Just Stuff...

Last night I discovered a whole new PAIN IN THE ASS.

Little M2 and I went to get him Easter Shoes after dinner. It was such a nice evening I had the windows down and the moon roof open. We stopped at a stop light and the car next to us had their windows down too. And the were smoking. CRAP! Cigarette smoke floats into my car, which means into M2's face and trach. CRAP!

Obviously he's not supposed to be around cigarette smoke, b/c his trach is basically an open hole into his lungs. For the most part that is pretty easy, we don't smoke, none of our friends and family smoke, and Ohio is smoke free in public places, ie restaurants, the zoo etc. But smoking in your personal car is fine. So I guess we aren't going to be able to drive with our windows down when he's in the car?!? Just can't take that chance.

We did get him Easter Shoes, by the way. Little black loafers. HOW CUTE!! He walked around the store in them. He had sweatpants on, so he looked kinda funny. HA. I can't wait to see both boys in their suits and black loafers.
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This morning at Starbucks I saw a high school boy pull up and park, he was driving a mini van. I had to laugh at myself. I'm sure it was probably his mom's. I am SO going to buy a mini van just to make the M's drive it. HAHAHAHA, I bet they'll get all the chicks that way. HAHAHAHA
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The lady in front if me at Starbucks this morning bought a juice box for her kid. How much did THAT cost?? Seriously.

Not Me Monday

It's that time again! Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama... This one, in honor of Stellan....


I HAVE NOT 'sat' on and refreshed MckMama's page constantly in the last week.


I HAVE NOT hoped for, thought of and prayed for baby Stellan a million times in the last week.


My heart DOES NOT hurt for baby Stellan and his family.


I HAVE NOT followed MckMama on Twitter, and am constantly waiting for her updates. Nope not me....

No More Monkey's Jumping On The Bed...

This is what happens to little boys who jump on the bed....

Eeeeewwwww, nasty huh?

M1 had been exceptionally bad and full of attitude for most of the day, Poor Mamaw was about at her wits end with him. As I have mentioned before he's been a ball of attitude lately. As you can imagine when bedtime approached the attitude didn't get any better. Hubby tried to get his pj's on him to put him to bed and M1 ran under the bed and wouldn't come out. He's been doing that a lot lately. So Hubby told him it was bed time and if he wasn't going to come out then he could sleep in his clothes, and left his room. Hubby said a few minutes later he heard a 'crash' and crying, when he went back in M1's room he was sitting on his bed, crying and holding his face and blood was everywhere.

I was downstairs cleaning up the kitchen and doing dishes from dinner, I heard M1 crying but I figured he was screaming b/c he was put to bed, that happens a lot these days.

Hubby came screaming and running down to the kitchen carrying M1, blood was everywhere. I started cleaning him up so we could figure out what was bleeding. Turns out his bottom 2 teeth went through his upper lip. After several attempts to figure out what happened we think that he was jumping on his bed and fell and hit the bottom of his chin on his head board.

Hubby called Mamaw and she thought we should take him to the ER. So Mamaw had to come over to sit with M2 so we could take him, he wanted us to both go. Since M2 has a trach only Hubby, Mamaw and myself can be alone with him. He was already a sleep but we can't take the chance of a friend or neighbor being with him and something happening and them not know what to do.

So off to Children's we went!! We couldn't get his lip to stop bleeding. When we got there the girl at the desk took one look at him and paged a nurse to come right up for a lip injury. We were taken back immediately, before they even took any of our information. The nurse we had was FABULOUS and the Dr was really nice to. M1 was so good and brave at the hospital, he just sat on my lap while they worked on him. I was really surprised and proud at how good he was there. They fixed him up and sent him on his way, with a popsicle of course.

His whole face is swollen and bruised today. I feel bad for him. He's pretty upset that his lip won't 'melt' (swelling to go down). I though that was a good term to use.

Hopefully he learned his lesson that you don't jump on the bed, or hide when your Daddy is trying to put your pjs on you!

Monkey Poop

So I've been finding this white fuzzy stuff everywhere for about a week...

On the living room rug...

On the kitchen floor...

In the dining room...

So I begin to realize something is going on and call M1 in....

Me: M1, have you seen this white fuzzy stuff?

M1: Sure have.

Me: Do you know what it is?

M1: Sure do.

Me: What is it?

M1: Poop.

Me: Poop?, what do you mean it's poop?

M1: That little brown monkey keeps pooping.

Me: What? I don't know what you are talking about.

M1: That little brown monkey, that Mamaw got me, keeps pooping.

Me: Go get him buddy, let me see him...

Well doesn't that just explain EVERYTHING!!!

After a 5 min. rectal surgery that little brown monkey, otherwise known as Curious George was good as new.

Wordless Wednesday

He's ONE!!!

Friday was ALL ABOUT M2. We PARTIED!! Actually we kinda celebrated all weekend!

M2 was on a good nap schedule on Friday and slept until 5:45. His party started at 6, so we was up, dressed and happy by 6. Cute little devil partied until 10. His bed time is usually around 7:30 or 8. He just can't stay up much past that!

We had pizza, salad and pasta for dinner, it was so good. I don't think M2 has ever had pizza, but he loved it, he ate a whole piece.

He also REALLY enjoyed his cake....
This is the Owl Quilt that I made him, I really like the way it turned out...

Our neighbors from our old house even came to M2's party. We have really missed them since we moved. Scarlett is the original owner to the house right next door to our old house. She was always so good to us. Hubby mowed her grass and I always planted her flowers in the spring. She is in her 70's. She LOVES the boys. She has only seen M2 a couple times since he was born after we moved but she always sends them stuff and calls to check on them. She always came over to visit M1, she was so upset when we moved, but we COULDN'T stay there...Anyway, we were so happy to see them, she brought M2 this bunny, he loved it. He's still carrying it around...

Mamaw and Papaw got him this cute little car...

Here's the BIRTHDAY BOY in his NEW PJ's, he stayed up and played a while after everyone left. He's carrying his new cell phone, Mamaw and Papaw got him to go with his new car.

Doesn't that little face just make you smile??

We all had such a good weekend. It was so much better than this weekend last year was.

Hubby's parents even kept their usual drama filled rants and rude comments to a minimum, at least for them. But come to think of it, I'm not even sure they spoke to me. HA!

Saturday evening we took the M's to see a puppy. I want to get one for M2, he is just so loveable and cuddly I want him to grow up with a puppy to have as his best friend. M1 could really care less about a puppy but I really think M2 would love it. The one we took him to see he grabbed and gave it a bear hug. I think we have decided on a breed, now it's just finding one with a good fit for us.

Sunday we went and bought him a new car seat so he can now be forward facing like the rest of us!!

M2 goes to the Pediatrician tomorrow for his one year check so I will have all his stats tomorrow, but I expect them to go like this:

Weight: Chubby

Height: Short

We haven't seen our Pediatrician since we went to Cincinnati so I'm excited to tell her the Good News as well. She knew we were going but didn't know when.

Then and Now....

One year ago today, I was able to hold this precious little soul for about 5 minutes before he was whisked away. I CHERISH this picture. I love this little boy with all of my heart and soul. He is just perfect. He is the happiest baby I have ever had the pleasure to be around. One look at him and your day can take a turn for the better.

He was loaded up for transport to Children's Hospital pretty quickly after he was born ...it's about a 25-30 min drive from his birth hospital...The first time Hubby got to hold him was at Children's... I hate that. I think that is something I will never get over, Hubby didn't get to hold his son until he was almost 12 hours old. Stuff like that eats at my heart. M2's nurse at Children's took this picture. I was still at the birth hospital, I hate that I missed this....

Did you know I am the only one he will hug? Yep, he will let anyone hold him, but he only hugs me. Man I love that kid..

M1 getting to see his brother for the first time at Children's. M2 is 2 days old in this picture, that's my Dad's hand in the background, he kept M1 for us so for a couple of days by himself, so that my Mom could be at the hospital with Hubby and I. They are both such great, and supportive parents, we don't know what we would have done without them this past year.

Look at M1 listening so intently. I think my Dad is telling him that M2 was going to be at the hospital for a little while. Look at that little hand on M2, I think they already love each other...

Happy Birthday Little Sweetie, I hope you enjoy your day, you deserve it!

Sneak Peek

So M2's Birthday Party is tomorrow (sniffle, sniffle). It's been such a trying year I get teary eyed just thinking of everything that poor baby has been through. But there is an end in sight, and tomorrow WE CELEBRATE!!!! So I thought I would give you a little sneak peek!

I just made this wreath last night...Can you tell what it's made from???

M2's bedroom is 'Rocket Baby', so this 'theme' kinda ties into that.

Some paper floofs for decoration....An almost, but not, quite finished quilt... (it WILL be finished)

And a throw back to MY childhood....

That's it for now, please think of me tomorrow as I am BAWLING my way through my BABY's Birthday!!! (and let's HOPE that the In Laws, keep the drama to a minimum!!))

Wordless Wednesday

St Pat's

Happy St Pat's day. I know I'm a little late in the day posting. This past week has just been crazy, and with the upcoming PARTY for M2, this may be my last post till next week. So much to do, so little time.....

Anywho, on with St Pat.'s:

A CRAZY leprechaun showed up at our house over night...

He tracked through our foyer...

And into our kitchen...

And turned our milk GREEN...

He even left a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow....

I know, it's a SAD rainbow, but keep in mind the leprechaun is dealing with a 3 year old....so it was GREAT!

1996

Melissa had this survey on her blog. Looks fun, and I'm all about playing along!!

Fill this out about your SENIOR year of High School! IN YOUR SENIOR YEAR DID YOU...

1. Did you date someone from your school? The first have of senior year,I dated a football player. We dated for about 2 1/2 years total. I dated a soccer play that was a freshman at the local college the second half of senior year. I thought I was soooo cool, dating a college guy and all. And man was he gorgeous!

2. Did you marry someone from your high school? No, but I think everyone though the football player and I were going to get married.

3. Did you car pool to school? Not really

4. What kind of car did you have? Grey Chevy Cavalier

5. What kind of car do you have now? Black Buick Rendezvous. But I hate to say it, I think it's getting traded in for a mini van.

6. Its Friday night...where are you now? In the summer, on the back patio having drinks, in the winter, the craft room, having drinks. hummmm...

7. It is Friday night...where were you then? Football Games, where else?!?!?

8. What kind of job did you have in high school? I worked in the grill at McDonald's.

9. What kind of job do you do now? I am in Sales and Marketing.

10. Were you a party animal? Not in high school, but nobody at my school really was.

11. Were you considered a flirt? I don't think so, I had the same BF for a while.

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? I was in concert band. I played the clarinet, bass clarinet and french horn, and I loved it. I even had a music scholarship to college.

13. Were you a nerd? I don't think so, I dated a football player, remember?

14. Did you get suspended or expelled? I got suspended once.

15. Can you sing the fight song? Nope

16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)? I don't think I had a favorite teacher Senior year, but Mrs Skinner was my favorite teacher. She was the science teacher in 9th and 10th grade. I LOVED HER CLASS!!

17. Where did you sit during lunch? I didn't go to lunch that often, I was anorexic in high school. When I did go I sat with my BF and his friends.

18. What was your school’s full name? PHS

19. When did you graduate? 1996

20. What was your school mascot? An Electric Bolt

21. If you could go back and do it again, would you? I would. But I would do a lot of things differently.

22. Did you have fun at the prom? Time of my life! Even though we were no longer dating I went with the football player.

23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? Every once in a while I'll get an email from him.

24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? I don't know, I went to my 10 year, I didn't want to go at first, but it was a lot of fun, I'm glad I went.

25. Do you still talk to people from school? Nope

26. School Colors? Blue and Gold

27. What celebrities came from your high school? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Nothing

I don't really have anything good today. I'm in a bad mood, I have headache and a cold that just won't go away, and I'm tired. And the 70 degree (ok, 67 degree) temperature that we had on Saturday is now back to 30 degrees. Lovely.

I went to the Dr. for the cold on Monday, apparently it's a virus, the Dr gave me an RX that has codeine in it. Codeine makes me tired (read: pass out cold) so I can only take it bedtime, which I'm sure isn't often enough to make a difference.

M1 has been having behavioral issues A LOT lately, terrible two's my ass. It's the three's that are killing us. He was so terrible at church last night I was embarrassed of him. Hubby took him out twice and I took him out once and it just didn't seem to matter. I swear he was acting up at church b/c he knew there was nothing I could do about it. When we got home and he went to bed he screamed and carried on that he didn't want to go to bed for at least 2 hours. It was a delightful evening.

This morning after I told him to go downstairs so he didn't wake up M2 he walked in M2's room and screamed. So of course M2 got woke up. I don't know what is going on with him lately but he is getting the best of me. Of course Mamaw keeps baby-ing him so I don't think that's helping the situation either.

HHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH Ok I feel a little better after that scream!

On a brighter note I bought this: (**Since everyone has been asking- The top is from Old Navy!)and this: (from funkyvintagekitchen)yesterday and I fully intend on wearing them together. Now I just need to find some F.U.N. shoes to go with it! They make me think of SPRING!

Ok, still in a bad mood but I feel a little better... Oh, look its almost lunch time!

Wordless Wednesday

HAHAHAHAHAHA - Yes, Wooden Shoes, they are from Holland.

***Please stop by http://eat-in-pack-up.blogspot.com/ today. Tiffany is trying to raise money for the Global Food Crisis, and all you have to do is leave a comment on her blog to help!!

The best Dessert EVER is served....

Seriously, Hubby said this was the best dessert he’s ever had. It is soooooo good, and it’s not ‘heavy’. It didn’t even last for 24 hrs in our house. I took it out of the oven at about 8:30pm on Sat and it was gone by 5pm on Sunday!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mallow Bars butter

1 pkg (2 layer size) devil’s food cake mix
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2/3 cup creamy peanut
1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme
½ cup salted peanuts
6 sq Baker’s Semi Sweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped

~Heat oven to 350 degrees, mix dry cake mix, butter and 1/3 cup milk until blended; press 2/3 onto bottom of 9x13 in pan (I sprayed pan with Pam first). Bake 12-14 min or until center is almost set; cool 2 mins

~Mix peanut butter and remaining milk; spread onto crust. Top with spoonfuls of marshmallow creme and remaining cake mixture. Sprinkle with peanuts and chocolate, press gently into cake mixture.

~Bake 18 min or just until center is set. Cool before cutting into bars.
ENJOY!!

Not Me Monday...

It's that time again! Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama...

I DID NOT have to get up at 3:30am to take M2 to his Second Opinion last week, and then fall asleep on the car ride down to leave Hubby driving by himself.

The Easter Bunny at our house HAS NOT started shopping for the Easter Basket gifts.

I DID NOT waste time at work on Friday morning waiting for Air Force One to land.

I DID NOT spend the ENTIRE 70 degrees Saturday outside with BOTH boys wearing shorts. I would never put my boys in shorts in March in Ohio!

I DID NOT have chips and dip and Chocolate Moose Tracks ice cream for lunch last week.

I DID NOT put too small diapers on M2 and he DID NOT in turn go through 6 outfits in one day. I would never do that to him, he always has the right size diapers.

I DID NOT by two canisters of Baby Formula and then tell M2 when they are gone he can only have cow's milk.

I AM NOT counting down the days until M2 no longer has to ride in an infant carrier meaning I no longer have to lug that heavy thing around.

Air Force One

I'm not getting political or anything but I wanted to share these pictures. My office is in the flight path of Port Columbus, and on any given day that is pretty cool, we can see the pilots in the planes as they are coming in for a landing, we are that close. If M1 is here all I have to do is give him a snack and sit him in front of a window, he'll watch the planes for hours.

On days like today every one is watching the clocks and the windows a little more closely than usual. Every one likes to watch on days like this. The President just landed here in Cbus, if you've never seen Air Force One let me just tell you, it is the BIGGEST FREAKIN' PLANE I've ever seen. We didn't see the 'escort planes' that usually come first, just had a helicopter checking the wind. But it's still a sight to see.

Faithful readers, I give you Air Force One coming in for a landing....

The black in the last shot is the awning for our office building...

These photos are in no way meant to over shadow the killer dinner recipe in the previous post!! HAHAHA

Dinner is served....

This is not a cooking blog by any means. I can cook. I make dinner every night. I also make a lot of different kinds of desserts. I really like to cook and to make/try new dinners. I will try to make (almost) anything at least once.

I write out dinner menus for every week usually 2 or 3 weeks at a time. Then I make my grocery list from that. I just don't have time to go to the grocery every week, so by making our dinner menus so far in advance I can go to the grocery every 2-3 weeks. It saves a lot of time this way.

So anyway my point is I have a great and easy dinner recipe to share with you.

Rotitni w/ Marinara
12 oz rotini pasta
1 bag of broccoli florets (I used fresh broccoli)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 med carrots, sliced thin
1 small onion
1 large red pepper
2 cups marinara sauce
3 oz pepperoni
Parmesan cheese

~Cook pasta as directed, adding broccoli for about 5 mins.
~In a deep 12 in skillet heat oil, add carrots, onion and pepper, cook until tender. Sir in marinara sauce and pepperoni; cook 2 minutes to heat.
~Drain pasta and broccoli, stir into skillet with marinara mixture.
~Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

I made salad and garlic bread to serve with it. It turned out really great and was easy to make. We took this in our lunch the next day, and had as a cold salad with sandwiches the next night!

Second Opinions

Second Opinions Rock!! M2 had his Bronch and DL with Dr Cotton, ENT Cincinnati today. Although his vocal cords are still paralyzed he has given us hope!! I know I still haven’t told his NICU story, but you can read his birth story here. He was born with Bi Lateral Vocal Cord Paralyzation. Which basically means both his vocal cords are paralyzed in the closed position, making his airway very small and unstable. Apparently newborns usually have an airway that is 8 mm wide, his was 1mm.

The ENT Drs and the Neonatal Drs told us he would never be able to breathe on his own, and he did. Then they told us he would never be able to keep his oxygen stats up without oxygen, and he did. Then they told us he probably won’t be able to eat orally. And he can. So they put him in a wait and see mode and said sometimes the vocal cords are paralyzed during birth and he might gain movement in them. So we waited for 5 weeks, and they never moved. We were told we couldn’t take him home with out a trach. So he got a trach and came home. The trach isn't that big of a deal comparatively speaking but, he can't be left alone, he can't be left with anyone other than, me, Hubby, my mom, or an RN. That means no Sunday School, Preschool, or School unless we are in the same room with him. He can't swim, play in the sand, or play any kind of sports, and no rough-houseing. He can't be around aerosol or dust. He basically has an open hole into his lungs so we have to be really careful with sickness, germs and anything else in the air, (ie dirt, grass, smoke etc). RSV could easliy kill him, he has been getting the RSV shots.

Oh yea, and he can't make noise. Seriously, no noise, no crying, no laughing, no talking. No Noise. Since he has a trach the air that would come out of his mouth making him able to talk comes out his trach. No air in his upper airway means no noise. Have you ever seen a baby that can't cry? I mean I know at some point we have all wished for silence when a baby is crying, but believe me, it's not really as good as it sounds. It's kinda weird.

His ENT DR in Cbus said there was nothing we could do other than wait to see if his cords would start moving. He said he will check every 6 months and when they move he will get his trach out. If they don’t move, he will always have a trach. No other options. That wasn’t good enough for us, so we did our research and that landed us in Cincinnati with Dr Cotton. We have heard some of his miracle stories. We even know a Dr Cotton ‘graduate’, and those of you who follow Kayleigh’s blog may remember where her ENT Dr consulted Dr Cotton before she got her trach. So needless to say we were ecstatic when we got the call to come see him. We were even more ecstatic after the Bronch and DL when he told us there is a surgery that can be performed to help M2. It won’t actually ‘fix’ his vocal cords but it will let him lead a ‘normal’ life without his trach!!! WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!! I can't stop smiling, or crying. This has been one of the best days we’ve had in the last 11 months.

M2 has to go back in 4 months for the same procedure that he had today, Bronch and DL, if there are no changes to his vocal cords Dr Cotton is going to basically cut one of his vocal cords and reattach it to the side of M2’s throat. That way he will have a stable and larger airway and can get his trach out!!! Dr. Cotton said he will be giving up part of his voice, but he doesn’t really have a voice with his trach anyway. He told us 'He will never be an Opera Singer or a Marathon Runner, but he will be able to talk and play soccer' He can't do any of that now. Dr Cotton said he will have about 80% of a voice. I'm good with that!! We have a friend who has a preemie who is now 16, she can't yell, because she was intubated for so long, but she can talk, and has a normal life. I just can't wait for this surgery. There is finally an end in site.

The Lord sure has tested us this past year, I think we are all stronger because of it, but we are ready to close the books on the trach and move on!!

We are all just sooooo happy, relieved and excited.

Wordless Wednesday (Almost)

West Virginia Seafood Dinner-I got this in an email and had to share!!




Now that is funny, I don't care who you are. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA