{life happens}

I probably sound like a broken record, but this week has been nuts!

Jeremy's dad has surgery on both of his legs this past Monday. The surgery was in St. Louis and they planned to put a stint in one of his veins. Come to find out, a stint would not work so they planned on doing a by-pass on the vein. They opened up the other legs for the vein and that vein had an anuerism in it as well! After putting two 'plastic' veins in both legs, his legs are cut from lower calf all the way up to the groin area. Ouch! He is home and resting now...and from what I can understand, is still in a bit of pain...understandably. I would greatly appreciate good vibes and prayers you can send his way!

Secondly, I had my second appointment in St. Louis on Thursday for my little issue. I don't want to get in on the details, but I go back to St. Louis for another appointment on Wednesday. Can you say a prayer for me, m'kay?

Third, microbiology is kicking my butt! I literally studied for 16 hours for this last test and will be happy with a 'C'. (It might be helpful if the study guide for the test might actually be the questions on the test, but I guess people's logic might not think the same about that.)

And last but not least, rugby is back. I am not a good wife during rugby. Especially when all of the above is going on. I miss my husband.

Seriously, I miss him. I have hardly seen him lately. Between class and doctors and hospitals and studying, I feel like we have barely communicated at all this past week.

In a weird and twisted way, I happy happy to know that I miss him. Sometimes you get in to a groove and just stay that way, and not seeing him lately makes me know how much I do love him.

Okay, that is it for now. The girls are calling and their bellies are growling. Lunchtime!

Well, that was a nice little break...

Or maybe not.

It has been a big week! I had a MRI, a doctor's appointment, Macie's first day of 2nd grade (!) and another doctor's appointment an hour and a half north.

We will start with the first...

MRI came back. The gist of our appointment with my regular ENT went something like this...

"The lump that is in your mouth is a lymph node on top of your saliva gland. I don't think you have cancer. Most tumors do not move. We can remove your entire gland if you want. It will leave a scar on the outside of your face. If not, I will see you in a month."

Jeremy and I left confused. At first, the doctor called back with the MRI results and said it is the gland that is the lump. Not the lymph node on top of it.

Once they bring up that C-word, I get a little more cautious.

We left thinking we want a second opinion, just to be sure. Yesterday, we got in to another doctor who has a office at Barnes. He said there is a small chance it is cancer, although he is leaning more toward the fact that it is not. He wants be to see his colleague who deals with saliva gland tumors. He said if anyone would know, this doctor would. That appointment is on September 17 at Barnes.

I love doctors...

In my heart, I know everything is fine. I am not too worried about it. But since that word came up by the doctors, Jeremy and I wanted to make sure. Since the doctor in St. Louis brought it up to see his colleague, I am relived I am not hallucinating. The MRI did show something...they are just not sure what it is. I am just ready to be done with doctors, this lump to go down and get on with it!

On to better things! MJ started second grade! Can you believe it? I will have pictures soon, but not now. She loves it...her teachers, seeing her friends...everything.

I love that she loves it.

We have a concert it St. Louis this weekend...Nickelback, Theory of a Dead Man and Papa Roach. So excited...it will be a fun group with all our friends.

Fall classes started back....which means I am off to read my chapters. Ugh.

More Random Information (MRI)

First off, I am so glad it is Friday. Even though the week has went by quickly, there is nothing like Friday and weekends.

Tonight, the girls and I will do some last minute school shopping before Macie starts next Wednesday. I got most of her school uniforms bought this week but we still need some shoes. Hopefully, we will have some luck and get some cute ones.

Saturday, we have NOTHING to do. The girls are happy thrilled to stay at home in PJ's all day. They ask me if we can stay home. I am the same way...occasionally I will feel like shopping on Saturday but most of the time, I'd rather do it on Friday nights so my Saturday is open. It's just how I am.

Sunday, I will have a MRI. Yes, a MRI. I have been having some jaw pain/swelling off and on for a few months. At first, they thought it was a blocked saliva gland but after this current episode with it, they are not sure anymore. It has been hurting and feeling bruised for the last two weeks, like someone knocked me in my jaw. It started swelling yesterday and progressed as the day went on. There are so many things that it could be but the pain and swelling is my only symptom. You can feel something in there...not a knot, but a tendon or muscle (it is soft tissue). I have no idea what it is but it moves around when you press it. I am clueless but that is why we pay the doctors for this stuff! My ENT decided on the MRI so hopefully it will tell us what is going on so I can get it taken care of.

Other than that, nothing too much to report. I am grateful that we have "boring lives" and our own excitement. Just plain, everyday excitement. I hope you all have a good weekend!

Open wide.

On Thursday, the girls (plus a friend of Macie's) made a little trip to the orthodontist.

First, I would just like to say how odd it is to me that they start ortho work so early now. I have never had braces or any work on my teeth besides what the dentist does, but looking back, both my sisters did not have braces and all that jazz until high school.

And here, Macie is going to be in the second grade.

Anyways, we show up and the place is awesome! Very kid friendly and big! Love it already. We get back to the private room and I start taking a few pictures, with you in mind.

Macie and her BF talking...

Notice how her friend is holding her hand. Just last week, her friend, who we shall call M, got an expander so she is familiar with the whole procedure. She is giving her tips and trying to calm Macie’s nerves…so sweet.

A few minutes into it, Zoa started getting restless and a bit upset.

So I opened a new app on my phone for her to play with (so cool!). About this time, the doctor came in. Little did I know, Zoa had started snapping pictures. I have deleted about 15 or so pictures but thought I would show you a few. Be prepared, these are high quality...

Peeping out the window...

The orthodontist said Macie would need a palette expander and possibly a lip bumper. We go back in a few weeks. How much fun this will be! (Hear the sarcastic tone?)

Enjoy the weekend!

"As much as I'd like to meet the tooth fairy on an evening walk,
I really don't believe it can happen."
--Chris Van Allsburg

Not the zoo I was hoping for...

Jeremy was in St. Louis all day yesterday for a rugby game. The game was at Forest Park...and this park has the zoo, a science center...very kid and family friendly. Saturday, I decided that the girls and I would go to St. Louis with him and I would take them to the zoo. The weather would be perfect.

Like clockwork, Saturday night, MJ started to run a low grade fever. It started at 99.5...not a big deal at all. About an hour later, Zoa said her eye was itching.

This morning, we woke up to MJ having a 102.7 fever and Zoa's eye matted shut. Poor girls....

A trip to the hospital told us MJ had strep throat and Zoa had pink eye. Macie's fever at the hospital was 103.1. Medically, they said that is really high which scares me. I don't like it when she gets sick. She is s.i.c.k! She is so tiny so it does not take much to get her on the couch for good. I would not be surprised if she stayed home through Wednesday.


Zoa is, well, Zoa. Nothing can stop that crazy child of ours!


I hope your Sunday was better for you!

Uh oh....double ear infection.

Zoa is running a fever and is at the office with me. A four year old in an office for eight hours? Should be wonderful.

Pray for me.

Oh...and go tell Whitney's husband happy birthday!! No, seriously...go now.

(Went to the doctor...double ear infection. Poor Zoa...)

Maybe some relief...

I don't know if you know this, but Zoa has horribly dry skin. Especially in the winter, her skin gets so dry and itchy. Eczema = not fun.

I have tried Vaseline and the texture drives her crazy. (She is weird about textures.) Lotion is not moisturizing enough. Hydrocortizone cream works but once again, the feeling of it she does not enjoy. If you know Zoa, you know how persitant she is...if she does not like something, she will have none of it.

One of the blogs I read is We are THAT Family. She told the story of her toddler's issues with eczema. She also said that Tea Tree Oil works wonders for it (and many other things)! This makes me so happy...we are really trying more "alternative" forms of medicine with the girls. The less over the counter medicine, the better. (Did you know that honey is as good as over the counter medicine for coughing?)

I am definitely buying some next time I go shopping...which might be a while because of all this snow and ice.

I hope this post might help you out if you know someone with this...eczema is not fun for little ones.

More doctors and a dip!

I'm off to take Zoa to the doctor (She has had a cough for three weeks now...bronchitis like MJ had?) but I wanted to share this recipe before I forgot. I had it last weekend and it is great spread on Wheat Thin style crackers. It is actually a stuffing for pork shops but they used it as a dip.

Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach Dip...yummy!

Update: Bronchitis it is. Ugh.

*Cough*

Macie has had a cough for about a month now. At first, I thought it was what was going around. Just a cough...a friend of ours is a kindergarten teacher and I usually ask her what is going around. She said it lasts for about two weeks. The cough was all, with no other symptoms. About two weeks into it, I called the doctor and asked them to prescribe a stronger cough medicine than just an over the counter one. I just wanted something to nip it in the bud. They did, and told me to call back if it does not go away.

After one week since being on the medicine and she still had a cough, I took her into the doctor today. Bronchitis. She is now on Zithromax (Which is the best antibiotic ever! Once a day for five days. Can it get any better than that?!).

I remember when I had bronchitis and I felt like someone used my ribcage as a punching bag. Literally, Jeremy could not hug me. My lungs were so bruised from coughing so much. The only relief I got was from an inhaler.

I don't think she has had bronchitis the whole time. I have asked her if her chest hurts or if anything else hurts. She said nothing hurt. No runny nose. No fever. No sore throat.

Moral of the story: Don't think a cough is just a cough!

(Photo via.)

We're back...

Just wanted to post a quick update. We got back into town and Zoa and I just got back from voting. She would not let me see her ballot. I hope she made the right choice. :)


Everything in St. Louis went fine. Her incisions look great and her doctors/surgeons are very pleased with them. Praise the Lord!

I got a text from Jeremy letting me know that they arrived in Atlanta safely. Don't tell him, but I was a wee bit nervous about him flying on Election Day. I am relieved that he is there safe and sound.

I will post later tonight with what Kara tagged me for. I have to get Zoa some lunch. She slept the whole way home!

Wednesday: In Detail

If one positive thing came from our trip to St. Louis Children's Hospital, it was that we learned that we can arrive somewhere we need to be on time. In fact, we can actually be early. Shocking, right?

We arrived about 20 minutes early to the sixth floor - Same Day Surgery. Jeremy and I alone had enough anxiety for all of us. We waited for a while. (Isn't that what you do when you go to a doctor?) The girls spent some quality time playing in the waiting room as we drank our coffee. Once we got called back, Jeremy and I had to meet with the surgeon's and the anesthesiologist to discuss what was about to happen. He mentioned the effects the anesthesia can have one her once she is coming off from it. He explained that she can either be a nice, lovable 'drunk' or a mean, irritable 'drunk'. Jeremy and I both agreed she would be the mean one. (If you knew Zoa, you would agree!) Zoa put on her dinosaur outfit and was set to go. After everyone gave her hugs, kisses, and "See you laters", they gave her a dose of Versed to prevent any separation anxiety she might have as they wheel her from us. As we sat there, we saw the glaze come over her eyes as the drug took effect. She started to yawn and say she was sleepy. About ten minutes after they gave her the medicine, they wheeled her off. Just like that.

And the clock started ticking. And ticking. And tocking. About an hour and a half later, Dr. Dillon walked in. Everything went fine. He said that everything was routine and it was just as he suspected and prepared for. Perfect.

One hour after the first update, Jeremy walked out to entertain our parent's. You see, we were told to stay in a room in the back. If we were needed for anything, this is where they would look for us. Everyone else had to wait in the general waiting room. Two minutes after Jeremy left, Dr. Molter walked in. He said she did have a Stage Two Bronchial Cleft Cyst, which in our terms means this little 'tube' inside her neck went all the way up to her tonsil. The next step would have been to remove the tonsil, which he felt was not necessary with this particular case. (Basically, the bronchial cleft is when she was being formed inside me, the 'tube' inside her neck that should have stopped at where it meets the skin, but cut off too soon. The excess tube is what caused the drainage. If you double click the picture to the left, you will see a small dot on her neck. That is what it looked like.)

After I went and got Jeremy, we went back in recovery to see her. It was so sad. She was so upset and so tired but could not sleep. She was extremely agitated at all the machines hooked up to her. All I wanted to do was crawl in bed with her and promise her everything will be okay but she would not have any of it. She was a mean drunk! We tried to make her as comfortable as possible (with the help of some morphine) and that seemed to do the trick.

We were told we would be admitted so we made our way to the tenth floor. Zoa slept peacefully which was all we wanted. Just let her sleep. But still, all I wanted to do was get up in that bed and cuddle with her.

We looked at her incisions and found this:
The most painful part for Zoa was her belly. Anytime she moved around, which meant used her abs, she whispered so softly, 'Ow.' It was so precious how sweet she was being about it all. Once she woke up, she was so hungry. A hamburger, some chicken tenders and french fries, topped off with a sundae later, I hopped right in bed with her and cuddled.

The next morning, as I was getting ready to leave, Nelly, a Dalmatian dressed up like a pirate, came in. She was a little shy towards her, but she did make her smile!

So all in all, everything went great. If this was boring and you lasted this long into the post, I congratulate you. I did this more for me, but tried to make it somewhat entertaining with some pictures!

As far as scars go, her neck should heal great as the stitches are internal. The belly button is the same way, but we are not able to take the bandages off for a few more days. We'll see!

But look at her now, she is happy as ever!

We're back...

We are finally home after a long couple of days. Zoa's surgery went well. The bronchial cleft was a stage II, meaning it did go all the way to her tonsil. She has an incision on her neck that is about and inch and a half. All of her stitches are internal and the is held together on the outside by Dermabond.

Her umbilical hernia repair went well also. That was causing her the most pain, as you use your ab muscles for everything. We have a a prescription for her pain to give her here at home in case it gets bad again.

They ended up admitting us for the night on Wednesday for her pain management. The little three year old was actually on morphine!

These are the main things. I want to post a story with pictures but for now, I have a house to clean and laundry to do!

Thanks for all your thoughts and well wishes!

Off to the hospital...

Within the next several hours, we will be headed to the hospital. I just received the phone call with all the details:

• Surgery time is 1:00 pm.
• She can eat breakfast before 7:00 am. Big relief!
• She will spend around 2 1/2 - 3 hours in surgery with another 2-3 hours in recovery.

Now I am off to go home and pack up our family.

Please remember Zoa in your prayers tomorrow...

Surgery is scheduled...

The surgeon's office called me yesterday afternoon. Zoa will be having her surgery on September 17. We are unsure of the time but someone will call me a few days prior to the 17th to let me know the details.

Thanks for everything...

"Their gonna fix the leak in my neck."

This has been what Zoa has been chanting the last few days. What leak, you ask?...

Hours after Zoa was born, we noticed a little spot right above her collarbone that had drainage. After we asked her doctor about it, they said that it was a bronchial cleft. The last few weeks, the drainage (Zoa's only symptom) has increased. Surgery has been discussed since birth, with our goal waiting until she was about five years old. (In November, Zoa will be four.) After talking to her regular pediatrician, she implied that surgery was the only option for a full cure. It was at this time, we asked to be referred to St. Louis Children's Hospital for the surgery.

We woke up this morning for the drive. Our appointment was at 10:30 am we were in Dr. David Molter's office about 30 minutes later. We talked about the surgery - risks, the procedure itself, etc. There are different types of bronchial clefts, and he will not know what type it is until he gets in there. (For the record, she does not have a cysts, that we know if.) We decided to proceed with the surgery. At this time, it started asking about other medical conditions and pasts issues. We told him she had an umbilical hernia. He asked if we would be interested in preforming both surgeries at the same time. We told him we were, as we had already discussed this together before we came.

The doctor then told us he would call the Dr. Patrick Dillon's ( a general Surgeon) office to see about getting in to see him today. After meeting with a partner of Dr. Dillon's (Dillon was in surgery - go figure!), he agreed that he thought the hernia would not close on it's own since it has not showed any sign of that yet. It was decided that both surgeries would be together.

The total surgery time will last anywhere from 2 1/2 - 3 hours. (Eeek!) Dr. Molter's portion of the surgery would take the majority of this time (1 1/2 - 2 hours), depending on how bad it is once he starts, and then Dr. Dillon would come in and do his part.

We should be expecting a phone call within a day or so to find out when the surgery will be done.

Now that the business part has been said, I want to tell you how freakin' great St. Louis Children's is!!! It is amazing! Everything about it is obviously kid friendly, from the parking lot to the elevators (once you reach your floor, a little girl's voice comes over the speaker telling you "You have reached the 4th floor."). The doctor's are soo all about the kids! Dr. Molter talked to Zoa for about five minutes - goofing off with her - before he even introduced himself to us. It has so many good ratings and top awards and now I know why! (Top 10 in the Country, Best Hospital's in 2008 and Best Nurses Award) We know we made the right choice. If you have any issues, I cannot recommend it enough.

That is all for tonight. We are exhausted. Last night we were in ER because Zoa cut her eye and required some Dermabond. Everything is fine now and that story will come soon, but for now, I am going to bed.

Thanks for all your prayers. I know everything will be fine but the only thing that concerns us is the anesthesia. Three hours is a long time. I will worry about that later though.

G'Night!

(Hospital photo via.)

No Cavities!

After an appointment to the dentist, we were given a clean bill of health for their teeth! No cavities and no oral cancer.




I thought we should go celebrate with ice cream. After a quick thought, I decided against it. That would be a bit ironic.

Pushing through the week...

This week has been nothing but do this, do that. Do you ever have one of those?

No matter how many times you clean the kitchen, it is still dirty...
Mop the floors but regret it immediately after you hand your children sippy cups of Kool-Aid...
Fold laundry, but your laundry room is never empty...
Clean out your car, only to wish you cleaned your house because it really needed it too...

Some weeks are a struggle to get through. Working moms and busy non-moms understand what I mean. I could not imagine what I would do if I came home to a clean house everyday, with everything put in it's place.

But then I have to be thankful. I try to remember that:

I have little pink clothes that need to be washed...
I have a car to clean...
I have a house to clean and floors to mop...
I have food to dirty dishes...

Today after work, the girl's have a teeth cleaning at the dentist. They are excited (starnge, huh?), which makes me happy. This means that they can go back together, with me in the waiting room. Don't think I am a bad mom - they actually do better at stuff like this without me there. That means I can get a few minutes of alone time. I brought my new purse (I got for $10 on clearance!) and plan on switching everything over. Is that pathetic I plan on doing this? Hopefully, you say no.

Jeremy and I had to laugh when we saw the appointment reminder postcard.

Dear Macie and Zoa,
This is to verify the appointment you made with our hygienist for your dental cleaning and oral cancer examination.

Wow! Talk about preventative care. I didn't realize they check six and three year olds for oral cancer. We know that is the standard wording but it threw us both off guard.

After we get home from the dentist, Jeremy and I will be getting the bedrooms ready for new carpet. In order to do that, everything needs to be removed from the closets and floors and put downstairs. Once the carpet is in (next week sometime), we will move things around a bit. The computer will come upstairs and the toy room will go downstairs.

If I seem 'maxed out' for a while, you now know why.

Owwww!

I think that the doctor must really love our family this time of year. Our bills have probably paid their mortgage. (Not really, we have good insurance.) Yesterday, it was my turn to see the doctor. By the time I saw her, I had a migraine for 21 hours. Not. fun. My mom drove me because I lost my peripheral vision. I could use it but it was extremely painful when I did. After some blood work and a meningitis scare, they sent me home with some nice pain medication. I have not slept that good in years! Today, I am making an appointment with our chiropractor - praying he can get rid of this pain in my back. I am not too sure what is causing it, maybe it is part of the migraine.

Once I got to feeling better, I dropped Zoa off to see Go, Diego, Go, with my sister, her fiance, and their son, Ethan. Evidently, it was a great time! Sorry I missed it Tara! Macie had plans to stay the night with Jeremy's mom, so I took her there.

Since I felt better, or at least well enough to function, I took advantage of my alone time and went to The Buckle. I bought 2 pairs of shorts, both bermudas. That is the closest thing to shorts that I will wear. Did I mention I have a complex about my legs? Here is one pair, the other was not available online.


They did not have the jeans I wanted in Extra-Long, so Jeremy will be picking them up for me when he travels for a rugby game this weekend. I love these jeans!!


After dinner at Outback, we went home and I crashed. Aaaahhhhhhh.

What happened to my boring life?

The last week or two have been pretty rough on our family. The weather last week threw everything off, my days are mixed up, and the girls are out of their schedule with school closings. We are now at it again, and our Easter break from school is diminishing with each snow day. Sigh.

On the contrary, I am a fan of winter weather. I enjoy it all. My theory is if it is going to be cold, I want it to look cold outside. I have always loved snow and winter weather as much as spring.

On top of that, the girls have continued to be sick, with recovery starting yesterday. Zoa had to get a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. At the same time, it also showed fluid in her chest, but they think it is sinus drainage that has settled there. She will be on antibiotics for the next 10 days. Macie got the flu, and yes, it was the gross kind. She wanted to stay with my parent's, so I didn't really have to deal with it. Thanks mom and dad!

Instead of us all being sick at once, it all had to be at different times. I started feeling 'off' yesterday, and it continued today with a fever, body aches, and just an overall feeling of blah, for lack of a better word. It made me more upset with me being off work today and not having any motivation to do anything. Hopefully, it will be out of my system in a hurry. Mom's never have enough time to get sick. Right, mom?

This weekend will be a pretty normal one, with the exception of Adam's birthday. Happy Birthday Godfather Adam! Next weekend, we are off to St. Louis for a mini-getaway. Hopefully, it will involve a little bit of shopping (!) and a trip to Libby Lou's.

I guess there is light at the end of the tunnel!

We are normal after all!

I took Zoa to the doctor today and basically her feet turn slightly inward. This is comfortable for her so naturally she will trip over herself quite often. If the problem does not correct itself by the age of 5, then we will discuss further options. As for her fingers and such, she is just super-sensitive.

She is in the 90th percentile for her weight and 95th percentile for her height. (We have tall babies!) "Perfectly proportionate." :)

And that's that.