To miss?.......Or not to miss?

So...tomorrow ends this epic adventure!!
Seems like it took forever, but finally it's here!!
4 words: We are SOoo Ready!!

So, I thought I'd do one more humorous post, letting you know that there are a few things I will miss about Em's cast, but mostly things I won't!

We'll start with what I will miss:

This convenient little spot to hold her pacifier in the car!

The nice muscles I've acquired while doing reps with her newly heavy body, when carrying her up to bed!

The fact that I don't have to worry about her going anywhere or getting into anything ;)

I'm really going to miss seeing this gigantic butt! I really don't think there will ever be a time again when this little girl's butt is this big!!

This constant reminder that this child has the best attitude and I mean about everything!
This one in two forms:

Pictures:

And since I peeked your interest with the last post, here's the full version of the video I like to call Happy Feet.....Well, Really, Happy Anything I Can Wiggle!

Here's what I won't so much miss:

The sleepless nights of my restless and uncomfortable girl at night.

The fact that she has a hard time keeping most everything down. And all the extra medications.

Her poor skin that we'll have to deal with as soon as it comes off.

The constantly stinky girl due to the sweat and poop/fart smell trapped in that awful thing (those of you wondering why we're not planning on keeping it, this is why!), also the fact that we can't give her a proper bath.

The one and only substantial injury I received from this cast! No this was not very bad considering the countless ones I received from her feet casts, including but not limited to, black eyes, fat lips, and bitten tongue! This one happened when I moved her in her bean bag and tripped and landed right on her with my larynx! It caused a slight bruise and swelling and the loss of my voice for about an hour.

This horribly heavy and awkward carseat! Not to mention the child that doesn't bend that we have to get in and out of it!

This ridiculous contraption, that hopefully once we'll be able to successfully complete a "sleep study" we won't have to use anymore! It's huge and sounds like a UFO. Not to mention, this child hates having it put in and out of her nasal cavity! So much so, that we have to restrain her :(

One word DIAPERING!! Yes, this was the worst of it by far!! As you'll remember from this post.






But, that's it!! We're done!! I'm sure we'll have lots more pictures and video depicting how Emarie feels about not having it anymore!

The Randomness Rundown of the Past Oh-SO-LONG Week!

I have never been so happy for a Friday night! This week has sure been a doozie and I'm certainly glad it's over! Not that I expect the next week to get much better, but as Em's cast will be coming off on Tuesday, I'm sure it will put me on "cloud 9" for awhile! 

I will explain why this week has been hard:

For one, I started back to work full-time. For those of you that don't know, I am a Title One preschool teacher. Don't know what that is? Don't worry, it's going to be explained in a bit. 

And although I do not have kids coming yet (like my fellow elementary colleagues and friends, ours start after Labor Day), my days have been filled and completely consumed by: Meetings, trainings, conferences,  planning, the oh so dreaded testing, and of course the never-ending classroom prep. The last two being the worst, but I'll explain in a bit.

For some of you, I don't have to say that being a teacher is among one of the most stressful jobs there is. If you can imagine not only being responsible for what you do in work, but also the responsibility of up to 40 children in your "able" hands. You are responsible for their safety, their well-being, and among most important, what they learn. And what they take away from their experience is being critiqued now more than ever. To understand, I need to tell you what "Title One" is: The shortest, and most to the point definition is- a school that has more than a certain percentage of the kids qualifying for free or discounted lunch. There are six Title One schools in Provo District. Which is a lot when you consider how small our district is compared to our neighboring districts. The statistics also show that Title One schools have on average lower testing scores, this is why the government intervenes. So districts with Title One schools get so much more money to put towards free and discounted lunch, after-school programs, among other programs and supplies. One such program that is funded under the Title One money is the one that holds my job. Well, we were told this year that in 4 years, they will start looking at if our program is viable. 4 years because 3rd grade is when "Standardized Testing" starts to count. So, they are going to see if the children that attended Title One preschool benefitted from it by their testing scores. So, as if our jobs weren't already stressful enough, we now have this resting on our shoulders. I really don't want to worry about this, we already know our kids do better. We are told by the kindergarten teachers whom are our predecessors. Plus, we get to see a lot of them from time to time, and I know I'm always proud! But, still, it's not easy to just forget.

Anyway, moving on!

The room prep has been stressful for a "few" reasons. This was the fourth time I moved in one school year (that's 4 times in 9 months if you're not familiar with a standard school year). This last move we were given, roughly about 6 hours to move. Needless to say, nothing that I unpacked was really organized, and I've ended up with a lot of things missing. Not to mention the last 3 boxes that I am unable to unpack, due to the overwhelming smell of vomit when they were opened. Don't ask! I'm not sure why they smell of throw-up, I don't think they smelled like that when they were moved from the last location, so I'm assuming it's from sitting in a certain area of a very old school for 3 months, in a very old classroom that I'm pretty sure hasn't exactly been inhabited since our program moved out over five years ago. 

The other thing that makes it really unbearable to work in our classrooms at our temporary location, is the fact that they are freezing. And I'm talking health department involvement freezing. Like temps in the low 50's! You should know that the health department does not like these conditions for public schools.....well, for that matter, neither do the teachers. I mean, I work with some women that NEVER get cold, and although it's 80 and 90 degrees outside, we're ALL bundled up with layers of sweaters, and thick socks. Most of us have to take breaks every hour or so, to warm up outside, because our muscles start to ache and seize up. Really hoping they get it fixed soon, because it's not going to be inviting to parents on our "Open House" day!

Testing-I consider myself "pro" at anything pertaining to Title One testing. I conduct them all the time throughout the 6+ years I've been working in the program. Special Ed testing is a whole other ball game. They in-listed my help and at the beginning of the summer because they had so many needing testing and not enough willing teachers in the summer. Plus, the extra money wasn't bad. I've been training and shadowing and today was nothing short of a tiny nightmare! Lets just say, that I had two of the busiest/defiant kids to get my feet wet! YIKES! 

So work has been consisting of long, chuck-full days, made worse by the fact that I miss my girl like crazy! Added in to the mix that I'm a little desperate at finding able people to watch her right now, I'm going a little crazy!!

Next horrible thing is that my house is a mess. Yes, not such a big deal, except when you consider that it needs to be ready to sell. Which means it needs to be inviting, spotless and make someone consider it to be their home. If any of you know me, you know that I am completely anal about my house being clean when people I know come over, but facing the fact that I'm going to have countless strangers coming in and appraising and critiquing every little thing about it......I'm starting to freak! It was ready and clean for awhile, but this was before Emarie's surgery. I am however happy to let you know that I did get the kitchen really clean tonight after my long day of testing......as for the rest of the house, well that's probably going to have to wait until the next break from school. Hopefully no one wants to see it before then!

One more sad thing to note:

Yes, that is my favorite little salt shaker that I broke this morning :'( One of the casualties of having to cart around a bean bag for one very deserving and cute girl! Mostly I am sad because I love this set (you can see it's siblings in the background). It was perfect with the decor of my kitchen. Sad more, because I know I won't be able to replace it, which will make it's brother (the pepper shaker), well, useless in my eyes. I know it's not possible because I have already searched for more pieces like this (ie: napkin holder, butter dish, etc), with no luck. Oh well.....one good thing that did come of it- it is the reason I cleaned the kitchen. When I had to sweep up the salt and glass that was all over the tile, I figured why stop there, and so the kitchen is spotless :)

Some good did come of this week though; I have found that one of the awesome qualities and features of my new car, is that it consistently gets at least 37 miles to the gallon, sometimes up to 40. That is around town as well as freeway. Pretty stoked about that, not gonna lie!

Too lazy to edit it enough to turn it, but if you can't tell, the trip odometer reads: 367.6 miles. I know you're all jealous that my car goes that far on only 9 gallons of gas!

And this makes me the happiest of all!

I know it's short, but I just wanted to give you a small taste since there's a more specific post on this coming soon....

So stay tuned!

But, did I mention, I'm glad this week is over??

The Luck of The Draw

Recently a friend of mine, well, technically she's my cousin's best friend, but I've known her just as long, so she's mine too! Anyway, she posted a thing on Facebook saying to go to her blog to enter a contest to win a free pair of Gap Jeans. Here was the post (all you had to do was comment on the pair you would want to win and where you would wear them).

Ok, now some of you have known me a great deal of time, those of you that just read here, can probably still understand this statement. That is, I am an unlucky person. Really, if you can think of some pretty crazy, never happen to anyone kind of things, then they've probably happened to me. With the exception of being struck by lightning (knock on wood here), however you see that in movies often, so to me, it doesn't seem so strange. The things that have happened to me are more of an unusual nature.

I'll give you just a few examples:

When I was 11 and in Mexico with my family, my brother and I were playing on the beach, pretty sure he was "boogie boarding" I was just swimming. I was out there minding my own business, when a pelican swooped down and landed on the water a mere three feet away from me. If you've never seen a real pelican, I will just tell you that they are hideous, and HUGE, and I mean jurassic HUGE, and well I was quite small at the age of 11 (probably only 70 lbs or so), so this thing was quite a bit bigger than me, yet he still was threatened by me (from what I was told later), even though I was there first. He began circling me and sending his enormous beak through the air and snapping within inches of my face. I froze, because I wasn't sure what else to do, eventually though, my brother after being clued in to what was going on, and of course after he stopped laughing hysterically, was able to scare it off. I was able to escape unscathed but absolutely terrified and now am horribly afraid of any and all birds. Those that knew that, but didn't know why and made fun of me for it, well now you know. And probably, I think most people would be afraid of birds after that!

Merely a year and couple of months later, I was visiting my best friend's grandparent's farm in Idaho. The last day we were there some of my friend's siblings and cousins wanted to let "Wilbie" out of his cage. "Wilbie" was her uncle's Javelina Warthog. He was hunting one time, and accidentally had killed "Wilbie's" mom, and felt bad, so brought it home and was raising it with the dogs. Well "Wilbie" really only liked him, and apparently I was threatening again? Well, I did have on a brand-spankin new pair of jeans (which fashion is just emerging to be important at the age of 12) and the pig did have an awful goop all over his nose and was coming toward me, so I backed away (wouldn't you?), well apparently, this was not a good idea.
I don't remember much after, I do remember waltzing in the house and announcing that "the stupid pig had ripped my jeans!" To which my friend's sister exclaimed, "that doesn't look like the only thing he ripped" and then I looked down and saw the trail of blood behind me. I do not remember the long ride in the rurals of Idaho to get to the hospital, just that I was really cold. I remember bits and pieces at the hospital, like the doctors laughing, and incredulously asking over and over, "you were bit by a PIG??" and something about the next person better not have been pecked to death by a chicken......I'll just chalk it up to, I was the livelihood for a long time.
The reason I wasn't remembering much was due to being in shock. Shock so bad, that it caused hypothermia (temp of around 92 degrees). It took 21 stitches to close up the wound on my leg just near my knee. Two significant puncture wounds from the tusks (yes it had tusks, see pictures below), and several smaller ones from the bottom teeth. As it so has it, those very jeans that were destroyed, actually saved my leg from amputation. You see, one of the tusks (would have been his left) was a mere inch from coming out the other side of my leg. So, the toughness of the jeans made it harder to get in, so it would have been a lot worse, say if I had been in shorts. In fact, I might not have my left leg. But as it so happens, I just have the scars now.

My camera is not great for this, but the largest of the scars is easiest to see, it is just below my knee and use to resemble a smile, now just looks more like a circle. That would have been his right tusk, and it mostly just tore about an inch deep gap. Now the other, more severe one is even harder to see with this picture, but it is to the left of the other and pretty adjacent. It is much smaller, but required a couple layers of stitches. The other ones left by his "normal" teeth, are impossible to see, so I won't bother trying to point them out. I really wish I knew how to put arrows where I need them, but probably need a good editing software for that.

Now, here are some photographs of Javelinas. Neither of these are "Wilbie" who has since passed (so sad, I know ;P) These are pretty ugly animals as well

Scary teeth I know!


Ok, ok, so this post is already going on a lot longer than I wanted.......but one more quick one.
When I was living in Europe, we happened to visit Holland and go to the Tulip Festival. Of all the exotic and beautiful flowers there, I only touched one (out of millions), so happens, that I chose to touch the one and only poisonous flower there, a type of lillie, and it caused half of my finger to go numb and drain of color for an entire day. I did not allow my aunt to take me to the doctor for this :)


Ok, so now I've proved my point that I'm an unlucky person, or accident prone, whatever you want to call it. But, in reference to contests and such, I never win anything, with the exception of a cake one time at a school carnival. And our family members each won a door prize at the Vegas conference (for Ch18) last year. Funny story on that, that you can hear if you want, but I won't put it on the post. But, really, usually I don't win. 


Well, this contest I did win!! And I'm SO happy!! Last week was when I got the card in the mail, and inside was a certificate for a pair of Gap jeans, and a bonus $30 gift card as well. The next day is when I went shopping, and here's all I got. I know this was my winnings, but I couldn't pass up buying something for my little sweetie!

The jeans and long sleeved "sneaker" shirt for Em, I got at the Gap in the Orem mall. But we decided to take a little trip to the Park City outlets today, just Em and I, and that's where I got the cute yellow top (you have no idea how long I've been searching for that shade of yellow, everything in yellow this season has been a really yucky shade) and that pink zip-up sweater for Em (since she's grown out of her winter clothes finally, that she wore two years!). The shirt for me was at the Gap outlet, and Em's sweater was at the Old Navy outlet, both together were under $20! Which means, none of those clothes cost me ANYTHING, and that makes me REALLY happy!!


And what's shopping without a fashion show??

Steve went a little overboard with the taking of the pictures
Em's little fashion show will have to wait until she can actually wear her clothes!

Em in her wagon, shopping in Park City, she laughed the whole 3 hours we were there! And this was a challenge with this monstrous wagon, it was crow-ded! Back to school shopping I guess, but people were everywhere, but what really bugged me, is that most didn't bother to give us room on the sidewalk, which meant lots of waiting for people to move. With the exception of one nice lady, no one offered to help with doors, and looked at me with disgust when I took to long to get in or out. And the worst was people looking at me like I was crazy as they looked at the contraption to take Em around in, like we have another choice if you haven't noticed the lower half of her body! Yes, I think it's time to get a disability parking pass as well, because it is really hard to get that sweet little girl (who cannot bend at all) out of a car door when the car in the next space is less than a foot away. Twice now, Em and I have had to wait at the car in the scorching heat for someone to come move their car so that we can get in. Reminds me of when I was 8 and 1/2 months pregnant, and had just got done at the doctors and was trying to hurry back to work. Well, when I got to my car, I realized the car next to the driver's side was less than an inch from my car. Which meant, so as not to be late for my afternoon session, I had to get my whale of a body in the passenger side, up over the middle consul and into the driver's seat. Let's just say I left a "very nice" note on their car!


So a BIG thank you to Alyssa Coberly at "Monkey Chatter" for your oh so kind giveaway, and the chance that I won!

The tables have turned my friends....wait....when and how did that happen??

I am referring to the fact, that I can confidently say that I am an advice giver, confidant, and mentor.

Well......when it comes to a special needs issue, I guess. Ok, maybe I'm not confidently saying it exactly, I just know that a lot of parents (mostly in the Ch18 family) have sent emails or FB messages, asking ME, of all people, advice on different issues that we have dealt with. So, I guess the real credit here, goes to Emarie. Yes, this little kiddo has been through the ringer, so that I could be "an experienced one". I really at one point thought that I would never be at this point, or at least it wouldn't be for a really long time. I was always the one needing someone else to help me with this and that. Still am, don't get me wrong. There were at least 4 parents I was in pretty regular contact with before and since Em's last surgery. Ones who had gone through the same thing with their children. And I am so grateful for their help and advice, and their letting me know what to expect. I guess that is part of the real purpose though. To learn and grow from our experiences and challenges, and then to use what we have learned to then help others. And all of us special needs parents are on this journey together. Well, really all loving parents are on this journey together. 

Please don't think I'm trying to brag here. I am just really honored and grateful that anyone thinks enough of me to ask for my advice or help.

This sweet mom in particular

Marci

And her cutie-patootie!

Brighton

Yes that cute little guy had his first ever surgery! So, mom was going through it for the first time, and I was honored when she asked if I wouldn't mind being with her and Brighton that day. I of course, accepted and I'm sure glad I did. For one thing, it was nice to meet Brighton, although I've known Marci for awhile, this was the first time I've met the youngest of her 2 cute boys (oldest is Levin). Marci and I have started getting together recently, but mostly we do it sans kids :). For another reason, it was really nice to see this from a typical kid perspective. I'll elaborate on that:

 Brighton had tubes put in his ears, which is something Emarie has to have done frequently, and subsequently, they both have the same ENT, Dr. Muntz. 

Emarie's ear tube surgeries take at least 45 minutes for her to be under, mostly due to her tiny ear canals, and also because usually she has an ABR conducted. Brighton only had to be under for around 20 minutes, I was so surprised when Dr. Muntz came in the waiting room that soon! 

Emarie's fastest time in the Post-Op was about 2 hours. Brighton was able to leave in about an hour, because he didn't have any problems breathing afterward, which is generally why Emarie has to stay, most of the time all day. 

Hmmmm.....

Maybe we should consider doing this before the next time Em goes under

Brighton has issues with his lungs, so had to undergo a nebulizer treatment before his surgery. Sadly it's very routine for him, he knew exactly what to do. The NP was marveling at his willingness to continue to put his mouth on the end of it! He's so sweet!!

I mean, I guess I always knew it was different for typical kids, it was just neat to see it first hand!

That day, I was grateful for my so called "experience" with a child in surgery, so that I could be there for my friend in this undoubtedly scary situation. Marci amazingly didn't even cry when she handed little Brighton over to the anesthesiologist (I blubbered like a baby when I did at Em's first surgery)

Do you see the "fist" Brighton is giving? That kid's got fight in him!

All in all, I was just really happy I could be there....Brighton is a little sweetheart, and so is Marci.  I am happy to know them, and have them in mine and Em's life! Marci came to see Em when she was in the hospital just barely....which was beyond my expectations. I certainly hope, that I can and will exceed expectations all the time. That is the kind of person I strive to be.

"You may not mean a lot to the world, but you could mean the world to one person"

Life is so joyful!

I really hope none of you came on here thinking, how in the world can she think that?? If you are new, and haven't read any of my previous posts, then I will tell you, that right now, I'm going through a somewhat complicated situation with my significant other (otherwise know as the husband). That I am undergoing some significant (some would call it) health problems. And oh yeah, one other minor thing, my special needs daughter who is not even three just had her 10th surgery, which was probably a bigger surgery than most would ever face in their lifetime. To which now, she is in a 3/4 body cast!

So one might ask, how can life be good?? Well it is! I have to say, that in this household of three very loving people, 99% of the time, there is a 100% genuine smile on every single one of our faces!! Life is good, very good. 

All is due to one, very beautiful and charming girl. I seriously could not have asked for a better child than this one. I honestly cannot fabricate a more perfect little spirit than the one that inhabits this little girl's body. She is my everything. I really do not remember what life was like without her, that's how amazing she is. Those of you on the outside that have repeated this to me, only see a fraction of what she truly is, which is remarkable. How can this girl have this attitude? How could I have been so blessed to have her? I have no idea, but I am thanking my Heavenly Father for her every minute. Especially now. How can I possibly get frustrated or angry at our situation, when she never does? The one whom everything directly effects, and nothing seems to bother her at all. I just marvel at her, and know I have loads more to learn from her. And loads of time to do it!

I even found myself asking this question today, "seriously, what did I do for fun before YOU?" Em has this new thing of "psyching you out". If you haven't been around her in awhile, or didn't see the video on this post, then you don't know that Emarie is giving hugs when asked. Well, her new little thing to do to daddy is, when he asks for a hug she'll hold out her little arms, but when he comes closer, she instinctively pulls them back and vigorously shakes her head "no," all the while smiling and laughing. She'll only give in when he/we act sad or dejected. Now you tell me that, that is not something only a very bright child would do?! And let alone one that has movement restricted completely to her arms and head. What a sly thing she learned to do with her limits. Some of you may not know why I marvel at this, but those some of you were not there when certain people lead me to believe that she would not amount to much. If only they could see her now. 

I love, love, love what this girl has done for my life! I can't wait to see what she does for hers!

Life with a "Spica Cast"

This post is mainly meant to be humorous. But, hopefully, years down the road, someone will need my help with this experience as much as I've relied on others who've gone through it. In that case, it will be a bit of a reference to look back on, so to speak.

Life has definitely been more interesting with Emarie in a 3/4 body cast, otherwise known as the "spica". We've learned a lot, and so much so, that I have to share!

1. I've gotten much stronger. That thing has added a good 15 lbs to her weight, which has made me appreciate that she was small to begin with. 

2. Bathing this little girl has been a challenge, but thanks to the wonderful Camille (who went through this with her daughter Emily), we found the best way to do this:

That's right, she's on the kitchen counter. That way with the extendable faucet, we're better able to wash her hair without the risk of getting her cast wet. For her body, we use what the hospital used for the duration of her stay, and they are rinse-less sponges, called Bedside-Care EasiCleanse Bath, they are great!

3. As I mentioned above, this cast has added about 15 lbs to my daughter's weight (making her around 35 lbs), which as you could guess, gets a little tiresome to tote around. We decided that we would need one of those large wagons we used at the hospital.

This works both great in the house! And outside, which is why we have a detachable umbrella

4. Since this little pumpkin can't move around, she needs less food, otherwise she vomits exorcist style! However, try explaining this to the Dysphagia Team (eating clinic), specifically her dietician, and they treat you like you're some kind of imbecile. I mean really, you think I want to starve my child?? However, per their request, we are trying to lessen the amount of pedialyte, and up the amount of formula, and we shall see how it goes.

5. I will never again, and I repeat, NEVER AGAIN complain about changing a diaper!! I have yet to experience a changing of the diaper in the "spica" that takes less than 20 minutes! And yes, that's just a wet diaper!! The other kind can take almost an hour! Add all that together with the position you have to hold this child in (which is sideways, with one leg up in the air), you tend to get a shower once and awhile :) It is much better to have 2 people (sad as that is), but it is possible with only one. We are using a combination of a size 3 diaper stuffed into the inside of the cast, with a size 6 wrapped around the outside. In the back I have a Maxi-pad cut into thirds up and around the back. And around any edge (around the legs and stomach) there are pantie-liners cut in half. Funny thing about those, I guess my grandma thought they were some kind of stocking that came and folded over the edge of the cast. She was admiring it saying, "This is really cute" I could not understand what she meant until she explained what she thought it was. Pretty funny! There's also what's known as "petaling" all around any of the edges that are close to skin. It's a type of brown, soft-cloth tape. It also has to be changed quite often as well (around twice a day).

6. I would not recommend becoming sick when caring for a child in a "spica" in fact, avoid it at all costs!

7. We have received countless offers of advice during this whole experience, and we've used some of them. However, we have found, as I'm sure everyone did and will, that after you play around a bit, you find what works best for you. In fact, the diapering was the biggest in the differing of opinions. Of everyone's advice we got, no one's way was the same. And no one was right or wrong either. We sort of took bits and pieces from everyone, and that's what ended up working for us! So what I'm trying to say, is it's nice to get advice, very nice! But in the end, we always find what works best for us!

8. Apart from the diapering and the narcotics, this whole experience hasn't even seemed to phase Emarie. She is still the same sweet little girl as before. The only thing she ever complains about is diapering, but I'm sure it's just as hard on her as it is on us! From the pictures, you can tell that does not look like fun! And when she was on the narcotics, all she wanted to do was sleep (can't really blame her). But apart from all that, this girl is just as happy and chipper as can be, and she never ceases to amaze me!!

Lots of glare on her glasses in this one I know, but I just love how it shows how her personality ALWAYS is!! She is my rock, my inspiration, my hero.

Maybe not now, or even in a few months, but I think somewhere down the road we will look back on this experience fondly. And that is only because we had Em as an example! 

It's fundraiser time!!

Yes, I know that I have a lot going on right now, but this really won't take up too much time to do, especially if I plug it on here, and on FB! Easy-peasy lemon squeezy! 

Some of you may remember me participating in this a couple years back, and we had a pretty good turnout, so I'd really like to see that again!

It is the Yankee Candle fundraiser. I'm sure most, if not ALL of you have heard of Yankee Candles. Well here's a great way to buy something that is great for gifts, or for yourself just in time for Christmas, and help a wonderful cause in return! 40% of all the proceeds will go directly to the 

Chromosome 18 Registry and Research Society

which I must say, is a pretty nice chunk!

You can view the complete catalogue here

Or, if you live nearby, I'd be happy to bring a catalogue by (since they are scratch and sniff!). But, if you're out of state, you can still order!! Email me, and we'll work out the details! You can pay cash or with checks made out to Alisha Peters.

If you find something you're interested in, please first contact me by email: ali_pete83@hotmail.com

or by phone if you have that! If not, email me your number since I don't want it here for anyone to see :) And then we can coordinate payment and whatnot! 

Orders need to be in no later than September 21, 2010

and you will receive your orders in Early December, just in time for Christmas!

Remember anything in this catalogue can make great gifts for Christmas! For friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, kids' teachers, etc!

And please don't forget all the cute kids you'll be helping out!

Video slideshow courtesy of Monica McDivitt

Enough is enough! Of being cooped up in a hospital or home, that is!

I made a decision yesterday, that just because Emarie has had this huge surgery and is now in an almost body cast, that shouldn't force us to not get out and have fun!

This started with going to a birthday party for my friend Holly's little boys' Nicolas and Jackson (they're not twins. Jackson just had his first birthday, and Nicolas will be turning four in a couple of days). And although this did go better than I expected, Em still did not last the whole party before we had to sneak away (lol if you've seen Em, you'd know it's not possible to "sneak" anywhere!). But, still glad we were able to go!

Today was Steve's company barbeque. Well really, Stewart's company barbeque. Em did really well here, and we all, definitely made the most of it!

On the way, can you tell she's happy to be out of the house?! BTW this is her special "spica carseat"

We tried her on the slide

which she rather enjoyed and did not want to stop!

We even found a swing that worked for her ;)

And then daddy took her on the Big Slide! Not the real big one (Stewart's does an inflatable slide every year, Em still has yet to go on that one!)

We sure had fun today!

Do I not just know the best people in the world??

It is amazing to me that, just by opening my mail, I can once again be reaffirmed that there are still very decent people in this world. I am so grateful for my friends and family in this time, that I can't even begin to describe. 

Another very sweet package was delivered to Emarie and me.

And it's contents:

A Yo Gabba Gabba dvd for Em, a very sweet card, and a new book, just for me

This one came from yet another Ch 18 family. This one, we happen to consider ourselves lucky to be quite acquainted with. You may recognize them from other posts in this blog (ie Em's birthday). They are the Howe family. Blair, Jenny, Abby and Em's best Ch 18 buddy Deakon. And even though they are facing trials of their own at this time, they still are ones to always think of others. Yes, we consider ourselves very lucky in deed to call them our friends. 

Yo Gabba Gabba is Deak's favorite show. And I'm sure in no time, we'll get Em hooked too (I'm sure this was their plan all the while! j/k). And I don't know how Jenny knew that I had just finished my last book and was in desperate need of a new one?! I have never read any of Sophie Kinsella's books before, but I've heard great things about them. And after what I've read so far, I'm sure this won't be my last!

Thank you so much for this. For your kindness, and thoughtfulness, thank you!

The big One-Oh!

Ok, so most of you know what has happened this last week. And if you don't, you either don't ever see me in real life, or don't read this blog AT ALL, or have not seen any of the thousands (bit over inflated) posts on facebook about it. But, I will tell you anyway :)

Emarie had her tenth, yes that's 10th surgery! And no, I'm not really excited that my not even 3 year old has had ten surgeries....I'm just doing the best I can to make the most of everything at this time in my life!

And my goodness, there couldn't have been a bigger more elaborate surgery to induct her into this hall of fame! Although, it did not turn out to be as extensive and elaborate as we were first lead to believe (can I get an amen here!)

But, here it is, Em had a Bilateral Varus Rotational Osteotomies. Which in laymen's terms means, she had hip surgery to correct a displaysia she was born with. For those of you that don't know what that is, roughly it means, her legs never fully went in the joints correctly. We tried every measure imaginable to correct this without the drastic means of surgery, including a "Pavlic Harness" and a brace (which is pictured in the previous post). And we thought we did well. When the last x-ray (done after her cast removal from feet surgery) showed that everything was just where it was supposed to be. When I asked Dr. Stotts if we needed to worry and keep monitoring, his response was that it almost never reverts back, at least not in all of his years of practice. Well, what can I say? I know this, and now Dr. Stotts can no longer deny it, but my daughter is always the exception, ALWAYS! 

I have been preparing myself mentally and emotionally for this ever since the day we found out that surgery was the only other option (I won't go into the details exactly, but it was on this post).  Dr. Stotts was not one to "sugar coat", he told me plain and simple, that this would be the most painful thing Emarie would probably ever go through. When I asked him if it would be worse than her feet surgery (because from that, I had never seen her in more pain after that first night), he told me that most likely it would be. So, I wanted to prepare, because I was not prepared for the feet, and I promised myself that night, that I would never allow for my baby to go through that much pain again, because quite literally, it was just unbearable. I am so glad I prepared, because, I was so happy with the outcome. 

Emarie never ceases to amaze me, and this was no exception. I really don't think that she ever showed that she was really in pain. I mean don't get me wrong, she was frustrated, and mad, absolutely! But wouldn't you be?? She is quite literally in a 3/4 body cast, that goes from her armpits all the way down to her ankles. I don't know about you, but I'm sure that would piss me off! Especially if I couldn't understand why I had to wear it, and if it was EVER going to come off! I have tried to explain this to her, but I don't really know how much she gets. But, even now, she's getting use to it, and accepting it. And really, it didn't take nearly as long as I thought!

Ok, now what you've all been waiting for, the pictures! So here they are!

First waiting room, and latest check-in time we've ever had....10:15 am! Totally loved that!

Of course we found a ball to play with while getting stats and getting changed

All changed and ready to go, and SO happy too! Too bad that means she has NO clue what's coming :(

Not really fond of this one of me, but it's the only one of me that exists from the whole ordeal, thus it goes on the blog!

These two ALWAYS look cute together!

Going back with the anesthesiologist, who we think must have been a rookie, because he was very thorough in his rundown of the side effects of anesthesia (guess he didn't know WE are veterans)

After that we waited for what we thought would be at least a good 5 hours or so. But, it only ended up being about 4 1/2 before Dr. Stotts came in to signal the end, and he had nothing but good news to share! First off, he wanted to let us know, that he didn't have to do anything to tighten the joint. No screws or even extra stitches in there. Once he shaved the femurs a bit, and put them into place, they went right in and secure! Which meant that she would not have to be in the dreaded "spica" cast for longer than about 3 or 4 weeks by his estimation.....hello, that is the BEST news EVER! We thought for sure it would be about 6 weeks! So, that cut her time in half!

So, after a bit, I was able to go back and see her

Not a peep from her! Just stared at me. Which reminded me of her feet surgery in Post-Op, which was really the calm before the storm. But, this time I was prepared! And it never came, WAHOO! I am really so glad that this was not as painful for her as I expected it to be, since really there's no amount of preparation in the world that can get you ready to see your baby in that much pain.

After about an hour of me being back there with her, she finally felt like it was safe enough to go to sleep

Ok, now no amount of preparation can make you ready for this thing either!!

The dreaded "Spica"

Yes, we couldn't decide on either of these colors (I really wanted her to have pink though, since it was never used on her feet, unbelievably!), so Dr. Stotts decided to give us BOTH!

The first of MANY wagon rides! Really, sometimes this was the only thing to keep her mind off of things. But, not so great when she would scream when we'd reenter her room! We got smart and would let her fall asleep before we made our way back (sneaky parents!)

First day she let me do her hair! And one of many visitors that came, uncle Bryan!

Did I mention many wagon rides?? By the way, we have since purchased one of these (well my grandma actually)

Daddy holding Em, which proved to be a little challenging, but we're getting the hang of it!

What the wonderful volunteers from the Forever Young Zone and Childlife Specialists made this for Em. This seriously amazed me with all the detail and time that went into this. I mean every little detail was mimicked, right down to her button!

And the "twins" together!

So Emarie spent all of about 6 days total in the hospital. Which is not bad, when I thought we'd at least be there a week! It would have been sooner, save for those darn o2 levels. The doctors finally came to a conclusion that Emarie may have a suspected sleep apnea. Which shouldn't really surprise me when it is so conducive with her syndrome, but still not something as a mother that you want to hear, when your little girl has so much else going on. 

So, we were told we could go home finally, under the condition that we put Em on oxygen at night and follow up with a home sleep study in a couple weeks. So, we'll hope for the best on that.

Also, the last day when Dr. Stotts came in, he tentatively scheduled when she would get her cast off. Sadly, the week he thought it could come off, he will be out of town, so that put us at the 31st, which falls just under 5 weeks. But, who am I to complain, when I initially planned on 6?!

Waving "bye bye" because we're finally taking the wagon and getting the heck out of here!

First day home, and still haven't been able to keep her awake!

So, sorry for the long post, but it was a big one! My favorite highlight from the whole ordeal? Well, really there were a lot, but this one topped them all! Was, the nurse who was a good 9 months pregnant having a "dance off" of sorts with Emarie! I really wished we'd gotten video or at the very least a picture of this, but it didn't happen :(

And I really wanted to take an opportunity to thank all those of you that have prayed or sent words of encouragement our way, because it really paid off!

Em has also received a lot of gifts during this. Including activities and books, but also one of my Ch18 moms purchased a bean bag chair for her to sleep in while she's in the cast (but it's highly fashionable and will match her room perfectly for afterward too!). My next door neighbor bought her a whole bunch of nightgowns since that is the only thing she'll be able to wear to bed for the duration of this cast. And my grandmother purchased a wagon for us to tote her around the house in, and will be fun for years afterward as well! Unfortunately, the bean bag and wagon had to be ordered online, so they aren't here yet. However, we have found both of these things to borrow from friends and family until hers come. 

This all means to me beyond what I can even begin to express. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all!