Audrey's surgery

Today Audrey had three abnormal appearing moles removed. Two from her scalp and one from her belly button. Her pediatrician, dermatologist and plastic surgeon all agreed it was good to remove them. We now wait 10 days for results. The surgeon did say he removes more than 2500 moles a year and only 10% come back abnormal, and 10% of the 10% only appear very serious. So, in all, 1% chance of it coming back as anything too bad. But because these were in places that you don't see just by looking at her, or she wouldn't see in years to come by herself, it was good to just remove them. The one on the back of her head I had seen a year or two ago and just thought it was a birth mark. Then, this winter when she had the crazy flu and vomited an insane amount in 24 hours and I was up with her all night long, I noticed when I pulled her hair back in piggy tails that that spot had changed and maybe gotten bigger. This alarmed me and so we got it checked out. While meeting with the plastic surgeon, his nurse found another one on the side of her head and her pediatrician early this week saw one on her belly that she's had forever, but that he didn't like either. So, since we were already there, we had them remove that one too.

This procedure was just as hard on Audrey's nerves and emotions as the last one she had when she was 2.5. I wasn't as nervous though and neither was Jeremy. She did have Versed beforehand to calm her down before they wheeled her down the hall to the surgery area. She was never screaming or making a scene, just in tears and very scared. The nurses said she was asleep when she arrived at the operating room. We watched the board, looking for her number to see if she was in surgery, in recovery, etc, read the news, watched the news, etc. She slept for over an hour after she got out--so tuckered out by all her emotions and the Versed for sure and the anesthesia too. When she got awake enough to start asking for Daddy they moved her to her final recovery room where she was offered juice and popsicles, and graham crackers. She must have been famished because she didn't even seem to mind that her hand was yellow with IV tape. She sat on Jeremy's lap and watched the rest of her Barbie movie that they offered her. We got her dressed and they took out her IV without her fainting--yipee, although Daddy had to look away and a nurse poked fun at him and thought it funny that he couldn't look. He couldn't leave the room this time, as Audrey was sitting on his lap. Interestingly though, she complained, a lot, about the band-aid they put on her IV injection site. (Note, they don't put the IV in here until the kids are asleep. Whew. That was a huge relief). She just didn't like it. And wanted it off.

We promised her a toy afterward so we went to a local Target, and walked up and down the aisles until she settled on a My Little Pony remote control car.

Sarah

wednesday april 24. oh, poop.

Allie has been doing great with wearing panties and pooping and peeing in the potty. Today while cleaning Audrey's room, which meant she got to play all by herself with Audrey's Barbie dream house, I saw her run into the bathroom while I was putting away clothes and making her bed. Then I noticed that Ava had followed her. I yell to make sure she's ok. No answer. I quickly tuck the top sheet into the bottom and yell again. No answer. Every mother knows that when there's no answer, there's a trouble brewing. And there was. Allie didn't quite make it to the toilet in time  and although she finished on the toilet, there was poop smeared all over, and I mean all over the top, sides, bottom of the seat. And a little on the floor. Ava appeared to have something all over her hand. When I asked Allie, ( hoping it was the Larabar she'd been eating), Allie said it was poop. A smell test confirmed that Allie was right. Into the tub they went.  Then I asked Allie if Ava ate any of it. At first she said no, but then quickly she changed her answer to yes! Good times.  I called the pediatricians office, just sure they were going to tell me to watch for meningitis. Apparently when I read about that, it must have been a very rare case. We finished with the baths 5 minutes before we were to leave to get Audrey from school.

Again, the above story is why I don't clean deeply during the day. Every time I do something bad happens. Every. time. 

A trip to Target, a trip to the dentist to pick up a school form. That was pretty much our day.

Tomorrow Audrey has outpatient surgery.





Sarah

Audrey's Kindergarten physical: I How we got two visits from the Dr. without even leaving the office.

I think it's safe to say that without massive therapy, Audrey won't be entering the nursing field.  Now, she could surprise us and turn around as she gets older, but if we're going off family history, I look for her to aspire to be something non medical for a career.

Today during her kindergarten physical Audrey fainted. But not right away. I was watching her fairly close after our incident at Ava's one year check-up, and of all places, we were in the bathroom collecting a urine sample as part of the exam. She had just gotten her finger pricked about 7 minutes before. Audrey washed her hands first and I was finishing up and grabbing a towel when she just fell to the ground. She landed face first and hit her head pretty bad on the floor. At first I thought she tripped on her shoes, or slipped in some water. But when I went to pick her up and felt how limp her body was I realized she'd fainted again. She had been really complaining about the band-aid on her finger. She laughed, she was talking, and then out of the blue she kept asking if she could take it off when we got to the van, and the next thing I know she's on the ground.

So the nurse takes us back in to a room, takes her blood pressure and I just hold her for a little bit until she calms down. She was crying, uncontrollably at this point. Very scared, and her head hurt. She told me later her head felt wobbly and then she went to sleep (fainted). Poor baby.

The physical, prior to that, went fine. They weighed her, measured her height, we talked about homeschooling and private school, vitamin supplements, etc.

I did not take a picture before Audrey fainted and after she did, it was the farthest thing on my mind.

Thing is, her father, and uncles, and grandpa all faint easily when dealing with medical.  At least she can't blame me for this.




Sarah

Livy's Dedication

Olivia's dedication at church. I love this little angel. Afterward we went out to eat. A good morning with family and best of all, I got my baby fix.

a thank you supper

Saturday April 20

Grandma and Grandpa came over for a thank you for painting our  playroom supper. Jeremy smoked chicken, I made a three cheese pasta bake, my roasted broccoli and brownies for dessert.  I also  roasted a rosemary lemon chicken in the oven.  Earlier in the day the kids played outside, as it was somewhat warm. Later Audrey really wanted to go outside and play but couldn't because we had company, so she took her friends Julia and Lily a brownie.


Sarah

Julia, Audrey, Lily

the chicken--note the crossed legs and arm resting on the side of the smoker--that was Jeremy's way of  being funny.
Below are the ultimate man appetizer. Ground beef and ground sausage wrapped around a cheese cube, wrapped in bacon and sprinkled with cajun seasoning. 

Thursday

The washer and dryer earned their keep today. I folded an endless basket of little girl clothes. And, with three girls, two now in the same My Little Pony panties but different sizes and when Allie is wearing some of the clothes Audrey wore just last year, sometimes my piles get a little messed up and i find pants belonging to Audrey in Allie's pile, etc. Folding laundry is supposed to be a mindless activity.

The girls built a fort today and created a jumping game that involved one stuffed Winnie the Pooh,  a bar stool and a piano bench.

Audrey is getting better at gymnastics and seems to really enjoy it. She's getting stronger. Her cartwheels and hand stands are looking good.

We had breakfast for dinner. Jeremy hates breakfast for dinner. But this was the first time Allie actually cleaned her plate in months.

It rained and rained and rained a little more today. We don't have it nearly as bad as some neighboring towns and communities as far as flooding but there is a stream that has formed between our house and the neighbors and there is a small lake in my back yard that attracts  ducks. A loose golden retriever  in the neighborhood almost took out those ducks today. Scary moment for the said ducks. And bunnies that were nearby.

I built an awesome train track today with Allie. I was so proud I had to take a picture. Train tracks are a new thing for me. I'm learning. It wasn't very complicated but Allie liked it.

No one napped today.  At 2:45 it was apparent that quiet time wasn't  happening today. And then Allie asked me to help her build a train track. I chugged another glass of green tea and rose to the challenge. I'm glad I did. And Allie was so proud of me. :) I'm sure it won't get torn up for another three hours. :)

The girls were fascinated for some reason with the rain today and the open windows. They looked out that window, made up stories...their imaginations! Oh goodness.

Ava found the little flap to the windows and liked to lift it up and close it. Repeatedly.

the fort.

another view of the fort, and check out these newly recovered cushions on my chairs! I keep meaning to blog about them but I forgot to take a before picture. My mom recovered them for me.

just one of four full laundry baskets. You'd think I'd be done, but I'm not.

and the rain.

Sarah

Wednesday

Wednesdays to Audrey means it's a school day. A day in which she needed to take an umbrella. An umbrella that we looked everywhere for and could not find. Since we were out of food anyway, we headed to the store to get both. We were in there maybe 5 minutes, before Allie said she had to go potty. This is the one thing I HATE about having kids who pee in toilets instead of their diapers. It was actually closer to leave the store and go out to our car than to travel across the store to theirs. We keep a potty seat in the van for such an occasion. During the 5 minutes we were in there, Audrey wasn't listening well. So much, that when we left I told her we weren't going back in and she would have to take one of my umbrellas today to school. I know she was just being a kid, but I've told her before not to "dance" in the produce section, play hopscotch down the center aisle of the store, or wonder three sections over to where I literally have to yell for her to hear me.

In the car, and Audrey's not thrilled that we didn't get a new umbrella and is pouting, Allie successfully makes it to our little potty in the car and I'm trying to congratulate her while I buckle Ava into her seat. -I can buckle Ava in to her seat while Allie does her thing and she doesn't go anywhere. Where as in a public bathroom, well, you can imagine how hard it is to hold her on one hip and try to keep Allie from falling into the big toilet. We strap everyone else in and head across the street to our favorite grocery store and Audrey is complaining about her umbrella and I tell her again, I have no idea where it is. Allie, then says, "Audrey, it's in the garage on the shelf." Well, thank you Allie, where were you about two hours ago when we were discussing this. And she was right. We got our groceries, and when we came home there was the umbrella with the other five we have, up high on a shelf in the garage where no one thought to look, but Allie somehow knew they were there.

A few highlights from the rest of the day:


Allie had her first two potty accidents, but in her defense they were common mistakes.

Audrey wore a pony tail on one side and a braid on the other to school. I made her put on matching shoes.

While Audrey was at school, and Ava asleep, Allie wanted to ride her bike again. It rained this morning so there were worms all over the patio. This bothered Allie. She told me to text Jeremy and tell him about the worms, and that she couldn't ride her bike because she didn't want to run over the worms. Oh, and that she wanted a puppy. I did as she asked. But in the meantime, she decided to turn on the hose and try to wash them away herself. When Jeremy texted back he said, " Hmmm. Tell her they taste great fried. I'll buy a puppy on the way home." 

cleaning off the worms.

Sarah

Tuesday April 16

Three kids to one mommy is tiring. Tiring because we often run out at least once a day to an activity or the store. It's exhausting. It's like I've got three wind up toys and they're going in three different directions. When we are at home, three on one is manageable. It's when we're at Audrey's swim lessons, like we were today (she's so close to her next sticker!) and Ava wants to go play in the playroom down the concrete stairs and I want her to stay on my lap and contently watch her sisters lesson. :) Or she goes back and forth and back and forth. And afterwards when I'm trying to help Audrey get dressed, keeping track of a wondering toddler when there is a large body of water nearby.....not relaxing for me. That's pretty much Tuesdays.

Allie begged to ride her bike, so I let her ride it on the back patio for a little bit today. She was so excited to try out her prize for potty training, I couldn't tell her no.

The girls today were so cute playing in the family room together. They are just getting to the point where Ava can join in a quiet activity like legos or blocks.

 Love her pouty lips as she concentrates!

 The older girls drug some of the baby stuff out of the unfinished part of the basement last weekend when Jeremy and I were trying to "de-hoard" it.  Ava must have remembered this bouncy seat, as she's claimed it as her own. If anyone else tries to put a baby doll in it, she screams.

Allie really wanted to take a family walk with her new bike. So we did, despite the cold weather. Ava in the stroller and Audrey first on her scooter, then she decided to get on her bike. We knew her seat raised up and she grew so much she needed that. But we didn't realized it only went up about an inch. Oops. Time for a new bike for Audrey too.

Allie did great riding her new bike. She loves to go fast, and she turns like a champ. Stopping though, she's still working on. And that made me nervous. I ran more tonight than I've run since Audrey began riding a bike. And it wasn't pretty. Thankfully, no one got a picture of that. As I look at this picture I remember that Allie was so concerned about wearing pajama pants outside. No one said anything. 

Sarah

A new bike for Allie

We promised Allie that if she started to wear panties, and stopped wearing diapers, then we'd get her a big girl bike.

She finally got on board.

I can't even remember how exactly it went down, but when changing her diaper this morning, she said she wanted to put on panties. For a mom who has been trying to get her potty trained for months, I said, "Ok!" And that was that. She went the entire day with no accidents and we even went to preschool twice, dance class and the store. I'll be elated if this sticks. But, to hold up our end of the bargain, we went to pick out a bike. She got her outfit for the dance recital today at class, and it's oh so cute. She will make the cutest bunny!


 We got her a 14" bike and there were only three choices. Lalaloopsy, Cinderella and the Fairies bike that Audrey has. She picked Lalaloopsy. And she rides it well. I like the little basket on the front and the streamers. We've already tried to put Bitty in the backseat and she fits perfectly.  I think she logged 2 miles around the store, and another around the house. It was too cold and dark to ride outside tonight after we got home so she rode the circle around our main level. 

(In a few years, Ava. In a few years)

Allie deciding to be a big girl was great news. I'm so proud of her. I wish the whole day could have brought nothing but great news.

*Our hearts are with Boston tonight, and all the people forever changed by today's events. *






Sarah

in approx 17 weeks

these little baby girls will start kindergarten.

I was chugging along just fine until the other day a friend mentioned not being able to eat lunch with her kiddo everyday anymore. Ugh. I hadn't thought of that. And then I was back in the downward spiral. But I still have 17 or so weeks to adjust to the idea of my baby girl going to school and all that that entails, right? And I'm going to need all 17 of them.






Sarah

Playing outside again, woo hoo!

Sunday, April 14. Outside all day.

Ava loves the swing. That's a good thing. Because if she's in the swing, she's not running out of the yard and down the sidewalk toward to road.

Allie enjoys getting muddy, wet or anything that is messy.

Audrey, Julia and Lily on the swingset

Audrey, Lily, Julia

cookies and soup

Today Allie REALLY wanted to make cookies while Audrey was at school. So, I let her. I let her measure the ingredients, and stir and put them on the pan, all by herself. She was pretty pleased with her  chocolate chip cookies, minus the chocolate.

Grandma and Grandpa came tonight to watch the girls while I went to a girls night. We served my homemade chicken noodle soup--without the noodles, onion or carrots. So, it was basically, chicken, homemade broth and seasonings. 



Sarah

I channeled my inner chef

Yesterday I made a whole chicken in the crock pot and then used the leftovers (bones, etc) to make my own chicken broth overnight. I know,  very Little House on the Prairie. I've been meaning to make my own broth for months. 

I would have taken a picture of this, but frankly it wasn't very pretty. Maybe the homemade chicken noodle soup....

The girls are fighting non stop.

The end.


Sarah

going insane inside

My girls are going crazy being cooped up inside after it was nice for a few days. And that makes me less and less sane as the days go on.

Today, it rained again. And this would not have stopped Miss Ava from going outside, and she was not happy that I would not let her out either. She kept bringing me her shoes, Allie's shoes, anyones shoes, in hopes to go outside.

We did finally go out to run an errand. And that satisfied her, momentarily. I decided it was time to get over my whole chicken phobia again and make one. And then, try my hand at making my own chicken broth. .

I'm painstakingly tired again today and I've got the girls longer alone than I normally do. If I make it through the day without some form of sugar, I'm giving myself a raise.

This is the face that came with the scream and irritation because I wasn't opening the door to let her go outside.

Her shoe choice.

Poor baby.

Sarah