Getting Crafty

I've almost always made birth announcements and birthday invitations for my kids. I like doing it, it's fun, and it's super cheap (extra appealing reason). Basically, it costs nothing to make them, and then I just have them printed as 4x6 or 5x7 pictures at whichever photo lab I choose. If you order customized invitations, you'll be spending a lot more money than that, and it's usually way over $1.50 per invitation. No, thanks. (I actually did order birth announcements for Anna and spent almost $60.)

*Shameless plug for Creative Memories: I use CM's Storybook Creator 4.0 software to do this. It's a one-time purchase, and its uses are completely endless. Basically, Photoshop for Dummies. Me = Dummy. It's digital scrapbooking software with limitless applications (I rarely scrapbook with it at all). Check it out on my best friend Andee's page HERE. Also, I usually either make my own elements or snag them from the interwebz, which means they're FREE. :)

*Shameless plug for myself: If you need any kind of printable, please let me know! I love doing this, and I can do my best to make what you want! We can work in trade - my Suburban is currently covered in pollen, and I'm always looking for a babysitter. (Okay, I'm joking on that last part.)


Anyway, I recently started making them for other people, and I decided to show off some of my work. Obviously, I've blacked out the personal information, as I don't want you to stalk my buddies. Enjoy!

Healing up!

Nicholas' surgery went really, really well! Thank you all for your prayers, words of encouragement, and happy thoughts. We appreciate it all so very much!

The tour that we took last weekend was a huge help, and I am so glad that we decided to do it. We were all very familiar with the procedures and the schedule for the day before we even arrived, and it really reduced our nervousness a lot. The staff at Dell Children's is incredible, and they really go out of their way to ensure the comfort of the kids (and the parents!).

We only waited for about 10-15 minutes before they called us back, and they took Nicky's vitals and asked us a lot of questions about medical history. Then, we got to meet each of the individuals that would be in the OR with Nicky. The surgeon, the nurses, the anesthesiologist, and the nurse anesthetist, to name a few. A child life specialist also came in to talk with Nicky about what was going on and to help him feel a little more comfortable with everything.

In his hospital pajamas, just waiting to head back to surgery!

The worst part of the whole experience? When they were ready for him, the whole team came to get him and walk him back to the OR. We were only allowed to go so far with him, then he had to walk the rest of the hallway without us. At the moment when we had to say goodbye to him, he latched on to me, would not let go, and became hysterical. I was trying SO hard not to cry, because I didn't want him to see that I was upset. I just told him that they were going to take really great care of him, that he would soon be sleeping, and when he opened his eyes again, it would all be over and we would be there with him again. Then he hugged Daddy, and they basically had to detach him from us and take him down the hall. It was really, really upsetting, and Nathan and I were both very shaken.

We went to the waiting room, where we basically tried to distract ourselves (unsuccessfully) to avoid staring at the progress monitor the entire time without blinking. They have a big screen that lists the names of all the surgeons at Dell each day, and it tells you where they are at all times (or basically, where their patients are). Next to Dr. Garcia's name, it said "In Surgery," when Nicky was back there. We just keep waiting for it to change, and we were both so upset that we couldn't really keep ourselves occupied.

We didn't have to wait long, thankfully. It was about 30 minutes from the time we sat down when they paged us and put us into another room so that Dr. Garcia could come and talk to us. About two minutes later, she came in and told us that everything went really, really well, and that he was already in recovery trying to wake up.

We went back to the waiting room until they paged us to go to recovery, and barely had time to sit down before we had to get up again and go back. Nicky was wide awake when we got there, eating a huge rainbow popsicle.

"Mom, can I just eat this in peace, please?"

Of course, the main topic of conversation in the recovery room was his hair color. We can't go anywhere, I swear. Anyway, he was doing so well, and it made us both so happy to see that he was okay and relieved that it was all over.

We were moved again to another room where they could monitor his vitals for a little while longer before we were discharged, and he spent some time watching Mickey Mouse and eating more popsicles.

He had FOUR popsicles before we left the hospital. The nurses just laughed.

After only about thirty minutes or so, his nurse came in with discharge papers and instructions, and we started getting ready to leave. Nicky literally hopped out of bed and put his clothes on like nothing happened. Then, he got to ride a wheelchair out to the car.

Popsicle mouth.

The child actually jumped out of the wheelchair and climbed up into the car with no help. I can't think of many adults that could bounce back that quickly after having an operation. Unbelievable. He was awake during the entire ride home, watching a movie. He said he wanted to eat, and we told him that he could choose what he wanted and we would treat him. He picked "the place where they have those big sandwiches!" That's my child: he loves Subway.

And he's Nathan's child, because he doesn't like cucumbers.

Then, after a few rambunctious minutes at my parents' house (we had to go by and pick up Miss Anna), we went home.

The aftermath: Heaven help us! This child is crazy! Within hours of the surgery, he had already managed to remove the surgical dressing that was GLUED to his incision, so we had to call the surgeon's office to find out whether we needed to drive back to the hospital or not (it was supposed to stay on for a full week). We re-dressed the wound, and the next day he took that dressing off, too. He is supposed to be resting, with no strenuous activity, for a few days. No running, jumping, roughhousing, etc. Yeah, he's been doing laps around the house and I can't get him to sit still for anything. I'm worn out trying to keep up with him. He's going to bust his internal stitches and we're going to have to start all over. Oh, boy.

He's not on any pain meds now, doesn't seem to be having any discomfort, and he's totally back to normal. He has a follow-up appointment in four weeks with the surgeon, so we can check and make sure he's all healed. (If we can keep him still...)  :)

Getting ready for surgery

On Sunday afternoon, we took Nicky into Austin to visit Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas, the hospital where he will be having his surgery. The child life specialists at Dell provide pre-operative tours for kids, to familiarize them with the facility and to show them some of the things they can expect on the day of their operation. We are trying to do our best to ease any anxiety or fear that might come up when we take Nicky on Thursday, and we thought that taking him to look around and talk about what's coming would definitely take some of the pressure off. Having a better idea of what will happen that day eased my mind as well. I'm Nervous Mommy right now.

We were the only ones that showed up for the 1:30 tour, so Nicholas was the star of the show! The child life specialist that worked with us was really great, and was impressed with how smart our Nick-Nick is.

She had a box for Nicky that had some medical items inside, and let him take each one out and play while she told him what the doctors and nurses do with it. There was a stethoscope, a blood pressure cuff, an face mask for the "sleepy air," and several other things.

Finding his heartbeat.

He got to see the machine that will take his vital signs before and after surgery, and learned what each piece was. He seemed like he was really paying attention and was really interested in everything. He got to smell all the different scents that can be added to the "sleepy air" (anesthesia) he'll be given, and decided he liked the strawberry the best.

We all suited up to go back into the surgical area of the hospital after that, which got a huge laugh out of Nicky. Mom and Dad had to wear hats, face masks, and shoe covers, too! I'll bet we looked really cute, although I never saw a mirror (thank goodness).

We saw the room where Nicky will have his vitals taken, and saw all the toys that he'll be able to play with while we're waiting for surgery. Then, we got to go into an operating room! He learned that he would get the sleepy air once he was inside and on a bed, that he would be asleep in just a few seconds, and that he would not wake up during surgery.

The next stop was the recovery room, where he will wake up after surgery. I think he was most excited to hear that he would get a popsicle once he woke up!

So, we'll find out on Wednesday what time we need to report to the hospital. It will most likely be in the morning, we just don't have an exact time yet. Once we're there, and Nicky is taken back for surgery, the procedure should only take 30 minutes to an hour, so we shouldn't have to wait too long. We'll be able to bring him home later that day!

I'll post more after we're all done. Until then, if you could all pray for us (especially on Thursday!), I'd really appreciate it!

Ten months old!

On the 10th, our little Anna Beth turned ten months old. It is completely unbelievable to me that we will be celebrating her first birthday in less than two months, and I have come down with an extreme case of Mommy denial. 

 Nine months - 2/10/12

 Ten months - 3/10/12

Since I'm a terrible parent, I didn't update for her nine month birthday, so you'll get all that info now, whether you like it or not.

Anna is 18 lbs. 9 oz., which places her somewhere around the 55% for weight, and she's 26 inches long, which puts her in the 5th percentile for height. Poor little girl is SO short!

Our sweet little baby girl decided she didn't want to have anything to do with any type of baby food or pureed food, and she skipped directly to table food. The child will pretty much eat anything you give her with gusto (though we are avoiding most dairy products right now). As a result, she has the most adorable chubs and rolls. I love it! She LOVES to eat.

She was really excited about her food, and wanted to make sure we all heard about it.

The other big news we have with regard to Anna is that she's finally crawling! She wanted to get moving for so long, and she got it all figured out about a week ago.

It's hard work learning to be mobile!

And she's got it down!

Anna is the sweetest girl, and she absolutely loves her brothers and sister. If they're gone for too long, she gets really cranky. Then, she gets super excited and smiley when they come back. Now that she's mobile, she follows them everywhere. This is great for Anna, but not so great for the others. I'm hearing a lot of, "Mooooooooooom!! Anna's in our room and she's getting into our stuff!!" I just laugh. I have been warning them for weeks, and I guess they didn't believe me!

Stay tuned, because it won't be long before I'm posting first birthday pictures! I'm not ready!!

Tummy troubles

Our little Nicholas will be having surgery on the 22nd of this month. I'm a nervous mommy. 

About a year ago, I noticed that Nicky had something that looked like a second belly button pooching out on his tummy. When we went for his well-check, I mentioned it to the pediatrician. She said that it could be a number of things. First (and most likely) - a hernia, second (not likely) - a tumor, or third - some kind of random lump of tissue that was just hanging out under the skin. She made a note in his chart about the bump, where it was, the approximate size, and told us not to worry because we'd check on it again later.

Fast forward a year. 

 Can you see it?

Look about three inches about his belly button.

We went in for Nicky's four year-old well check. This time, when the doctor checked it, she felt as though it had increased in size and changed color a bit (getting bluish), so she decided it would be good to do an ultrasound to see what was going on.

Nicky was so great during the ultrasound - well-behaved and cooperative. The tech was impressed and gave him a Spiderman sticker. The very next day, the pediatrician called me to tell me that Nicky did indeed have a hernia, surgery would be needed for correction, and she was going to give us a referral for a surgical consultation.

Four thousand phone calls, another visit with a different pediatrician, and twenty-seven arguments with insurance companies later (grrrr...), we had an appointment to see the pediatric surgeon.

We met her on Monday, and she agrees 100% with our pediatrician. Nicholas has an epigastric hernia that will only be resolved by surgical means. The basic run-down: we do not have to do this surgery if we don't want to. Nicky is not in pain or in danger, and there aren't any complications right now from the hernia. However, choosing to wait could end up being more complicated and dangerous than getting this issue resolved quickly.

 Here's a picture for educational purposes.

Now, don't you feel smarter?

Basically, Nicky's abdominal wall (the fascia) has a defect, a small hole. It was probably present from the time he was born, we just didn't notice it until something from his insides poked through. That's where the problems come in. We don't know for sure what's poking through (no one told us if it was evident on the ultrasound, and the surgeon didn't mention anything). It could just be a piece of fat (the most common), or it could be a piece of something important, like his intestine. If we don't do the surgery, he could be just fine, and this could all resolve itself as he gets older. Alternatively, whatever has poked through the hole could get strangulated, start to necrose (rot), and we could end up with a much more urgent surgical situation and Nicky could get very sick.

So, my poor baby will be going under the knife in two weeks. We've planned to attend a pre-op tour of the hospital a few days before the operation, where they will explain some things to Nicky in kid-friendly language, show him around a bit, and just familiarize him in general with all the things that will be happening on the day of his procedure. I'm hoping this will keep him from melting down when we actually show up on the big day, and that it will ease some of my anxiety a bit. None of my kids has ever had surgery before, so this is a big deal for us.

The actual operation should only take about 30 minutes to an hour. It's just an outpatient procedure, so we'll be able to bring him home whenever he is fully awake and cleared to be discharged. The recovery is going to be...um...interesting, to say the very least. For the first few days, he really needs to be resting completely. Then, he's really supposed to be pretty relaxed and chilled out for TWO WEEKS. (I laughed out loud when the surgeon told us that.) Oh, kill me. Seriously, any of you that know Nicholas well will realize that is almost an impossibility. The child does not simply walk across a room, he somersaults. He can't tell a story without doing an interpretive dance at the same time. While watching a movie, he is rolling around on the couch or the floor while he recites dialog. This is the child that rips holes in the knees of his pants while he's playing inside the house. To have him be still for two weeks is going to be very, very difficult.

So, please send some prayers up for our little Nick-Nick, that the surgery would be fast and effective, and that his healing would be quick and easy. We'll keep you posted!

Zoe's Third Birthday!

As of March 1, I have a three year-old little girl. How in the world did that happen?! Anyway...

On Sunday, we celebrated with family and friends. And food (of course - did you forget who I am?). There was also a cake. An evil, evil cake. A cake that haunts my dreams and makes my eye twitch uncontrollably.

Moving on.

My sweet Zoe.

 

We all gathered at my parents' house to celebrate, Disney princess style. Well, just ONE princess, more specifically.

 

 

I made a bunch of food (and a stupid, evil cake) for lunch, and we all spent some time chewing the proverbial fat (and the real fat).

The real fun, however, is in the blowing out of candles and the opening of presents, right? Well, let's get there!

In every Disney movie, there exists a villain. Here's mine.

Zoe loved it, and that's the only thing that matters.

(This cake had to be reconstructed three times. I don't want to talk about it.)

Making sure the candle is perfectly straight.

 Happy Birthday!!

Make a wish!!

Boy, did I enjoy hacking that thing to pieces! And it was goooood. Might have been the best cake I've ever made. Mmmm.

 

Then Zoe got to open her presents!

She was really excited about her Hello Kitty backpack.

A real Snow White dress!

She was in a state of bliss.

The other kids were fun to watch. Anna enjoyed playing with the other babies: Judah, who is a couple weeks younger than she is, and her cousin Christopher, who is 19 months old.

They were having a conference, I believe.

Anna wanted to make sure Christopher's ear was working properly.

 Micah, cousin Bailey, and Zoe.

 Ethan, our budding photographer.

 

Nicholas, trying his hand at taking portraits.

 

This is serious business.

We had fun! More importantly, Zoe had fun. :) It was a great birthday!