Wednesday, November 19, 2008
okay okay okay!
I know I said a new post is coming soon- and it IS. Promise. But it will have to wait till after this weekend. I'll be in Topeka at a church retreat with my oldest and will catch you all up when I get back. Promise! : )
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
The Great Pain
Things have just started to return to normal (whatever that may be) around our house. I know I'm a bit tardy in posting about this, but hey, time got away from me. Anywho- at about 6:30pm on Tuesday, February 19th John started to get a pain in his stomach, on the right side. It was right before dinner and he had just finished playing with the Wii. I was thinking maybe he'd pulled a muscle or something- you can get pretty carried away with that sometimes! So, we ate dinner and then did the usual nighttime stuff- dishes, kids finishing homework, etc. I went to bed about 9:30pm or so. I was tired. At about 11:00pm, he woke me up and said I needed to come help him, that he was sick. So, I went downstairs and realized he really hadn't been to bed yet. Lights on everywhere, tv turned on, laptop opened up. He said he wasn't feeling well and that he was sweating like crazy and was having pains in his lower stomach on the right side. He'd tried to take tums, thinking it might just be gas or something. Well, that didn't help at all. He was thinking it might be his appendix or something else- not sure.
We had just changed to a high deductible health plan in January, so we were being cautious about going to the emergency room and having it cost us $1000 just because he had to pass gas or it be a $1000 kidney stone or something. After some thought, and more pain, off we went. The girls were still sleeping- but I didn't want to wake them and take them with us, so I woke up Laura and told her I was taking her dad to the hospital because he was sick. I told her to call on the cell phone if she needed anything. She said okay and went back to sleep. Not at all trusting that she would remember any of that, I wrote out a big note telling them where we were and to call if they wanted to and taped it to the outside of our bedroom door, just before going downstairs. There is no way they could miss it if they woke up. So, we get to the emergency room and he's just not feeling any better. We get checked in. There's about 5 or 6 people ahead of us. 2 of them were babies. Then, this guy comes in who said he almost cut his finger off. He was holding his hand in a glass with some kind of liquid in it. Didn't know what it was, and to be honest, didn't really want to look at it all that closely. Finally, they called us in to the room. They had him pee in a cup, they were thinking maybe a kidney stone. Then they did a blood test and that came back elevated (white cell count, I think). So, by this time it's about 1:30am. They wanted to do a CAT scan so he had to drink 2 cans of sprite with barium mixed in so it would give a contrasting picture of his appendix. Then, after drinking the sprite, he had to wait for an hour to an hour and a half before they could do the scan. If he couldn't keep it all down before the test, then he'd have to start over again. UGH! It was hard for him to get it down, but he finally did. They told me to go home and get some sleep, because now they just had to wait to get the test done. So, I went home and didn't get to sleep till around 3am- ish. John called at 5:30am and said it was in fact his appendix, and that they were going to squeeze him in the surgery schedule to get it taken out today. He was already admitted to his room when he called me.
So, I took the kids to school and went to sit with John at the hospital till they were ready for him. It was his first time being in the hospital and his first surgery. Wish I could say that!!! After his surgery was over, I went and got the girls to come to the hospital to see him. I think they'd been pretty worried about him all day and were relieved to see he was okay after all...
I was glad they were able to pinpoint what was causing him so much pain. He even said it hurt more than when he poked himself in the eye with the pliers or when he sprained his ankle. He has a pretty high pain tolerance, so for him to say it hurts, it must HURT. He did end up having a roommate (that did nothing but snore and be mean to the nurses). We all know you don't get much sleep in the hospital- this time it was due in large part to the chain-saw-snoring roommate. They finally got him to surgery at 1:30pm. He was done by about 3pm or so. Everything went fine- the doctor said it was good they got it out- it was pretty infected and she even used the word gangrene. Because it was so infected, they had to put in a drainage tube.
So, he went in late Tuesday night, had surgery Wednesday afternoon and they sent him home Thursday night. After realizing he couldn't get from a laying down in bed position to a sitting on the edge of the bed position without causing great pain, he was wishing he had stayed another night. Those adjustable beds they have are quite nice he has decided. He also said the food was great, except for some noodles they had on the last night he was there-and they just had no flavor. So, we went to the doctor Monday to get the drainage tube out. The nurse had mentioned that the tube was 4-6 inches long. When the doctor took it out, it was actually about 15 inches long!!!!!!!!!
YIKES! He said it felt MUCH better to have that out! So, he had the rest of the week off of work to rest. No lifting anything over 10 pounds for a few more weeks. Here's a picture of some of the bruising on his stomach (and the lovely drain tube again).
We had just changed to a high deductible health plan in January, so we were being cautious about going to the emergency room and having it cost us $1000 just because he had to pass gas or it be a $1000 kidney stone or something. After some thought, and more pain, off we went. The girls were still sleeping- but I didn't want to wake them and take them with us, so I woke up Laura and told her I was taking her dad to the hospital because he was sick. I told her to call on the cell phone if she needed anything. She said okay and went back to sleep. Not at all trusting that she would remember any of that, I wrote out a big note telling them where we were and to call if they wanted to and taped it to the outside of our bedroom door, just before going downstairs. There is no way they could miss it if they woke up. So, we get to the emergency room and he's just not feeling any better. We get checked in. There's about 5 or 6 people ahead of us. 2 of them were babies. Then, this guy comes in who said he almost cut his finger off. He was holding his hand in a glass with some kind of liquid in it. Didn't know what it was, and to be honest, didn't really want to look at it all that closely. Finally, they called us in to the room. They had him pee in a cup, they were thinking maybe a kidney stone. Then they did a blood test and that came back elevated (white cell count, I think). So, by this time it's about 1:30am. They wanted to do a CAT scan so he had to drink 2 cans of sprite with barium mixed in so it would give a contrasting picture of his appendix. Then, after drinking the sprite, he had to wait for an hour to an hour and a half before they could do the scan. If he couldn't keep it all down before the test, then he'd have to start over again. UGH! It was hard for him to get it down, but he finally did. They told me to go home and get some sleep, because now they just had to wait to get the test done. So, I went home and didn't get to sleep till around 3am- ish. John called at 5:30am and said it was in fact his appendix, and that they were going to squeeze him in the surgery schedule to get it taken out today. He was already admitted to his room when he called me.
So, I took the kids to school and went to sit with John at the hospital till they were ready for him. It was his first time being in the hospital and his first surgery. Wish I could say that!!! After his surgery was over, I went and got the girls to come to the hospital to see him. I think they'd been pretty worried about him all day and were relieved to see he was okay after all...
I was glad they were able to pinpoint what was causing him so much pain. He even said it hurt more than when he poked himself in the eye with the pliers or when he sprained his ankle. He has a pretty high pain tolerance, so for him to say it hurts, it must HURT. He did end up having a roommate (that did nothing but snore and be mean to the nurses). We all know you don't get much sleep in the hospital- this time it was due in large part to the chain-saw-snoring roommate. They finally got him to surgery at 1:30pm. He was done by about 3pm or so. Everything went fine- the doctor said it was good they got it out- it was pretty infected and she even used the word gangrene. Because it was so infected, they had to put in a drainage tube.
So, he went in late Tuesday night, had surgery Wednesday afternoon and they sent him home Thursday night. After realizing he couldn't get from a laying down in bed position to a sitting on the edge of the bed position without causing great pain, he was wishing he had stayed another night. Those adjustable beds they have are quite nice he has decided. He also said the food was great, except for some noodles they had on the last night he was there-and they just had no flavor. So, we went to the doctor Monday to get the drainage tube out. The nurse had mentioned that the tube was 4-6 inches long. When the doctor took it out, it was actually about 15 inches long!!!!!!!!!
YIKES! He said it felt MUCH better to have that out! So, he had the rest of the week off of work to rest. No lifting anything over 10 pounds for a few more weeks. Here's a picture of some of the bruising on his stomach (and the lovely drain tube again).
Monday, February 18, 2008
Valentine's Day at home
Valentine's Day at our house was great this year. The kids didn't have school (parent-teacher conferences) and even though I had to work- we made the late afternoon/evening enjoyable. I got cards from John and the girls (and his folks). John's card made me cry- (he doesn't know that though- he was upstairs when I read it.) Sometimes the little one liners he puts in cards just get to me. I don't know what I ever did to deserve such a great husband. Anyway- he did such a nice thing for me- I've been without a watch for several months now- and he went and got batteries for a few of my twenty or so watches that I have collected over the years. It was something I kept meaning to do, but never got around to doing. So, he did it for me. He knows me well. He knows I would not have wanted roses (they die), or chocolate (trying to be good). He usually does great with the card (like this year). Yeah, he's a keeper all right. The girls gave me great cards too. I got some handmade gifts from them too. I love those- they're the best!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
"Old" friends and good times
I went to a suprise 40th birthday party for a dear friend of mine, who I've known for many many years now. It was so great to see her and her family. We even got to do a webcam session with her son Alex, who is in the Army down in Texas right now. In about a month, he will be deployed to Iraq. I think about him all the time and pray for him every day. There is just nothing better than time catching up with good friends you don't see very often. Sure, they are always there if you need them, but when life just keeps going on, time gets away from you.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Valentine's Day dance at school
The girls had their Valentine's Day dance at school this past Thursday night. They both looked so cute (and grown up) in their dresses. Here are a few pics of them clowning around and getting ready before the dance. Of course, when the dance was over, I asked them if they danced with any boys. Kierstin said yes, that she danced with a boy named Steve (I think). I asked her who he was- she said - Mom, all the girls dance with Steve. Laura said she didn't dance with any guys- but had fun with all her girlfriends that were there. That's all that matters to me, that they had a good time...
Here are the shoes they wore (not the ones we had picked out originally, mind you, but the ones they ended up wearing to the dance. I was totally okay with this because she said they just kick their shoes off when they walk in the door anyway...
and the band played on...
Laura had a band concert at the high school tonight. It was the 6-9 grades at 2 elementary schools and 2 junior highs. It was a good concert. She was playing the flute tonight. She also plays the piccolo (sp?) and my sister Joanie's old saxophone. Here are some pics of her- I was too busy camcording and didn't get any video on the digital camera.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Happy Birthday Grandma Phyllis- Mexican style!
John's folks came up for his mom's birthday. We went to a Mexican restaurant here in town. Here's a video of what they did to her. It was hilarious!
I forgot that they did that to you. When I was in Mexico visiting my folks (many years ago), we were at the Hard Rock Cafe in Mexico City. It was my dad's birthday. They were nicer to Phyllis than they were to my dad. Instead of just dabbing 1/2 a spoonful of whip cream on your nose, they shoved my dad's face down into his big sundae! He was laughing SO hard! I will always remember that. :)
Happy 2nd birthday Elaina!
Judi was nice enough to move Elaina's party until the weekend after John's. She did that for my sanity. Thank you Judi! It was fun- she is really getting into the present-opening and did very well for not having had a nap yet. Here are some pics:
Look at all those presents!!
Playing with the play-doh Judi made for the kids.
Elaina's cake:
Grams, Elaina and Judi
Elaina and Aunt Joanie
Elaina's favorite part was, of course, eating the cake. I'll have to get those pics from Laura's camera and post them. They were too funny!
LORDY LORDY! LOOK WHO'S 40!
John's 40th birthday party was fun. A lot of fun. Almost everyone I invited came. It was so nice to have all our friend's and family there. It did get very crowded for a bit, when we broke out the food. Then, people kind of scattered to other rooms. John and his work buddies even played some some poker after everyone else left- and John won the $60 pot!
Laura made him a shirt to wear. He was a good dad and wore it the whole night.
Laura made him a shirt to wear. He was a good dad and wore it the whole night.
Here's a picture of the cake. I love the baby picture of him that I used. He wasn't so fond of the recent picture of himself, but, hey! What was I supposed to do? I needed a baby pic and a current pic. Anyway- the cake was 1/2 white and 1/2 chocolate. HyVee did a nice job.
Even Marcia and Deb came up from Texas.
Here's me lighting ALL those candles!! My hand was getting tired near the end!
Then came the smoke... 
Again- a great party and I'm glad John had a good time. That was my goal. Happy 40th babe, I love you!
Merry Christmas 2007!
Christmas was good this year. It always is. We started out the weekend before, by having Christmas with John's side of the family. I really enjoy the time we get to spend together with all of the extended family. You couldn't ask for a nicer bunch of people, really. I'm so fortunate to have married into such a great family. I see his aunts/uncles/cousins several times a year at various family functions. On my side, it's really only for Christmas and then weddings/funerals. Hopefully, that will change someday...
We went to Christmas Eve service with my mom, Judi, Elaina, Joanie and Brady. It's standing room only at church, and when we do get there early enough to grab a seat, usually it's given up for an elderly person or mom w/kiddos to sit down. Although there has been a year or two that we've been able to keep our seats. Then, it's back to my mom's house for swiss cheese fondue (yum!) and cheese/crackers. Although I'm sad I can't have eggnog anymore, due my somewhat recent egg allergy, I still somehow manage to make it through. :) It's nice to watch everyone open their presents and play with my niece Elaina. I can't believe she's been with Judi for a year now. Time is zipping by! My brother Jack was able to join us this year with his girlfriend and her two sons. That's the first year in a long time we have spent Christmas Eve with him. It was nice!
Well, since I was running the camcorder that night, I had to steal some pics from the girls' cameras for this post. I'm sure they won't mind! Anyway- I think I need to work with them a bit on the fine art of picture taking (not that I'm an expert by any means). The ones they took at my mom's all came out blurry and in a wacked out color. Hmmm.... So, after my mom's, we went back home and had Christmas morning at our house the next day. Here's a pic of the girls after coming downstairs to see what Santa brought them:
This is what happens when you let them pick out gifts for each other! Too funny.
After opening up our presents, we had some of Aunt Betty's yummy homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Double yum!
Then, it was off to spend Christmas Day with John's folks and Mike, Trish and the kids. We had a delicious lunch (as usual) and then started the present opening. Santa brought the girls a Wii, and John and I got this really cool blanket. On one side is a neat KU pattern and the other side has squares of blue jeans. In the middle, is a partial pair of John's Grandpa's overalls. Very very cool. That's something we will treasure for many years. Ash, Kaiden and Maysen had a great time playing with Kierstin and Laura too. Maysen is so funny- she has the best facial expressions! We still haven't made it to see their new house yet, but hope to soon.
After that, we went home for a bit to drop off our gifts and then it was out to my cousin Lisa's house. This is pretty much the only time of the year that I get to see any of my dad's side of the family. Everyone usually brings something to eat/snack on. I finally got to see (out the back door) my cousin's Australian Shepherd dogs, Martini and Rossi. Cute names. Energetic dogs! Lisa has totally remodeled her house and I really like it. I'm so glad she's doing things the way she wants them done. The basement is almost finished now- and I love how she did it. Kind of Tuscan-y I think. A gorgeous bar area and great flat screen tv on the wall. A really cool wine storage area beneath the winding stairs that you come down on. Oh and the pinball machine. A Family Guy pinball machine. Very fun to play. (It was turned on the kid-friendly setting.) We used to have a pinball machine growing up. It was fun. Oh- we had a pachinko machine too. Don't see too many of those around anymore. They were very addictive!!
I always look forward to going to her house on Christmas night. It's a nice way to end the day.
We went to Christmas Eve service with my mom, Judi, Elaina, Joanie and Brady. It's standing room only at church, and when we do get there early enough to grab a seat, usually it's given up for an elderly person or mom w/kiddos to sit down. Although there has been a year or two that we've been able to keep our seats. Then, it's back to my mom's house for swiss cheese fondue (yum!) and cheese/crackers. Although I'm sad I can't have eggnog anymore, due my somewhat recent egg allergy, I still somehow manage to make it through. :) It's nice to watch everyone open their presents and play with my niece Elaina. I can't believe she's been with Judi for a year now. Time is zipping by! My brother Jack was able to join us this year with his girlfriend and her two sons. That's the first year in a long time we have spent Christmas Eve with him. It was nice!
Well, since I was running the camcorder that night, I had to steal some pics from the girls' cameras for this post. I'm sure they won't mind! Anyway- I think I need to work with them a bit on the fine art of picture taking (not that I'm an expert by any means). The ones they took at my mom's all came out blurry and in a wacked out color. Hmmm.... So, after my mom's, we went back home and had Christmas morning at our house the next day. Here's a pic of the girls after coming downstairs to see what Santa brought them:
This is what happens when you let them pick out gifts for each other! Too funny.
After opening up our presents, we had some of Aunt Betty's yummy homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Double yum!
Then, it was off to spend Christmas Day with John's folks and Mike, Trish and the kids. We had a delicious lunch (as usual) and then started the present opening. Santa brought the girls a Wii, and John and I got this really cool blanket. On one side is a neat KU pattern and the other side has squares of blue jeans. In the middle, is a partial pair of John's Grandpa's overalls. Very very cool. That's something we will treasure for many years. Ash, Kaiden and Maysen had a great time playing with Kierstin and Laura too. Maysen is so funny- she has the best facial expressions! We still haven't made it to see their new house yet, but hope to soon.
After that, we went home for a bit to drop off our gifts and then it was out to my cousin Lisa's house. This is pretty much the only time of the year that I get to see any of my dad's side of the family. Everyone usually brings something to eat/snack on. I finally got to see (out the back door) my cousin's Australian Shepherd dogs, Martini and Rossi. Cute names. Energetic dogs! Lisa has totally remodeled her house and I really like it. I'm so glad she's doing things the way she wants them done. The basement is almost finished now- and I love how she did it. Kind of Tuscan-y I think. A gorgeous bar area and great flat screen tv on the wall. A really cool wine storage area beneath the winding stairs that you come down on. Oh and the pinball machine. A Family Guy pinball machine. Very fun to play. (It was turned on the kid-friendly setting.) We used to have a pinball machine growing up. It was fun. Oh- we had a pachinko machine too. Don't see too many of those around anymore. They were very addictive!!
I always look forward to going to her house on Christmas night. It's a nice way to end the day.
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