Hospital time, again! 10/10/09

(The actual date of this post is 10/10/09. The only task that has taken longer for me to complete is sending my friend Erin a birthday card. The card has been sitting on my desk, ready to be mailed, since August 10th. What is my world coming to??!!)

Noah will become a hospital connousseur, if he's not careful. He aspirated (again) about 2 weeks ago. My amazing hero of a husband preformed the baby heimlich (aka back smacks, finger sweeps) for a very long time. Noah finally started coughing, but then ended up choking again. He got this rash-of sorts- on his face and neck called petekeye. It basically looked like red freckles-irritated or burst tiny blood vessels. Just a reminder to me of how hard he was choking.

His new hospital is called Children's of Michigan. The staff is nice and the food is good. For those of you that don't know, the DMC (Detroit Medical Center) is 6 or so hospitals all in one area. They are connected by underground tunnels. I had fun exploring when Noah was finally asleep!

He stayed for 5 nights and 5 days. The grandparents came through in a huge way. Mom came down from Saginaw for the entire week, Granny Ann gave mom a hand when Noah decided to throw up and poop repeatedly for an entire evening (while still in the hospital). Mommy and Daddy were at home for that one-thanks, Grammas! Grandpa Lyndell and my dad came to play and buy Noah his zillion medicines and new formula-thanks Dad! So the Bible says that "Children are a blessing from the Lord." -Psalm 127:3. I totally agree, but am convinced that parents are as well.

Also visiting were Aunt Karla, Uncle (okay, so not yet) Dave, and Cousin Travis. Plus, Grandma Mary and Uncle Juan. Man, that boy is LOVED!!! What a difference being back in Mich.

The Noah update is that he is okay. He is on some new mediations-one is Pulmacort to help his lungs become stronger. They also increased his reflux medication and put him on a strict "dysphagia" diet. This means no solid foods, 2-3 small jars of baby food and three bottles a day. He has been off bottles for over a month now... The bottles can only be eaten at a rate of one ounce every 5-10 mnutes (the docs said 1 oz. every 20 minutes, but I said "FORGET THAT!!! What are they, INSANE??!!").


Of course he is not too fond of this new diet, but actually starting to get used to it. The child is much more patient with this than I am. He will be getting Therapy 2 times a week and they will work with him, increasing his strength and coordination so he can advance to different foods eventually. He will also be followed by a bunch of specialists (no new news there). He looks so healthy and has come so far. I am grateful he will continue to get the support he needs. When we initially had him evaluated in Michigan, he did not qualify for therapy like he did in Illinois.



Okay, that's about all she wrote!

(I wanted to post pics, but the only ones I have are from eons ago, so all in due time...)

hello goodbye

all you beatles fans can join me with that song in your head.

I am saying goodbye to my selfish ambitions of being a professional lazy bum. I am saying hello to an online master's program.

I am saying goodbye to late nights of movie watching and twix bars. hello (hopefully) new job starting at 8 am, and twix bars, I guess they can stay.

goodbye to being a SAHM (Lord-willing) and hello to family members helping care for my little guy. yikes, that means hello to a slew of new germ hiding spots, more big bottles of hand sanitizer and hello baby vitamin c tablets (who am I kidding? I'll be giving him ADULT sized doses, thank you very much) but I guess that's also hello to more faith that the Lord will continue to keep my son healthy!

goodbye to thoughts of Virginia Home for Boys and Girls or Thornwell Home in SC, hello to reaching out to those in need in my own neighborhood (and there are MANY). goodbye unemployment, hello AMAZING career for my wonderful husband.

goodbye facebook and blogging, hello capella courseroom discussions. (ok, ok, so I'll still be on there for procrastination purposes...)

goodbye bad attitude, hello (again) to renewal through Jesus Christ. goodbye to 28, hello to 29 years of life.

"you say goodbye, and I say hello....hello, hello. i don't know why you say goodbye, I say helooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-oo-ooooo-o, helloooo"

with love, to my sis...

GOTCHA!! hehehe

Today was a great day. Here's my recap: I've been praying for patience lately and this am, I didn't even mind that we were late for church (usually I'm annoyed, irritated, or angry). The message was EXACTLY what I needed to keep my spirit up and running, and to make me think about some changes i need to make. Then we had visitors and one young man stood and gave a testimony. Having visitors at church makes me sooooo happy.

I continued to be provided with patience as it seemingly took FOREVER to get home after church, and, just as I was getting ready to visit my family, lost my glasses. It really barely phazed me. I guess by now, I should be used to it. They disappear from time to time and once I even DROVE over them with my CAR before I managed to find them... So, my PATIENT wonderful husband turned them up and I was on my way!!!

Anyhow, I arrived at my cousin's just in time for Noah to meet:
Aunt Joy, Erin, Baby Qwill, and Peyton (and I got hugs from them all!! Oh yeah, except Peyton lol). They were on their way out, but the timing of the Lord provided. I really love my cousin and aunt and I barely get to see them. It was great-ten minutes? I'll take it!!

Next we got to see Aunt Pat, U. Ed, Angie, Mom, Karla, Travis, and then Noah finally met Christine, Jeremy and Gracie. It is soooo cool to introduce my big healthy boy to so many who have prayed for him, but never actually seen him. The food was tasty, Noah loved the pool, and I delivered a special package to my precious darling sister. Yeah, karla, that's right...

Love my family and thank God that we could see them today. What a blessing!!!

PS Noah had a "gift" of his own for his auntie!!

BIG news!!!!

Well, my big toenail just fell off. I know, it might not be the news you were expecting, but blogworthy, nonetheless!! I jammed both my big toes playing basketball months ago. They both turned grotesquely blue and I found the injury online. It's called "The Black Toe."

A few people asked me why I had only painted 2 of my nails. So finally, I painted them all. And today, my husband accidentally stubbed his toe into mine. Viola, there it was. A big half pink toenail hanging by a bit of dead toenail thread. It didn't hurt, but felt VERRRRRRY weird.

It's so intriguing that I want to keep it. If I were still in college, I'd probably mail it to someone I know and wait for them to tell me about their "package." Maybe I'll put it in a cup of coke and see how long it takes to disintegrate.

Any other ideas??? Don't worry, I'll try to take and upload a pic soon. Or, if you want, I could send it YOUR way (Karla-hahahahahahahaha).

baby no more...

I always hear people say "what happened to my baby? (s)he's grown up sooo fast!" And now it's happened to me... Here's the proof:

unmotivated

that's what i am. don't wanna cook, nor clean, nor so nuthin. grammer, spelling, capitalization, none of that jazz.. just wanna sit here and sit. mmmmmmm. sit and that's it.

So, it's been awhile since I blogged about anything. I think I will talk about bullies. I was just watching out my window and this kid pushed this other kid on the ground. Then they had a little tussle, which turned into a big tussle. The bully got up and appeared to be kicking the other guy while he was still on the ground.

He spun on his heel and started to walk away like the "big shot" I'm sure he is. The "little guy" must have said something (or nothing at all...), cuz the bully turned back around and shoved him on the ground. Then he proceeded to saunter (and I mean SAUNTER) up the street toward his bully buddy and high five him like a CHEIF!!! Infuriating, to say the least.

I watched this all from my window, and thought "Why am I not saying something to this child?" I actually said aloud "Someone need to punch THAT kid. It should be me..." but I did nothing. There are two reasons I stood by:

1. The kid could be the next candidate for some weird orientation and I don't want him remembering my address.

2. His mom might come a'knockin and I have had enough in my lifetime of parents who turn the other cheek to their children's behaviors.

There is a book I used to read called "Teacher Talk." The premise being that children should be verbally nurtured (ex: instead of "DON'T RUN!!!", say "walk, please."). Additionally the author seemed to believe (as I once did) that there is no such thing as a bad child, just bad choices.

After 2 1/2 years in the public school classroom, I'll tell you something. Actually a few somethings...

1. "Please respect Darryl's space" is a poor substitute for "Get your hands off Darryl before I suspend your butt!!"

2. There IS such thing as a bad child-usually the by-product of a bad (or missing) parent.

Not that I have it all figured out, certainly NOT THAT. Just that it's upsetting to see people who do not care. Am I one of those people? I should have run out and grabbed the bully by the scruff of his neck. In the old days, that would have been expected and accepted by the community. If I'm not there, you get him for me!!! Kids these days have too many rights, in place of an ounce of respect. I guess that's all part of the plan. As the Word of God says:

"This know also, that in the last day, perilous times shall come. For men shall be...disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy...incontinent, fierce, despisers of God. Traitors, heady, highminded. Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God"
-1 Timothy 3:1-4

Yes, indeed. I can be pretty high-minded myself. If I'm gonna be honest, I have more than a few choice words and judgements for that kid AND his mom. Oh boy, the Lord still has some WORK to do on me... Thank God for another day!!!

r u serious

So, last might I made lasagna for the first time ever. It was delicious. I went to buy some ricotta cheese, but reading the label confused me. Who would want a "sweet dessert cheese" in their lasagna? Weird. Next I went to check out the Feta. Can you believe that a dinky little 4 oz container cost 6 dollars??!!! What?! It must have come from a pristine baby llama or something. So, I settled for good ole Mozzarella. Again, the outcome was "yum," so whatever.

I must say that I will be glad to leave behind the Jewel prices. A bag of Doritos was on sale for almost 4 dollars. No wonder we've been so broke...

Here's a list of things that I will not miss about Chicagoland:
-the worst and longest rush hour I have ever seen in 28 years (sunup to sundown)
-people honking at me to "DRIVE!" b4 the light even turns green
-the sun setting at 4pm in the winter
-the -20 windchill
-afforementioned prices at the Jewel/Osco

Here's a list of things that I will dearly miss about Chicagoland:
-Donna and Laura-these ladies are like kin to me, even though I never actually SEE them
-The Mt. Prospect library
-A park every mile or so
-A great job w/ a very understanding boss
-The mile long lake that is across the street from my apt. building (perfect for runs that I rarely go on.)
-The view from my balcony
-random glimpses that I catch of the Sear's Tower in the distance...
-an outstanding public trasnportation system (that I NEVER use, but it's nice to have options)

Motor City or Bust!!!