Surprise Surgery

Wow, I don't think those two words are ever supposed to go together. I will start by reminding everyone that Joey had brain surgery in October 2005 and has a scar running down the back of his head from that.

On occasion, Joey will get spots on the back of his head that feel "mushy." They're rare and go away without creating big problems. This past Thursday night Joey came into the living room where I was sitting down to watch Grey's Anatomy and told me he felt something weird on the back of his head. I parted his hair off his scar and immediately saw two bumps on the scar. They were mushy and caused him a lot of pain when I touched them. Looking back, they were also red, though I didn't notice that at the time. We looked and thought about it, but couldn't come up with a reason for these weird bumps. The only option we could see was to go to the emergency room in the morning. They were still there when we woke up Friday, so I took Grace to daycare, packed Logan some toys and snacks (he was off from school that day), and headed to the ER. Joey had barely seen a doctor when I had to leave in order to pick Grace up from daycare. We checked in a few times through the evening - they decided to do an MRI to see what they saw. It appeared there was fluid of some sort (duh) so they admitted him. The next morning (Sat.) the neuro doctor saw him and told him they thought it was infected, so instead of sticking a needle in them and possible doing him more harm, they were going to do surgery. The point of the surgery was to go in, clean up whatever they found, and close it up well.

So at this point I begin scrambling to find someone to watch the kids so I can go be with Joey. My dear, dear friends Rachel and Jessica pulled through for me. Rachel came around noon and stayed with them until Jessica got there around 6:30. I have never been more appreciative of two people. They gave up their Saturday off to help me out. And did it to watch my crazy kids. But actually they said the kids were really good.

Anyway, as soon as Rachel got there I left for the hospital and as I was pulling in the parking garage Joey called to say they were taking him down for surgery. "You have got to be kidding me" was all I could say. I parked and got to his room as quickly as I could and was directed by the nurse where to go to possibly see him before they took him back. Luckily, I made it in time and was able to talk to his surgeon and give him a kiss before he went back. I waited about an hour before the doctor came out and told me it went well - the bumps were infected so they took a sample and sent it to the lab for a culture, gave him antibiotics, and had to cut away some dead tissue so they could sew up healthy tissue so he'd heal well. Now we wait until at least Monday afternoon to see what kind of infection it is and how to treat it. Right now he's on wide spectrum antibiotics and isn't looking at leaving until mid to late this week.

So that's there we stand. I'll keep you updated with what we find out if you promise to pray for Joey to heal. Until then...

A Major Milestone

In the life of our baby girl, we hit one of our major milestones this past Thursday. On Wednesday, I decided I was taking her pacifier away on Friday. This way, I would have the weekend to deal with the consequences. I decided the way I'd do this was to convince her to leave it out for the "paci fairy" who would leave her a present for it in return. I was explaining this concept to her that evening at bedtime, but she wasn't buying it. Logan, however, thought it was a fabulous idea and asked if the "car fairy" could visit him. He's already wheeling and dealing at the age of 5. I let it go that evening and brought it up with a few people throughout the next day and many of them mentioned that the child they knew had simply thrown the paci away. Well, screw you, I thought. My stubborn daughter would never go for that. I was prepared for battle. So Thursday night, Joey and I are in the kitchen trying to convince her to get rid of it when I say, "Gracie, if you throw it away we'll go to Target and buy you a present." Low and behold if she didn't walk straight to the trash can and toss it. Joey and I stared at each other in disbelief while we waited for her to go back to the trash can to retrieve it. It never happened - she carried on playing with Logan. We ate dinner and took off to Target. She picked out a baby playpen and a new baby doll that came with bathtime accessories. We brought them home and she played for about an hour until bedtime. We put on pj's and read stories like normal. The I started tucking Logan in and she asked where her paci was. I reminded her that she threw it away and she started crying. THIS is what I had expected all along and was the main reason I intended to start this adventure on a Friday night when I had the weekend to deal with it. I took her in her room and tried to rock her, but she was having none of it. I finally managed to talk over her crying and remind her of the "big girl presents" we bought. She began to calm down and I asked if she wanted to sleep with the baby doll. She did. She went and got it, we rocked a bit longer, and she went on to sleep. She was up for a few minutes around 11 crying for it, but it seems that was the worst I have to deal with. She has occasionally asked for it since then, but I remind her that she threw it away, and she's fine. What a miracle! I really thought she was going to be awful when we got rid of it, but she's done great. Now I just have to finish potty training!

Happy Birthday #2!

On January 11th my dear husband hit a milestone. He turned the ripe old age of 30. Ha ha, what a geezer! Just kidding, because in the short time of 15 days following his big day, I will have my own. Thirty. I think that should be classified a dirty word...at least until I turn 40. Anway, happy birthday to him!

Happy Birthday!

January 3rd would have been my dad's 64th birthday. Wow. It's crazy to think that my dad would be that age now. I guess in my head he'll always be 57, or really, more like 50 since I think he was happy then. Anyway, on my dad's birthday you could always count on two things. He would request liver and onions for his birthday meal, and a German chocolate cake for his, well, cake. These are both things I would never eat. No liver, no thank you. However, I seem to have had a change of heart when it comes to the coconut icing on the cake. When thinking about these 2 birthday standards, I decided a German chocolate cake sounded delicious. So, in honor of my dad, I baked, and ate, a German chocolate cake with cocount icing. And let me tell you, it was delicious.

Merry Christmas!

Naw, just kidding! This was one of my worries when starting a blog - that I would keep it up really well in the beginning and then slack off. And here we are. Ah well.

We had an interesting Christmas.

• Molly dog had a bum leg.
• Joey was admitted to the hospital the day after Christmas because he had meningitis (again!). He got out a few days later once they determined it was viral and not bacterial.
• Mom and Pete (and their dogs Tilly and Tyler) stayed for a few days and did lots of babysitting.
• Catherine and Dave visited for a few days and did lots of babysitting.
• The kids slept until 8am on Christmas morning. I don't remember ever sleeping that late on Christmas day - as a child or an adult!
• They loved the gifts Santa left for them - but he was kind enough to leave the receipt for Logan's gift since we ended up returning it. He got to walk around the toy section of Wal-Mart and pick out whatever he wanted, which he really enjoyed.
• Joey's parents, Bill and Barb, visited for the New Year holiday. We shopped alot (me and his mom) and spent way too much money, but had a lot of fun. We even went so far as to by matching pajamas (style, not color) that light up. Yeah, we were dorks.

I think that's all the main points, but feel free to point out if I forgot something. Happy new year!

A Big First and a Santa Picture

Well, this weekend was a big first for Miss Gracie. At 2 years and 7 months of age she had her first haircut. I was terrified at cutting off any of those beautiful curls, but she screamed at me anytime I came near her with a hair brush. Logan needed a haircut also, so Saturday afternoon we all headed out to our local Great Clips. Logan went first so he could show Gracie how it's done. After he was finished, Gracie took his seat. The hairdresser went to check Logan out and check Gracie in, which gave Gracie time to freak out a bit. She fussed for a second, but calmed down when the lady came back. She put the cape over her, and then asked if Logan could go ahead and have his sucker. I said yes, so she left again to get the suckers. This, of course, gave Gracie another chance to freak out. However, she was calmed down quickly by the offer of a sucker. She popped it in her mouth, and we were off. She had a little trouble looking down as requested, but what can you expect - she's two. All in all, she did fabulously and is now short about 2 inches of hair. It doesn't change her look a lot, but when I combed her hair after her bath last night there were no tangles. Hallelujah!

Last weekend Santa was supposed to be visiting our neighborhood on Sunday afternoon. He would be in the common area for pictures, hot chocolate, and cookies. All day Sunday I talked up this visit to Santa for the kids. They were so excited! We pulled into a completely empty parking lot about five after 2, for the event that was supposed to begin at 2. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. I looked around for a minute and noticed a sign on the gate to the pool. "Pictures with Santa cancelled." WHAT?! Logan immediately began crying. I had talked this up big time and now had to tell the kids it wasn't happening. Apparently, "Santa" was feeling a bit under the weather so instead of finding a new Santa or suffering through it, they cancelled the event. Luckily, I found out Santa would also be making an appearance at our local shopping center, Rivergate. So again, with a bit of hesitation, I talked it up all day Saturday and Sunday morning. It was from 1 to 3. We pulled into Rivergate about 2:00 and went to the main fountain area where I expected a mall type setup. No dice. Oh crap. Worried, I tell the kids we'll just drive around and see if he's in one of the parking lots. Logan says, "Maybe he's at Target." I'm doubting it, but drive over there to check. Low and behold, Santa and Mrs. Claus are wandering around Target parking lot like they're homeless. I pull into a parking space, grab the kids, and head to Santa. They're excited until we get up to him. Logan hinds behind me and Grace buries her face in my shoulder. They finally look at Santa when he offers them chocolate in the form of a Hershey's kiss. I put Grace down and tell them to stand next to Santa so I can take a picture. No way. Gracie starts crying and Logan won't go near him. Finally, I get Logan to take Grace's hand and stand in front of Santa for a picture. Gracie refused to look at me, but I got one with all four of them, even if Grace looks like she has a hat for a head.

It's a Target themed Christmas folks! Anyway, I hope everyone has a safe and very merry Christmas!

Hope for the Holidays

Well, my season of giving and receiving began today. Me and my two best friends from work exchanged gifts and went to lunch together. We all just did little gifts, but the thought behind them was nice. And we eat lunch together just about every day, but today we went to a restaurant completely void of any coworkers. It was nice just to sit and chat together.

My holiday season has been a strange one, so far. Joey has been sick since the day after Thanksgiving, including spending a week in the hospital, so we haven't been able to spend much time together. I have spent a lot of time worrying about him and wondering what the future holds for him and our family, which isn't how you typically think of the holidays. A joyous time with family and friends doing lots of Christmas shopping and visiting Santa at the mall is how I picture the weeks leading up to Christmas. I've gotten the Christmas shopping done, and finished the wrapping, but all of it has been overshadowed by worry about Joey. He hates being sick and not being able to do all of the things he wants to - shop with me, play with the kids, do homework with Logan - and I hate that he can't do them. When Logan was first born, Joey did everything with him. He picked him up from the babysitters', he bathed him and fed him, he changed diapers and put him to sleep. He got off work before me, so by the time I made it home he'd have Logan in bed. And now he can't do any of that. He has to try so hard to take care of himself, that it keeps him from being the dad and husband he wants to be, and would be, if it weren't for this stupid disease.

My holiday season, and my life, has a theme. Hope. I hope that Joey can be given a reprieve. If not forever, then at least for the next week so he can enjoy the holidays with us. We both know this isn't something that will ever go away, but the past two and a half weeks have been so hard on him. I hope that he is able to wake up with the kids on Christmas morning and watch them open their presents. I hope that he can sit at the table and enjoy Christmas dinner with our family. I hope he is at least able to open the presents I got him. I feel like my heart is filled with so much hope, something has to change. Can't I just will the world to be like I want it? I hope so. Because I love my husband, and I love our family, and I hope we have many more Christmases together.