Thursday, December 19, 2013

One year!!

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the girl's adoptions! I remember us white knuckling it to that day swearing we would NEVER do it again. The stress, appointments, not knowing & tears were exhausting. As a family we were so tired & worn out from the 11 months from their placement until adoption day. But a year later we have settled into a "normal" life & those days are fading away. I would love to adopt again one day, another boy. I think it's much like child birth, you forget the pain & suffering, God gives you that power. Slowly I feel that power of forgetting creep into our lives. I'm grateful for it in many ways but I also hate it. I kinda wish I still remembered what that struggle was like when it was fresh, it would make some upcoming decisions so much easier. But, the reality is I mainly remember the good things. That day last year when we were all done & it was over. That relief & the days that have followed that have been filled with laughter, fun, games, giggling & tons of amazing memories. We have 3 amazing kids & though I know we worked so hard for it, it all seems so easy!
We took the kids for frozen yogurt to celebrate the girls gotcha day!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Our follow up..


Yesterday Delilah had her appointment with the gastroenterologist to see what he thought about the coin. He says he thinks it's a quarter too & he doubts it will be moving so we need to take it out. We are scheduled to go Texas Childrens Hospital on the 23rd to have the coin removed. It is an outpatient procedure & we should be able to go home that evening. We aren't happy about it but we know she needs it & we are really ready to get it over with. 

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

No action!

I forgot to post this photo! We recently took all the kids to Disney On Ice, Tuck had been but the girls never had. We made the kids all custom shirts with their names & favorite Disney character. I made the girls into dresses for them! We also made the kids each a gift bag to take with us. Their bags included their outfits, a matching plush doll to their shirts, boxes of candy & those spinning light toys they sell at the show for $22!! I was able to get everything for all their bags for under $30, so it saved us a ton of begging and money when we got to the show! The kids all had a great time!
We are still waiting for some coin movement around here! Our pediatrician asked us to come in Monday morning for a follow up & then she sent us for more X-rays to see of the coin had moved. We went & did the X-rays only to get a call an hour layer saying we needed to go back for more because they couldn't tell if the coin was in her colon or in the stomach. The next X-rays showed that the coin is still in the stomach, which isn't good. At this point it looks like it is stuck in the stomach & it will have to be removed. Our pediatrician reddered us to a GI, so we will be going there Friday morning to see what they think we should do about it. 

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Still waiting

We are still waiting for that coin to pass. We went for our follow up X-ray Thursday & it is still right inside the stomach. So when I talked to her pediatrician yesterday she was a little concerned. The coin should have moved out within hours & it appears to be stuck. For the last week I've been digging in poop for NO reason. We are going back in Monday morning for another exam & X-ray. If it is still in the stomach she is sending us to the GI doctor we saw in the ER to see about having it taken out. the good news is she is I'm good spirits & doesn't seem any worse for wear! She's my same old, wild & crazy baby! I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate little Delilah on getting potty trained! She's 29 months & totally done with no accidents even at night!! Such a huge accomplishment for her! 

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Our favorite!

This is hands down my favorite time of the year. We spent this week getting our tree set up & decorating for Christmas. Delilah is really "getting" it this year & is so excited! 
This is a picture from Thanksgiving. The kids really didn't care about that at all! Haha, there's nothing exciting about eating turkey is there?  Other than that we are patiently waiting on Peanut to poop out that coin! We went today for a follow up X-ray to see if it came out, & it's still in there! I am waiting on her pediatrician to call me tomorrow to see what she wants to do! I will keep everyone updated! 

Sunday, December 1, 2013

So close..

I debated whether to share the events of yesterday with everyone but I thought I would in hopes it may encourage someone to get CPR & 1st Aid certified. Yesterday Delilah choked & swallowed 2 coins. I'll try to make it as short as possible as this is NOT my proudest moment as a mother. Chris left for work early & Delilah climbed in my bed to watch cartoons. I got up to use the bathroom & came out just in time to hear the clink of 2 coins in her mouth. Before I could get the 5 feet from the bathroom door to her, she inhaled sucking them both into her throat. The first one went down into her esophagus & the other, a penny, immediately stuck in her airway blocking all air. I grabbed her by her arm & pulled her into a standing position so I could attempt to get it out. My 16 year old brother was asleep on the couch & I tried 2-3 times to yell for him to call 911 because I wanted them on the way in case I wasn't able to get it out, but I just couldn't seem to get the words out loud enough, no matter how much I tried. I decided to attempt to get the coin out first rather than run to get him. The first two times I attempted the heimlich it wouldn't budge. Her airway was completely blocked so the 3rd time I tried even harder & was able to get the penny to pop out. Let me say I've taken the class at least 3 times & it was still VERY difficult to get it correct! It was very hard to remember how to position myself & how to grab her. My first reaction was still to grab her & flip her over & use my finger to scoop it out. I knew the other coin had gone down her airway so I went into the living room & had my brother call 911 while I kept an eye on the baby & put on pants (hey I just woke up give me a break). It took an ambulance 14 minutes to get here & while we waited I put on actual clothes & called Chris in case we needed to be transported. The EMTs did come out & looked the baby over. She wa acting OK & didn't seem to be uncomfortable so they, like I did, assumed she swallowed the other coin & was fine. About 15 minutes after they left she started to grab at her chest & cry. She kept telling me "owww" and scratching at her chest area. I grabbed her & rushed her to the nearest ER which happens to be a stand alone ER. At first they said she seemed fine & they doubted it was stuck in her airway because she was breathing alright. I called Chris while we were waiting & he could hear her cries & like me, knew something was wrong. He left work to go home & come meet us. As time went on she became more & more inconsolable & they rushed us back for an X-ray. Within a minute of leaving the room they came back to tell me to try & keep her calm that the coin was lodged either in her esophagus or in one of her bronchial tubes leading to her lungs. They immediately started calling hospitals to get us transfered out for surgery. I immediatly texted Chris what was going on & asked him to pack us overnight bags before he came to meet us. The hospital really wanted to send us to a Texas Childrens branch & after about 30 minutes a Dr at their main campus accepted her as a patient & they sent an ambulance to pick us up. Chris was able to get to the ER where we were in time & followed us to Texas Childrens because I rode with her in the ambulance. As soon as we got there they took us in & had a room waiting. Within 3 minutes a nurse came in to tell the Dr that the OR was calling down for her & they were prepped. The Dr wanted to do one more X-ray before we went to surgery to be sure of the coin placement & to verify herself it was located in the esophagus not the bronchial tube. They were able to see right away that at some point the coin had become dislodged & slipped into her stomach. It was such a huge relief because she wouldn't need surgery we just needed to wait for her to pass it. So we did get to come home last night & we are patiently waiting for her to pass the coin which may or may not be a quarter. We do have to go back for an X-ray this upcoming week to verify if she has passed the coin. 
She was very happy when she got permission to eat & drink! It was after 3 & the poor thing hadn't eaten or drank all day & neither had I. Today she is better but still seems a little worn out from the drama of yesterday's events. It can happen SO fast, you can't depend on 911 to get there in time to save your child. I get sick when I think what would have happened in those 14 minutes had I not been able to get the penny out! Get CPR & 1st Aid certified.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

A little late...

Sorry I'm a little late posting about Halloween! My sister brought her kids over so all the cousins could trick or treat together. It was a lot of fun & the kids really loved it. The older kids wanted to buy their costumes at the store but Delilah wanted to be Minnie mouse so I made her costume. We are already gearing up for the fall! We LOVE this time of year, from Thanksgiving to Black Friday to Christmas! There are tons of awesome things coming up so I should have some good posts over the next couple of months.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

What can I say..

 

         

What can I say? I have been busy enjoying life. Every day we are settling into a normally that is so sweet & relaxing. The crazy hustle & bustle is calming down & we are really getting into the great part of our lives. The girls are doing awesome & all the struggles that came with their placement are becoming memories. I'm not sure if there was an exact moment when things changed but they really have. The kids are getting older, easier & way more fun! Having a 7, 3 & 2 year old is worlds away from a 6, 2 & 6 month old! They can play quietly, Delilah is listening better (though she has a LONG way to go to be where our other 2 were at her age). We are really excited for Halloween next week. I'll be sure to do a post with some of the recent happenings around here!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

I'm alive...

I'm alive, I swear!! Sometimes weeks pass & I don't even realize I haven't blogged at all! Things have been pretty uneventful lately. The kids are all doing really well. We are currently still working on potty training Delilah. She is so hard headed & so stubborn. If she doesn't want to do something, she's just not going to do it! Slowly but surely she's getting there, and I'll be SOOO happy to have my last one out of diapers :)  . Tuck is doing really well in 2nd grade. He's had a couple of rough patches but his daddy has been cracking down & making him finish all uncompleted work on the evenings, then adding extra work for not doing it in class. This really seems to work for Tuck & I am VERY relieved that his grades are improving. His grades usually are comprised of 100's & 0's . If he does it he gets a perfect score, but there was lots of work he wasn't finishing at all. Ever has been quite the easy child lately. So often she gets lost in the mix because she's so easy & I hate that! She's so mild & well behaved often she just blends right in. I realized most of her negative behavior is for attention & that's our fault. We're really trying to make sure we are giving her the attention she needs, not just when she's in trouble.



Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The End of Summer....


  So many changes lately! Tuck went back to school recently, 2nd grade!! I can hardly believe it, he is growing so fast. I also went back to class full time, and its been quite an adjustment. Everyone is doing so well, and though we're sad the summer is over, we love the winter too! We hope to take the kids to see real snow this winter, and I love Halloween, while Chris loves Christmas. We went & spent this past weekend at my parents house on the lake & enjoyed some time on their boat. This was the first time we took the girls out & they loved it! Of course they did, they love the water park and swimming in general. Delilah is also getting over being sick. She has a nasty little cold that turned into a respiratory infection, but she is doing much better. We also had a very sad incident happen today. A local school where we live (and our children would go later), had an act of violence today that took the life of one student. Its always sad when violence occurs at a school, a place where children are supposed to be safe. Its even more devastating when that moment of anger and one STUPID decision takes the life of a child, and ruins the life of another. I just wish these children would know NOW, what they will realize when they are older. A fight is not worth throwing your life away, and taking the life of someone else.

My Momma & Granny having TOO much fun on the boat!


Delilah touching the waves with Daddy.


Only 2 of the kids made it into this shot, I tried.


Sick Delilah.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Tuck is Seven!

Where does the time even go? My little prince turned 7 today & in less than 3 weeks he will start 2nd grade. I don't care if we have 10 kids, this little guy will always be so special to me. His adoption inspired me to go back to school, work harder & to be a better person. Recently he asked my sister how old her son was when she "got" him. She told Tuck she didn't, she grew him in her belly. Tuck told her that was "weird". Haha, the differences in an adopted child are endless. Since we had a joint party we took the kids our to a special day at Chuckee Cheese on her Lyla's birthday. We are taking Tuck bowling this weekend for his special birthday day. He is the best little helper, and an awesome big brother to our sweet ladies. I pray he knows everyday how he changed me as a person, and he course of my whole life! Happy Birthday Tuck!





Saturday, July 27, 2013

Happy Birthday Delilah!

Today, her 2nd Birthday!
I can not believe my little baby turned 2 today! I just can't even say enough about the grief this child gives me, Every. Single. Day. She is by FAR the toughest of all 3. She is so stubborn & so wild. She has NO fear & is a true dare devil at heart. I thought Tuck had a free spirit, until her. She is also the most like ME. She laughs at the same wicked things I do, and that makes me laugh, and it makes me scared! She was such an easy infant, she slept through the night right away, she loved to play independently in her playpen or in her bumbo on the counter while I cooked, cleaned, or studied. When she got about 18 months all that changed! Once she learned to walk & talk it was ALL over! She is a little tornado of destruction & mayhem! If she makes a mess & I fuss at her, she tells ME to "clean it", or "ahh mess! Clean up!". She still bosses around her brother, Daddy & anybody that she can. She makes me laugh the hardest. She is so bright, funny and sweet. She leaves me exhausted & swearing we are DONE! As soon as this little mess learns an ounce of self control I will be SO happy. I thought in honor of her birthday I would share some of my favorite photos.

First time at the beach!


Her favorite napping spot.


FOOD!




I was trying to wean her from a bottle, this is what happened when she SAW her milk in the sippy cup.
Trying out her big girl seat!

First day home!

So silly.




She loved rubbing Daddy's beard.


Look how big she is!

Best. Sleep. Ever.

Drinking her "coffee".




Friday, July 19, 2013

That time again..

I can not believe the summer is already half way over! My little nugget Delilah will be celebrating her 2nd birthday in a week! Man how time flies. It seems like just yesterday she came home so tiny, so sweet! In many ways I miss those days but I love seeing her grow everyday. She really is an amazing little person. She is so funny, smart & wild. Just 10 days later my Tuck turns 7!! Oh my goodness, this breaks my heart just a little. He is so big & so grown. When I look back on pictures I can't believe he was ever so small, and impish. We are planning a little pool party at our house for the two kids. It is a luau theme & I'm sure they will have tons of fun! Chris put sod down in the whole yard last weekend. Our back yard is VERY shaded & the grass has slowly died. He also dug out our side patio which is made of cinderblocks. They have been unlevel since we moved in. The blocks lead down the side yard to our big back patio in the back yard. Hopefully this upcoming week he will replace them & level them out so we have a nice little patio right outside the back door. I'm currently on the lookout for a little iron bistro set to paint & put on the side patio. I'll post photos when the improvements are all done!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Movies & 4th of July!'

I can't believe the summer is almost half way over! We recently ventured out to take the kids to the movies to see Despicable Me. The girls hadn't been before & our son really loves it! It was a nice little treat for them. I made the girls little dresses & our son wore a matching shirt. Last week was also our sons favorite holiday (besides Christmas), July 4th! We always drive out to a local show & park to watch the show. We get there a couple of hours early & enjoy a little picnic. Last year Lyla slept through the whole thing in the car. This year she sat with us & loved it! She tried ripping off her ear covers & pointed the whole time. Last year Ever was afraid & made me hold her hand the whole show. This year she was in love with it! Also the bookends (Tuck & Lyla) have a birthday coming up! Their birthdays are only 10 days apart so we have their party on a weekend in between. I can't believe it's already that time again! They are growing too fast! Sad.



Monday, July 1, 2013

Sweet Summer..

One of the biggest pit falls of me staying home during the summer is the kids stay home too! It's been challenging to entertain them many days & we've had temperatures well into the 100's lately. This made me think to get the kids a little above ground pool. If you know me you know our house in tiny (1180 square feet), & our yard is even smaller. It was quite a squeeze but we fit it in a corner back there. The kids are loving it. We remove the ladder every time were done. We bought a lock for our back door that attaches to the TOP, so the kids can't reach it. We also have a narrow side yard you have to walk down to get to our back yard so we are also putting in a little locked gate as an extra precaution. We are already getting ready for back to school, the girls don't start the year but Tuck will be entering the 2nd grade. I buy clothes all year long to ease the pain! Ther than that things are well. The girls are doing good with the exception of one small thing. Everly seems intent to push me over the edge by constant emptying everything out of her closet drawers (all 12) and throwing it all around her room. It wouldn't be so bad except I keep it organized by shorts, skirts, pajamas etc. I don't know why she insists on doing this in a near daily basis! Why!!?! It takes me 30 minutes to fold & organize every time. I know what you're thinking, buy a LOCK!! I would except their room has the big sliding doors that cover the closet. We're working on figuring out a way to keep those closed so I don't go completely insane.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Vacation!

It's been way too long since I posted. In short I've been working from home. I also knew we were going to be going on vacation so I've been making an extra dress or two whenever I can from cheap or clearance shirts & setting them aside. I ended up holding a big sale & offered 15 dresses for $25 each shipped this past Monday. I knew we were leaving on vacation so I didn't take any custom orders. The big sale basically was my paycheck for the week. We left on vacation Thursday. First we went to Austin & saw the Congress Ave bats & a few other local attractions. Then we drove into New Braunfels where we're staying now. The kids have been having the time of their lives & we have a couple more days enjoy ourselves!





Friday, June 7, 2013

Happy Birthday!

Today was my amazing husbands birthday. I know he's done a guest post and I've talked about him in the past, but not in much depth. When we met 11 years ago he was a sweet, fun, 20 year old with a tender heart that I immediately fell in love with. He was always in fear of disappointing others or losing their approval. Over the last 10 years he has grown to voice opinions other than those he was raised with, other than what's popular & other than mine. I adore that he knows my love is unconditional & I respect his views as much as he does mine. He is by far one of the kindest people I've ever met. Everyday when I see him with our son, I pray Tuck will grow up to be just like his Daddy. I pray he will have his quiet strength, his loving heart & his deep appreciation & respect for the love of a good woman. More than anything Chris has always stood by my side. His dedication is unwavering, unbreakable & indescribable. I'm so proud to have him as my husband everyday. He believes in my dreams & is always willing to go on the ride. He always supports me as a wife, a mother & his equal. Our bond is so deep & strong, I wonder if other people could ever understand. I know his thoughts by the look on his face, and he can tell my mood through text messages. We have been through hell together, and we came out together. It hasn't been perfect, but it's been awesome. To my wonderful, sexy, amazing husband (because I know you read this), I love you more than you know, SEE the real you more than you know & appreciate you more than you know. Happy Birthday!



Monday, June 3, 2013

Stem Cell Savior!

            OK, So I don't even know where to start this post! As an adoptive Mommy it has always been a nagging fear that one of our children would need the type of rescue only genetic family, or stem cells can provide. Chances are we could NEVER provide any type of "match" for Tuck seeing as we're a totally different race. The girl's have one another, but no other family to help. We obviously adopted all of our children way after birth, so cord blood banking wasn't an option. I chalked this up to just another thing on a long list of stuff that we missed out on. Recently, I read somewhere that you can recover stem cells from a child's baby teeth. Yes, BABY TEETH! I was in utter shock, and incredibly intrigued. I honestly felt like we had been given a chance to go back in time & make it "right". So i did some research on the topic & found an amazing company at http://www.store-a-tooth.com/ , that offers this service. I called and spoke to a representative and asked what probably seemed like a million questions (he was very nice as I asked everything from how the quality of these cells are to how they are used). The long and short of it was like this, they use the "pulp" inside the tooth to harvest out stem cells. Though it doesn't provide as many cells as cord blood does, they offer a service to culture the cells, or basically multiply them in the lab. The younger the teeth the better, so baby teeth are perfect. There is no need to go have a perfectly good tooth yanked out, but when it gets pretty loose you should go to the dentist so they can help pull it out before the tooth & the tissue inside "die". Store-a-Tooth sends you a kit ahead of time, and it has everything you need to save the tooth & transport it to them. I got my kit ahead of time, that way when one of Tuck's teeth gets really loose I don't have to rush to get the kit. So, I took a bunch of photos of my kit!

So when my kit came, I opened the outside box & this white box was inside.
 Inside THAT box was this styrofoam box, to send everything back to them in, it is insulated to keep your tooth cold! Note, they will do up to 4 teeth at one time for the same price, so if your child is having extractions etc. keep that in mind.

 When I opened up the styrofoam container all the items below were inside, I'm going to give a little recap of what was inside, instructions, 2 ice packs to freeze ahead of time to pack in your cooler. It came with a little jar filled with solution to preserve the tooth & a bio hazard bag to put that in. It also came with a fed-ex label to return everything with. It even came with tape to close the return box with!
This is the little jar of preservation liquid, you drop your tooth in there to keep it from dying.
 It also included explicit instructions that are very detailed & easy to understand, all the way down to how to re-pack everything to send back.
 But, by FAR the coolest thing included was this awesome Tooth Fairy certificate. Since you will be "stealing" your child's tooth so you can mail it in, they won't be able to leave it under their pillow for the tooth fairy, so you give them this certificate to leave for her. Adorable right?
Overall I am very excited! As an adoptive parent we so often miss out on the things that other families take for granted! Being able to store our babies cord blood, or be a genetic link to help them at a later date is probably one of the biggest ones. I pray we NEVER need this kit, but it feels really nice that our son will have the same opportunities that other children who's parents stored their cord blood will have. Tuck has yet to lose a tooth, but I will let you guys all know when one is lose & how it goes when we send it in! For now I have my kit waiting to go!