with her completely traumatized. It was 5:30pm when we headed to the car...rush hour on a Friday afternoon. hmmmm We decided to go to the mall and grab a bite to eat and let the other kids run around a minute for the traffic to die down so we could maybe have a half way endurable drive home. Madelynne was still in her wheel chair and I had only brought the umbrella stroller so Bridger had to walk. We went into the mall and tried to get on the elevator when a horrid smell over powered us just as I realized that I had rolled the babies stroller right into a huge puddle of puke. Not a pleasant thing to happen as you are headed up to the food court to eat. YUCK!!! So we took the Macy's elevator. Madelynne now had to have her bladder emptied every 2 hours and it was time so we made a pit stop and did that on the way. Finally we made it to the food court where the kids and I all shared one meal from Mandarin Express. Bridger decided all he wanted was Bourbon Chicken and ate the entire serving himself. After eating we headed to the Disney Store and then we had to empty Madelyne's bladder again...2 hours goes by really fast by the way. While we were in the bathroom, June realized her cell phone was missing. I told her I would take the kids to the play area while she looked for it. She helped me get there and then was off to find her phone. As soon as she left me there with Madelynne in a wheel chair and EmmaLeigh in the stroller Bridger clings to my leg and says, "my tummy is really hurting". I decided we better leave but, we had to wait for June to get back. He laid on my lap for atleast 45 minutes watching the kids run around. EmmaLeigh made a mad dash for the highest slide and Madelynne tried her best to move around without her wheel chair. Finally June came back with a hot chocolate and a skinny vanilla latte and I told her Bridger was sick so we attempted to leave. Poor Bridger was as white as a ghost. We stepped out of the play area onto the tile, just out of site of June and you guessed it...he barfed all over the floor, the front of himself and the front of me. Poor little guy had bourbon chicken chunks coming out his nose and there immediately was a crowd of children inspecting his pile of puke. "did he throw up?, Is that chicken?, why did he throw up chicken?" I was completely helpless. I had no diaper bag, wipes, towels...nothing. A dad finally said to me, "do you need a napkin?" A napkin? Seriously, I needed a firehose. I politely declined and said my friend would be there to help me any second and luckily she was. She ran to the nearest food stand and grabbed a stack of napkins and returned with not only napkins but a big yellow caution sign. After wiping down with napkins and baby wipes and feeling, oh, so fresh, I suggested we go into Dillards and ask for a shopping bag, just incase he decided to do that again, we could attempt to get him to do it into the bag. I put Bridger in the stroller and June held EmmaLeigh in one arm as she tried to maneuver the wheelchair with the other. As I was asking the cashier for a bag, I hear June say, "oh, no"!!! I turn around to see that EmmaLeigh has exploded diarrhea all over Junes arm. Back to the bathroom where I clean up EmmaLeigh and change her into a different outfit and June wipes herself down with more baby wipes and napkins. It was at this point that I turned to June and said, "I bet you are planning your next vacation to Georgia as we speak" All we could do is laugh because, I'm just not sure that it gets much better than this. The funny thing is that it's just another normal day in my life. I hate to say it but, it really made me feel better that someone experienced a week in my life with me, proving that my reality really is just as rediculous as I write it. I am a pretty creative person but, SERIOUSLY, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!

The kids all ready for "the Sunday before Christmas" Church

EmmaLeigh modeling her "Sweet Treats" outfit that I made her. You could just eat her she's so cute!!

Madelynne having her second birthday party with Mommy June after we got home from the hospital. Try not to look at that cake. It is by far the ugliest cake I've ever made but, Madelynne LOVED it! I guess that's all that mattered.

Madelynne celebrating her real birthday in the hospital. When she woke up in the morning she told me that she LOVED her birthday in the hospital. I think it really brightened her spirits that her Grandparents came and her brother and sister. She was pretty ready to come home by this point.

Maybe being Photogenic doesn't run in the family...

The kids got an early Christmas present from everyone on Greg's side of the family. A NEW SWING SET. Even with her "pee bag" Madelynne enjoyed a ride on the swingset.

2 happy girls that are REALLY ready to GO Home!!!

Give Thanks~

2009-11-26T22:32:00.016-05:00

What else is there to be Thankful for?!!! Pure love, Princess's, Disney World, The joy of a child, sunshine, Strollers, Minnie Mouse

Daddy, Top Shelf (aka: shoulders), Grandpa, goofy, Lasting Memories, Trains, Pirates

Aunts, Uncles, Sweet sweet baby girls, giggles, curly red hair, tiny toes, big blue eyes

Hugs, love, tears of Joy, stories, Lasting Memories, family time, first visits, daddy's lap

Love at first sight, long awaited arrivals, The Love of a child, Once in a lifetime moments

Pony rides, make believe, laughter, love, cooperation, Best Friends, toys galore, Pajama's

Cousins, fun, laughter, monorails, Family Reunions, Favorite Aunts, Unconditional Love

Sisters, sweet moments, true love

Madelynne gone to school, Free reign of the castle, imagination, accessories, the joys of life pure and simple

My patient, patient boy

Health, freedom, religion, make overs, life's lessons, friends, home, family, scriptures, cooperation, peace, quiet, necessities, luxeries, DVD players, tiaras, bows, trains, cars, tracks, grandparents, birthdays, holidays, school, McDonalds, children, jobs, guidance, sharing almost everything - pink eye...maybe not that one, medicine, technology, charity, the pure love of Christ, The Savior

Princess Power

2009-11-24T17:32:00.006-05:00

Madelynne applying her new sparkle powder

Perfect! A princess can never have too many sparkles.

Fast asleep with wand in hand

The "Fancy Nancy" Party

We thought we were on the mend. They have told us for 2 days that we were headed home. Things seem to go from bad to worse. Do you ever have those dreams where you are trying to get somewhere but it just keeps getting further and further away and the harder you try the harder it gets. That is how I feel right now.

Yesterday things seemed fairly good in the morning and even in the afternoon. We went down to the library and picked out movies and then visited the gift shop where Madelynne wanted to purchase $50 in treasures. I talked her into just $16 worth which was more than I wanted to spend but, well deserved. Then they came in to start some IV meds when they discovered that the IV in her foot had gone bad. Her entire leg was swollen and full of fluid from the IV. The vein was blown. Madelynne watched her movie and patted herself with her new sparkle powder puff that she had just gotten from the gift shop while they decided what to do with her IV. After 3 people came in and examined her leg, the nurse removed the IV. Madelynne took this opportunity to sparkle herself some more. When she felt that she was sufficiently glimmering, she started to sparkle the nurses arms and her one cheek that was accessible. The sparkly nurse left for a second to go get a band aid and when she returned Madelynne had sparkled both of her legs and all of her toes. She had so much sparkle powder on her that the band aid didn't even stick. They decided not to put a new IV in because the plan was to go home in the morning. When the nurse went to change her dressing on her stomach she noticed that her stomach was completely distended. I asked what do you do about that and she said she would chart it and let the doctor know. Madelynne seemed fine and even fell asleep playing happily in her bed, wand in hand.

This morning the doctor said that she needed to get a suppository to make her expel whatever was in her bowels and then she should be fine. With much defiance I gave her the suppository. We waited at least 5 hours with no results. Her appetite was gone and she said she felt like she was going to barf. Her stomach was cramping horribly and she kept doubling over in pain. She had been invited to a "Fancy Nancy" party at 2:30 but at 2:15 when the doctor came in she was fading fast. He said that she needed to get an IV in and start fluids asap. Also, no more food, clear liquids only. They put some numbing cream on her and gave her some pain medication and took her to the party for a few minutes. She was precious and as happy as she could be at the party but, asked to come back to her room because her tummy was hurting. The new IV was a doozy to say the least. She was absolutely hysterical and would not let them near her. She was shouting things like, "if you don't do what I say, I'm going to tell on you. I am the boss. This is my choice! If you don't listen to me, I'm not giving you a makeover!!" I was trying not to feel like a bad mother for letting them hurt her again but, on that last threat, I just couldn't help but laugh (as inconspicuously as possible of coarse). She got so defiant that she was kicking and screaming and hitting and spitting. They had to wrap her up in a sheet and get 6 people to hold her down to put the IV in. It absolutely broke my heart but, what could I do? They had to put those things on her arms so that she can't bend them because she kept trying to grab at the IV and rip it out. I can not even begin to explain how horrible I feel right now. Just when you think you see a light at the end of the tunnel, someone blows it out. They think that her stomach has not woken up from surgery and she is not digesting her food. They have drawn blood to make sure her CBC is ok and no infection has set in and they are giving her a blood treatment now. At this point I don't know that we will ever go home. So much for being home for Thanksgiving and her birthday. My poor baby girl!

Great big eyes...teeny, tiny tummy

2009-11-23T10:52:00.002-05:00

Madelynne decided it was time to eat this afternoon. After a few days of dabbling she thought she was ready. I read her the choices off the menu and she ordered just about one of everything. I just laughed as I thought of what on earth that kitchen staff was thinking when they were putting her tray together. She ordered buttered pasta, oranges, salad, french fries with cheese sauce to dip them in, toast, apple juice and a strawberry shake. This picture was taken after she had eaten. A classic case of "eyes, bigger than stomach". I'm just glad she is able to eat and actually wants to.

She had a really good day yesterday which actually suprised me because her night had been horrible. She was in excruciating pain and I didn't know how to help her. It was really sad. They changed her pain meds to a tablet instead of an injection and this seemed to help a lot. She didn't want to get out of the bed yesterday and it took all day, until 6pm to get her to do so. She cried the entire time. Once she was in the wheel chair she was fine but, the transfer was rough. Her night was much better and she had a great report from the resident this morning. We have yet to see the doctor. We did force her to walk this morning and she is still traumatized over the experience. It broke my heart to make her do it. After having 3 c-sections myself, I know how that feels! I don't know what we are going to do once we get home. All of the beds are upstairs and I know she won't want to stay up there all day by herself but she won't be able to get up and down the stairs either.

The resident thought she might be able to go home today but, the nurse said she thought it would be atleast tomorrow before that would happen. I am ready to leave but, I think 1 more day would be better for Madelynne.

The child life people have taken her to the activity room where I am hoping she is happy. I guess I should go check on her. She wanted to go paint...before she knew that she would have to walk to get into the wheelchair. She was pretty upset by the time we got her to the chair. I am sure she has quit pouting and is happily painting by now.

We are up but definitely not "at 'em"

2009-11-21T20:15:00.004-05:00

In the wheel chair but, obviously not happy about it.

Playing in the play room...still not thrilled.

Watching a Mary Poppins in the rocking chair...getting very sleepy.

Well, it was a half decent day today. Madelynne woke up hungry. Amazing to think that it has been 5 days since she has eaten and this is the first time she has shown interest in food since her surgery. The doctor said that she could try to eat so we didn't hesitate. She had a piece of toast and a bowl of cereal. This seemed to make her quite sleepy so then she slept for a few hours. We talked all morning about our goal of getting out of the bed today. She seemed ok with the plan but, wasn't ready to put it to action yet. Around noon, one of her teachers, Mrs. Sharon Darley came to visit. Madelynne was thrilled and really enjoyed their time together. They painted her toes and then she even painted her dolls toes. Then Sharon convinced Madelynne that it would be great for her to accomplish her goal of getting out of the bed and go to the play room. So, we took the 20 necissary steps to get her into a wheel chair. This was a bit traumatic on Madelynne and once she was in the chair, she was certain that she did NOT want to go play, she wanted back in the bed. The nurse gave her an injection of morphine and told her to just try to go. It took some coaxing but, she finally went...however, under duress. It took her a little while but she finally warmed up to being out of her bed. When it came time for Sharon to leave, Madelynne did not want to go back to the room so we stayed and played a bit longer. Then her pump alarms started sounding so we had to return to the room. She didn't want to get back in the bed once in the room so I let her stay sitting up in the rocking chair. She watched half of 2 movies before I convinced her that the bed would be a much better spot for sleeping. She was pretty exhausted and in a lot of pain once I finally got her back into the bed but, a little morphine and she was sound asleep.

She has been off of her oxygen all day and her pain has been under control for the first day so far, she has eaten and gotten out of the bed. I'd say that we are finally on the road to recovery. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

A family affair

2009-11-20T22:31:00.002-05:00

Madelynne has been asking everyday since we got here on Tuesday when her Grandma would be here. She was very happy today when she finally arrived. The two of them spent several hours talking about girl business and going through the huge basket of gifts that she brought from everyone on Greg's side of the family. She was the perkiest she has been since her surgery. She was awake for nearly 4 hours straight which is huge for her right now. She was even somewhat pleasant and didn't complain of pain too often. This is amazing considering that she had her worst day yet, right up until 5pm when her Grandma and Grandpa walked in.

She was really happy to see her baby sister. She hugged and kissed her several times and told her she missed her and loved her. It was absolutely precious. This is the only smile I have seen since Tuesday. Now if that isn't love, I don't know what is.

EmmaLeigh had saturated her pants on the ride up so she was running around in just her diaper. She found herself a box and a syringe and was content as could be. That is one sweet baby girl.

Bridger was happy to see his momma. He cuddled right up to me when I saw him and cried when he had to leave. What a precious boy I have.

Madelynne's day started off pretty bad. She was in the most pain yet today and cried a lot. We had several visitors today and it did seem to help. They started her on another medicine today, ditropan. This is for bladder spasms. They think that this is what is causing her to complain that her bottom is hurting. I really hope so. The drain tube that is draining the urine from her bladder is extrememly sensitive. If it is even slightly bumped she cries out in pain and yells, "stop, you're hurting my bottom"

She has taken herself off of the oxygen and seems to be staying right at or slightly below 93. She should be at 100 but, they said if she was above 93 she could keep it off. She knows when it drops too low because she yells for her "tube". I think it is funny that a 4 year old can tell you when she isn't getting enough oxygen and needs her nasal canula. She is still demanding that I stay by her side and she really wants me to lay on her chest. Whenever her tummy starts to hurt because the morphine is wearing off, she asks me to lay on her.

She started a liquid diet today. Mostly clears but a few licks/tastes of some other things like yogurt and ice cream. She hasn't wanted to actually eat anything yet. She did ask for some of my calzone at dinner. She could only eat 2 little tastes of yogurt but thought a crust of bread covered in garlic and spices would settle better. Luckily I had a meat lovers calzone and I knew that she would rather starve than eat meat so she changed her mind.

The goal for today was carried over from yesterday but, it was still not attained. They wanted her to get up out of bed and into a chair atleast 1 time. I couldn't even get her to let me lift the back of her bed a little higher. I am thinking we may need to call in PT tomorrow for reinforcement to get her out of this bed. Tomorrow will be day 3 of trying to accomplish day ones goal...at this rate we may never be going home.

Dressing removed...WARNING - not for the faint of heart.

2009-11-19T14:34:00.004-05:00

I debated on even posting this but I know that a lot of you have been wanting to see. Things look a lot better than I expected. The incision isn't nearly as big as they said it would be. The hole on her left is a bit larger than I thought, this will be the hole that we will flush for her bowel and the one on her right is the hole that we will catheterize her through. The white tube coming out of the lower part of the abdomen will be removed in 2 weeks. This is a drain that is currently draining all of the urine out of her bladder. Since the urethra has been tied off this is the only way to release the urine until the new hole heals enough to cath her through.
She asked if she could see her incision and that is why I took this picture, then said that she had changed her mind because it might make her barf.
She wanted me to hold her last night so I climbed in her bed and slid my arm under her shoulders and she laid her head on my shoulder. She is in a lot of pain and the morphine seems to only take the edge off. The good part is that it does make her pretty drowsy so she is sleeping a lot but, she will not let me let go of her hand. That is why it is taking me so long to post an update. Typing and downloading pics with one hand takes a lot longer than with two.
They said her levels are still not what they should be in her blood so they may go ahead with the blood transfusion this evening but, they would let me know. Hopefully they will come up before then. They have given her 3 blood treatments since the surgery so maybe by tonight things will be looking better. They did not have to use any of the small intestine for the surgery as they had previously thought so they said she could go ahead and try to sip a tiny amount of water and maybe even a few ice chips this afternoon. This is definitely an answer to a mothers sincere prayer. They said her bowel sounds were weak but, they were there so that is definitely a positive thing. She is still on the oxygen for now. We tried again this afternoon to remove it but, she started gasping so we put it back on her. She is still pretty pitiful and rightly so. They are hoping to get her in a chair atleast one time today. I am thinking that that is a bit of a stretch but, I guess we will see.

Finally, nestled in

2009-11-18T22:09:00.005-05:00

She is finally back and settled. She got out of surgery around 8pm. The doctor came in and talked to us and said that things went well however they did not go as planned. They were unable to stretch the appendix to the Umbillical area because of the small blood supply and so they had to make the hole for her bladder lower and to the right of her belly button. The mace went as planned. She had a few problems coming out of recovery, her levels in her blood plummited and they called to tell me that they were going to have to give her a blood transfusion. They ended up not having to which was good but, they did end up putting her on oxygen because her sats were extremely low. She wanted the oxygen off when she woke up a little bit ago so the nurse said as long as her O2 stayed above 93 she didn't have to have it. As soon as I took it off her O2 dropped to 71 and her lips turned blue and she started gasping. So, back on it went. She is in a lot of pain but, luckily she is staying mostly asleep. She wakes up every now and then crying in pain and begging for a drink. When we told her she could not have a drink she said, "why is no one being nice to me?" Her lips were so dry and her mouth as well. I can't imagine not having a drink after 3 days. I can only pray for a quick recovery so she can get a drink and be free of this horrible discomfort. I wet her lips and mouth with a damp washcloth and it seemed to help but, didn't fix things. Her poor lip got mangled somehow during surgery and looks like someone punched her. She keeps biting on it so I can only imagine what it is going to look like in the morning...Angelina Jolie meets bubba gump. I took a picture of it but, you can't really see from the picture becuase she has it sucked in but, the entire bottom right side of her lip is swollen and rubbed raw. I think the biggest thing was when they lifted up the sheet and she was not wearing a diaper. I know that this is the entire intention of the surgery and may seem so trivial but, it really hit when I realized that she really can go without a diaper and can be like the other children. No more kids telling her she stinks or saying that only babies wear diapers. Her privacy can finally remain intact as well as her dignity. She won't have to have everyone and their brother invading her vaginal area to cath her. My heart aches for her pain and suffering but, my soul rejoices in the success of the surgery. Now the hard part begins...making it through the recovery.

The Big Day...

2009-11-18T15:33:00.002-05:00

Madelynne finally fell asleep around 3:30am and slept until around 6:30am. Three hours is a short night but, I guess I should be used to that by now. Luckily I've been practicing running off fumes for several years now. This morning the urologist let me know that she would not be allowed to eat for around 5 days and maybe in 2-3 they would let her have ice chips if all goes well. This was a big shock to me since I have been telling her she could have jello and popsicles when she woke up from surgery. How in the world are we going to make it through 5 more days of no eating? She was given an option of pills or liquid medication this morning and she chose pills stating that she is really good at taking pills and liquid makes her barf. When they gave her the 4, dime sized pills she looked at them and said, "those are really big pills". She took the first one whole and then decided she would have to break them up. They drew her blood 2 more times before taking her for surgery and both times had severe problems finding a vein. She cried pretty hard the first time but, the second time just told the lady, "you aren't very good at taking blood, there's not even anything coming out of that tube".
She was hysterical when they took her back for surgery, dispite the dose of versett that was supposed to put her to sleep. She told me that she wasn't going to sleep and they couldn't make her. Oh, the will of that child!
It is 3:43pm and Madelynne has been back in surgery for almost 4 hours. They have called twice to assure me that things are going well but, no real updates. Greg is on his way and hopefully he will arrive before she gets out of surgery. I could use a little support at this point. It's already been a long day full of a lot of tears from one sad baby girl and I'm sure she will be even more miserable when she comes out of surgery with a huge incision across her belly and another NG tube. I know everyone is praying for us but, please don't stop. We definitely can't do this alone.

A Broken Heart

2009-11-17T22:51:00.003-05:00

To say that life has been eventful would be an understatement. You could have guessed that from the lack of posts. We are currently in the hospital. Madelynne is getting ready to have a major bladder and bowel surgery in the morning. They will be making a horizontal incision from hip to hip across her lower abdomen. She will have 3 different surgeries while she is sedated and the doctor has blocked out 8 hours for the O.R. He is hoping it will only take 4-5. He will be doing a Mitrofinoff, a bladder sling and a Mace (don't quote my spelling on any of those) She had to start a clear liquid diet yesterday at noon and was admitted at noon today for her bowel prep. It is very important that the bowel is free of any content to help prevent infection. They blew her vein on the first attempt of putting in her IV today but only after digging around in her hand for about 15 minutes first. Then they had to insert a NG tube to dispense the Trilyte through. It took them 2 hours to get the tube placed properly. 4 tries later and a whole lot of tears it was finally in. After 30 minutes of the Trilyte being dispensed Madelynne threw up and out came the tube. UGHHHHHHHHH!! Here we go again. The doctor informed me that following the surgery she will not be able to eat for several days. This is going to be so hard on everyone but, especially Madelynne. She asked me at 10am if she could please have some tater tots because her stomach was empty. How are we going to last for several more days? She cried for atleast 5 hours solid and has been crying intermittently since. There is absolutely no comforting her though I am trying my best.

She just said the most heart wrenching thing to me, "mommy, there is no one that can protect me from being hurt" Like a dagger straight to the heart! If I didn't have to be strong for her I would cry just as hard. My poor little girl and to think, this is just the preperation for the surgery.

EmmaLeigh's New Moves

2009-08-31T18:58:00.003-04:00

It's official! She is on the move! You may want to mute the sound to avoid hearing me sound like an idiot while I encourage her...although on the other hand, you may want turn it up for entertainment value.

Our littlest weed...

2009-08-23T08:33:00.010-04:00

Yogurt pops

Eating has become a favorite activity for little EmmaLeigh. She has a new favorite treat, home made frozen yogurt Popsicles and she is absolutely in love with food. Any kind of food will do. She is porking right up! Hopefully this lasts. Oddly, she still chokes on liquids...what a weird-o! Amazingly she can eat just about anything even though she has no teeth. This was a big surprise to Bridger who pryed her mouth open the other day to inquire as to what happened to her teeth. This was only after arguing with me that she had teeth and was trying to bite me.

EmmaLeigh is growing up so fast and she doesn't hold still for 2 seconds so most of the pictures are blurry. I guess I need a faster camera or something. She is starting to stand up unassisted and trying to walk.

I catch her all the time holding on to random items (in the middle of the floor) for security. You know, like a flip flop or the remote control or one of Bridger's choo choo trains.

Here are a few shots of her taking some steps...I know a video would be more effective but, I didn't have enough battery so I'll have to charge my camera and post that later. This will have to do for now.

Tea for two

2009-08-22T13:07:00.002-04:00

Madelynne is quite protective of her tea set and seldom invites little people to join her for tea so today while she was held captive in the bathroom having an enima, Bridger and EmmaLeigh took advantage of the opportunity and partied without her.

Warning: No Children Were Injured During the Making of this Film

2009-08-05T14:24:00.003-04:00

Must play, Must get toy...

First Day of Pre-K..."Can I have beads?"

2009-08-05T14:08:00.007-04:00

As you can see, Madelynne was super excited to go back to school on Monday. Showing her independence is what she does best so why on earth would I assume she would be cooperative for any kind of documentation of this event?!

Last friday was open house where we were able to meet Madelynne's new Pre-K teacher. Thursday night she was so excited she couldn't sleep. I kept having to go in and remind her to go to sleep. As I was leaving her bedroom for the third or fourth time, she tried stalling by inquiring as to how I would do her hair in the morning. I replied by telling her she could have it however she wanted. She got an enormous grin on her face and asked excitedly, "can I have braids?" I said, sure. She then said, "can I have a lot of braids" to which I replied, "probably" thinking 2 was a lot. She then even more excited asked, "can you put them all over with beads?" Hmmmm. I definitely did not see this coming. My instant response was, "Uh, I don't think so". We both settled on 10 corn rows without beads which seemed to be a happy medium.

CrAZy...in a Nut Shell

2009-07-18T13:56:00.011-04:00

Monday...rush, rush, rush, pack, pack pack before going to one urgent trip to the pediatrician for Madelynne resulting in another severe UTI, 2 hysterical injections of Rocephin and the 3rd round of antibiotics in a 26 day time period. (Let me just mention that the antibiotic cost us $52)One drive into Atlanta with 3 crazy children and a 4 hour delay for a van ride to South Carolina where we stayed at the ever so not posh Microtel, for one Orthopedic appointment at the Shrine Hospital at 7:30am Tuesday morning for Madelynne. (on a side note...lunch was at 11am in Covington and dinner was at 9:30pm in Greenville, SC. Can you say, 3 really cranky kids!!!) Finally asleep at 1:15am.

Tuesday...5:00am: ALARM BUZZING, Argh!! 5:55am breakfast...I had one bite of a danish and the Bridger and Madelynne had nothing. Way too early!! 6:15am checked out of the Microtel to make it to Shriner's Hospital by 7:30am for 3 hours of quality time in a 4x4 closet with all of my children. (Extremely enjoyable) Followed by a 2 1/2 hour van ride with starving kids that refused breakfast but, were now ready for lunch. (also, enjoyable).One long night with overly tired kids and a baby that developed an extremely high fever. (home sweet home)

Wednesday...5:25am: There goes that stinkin alarm again. Pry self out of bed and stumble to shower. Torture self by waking 3 sleeping kids for the 3rd day in a row. Wrestle clothes on them and throw them into the car for another enjoyable ride into Atlanta during rush hour for 2 pre-anesthesia/pre-op appointments for Bridger and EmmaLeigh followed by an extremely violent and loudly protested several hours of bladder and kidney testing under x-ray for Madelynne. Then another couple hour ride home during rush hour. (oh, the joy!)

Thursday...you really don't want to know...but, back to the pediatrician for EmmaLeigh who has now had a fever of 103.7ish for 3 days. Result: horrible ear infection and double eye infection. Treatment: 2 injections of Rocephin and 10 days of Amoxicillin. Then we took a fun filled trip to the Dermatologist where they shot lidacain (sp) into my bottom lip took out the scalpel and removed a freckle that decided to take over. (leaving an enormous Crator, let me add) They sent it to the lab and also informed me that the surgeon thinks it would be best to remove my birth mark from my stomach. To which I replied, maybe some other time...I am a little busy this week.

And of coarse I always save the best for last...

a quick shot with the anesthesiologist...Say "surgery"

Friday...another early morning. Buzzer going off at 4:30am. Four hours of sleep interrupted by children crying several times should be illegal. Pry self out of Madelynne's bed where I slept because Bridger had a bad dream and was sleeping with daddy. Stumble to shower...wake up, wake up, wake up. Get myself and all 3 kids ready and wake Greg up for the 3rd time. Finally out the door, only 20 minutes later than planned. Drive into Atlanta during rush hour one more time. Arrive at hospital 15 minutes early. (Amazing) Today is the day that we are having Bridgers Tubes put in and EmmaLeigh's throat scoped by ENT and GI.

Bye Bye EmmaLeigh, off to get scoped. She did great. She didn't even cry. Of coarse if she had even half a clue as to what was about to happen I am sure she would have been hysterical.

Just in case you want to know what EmmaLeigh's throat looks like...They said that visually everything looked good. No holes as they thought. They biopsied 3 areas. One each from the esophagus, stomach and small intestine. They will have the results next week. Hopefully it is just something she will grow out of.

Here's Bridger 3 sheets to the wind and loving the Verset! What a nutty boy!

It was a long long day but, everything went well. We got home around 6pm. Just in time for baths and bed.

What a week. Can't wait for another one to start! Really!!!!

Pre-curser to our festive 4th of July

2009-07-11T00:49:00.006-04:00

You must watch this before reading any further!!!

Our Festive 4th of July...

2009-07-11T00:44:00.024-04:00

Hopefully you have prepared yourself for this post by watching the previously posted video clip.

Our fourth of July festivities started on Friday the 3rd this year. Friday was a crazy busy day...prepare yourself for a long, exhausting but, thoroughly eventful and completely unfabricated story.

When I woke up Friday morning I was drowning in orders that HAD to be at the post office by 5pm. For those of you who don't know, Janet, my business partner, had her baby last week and I'm sewing solo right now. So, on top of that, we are way behind in orders from me going out of town for 10 days. As I was rushing around trying to get things sewn I would have to stop to make a bottle or change a diaper or referee a wwf moment. By noon I was 80% finished with all of my orders and feeling pretty confident that things were going to be OK. With EmmaLeigh down for a nap and Bridger and Madelynne playing London Bridge between my legs, I was folding a seam down to iron it when suddenly Bridger decides to grab onto the side of the ironing board and swing like a monkey. You can only imagine what a bad choice this would be. As the entire ironing board/work table, covered in snap parts, fabric, ric rac, pom poms, tissue paper, business cards, scissors and a blazing hot iron goes toppling to the floor I grab a hold of the edge of the ironing board and catch the iron by the cord but, not before it hits Bridger in the hand and arm. I have to admit that the first thought that went through my mind was not "is he ok?" That was probably #3. My first thought was, "Greg has got to get a better job so I can quit doing this" followed by, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???!!!!"

After shoveling off the debris that had piled on top of him, I picked Bridger up off the floor and ran him into the kitchen. He was obviously hysterical. I instantly packed his hand and arm in ice and sat him at the kitchen table. Anyone who knows me even a little knows that I am not an over reactor nor am I an ultra sensitive parent or person in general. As I was cleaning up the debris left from the fall, Madelynne asked Bridger if she could see his arm. He protested saying "no, my owie. no touch my ice". This made her mad so she decided to slap him on the ice that was sitting on top of his burn. This move landed her in time out on the stairs for the rest of the icing period which ended up being 45 minutes. No surprise, he wouldn't let anyone near his ice after that. When he finally let me look at his burn it was completely white and covered his entire right side of his left hand from the second 2 knuckles, the back of his hand, to about 2 inches up his wrist. It was pretty big but, I still didn't think it was that big of a deal. I decided to call the doctor just to ask what type of ointment I should put on it and how I should wrap it up. They were closed for the 4th and the Dr. on call was my old pediatrician, who hates me so I decided to call the nurse hot line at the children's hospital. After speaking with the nurse and answering about 50 questions, the nurse replied, "you need to take him immediately to the emergency room". SERIOUSLY??? The ER?! That sounded a bit extreme to me. I asked the nurse if I needed to leave right that second or if it could wait and she said, "as long as you leave in the next 30-45 minutes you should be OK. So pretty much "YES" I needed to leave right then. This was great news seeing that I was still in my PJ's, Madelynne and Bridger were playing dress up right before the incident so they were both nicely clothed in a diaper and fairy wings and EmmaLeigh was asleep. Not to mention the orders that HAD to ship in the next 3 hours! What was I going to do. I called my friend Shana who had helped me out with some of my orders when I was pregnant. No answer. Panic was starting to set in. Then the phone rang and Yes!..it was her. I pleaded my shpeal. I must have sounded ridiculous asking her drop whatever she was doing to come over right that second and sew at my house while watching Madelynne and EmmaLeigh and then take my orders to the post office while I went to the ER where I was certain they were going to look at me like I was nuts and put some $650 gauze and bacetracin on Bridger's arm. With a tone of reluctance she accepted.

When we arrived at the ER Bridger's burn had started to blister. It was actually starting to look pretty bad. There were at least 50 people waiting in the lobby and I was certain this was going to take hours! To my surprise the person signing us in took one look at Bridgers arm and whisked us straight back to triage. We didn't even have time to register before they put us in a room. The doctor came in and took one quick look and said, "I'm sending you to the burn center". WHAT?? The burn center? They wrapped up his hand and arm and we were told that he could eat nothing after midnight, and had to be at the Burn center in Augusta at 8am. I was still in denial. Seriously? Do you not think that's a bit much? Greg said he wasn't spending his 4th of July driving 4 hours to and from Augusta for a silly burn and I hate to say I originally sort of agreed. Janet told me her sister in law actually worked in the ER there so she called to see if it was really necessary. Her sister in law said, "absolutely! If they are sending us there it's bad." So, off we went at 5:30am with the entire family in tow...

Once we arrived to the burn center we were told that they would be taking Bridger back for surgery. OK, we are no strangers to surgery but, I was in shock! I could not believe that he needed surgery! They ended up scraping all of the dead, burned skin from his wound and then doing a pork Skin Graft. It took about an hour for the surgery. Poor Bridger was terrified when we came in to recovery. Talk about blind sided!

Here he is in recovery with his daddy. He is such a daddy's boy!

Show me your owie buddy

After a successful recovery we were discharged. He left with a new dressing that he had to keep on and keep clean until the following Thursday. By the way, Bridger is 2. This was going to be a challenge to say the least. We decided to go get some lunch since we were all starving. There was a car dealership having free lunch of hotdogs, chips and soda. We decided to pull in and let the kids move around a little and get some free lunch, why not right? As the kids climbed around in a new Routon (with the a/c on) I noticed that Bridger looked a little flush but, I just attributed it to the heat. A few minutes later Greg turned the car off and told the sales woman we had to leave. I looked at him strange and then he said, "I think Bridger is having an allergic reaction!" I looked at Bridger and he was bright red all over except the very tip of his nose and a spot on his cheek. We loaded up in the car and sped out as I called the hospital back and notified them. We went straight back to recovery where they discovered he was having an allergic reaction to the Rubinol that he was given before surgery. They assured us he would be fine and it should resolve in the next 3 hours.

Here he is with his red face.

This face is perfect for the 4th...red, white and blue. So patriotic!

After a long drive home it would have been great to just call it a night but, Madelynne was not missing out on the fireworks! So we headed to downtown Porterdale where the fireworks were going to be. One of the Shriner's that takes us to the hospital in South Carolina lives close by there so we stopped to see if we could park in front of his house. He was so excited to see us that he convinced us to stay and watch from his back yard. He gave the kids rides in his tiny car that was out from the morning's parade and even convinced me to hop in.

At 10pm as we headed home I realized that the kids hadn't even eaten dinner. We went through the Wendy's drive thru where Bridger fell asleep waiting for our order and Madelynne fell asleep waiting for her nuggets to cool.

No swimming for the entire week, no getting dirty, no rough play, no scratching...did I mention he's 2?! It was a fun week, let me tell you. He did a pretty good job though. When we went back to the burn center on Thursday his appointment was at 10am. I had dropped EmmaLeigh off at a friends at 7:15am but, I had to bring Madelynne because I couldn't find anyone to watch her that could also cath her. After another long drive to Augusta we walked in to the burn center to see at least 60 people waiting. You would never guess how long we waited to see the Doctor! After waiting to be put in a room for 2 and a half hours I had to go cath Madelynne. I told one of the receptionists and she said no worries you have a long time. When I got back they told me that they called me while we were gone so now I would have to wait longer. Another 2 hours crept by...ugh!!! and then finally they called us back.

Waiting for the Doctor to come

After a long, long wait it was great news. He was so brave as they took his bandages off and whimpered as they pryed the layers back but, he only cried when the unstuck the last layer. His burn was healing very nicely. In fact his 2 fingers and thumb were almost completely healed. They fit him with a compression glove that he has to wear for the next 4-6 weeks and instructed me that his burn must be rubbed with lotion every 12hours and rubbed with SPF 50 sunscreen every 4hours for the next year. They also said they expect a full recovery and his pigmentation should go back to normal in the next 9 to 12 months. He has to keep it covered until it heals completely meaning absolutely no sun exposure.

I wish I would have taken a picture before surgery but, here it is after they took the bandages off. It looks so good!

"my new guv"

I took the kids to the mall to run around for a few minutes and grab some lunch before we had to drive back and get EmmaLeigh.

Madelynne was so happy to be able to run and play. Poor Bridger but, what a bad day for her to be cooped up.

The ride home went much better than the ride there since both kids slept for 90% of the trip.

After a much needed bath Bridger's hand looks pretty good. Pretty sore but, pretty good non the less. He's such a trooper.

We finally picked up EmmaLeigh at 6:15pm...Thank you so much Staci!! That was above and beyond. (11 hours of babysitting a 10month old when you are only a couple months pregnant with your 3rd is above and beyond. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I owe both you and Shana a pedicure!!!)

By bed time we were all past the point of exhaustion and on to pure silliness.

One more shot to document an extremely eventful 4th of July. Happy to have my kids ok we all hit the sack!

As a result of Bridger's ironing board, monkey stunt he has developed a very real fear of the iron. He is terrified of the ironing board now and makes a point to walk way out of his way to avoid any possibility of touching any part of it.

Vacations....need I say more?!

2009-07-05T20:34:00.036-04:00

The newly weds

Ryan and Teresa

We had a wonderful trip to the coast of Oregon. Ryan and Teresa's wedding was beautiful and the entire 10 day trip was extremely eventful and very memorable.

It's always fun to entertain children while trying to orchestrate family photo's. Bridger and Madelynne found their own entertainment as they (against my approval) splashed happily in the reflection pool at the Portland, Oregon Temple.

My boys were so handsome at the wedding in their matching neckties.

Grandma Joan and some of the grand kids.

I have to say that many great things happened and wonderful memories were made but, if you ask Madelynne about her trip to Oregon she will reply, "Uncle Ryan throwed a rock at Jadyn's head". This, although distorted, is somewhat true but, a complete FREAK accident!

Jadyn...BEFORE

My 2 brothers apparently thought it was a good idea to throw rocks at the birds flying above us at the beach while the children frolicked at the waters edge. All of the children were laughing and skipping around when suddenly BAM!! Just as the tide comes in and sweeps Madelynne under, one of Uncle Ryan's rocks falls from the sky right into happy, skipping Jadyn's left pigtail. We were all so consumed with what happened to Jadyn we didn't notice that fully clothed Madelynne was soaking wet from nearly getting swept out to sea. My brother Rick and his wife Cheryn took 2 of the 3 of their kids and left the beach immediately following the incident. Madelynne spent the rest of the beach trip in just a diaper. Poor Ryan felt horrible about nearly killing his niece. I tried to tell him that he should have hit one of my kids instead because that's just par for our life.

AFTER

Poor Jadyn, still crying as my brother Rick carried her back to the car.

Teresa consoling her new husband. Poor Ryan just wants his nieces and nephews to like him.

Ryland and Madelynne running up the sand, after the trauma of the incident was over.

EmmaLeigh helping Grandma Joan hold up the umbrella that was shading her from the sweltering heat...did I mention that we were actually using our towels as blankets to protect us from the freezing wind as we walked to an enclosed spot on the beach. Let me just say, it was not warm.

Nothing like putting your toes in the sand!

Beach baby...in her sweater.

What a beautiful sight the ocean was.

We had a ton of fun in spite of the mishaps and we seriously enjoyed most every minute. My mother told me it was warm in the day and cool in the evenings so I packed accordingly...so I thought. It was freezing!! It rained almost everyday and was so cold at night I woke up shivering. I didn't even pack a pair of socks or a long sleeve shirt. Obviously warm in the day and cool in the evenings in Georgia translates into freezing in the day and unbearable at night in Oregon. Not to mention we were told that we would be staying in a house on the coast. We did stay in a really nice house in a coastal town but, it was on a dairy farm. All of the shoes I packed were flip flops and high heels.

Bridger giving EmmaLeigh a little push on the swings.

We also got to celebrate Peyton's first birthday while we were there! It was cute to see her smash the cake and I must say she looks adorable in her birthday outfit with the matching hat courtesy of Auntie DeLynne and Dainty Couture of coarse!

Madelynne fell in love with her new Aunt Teresa and kept asking uncle Ryan where his mom was. It was pretty funny. If you ask Madelynne how much she likes her uncle Ryan she will say, "I love him a BIG ONE".

We had a great Father's Day and my boys were once again the ladies men in their matching neckties.

Madelynne and her cousin Colton hit it off. Here they are telling naughty secrets and laughing hysterically. One would whisper "poop" and they would both die in laughter then the other one would say, "pee pee" and more hysterics would erupt. I did tell them to stop but, not before taking a picture of their joy.

We stayed in the city of Tillamook which is famous for their cheese. We took a tour of the cheese factory where Madelynne tried to milk the display cow and was sad to find out that no milk came out of it's utters. We ate their yummy ice cream and of coarse brought home some delicious cheese.

I have to say Greg was in absolute heaven. He spent several days out on the farm bailing hay, milking cows and driving the tractor. He even spread manure on a field. Bridger also enjoyed a few days on the farm with daddy and loved the cows even though he kept asking, "Cows eat me?".

Here he is covered in manure and strawberries and grinning from ear to ear. On a side note, one wash is not enough to get the stench of manure out of a lambswool lined sweatshirt!

He was also afraid that my mother's 3lb. Yorkie was going to eat him and screamed hysterically if it even entered the same room he was in. Obviously he's a tough guy just like his father.

We stayed up til at least 1am playing games, laughing and eating candy most nights which is the probable cause of my severely sore throat and sleep deprivation. Madelynne was able to spend some one on one time with Papa Jerry whom she absolutely adores and EmmaLeigh made developmental leaps and bounds while we were there. When we left she was barely sitting up and now she is crawling, pulling herself up to a stand and walking around the furniture.

All in all it was an amazing trip and even Greg can't wait to visit the in-laws again. Can you believe that? Well, it's true! He even got up today in Church and bore his testimony on the importance of spending time together as a family. He said he couldn't believe he was actually saying that he couldn't wait to spend time with his mother in law. Now that's amazing.

3-2-1...blast off to Portland!

2009-06-14T22:17:00.006-04:00

Can you believe she's almost 1 year old?!!!

Ten tiny toes....

It's hard to believe how fast they grow!

It's been a doozy of a week...but, after a calm couple of weeks I guess we were due for the "normal" Colborn life to return.

Monday started with the ENT for both EmmaLeigh and Bridger. After scoping EmmaLeigh (up her nose and down her throat to her gag reflex) in the office, the ENT has confirmed that EmmaLeigh has severe GERD. He said that she had milk pooled in the back of her nasal cavity and her tissues from the nose all the way down to the gag reflex were extremely red and inflamed. He also went over her swallow study results expressing concern with them. This is the first time that someone has even discussed the results with me from the test we had done months ago. He actually said that the results were concerning...Now why in the world has no one gone over them with me??? Anyway, the result is that he wants to scope her under anesthesia at the same time that the GI doctor does. He thinks that she may possibly have a whole in her esophagus however he also said that it is possible that all of her issues are a direct result of her horrible reflux. So, I guess we will find out next month...maybe?!

He said that Bridger needs tubes put in. I opted to wait it out for the summer but, he said if he had another ear infection we would need to schedule the procedure. Well that was Monday and on Wednesday he had another ear infection so, we are scheduled to get tubes when we get back from Portland the first part of July.

Madelynne has been complaining for a while now that her foot hurts. Since she can not feel her feet this is quite concerning. Her left foot was pretty swollen around the outside of her ankle and she had a few bruises. After several days (maybe even a week) of periodically complaining, I finally called the orthopedic surgeon. They wanted to see her right away so Wednesday morning we headed straight to Scottish Rite where we had an appointment with the Physician's Assistant. This was pretty much pointless. About 6 minutes into the conversation she says to me, "oh, well I'm not really a doctor. You are going to have to speak with the doctor about this". I should have just made an appointment with the next available person in the waiting room. It would have been just as effective! At least she took some x-rays and let me know that "she" didn't think that there were any breaks or fractures but, just in case she said to keep Madelynne off her foot and limit her activity. Then she sent someone in who scheduled me to return the following day to see the actual doctor. Only Thursday's appointment was at the Alpharetta office which is another 30 minutes farther away. What's another 30 minutes when you are already driving 2 hours?! On Thursday we found out that Madelynne actually has a fracture in the growth plate of her left ankle. What a joy a trip to the beach for the next 10 days is going to be. Actually it will be great. Luckily they did not cast her. They typically put you in a boot when you have this injury but, they have just sworn her to wear her braces at all times unless sleeping for the next 6 weeks. Since she doesn't have mobility in her ankle, her brace should be enough to stabilize her ankle while it heals. They are also sending her for new braces.

So, here it is Sunday night and I have done little to nothing to prepare for the 10 day trip to Portland. I have 2 days left and a billion things I have to do. I really need a personal assistant. Wouldn't it be nice to just go to the pool and come back with the house spic and span and everything packed up and ready to go! As long as I am dreaming, I would also like one of those machines that you step into one side in your pj's and crazy bed head and come out the other side all dressed, beautiful and ready to go...I guess I should have been born a Jetson or at least married one.

Drop and Give me 20

2009-06-06T22:46:00.003-04:00

After atleast 4 years of not coaching gymnastics I am happy to report that extra conditioning still proves to be effective...and to think that a parent of one of my gymnast once told me I would never be a good mom because in the real world you can't punish children with push ups....

Terrible 2 + 4's!!!

2009-05-26T00:16:00.005-04:00

Don't let that sweet face fool you!

I was just reading my friends blog about her 2 year old and boy can I relate. I thought Bridger was going to be my sweet boy but let me tell you...he is silent but, deadly!
My friend Carla is absolutely amazing! Pregnant with her 6th!! I told her as many of you already know, I thought I was maxed out at 1 and now that I have 3 I am totally and completely over the edge! I don't know how she does it!!! She mentioned something about how she could lose track of one...are you kidding me? She is a great mom!
Silence is usually my cue that trouble is right around the corner. As far as my parenting skills...now that could be debated. Today Madelynne and Bridger decided it would be great fun to fill the toilet with shreds of construction paper while Madelynne was sitting on it having her enema...you can only imagine the result. I knew I should have investigated a tad more thoroughly when I heard the uncontrollable laughter. If I wasn't so irate I would have taken a picture.

Isn't it ironic that I just taught the lesson on Sunday entitled "Adversity"...I think I've been preparing for that lesson for atleast 4 years.

A fun Suprise for the girls

2009-05-24T19:54:00.010-04:00

Utter amazement followed by sheer

Joy was the reaction I got from EmmaLeigh as I put her in her new outfit that I made Friday Morning.

Madelynne was very excited to match EmmaLeigh in her new outfit. She loves it when they match. I have to agree...it's pretty cute. Bridger was a little sad and wanted to know where his "girl shirt" was so I let him try EmmaLeigh's outfit on and it was so funny that I couldn't stop laughing and I had to take a picture but, in order to protect his (or maybe his dad's) pride and avoid future harrassment, I have chosen not to post the picture. (although if anyone would like to see it I would be happy to email it to you...lol)

Pizza Party

2009-05-24T19:46:00.004-04:00

Monday for Family Night we had a pizza party out on the driveway. The kids had a lot of fun. Even EmmaLeigh enjoyed her dinner in the cool spring breeze. Lucky for me, we decided to have it outside because somehow the entire container of garlic butter dipping sauce ended up in a giant puddle all over the driveway.

Princess Party

2009-05-19T00:05:00.000-04:00

For weeks Madelynne has been looking forward to going to her little girlfriends "Princess Party". It was scheduled for May 16th (this past Saturday). We spent most of our free time last week preparing for the party. Making gifts for Mallory not to mention two of everything because Madelynne couldn't stand the thought of Mallory having something that she didn't have. She wanted them to be twins so two of everything it was. As you all know we have been quite ill over here so the prospect of actually attending the party was very uncertain. Especially when Madelynne came home Wednesday crying hysterically about her ear hurting. Thursday we were back at the Doctor where it was confirmed...a raging ear infection along with bronchitis and strep throat. They started her on an antibiotic and eardrops and breathing treatments twice a day until she stops coughing. I had them peek at Bridger just to make sure he was ok since he is still breathing like a freight train and to my astonishment (not really) he too had a raging ear infection. They also diagnosed him with "illness induced" asthma. (I am going to maintain the thought that he still has pneumonia but, what would I know) They started him on a steroid and an antibiotic and want him to start the same daily pulmocort that EmmaLeigh is on. Anyway, after our trip to the Dr. on Thursday the party seemed a bit out of the plan. Friday we spent the entire (I mean ENTIRE) day at the allergist. This is actually the first bit of good news I have gotten from a DR. in a long time. It looks like EmmaLeigh is not allergic to anything (although he said at her age they get more false negatives than positives) but, it also looks like Bridger may have out grown his allergy to eggs. (oh shoot!, that's what I forgot to do today!) I was supposed to take him for blood work to see if he has or not. Depending on the outcome of his blood work (that I forgot to get) They may do a 4 hour oral test in the office to see if he has a reaction and if not he may be able to start eating things with eggs in them. Yipee! That will make my life a bit better.
Saturday morning everyone seemed ok. So, I decided to go ahead and go to the party. I am so glad that we went. It was so much fun. Staci, Mallory's mom, put on a wonderful party. The house was decorated so cute and the kids did all kinds of fun princess stuff; manicures, make-up, up do's, fun rag flip flops and don't forget the dressing up. Madelynne sported her pink and green tutu proudly with her new shirt that I made her as she pranced around in some "Belle" dress up high heels that she found in the princess fitting room. She was absolutely in heaven. Along with every other child there. Even Bridger got a manicure and came home with sparkly blue polish. I wish I could have gotten a picture of his nails before he ate it all off. Greg was horrified that his nails were painted but happy that atleast it wasn't pink! Lucky for daddy, he didn't see the make-up...I just had to laugh as the quote from "My Girl" ran through my head..."a girl can never wear enough blue eyeshadow!"

20 more times!

2009-05-14T22:42:00.000-04:00

If at first you don't succeed...try, try, again!

Success...

2009-05-14T22:35:00.000-04:00

Madelynne may never be a world class gymnast but, she will definitely accomplish whatever she makes up her mind to do! Self determination is one of her strongest attributes. It may be killing me now but, it will save her in the end!

"This one's for you Grandma"

The Best Mother's Day Ever!

2009-05-11T19:22:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty sure our luck couldn't get any better. This week was, hopefully, the tip of the iceberg. EmmaLeigh's GI appointment went well I guess. They are now deciding to have her scoped and check her esophagus to see if there are any abnormalities and to see if she has eosinophilic esophagitis. They are also sending us to the ENT to see if they think there is something wrong on their end. They are figuring that both will need to scope her so they are wanting to coordinate the outpatient procedures so we only have to put her under once. That's nice of them. Our ENT appointment is scheduled for June 15th. That was the soonest they could get her in. They are also going to evaluate Bridger at the same time for tubes.
After making Bridger spend an entire day at the GI doctor, I decided to leave him with Kerri on Thursday while we went to Madelynne's Spina Bifida Clinic. It is also on the North side of Atlanta and is always an all day affair. He was very happy to spend the day with his little buddy Cami. I got back to the Knorpps around 2:30pm and Bridger was still asleep. When we got home he was excessively whiny and I figured it was just because he had just woken up. Around 4:30pm he was still crying and very clingy so I picked him up and he felt pretty warm. I decided to feed the kids, bath them and put them down early since we had been up since 4am. After Bridger's bath I took his temp and it was 102. Hmmm. I guess some Tylenol before bed would be a good idea. He woke up about 2 hours later screaming bloody murder and soaking wet. I figured his fever had just broken so I just changed him and his sheets and after holding him for about 2 hours finally got him back to bed. He must have woken up 27 times in the night crying but, each time he went back to bed. I decided to take him to the Dr. when his temp was over 103 in the morning. Madelynne had been complaining all day Thursday of stomach ache and coughing so I took her as well. (I figured as long as I was going, why not) Madelynne was quite upset that she didn't get to go to school because we had made all of her teacher a special treat for Teacher Appreciation Week. I told her we could stop by the school on our way to the doctor and drop them off but, she HAD to stay in the stroller. Happy with the idea we headed for the school. When we got to the school I put EmmaLeigh in the back of the stroller and Madelynne in the front and then I carried Bridger while trying to push the 900lb stroller in to the school. With Bridger whimpering on my left shoulder and the brownies in my right hand I stepped in to the office. Just as I sat the brownies on the counter, Bridger threw-up down my back and onto my legs. I immediately pulled him forward as he threw-up again, this time all over the front of me and onto my open toed sandals. With puke dripping from my elbows and squishing through my toes in my shoes I set him down just outside the puddle on the floor. The secretary was staring at me as I stared back at her in horror. She then said, "Oh, wow, That's bad!". I looked at her helplessly and asked if she had any paper towels. She responded by saying, "No, you'll have to go to the bathroom to get some". Are you kidding me? Seriously, she couldn't possibly want me to go to the bathroom and trail vomit all over the school. I turned around and look toward the restrooms wondering how in the world I was going to accomplish the task. Behind me was the FTD delivery man who had come to deliver someone flowers. He looked down at me and said, "I'll go get you some". Finally, someone with a brain and an ounce of compassion. He returned with a towel from the maintenance closet. I am certain that everyone ate their brownies after that.
After a long, test filled visit at the doctor, we left with both Madelynne and Bridger testing positive for type A and type B influenza. The doctor was certain that it was Swine Flu and sent the swabs to the CDC. I was pretty sure it wasn't but, whatever. How in the world would we have gotten that? She started both of them on Tamiflu and treated it as if it were swine flu. Our weekend was less than enjoyable but very exciting. I am certain that I have washed at least 70 loads of sheets and towels. Greg came down with the same flu on Saturday morning and was the absolute worst patient of them all. EmmaLeigh came down with it on Saturday night but, she throws up all the time so whatever. Poor Bridgers temp was between 102 and 104 all weekend. He did nothing but lay around and sleep. We were banned from church by the Bishop and spent a very exciting mother's day at home where I was reminded hundreds of times of the importance of my role as a mother.
Today they called and told us that is was not the swine flu, it was just the flu and we can go about our lives. Bridger is finally starting to perk up although he hasn't eaten more than a bite of anything since Friday. He is still drinking fine and it's just as well. (Juice is much nicer to clean up than macaroni)

So, Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mother's. Don't forget what your great role and responsiblity of being a mother is because...God may just remind you. I reflect now on a recent blog post of my sister in law Cheryn. What was that she said again? Oh, yes...

"Then we have children and get to learn the most challenging and rewarding lessons of all: PATIENCE, sacrifice, long suffering (to name just a few). Ultimately, we learn to love purely and hopefully become more like Christ...I am so thankful for the gift to bear and raise children and I pray for patience and to love purely as I nurture my darlings (and hopefully don't screw them up too much in the process)"

Thank you Cheryn for reminding me that being a mother is what brings us joy in this life. Striving to attain the attributes of Christ and knowing that our trials are what refine us. I couldn't have had a better Mother's Day...Really!

Easter 2009

2009-05-09T17:09:00.000-04:00

The Colborn Kids

Madelynne, Bridger

& EmmaLeigh

How cute is that...

Don't ask Bridger...he doesn't think it's cute at all

Madelynne, loving her new Easter outfit that I made.

Bridger, sporting his newly monogrammed pink and lime green striped Easter shirt and matching "Little Man" necktie. Greg said he looked too "chic" but, I think he's pretty cute.

Baby chic-a-dee

We went to an Easter Egg hunt at a friends house and Bridger decided to get a head start. He opened each egg as he found it and tried to eat it's contents so, I'm pretty sure he had only found 3 before the actual hunt started. There were over 500 filled eggs and some had cash. It was a blast for the kids.

Here's Madelynne getting some hints on where to find some lucky eggs.

Reaping their rewards.

Still alive...but, just barely

2009-05-06T21:15:00.000-04:00

As I am sure you have noticed I need to update....we've definitely been down and out. I don't even know where to begin...
Two Fridays ago was EmmaLeigh and Bridger's "well child" visits. Bridger has not been well for several weeks and EmmaLeigh was wheezing horribly so when I took her in I discovered that she has Asthma and had also come down with a double ear infection. Bridger had been to the Dr. 3 times in the week and a half prior to that and they just kept telling me it was a cold. On Sunday I realized a tick had found itself a home in his right hip. Greg tried to remove it but, the head was still embedded in his hip. On Monday I decided to change pediatricians and went in to see Dr. Miller. They checked him out thoroughly and discovered he had an ear infection in his left ear, an eye infection in both eyes and his oxygen level was only 92. They sent him for a chest x-ray among other things it turns out that he didn't just have a cold...he had Pneumonia. They also removed the head of the tick and tested him for several tick diseases...all negative, luckily. We had to return to the Dr. every day this week to get Bridger's Oxygen levels checked to make sure he didn't need to be hospitalized for his pneumonia.
Greg and I have both been battling a severe sinus infection for nearly 2 weeks and by Tuesday last week, death was staring me in the face. I called a random doctor who said they could get me in by Wednesday. I was certain I would never live to see Wednesday but, I took the appointment anyway. At 10:30am they called me back and said they had a cancellation and could see me at 2:30pm. Relieved and hopeful that I would live another day I took the appointment. When the Dr finally came in my fever was in the upper 103's. I laid on the exam table, unable to sit. He decided that I was not going to make it until the oral antibiotic kicked in so he gave me an injection of Rocephin in my butt. If you have never had a shot of rocephin count yourself lucky! (however, I would have taken anything at this point.) On Wednesday last week Madelynne came down with a Kidney infection so when I took Bridger in to get his oxygen level checked I also had her urine dipped and sent for culture. We started her on Azo pills to control the pain until the sensitivities came back. That night I noticed that her eyes looked really weird, almost scaly. On Thursday when she got off the bus, her eyes were completely bloodshot and oozing green snot. So, back to the Doctor on Friday...she had pink eye in both eyes. So, no school til Monday for her.
On top of everything else my hard drive went out sometime right before all the illness set in so, even if life would have been all sunshine and daisies, I would not have been able to let anyone know.
This week is a bit better but, not much. Monday I was supposed to go to a field trip but, it was cancelled due to rain, luckily for me because I had a ton of sewing that had to ship that day. Tuesday was Madelynne's special Olympics awards ceremony at the pizza buffet place that took up the entire day, Today I had to go into Atlanta to take EmmaLeigh to the GI doctor and tomorrow Madelynne has Spina Bifida Clinic in Atlanta and a renal ultrasound at the children's hospital too.
I need sleep! Anyone want to live my life for a second so I can take a nap? I just have to laugh for a minute as I reflect on a very naive comment Madelynne's para pro made to me. She asked me yesterday, "What do you do all day"? As if to imply what in the world could I possibly be doing with all my free time as a stay at home mom. What a funny thought. In response, I just laughed.

All Bruised up

2009-04-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

This whole blogging thing is really for people with more free time. Oh, how I would love some free time!
The past 2 weeks have been full of the regular...doctors, doctors, doctors followed by sewing and more sewing and mixed with very little sleep. Not a great combination but, that's my life.
Our entire family was sick last week with whatever childhood illness that was going around. I am certain we got it from the McDonald play land. Greg and I had it first but, it only lasted 12 hours for us. The kids got it much worse, meaning I got the short end of the stick. Diarrhea for at least 6 days...300 loads of laundry, 4 economy size boxes of baby wipes and a million diapers later, we are all finally recovered! During our dysentery marathon which we refer to as "Butt disease" at our house, I noticed that Madelynne was covered in bruises. She usually has a bruise or two because she falls quite often but, this was more than a bruise or two. Some of the bruises were in deep tissue areas and others were places that I have no clue how a bruise could have gotten there...like the ankle bone under her brace or her inner thigh. I was a bit concerned about the bruises and felt that I better call the doctor if for no other reason than to protect myself. They ran a full blood work up on her to see why she was bruising. Oddly I can't recall exactly what the results were on her blood work other than the fact that her blood count both white and red are within the normal limits and she's not clotting properly however something was wrong somewhere that clued them in to the fact that she is vitamin K deficient and in need of Probiotics. They feel that her deficiency is a result of taking so many antibiotics and her good flora is diminished. She started the probiotics on Monday and loves them. I have no clue if they are helping but at least she will take them. She says they taste like strawberry yogurt and reminds me both morning and night that she needs to take her "probiotic". They will retest her in a few weeks to make sure that it is the antibiotics causing the problem and not something else. She is still complaining off and on when I cath her. We should have her re cultured this week to make sure the psudemonous is gone and not colonizing.
On an up note, this week has been spring break for Madelynne so we have tried to do something fun and away from the house everyday. Today we met a good friend of mine that I haven't seen in over 10 years...wow! I'm getting old! It was so fun to see her and her children. The kids had a lot of fun together. Tomorrow is the Easter egg hunt at the high school and we plan to go however, it is 2:15am and I am still awake. What am I doing??? I'm going to bed!

Happy Birthday Bridger!

2009-03-29T23:15:00.003-04:00

Bridger turned 2 today. He had a great birthday. I don't know if any of you ever get the Chuck E Cheese brand string cheese but, they have a coupon on them for 12 free tokens. We had 2 coupons and went to Chuck E Cheese as a family last night for Bridger's birthday. The kids played and played. 24 tokens is a lot of rides for 2 kids. Bridger loved it! Today he was so proud to wear his "2" birthday shirt to church with his new plaid shorts. He looked adorable. I'm not partial, as you can tell. We invited 3 of his friends over for cake and ice cream this evening. We wanted to keep it pretty low key since it is Sunday but, we still wanted him to be able to have his special day. Only 2 of his friends came but, all of their siblings were there so there were plenty of kids in our house! It was fun, short and sweet. He got lots of Thomas stuff and an outfit and gift card from Grandma and Grandpa Colborn, which he absolutely loves! He got a metal, Tonka dump truck, a "CAT"brand digger and a little people dump truck from his Aunt Kimmie, Aunt Cheryl, Uncle Sam and cousins, Braxton and Noah. Auntie got him a McDonald's gift card and we got him a couple hot wheels cars and a Thomas train and track that is battery operated. He also got some fun cars and toys from our friend Emily and her kids and a bubble blower from the Knighton family. He loved everything and couldn't wait to play with the next toy. He was so excited that at 7pm after Madelynne went to sleep we let him stay up and play for another hour. I am sure he is thrilled to just have something that isn't pink, and doesn't sparkle or have boa on it. Although, I could be wrong.

Thank you to all of you who helped make his day so special!

Tomorrow starts another great week. Madelynne was home Thursday and Friday of last week because she is sick again. I took her to the Doctor on Thursday and it was only supposed to be a quick visit to get her re cultured but...an hour and a half later we were still waiting to hear what the doctor wanted to do with her. She has a kidney infection again or should I say still. I am pretty sure it's still the psudemonous but, I'm hoping it is not. The pediatrician wanted to start her on an antibiotic right away but, I didn't think that was very smart. First of all if it is still the psudemonous than an antibiotic will do nothing for it and she will just be taking another random antibiotic for no reason. I would rather wait until the culture results are back and put her on whatever the bacteria is susceptible to. In the mean time I have called the urologist who is in agreeance with me and has instructed me not to start the antibiotic unless her fever is greater than 100. It's been averaging around 99.7 which is huge for Madelynne who never gets a fever but, under the 100 mark. I am very anxious to hear what the culture results are tomorrow. If she still has psudemonous she will be hospitalized in the children's hospital at Scottish Rite for at least 3 days. This will be great and horrible. Considering that Madelynne is horrified of having to get a poke this is not going to go over well. I pray things will go as smoothly as possible. I have not completely figured out what I am doing with the other children if they admit Madelynne...I guess I should work on that a little harder. I just don't have enough time. Tomorrow starts with Bridger's 2 year shots and speech and then somehow I need to sew a party set that has to ship out tomorrow as well. I don't have any white fabric though so I need to go to the store at some point before I can even begin. Plus, I am certain that Madelynne will be home since she is sick. Although, she is just well enough to antagonize her brother to no end but too sick to handle any possible retaliation. I am getting tired just thinking about it...and that is just tomorrow...UGhhh, I'm going to bed!

My little blue eyed baby girl~

2009-03-25T19:43:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess it's about time I get that quote off the first post of my blog. Just for the record, that was not Madelynne I quoted. I have decided that my life is full of poop and with 3 in diapers it's not going to change anytime soon so, sorry for all the crappy stories...I just happen to have a lot of them. I will try not to share them too often.
EmmaLeigh had her OPMS, swallow study on Tuesday. They have come to the conclusion that there is definitely something medically wrong with her. However, it is not with swallowing. So, back to the drawing board. From the study they said that she is penitrating, which they explained to me by saying that her epiglottis is opening as she swallows and allowing things to enter into her trachea but, she did not aspirate, the food actually sucked right back out and went down her esophagus. So, I guess this is abnormal but, good. They are concerned with why it is happening but they are certain it is not a problem with her swallowing. I told my sister in law that by the time they figure out what is wrong, she will have grown out of it. I can only hope.
Last week was so exhausting that I couldn't even begin to share it all. I guess it started out with EmmaLeigh running a 103.6 temp for 2 days and the pediatrician running about a million tests. Everything seemed to be fine in the end but, several blood cultures, a CBC count, a urine culture and chest x-ray later I was completely exhausted. Not to mention the sleep I was losing just trying to keep her from screaming all night and waking everyone else up was killing me. We spent a majority of the week trying to get EmmaLeigh's OPMS scheduled. The order was sent as STAT but, the scheduler was out of town so, it was a huge ordeal.
The urologist's nurse called at some point during the week to follow up on Madelynne and informed me that Dr. Smith, our Urologist was out of town but, she was certain that he would want Madelynne hospitalized for her Psudemonous. She told me to contact my pediatrician and let her know. I did but, she never called me back until Monday and Madelynne seems to be fine so, I'm glad that things happened the way they did. Adding an extended hospital stay to last week would have been more than I would have wanted to endure. We are culturing her urine again to make sure that the bacteria is gone. Let's all pray it is or we will be in the hospital for anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks.
Thursday was a half day and Friday there was no school so, we tried to do something out in the beautiful spring sunshine. Thursday we took our lunch to the park and played with friends. Actually, about 5 minutes after we got there my cell phone rang and it was the home health nurse. She was sitting in my driveway wondering where I was. I totally forgot that EmmaLeigh had her Synergist injection at 1:15. Don't ask me how I forgot!!! It was only on my calendar not to mention they had just called Wednesday night to remind me. Oh, I'm totally losing it! Whatever "it" is. So, my very nice friends kept Madelynne and Bridger at the park while I ran home to get EmmaLeigh her injection. After the park I had to run to Conyers to cash a check. I was a tad nervous to deposit it into my account so I decided to just cash it at the bank where it came from. I've been having issues with my account and I didn't want to add one more. The check was from WAMU and they were acting particularly strange with me as I tried to cash the check. They asked me just about every personal question imaginable other than the color of my underwear... and then they told me that I could not cash the check and I would have to return it to the owner. Apparently the lady's account had a fraudulent charge and they had frozen it. They actually thought I had stolen the check and was trying to cash it. GREAT! I would have written it for a whole lot more if that were the case!
Greg had meetings that night so we went to my friend Staci's for dinner. It was just what I needed...someone else to cook and the kids to be busy while I talked to adults. Those moments are few and far between. THANK YOU STACI!!
Friday morning we were planning on meeting friends at Dausett Trails. We were really excited because we have never been there and they have a petting zoo. Madelynne was especially excited to go. My morning couldn't have been much worse. Bridger was crying hysterically over everything which is really unusual. He is usually so sweet and funny not a crier at all. Madelynne was taking his emotional breakdown as a perfect opportunity to agitate him even further and poor EmmaLeigh was completely out of formula. So, as I'm trying to get everyone out the door and in the car I hurry and turn on the computer to print the directions and discover that the place we are supposed to be in 30 minutes is 45 miles from my house. There was no way I was going to make it by 10am. I still had to go to Walmart and get formula so EmmaLeigh could eat. Now, Madelynne was crying because I told her we weren't going to make it to the petting zoo. So, with all 3 crying hysterically and me feeling like I should join them I headed to Walmart. While in Walmart I decided to go ahead an try to go to Dausett Trails but, I warned Madelynne that our friends would probably be leaving soon after we got there. So, after an ever so pleasant excursion in Wally World for formula we headed to Dausett Trails...so I thought. Following my map quest directions, we drove for what seemed like an eternity and I finally stopped to ask if someone had any clue where I was going. Luckily the owner of the convenience store was from India and spoke just enough English to tell me he had no clue what I was saying. GREAT! Then I asked some poor old gentleman who informed me that not only were we not close to our destination, we had gone nearly 30 miles out of our way. We were in the completely wrong city on a totally wrong road. We ended up getting a $5 car wash and eating our picnic lunch I had packed us at the park right off the square back in our very own city of Covington, where a creepy old man kept trying to talk to my kids so we didn't even stay long.
I discovered today just why Bridger has been so miserable the past week or so...he has cut at least one new molar. I'm sure there are 3 more close behind. I just hope they show up soon because he's so miserable.
On an up note, EmmaLeigh has been crying for the past 3 hours solid so, clearly, it's going to be a great night!

Quote of the day - Pretty much sums it all up

2009-03-18T19:53:00.000-04:00

"My dinareana used to be brown but...
(with added enthusiasm)
now it's green, (yipee!)
because I'm 4 years old! "

Daddy's "GIRL" Smell

2009-03-15T20:11:00.000-04:00

I can hardly believe this week is over. Not that that means much, other than another one starts tomorrow. I am so exhausted from the happenings of this week that I can't even begin to relive them. So, I'll just try to hit the high lights really quick and then tell a funny story. (well, I think it's funny but, maybe you had to be there)

Madelynne's kidney infection got worse this week. I called the pediatrician for the culture results and finally on Tuesday night they called me back to inform me that she had grown Pseudomonas and was on the wrong antibiotic. They called a new one in but, Thursday when I called the pharmacy to find out if it was ready they said they couldn't get it in a suspention and they would have to call the Doctor for a different prescription. So, Friday I called the Dr. and they had Madelynne come in and get two injections, one in each leg of Rocephin. She was absolutely livid and asked franticly through her tears, "mommy, why did they have to give me shots in my bones" She opted to ride in the stroller for the rest of the day. They have told us that if this doesn't get rid of the bacteria she will be admitted. She seems to be doing better so lets hope this did the trick.

EmmaLeigh is still struggling with her feeding issues. The GI has now agreed that she needs further testing and they would like to run the barium swallowing studies. Isn't this what we said back in December? Whatever, at least they are going to do them now. It's so annoying though! Oh, and I forgot to say that her CT came back normal so, no helmet for us. That's good! Like we need to draw any more attention to ourselves.

Bridger seems to be doing well other than his choice of communication. He talks a lot but, mostly in some unidentifiable language. On Monday after his hour speech session, I asked his teacher if she could actually understand him because it seemed like they were communicating. She replied, "no, not really" This was comforting and discomforting all at the same time. Atleast I didn't feel as bad knowing that it's not just me but, at the same time I would like to know what language he speaks. She informed me that babbling is the first form of communication and he's doing great. I'm pretty sure babbling starts when you are like 4 months...whatever.

So, on Friday night Greg got home late. I had fed the kids dinner but, was waiting for Greg to get home before I started ours. After the kids were in bed Greg grilled hamburgers on the grill and we were just about to start our dinner when Madelynne started screaming hysterically. We went upstairs and found her curled up in the middle of her bed hyperventallating. She had a nightmare and wanted to come downstairs. Greg carried her down and she sat at the table with us and had a bag of chips while we ate our burgers. Then she and Greg sat on the couch and watched basketball. She kept leaning over and sniffing him until finally Greg said, "What are you doing"
Madelynne replied, "Daddy, you stink"!

Greg, sniffing himself: "what do I smell like? the grill?"

Madelynne, smelling his one hand and then the other: "this hand doesn't stink but, that one is STIIIINKYY!"

A few moments later she leans over and says, "Daddy, your GIRL SMELL still stinks"

At this point Greg and I both begin to laugh.

About an hour later she leans over and sniffs him and says, "daddy, I think your girl smell is gone, you don't stink anymore"

We can all rest easy now, knowing that Greg's "Girl Smell" has finally aired out!...I wonder what her teacher will think on Monday when she announces that her daddy's "Girl Smell" is gone and he doesn't stink anymore.

Family photo without dad

2009-03-12T20:03:00.001-04:00

Last Sunday I decided to take a picture of Bridger before we left for church. I don't have a ton of pictures of him and he looked pretty cute so I snapped a quick shot. I then had a brilliant idea...so I thought. Why not set up the camera and take one of all of us, minus Greg since he was already at church. We missed our family photo's this year with the baby being born and in the Nicu, and then the chronic illness and Bridger and Madelynne both having their tonsils and adnoids removed in December somehow it never happened.
So, I set the camera up on the tripod and set the timer....here are the results...

Here EmmaLeigh shows her disbelief as Bridger refuses to cooperate because I took his snacks away for the picture.

This one I actually had to crop however, it was much funnier before I cropped it. It was a straight shot right up my skirt!! It didn't turn out anyway...Bridger was throwing a tantrum on the floor and Madelynne was picking her nose....on second thought it was perfect before I cropped it.

This is as good as it gets!

Finally, two cooperative kids...Maybe I should have just let them hold their snacks for the stinking picture.

Pay It Forward!

2009-03-08T23:26:00.000-04:00

So, here's how this game works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or be lazy and copy and paste this one). Then come back, let me know you're going to play ( leave me your email in the comment so I can get your address) and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! You know it will be good if I made it right?! I totally have time to be making fun gifts!!! Remember, only the first three get a gift, so you have to be super fast!

Yipee! A package!!!

2009-03-08T23:15:00.000-04:00

Grandma Joan and Papa Jerry sent these VHS movies to the kids a few weeks ago and the kids couldn't have been more elated! Following that we received a package from Mommy June. It was full of lots of fun treats and treasures for all of the children. Including new shoes for Bridger, a beautiful dupioni silk dress for EmmaLeigh and entirely too much lip gloss for Madelynne. (which by the way, she painted her stomach, her eyes, her brother and my friend Janets daughter with)
Madelynne has now permanantly added "Thank you that I will get a package" to every prayer. Which is actually her way of asking for one or maybe she's just thanking the Lord in advance...

Bridger's Retaliation and of coarse a whole lot of chaos

2009-03-08T21:31:00.000-04:00

Of coarse there was no school Monday because of the snow. It was a great day of fighting at our house. I kept trying to think of activities that would be entertaining, independent, clean and non violent. I thought coloring would be a safe bet. So, I set the kids up at the glass top table and gave them each their own crayons and books. I went 3 feet away and started working on my orders that had to ship Monday (of coarse) and suddenly Madelynne starts screaming as if she were going to die. So, I turn around and she had a 6 inch blue line going diagonally across her face from just under her left eye, below her nose, through her lips and onto the bottom right side of her face. As she proceeds to scream, I try to ask her how in the world that happened and she replies, "Bridger wrote on me"! Completely confused as to how her face was close enough to his crayon for this to happen I ask her how that happened. She said, "Well, I was trying to color on his paper and he didn't want me too and he just wrote on me". I couldn't control myself and burst into laughter. He had to push pretty hard to write on her with a crayon and I am sure it hurt but, you have to admit it's pretty funny.
Tuesday was Madelynne's last day of bowling. She was so excited because last week, when I wasn't there, she knocked all of the pins down but one and couldn't wait to show me. Of coarse this didn't happen again which was a huge disappointment to her but, I was still proud and she got another ornament (medal) to add to her collection.
Wednesday was EmmaLeigh's GI appointment. I had stayed up really, really late on Tuesday night trying to get all my orders done because I knew I wouldn't be able to do any of them on Wednesday. I don't remember what time I went to bed but, it felt like about fifteen seconds before I woke up at 4am to get ready to leave. EmmaLeigh's GI appointment was at 7:45am and it was north of Atlanta. (we live on the South east side of the city about an hour and a half away when the traffic is good) We had to drive through the middle of Atlanta right during rush hour. Oh, so pleasant...especially on 15 seconds of sleep. She had been doing very well up until her appointment so, my report to the GI was pretty upbeat. I delivered her the note from my pediatrician but, she was pretty against running any tests since she was currently doing fine. I sort of agreed and was hoping we were on the rise from all the feeding issues. She decided that the plan, for when she stopped eating, the next time would be to just let her get hungry enough to start eating again. For some reason, on 15 seconds of sleep, this sounded like a good plan to me. That was until 7 hours later when she had actually stopped eating and was screaming incessantly. Suddenly I realized that this was not a good plan. In fact, this is not a plan at all. Not to mention, we have already experimented with this plan which is what landed her in the hospital. Why I couldn't have this clarity when I was actually at the doctors office is beyond me! So, I called the GI who was of coarse closed and the answering service informed me that if it was an emergency to go to the ER. In the morning I called the GI back for EmmaLeigh and got the nurses voicemail that said she would not be in the office until Friday but, urgent matters would be called back before end of business. I guess they did not feel that my issue was urgent since I did not receive a call by end of business. In the meantime Madelynne kept telling me that her hip was hurting. After several hours of her telling me I finally decided to take a look. There was a slight pinkness to her skin where she was complaining of the pain but nothing else. I told her that maybe it was just irritated and we went up to take a bath. When she climbed into the tub I noticed that actually, both of her hips and back right where her kidneys are were pink and had a small rash. Hmmm, that's weird. About halfway through her bath she confirmed my observation when she said, "mommy, now both my hips hurt" I told her if they still hurt in the morning I would call the doctor. In the meantime I thought I would call her teacher and just make sure she didn't get into any latex or anything at school. After a horrible night of the baby screaming and sleeping no more than an hour and a half, I was beyond non functional. When the alarm went off Greg nudged me and I said, I'm not getting up. The baby was finally asleep and I wasn't about to move. I called the bus driver and let her know that Madelynne wouldn't be taking the bus. I had full intentions of taking her to school but, when she got up she was still complaining that her hips hurt. I felt really dumb calling the doctor to tell her Madelynne's hips hurt but, Madelynne insisted. I left a message that was, I'm sure, ammusing or annoying to whoever listened to it. EmmaLeigh screamed all night Wednesday night and most of the day Thursday and had taken a total of six and a half ounces by 8am Friday Morning when the nurse finally called me back. I expressed my fear that not feeding her can not be the solution and her crying non stop may not kill her but, it was definitely doing me in. She said she would talk to the doctor and call me back. When she called back she informed me that the doctor would like to start EmmaLeigh on Periactin a medication that will make her hungry. My stomach began to churn and panic set in. In a trembling voice, I tried to calmly inquire as to how this was going to make my screaming baby who hasn't eaten in 36 hours and was clearly already starving, eat...I told her that I was certain that the problem was not that she wasn't hungry...the problem is that she is not eating. She wants to eat but, for some reason she is not latching on to the bottle and when she does she takes a few sucks and falls asleep. But, mostly she is just screaming because she is hungry. I followed that with I would do whatever the doctor said, but.... She said that if EmmaLeigh still hadn't started to eat by that evening to go ahead and put the tube back in until Monday and on Monday they would come up with a better game plan. Releived that this would just be a short term plan I hung up. The pediatrician called back around 4 and said that they were worried it may be Madelynne's kidneys and to take her to Urgent care in the morning. So, after another night of crying I woke up pretty exhausted. I went in to cath Madelynne so I could go finish the orders that should have shipped Friday and she started screaming bloody murder. There was suddenly no question as to why her "hips" were hurting. She clearly had a furocious Kidney infection. I immediately got her and myself dressed to go to urgent care. At this point Greg was panicing at the thought of having to watch 2 of his own children and decided it would be a better plan to take everyone. (I won't even go into how that worked out) The point is Madelynne did indeed have a horrible kidney infection. We won't know until Tuesday what exactly is growing but, I am certain it's bad. Her back is still inflamed today after being on an antibiotic for 2 days.
So, tonight after putting all of the kids in bed I decided I needed some cookies and a little down time. I cleaned up the kitchen and was putting the cookies in the oven when Greg asked me if I had ever seen the movie he was watching. I turned around and it was Mission Impossible 3 or something. I vaugly remember seeing parts of it but, couldn't really remember. He proceeded to watch it the entire time I was making cookies. The dishwasher was going so I couldn't hear the movie but, I was sort of watching too. Suddenly I heard them talking and I thought to myself, "that's weird, I don't remember them speaking another language in that part" then it went to commercial break. Greg turns to me and said, "Is this the spanish channel"? I walked into the living room where I could hear and sure enough it was indeed the spanish channel. He had been watching MI3 in spanish for atleast 20 minutes and didn't even know it. I don't mean to ridicule but, really!!?? I won't even tell you what I said to him. he changed the channel to some documentary on McDonalds. Uninterested in that, I came in here to update my blog. His choice of shows declined, if possible, as he went from MI3 in spanish to the McDonalds documentary to the girls next door to meet the kardashians when he finally chose to go to bed. I still can't get over it though...who watches 20 minutes of a movie in another language and doesn't even know it?! We are going for our annual eye exam on Tuesday, maybe I should schedule a hearing test too!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2009-03-02T17:27:00.000-05:00

Bridger trying to decide if he likes the snow or not

Our street 30 minutes into the storm

Snow buddies

It's pretty funny when the closest thing we have to a snow outfit is a rain coat and rubber boots...whatever works, I guess!

Dashing through the snow

2009-03-02T17:13:00.000-05:00

It was a halmark moment as Bridger saw his first snow fall yesterday. Yes, that's right!..Snow in Covington, Georgia. It snowed snowball sized snow flakes for most of the day and late into the night. I bet we got 6 inches!! That is serious snow for Georgia.
Bridger and Madelynne were very excited to go out and play in it. Bridger's excitement was short lived as he realized snow was cold and wet. Here he is showing his true feelings as he cries, "no snow, no snow...inside"

Mommy, can you put your hip out?

2009-02-28T23:07:00.001-05:00

Madelynne came home from school on Thursday wanting to know if I could put my hip out. As I stared blankly at her, wondering what in the world she was talking about she decided to clear any confusion up by a quick demonstration. Clearly she is learning extremely pertinent life skills in school. At least she wasn't making farting sounds with her arm pit...oh, wait...that's right, that was last week.

So cute...

2009-02-28T22:44:00.000-05:00

So, I was trying to get a cute picture of EmmaLeigh smiling...

As you can see, the more I took the better they got!

Finally!!!

2009-02-27T19:56:00.000-05:00

Madelynne is fast asleep....

Bridger, out cold...

and FINALLY EmmaLeigh is down... (for a minute)

I don't even know where to start! This week has been completely chaotic and I can't even remember why. I feel like I have just been running around like a wild woman. I used to be so calm, clean, organized, collected...somehow that has evolved into crazy, scattered, disheveled and schizophrenic. I should have taken a picture of my house. It looks like a bomb went off inside. I haven't even had time to think about cleaning it. So, what do I finally do when I get all 3 kids down and a second to breath?...a blog post, of coarse. My priorities are totally straight.
Monday started with Bridger having speech and then me going back to the eye doctor. Finally my eye is better. It was still somewhat dilated on Monday, after nearly 2 and a half weeks. The eye doctor admitted that she had never had a patient who responded that way to one drop of eye dilator. Lucky me! She did a bunch of crazy stuff to my eye and I actually ended up leaving with worse vision than I arrived with however, by lunch my eye was no longer dilated. HOORAY! Monday night I was up excruciatingly late trying to finish and package all of my orders that had to ship on Tuesday because I knew I was not going to be able to sew at all on Tuesday. I finally crawled into bed at 2:30am for 30 seconds of sleep. When my alarm went off at 6:15am, I just turned it off and rolled over. That is always a mistake! When I rolled over I noticed that Greg was no longer in my bed...Madelynne was. At 6:55am I heard the bus pull up and drug myself downstairs to flag her on. Ugh, my day had to start. I hurried and got Madelynne ready and drove her to school. She was 2 minutes early and I tried to get her to just go in and go to her class but, no such luck. She told me, "mommy, I'm just a little girl and I can't take myself in" So, I had to park and walk her to class. Luckily Greg had decided to stay home from work so he could go to EmmaLeigh's head CT with me and I left the other 2 kids home with him. That was nice of him. When we got to the hospital the nurse walked in and said, "so you are here to be fitted for a helmet"...I said, "uh, I don't think so?" totally confused. Apparently the orders said she may possibly need a helmet. After the nurse walked out Greg turned to me and said, "Bring on the short bus"! He's so sweet. They wanted to sedate EmmaLeigh so they could do the CT without her moving. They spent nearly 2 hours trying to get an IV in to give her the anesthesia. They actually got an IV in on the first try but, the catheter had a crack in it and blood started spraying all over the place. It was seriously everywhere. Both nurses were covered. It wasn't too long after the blood bath that Greg left the room...for someone who claims to be an avid hunter he sure is a wimp around blood. They finally decided to try a nasal anesthetic and forgo the IV method but in the 5 minutes it took them to go get it, EmmaLeigh, exhausted from the 2 hour torture treatment, fell fast asleep and they ended up doing the CT with no anesthesia. So all that for 3 minutes of CT. Poor little thing! The best part of that was when we were leaving one of the nurses was complaining that the baby got blood all over her Jacket. WHAT AN IDIOT! (sorry, that wasn't very nice of me to say)
Wednesday morning I realized that I had forgotten to check Madelynne's school agenda so, as I was trying to get her out the door I opened it up to make sure there wasn't anything I had to sign and noticed that her teacher needed me to be at the school at 10:30am to help with their Jack and Jill unit. She had asked me a month ago if I would help the kids do a little tumbling in the end of February sometime but, never told me the date. I had a billion things I needed to do on Wednesday but, log rolls down a cheese mat was not on my list. I had a ton of orders that I had planned on shipping Wednesday and several errands. So, as soon as I put Madelynne on the bus I started sewing. Oh, I hate it when I have to sew like a crazy person. I always end up running in circles because my mind and my body can't seem to get it together. Somehow I finished all but 2 orders, packaged them up and threw them in the car and went to help Madelynne's class.
Thursday morning Greg left for Phoenix for 4 days for work and I had agreed to watch Keri's little girl while she went to her OB/Gyn appointment. I am always willing to do this for any woman after the experience I had with Madelynne while I was pregnant with Bridger. Madelynne was not even 2 for most of my pregnancy and attended almost every OB appointment with me. I thought nothing of it until one day we were at a pre-op appointment for her and I was talking to her doctor. Meanwhile she had pulled the stir-ups out from under the exam table and set them up. She then turned to me, inturrupting my conversation, and said, "mommy, get up here and put your feet in...Let me see your bottom" I am certain I turned about 29 shades of red as I tried to somehow explain how my 2 year old was so familiar with the stir-ups. Anyhow, ever since then I have openly volunteered to watch anyones child while they attend these types of appointments.
Keri and I had planned on visiting our friend Swan after her appointment but, at the last minute, Keri had to run her 7 year old to the dentist because her filling fell out so she asked if I would just bring Cami in my car and meet her at Swans at 11:30. I had a lot of sewing to do so, I was trying to get as much done as I could before having to go meet my friends. At 11:15 I made a mad dash to get the baby and Bridger dressed and the kids in the car so we could leave. As I went to grab Bridger to get him dressed I noticed that he had a large ball like bulge in the right leg of his footie pajama's. I asked him, "what did you put in your pajama's?" He reached down, grabbed the bulge and exclaimed, "BUMMY". As I processed the information, I suddenly realized that it was his diaper. Somehow it had come undone and slid down his right leg where it now bunched into a ball, absolutely useless. As I unzipped his pajama's a horrid smell released into my face. POOP!!!!! AHHHHH....He was covered in poop! Why is it when you have absolutely no time to spare, these things happen. So, I zipped him back up, ran him upstairs, wiped him down with about a million baby wipes and threw him in the tub to scrub him. I quickly dressed him and put both him and Cami in the car while I dressed EmmaLeigh and rushed out. I got to Swans nearly 20 minutes late but, 2 minutes before Keri. :) When I got home I finished up my orders just as Madelynne got home. I tried to quickly get everyone into the car so we could make it to the post office before it closed. My gas light was also on and I had to get gas but, I didn't have time to go before the post office. Madelynne was being ultra crazy and insisting on bringing half of the toy room with us. After loading Madelynne, her purse, 2 dolls, a blanket, a jacket, 2 trains, a drink and a ziploc bag of crackers, I finally lost it and put my foot down when she wanted to bring her dolls stroller. With her screaming hysterically as we drove away I realized I had forgotten the babies bottle. I turned around and suddenly she began apologizing profusly. I'm not sure what she thought I was doing but, whatever it was made her behave. I ran back inside and got the bottle and returned to 3 happy children. (very uncommon) We rushed to the post office. We were 3 blocks away when suddenly it was grid loc in downtown Covington. Hmmm, that's odd! Madelynne suddenly asked me why all the houses had Halloween decorations out. I looked around and noticed that they did but, had no answer for her. When we got to the square, it was all set up for Halloween festivities. I took a side street to avoid all the traffic and discovered the cause of the comotion. They are filming Halloween II in downtown Covington. Now, that it had taken me 20 minutes to get to the post office that is only 3 miles from my house, I was praying that I wouldn't run out of gas. We made it to the post office and finally the gas station then to the ink shop to get my printer ink and then met some friends for dinner. On the way out of the restaurant, I was trying to get all 3 children through the parking lot without anyone getting killed so while carrying the infant carrier with EmmaLeigh on my right arm, I asked Madelynne to grab Bridgers hand and I would hold her hand. We started out into the parking lot just as a car decided to pull out. The car stopped and waved us past and I toled the kids to go fast when suddenly Bridger's shoe falls off. Madelynne tried to drag him forward as he tried to reach backward for his shoe and we all hold up traffic. Finally he grabs his shoe and we continue to the car, his one sock now black from grease. I finally get to the car and open the door as a man comes up behind me and says, "imagine having 14" to which I reply "NO!" What kind of comment was that? I thought I was done at 1, I'm pretty sure 2 was my limit... but, I'm definitely maxed out at 3.
This morning was Pre-K registration so, after putting Madelynne on the bus, I attempted to finish my last 2 orders and fill out all her registration papers before having to be at the school. I nearly well, sort of accomplished this task. I successfully registered her and came back home with full intentions of cleaning my house but, somehow never did that, instead, I ruined an entire order and had to redo it before Madelynne got home so we could go to the post office...again, for the 4 time this week.
So here I sit, typing with disaster all around me. I am going to bed! Tomorrow, I vow to clean...maybe.

I choose Brain Washed...what do you choose?

2009-02-19T20:08:00.000-05:00

Tonight I had an unfortunate experience at BJ's wholesale club. A man and his wife were shopping nearby when the man began to have a conversation with Madelynne. He told her she was beautiful and then proceeded to ask her how she got so pretty. Madelynne looked at him with no expression and said frankly, "from Heavenly Father". The man replied back, leaning in as if to hear better, "from your father"? to which Madelynne said loudly, "No, not my Father, Heavenly Father". I was quite impressed with her uncohearsed answer but, apparently I was the only one. The man turned to his wife in disgust and said over his shoulder at Madelynne, "they've got you brain washed" as he walked away. She didn't seem to care or know what he had said... luckily... I on the other hand, was a bit saddened by the whole thing. Isn't it sad to think that there are those out there who do not know that everything we have comes from our Father in Heaven.
As Madelynne said her prayers tonight she prayed that her friend Carol (a woman at church who recently suffered a stroke) would be better so we could visit her, she prayed that her mommy June would send her a package. She prayed that she would not cry the next time she has to get a cat scan, and that EmmaLeigh would be "Prave" on Tuesday when she has to get her cat scan. She prayed for her Uncle Ryan and that her daddy would get home safe and that Grandma and Auntie wouldn't have cancer. And as a bonus she ended the prayer by saying "thank you that I won't pick my nose and eat it", in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
So, if that is what it means to be brain washed...I am not sure that being "Brain washed" is so bad, especially if it leads to such sincerity and concern for those around us...and less nose picking. I know that I would be lost without my relationship with God so, for me and my house, I guess we choose "Brain washed" any day.

Some wise advice I learned from a 5 year old

2009-02-15T11:55:00.001-05:00

Noah & Braxton

So, yesterday Greg was telling Madelynne that Bridger will be turning 2 in March. She quickly replied by saying, "Noah is having surgery on his penis March first" She is the worlds best eves dropper. She overheard me having a conversation with my sister in law about her little boy who has to have a urological procedure in March. Greg, having no clue what she was talking about said, "what is Noah having surgery for?" She quickly gave him all the details with all of the propor terms of the surgery, sparing nothing. Greg looked at me for confirmation and I nodded my head yes. Grandma called right in the middle of this conversation and told us the funniest thing I think I've heard in a long time. I hope you don't mind me sharing this Cheryl...
I guess it was last year some time when my two nephews were bathing together. Braxton is now 6 and Noah is 3 so, they were both a year younger. Noah announced to Braxton that he was going to bite him in the penis to which Braxton replied, "Noah, there is one thing in life that you never do...You NEVER bite a man's penis" If that isn't some wise advice I don't know what is! I still can't stop laughing about it though. Is that not the funniest thing you've heard?!

Almost Boring

2009-02-15T11:03:00.001-05:00

I went back to the eye doctor on Monday, a friend of mine came and watched EmmaLeigh and Bridger so I didn't have to bring them. It's kind of weird being alone...nice but, weird. My eye has healed on the outside but, the inside still needs to heal so, I still can't focus with my left eye on anything small however, my right eye seems to be compensating pretty well. It probably doesn't help that my eye is still dilated. She only put 1 drop in it two Fridays ago but, for some reason it's still dilated. I was supposed to call on Friday if it wasn't back to normal but, I totally forgot so, I guess I'll call on Monday.
Tuesday was bowling day and things went slightly better. Madelynne was less clingy but, still whiny and a bit rebellious. She was chosen as the line leader but, didn't want to get in line so after several attempts from her teacher, Ms. Pat, to get her to comply she chose a new line leader. Madelynne was very mad and gave her teacher a very mean look as she put her hands on her hips and said sternly, "Ms. Pat, you're making me mad"! Ms. Pat, who was already quite annoyed with her for being naughty said back to her, "No, Madelynne, I am the one that is mad" I was trying to keep a stern face as to enforce what her teacher was saying but, it was a little hard. Oh, my daughter! What am I going to do with her?
On Wednesday I was beginning to think the week was quite boring with no real drama. I was pretty amazed and really enjoying it. Thursday and Friday were early release days. EmmaLeigh had her 4 month checkup on Thursday and I had parent teacher conference with Ms. Pat on Friday. I also had about 10 orders I had to ship by Friday. So, I tried to plan the rest of my week accordingly. On Thursday I was anticipating a quick visit to the pediatrician. Since we didn't have any real issues (other than EmmaLeigh not wanting to eat). I figured we'd get her shots and be out of there. Not the case. The pediatrician is very concerned with the fact that she is choosing not to eat off and on. She now thinks that it may be neurological as well and has ordered a CT of her head next week sometime. She also wrote me a letter that I am to hand deliver to the GI stating a series of test that she wants them to run including swallowing studies and something else that she didn't even want to go into with me. She abbreviated it to E.E. and in parenthesis wrote "call me". She said she didn't want to alarm me yet. OK, totally not alarmed! This is more alarming than if she would have just told me. I am not the freak out type but, it does drive me crazy not knowing things. Anyway, there is concern that her head is shaped funny and her soft spot is a bit sunken in. She told me to only lay her on her right side for the next few weeks and try to see if she will take rice cereal from a spoon but, if she chokes on it at all to stop immediately. So, with my head in a slight spin I left the pediatricians office. I was definitely not expecting to leave a quick check up with the thought that my infant may have brain damage. Hopefully the tests will prove otherwise and we will discover that she is just lazy. Such is life...at least my life that is.
Friday, I had procrastinated my sewing again so this morning started very early. I should add that my night sleep was very small because Madelynne asked me if I would make her a valentine outfit to wear for Friday. I started this venture at about 9pm Thursday evening. Anyway, I sewed like crazy Friday morning from about 7am, trying to be a mom in between party sets, monogramming, boa and whatever else. I finished everything about 30 minutes before Madlynne got home, just enough time to throw on some clothes and feel really good about myself. I packaged all the orders and threw them in the car along with the kids and headed for parent teacher conference. It went well, short and sweet and then we were off to the post office. Feeling pretty accomplished and exhausted and knowing that Greg would not be home for dinner, we went to Chic-fil-a so I could decompress as the kids played. I ran into a couple of other moms that I had met a few weeks ago at McDonald's doing the same thing. It really is nice to make new friends...I'm not sure they will feel the same when they find out that my life is completely crazy thus making me pretty crazy. Time will tell.
Madelynne has had "a little bit of bronchitis" for over a week now and is progressively getting worse. Friday night she woke up at least 3 times in the night gasping for air and needing a drink. I finally went and slept in her room because I was having to get up and attend to her more than the baby. So, on Saturday morning when she had a fever of 102.9 I decided to take her to urgent care. I got Greg to watch Bridger but, he informed me that having to watch the baby as well would push him over the edge. So, I took the baby and Madelynne and spent 3 hours in urgent care. It turns out that Madelynne doesn't have "a little bit of bronchitis"...she has a lot of pneumonia! She's now on the nebulizer (breathing treatments) every 4 hours, a steroid and augmentin twice a day. Needless to say, we did not go to church today which has made my day so enjoyable. Stuffed in the house with Madelynne who is just well enough to drive everyone crazy, Bridger who can't stop provoking her and the baby who has cried more than anything else the last few days. I can't wait for next week to begin. Madelynne is home all week for winter break!
So, 3 doctors appointments this week...pretty average for us, I guess.

Daddy's baby girl

2009-02-15T10:42:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-13T21:25:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentines Day from the Colborn Kids...
Well, mostly happy anyway. Two out of three isn't bad.

I made the girls matching Valentine outfits and debated on making Bridger a matching tie but, ended up just giving him a cookie, a box of conversation hearts and a blow pop. I'm sure I'll regret not giving him the neck tie because he ate the entire blow pop gum and all, sucked on each conversation heart then scattered the sticky hearts descretely around the house and his face and hands are still red from those red sugar crystals on that cookie.

Believe it or not, I made EmmaLeigh's hair bow half the size of Madelynne's but, on her tiny head it looks ginormous and even though Madelynne is wearing 2 hair bows in her hair, somehow EmmaLeigh's one hair bow still appears to look bigger...well, you know me, if big is good bigger is better!

Date Night

2009-02-08T22:58:00.000-05:00

Bridger was really upset that he didn't get to go to the "daddy daughter dance" with Madelynne. Sorry buddy, you'll get to go to the Father son camp out soon but, no daddy daughter dances for you. I am sure he would have fit right in though...I am constantly finding him applying lip gloss and he asks for a bow in his hair every time I do it. Poor kid, he's surrounded by girls!

The Daddy Daughter Dance

2009-02-08T22:42:00.000-05:00

EmmaLeigh and 229

2009-02-07T16:16:00.001-05:00

EmmaLeigh is now as big as "229", one of Madelynne's dolls. Over the summer while Auntie was visiting Madelynne named this doll "229". EmmaLeigh has now graduated from being able to share clothes with the bitty baby.

A little WWF

2009-02-07T16:13:00.000-05:00

Blind, Dead and Numb...

2009-02-07T13:38:00.000-05:00

What a great week it's been. Wednesday at the Doctor, Madelynne's diagnosis was the common cold and a little bit of Bronchitis. I didn't know you could have a little bit of bronchitis. I thought either you had it or you didn't but, what would I know. Needless to say I was extremely relieved when both the strep and urine tests came back normal. Odd especially for us but, I will definitely take the diagnosis. Her urethra is swollen and inflamed which is what is causing the complaints and the head cold is what's causing the bipolar tendancies. So, on with life unassisted by drugs. Halaluja! EmmaLeigh's CBC came back as well and her white count was within normal ranges. This was also great news. It's the first time in 4 months that she hasn't had something wrong with her blood. On the down side. She decided to stop eating again. She only took about 2 oz. of her bottle at the noon feeding and then quit all together...AGAIN... so, after trying off and on for nearly 8 hours I finally couldn't take the screaming and put her feeding tube back in. She's been pretty finiky the last few days taking the bottle some but, mostly not. The GI says to just keep doing what I'm doing which I guess is fine but, I am a tiny bit concerened with why she just decides not to eat when she is clearly starving. Greg thinks it's something neurological because her head is shaped funny. I, suprisingly have no clue what the problem is. I am usually pretty good with self diagnosing...just ask me.
Wednesday night I watched a friends daughter that is about the same age as Madelynne. During dinner I announced that immediately following the meal we were going upstairs to get baths. Madelynne's little friend looked at me and said, "I don't need a bath...actually I didn't get one today so I guess that would be fine" I responded by saying that she didn't have to take a bath, I was really talking to Madelynne and Bridger. Greg then announced that he too would be showering but, in the spare bathroom. Madelynne, resistant to having friends in the tub with her immediately responded by saying that she was taking a shower with daddy. When she was smaller it was not uncommon for her to shower with her dad however, once she could clearly point out certain differences in anatomy the practice came to a screeching halt. I said to Madelynne that she was too big to shower with Greg and then turned to her little friend and asked, "Do you shower with your daddy" She gave me a look of shock to even think such a thing and firmly responded by saying. "No" and then she went on to say, "My daddy doesn't let me take showers with him, but sometimes my mom and dad takes showers together privately" I replied by saying, "That's interesting. I'm sure your mother will be so happy to hear that you are sharing this with us" I then turned to Greg, who would be seeing her mother at the church in just a few minutes, and said, "make sure you let her mother know what you learned about her and her dad at dinner tonight. I'm sure she will be so excited" Trying my hardest not to laugh, I was dying inside just to keep a straight face. It was really funny.
Thursday Morning I told my friend Liz that I would watch her little girl while she went to the dentist. I usually shower early in the morning before Bridger wakes up or while he's napping in the afternoon. On this particular morning, Bridger had gotten up before I had a chance to shower and Liz was coming at nine so I was going to have to take him in the shower with me. I don't dare leave him unattended while I am in the shower, he may try to ride the baby like a horse or climb up the side of her crib and throw toys on top of her or something. After showering I got out and started to dry off. Bridger decided he didn't want to wait so he climbed out of the shower and ran directly over to the baby who was in her bouncy seat in the middle of the bathroom floor. Before I could even catch him, he pushed his hips forward and let loose...peeing a good healthy stream right on to the baby. I immediately screamed, "ahhh, stop!" in a sort of panic and to my surprise he did stop...midstream. He quickly turned to face me, and with a big, two dimpled grin, finished all over my feet. Lucky for me this was the most exciting thing that happened today...other than Bridger giving EmmaLeigh the hymlic while she was being fed through her feeding tube. I guess he thought it was a good idea to put both hands on her stomach, push and do a dokey kick while she was being fed. She immediately projected milk onto him instantly changing his mind. Not a good idea after all.
On to Friday...The real kicker and the reason for the title of this post; Blind, dead and numb... I had a ton of orders that had to ship today and somehow I just couldn't make the time to start them any earlier in the week so, bright and early I got up and began sewing. I was just ironing on the rhinestones to the last party hat when EmmaLeigh started flipping out. So, I picked her up and awkwardly held her on my left hip leaning as far out and away from the iron and ironing board as possible to keep her from being close enough to touch anything. I had just pressed the iron down on the fabric and rhinestones when BAM! Out of nowhere the baby flung her hand straight into my face lacerating my cornea with her razor sharp finger nail. I immediately released the iron...leaving it hot face down on my party hat. Realizing that was a bad idea, I fumbled around blindly, both eyes clenched shut, for the iron and sat it up right. I then stumbled into the toy room to find the nearest seat so I wouldn't drop the baby. I sat down on a miniature chair half laughing and half crying trying to open my eyes and focus. Bridger walks up to me wondering what is wrong and starts pointing at me saying, "mommy kying, mommy kying" to which I laugh harder as tears pour from my left eye. I figured she had just poked me and I would be fine in a few more minutes. This was at 9am. around11 I was still in excrutiating pain. My eye was throbbing and it felt like there was a stick in it not to mention, I couldn't see anything. I called Janet who just happend to be in town and coming over to see if she could help me finish up the orders so they could get in the mail. It was about 2pm when she arrived and when she walked in my left eye was still pouring out tears. She said to me, "don't you think you should call the Doctor?" I actually hadn't even thought of calling. In fact, I don't even have a doctor for myself, other that an Ob/Gyn. I am certain they would not be the ones to call. After telling her this she said, "well let me look in there and see if I can see anything" so she looked in my eye and said, "oh, my gosh there's a huge scratch right down the middle of your cornea" I decided I better call the doctor if for no other reason than to just be assured that doing nothing would be ok. It took about an hour to find an opthamologist that was in network and when I did they said I needed to come straight in. Luckily Madelynne had just gotten home so, I loaded all 3 children in the car and headed out. I got to the edge of the driveway when I realized that this may be a bad idea. I CAN'T SEE...I decided I had no other options so I drove as slowly and carefully as possible all the back roads to the Doctor. Luckily it was only about 3 mi. to the doctor and we made it unharmed, somehow. While waiting at the doctors office the durable medical company called on my cell phone. We are trying to switch catheter companies because our current company is out of network and costs $1298 per month. ( a bit excessive!) I felt that I needed to take the call so I answered and the reception was really bad so I walked over by the door where it got better. Madelynne decided to free Bridger from the stroller while I was distracted and the two of them were running wild. Just as I was hanging up, I could hear the only other person in the waiting room firmly saying to Madelynne, "you sit down". I was very embarrassed that my kids are so crazy as I took them both back to the back of the waiting room, where our stroller was and gave them a non contact beating with my one good eye. Luckily they called us into the room just at that moment. They first had me take an eye test which my right eye passed with flying colors. As I stared at the lines with my left eye, tears pouring out, just trying to focus I could only read the top line "E". Now, I actually couldn't read the top line. I am pretty sure we all know that the top line of the chart is an enormous "E". It really just looked like a big fuzzy black square. Great! I thought, I'm legally blind in my left eye. The doctor then ran a series of test that totally killed my eye and finally announced that I had a huge scratch right down the center of my cornea directly through my line of vision. I'm certain that is exactly what I had told her when she first walked in. She then dialated my eye, gave me eye drops to take home and a prescription for an antibiotic ointment to use until Monday when I have to come back. She said on Monday she'll start me on a steroid and probably put a shield in my eye to wear for a while. I am sure the Doctor was more than ready for us to leave at this point because the entire time she was examining my eye Madelynne was inquiring about her every move...what is that, does it hurt, what are you doing, what do those drops do, why are you doing that, can I see that, does it smell, what does it smell like, can I wash my hands?....We finally left and now with the added aid of my left eye dialated we drove to Walmart where we waited at the pharmacy for an hour and a half for the stupid ointment. We got home at about 6pm. I had planned on making stuffed bell peppers for dinner, before I was stabbed in the eye but, ended up making peanut butter sandwiches which pleased most of the family more than suffed bell peppers anyway.
Typing this post has been quite a chore with my one eye clenched shut just so I can focus. Pardon the typo's as I am sure they are well scattered through out.
So, here's to my life...Blind, Dead, and Numb! To any of you who care to join me, Cheers!

Chair "Steeler"

2009-02-06T20:26:00.000-05:00

I just had to post this picture of EmmaLeigh sitting in Bridger's chair at the kitchen table. Clearly no one is happy about this. Bridger is crying, "my chair, my chair" in the background as EmmaLeigh just cries because no one is holding her. Isn't that the best sad face you've seen all day?!

Seriously, "CRAPPY" Day, be forwarned

2009-02-03T22:51:00.000-05:00

Let me just start off by saying that today has been full of C. R. A. P.! I haven't used that word in several years because one Sunday we were running late as usual and I was trying to hurry and put on my makeup. Madelynne was all dressed and ready to go and playing on the floor right at my feet just as I knocked my loose powder off the counter right on top of her head and her black velvet dress. She was covered from head to toe in flesh colored powder. The only thing you could see were her eyes as she opened them blinking rapidly, trying to figure out what in the world just happened to her. My first statement was, "oh, crap!" That was the last time I ever said that. She just kept repeating over and over with her hands out and fingers spread as if she had just been dunked in sewage, "oh, cap, oh, cap..." Though hillarious, it was then that I realized some words, even though they have never seemed inappropriate coming from my mouth, are not ever appropriate coming from the mouth of my 18 month old. So, I go back now to my original statement that today has been extremely Crappy. It started this morning when I got Madelynne up for school and walked into her room where I was met by the distinct aroma of POOP. What a wonderful thing to wake up to. As soon as I came upstairs from putting Madelynne on the bus, EmmaLeigh was wide eyed and bushy tailed. She was also screaming bloody murder. I made her a bottle and when I returned and picked her up, there was that aroma again...Good Morning! I was fully expecting Bridger to join the club but, as a pleasant surprise he was not poopy. 2 out of 3 is pretty good odds...for something I'm sure.
Anyway, today was Tuesday so, we got to go meet Madelynne for bowling with her school class. When we arrived she was up to bowl for her first time. She set the ball down in front of her and almost pushed it. Somehow it rolled ever so slowly down the lane, skimming the bumpers along the way it finally reached the pins where somehow it knocked two of them down. She then turned around and got mad at everyone for cheering for her. I could see that bowling was going to be a great experience for all. She's been complaining since last night that her bottom hurts. The only thing I can do is sigh, long and loud. I'm not sure what this means anymore. It used to mean that she had a UTI no questions asked however, the last few times she's had this complaint her urine was fine but, she tested positive for strep. Apparently your urethra can become inflamed when you are carrying strep. Interesting I know. I don't recall ever having this symptom however, she has proven the theory to be true on more than several occasions. There is also a direct corrolation between her behavior and her health and she let loose at the bowling alley today. The entire time we were there she cried and whined and sobbed and complained...you name it, she did it. Her teacher asked me what she wanted and I said, I had no clue. I was more interested in what she had. After having the unpleasant experience of having to cath her in the bathroom that reaked of port-o-john and having her cry the entire time that her bottom was hurting, I decided to call the Doctor. I really hate calling the Doctor. You would never guess that by the amount of times that I call but, I do! So, we will be going to the Doctor at 8:15am. That appointment was their gift to me for not being able to work her in today. I am certain that tomorrow morning will be joyous as I get all three of my children ready, out the door and to the doctor by 8:15. It will definitely be a test of my abilities. Too bad tomorrow isn't pajama day. (oh, I forgot to add, right after I cathed Madelynne at the bowling alley and started to feed the baby, she pooped...just another addition to my crap list)
This is totally random but, does anyone have any suggestions of where I am going to change and cath Madelynne when she surpasses the weight limit on the Koala Changing Station?! She already hangs off the end and sometimes I fear that the entire thing is going to send her crashing to the floor. It is really hard to put a diaper on her when she's standing up. Any suggestions?
Today Janet told me that she wished my postings could be expressed more like how I talk...for any of you who don't talk to me let me just give a few discriptive words: scattered, unfocused, pointless (or more point lost)...well, I think her wish is coming true, Janet, this one's for you! :)
While I was driving home I started to smell something engulfing all of the breathable air in the car. Someone had pooped. I have no clue what my kids have eaten today to cause this effect!!! It was EmmaLeigh this time. Not too long after Madelynne came home from school I told her that she really needed to get her enima. She is supposed to have one every day but, lately I haven't been to good about doing them. She absolutely hates them and she screams and cries, "don't hurt me, don't hurt me" and it makes me feel horrible. I know she needs them but, there has to be a better way. We have tried several other methods but, nothing seems to work except the enima. It's a huge bummer but, if she doesn't have it she poops all day long. (tiny, horrible smelling, pellet sized poop) Not too long after fighting Madelynne about her Enima, I smelled it again. Certain that it was Madelynne I started to change her but, she wasn't poopy. Bridger is usually really good at letting me know when he needs his diaper changed. He's a funny kid. He can not stand to be dirty, in any way. He won't even play with play dough. He says "yucky" and then "back". Instructing me to put it back. So, when I asked him if he was poopy and he said, "No", I didn't even physically check him. About ten minutes later I knew the smell was coming from him so I picked him up to change him, swinging him playfully through the air at the same time I hear and feel poop squishing everywhere. Suddenly my arms are all wet and he is dripping sludge onto the carpet. I ran into the kitchen and put him down on the tile floor where I threatened him not to move a muscle. I looked down at myself and I was covered in diarreah. Sick, I know. This story is not for the faint of heart. After washing as best I could in the kitchen sink, I told Madelynne to please bring me the diaper box and I started to remove his clothing. I then discovered that the poop was up his back, down his legs and in his shoes. Madelynne was ever so helpful as she paced back and forth behind me announcing how bad he reaked. I am certain she just learned that word today as it was my description of the bathroom in the bowling alley. It appeared obvious that there was no sense in changing his diaper...he needed to go straight to the bath. So, I grabbed both his feet in one hand and both his hands in the other and ran upstairs where I scrubbed him from head to toe. Madelynne decided that she too wanted to take a bath. After filling fresh water in the tub they both played while I got their pj's and brought them in. When I returned Madelynne was laying on her back in the tub, hair swaying in the water and POOP was floating all around her. AHHHHHHHHHH!!! You can only imagine. All I have to say is I really hope I got it all out of her hair. Let me just end by saying, It is now 4 minutes to midnight and I have only had to change one more poopy diaper since the bath incident. I am hoping that it was the last one of my CRAPPY day!

HERE WE GO STEELERS....

2009-02-01T23:17:00.001-05:00

HERE WE GO!!!

One Handsome Boy!

2009-02-01T23:13:00.000-05:00

2009-02-01T23:10:00.000-05:00

Madelynne holding EmmaLeigh and her "ornament"

The rest of the week in a nut shell

2009-02-01T22:23:00.000-05:00

Bridger cried a few times in the night but, by the time I got to his door he had stopped so I never actually went in. I was pretty sure that the GI was going to be the highlight of my day...until Bridger wandered in around 7:30am. He climbed up on the bed where I was feeding the baby. It was a little dim and I could only see one side of his face but, as he turned I took a double take as I saw dried blood all over the left side of his face and clogged in his ear. Holy Cow!!, I was certain his eardrum had ruptured. He had brought his pillow in to show me that it had blood all over it and it was yucky. As I assesed the situation I thought to myself, "I wonder what they do for a ruptured ear drum" I really hate calling my doctor. They have to think I'm crazy with all the issues I have not to mention they always want me to come straight in! I just don't want to have time for that but, I decided a ruptured eardrum is probably something you should atleast call about. So, I did and of coarse they wanted me to come right in. Since we were about to leave for the GI, I had to tell the Doctor that we couldn't be there til atleast 3:30 or 4pm.
EmmaLeigh hasn't had to use her feeding tube since Saturday so, when I woke up this morning I was hoping that the GI would tell us that she no longer needed it. It was mostly good news at the GI. If she is still feeding well for the next 2 weeks and gaining cosistantly we can return the pump. We will still need to keep the syringes and tubing in case she has a relapse but, we are on a need to use basis. Woohoo! no more feeding tube. One less medical procedure to worry about. They did say that we have to go get her blood work done to check her white count because it was considerably low the last few times they checked her blood and if it's still low we'll need to see a specialist.
We made it home just in time for Madelynne to get off the bus and rush to the pediatrician where Doctor Manning informed me that Bridger's left eardrum had ruptured and his right one had a ton of fluid in it and was about to rupture. Great! So, how do you get an ear infection that is so bad your eardrums rupture while you are on amoxicillin and zithromax?! You got me! Like I said, we are extremely lucky! So, back to the pharmacy for more drugs...
Friday, I decided to take advantage of the fact that EmmaLeigh woke up at 6am and sew an order that had to ship by Monday. I got all the stuff out and whipped a party hat together. I was so proud of myself. I turned the computer on to check if the hat needed to be monogrammed and...hmmm, that's weird, I couldn't find the order. Maybe because I had just made a boy party hat and the one that had to ship by Monday was for a girl! I'm such a retard! I can hardly find time to sew the orders we have let alone ones I've completely fabricated in my sleep. Oh, I hope I get my brain back someday! So, I got the right fabric out and sewed another hat just in time for Keri to show up to go visiting teaching. We got home just before the bus arrived and we all loaded up to go get EmmaLeigh's blood drawn. I was certain that I had the wrong paper work but, the nurse at my pediatricians office assured me it was the correct paper work...followed by, just call if you have a problem. I really didn't want to have a problem, that was my whole purpose in double checking. We arrived at the hospital at 3:10pm. The lab closed at 4:30, so I thought. We waited to register for over an hour and finally got called back to discover that...drum roll...I HAD THE WRONG PAPER WORK!!!! Not to mention the lab actually closed at 4 and it was now 4:10pm! I was so frustrated. The registration lady must have took pitty on me because she called around, got my pediatrician to fax the correct paper work, yelled at them for putting me through un needed stress and got someone to do EmmaLeigh's blood work and assured me it would go out today.
On Saturday Greg decided to spend the day trapping so, I got to enjoy the kids all day by myself. It actually wasn't too bad considering how bad it could have been. On Monday, one of the embroidery disks to my sewing machine quit working. I had no ability to monogram anything that needed block letters...pretty much anything for a boy. Great! So, Janet sent me her disk, she doesn't use the disks because she has the software that allows you to design and download from your computer for your machine. Unfortunately the disk was bent in half when it arrives making it completely useless. Sometimes she can email designs to me but, I have to get a lady in my ward to save them to a disk because you can only open the file if you have the software and the software only works if you have a dongle and the software with the dongle cost around $1000. It hasn't been a problem until now (when my disk broke). So, on Saturday Janet called the husquavarna dealer and found out you can buy software that will allow you to open an emailed design and save it for around $100. The only problem with it was the closest dealer that had the software was in Duluth. About 50 miles away. So, I loaded the kids in the car and off we went. On the way home I felt bad that they had spent so much time in the car so I stopped at the mall to let them play on the big foam playground that's probably germ infested and just waiting for my immune deficiant children to take them home. After totally wearing them out with a little retail therapy on a shoe string budget we headed home in time for bed.
Today wasn't too bad either. No lessons or talks to prepare and I actually walked in just as the meeting started so, I was almost on time. I did have to spend about half the meeting in the hallway because Bridger was screaming "My Daddy, my daddy"! over and over while they were trying to bless a baby. But, atleast everyone was able to go to their classes and only 2 kids pooped today (during church) so, that was sort of a record for us. EmmaLeigh only threw up 4 times and actually slept most of the 3 hours we were there.
The highlight of today is for sure the fact that the Steelers have won the superbowl....and all the kids are asleep! I should take advantage of that fact and follow suite.
Tomorrow starts a whole new week, I can't wait to wake up and fight the fight.

What Else Wednesday

2009-02-01T21:50:00.000-05:00

Wednesday started with another crazy morning of sewing. Luckily it was only 3 orders so, it wasn't too bad. I finished around 10am and thought I could get it to the post office, run to Walmart pick up the zithromax, run to the school and give Madelynne her medicine before running a ton of meaningless errands. On the way to the post office the school called to tell me Madelynne's skin was so broken down on her bottom that she was bleeding. This happens every time she's on an antibiotic. I asked them if the wanted me to come get her but, they just wanted me to bring something stronger to apply on it. I asked if they could just use the cream they had for today and I would send something stronger tomorrow but, they said I needed to bring the prescription cream as soon as I could. So, I rushed in to the post office and dropped my stuff off (as rushed as you can with 2 small children) then ran home to grab the prescription cream from the Doctor. Not wanting to have to go back to the school a second time with the antibiotic, I decided to run to Walmart and get it first. I got to the school at about 1pm but, had to wait outside the nurses office for almost half an hour, waiting for her to approve the prescription medications I was bringing to Madelynne. I finally got the cream and antibiotic to Madelynne at 1:45, 15 minutes before school is over. I stayed the extra 15 minutes deciding to just take Madelynne home with me. As the kids lined up her teacher asked if I would mind waiting she had a favor to ask. She then volunteered me to sew 6 new vests for the class so the children could practice their dexterity and master buttoning. It is a good cause but, when in the world am I going to have time to sew, pro bono?! I asked her when she needed them back and she said whenever. I said, "sometime before you retire"? half laughing but, meaning it.
We ran to Bj's after leaving the school and somehow didn't make it home until dinner time. I suddenly remembered that I had volunteered to watch a friends little girl at 7pm. Not wanting my children to be up all night I decided to put them to bed before she arrived. Bridger had been acting crazy all day but, I just chalked it up to him missing his nap. He curled himself up on the floor in my bathroom and whimpered refusing to get in the tub. Then once in the tub he refused to get out. I rocked him for a few minutes and he was out like a light so I put him in bed. Madelynne had overheared that Petra was coming over and so she didn't want to go to bed. Somehow I got her to bed promising to let Petra come say Hi when she arrived. Just as I got Madelynne down Bridger woke up hysterical. I went in to consol him and found him wallering in a pool of puke. LOVELY!!!! So, I cleaned and bathed him, changed his sheets and put him back to sleep. Then Petra showed up. Luckily Madelynne was asleep by then. About 15 minutes later Bridger was crying again so I brought him down stairs so he would wake up Madelynne. Petra is the same age as Madelynne and is trying to potty train. She insisted that she didn't have to pee as she danced around on one foot and then the other. I noticed a couple wet spots on the floor and decided I better check her. Yep, she was right, she didn't have to pee because she had already gone. I took her to the bathroom and had her change into her pj's and a pull up. Her mother told me later that she waits until she has her pull up on to poop. Good to know! however, I had already found that out. I told her not to worry or feel bad, I am the queen of poop here. With 3 in diapers I have changed enough poopy diapers to have a degree in it! Petra left around 9:30pm and Bridger finally went down around 10pm. I decided to try to get in bed since we had a long trip into Atlanta for the GI in the morning. Ahhhh, bed...........

Tuesdays Trauma

2009-02-01T21:15:00.000-05:00

Every Tuesday for the month of January Madelynne's class went roller skating. I meant to take my camera for the last day but, after the completely unexpected morning I had, you can understand how I forgot it.
Madelynne was actually quite pleasant this morning as I got her ready for school. Until we headed down the driveway when she started screaming hysterically that she couldn't go to school because her stomach and her throat still hurt and she needed to go to the Dr. I of coarse sent her to school anyway. I headed back inside and started to get ready, slowly, for the day. After showering and getting dressed, Bridger wandered in just as I started to brush my teeth. Hmmmm, that's weird, my sink is clogged in my bathroom. I thought maybe if I just took the plunger out I would see the problem. Not the case! So, I cleared everything out from under the sink and brought in a bucket and begin to dismantle the pipes. It was the most putrid smell imaginable as the water poured into the bucket from the clogged pipes. I fished for atleast 45 minutes clearing hair, sludge and construction crud from what I could reach in the pipes. Feeling as if I needed a second shower I rushed to get dressed and make it to the skating rink in time to cath Madelynne by 10:30am. I called the Pediatrician on the way (of coarse having to leave a message) to let them know that Madelynne was still complaining of the same symptoms after being on Amoxicillin for 6 days and to please call me. I arrived at 10:33 and missed all the games and contest they were having for the last day. She was quite disappointed that I missed the hokey pokey, as was Bridger. The teacher was just releaved that I made it in time to cath her. I did get to see her receive her medal for being a great roller skater. After putting it on she turned to me and asked, "mommy, why did they give us ornaments? I should put this on the Christmas tree" I just laughed as I tried to explain to her that it's called a medal and you wear it like a necklace. Somehow with all the noise of the roller rink I missed the pediatricians call. They decided to change Madelynne and Bridger both to Zithromax and said they would call it in to the pharmacy for me. Great!, I didn't have to go in to the Doctor. I was counting my lucky stars hoping this would be the week I didn't have to go to the Dr. I've been waiting a long time for this.
The Doctors office called at 5:45pm to let me know that they had just called in the prescriptions. Not wanting to embark on another adventure, I decided to get the medication first thing in the morning and drive it over to the school to give to Madelynne.
Just before heading for bed I checked the computer for any last minute orders. To my delight there were 3 orders that had to be shipped first thing Wednesday and overnighted to make it before the weekend. So, once the kids were in bed I got my orders together and ready to sew for the morning. Exhausted, I crawled into bed around 1:30am after feeding the baby and giving her her Nexium. I noticed there were a few messages on the phone and thought I better listen to them before I fall asleep. One was reminding me of EmmaLeigh's GI appointment Thursday at 12:15pm. I guess this won't be my week of no Doctors....maybe next week.

Sew, Sew Crazy

2009-02-01T20:22:00.000-05:00

So, I went to bed Sunday night dreaming of all the orders that had to ship by 5pm on Monday. Lets see if I can remember....at least 23 items...a whole lot to say the least. I got up at my usual 6:15am and scurried around getting Madelynne ready for school. She was quite uncooperative, big surprise! She was again complaining of a tummy ache, which I made note of somewhere in the back of my mind...way behind all the orders I was about to embark on. As soon as she was loaded on the bus, I waved good bye and went to work. Scurrying around in my pajamas I sewed like a mad woman. Bridger came wandering down around 8am, I continued sewing and packaging orders in between breakfast and Thomas the Train requests, oh and don't forget the baby who was actually pretty content to sit in her swing and watch me run in circles like a chicken with my head cut off. Suddenly at 10am the doorbell rang...Who in the world was visiting me at 10am on a Monday morning. I almost didn't answer the door but, decided I better. I opened it just enough to see that it was the Speech Therapist. Oh, ya, I totally forgot about Speech. Bridger is speech delayed and has speech every Monday at 10am. I, very embarrassed, let her in to the absolute disaster of mass chaos encompassing my entire downstairs. There was the ironing board and the iron, fabric, thread, sewing machine, boxes, shipping labels, tissue paper...ok, you get the picture. Not to mention the crazy mess that Bridger had made as I paid little to no attention to the fact that he unloaded every toy we own onto the carpet. There was seriously no where to even have speech. Somehow she shoveled a small space in the living room down to the carpet. I told her I was really sorry but, I totally forgot. After Speech I put Bridger down for his nap and finished up all the orders just as Madelynne got home. She and Bridger helped me put all the boxes in the car and we rushed off to the post office. Having several errands to run, I tried to put them in some sort of order to make my life as easy as possible. I had to go drop something off at the Gynocologists which is right downstairs from my Pediatrician. Great, I thought. I'll just run up and get the Dr.'s note that I forgot last week when she missed school for Strep. So, being the totally organized and fully functional person that I am, I ran unloaded the kids and strapped the 2 youngest into the stroller. Madelynne is ever so helpful everywhere we go. She wants to open and hold every door but, if someone tries to help her she has a total melt down. You can only imagine how pleasant and quick this makes every voyage. So, I rush in to the Gynochologist and rush out, load all the kids back into the car and speed for the post office...4:15pm...pleanty of time...oh shoot I forgot to get the Dr.'s note from the pediatrician. I arrive at the post office and put the baby in the stroller. I load the rest of the stroller with boxes and try to herd the other 2, unconstrained children, who are also carrying boxes, into the post office. Of coarse there is a line of about 10 people so I wait, trying to parent, calmley as my children run circles around everyone in line. I finally get to the counter and hand over all my pre paid packages. I then purchase the postage for the one package going to England and rush out to hopefully make it to the bank and back to the pediatrician before 5pm. I get all the kids back into their carseats and the stroller back into the car and start to drive away when I look down and notice my "unstamped" utility bill that has to be mailed today or it will be late. I totally forgot to bring it in and buy the stamp so I could mail it. Ahhhh!!! I rush to the bank and finish just in time to make it to the pediatrician at 4:55pm. I unload the kids, throw them in the stroller and rush in, dragging Madelynne past every door where she refuses to move because someone else is holding it open. I'm certain people are starring me down wondering why that mother is being so horrible to the poor handicapped child. Little do they know what that poor handicapped child is capable of both physically and mentally. I finally get the Dr's note feeling quite exhausted and successful all in the same breath. I load the kids in the car one last time and head for home so elated that bedtime is right around the corner.