All by ourselves

Chris is in California.  He will be leading Kidpak worship at Free Chapel OC tonight!  He left early this morning and will be back tomorrow night.  So, Shaun is the man of the house.  

Things went pretty well this morning.  We made it to church on time, in spite of all this rain.  Seriously- I can't remember the last time it rained on a Sunday morning, and the first time I have to get the kids in by myself, it poured.  All I can say is "Thank you, Lord, for shuttle buses!".  Once we got inside, we had wonderful church- but we miss Dad.  It was strange being there without him.  Even though we don't get to sit together in the services (Chris has to stay backstage with the rest of the band) we still meet up in between services and of course, its nice to have an extra pair of hands to help wrangle in our hyper boys.  But, we made it.  

We met up with Lori her family at Ryan's afterwards, and the girls will be here in a few hours to play while Lori and Todd are at Christmas play practice.  Then my parents are coming over to sit with the boys while Lori and I go clean the building.  So, as you can see, I will have lots of help while  Chris is gone.  

Thank goodness he'll be back tomorrow!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is almost over for us.  We're getting together one more time this afternoon, and then that's that until Christmas.  As far as Thanksgivings go, this one was pretty good.  Really good, considering all my that my family(s) have been through this year.  

We started the day off by going to my sister-in-law's house.  She did most of the cooking, but I did contribute a green bean casserole and some homemade mac and cheese.  All in all, we had a very nice visit with the in-laws.  Chris and I agreed that it was the best Thanksgiving we've had with them in a while.  On the way to Mandy and Rob's, we passed through the town of Hoschton.  The town recently broke the world record for having the most scarecrows displayed in their town.  As you can see, they were very interesting.   

Some were cute, but mostly I got a creepy "Children of the Corn" feeling.  It was neat to see, anyway, and Shaun got a kick out of them.  

Later on that afternoon, we went to my Aunt Nancy's house.  I knew this one would be tougher.  Our first Thanksgiving without Mamaw.  But it turned out okay.  Of course, we were sad.  My mom had the idea to light a candle to burn throughout the meal in Mamaw's memory and honor.  I only cried a little.  As my Aunt Patsy put it "She wouldn't come back for anything in the world".  I know that's true, because she's in Heaven- she had Thanksgiving with Jesus!  I can't think of anything to be more thankful for.  

Lori and I went shopping on Friday- without the kids.  Thanks Mom and Dad!  We got some of the kids Christmas done, but the best deal of all was for me!  I found an eliptical stair climber on sale for only $30...it was originally over $100.  Of course I got it, since I'm supposed to be getting some exercise.  I haven't tried it out yet, but its all set up and ready to go.  

Now its Saturday, and I'm about to start cooking for our 3rd and final Thanksgiving get-to-gether.  We're going to Granny's at 5:00.  It'll be another toughie...My uncle passed away in July, so its another first.  My grandparents aren't doing too well.  They're depressed, which is to be expected.  I think this holiday season is going to be harder on all of us than we thought.  But we will get through it- we always do.  

Random rants...

-My "cheesy rice dish" I was making for Thanksgiving didn't turn out the way I thought it would.  I'm letting it chill overnight, but I'm thinking its still gonna be gross tomorrow.

-I cut my thumb on a can of tomatoes today while I was making lunch.  It still hurts!

-I had to spend 2 dollars at the grocery store on a pacifier for my almost-3-year-old. 

-I have cooked 3 dishes and still have to get up early tomorrow to cook another one.  And Chris is already in bed asleep.  

-My nice clean kitchen is all messy now from all that cooking.  

Okay, okay.  I know that its technically Thanksgiving Day, and, in spite of these mindless complaints, I have a TON to be thankful for.  Such as:

-Even if my "cheesy rice dish" stinks, its not like we'll be hurting for food tomorrow.

-Even though I cut my thumb, at least I did it while preparing food for my kids to eat.  Some people don't have this luxury.  

-I am thankful for Jordan- even if his passy fits drive me insane!  

-Once again- I have the luxury of being able to prepare food to share with my family.  And my husband may be taking it easy, but at least I know where he is. 

-I have the ability to make my kitchen  clean again.  Unlike some folks, who are too sick to get out of bed.

So there you have it.  I have many, many more blessings to list, but I'll wait until morning.  

Happy Turkey Day to all!

Missing the nap...

Daytimes around the Smith household used to be a lot easier.  We'd wake up, get Shaun off to school.  On the days Jordan did not have preschool, he and I would come home and he'd watch a movie.  Then he'd play or we'd go run errands.  He'd eat a sandwich, and, at 11:00 he'd take a nap.  It was great.  He would begin to get a little cranky around 10:30, and by 11:00 he'd be exhausted.  He would obediently walk to his room, get under the covers, say "goodnight, Mom", roll over, and go to sleep. I'd close the door and he'd stay that way until 2:00 when I woke him to go pick Shaun up from school.  He'd be a little cranky right after he woke up, but after a few minutes he'd be good to go.  He would happily play or tag along on errands, whatever.  At night, he'd e ready for bed around 8:30.  Life was good.  Those were the days.

Then, one day a few weeks ago, he decided he didn't like his nap anymore.  I'd lay him down, he'd get up.  I tried rocking, laying with him, watching movies in bed, you name it.  And maybe that would be okay, but Jordan NEEDS his nap.  I mean, he REALLY needs it in order to act like a normal human being for the rest of the day.  Jordan, without his nap, is emotional, defiant, inconsolable, grouchy, mean...the list goes on.  I hate to say things like that about my youngest baby, but let's call a spade a spade.  He still needs a nap.  And I need him to take his nap.  Since the naps have ceased, the house is messier.  I mean,  a lot messier.  Jordan's nap time was my cleaning time.  While he slept I could mop, sweep, dust, do laundry.  Or even read or talk to a friend on the phone.  No more.  And forget doing any of that after Shaun gets home. It is all I can do to get dinner together, help with homework, and try to control the JMan's temper tantrums. 

I thought I'd make up for his missing nap by just putting him to bed earlier at night.  Around 6:30 or 7:00.  I figured he'd still get adequate rest and be fine.  Not so much.  First of all, we're rarely home at 7:00.  Between Shaun's Tae Kwon Do class and church on Wednesday nights, its usually closer to 8:00.  And, I don't understand this, but it seems like the more tired he is, the harder it is for him to go to sleep.  A never-ending cycle this missing nap has caused!  

I'm hoping that this is a phase and one day the joys of a good mid-day nap will dawn on him.  In the mean-time, if anybody has any magic answers or tips to get a willful almost 3 year old to take his nap, please pass them along.  I am getting desperate over here!

Weekend

Here's what I did this weekend:

Friday night- Lori and I took all of the kids to the mall for a Ch

ristmas magic show.  The Magical Jeff McClure made Santa appear at the end of the show, and all of the children formed a parade and walked him down to his chair.  They also gave out FREE carasel rides.  

Saturday- Chris took both the kids to

 Shaun's sparring class while I stayed home to clean.  When they got back, I went shopping with my mom, my sister, and my nieces.  We stayed gone a lot longer than I would have liked, but I still had  good time.  And my mom bought me my birthday present early- 2 new outfits, which I desperately needed.  

Sunday- Went to church.  Had great services.  Went to lunch, came home.  Boys watched a movie while I cleaned- again.  Aunt Patsy and John came over.  Chris and John did music stuff while Patsy and I kept cleaning.  Thanks, Patsy!  Afterwards, we ate beans and potatoes that I made in the slow cooker.  Both turned out pretty good, I think.  My sister (finally) called around 8:30 and we went to clean the office building.  While we were there I was feeling silly and made some very nice turkey drawings.  Came home, and here I am.  I'm not really feeling tired and its almost midnight.  

So, that was my weekend.  It was pretty normal, which is the way I like it!  Next weekend will be hectic with Thanksgiving, and I think Chris is going to California on Sunday.  Now I'm getting tired, just thinking about it.

Here are some pics of our shopping trip on Saturday:

2 good visits

Both of the boys had good reports at their doctor appointments today, which is very rare.  I took them to see their ear-nose-throat guy.  It turns out that Shaun does not have a sinus blockage after all.   Great news!  He does, however, have a deviated septum.  I had the same nose problem when I was a kid.  Eventually he'll have to have surgery, but not until he's older.  He also has some pretty nasty stuff in his nose.  The doc thinks we can fix it with saline, so that shouldn't be too bad.  No new meds, no surgeries- we were happy!

Nothing new for Jordan, either.  His ears looked great.  The only thing is that Dr S. wants to be in the room when Jordan goes for his throat biopsy so that he can take a look at his voice box while Jordan is under general anesthesia.  That's only IF the GI specialist we're seeing decides to do a biopsy.  Judging from the "lung" appointment last week, that's probably what will happen.  But at least they can kill two birds with one stone.  Jordan's reflux medicine isn't working.  Now it is thought that he has some "condition of the esophogus".  Basically, this condition can cause reflux and asthma but is caused by some food allergies....I think.  We have to see a GI specialist and go from there.  

Phew.  Its been a long day.  We just got back from Egleston.  My grandma went with us and even treated us to lunch.  It feels good to have someone take care of me sometimes!  After the kids' appointment we went to Whole Foods Market for organic suckers.  I love that store!  We also had to go to Target for toys since they kids did so well today.  I was especially proud of Shaun- he sat so still while Dr S was looking down his nose with his camera.  I know it hurt and was uncomfortable, and he handled it with flying colors.  

Tomorrow its back to school.  I think I only have one other appointment this week and its in Gainesville, so I can relax and maybe get some housework finished.  I've started to get in the Holiday Spirit.  I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week!

Guess who has a doctor's appointment today?

That's right...Mommy!  I haven't been feeling great lately, so I made an appointment for a physical.  I haven't had any kind of appointment other than OB/GYN in years, but I thought it was time.  My friend Angela recommended a doctor, so I made an appointment.  I must confess, however, that I'm most excited about getting out, by myself, without my wonderful children.  It will be strange to talk to a doctor about ME and not them...not sure if I'll remember how.  And afterwards, if there's time, I'm going to lunch with an old friend from work.  So, big day me.  Tomorrow, though, its back to the grind.  Jordan has an appointment at Scottish Rite.  They'd better have some answers about his collapsed lung!

I owe a huge thanks to my sister- my BFF.  Thank you Lori, for picking up Jordan and caring for him today.  I owe you big!  

Elections and blockages

So, I'm bummed about the election results.  Bummed is putting it mildly.  Terrified is more like it.  I'm terrified of where this country is going over the next 4 years.  I've been praying for this election, and now I'll be praying for Obama, even though it'll be hard!  I know that God is in control, and He can still change things.  I'm praying for a change in Barrack Obama's heart.  That he will see abortion and same-sex marriage issues for what they are:  abominations of God's word. I pray for a change of heart so that Obama will help turn this country back to God. To me, there are no black and white sides of these issues, and these are the 2 key issues that I based my candidate support on.  Now you know where I stand- I voted for John McCain.  I know that he's far from perfect, but I feel in my heart that his values are stronger and that he would have done more to protect this county than Obama will.  But, America has spoken, and now I will support Obama because he will be our country's leader in January.  At least I have until then to get used to it!!

Getting off my election results soapbox now.

Shaun had a CT scan of his sinuses on Monday.  The doctor's office called back yesterday and told me that he has a blockage and needs to see an ENT.  Luckily, he already has a fabulous ENT at Egleston.  Jordan has been seeing him, too, and has an appointment Next Friday.  They are going to squeeze Shaun's visit in at the same time so that we won't have to make another trip.  I have no idea what you do for blocked sinuses.  Surgery?  I hope not.  Shaun's already worried about that, but he's excited that he gets to miss school the day of the appointment.  

Finally...some results!

We got Jordan's test results back last week.  The CT scan of his chest showed that a spot on one of his lungs is partially collapsed.  Apparently this is not as bad as it sounds.  The nurse who called said that it may be due to an illness that he had or something like that.  I told her that he wasn't sick when he had the scan, but that he's sick now, and had been for several weeks.  She asked what was wrong and I told her about his wheezing and his cough, to which she replied, "Well, that brings me to the pH probe results".  Turns out Jordan has significant reflux that could be causing his asthma, or at least contributing to it.  The doctor called in some medication for it, but she does NOT think that the reflux is what's turning his lips blue.  So basically, we're back to the drawing board on that, I think.  

After hearing this, I was still worried about the collapsed lung.  I mean, that just doesn't sound healthy.  And he's had this terrible cough for over two weeks, even after being on Flovent and Albuterol round-the-clock.  The doctor told me that he should not have to be on Albuterol for over 1 week, 1 week and a half max for any given illness.  I told the nurse this, and she just said to write down all of my questions and bring them with me to Jordan's next appointment, which 2 two weeks away.  Hmm.  Not what I wanted to hear.  

Everything was so hectic when I was talking to her.  It was almost time for Shaun to be at karate,  the kids were still in the bathtub, etc.  I called Chris at work and told him the news.  He talked to one of his doctor friends at the hospital who suggested that we have a copy of the CT sent to him so he could look it over.  He also said at the very least he would insist on having another one done to see if the spot on Jordan's lung is any worse, especially since the cough was still so bad.  By this time it was after five o'clock, so it was too late to do anything.  

I calmed down a bit and prayed.  I prayed for God to just heal Jordan's cough and decided to call the doctor back the next day to see if we could get an appointment sooner.  This was Thursday night.  The doctor was out of the office on Friday, but she's supposed to call me back on Monday.  And Jordan's cough is so much better!  He had been coughing and wheezing with practically every other breath for the longest time, and now all of a sudden there's a  big improvement.   Today, the cough was about the same as it was yesterday, but I haven't heard any wheezing.Thank you, God!  He is good and faithful, and I know that He will take care of my children.