I decided Lacy has been watching too much TV lately, so today I announced we were having a TV-free day. Lacy cheerfully said, "OK!" She hasn't even asked to watch TV all day long. At lunch, I asked Lacy what she wanted to do during Rose's nap time, and she chose her Princess coloring book and markers. She is a little louder than usual, and interrupted me with an almost sleeping Rose twice, but Rose eventually went down and Lacy has been finding things to do all afternoon. Monday is my heavy-duty chore day, so it's been impressive that she hasn't even asked, or even hinted at wishing she could turn the TV on!
I also started a chore chart for Lacy today. She has four daily chores: make her bed, put away books, put away toys, and another chore I assign her. On Sundays, she gets a "free" day, but all others she will get a simple chore, such as dusting or cleaning the dining room window. When she completes her chore, she can put a sticker on the spot for that day and that chore.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Keep homebirth safe and legal for all Americans!
The AMA has recently adopted a resolution which seeks legislation to ban homebirth. Please sign this petition, even if you are not a homebirther yourself. All Americans should have access to quality health care options. Homebirth has been shown to be as safe as hospital birth, resulting in fewer complications, cesareans, episiotomies, and other interventions than comparative hospital births. I am proof that the midwifery model of care works-- one successful homebirth, and one transfer to the hospital when the midwife's training and instincts were telling her we needed to go, due to complications that presented themselves. That is how things should work-- midwives for uncomplicated labors, and obstetricians for more complicated cases. These two professions should work together, not against each other.
The AMA adopted this resolution in part because of a recent documentary critical of the way hospital births are currently conducted-- "The Business of Being Born," by Ricki Lake. They are afraid homebirth is becoming trendy and people will do it now just because of her documentary. They actually specifically named her in a draft of the resolution, though they (wisely) left it out of the final document.
The AMA's efforts would be better spent focusing on a new, larger problem of low birthweight babies. We have had the highest rate of low birthweight babies in 40 years, which is probably the result of convenience cesareans and inductions, which have risen sharply in the last decade or so. Christina Aguilera had a convenience cesarean at 37 weeks-- why doesn't the AMA adopt a resolution specifically targeting her? That is a much more dangerous birth choice.
The AMA adopted this resolution in part because of a recent documentary critical of the way hospital births are currently conducted-- "The Business of Being Born," by Ricki Lake. They are afraid homebirth is becoming trendy and people will do it now just because of her documentary. They actually specifically named her in a draft of the resolution, though they (wisely) left it out of the final document.
The AMA's efforts would be better spent focusing on a new, larger problem of low birthweight babies. We have had the highest rate of low birthweight babies in 40 years, which is probably the result of convenience cesareans and inductions, which have risen sharply in the last decade or so. Christina Aguilera had a convenience cesarean at 37 weeks-- why doesn't the AMA adopt a resolution specifically targeting her? That is a much more dangerous birth choice.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Woot! 59 cent chicken!
Thanks to Leslie for the heads up on the 12 hour sale at Top Foods, featuring whole chicken for $.59/lb. Many of you recall my love affair with using whole chickens rather than buying them in pieces. Today's sale had a limit of four chickens. So after our initial purchase, I ran out to the truck, loaded everything in the back, and went back in to buy four more chickens. NICE! I just finished butchering them all and they're now nicely packed away in the freezer, ready to use. I do want to rethink my current storage method. I use too much plastic. I like everything cut up and ready to go, since I'm sort of a lazy cook and often don't have dinner planned at 4 pm. That way, I can just take out a baggie of chicken thighs and defrost in the microwave (or a pound of ground beef, which I package similarly) and voila, there's my protein! Next time I do this, I think I will butcher fewer chickens at a time so I can lay out the pieces on a cookie sheet to individually freeze pieces. Less plastic use is always a good thing. Hopefully in a couple year's time I'll be using chickens from my own little farm rather than the grocery store! Heck, maybe we'll have a commune going by then and someone else can help me butcher chickens!
To think, just 8 years ago I was still a vegetarian. Sometimes I wish I still was, but I think I actually eat a lot more healthfully now than I did pre-meat. That is, if you don't count the ice cream and Sweets and Beets.
Today we had gymnastics, but starting next month we will be going on Wednesday at 11 am. That's going to be good, since Leslie lives sort of close by, and her kids will be going to violin on Thursdays 10-12. This way, we can meet up or hang out at Leslie's, though I'm hoping we can arrange park or library trips occasionally.
I actually wasn't so sure we could go to gymnastics this morning. Lacy has been coughing since Tuesday, and Rose has been a little as well (I think she's finally getting those top 2-year molars, though, so it may be unrelated to Lacy's cough). She woke up with a nasty cough this morning. I decided to wait it out to see if she would get better. I gave her a Ricola cough drop, which helped a little bit. Probably because she crunched it right up, rather than sucked it down. Just like her mama-- impatient. I decided to see if a hot shower would help clear her lungs. So I gathered two naked girls into the shower and we had a little party. I plugged the drain up, let the hot water vapor pool around us, and added a few drops of peppermint essential oil for good measure. That did the trick! No more coughing pretty much the rest of the day.
During this time, Dave has been sleeping on the couch to avoid getting sick. Unfortunately, he still ended up getting some sort of flu today. I have him taking some homeopatics that have helped him with the flu before, and I'm hoping that spending pretty much all evening on the couch today has helped him relax and rejuvinate his body. I hate to sound greedy and/or insensitive, but, Friday is an overtime day, and it is really helpful when he works Fridays, especially since he likely only has one more week after this with this company.
Some good news came today. In the midst of these medical bills from hades, we have a little glimmer of happiness. The insurance is covering more of Rose's dental expenses than I previously thought! I saw how much they were billing the insurance for most of the procedures, compared it to my "maximum benefit" chart, and realized that the crowns were going to cost a bit more than the insurance covered, by about $75 a pop. Plus there were additional things that weren't covered fully, so I was expecting to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 for that lovely smile Rose now possesses. Plus facility fees ($300) and anesthesiologist fees (we have yet to be billed for that, but I'm expecting around $75). In addition, Lacy had surgery the same day, as you may recall, which will cost us around $475 for facility fees, unless we get a network discount that I don't know about (we still owe about half of that), anesthesiologist fees (about $75) and physician's fees, which will probably be in the neighborhood of $150-200. That is one expensive day! Not that I'm complaining-- Dave's been working extra hours, which has prevented the medical bills from becoming a hardship, and Lacy gets better sleep now. In fact, a friend of ours the other day commented on how beautiful Lacy is now that she doesn't have rings around her eyes all the time! She doesn't snore, and she never has trouble breathing at night anymore. That's been huge for us. It's just so nice when you get little gifts like that.
To think, just 8 years ago I was still a vegetarian. Sometimes I wish I still was, but I think I actually eat a lot more healthfully now than I did pre-meat. That is, if you don't count the ice cream and Sweets and Beets.
Today we had gymnastics, but starting next month we will be going on Wednesday at 11 am. That's going to be good, since Leslie lives sort of close by, and her kids will be going to violin on Thursdays 10-12. This way, we can meet up or hang out at Leslie's, though I'm hoping we can arrange park or library trips occasionally.
I actually wasn't so sure we could go to gymnastics this morning. Lacy has been coughing since Tuesday, and Rose has been a little as well (I think she's finally getting those top 2-year molars, though, so it may be unrelated to Lacy's cough). She woke up with a nasty cough this morning. I decided to wait it out to see if she would get better. I gave her a Ricola cough drop, which helped a little bit. Probably because she crunched it right up, rather than sucked it down. Just like her mama-- impatient. I decided to see if a hot shower would help clear her lungs. So I gathered two naked girls into the shower and we had a little party. I plugged the drain up, let the hot water vapor pool around us, and added a few drops of peppermint essential oil for good measure. That did the trick! No more coughing pretty much the rest of the day.
During this time, Dave has been sleeping on the couch to avoid getting sick. Unfortunately, he still ended up getting some sort of flu today. I have him taking some homeopatics that have helped him with the flu before, and I'm hoping that spending pretty much all evening on the couch today has helped him relax and rejuvinate his body. I hate to sound greedy and/or insensitive, but, Friday is an overtime day, and it is really helpful when he works Fridays, especially since he likely only has one more week after this with this company.
Some good news came today. In the midst of these medical bills from hades, we have a little glimmer of happiness. The insurance is covering more of Rose's dental expenses than I previously thought! I saw how much they were billing the insurance for most of the procedures, compared it to my "maximum benefit" chart, and realized that the crowns were going to cost a bit more than the insurance covered, by about $75 a pop. Plus there were additional things that weren't covered fully, so I was expecting to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 for that lovely smile Rose now possesses. Plus facility fees ($300) and anesthesiologist fees (we have yet to be billed for that, but I'm expecting around $75). In addition, Lacy had surgery the same day, as you may recall, which will cost us around $475 for facility fees, unless we get a network discount that I don't know about (we still owe about half of that), anesthesiologist fees (about $75) and physician's fees, which will probably be in the neighborhood of $150-200. That is one expensive day! Not that I'm complaining-- Dave's been working extra hours, which has prevented the medical bills from becoming a hardship, and Lacy gets better sleep now. In fact, a friend of ours the other day commented on how beautiful Lacy is now that she doesn't have rings around her eyes all the time! She doesn't snore, and she never has trouble breathing at night anymore. That's been huge for us. It's just so nice when you get little gifts like that.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Father's Day
We all slept in really, really late for Father's Day this year. Like, until almost 11 o'clock. That meant waffles for brunch, showers or baths for everyone, and rush out the door for 1 o'clock church. Dave did Lacy's hair and she got lots of compliments about it.
Before we left, Lacy gave her dad the gifts we bought for him-- a sun shield for his car winshield (he has no a/c, so it gets HOT in there!), a kite, and a new box of drill bits. Eventually, if they will ever restock it, we will be getting a tool chest for him as well. It has 11 drawers and is perfect. I have a coupon to buy it for a huge discount, but unfortunately Harbor Freight hasn't had it in stock for a looooong time, and I can't afford to drive up to Tacoma to pick one up!
At church, I played piano for the children. They were doing a musical number, so I played while they stood up at the front of the church looking cute. That's pretty much all they did, because I ended up playing a piano solo. Oh well, at least they were cute. The thing that bugs me about this is that LACY KNOWS ALL THE SONGS! She was singing it in the car after church! Why didn't she sing IN the church?
After church, we met Dave's family at Burfoot Park. We had lots of fun playing with cousins and running around the park. Dave flew the kite with the girls, who loved that. Kelly had to laugh at Rose, who has perfected the art of getting her picture taken. At the top of the slide she would wait and smile, giving me time to take a picture. At the bottom, she would stop at the end, look up and smile. Kelly got a really cute picture of her at the bottom of the slide. Unfortunately, I forgot a memory card, so I only had room for a few pictures on my internal memory card.
Posing at the top of the slide
Rose is quite the little monkey. This is her favorite thing to do at gymnastics, too!
Posing again... I was hoping Allison would look at the camera, too, but this is the best we could do!
Lacy enjoyed playing on the playground, too. She was busy, and usually with Brenda or someone else other than me, so I didn't get many pictures of Lacy.
Before we left, Lacy gave her dad the gifts we bought for him-- a sun shield for his car winshield (he has no a/c, so it gets HOT in there!), a kite, and a new box of drill bits. Eventually, if they will ever restock it, we will be getting a tool chest for him as well. It has 11 drawers and is perfect. I have a coupon to buy it for a huge discount, but unfortunately Harbor Freight hasn't had it in stock for a looooong time, and I can't afford to drive up to Tacoma to pick one up!
At church, I played piano for the children. They were doing a musical number, so I played while they stood up at the front of the church looking cute. That's pretty much all they did, because I ended up playing a piano solo. Oh well, at least they were cute. The thing that bugs me about this is that LACY KNOWS ALL THE SONGS! She was singing it in the car after church! Why didn't she sing IN the church?
After church, we met Dave's family at Burfoot Park. We had lots of fun playing with cousins and running around the park. Dave flew the kite with the girls, who loved that. Kelly had to laugh at Rose, who has perfected the art of getting her picture taken. At the top of the slide she would wait and smile, giving me time to take a picture. At the bottom, she would stop at the end, look up and smile. Kelly got a really cute picture of her at the bottom of the slide. Unfortunately, I forgot a memory card, so I only had room for a few pictures on my internal memory card.
Posing at the top of the slide
Rose is quite the little monkey. This is her favorite thing to do at gymnastics, too!
Posing again... I was hoping Allison would look at the camera, too, but this is the best we could do!
Lacy enjoyed playing on the playground, too. She was busy, and usually with Brenda or someone else other than me, so I didn't get many pictures of Lacy.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Fat lip
Today, to get out of the house, we decided to take a little trip to Bed Bath & Beyond, to use a gift card I received for my birthday to buy a waffle iron. We haven't had a waffle iron since we moved here almost 4 years ago-- somehow it got lost in the shuffle. That happens when you share a home with another couple. Anyway, BB&B was right by the mall, so I decided to take the kids to the play area inside the mall, since it has been raining buckets here lately.
We had only been in there playing about 5 minutes when I saw Rose do a face plant off one of the structures. I ran to her right away, and started cuddling her. I noticed that her mouth was bleeding a little, but I wasn't concerned. Another adult told me, "Mom, she's bleeding!" I said, "I know." A little more cuddling, and I took another look. Her mouth and hand were all bloody, and so were both our shirts. I took both kids, in their stocking feet, to the family bathroom, which seemed an eternity away. I washed Rose up really well, and saw that she was just fine, with just a little fat lip. I washed the blood off her shirt and dried it under the hand dryer. I decided that we came there for playing and that was what we were going to do, darn it! I didn't want to gross anybody out with her bloody clothes, though.
We went back and played for another 10 minutes or so. The girls had an okay time. They get really stir crazy if we don't go out and do things occasionally, which is the main reason we stayed there.
On another note, I got really annoyed with other parents at the play area. It clearly states in the posted rules (you can't miss them-- they're right by the only entrance!) that shoes are NOT to be worn in the play area. There were several children wearing shoes, two of whom looked to be 3 or 4. I'm not going to get mad at a 1 year old wearing shoes, because frankly, usually they're pretty soft, their feet are small, and the children don't weigh a lot and aren't as active as older children, so the shoes won't cause much damage to other children. But older children? This is a play area primarily designed for really young kids, so the older children can really hurt the younger kids wearing shoes. Especially when they're jumping off the toys or wearing pointy, hard cowboy boots. Ugh.
I'm not even going to get into the inappropriate discipline that I witnessed at the play area today, other than to say, spanking is not the most appropriate discipline tactic for a 1 year old. Positive reinforcement or redirection works soooo much better, and witnessing a very young toddler being spanked, even lightly, was really shocking to me. That is all.
Here is Rose's fat lip. Poor sweet girl! It doesn't look too bad, but there was a LOT of blood!
We had only been in there playing about 5 minutes when I saw Rose do a face plant off one of the structures. I ran to her right away, and started cuddling her. I noticed that her mouth was bleeding a little, but I wasn't concerned. Another adult told me, "Mom, she's bleeding!" I said, "I know." A little more cuddling, and I took another look. Her mouth and hand were all bloody, and so were both our shirts. I took both kids, in their stocking feet, to the family bathroom, which seemed an eternity away. I washed Rose up really well, and saw that she was just fine, with just a little fat lip. I washed the blood off her shirt and dried it under the hand dryer. I decided that we came there for playing and that was what we were going to do, darn it! I didn't want to gross anybody out with her bloody clothes, though.
We went back and played for another 10 minutes or so. The girls had an okay time. They get really stir crazy if we don't go out and do things occasionally, which is the main reason we stayed there.
On another note, I got really annoyed with other parents at the play area. It clearly states in the posted rules (you can't miss them-- they're right by the only entrance!) that shoes are NOT to be worn in the play area. There were several children wearing shoes, two of whom looked to be 3 or 4. I'm not going to get mad at a 1 year old wearing shoes, because frankly, usually they're pretty soft, their feet are small, and the children don't weigh a lot and aren't as active as older children, so the shoes won't cause much damage to other children. But older children? This is a play area primarily designed for really young kids, so the older children can really hurt the younger kids wearing shoes. Especially when they're jumping off the toys or wearing pointy, hard cowboy boots. Ugh.
I'm not even going to get into the inappropriate discipline that I witnessed at the play area today, other than to say, spanking is not the most appropriate discipline tactic for a 1 year old. Positive reinforcement or redirection works soooo much better, and witnessing a very young toddler being spanked, even lightly, was really shocking to me. That is all.
Here is Rose's fat lip. Poor sweet girl! It doesn't look too bad, but there was a LOT of blood!
Sunday, June 08, 2008
First talk!
Lacy gave her first talk in Primary (our church's children's organization) today. It was very cute. Her topic was temples. We prepared throughout the week by talking about temples, and gathering pictures for her to use. This morning, we tried practicing with her, but she refused, because she was giving her talk in Primary later, not at home. She also insisted that she would give the talk by herself when she went to Primary.
We got to Primary, and she got to sit up front to wait for her turn to give the talk. Dave discreetly snapped a quick picture of her waiting for her turn.
When it came time to give her talk, she went right up, and said, "Dad, can you help me?" So of course he helped her. She wanted him to tell her exactly what to say, which is what we were trying to avoid with practicing beforehand. Oh well. She held up a family photo, a picture of the Seattle Temple, and a picture of Jesus. She spoke well and clearly into the microphone, and didn't hesitate at all. She's really blossoming, and is becoming less and less shy. I'm so proud of her! I stuck around until after singing time, because I'm subbing on the piano next week, including playing one song in Sacrament meeting for Father's Day, so I practiced it once through with the kids. I also played piano in Relief Society today.
Rewind just a second here... at the beginning of church, there were some investigators with the missionaries that we had met last week. Lacy really took a liking to the woman, Nancy, and held her hand up until church started. She led her to our pew and insisted she sit with us. Of course, she didn't want to sit next to her once church started and sat, briefly, next to an older woman in our ward. Then, both girls were excessively loud and disruptive during Sacrament meeting. Lovely. And then, it went over about 15 minutes, so we got to tame the crabbiness even longer. Lucky us.
After church today we were supposed to have some people over for dinner, but the wife got sick and they couldn't make it. Just as well-- Dave was able to take a friend out fishing before he undergoes a painful surgery tomorrow. He had a good time, caught some fish, and is now trying to get a little sleep before the week starts all over again tomorrow! While he was gone, a friend, Grant, brought over some steelhead that he caught over the weekend. Yummy! We're having that for dinner tomorrow.
Yesterday I attended a funeral for a friend of mine from high school. Very sad. She left behind two little girls, age 5 and 3, and a husband. It was the first Catholic funeral mass I have attended, and I appreciated the experience. I got to see several of my girlfriends that I haven't seen in a long time, and it was nice to see them, of course I would have rather seen them under different circumstances. While I was gone, my sister watched my kids. Afterward, we had a "covered" wagon picnic in the park as a reward for Regan. She blogged about it and included some cute pictures from yesterday.
After our pioneer picnic, I loaded up the girls and went to Dairy Queen for some time with my girlfriends. I met Jenny, Erin, Chanda and Angela there. I was glad I wasn't the only one with kids! Lacy and Jenny had an instant bond and were BFFs, at least for the duration of our trip, and she fell in love with Angela's newborn baby Aurora. I got the little kids cones, and got myself a small chocolate sundae. I'm trying not to go overboard, since I'm trying to lose a little weight, but I'm not depriving myself either. Anyway, we had a nice time, and chatted for about an hour and a half before my kids said, through their actions, "IT'S TIME TO GO!" We had fun, and hopefully we'll get to see Jenny again soon. She hadn't been to Washington in 5 years! Don't wait that long for your next trip, Jenny! Everyone else was local, so hopefully we can all get together soon. I see Chanda a lot, since she lives across the street from my sister. Fun!
We got to Primary, and she got to sit up front to wait for her turn to give the talk. Dave discreetly snapped a quick picture of her waiting for her turn.
When it came time to give her talk, she went right up, and said, "Dad, can you help me?" So of course he helped her. She wanted him to tell her exactly what to say, which is what we were trying to avoid with practicing beforehand. Oh well. She held up a family photo, a picture of the Seattle Temple, and a picture of Jesus. She spoke well and clearly into the microphone, and didn't hesitate at all. She's really blossoming, and is becoming less and less shy. I'm so proud of her! I stuck around until after singing time, because I'm subbing on the piano next week, including playing one song in Sacrament meeting for Father's Day, so I practiced it once through with the kids. I also played piano in Relief Society today.Rewind just a second here... at the beginning of church, there were some investigators with the missionaries that we had met last week. Lacy really took a liking to the woman, Nancy, and held her hand up until church started. She led her to our pew and insisted she sit with us. Of course, she didn't want to sit next to her once church started and sat, briefly, next to an older woman in our ward. Then, both girls were excessively loud and disruptive during Sacrament meeting. Lovely. And then, it went over about 15 minutes, so we got to tame the crabbiness even longer. Lucky us.
After church today we were supposed to have some people over for dinner, but the wife got sick and they couldn't make it. Just as well-- Dave was able to take a friend out fishing before he undergoes a painful surgery tomorrow. He had a good time, caught some fish, and is now trying to get a little sleep before the week starts all over again tomorrow! While he was gone, a friend, Grant, brought over some steelhead that he caught over the weekend. Yummy! We're having that for dinner tomorrow.
Yesterday I attended a funeral for a friend of mine from high school. Very sad. She left behind two little girls, age 5 and 3, and a husband. It was the first Catholic funeral mass I have attended, and I appreciated the experience. I got to see several of my girlfriends that I haven't seen in a long time, and it was nice to see them, of course I would have rather seen them under different circumstances. While I was gone, my sister watched my kids. Afterward, we had a "covered" wagon picnic in the park as a reward for Regan. She blogged about it and included some cute pictures from yesterday.
After our pioneer picnic, I loaded up the girls and went to Dairy Queen for some time with my girlfriends. I met Jenny, Erin, Chanda and Angela there. I was glad I wasn't the only one with kids! Lacy and Jenny had an instant bond and were BFFs, at least for the duration of our trip, and she fell in love with Angela's newborn baby Aurora. I got the little kids cones, and got myself a small chocolate sundae. I'm trying not to go overboard, since I'm trying to lose a little weight, but I'm not depriving myself either. Anyway, we had a nice time, and chatted for about an hour and a half before my kids said, through their actions, "IT'S TIME TO GO!" We had fun, and hopefully we'll get to see Jenny again soon. She hadn't been to Washington in 5 years! Don't wait that long for your next trip, Jenny! Everyone else was local, so hopefully we can all get together soon. I see Chanda a lot, since she lives across the street from my sister. Fun!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
The water main
A little late, but this is certainly noteworthy! Last Tuesday, after I miraculously put Rose down to bed just before 8, I washed my hands and noticed we have very little water pressure. Curious, I went into the kitchen and checked-- no water pressure there, either. I told Dave, who prepared to go next door to see if they had water pressure. He opened the door, and saw what the problem was. We had water shooting up 6 feet in the air! OK, I didn't actually see it, and the number keeps getting bigger, but for little while we had a water feature going there in our front yard. By the time I got out there to take a look, it was just a little fountain, reaching up maybe 2 inches, but the amount of water that was coming out of it was amazing. Dave ran around trying to find the right tools to turn off our water main, and had to borrow a tool from the neighbor. Before he got it turned off, we saw the water gauge quickly turning in circles.
Immediately, we started looking for tools, shovels, and everything else we might need. Dave started digging as soon as we borrowed a shovel from our neighbor. One of our shoves is missing and the other was run over by the people who resurfaced our lawn. Lacy couldn't sleep with us out there working, so I told her she could watch us IF she would sit quietly in a chair and not get up. I thought this would take very little time to find where the pipe was. I misjudged. Dave's friend Chris had work lights, so he said he'd come over and help us out. At that point, it was close to 10, so I made Lacy go to bed.
Dave and Chris kept working until after 11, when they finally found the pipe. It was too late and they didn't have all the tools and parts to fix the pipe, so they decided to call it a night. The next morning, was at the Home Depot as soon as it opened. He worked hard and fast, and got the repair done early. He was able to still make it down to work before the first break was over, and got an 8 hour day still. He kept the hole open to see if there are any leaks. There are a couple, but unfortunately Dave hasn't had the time with his crazy schedule to fix it, so I have a giant hole in my front yard still! Oh, well-- at least I have running water! I keep reminding myself how much worse it could have been-- it could have happened while we were asleep, or while we were out of town even. We had a much higher than normal water bill last month, which I attributed to watering my garden more often, but perhaps the leaky pipe also contributed!
While we were working, I gave Lacy the camera, and she took a few pictures of the action. This one's a pretty accurate depiction of what we were doing. Dave doing all the work, me scratching my head wondering what the heck I could do to help. Really, the only thing I was doing was watching, fetching tools, and telling Dave where the water was coming from when he turned the main on and off so he would know where to dig (I would have just dug straight down from where the water was coming up, but it was actually at quite a bit of an angle. Glad Dave's smart about this type of thing).
At last! The broken pipe. If you click on it for a larger image, you can see the 6 inch crack across the top of the pipe.
Dave's repair work.
We are going to replace the whole pipe when we relandscape our front yard. Apparently there is another spot on the pipe where a repair has been done, and according to our neighbor it didn't look as sturdy as Dave's repair. The pipe is only rated at 75 pounds pressure and should be 150 pounds (or something like that... that's jargon I'm not really familiar with) so it really should be fixed anyway. He's planning on trenching it out and buffering it with a layer of sand before covering it back up with dirt. The problem here was that big rocks were close to the pipe, bumped up against it with the normal shifting we have here in the Pacific Northwest, which weakened the pipe eventually leading to its failure.
But before that happens, I just want my front yard back. Pretty please?
Immediately, we started looking for tools, shovels, and everything else we might need. Dave started digging as soon as we borrowed a shovel from our neighbor. One of our shoves is missing and the other was run over by the people who resurfaced our lawn. Lacy couldn't sleep with us out there working, so I told her she could watch us IF she would sit quietly in a chair and not get up. I thought this would take very little time to find where the pipe was. I misjudged. Dave's friend Chris had work lights, so he said he'd come over and help us out. At that point, it was close to 10, so I made Lacy go to bed.
Dave and Chris kept working until after 11, when they finally found the pipe. It was too late and they didn't have all the tools and parts to fix the pipe, so they decided to call it a night. The next morning, was at the Home Depot as soon as it opened. He worked hard and fast, and got the repair done early. He was able to still make it down to work before the first break was over, and got an 8 hour day still. He kept the hole open to see if there are any leaks. There are a couple, but unfortunately Dave hasn't had the time with his crazy schedule to fix it, so I have a giant hole in my front yard still! Oh, well-- at least I have running water! I keep reminding myself how much worse it could have been-- it could have happened while we were asleep, or while we were out of town even. We had a much higher than normal water bill last month, which I attributed to watering my garden more often, but perhaps the leaky pipe also contributed!
While we were working, I gave Lacy the camera, and she took a few pictures of the action. This one's a pretty accurate depiction of what we were doing. Dave doing all the work, me scratching my head wondering what the heck I could do to help. Really, the only thing I was doing was watching, fetching tools, and telling Dave where the water was coming from when he turned the main on and off so he would know where to dig (I would have just dug straight down from where the water was coming up, but it was actually at quite a bit of an angle. Glad Dave's smart about this type of thing).
At last! The broken pipe. If you click on it for a larger image, you can see the 6 inch crack across the top of the pipe. 
Dave's repair work.
We are going to replace the whole pipe when we relandscape our front yard. Apparently there is another spot on the pipe where a repair has been done, and according to our neighbor it didn't look as sturdy as Dave's repair. The pipe is only rated at 75 pounds pressure and should be 150 pounds (or something like that... that's jargon I'm not really familiar with) so it really should be fixed anyway. He's planning on trenching it out and buffering it with a layer of sand before covering it back up with dirt. The problem here was that big rocks were close to the pipe, bumped up against it with the normal shifting we have here in the Pacific Northwest, which weakened the pipe eventually leading to its failure.
But before that happens, I just want my front yard back. Pretty please?
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Memorial Day
We had a really nice Memorial Day. Dave had to work, but it was worth it since he was getting paid double time. They decided to let the guys off after 5 hours, so he got paid for a full day's work working only half the day. Soon after he returned home, we prepared to visit with Dave's family in Shelton.
The big thing for my girls was the hammock. They loved swinging on it! They were on it quite a bit. It was fun to swing on alone...
Just the babies...
The girl cousins...
The oldest cousins...
And, just for a second, all four girls were on the hammock. Allison decided it was too crowded!
We (meaning everyone but me) swung the ball around the front yard for a while
Took pictures of the cute little girls (Rose, Madison, Lacy and Allison)
And took time to smell the flowers.
It was a fun time for all. In the end, we were very glad that Dave got off work so early, as everyone left for Jared's baseball game. I didn't get any pictures there since Rose immediately made a bee-line for the playground. It was a FUN playground, but playground pebbles were stuck in it all over the place. I'm a bit OCD and had to try to get as many rocks off that structure as possible. I'm weird, I know. Dave was excited that the only game he was able to attend, he was able to watch Jared hit a home run! Way to go, Jared!
We changed the kids into their jammies at the car and headed home. What a fun day!
As for today, I need to be getting to bed. It's late, but I worked out late tonight because Rose was having some issues falling asleep (as was Lacy... not sure what happened tonight!). I needed to have some downtime after working so hard. I only ate two cookies today! Go me! I ate one as a snack with the girls mid-morning, and one as a reward for doing so well all day long. If I completely deprive myself, I know I'll just gorge myself later on, so I'm not even going there. My diet is all but unchanged, just adding a few extra portions of vegetables a day, and limiting unhealthy snacks. Hopefully that, with the exercise that I've been doing, will get me back down where I want to be by the time we go on vacation in July!
The big thing for my girls was the hammock. They loved swinging on it! They were on it quite a bit. It was fun to swing on alone...
Just the babies...
The girl cousins...
The oldest cousins...
And, just for a second, all four girls were on the hammock. Allison decided it was too crowded!
We (meaning everyone but me) swung the ball around the front yard for a while
Took pictures of the cute little girls (Rose, Madison, Lacy and Allison)
And took time to smell the flowers. 
It was a fun time for all. In the end, we were very glad that Dave got off work so early, as everyone left for Jared's baseball game. I didn't get any pictures there since Rose immediately made a bee-line for the playground. It was a FUN playground, but playground pebbles were stuck in it all over the place. I'm a bit OCD and had to try to get as many rocks off that structure as possible. I'm weird, I know. Dave was excited that the only game he was able to attend, he was able to watch Jared hit a home run! Way to go, Jared!
We changed the kids into their jammies at the car and headed home. What a fun day!
As for today, I need to be getting to bed. It's late, but I worked out late tonight because Rose was having some issues falling asleep (as was Lacy... not sure what happened tonight!). I needed to have some downtime after working so hard. I only ate two cookies today! Go me! I ate one as a snack with the girls mid-morning, and one as a reward for doing so well all day long. If I completely deprive myself, I know I'll just gorge myself later on, so I'm not even going there. My diet is all but unchanged, just adding a few extra portions of vegetables a day, and limiting unhealthy snacks. Hopefully that, with the exercise that I've been doing, will get me back down where I want to be by the time we go on vacation in July!
Before I go to bed...
I wanted to update that I am actively trying to lose weight. I got back down to my pre-baby weight, and then I gained back a bunch of weight. So this month I am actively trying to loose that weight, and then a few extra pounds for good measure! I've started working out and walking around the neighborhood, and I'm going to watch what I eat and reach for fruit instead of cookies!
And what was my motivation? A little girl in Lacy's gymnastics class came up to me, patted my tummy, and asked me if there was a baby in my tummy. It's time to loose some weight.
And what was my motivation? A little girl in Lacy's gymnastics class came up to me, patted my tummy, and asked me if there was a baby in my tummy. It's time to loose some weight.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Rose's birthday
Rose has been two for more than a week now, so it's about time I updated you with birthday photos! Rose had a very nice birthday, despite her mom being out of it with allergies. It was a beautiful day, and we decided to enjoy the good weather and have the small family party (just us four) outside.
Rose didn't really "get it" that it was her birthday, and didn't understand how to open presents (I'm sure she'll learn before her 3rd birthday!). Dave had to help her with everything.
First thing she opened was the chair. Previously we had only one chair, which the girls fought over (and made compromises on) in the past. Lacy enjoyed helping Rose by getting her the presents she thought Rose should open next. Everything was a surprise for Lacy, too, which was half the fun!
OK, I lied. There was one gift that wasn't a surprise for Lacy. But she picked it out for Rose. It was a Barbie Mariposa coloring book with a box of 8 washable crayons. We should have picked Rose Art brand, but we went with Crayola. Darn! Didn't think of it until we were out of the store.
One of Rose's favorite gifts was the doll with the stroller I got her. She loves pushing a baby around in a stroller! We have several strollers that she likes to use, and it never hurts to have more!
She also loved the bubbles. I got her a no-spill bubble container, which is good since she recently dumped out two bottles of bubbles during an FHE activity of bubble blowing.
Since Rose's favorite color is yellow, and since she loves playing dress-ups, I couldn't pass up this cute Belle dress up dress.
Lacy thought that she should have been able to try it on first. She was shocked that we wouldn't let her wear it until Rose got to put it on and wear it for a while.
Eventually, the girls put on Rose's new pajamas (she got two coordinating pairs), and we went inside to have cake and ice cream. Lacy picked out the cake from the store. I usually make cakes from scratch, but I have been feeling poorly with allergies lately so a lot of things have gone by the wayside. Rose didn't understand the concept of blowing out birthday candles, so she just sat there, staring blankly at the cake wondering what the heck those little pointy things were on fire. Dave "helped" her blow out the candles. Eventually.
We had a really fun, laid back day. We did the laid back thing with Lacy's second birthday as well, and I highly recommend it. Lacy wants a big birthday bash this year, and I'm not sure if I'm up for it! These low key family events are just so... easy!
Rose didn't get many presents, either, which was nice. My parents sent some money for Rose, so the gifts were from both them and from us. She ended up getting the coloring book and crayons, a shape sorting cube, the Belle dress, bubbles and a bubble bucket, two pairs of pajamas, a fold-up chair, and the doll with stroller. She didn't really need a lot, being the second girl, but I tried to get her a couple nice things that I knew she would love. And you know what? She plays with every single toy I got her, so it was successful!
An interesting tidbit: completely on accident, Rose wore the same dress Lacy wore on her 2nd birthday.
Rose didn't really "get it" that it was her birthday, and didn't understand how to open presents (I'm sure she'll learn before her 3rd birthday!). Dave had to help her with everything.
First thing she opened was the chair. Previously we had only one chair, which the girls fought over (and made compromises on) in the past. Lacy enjoyed helping Rose by getting her the presents she thought Rose should open next. Everything was a surprise for Lacy, too, which was half the fun!
OK, I lied. There was one gift that wasn't a surprise for Lacy. But she picked it out for Rose. It was a Barbie Mariposa coloring book with a box of 8 washable crayons. We should have picked Rose Art brand, but we went with Crayola. Darn! Didn't think of it until we were out of the store.
One of Rose's favorite gifts was the doll with the stroller I got her. She loves pushing a baby around in a stroller! We have several strollers that she likes to use, and it never hurts to have more!
She also loved the bubbles. I got her a no-spill bubble container, which is good since she recently dumped out two bottles of bubbles during an FHE activity of bubble blowing.
Since Rose's favorite color is yellow, and since she loves playing dress-ups, I couldn't pass up this cute Belle dress up dress.
Lacy thought that she should have been able to try it on first. She was shocked that we wouldn't let her wear it until Rose got to put it on and wear it for a while.
Eventually, the girls put on Rose's new pajamas (she got two coordinating pairs), and we went inside to have cake and ice cream. Lacy picked out the cake from the store. I usually make cakes from scratch, but I have been feeling poorly with allergies lately so a lot of things have gone by the wayside. Rose didn't understand the concept of blowing out birthday candles, so she just sat there, staring blankly at the cake wondering what the heck those little pointy things were on fire. Dave "helped" her blow out the candles. Eventually.
We had a really fun, laid back day. We did the laid back thing with Lacy's second birthday as well, and I highly recommend it. Lacy wants a big birthday bash this year, and I'm not sure if I'm up for it! These low key family events are just so... easy!
Rose didn't get many presents, either, which was nice. My parents sent some money for Rose, so the gifts were from both them and from us. She ended up getting the coloring book and crayons, a shape sorting cube, the Belle dress, bubbles and a bubble bucket, two pairs of pajamas, a fold-up chair, and the doll with stroller. She didn't really need a lot, being the second girl, but I tried to get her a couple nice things that I knew she would love. And you know what? She plays with every single toy I got her, so it was successful!
An interesting tidbit: completely on accident, Rose wore the same dress Lacy wore on her 2nd birthday.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
What's With Wednesday?
A short recap:
Two weeks ago Wednesday, Dave took the day off to be with me and the girls while the girls had surgery.
A week ago Wednesday, Dave went in to work but was sent home because he was sick.
Last night, our water main broke in our front yard, so Dave is taking as much time as he needs off until it is fixed. Another Wednesday, another day of not working. He's really hoping to get back to work before noonish so he can have half a day's pay at least, and it looks like it very well could happen.
So yesterday after Rose went to bed, I noticed that we had virtually no water pressure. I checked the other sink, and yup, same thing. So I told Dave, who got some shoes and went to check with the neighbors to see if they had pressure.
He didn't have to go far. In the front yard was a geyser shooting up about 3-4 feet high. He immediately gets to work, trying to find the right tools to turn off the water. He had to borrow tools and a shovel because one of ours is missing and the other clearly got run over. Dang! So he starts digging and finally finds the darned pipe at almost 11 o'clock, with the help of our friend Chris. It has about a 5 inch crack in it. I wonder how long it had been cracked like that! Our water bill last month was for over 1000 units more than the previous month, but we watered the garden a lot. I'm wondering if the pipe's been cracked for some time and we didn't notice last month because of all the watering of the lawn we did.
Well, I'm trying to look at the bright side. At least it wasn't geysering all night, with Dave waking up this morning to a muddy mess in the front yard. It was probably only shooting up water like that for a half hour or so. At least it happened on a Tuesday night, not a Thursday night, where Dave would have to miss overtime work.
Just when we start getting comfortable, something like this always happens.
Two weeks ago Wednesday, Dave took the day off to be with me and the girls while the girls had surgery.
A week ago Wednesday, Dave went in to work but was sent home because he was sick.
Last night, our water main broke in our front yard, so Dave is taking as much time as he needs off until it is fixed. Another Wednesday, another day of not working. He's really hoping to get back to work before noonish so he can have half a day's pay at least, and it looks like it very well could happen.
So yesterday after Rose went to bed, I noticed that we had virtually no water pressure. I checked the other sink, and yup, same thing. So I told Dave, who got some shoes and went to check with the neighbors to see if they had pressure.
He didn't have to go far. In the front yard was a geyser shooting up about 3-4 feet high. He immediately gets to work, trying to find the right tools to turn off the water. He had to borrow tools and a shovel because one of ours is missing and the other clearly got run over. Dang! So he starts digging and finally finds the darned pipe at almost 11 o'clock, with the help of our friend Chris. It has about a 5 inch crack in it. I wonder how long it had been cracked like that! Our water bill last month was for over 1000 units more than the previous month, but we watered the garden a lot. I'm wondering if the pipe's been cracked for some time and we didn't notice last month because of all the watering of the lawn we did.
Well, I'm trying to look at the bright side. At least it wasn't geysering all night, with Dave waking up this morning to a muddy mess in the front yard. It was probably only shooting up water like that for a half hour or so. At least it happened on a Tuesday night, not a Thursday night, where Dave would have to miss overtime work.
Just when we start getting comfortable, something like this always happens.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
A Few of Rose's Favorite Things
I meant to blog this yesterday on Rose's actual birthday, but my allergies are very severe right now and yesterday was the worst day of allergies I've experienced so far this year. Anyway. This is a list of many of Rose's favorite things!
Favorite Song: "Popcorn Popping," "Book of Mormon Stories"
Favorite Color: Yellow
Favorite Toy: Dolls
Favorite Animal: Dog (in theory, not in actuality!)
Favorite Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Any "Little People" lift the flap book
Favorite Game: Duck, Duck, Goose
Favorite Thing to do with Dad: Cuddle after baths
Favorite Thing to do with Mom: Nursing... duh!
Favorite Thing to do with Lacy: Play dress-ups
Favorite Naughty Activity: Coloring on walls
Favorite Messy Activity: Playing in dirt/sand
Favorite Food: rice and noodles
Favorite Class: Nursery
Favorite Part of Spiritual Time: family hug and kisses
Favorite Sister: Lacy
Favorite Prissy Thing: Painting fingers and toes
Favorite Phrase: "Family Hug!" (it comes out as, "ga ga ga!!!!")
Favorite Person to talk to on the phone: Daddy
Favorite Song: "Popcorn Popping," "Book of Mormon Stories"
Favorite Color: Yellow
Favorite Toy: Dolls
Favorite Animal: Dog (in theory, not in actuality!)
Favorite Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Any "Little People" lift the flap book
Favorite Game: Duck, Duck, Goose
Favorite Thing to do with Dad: Cuddle after baths
Favorite Thing to do with Mom: Nursing... duh!
Favorite Thing to do with Lacy: Play dress-ups
Favorite Naughty Activity: Coloring on walls
Favorite Messy Activity: Playing in dirt/sand
Favorite Food: rice and noodles
Favorite Class: Nursery
Favorite Part of Spiritual Time: family hug and kisses
Favorite Sister: Lacy
Favorite Prissy Thing: Painting fingers and toes
Favorite Phrase: "Family Hug!" (it comes out as, "ga ga ga!!!!")
Favorite Person to talk to on the phone: Daddy
Thursday, May 22, 2008
I guess I need to clean up the stuff Rose dumps out of drawers more often.
One of the girls dropped an apple on the floor, and when I picked up the apple I saw this:
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Lacy's making me crazy!
I'm not exactly sure why (but I have some suspicions), but ever since the surgery, Lacy's been very difficult to get to go to bed. She used to go to bed like a dream, but now? Not so much. She stalls and won't stay in bed and makes noise and whines. I think it's because she's more rested, and I just have to get her to be getting up at about 7 each morning so she'll go to sleep at 8. That's 11 hours of sleep, and I think that's what she needs. She used to go to bed at 8 and get up at 9 or 9:30, sometimes 10, and complained of being tired a lot. I guess the apnea was really affecting the quality of sleep, and she needs a lot less now. Plus, she's been absolutely spoiled this last week and has been watching 5-6 hours of TV a day. Bad, I know, but she's recovering and isn't at 100% yet. I'm thinking of going for another TV free week next week, or at least 2-3 days, to wean her off the TV habit. She'll be fully recovered by then.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Rough Night
Dave's been sick, Lacy's been recovering from surgery, and Rose has been all around cranky lately, so that is a recipe for disaster. Rose kept waking up last night, and at 4 am she woke up and would. not. go. to. sleep. Since it was before she was allowed to nurse (that's a nightweaning thing we started-- she's allowed to nurse after 6 am). After disturbing Dave and myself to the point of no more sleep, I decided to put on a movie, Evan Almighty, with the hope that Rose would be pacified enough to fall asleep. It worked! Unfortunately, Dave had already left for work, so he didn't benefit from the extra sleep, but if she does it again tonight I'll try it again. With her snoozing in my arm, I finished watching the end of the movie. The credits appeared, and I heard a little voice say, "Mommy, the movie's over!" I had no idea that Lacy was watching, too! She apparently doesn't sleep as soundly as she did before the surgery. Maybe because now she can actually hear, and stuff. And because she doesn't require as many hours of sleep because she gets better quality sleep. We really need to focus on her routine as soon as she's well, because between her and Rose, I'm bound to be committed.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
I told her...
I didn't care where she slept as long as she stayed in the bedroom. She really wanted to be out with us. This is how I found her a few minutes ago as I was preparing to come to bed.
Another one from today. Rose and Lacy only have one outdoor chair to share, so sometimes they fight over it. Today, they compromised.
We had a nice day today. I took Rose to church and Dave stayed home with Lacy, since she's still cranky and moody from the surgery. She's adjusting to needing less sleep (hence her being awake until 10:30 tonight for the upteeth time since the surgery). Lacy was very sad to have to miss Sunbeams, but she called her teacher before church, crying with tears running down her face while she told her she had to miss, asking her to prepare the handouts for her to take home. She was comforted only by the offer of ice cream from her dad. The teacher wrote her a really sweet note and sent home some activities relating to being thankful for hands.
Tonight after church we barbequed and hung out outside. After dinner we played with bubbles until the girls spilled all our bubble solution (Les, do you have a bubble recipe?) then the girls had popsicles. I admired my newly formed grass and watered my garden and lawn. It was a pleasant evening, but tomorrow's a work day and home blessing hour, so we're going to be busy yet again. Lacy's itchin' to leave the house, so I'm not sure how we'll fit that in.
Another one from today. Rose and Lacy only have one outdoor chair to share, so sometimes they fight over it. Today, they compromised. 
We had a nice day today. I took Rose to church and Dave stayed home with Lacy, since she's still cranky and moody from the surgery. She's adjusting to needing less sleep (hence her being awake until 10:30 tonight for the upteeth time since the surgery). Lacy was very sad to have to miss Sunbeams, but she called her teacher before church, crying with tears running down her face while she told her she had to miss, asking her to prepare the handouts for her to take home. She was comforted only by the offer of ice cream from her dad. The teacher wrote her a really sweet note and sent home some activities relating to being thankful for hands.
Tonight after church we barbequed and hung out outside. After dinner we played with bubbles until the girls spilled all our bubble solution (Les, do you have a bubble recipe?) then the girls had popsicles. I admired my newly formed grass and watered my garden and lawn. It was a pleasant evening, but tomorrow's a work day and home blessing hour, so we're going to be busy yet again. Lacy's itchin' to leave the house, so I'm not sure how we'll fit that in.
Top 1000 Names for 2007
The top 1000 names for 2007 has been released by the SSA. I'm so excited! This is my baby naming bible. I always refer to it when naming a child to ensure that their name isn't too popular. Rose's name was ranked #347 in the year she was born, and is only getting less popular. In 2006, 945 babies were given the first name Rose. Lacy's name was ranked 897 in the year she was born, with just 270 children given the name Lacy that year. It has since dropped off the list completely. Lacey, however, is still on the list. Oh, well. At least she'll always have to spell her name for people. As long as Rose doesn't have to spell her name for people, we'll be doing fine.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Surgery Day
Yesterday was a stressful day for us, but it is over and done with and we are moving on! It all started at about 5:15 when Dave and I got up and started getting ready. It was nice for Dave to get to sleep in for once. We left the house at about 6 and arrived right before 6:30 at the surgery center. After checking in and agreeing to hand them over our first born if our insurance didn't cover the procedures, we waited to be called back. We went back just before 7. Both girls were weighed and measured-- Lacy was 41 inches tall and just over 31 pounds, and Rose was 35 inches tall and just under 26 pounds. They dosed up Rose with some medicine first to make her loopy. Then we changed the girls into matching hospital gowns. Lacy equated gown with marriage, so she got married and had babies about three times before she got the loopy medicine. She would lay down in a chair and say, "I'm having a birth." On one occasion, she noted that she was having her baby in a pool. Gotta indoctrinate 'em young, I say ;)
After talking to both doctors and both anesthesiologists, I felt fairly comfortable that the girls would be well taken care of. They took Rose back first, and promised to take good care of her. She clung to the nurse as they took her back. Poor baby. I was told that they gas them up and put them to sleep and then insert the IV, which is a policy I really appreciate. They put the IV in Rose's foot.
Lacy went back about a half hour after Rose. They took her back in a red wagon. Dave and I went out to the waiting area to scarf down some food and wait for our kids to be done. At about 9, the dentist came out saying he had saved Rose's front tooth and capped three more besides. Dave went back to be with her in recovery while I waited. While I was waiting, Lacy's doctor came out to tell me that the procedure was successful, and that her adenoids were "huge." She also didn't have much fluid behind her ears, but he put in the tubes anyway. I'm a little annoyed at that part, since I didn't really want her to have tubes in the first place, but I'm saying that it had to have been necessary for her comfort otherwise he wouldn't have done it (I hope no one tries to argue that point with me especially since the surgeon is my bishop and I feel strongly that he wouldn't just do something "just because"). When Rose was transferred to another stage of recovery, I was invited back to join her and Dave (only one parent allowed per patient in the first stage of recovery). I held her close and snuggled the baby up. She looked so good, yet puffy. She was on an IV drip, which was taken out after she drank some juice.
Lacy came out after a while, and boy was she loud about it. We were told that she may come out aggressive, and that certainly proved to be true for her. I honestly think it had something to do with the Vicodin that they gave her, because she only has temper tantrums like that after she takes the Vicodin (because she's fighting it so much). She was kicking and screaming and so unpleasant, but she was very vulnerable and needy so I didn't blame her for having that attitude one bit. Rose was sleepy, so she went to Dave and I held Lacy, who absolutely refused to drink any water or juice, and wouldn't eat a Popsicle. That was one thing she needed to do to be released. We got all the discharge instructions and got permission from the surgeon to leave anyway.
The kids slept a lot on the way home and throughout the day. So much so in fact that Lacy didn't go to sleep last night until 12:30! Part of the problem was that we let her sleep in our bed, as a special treat for her hard day. I forgot how crowded four in a bed is. I'm glad that she's in her own bed tonight!
Even though Dave took the day off work, we still made money by selling some scrap metal to the recycling yard. Almost $70, so not as much as he would have made working, but heck it's something at least. We also resorted to bribes and force to get Lacy to take her medicine. Nice. I hate doing that to her. I'm officially not making her take Vicodin anymore because she hates it so, and it makes her miserable. She's taking Tylenol instead. As long as she doesn't complain about the pain, we're fine, I guess. I'll just dose her up every four hours on Tylenol tomorrow and stop that on Saturday and just give as needed, when she complains of pain. She is speaking with a squeaky voice but is otherwise feeling pretty darned good, and acting relatively normal. She even had a tea party outside this afternoon with her cousin and sister. I blogged about our day on my family's blog, complete with pictures.
I really hope Rose doesn't need the same surgery. And I really hope this stops Lacy's apnea problems. It was truly scary listening to her gasping for breath after not breathing for several seconds at a time. I would have to move her to help her breathe more comfortably, and that was while I was awake. I slept through most of it. I've been told that it is scary after the fact, because you don't know if they're breathing or not!
Anyway, we took a bunch of pictures to remember our big day yesterday!
Drugged Rose, before her costume change
Rose "before" photo
Girls in their gowns, waiting to be called back
Loopy Lacy going back for surgery
Rose "after" picture
Lacy recovering on the couch... she took much longer than Rose to come off the anesthesia
After talking to both doctors and both anesthesiologists, I felt fairly comfortable that the girls would be well taken care of. They took Rose back first, and promised to take good care of her. She clung to the nurse as they took her back. Poor baby. I was told that they gas them up and put them to sleep and then insert the IV, which is a policy I really appreciate. They put the IV in Rose's foot.
Lacy went back about a half hour after Rose. They took her back in a red wagon. Dave and I went out to the waiting area to scarf down some food and wait for our kids to be done. At about 9, the dentist came out saying he had saved Rose's front tooth and capped three more besides. Dave went back to be with her in recovery while I waited. While I was waiting, Lacy's doctor came out to tell me that the procedure was successful, and that her adenoids were "huge." She also didn't have much fluid behind her ears, but he put in the tubes anyway. I'm a little annoyed at that part, since I didn't really want her to have tubes in the first place, but I'm saying that it had to have been necessary for her comfort otherwise he wouldn't have done it (I hope no one tries to argue that point with me especially since the surgeon is my bishop and I feel strongly that he wouldn't just do something "just because"). When Rose was transferred to another stage of recovery, I was invited back to join her and Dave (only one parent allowed per patient in the first stage of recovery). I held her close and snuggled the baby up. She looked so good, yet puffy. She was on an IV drip, which was taken out after she drank some juice.
Lacy came out after a while, and boy was she loud about it. We were told that she may come out aggressive, and that certainly proved to be true for her. I honestly think it had something to do with the Vicodin that they gave her, because she only has temper tantrums like that after she takes the Vicodin (because she's fighting it so much). She was kicking and screaming and so unpleasant, but she was very vulnerable and needy so I didn't blame her for having that attitude one bit. Rose was sleepy, so she went to Dave and I held Lacy, who absolutely refused to drink any water or juice, and wouldn't eat a Popsicle. That was one thing she needed to do to be released. We got all the discharge instructions and got permission from the surgeon to leave anyway.
The kids slept a lot on the way home and throughout the day. So much so in fact that Lacy didn't go to sleep last night until 12:30! Part of the problem was that we let her sleep in our bed, as a special treat for her hard day. I forgot how crowded four in a bed is. I'm glad that she's in her own bed tonight!
Even though Dave took the day off work, we still made money by selling some scrap metal to the recycling yard. Almost $70, so not as much as he would have made working, but heck it's something at least. We also resorted to bribes and force to get Lacy to take her medicine. Nice. I hate doing that to her. I'm officially not making her take Vicodin anymore because she hates it so, and it makes her miserable. She's taking Tylenol instead. As long as she doesn't complain about the pain, we're fine, I guess. I'll just dose her up every four hours on Tylenol tomorrow and stop that on Saturday and just give as needed, when she complains of pain. She is speaking with a squeaky voice but is otherwise feeling pretty darned good, and acting relatively normal. She even had a tea party outside this afternoon with her cousin and sister. I blogged about our day on my family's blog, complete with pictures.
I really hope Rose doesn't need the same surgery. And I really hope this stops Lacy's apnea problems. It was truly scary listening to her gasping for breath after not breathing for several seconds at a time. I would have to move her to help her breathe more comfortably, and that was while I was awake. I slept through most of it. I've been told that it is scary after the fact, because you don't know if they're breathing or not!
Anyway, we took a bunch of pictures to remember our big day yesterday!
Drugged Rose, before her costume change
Rose "before" photo
Girls in their gowns, waiting to be called back
Loopy Lacy going back for surgery
Rose "after" picture
Lacy recovering on the couch... she took much longer than Rose to come off the anesthesia
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
We're done
Surgery went well and both girls are resting now at home. Lacy was very unhappy once she was coming off the anesthesia. Hopefully we can get her to continue drinking liquids so she can start feeling better! I'll update more in depth later.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Tomorrow's the big day
We go in tomorrow for the girls' procedures. Rose's is first at 6:30, and Lacy's is at 6:55. That's check in time, and I'm assuming it will take much, much longer than that. I'll update you tomorrow with how it went.
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