What a day...

..what an incredible day...one for the record books!

This day, Thursday December 16, 2010 began at about 4:30 for me.  This was the day that Brendan was to have his second set of ear tubes put in, and his adenoids taken out.  His surgery was scheduled at 7am, which meant that we had to be there by 6am, and the hospital is about an hour away, so it was a very early morning!  Luckily my parents were out visiting, so they were going to take care of getting Rory to school and keeping Jack entertained....that's a BIG job!

I woke Brendan up, well I wouldn't really say I woke him up, as much as I picked him up from his bed.  This child was not at all interested in what was coming his way, and he was going to be less than thrilled that there was no breakfast involved either!  We did a quick diaper change, got his jacket in, strapped in the car seat, and off we went!

We arrived right on time, when does that ever happen??  We did all the check in that we needed to, and then were called back to the pre op area.  They were nice enough to let Brendan stay in his feety pajamas...and doesn't he look nice and comfy..

I was really hoping that this surgery was going to go as well as it did when he had his first set of tubes in 2 years ago, but I was preparing myself for the fact that it might not.

After all the pre-op work was done and all the questions were answered, we made that walk once again. I know that it was just a set of ear tubes and the removal of adenoids, not even close to hear surgery, but I still hate the walk.  It's the walk to the operating room doors, where I have to kiss him goodbye and hand him over.  It still makes my stomach drop....

About 30 minutes later, Dr. Christensen came out to the waiting room to talk to me.  With a very reassuring smile on his face he told me that everything went well, but there were a few surprises...uh oh. First of all, one of Brendan's ear drums had burst from his last ear infection and it had failed to heal, and it didn't appear that it was going to heal, but that was a good thing in Brendan's case..no need for a tube there.  In the other ear, the tube went in just fine, but it turned out that he had a severe ear infection in that ear.  Nice, nothing like that news to make you feel like a horrible mother!  He also said that his adenoids were really swollen so it was a good thing that they came out!

I was able to go back and be with him about 20 minutes after the surgery, and he was one very unhappy kiddo.  I just held and rocked him and tried to make him feel better, but it just didn't seem to be working, until one of the nurses brought out a TV and put in a Dora video.  The tears stopped almost immediately!  tell me that Dora isn't magic!

About one hour after that we were on our way home...and what a surprise would be coming to our door later!

God gives you an extra chromosome....

...and he takes away 2 teeth??  That's right...well at least in Brendan's case!

I took the kids to the dentist for the regular 6 month check up, that alone was exciting!  Let me just tell you how much I love the kids dentist and how much I'm going to miss them when we finally have to move!  First, the office staff is awesome, they are always so nice even if all they heard were your kids screaming!  Also, they have the coolest waiting area, there are toys for the little kids, and video games for the bigger kids!  Then when it's finally time to get into the chair, there is a TV in the ceiling, they let you watch what you want, and they give the kids sunglasses and ear phones!  No wonder why Rory does a song a dance whenever I tell her we are going there!

Anyway, back to the teeth!  One of the many treasures of down syndrome is that it does funny things to your teeth!  A lot of kids with down syndrome may get their teeth really late, and one reason is because they might have really thick gums which makes it harder for the teeth the break through...let me introduce you to Brendan!  Brendan's first tooth finally broke through while I was in the hospital after having Jack, so that would mean that Brendan was 14 1/2 months old.  I realize that's not terribly late, but it's still late.  Then when his teeth finally started coming in, it was in a very irregular pattern, not your typical 2 front bottom teeth, then 2 front top teeth, his were all over!  The good news was that they were coming in, and the pattern didn't really matter.  Until our recent visit....

Dr. Kittle took an x-ray of Brendan since his 2 incisor teeth on the bottom still had not come in and he didn't feel them coming in either.  Let me tell you, the taking of the x-ray was a scream to behold!  Brendan even made Jack cry because Jack was so worried that Brendan was crying!  It was done and over in 20 seconds...and there was the picture....

Okay, so that's not the x-ray, but you can kind of see where he is missing at least one of the teeth..and with good reason, it's just not there!  No baby teeth to come in, and no permanent teeth that Dr. Kittle could see either.  I was slightly panicked until he said "All this means is that he'll have more room on the bottom and his orthodontic bill won't be too bad!"  Gotta love a that little dose of humor!!

Rory and Jack did fairly well, Jack was a typical 2 year old, didn't want to be held down and didn't want someone looking in his mouth without leaving any food behind!  Rory was ready to go all by herself into her chair while I was with the boys during their visit with Dr. Kittle in a room in the back, but don't worry it had glass doors and I could still see Rory out in her chair! 

I love that the kids all got two thumbs up on the brushing and we are good to go for another 6 months!!

Thanksgiving....The Recap..

Our Thanksgiving morning started at 5:45, courtesy of Jack's wake up, 15 minutes earlier than usual.  The clock had started and so had we!  I had finished the pumpkin pie, the butterhorns and the apple pie on Wednesday night, and I still have no idea how I got all that done!  I started making the stuffing at 6am while Jack was very interested in some show on Disney with a lamb..

Wednesday morning I had decided that it would be fun to invite our neighbors overs to watch the Macy's parade and to play parade Bingo!  I know, it's a little odd, but it's fun to have the kids run around and have fun and tucker themselves out a little bit!  9am, the parade starts, the neighbors arrive, and the Bingo has started!  They were all so cute with their cards and crayons...watching intently, and then running around when the commercials came on! 

After parade Bingo, Rory was invited over to play at the neighbors and Brendan and Jack went in for a nap!  Quiet house, turkey was in the over, table was already set...what is a girl to do!  Well, the time went very quickly, 2pm arrived, our neighbors (who do have names by the way, Molly & Ryan  and their children Audrey and Ben!) arrived, Jack was up, Brendan was waking up, the Turkey was out and resting, the gravy was thickening, stuffing and sweet potatoes were warming in the oven...this is good!  Time to sit down, say grace and eat our meal!

The kids were so good, they ate, well not that much, but Brendan and Jack sure did clean up and went back for seconds!  Rory just kept asking, "Can I have dessert now?"  That girl knows the best part of Thanksgiving!  Finally it was time for dessert, the table had been cleared, the dishes almost all done, so that meant it was time to bust out the pies!  Apple Pie, Pumkpin Pie, Cranberry Pecan pie, cookies, ice cream and whip cream!  I won't tell you how much they ate for dessert, but you can guess!

All in all, it was a wonderful day, especially since we were able to Skype with Bryan in the morning, after he had had his Turkey dinner!  We missed him being here, and he missed being here, but we look forward to doing it all again once he gets home for leave!

Out of the mouth of babes...

On this day to give thanks, I have to give thanks to my dear Rory for the quote of the day.  "Mama, I love Thanksgiving, it's a day when God tells us how thankful he is for what we do."  I said "I think it's the other way around"  Rory, "That's what I said."

You know, I think she may have something there.  Maybe it isn't just about giving God and others our Thanks for what they have done, but maybe God is thanking us for what we do with what he gives us.  Just something to think about.

We had a great day today, and I'll write all about it tomorrow....I'm hoping to go to bed soon...the remainder of the dishes can wait...

Preparing Thanksgiving with 3 sets of helping hands

I love Thanksgiving, it's up in the top 3 of my favorite holidays!  I think the reason I love it so much is because of all the Thanksgivings that I remember growing up..I always wondered how we could always fit that many people in our house and how we always had more than enough food!

This year was a little different in that I was making the food with 3 little helpers all around, and I mean all around, in my arms, around my legs, sitting across the counter wanting to do the crafting project.  It was interesting, but as I sit here early on Thanksgiving morning, I can smell the stuffing in the over, I'm looking at the apple pie (still never looks as good as the ones that my Grandmother, Mom and Aunts made!), the table it set, the "Happy Thanksgiving" handcrafted banner is hung, and our Parade Bingo cards are ready to go!  Miracles do happen!

I miss Bryan terribly, especially when his favorite Pumpkin pie was baking in the oven.  The great thing is, that we get to do it all over again when he gets home!  During deployments we never let him miss the real cooking or celebrations of the holidays, so that is what he tells me that he is looking forward too!

As much as I hate not having our family all together, there is so much to be thankful for:
1.  I am thankful that even though Bryan can't be here, we have wonderful neighbors (friends, really) who will be celebrating the day with us!
2. I am very thankful for all of the wonderful Thanksgiving memories that I have, and they always make me smile.
3.  I am thankful for 3 amazing children, who are the center of my world.
4.  I am thankful for my family who is always there for me no matter what.
5  I am thankful for friends, from childhood, adulthood, and countless duty stations, who have come into my life. 

I could go on and on, but there is still some cooking to be done and 3 kids who need some breakfast before they start grabbing at the bags of butterhorns on the counter!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

I hate skipping holidays...

...but when an opportunity comes up sometimes you have to jump at it!

Tonight was an event called "Hometown Christmas" here in Leavenworth.  I know, we still have 6 days to Thanksgiving and I'm annoyed at the people who already have their Christmas lights on the house and lit!!  Now my reasons for going were simple, I like where we live and I really love our downtown area, so I felt like we should support all the people and their businesses, so off we went!

Rory of course was delighted with the "surprise" of going out to dinner to one of our favorite places, the Corner Pharmacy.  Yes, it is exactly what it says, the soda counter at the pharmacy!  It is actually the oldest soda fountain in all of Kansas, and more importantly I can feed 3 kids and me for $20, and that included beverages and a tip..beat that!

While we were there eating who should come barreling into the place, but Jolly Saint Nick!  Rory was delighted and confused all at the same time.  Where are the reindeer?  Why did he take their bells?  Where is the sleigh?  We haven't had Thanksgiving yet!  Of course she was still more than thrilled to pose for a picture wearing her Halloween shirt of course!  Now the boys, well, I think they are on the naughty list..not really of course.  Jack was either scared or annoyed because it looked like this guys was trying to take some of his dinner, and Brendan was amazed that Santa wore glasses too!

Further on in the meal we were greeted by carolers, and they were straight out the movie, A Christmas Carol.  It was fun, until they began to leave and Rory thought that she should go right along with them.

After dinner we went on the hunt for the horse drawn carriage ride..and hunted we did.  We found one of the stops, but it was going to be quite the wait, and of course Rory all of a sudden had to go to the bathroom!  Luckily the Senior Center right across the street was open, and weren't they absolutley delighted to see us!  Rory was the Queen for the moment and the boys were the Kings.  The senior ladies were scrambling to get to them first!  Brendan was doing a show of all of his different waves and kiss blowing talents, and Jack was delighting them with his knowledge of water bubblers and dancing in a circle until he was so dizzy he fell down!  By the time Rory got out of the bathroom everyone's attention was on the boys, so she had to announce herself once again.  How did she do this you ask, well lucky enough this Senior Center had a stage, so she marched right up and sang a Christmas song.  Well, one man came right up to her with her choice of 3 cookies, a bag of goodies and a cup of hot chocolate.  Excuse me!

After the word had come in that the carriage was on it's way to our stop, we piled back into the stroller said our Thank You's, posed for pictures, and made our way across the street to the carriage stop.

The boys were delighted with the horses and sitting like such big boys in the carriage, and Rory, well I swear she was a little annoyed that it wasn't the glass Cinderella carriage, but she loved it!

I know it was a great night, Rory told me so as we snuggled to read our bedtime story.  She said "That was the best surprise, and you are the best mom in the whole world!"  Now, I know that tomorrow I will be the worst mom ever, and if I wasn't then I guess I wouldn't be doing my job.

Tomorrow we have to jump back into Thanksgiving readiness!  Time to make the lists, count the plates and silverware and make the grocery list!  Although, tonight was a nice sneak peek into the Christmas Season to come....

November Challenge:
1. I am thankful that I didn't waste me kid free day today.
2. I am thankful that we had a wonderful almost-family night tonight!  (Rory points out to me all the time that it's just an almost-family since Daddy isn't here)
3.  I am thankful that I got to end my day by chatting with Bryan, nothing like being able to see his face and hear his voice to make the distance seem not so far.

A sign of a good day to come..

This was our view this morning as we dropped Rory off at daycare at 7am on this Wednesday morning...

The picture does not do this sunrise justice.  It was so beautiful.  I took it as a sign that this day was starting off magical and was only going to get better, or a little more realistically, maintain the magic of this moment.

I should explain that Wednesday and Thursday mornings in our house start very very very early.  I drop Rory off at daycare at her school so that I can be back home in time to get Brendan on his school bus.  It's a balancing act, and so far it is working out, but I lay my head on the pillow every Tuesday night a little fear that 5:15 is going to come a little too early.  Lately, the 5:15 wake up call has come with 3 little people in my bed, so my plans of getting ready before getting the kids up has only worked once!  You should always have a goal to work on, right?

All in all, it was a great day, it's the dinner hour that brings out all the drama...just ask my mom.  Tonight we had her in stitches as I trying to have a conversation with her and there was nothing but over the top drama echoing in the playroom.  I think the line that put my mother into a fit of laughter is when Rory was screaming and carrying on about some tiny minute scratch on her leg, blah blah blah blah, I can't walk, it hurts...so I told her to come in the kitchen so I could just cut it off.  Not only was my mother laughing, but Rory started laughing too, funny how the leg didn't hurt at all after that!

Well Thursday, I am waiting to see what you have in store for us!

November Challenge:
1. I am very thankful that Brendan had an A+ day at school wearing his glasses.  His teacher called to tell me that he didn't touch them once!  Looks like we've conquered this mountain, for the moment!
2.  I am thankful that Jack and I had some great Mommy-Jack time.  This kid can crack you up with a smile.
3.  I am thankful for the sunrise this morning.....helps me to remember not to take things for granted.
4.  I am thankful that I voted on Monday for contestants on Dancing with the Stars...gives me every right to complain about Brandy getting kicked off!  Seriously, Bristol Palin??  (Yes, this was a borderline thing to be grateful for, but hey, what do you want from me?)