Moving

I am moving my blog to http://susanigans.blogspot.com/

checking up on biting

Joshua had his 15 month check up today, one week after the surgeries. He is a normally little boy. Near the middle of the growth charts and growing at the same and normal pace as he has been. He is 31 inches tall & 23.8 pounds. A chunky monkey but just under the 50th percentile for his weight & just over on his height. Speaking of being a monkey, he climbs on just about anything if he can. He barely cried today at the doctor’s office, but he didn’t like the shot lady at all, but was still nice enough to her to wave and say bye-bye….always a flirt. Off to school he went where he actually ate all the food’s that they offered. He had gone on a eating strike, barely eating anything in the last 10 days. It was becoming annoying given that he has always been such a good eater. At the house, the newly installed cabinet locks in the kitchen are working out great. He now plays with his FridgeDJ more often in the kitchen. Tonight he scored some awesome new shoes…they feature Lightening McQueen with lights….our first pair of shoes with lights.

Joshua has been doing well at his new school. He did bite one of his classmates last week. He had another kid’s shoes and the kid came to get their shoe, Joshua bit the kid. Not good. Then this past weekend. He had something at my sister’s house that he wasn’t supposed to have, when my niece reached in to get it from him, he bit her. Not good. I was talking to him about no biting and he plain-as-day said bite and bit his arm. So he knows what bite means, now to convince him that he doesn’t need to bite. He is working on getting more teeth again and this may have something to do with it, but I think it is more just a phase. We are going to try some new punishments for the biting. (Everyone has an opinion.

Our trip is just 5 weeks away. I can’t wait. I feel like we are ready to go just waiting for the clock to tick by. I want to pack, but I know it is to early. In the meantime, there are many other things to do. Labor Day weekend is planning a whole lot nothing. Maybe some crafty stuff with my sister & a trip to the outlet mall. The next weekend is my mother’s wedding. The next weekend is the garage sale. The next weekend is packing weekend. And the next weekend we leave!!!

I have really enjoyed planning this trip. I haven’t been on a vacation like this since high school….it at least 14 years. It is going to be a lot of fun.

We tried out a new restaurant tonight…The Wooden Nickel…it was pretty tasty. My baked chicken was good, as were the mashed potatoes, green beans & cream corn. I hadn’t had cream-style corn in a long time.

I am considering moving my blog to blogspot.  I have set one up over there.  Here is the link if you want to check it out.   http://susanigans.blogspot.com/

Long Day!!

So Sunday night at 9:30pm I got a call from Cook’saying that instead of being there at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, we needed to be there at 6 am.  Thanks for the heads up!  I have not been sleeping well and wound up not going to sleep until like 2:30 a.m.  We got up at 4:30 a.m. so this has been a long day for all of us.

We loaded Joshua up in his jammies and headed for the hospital in the misty rain.  We got there plenty early and walked into the seemingly unoccupied hospital.  At 5:30 in the morning there is not a lot happening at the main entrance to Cook’s.  We wondered around until we found the tiny registration area.  Joshua was confused on why we left so stealthily from the house and now we are wondering around an empty building.  By the time we got upstairs to surgery he was fully awake. 

When I went back with Joshua to start the anesthesia process, they gave him a nasal inhalant and within 60 seconds it was kicking in.  The nurses said it tastes nasty and no one likes it, and true to that, Joshua didn’t like it.  Within about 3-5 minutes he was ready to go back, very loopy on his “pedi-gartia” as the nurse called it.  This wasn’t hard to do like everyone had told me it would be, I think it was harder to seem him come out of it.  It was almost funny watching him get loopy.  He really started chilling in my lap.

There was some concern about Joshua’s congestion.  Congestion can cause issues with the anesthesia like breathing problems.  Sure enough he had to have a breathing treatment while back in surgery.  The ENT came out first within like 10 minutes and let us know he was done.  He is a nice guy.  He said there was fluid building up in Joshua’s ears so we were on the verge of an ear infection.  Joshua’s ears were clear when I took him to his primary pediatrician on Thursday, but we had started the antihistamine / decongestant.  The tubes went fine and we need to go back to the ENT in two weeks. 

Then it seemed like we waited forever for the urologist to come out.  f-o-r-e-v-e-r!  Finally we get called back to a consultation room and Jeff and I are thinking this can’t be good.  Then we sat in the small consultation room waiting on Dr. Pinto, the urologist, for what seemed like f-o-r-e-v-e-r.  He said it all went well and gave us the same spill he gave at the office….no straddling anything (legs or hips or anything), no bath for 2-3 days, the dressing would come off by Wednesday, there will be bleeding and how to stop the bleeding, about the ointment and how to apply….all that sort of things.  He asked if we got it and Jeff said sure since it was written down, but I, being the mom, had it understood.

We went back out to the waiting room to find that we had lost our great seats.  We found seats and settled in.  Jeff and I played the I-spy games in the book that was there.  And after what seemed like f-o-r-e-v-e-r we were called to come back and see Joshua.  Our baby was out, fast asleep.  They had to do a breathing treatment and his face showed the signs of this, they explained.  We started trying to get him to come around, he did long enough to roll over on his belly and went back to sleep.  Several minutes later the anesthesia started really wearing off and he began throwing a temper tantrum, they had advised that this would happen.  He was fussing, screaming, crying and thrashing about.  He was too much for me to hold, he didn’t want anything to do with Jeff and the male nurse even struggled with him.  Eventually he called down a little in my arms.  The doctor gave him some medicine to take him down a notch and ease him out of the anesthesia a little slower.  Joshua finally agreed to have some juice after I put it in his sippy cup and not the hospital one.  We offered him a popcisle and he wanted no part of that.  He slowly began being himself but was very clingy to me.  He was killing my arm and back.  I bet I held him for a good 30+ minutes.  I finally got him to stand on the bed and lean on me….thank goodness.  More time progressed and we eventually were cleared to leave.  I sent Jeff to get the car and pull it around front.  The nurse brought over a red wagon to escort Joshua downstairs in.  We loaded him and our crap up and convoyed down stairs with a boy who was about 7-9 years old.  He rode is a wheelchair and was trying to convince his mother that he needed one full time….oh to be young again.

Jeff pulled the car up and Joshua got excited seeing it.  I carried him out and we were off back to our side of town.  We dropped off his prescription and I waited for it to be done.  Joshua was asleep not long after we got back on 30 to head home.  He slept through the Wal-greens stop.  We went to lunch with Daniel & Christina…that is when Joshua woke up.  He wasn’t really supposed to eat anything solid, but he seen my beans and rice and wanted some, so I let him eat.  He ate and did fine, he didn’t have any problems.  He drank more juice with lunch. 

After we got home, I checked out the work Dr. Pinto had done.  It looked like a mess.  I gave a clean fresh diaper and applied the ointment and rocked him down to a nap.  When he woke up it was more fussing.  I went back to check the diaper again.  It still wasn’t wet, but was bloody.  The dressing they had on came off and I panicked.  But underneath, he looked normal….like a boy should.  Wow, it was great.  I called the doctor after the panicking about the dressing and the fact that he had yet to have a wet diaper.  They said to give it more time and call back if at bedtime he hadn’t had one.  Well, as usual, I panicked too soon…he has had three wet diapers since then. 

He ate a pretty good snack and then dinner with lots of water and/or juice in between.  We gave him more pain medicine and put him down for bed early.  He will be staying home tomorrow from school. 

I did get to sleep for about 45 minutes on the couch earlier and it was great, but not enough.  I am heading to bed.  Will update tomorrow if time allows.

Name changes?

Joshua is scheduled to be at Cook’s at 7:30 am Monday morning.  I am anticipating being home in the 12 o’clock hour.  Both procedures should taken less than 10 minutes combined.  It should all go well.  And we will wind up with an grumpy little boy late Monday. 

His first week at his new school went well.  He must not have cared for the Chicken Noodle they feed him on Thursday & Friday.  Not sure why he ate the same thing both days, but he didn’t like it much.  He hasn’t really been eating so well for me.  I had been reading that he is getting to a point of toddler food strikes.  I don’t want that.  He has always eaten so well for us.  He has made two little friends at school.  A little boy names Zachary who is transitioning into the next class.  And a little girl named Chloe.  In the mornings when I drop him off, he beelines to her to jabber his “good morning” greeting at her.  Not to his teacher or anyone else, but straight to her.  She is cute but not cute like his last girlfriend, Skyler.  Skyler was slender withred hair, Chloe is chunkier like Joshua with brown hair.  Joshua is such a little ladies man.  He seems happy and managed to go all week without exploding too bad and without getting a diaper rash.  He had a slight one Friday, but it could have been my fault for waiting too long to change him.  His skin is sensitive and it doesn’t take long for him to get burned.  At his old daycare he was diaper rashed by Tuesday. 

Tomorrow is my niece’s birthday….I think she will be 6…..really she will be 8.  She is having her umpteenth Strawberry Shortcake Party….well maybe her 5th.  I took her to the mall to Claire’s and bought her hair stuff.  I think she had fun picking out all the stuff…headbands, rubber bands, clippies, clips & two necklaces.  I threw in one suprise that she doesn’t know about.  Colored hair extensions, pink, purple, yellow, blue & orange.  She will really like them.  I like to take her and my nephew out to let them shop for their birthday.  I think it is a special treat for them and they enjoy the shopping adventure.   I try to think of creative things for them to look for or places for them to shop at.

I have also figured out what to get my brother-in-law for Christmas.  He is always the hardest for me to shop for.  I just have to find it now.  And don’t ask, I am not going to tell you!

 

So I am looking for a new name for my blog.  I have come up with some options, let me know what you think:

Susan’s Schemes

Susanigans

Susan’s Shenanigan’s

Other ideas?? Let me know.

Goings on

So Joshua started his new school on Monday.  Today was day 3 and overall I am liking it.  I love that at the end of each day we get a report on his goings on at school.  No asking questions without getting solid answers.  It is all right there on the paper.  On Monday he didn’t really want to take a nap and refused until 3pm and then only slept for 40 minutes.  On Tuesday he did better and slept for a hour and a half.  And then today, he must have really been worn out because he took a 2 1/2 hour nap….I wish I could get a 2 1/2 hour nap.  He has eaten nearly all of his lunches and snacks this week.  It is nice to know what he is eating, then we can try to not feed him the same thing for dinner.  Yesterday his lunch was beanie weenies, something we had not fixed for him…he ate all of it according to his report.  We know what he gets for snack and how much drink they are giving him.  It is great.  Mostly water or milk but plenty of it.  I know how often they changed his diaper and don’t get a verbal report of “I changed 6 dirty diapers today” as we were getting before.  I am really liking the new school.

We are not sure how long I will stay out of work.  We have talked about making me a stay at home mom and keeping Joshua home.  I don’t think I am made to be a stay at home mom.  I had an interview on Monday afternoon and on the way there, the car crapped out.  Stupid car!  We have been having an issue with the radiator and apparently all the heat as of late has not helped his matter.  It overheated about a mile and half from where my interview was.  Jeff drove over to help me out and brought water for the car.  I called panicked to the company I was interviewing and explained the situation.  They were understanding and rescheduled me for this morning.  My interview this morning went great.  I am hoping for a call back at the beginning of next week for a second interview.  The position is at a great company that offers great benefits and great culture.  The position is right up my alley so I am keeping my fingers crossed.  The only down side, it is a bit further than I wanted to travel to work, but not so far for me to say no. 

I also had two other interviews with temp agencies.  One agency is promising and called me today about a temporary position starting immediately, I will have to call them in the morning.  The other was full of empty promises.  The interviewer was half my age, literally!!! And though he had said they had positions in my area when I drove the freakin’ hour to his office in Richardson he said that don’t really have anything in my area yet, but are working on some contracts.  You mean I drove a freakin’ hour over here and filled out 45+ pages of crap about myself and you don’t have anything near me????  WTF!  I don’t intend to follow up with him. 

And today Jeff and I thought we would go car shopping.  I am proud to announce that we are the proud owners of a……wait for it……..wait for it…………………..2000 Chevy Camaro.  That’s right, we came home empty handed.  I do not recommend the dealer that we went to see.  I hate haggling.  If I say I can do A then don’t ask me to do K.  You can ask me to do B but don’t jump ahead to K. 

Jeff and I came home, we picked Joshua up from school on the way, and I walked through the door and about lost my lunch that was long gone.  Chanci had exploded in her crate.  EX-PLO-DED!!!  I can clean up any mess that Joshua leaves behind, but dog mess….I just can’t.  I don’t know why, but I couldn’t.  Jeff cleaned it up.  I still think the house stinks like it.  I will keep burning my candles and spraying air freshener and see what I can do.  Thank goodness Jeff was still home to deal with it.

Fairly productive week

I have gotten a lot done in the last week.  Nearly all of our laundry is done.  I have been so lazy about doing it that it had really piled up.  It got to where we were only washing the clothes we needed as we needed them.  We semi-rearranged the living room.  We moved Joshua’s toys to his room and moved out the swimming pool he got for his birthday.  We rearranged his room to accommodate all his things including his Lego table.  We got the Lego table about a month ago and got him Mega Blocks for Christmas.  He can now play with both.  We sorted through his toy box making a box of things to keep for the next kid and a box of toys we can forever live without.  (No! there is not a next kid on the way!) 

I am proud to announce that we only ate out twice this week….well, maybe three times.  We grabbed lunch out on Tuesday because Joshua had a doctor’s appointment, but we ate it at home.  Then dinner out twice.  Much better than our usual 4 nights out a week.  We are improving.  It is not that I can’t cook or even that Jeff can’t it is just we tend to eat out…alot!  (I am a great cook!)  With me not working I am not wearing myself out enough to sleep good, so I have been aiming to walk each night, it only happened one night this week, so I will work on that more next week. 

Joshua starts his new school on Monday.  We kept him at home this week.  It was all mommy all week around here.  By today he was calling me Mama not Dada.  Normally, I am Dada and Daddy is Dadada or Dade.  I am so excited about his new school.  It will be more structured than what he had before.  We have all of the things that he needs to start school.  I will be making him a blanket this weekend to take.  Don’t laugh or say a word….this blanket will actually get finished!!! 

Joshua did go see a new ENT on Tuesday about ear tubes.  This ENT works at Cook’s the same days as his urologist.  I got a call from them this afternoon that everything is set to go on August 18th.  The surgeries have been coordinated and he will have his urology work and ear tubes completed on the same day.  I am so excited. 

I think that is about it.  I am going shopping for my niece’s birthday tomorrow.  She will get to pick out girly things…probably hair things tomorrow.  Her brother got to pick out his things for his birthday.  That was a long trip through every department at ToysRUs. 

I think that is a good update for now.

Unemployed

…

weeelll…let’s see

Since it has been a month I have updates…

Joshua surgery may be postponed.  He is needing tubes in his ears.  Hopefully this will help with the amount of ear infections he has been having.  I am wanting to get his issue and tubes done at the same time.  One round of anesthesia and be done with it.  We went to see one Otolarynologist (ENT) who would only do the ear tubes on Friday.  We didn’t really like his office staff so we set off to find someone who could do tubes on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday as those are the days the urologist is available.  We really like his urologist and don’t want to have to give him up.  He has an appointment next Monday with the new ENT. 

Joshua is walking around so well now.  He has learned to climb on the couch without assistance from a pillow or any other “step”…scary.  I don’t know what the fascination is because he gets up there and just sits.  No toys or anything, just sitting.  He does try to get up and walk across the couch which is not allowed.  He gets in trouble and has to get down off the couch.  Then a hissy fit comes and then determination to start the whole process all over again. 

Joshua has fully gotten in one molar on the bottom right.  You can now see tips of three other molars, bottom left, top right and left.  The one molar caused he and I much pain, so I look forward to these with the hope that they come in fast. 

We have been becoming increasingly disappointed in his current daycare provider.  Sometimes we wonder if she is just doing it for the money not because she loves having the kids.  She tends to need a lot of days off.   Joshua almost always comes home Monday evenings with a diaper rash.  She complains that he has 10 dirty diapers a day.  And as of late she has taken on this little girl who is 2 and in daycare for the first time.  The little girl must have lived in her mothers arms for 2 years because she doesn’t like daycare.  She screams and cries all day everyday.  When we drop Joshua off in the mornings, she starts screaming and Joshua takes one look at her and begins to fuss and reach to leave with us.  Not good.  I left crying one day and I didn’t even cry when I first dropped him off at daycare.  We have found another daycare in Euless to put him at.  They are super friendly.  Provide a lunch that we will actually get to see a menu of.  Around Christmas, when he is 18 months, he will move up to the next class.  That class does all sorts of fun things in a classroom setting.  Bonus is that they are cheaper that what we are paying now.  He starts the new daycare/preschool two weeks from today.

Our trip is getting closer.  Money is being saved.  Jeff and I have never really been able to save money.  This trip planning is teaching us how to save money.  And we have a plan to continue on saving after the trip.  Hopefully we can work on cleaning up our debts.  On a paying off a debt note…I am not the proud owner of a Chevy Pick-up…it has been paid in full and I have received my title.  This is the first vehicle that I haven’t traded before paying it off. 

My father has been gone for 4 years.  A lot has happened in 4 years.  Sometimes it seems like only yesterday that he was here.  Sometimes looking back, it seems like time stopped in the week before he passed.  Stopped long enough for me to realize how fast life flies by.  I remember at the Hospice House in Burleson…his room had these big windows that overlooked the back yard area…and every night around dusk the fireflies would come out.  I remember camping at Shady Lake in Arkansas and watching the fireflies when I was little.  My sister and I always wanted to catch one.  Sometimes Dad would let us.  Fireflies are one of summer-times sweetest little joys…at least to me.  You have to be patient and still to see them. 

We went to Arkansas for July 4.  Mom and David bought a ton of fireworks and Daniel and I had a ton of fun shooting them off.  The favorites were the clock and Big Bad Bangers.  They made a huge bang and a huge firework.  They blew the canister they came with up….it was soooo coool.  Joshua was more concerned that Daniel and I were walking away from the flame.  Maybe next year he will get the firework thing…but, I think that Christmas is going to be fun this year with him.

That is about all I have.  I will try to update before another month passes.

Making my heart melt

Joshua walking around just makes me smile from the inside out everyday.  It is just so cute to see him walking around, playing and smiling.  Just when I think he is going to be good and bring me something he shouldn’t have, he gets close, smiles real big at me and turns around and walks off.  He will hold his hand out to me and I will reach out to get it from him and he will just smile really big and walk away.  Little brat, we will work on coming all the way to mommy over the next few weeks.  When he leaves the house in shoes, we are letting him walk out to the car.  But it is a long walk and he tends to want to stop and touch every single piece of grass on the way.  But, it is so worth it just to see him walk around. 

Joshua loves to take a bath and play in the water.  He is learning to really climb.  We will get him undressed in his room and let him walk to the bathroom like a streaker.  He stands by the bathtub bouncing up and down with excitement and then hike his little leg up on the tub as if he could in.  It is so cute to me and melts my heart. 

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In other news….an update on our car issues from last weekend…it turned out to be the battery in the car.  And being the smart wife that I am, I have tucked the receipt for the battery in the plastic sleeve on the battery.  It was still under warranty and replaced for free with the exception of the core charge return fee or whatever it is called.  Much cheaper than if it had been the alternator. 

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We go to Arkansas in less than a week!!  I can’t wait for this either.

We go on vacation three months from today!!!  I can’t wait.  We got some news on our car rental for the vacation.  Seems, Thrifty decided to close the location our van reservation was at.  We are not shopping around again to find a good rate that doesn’t involve renting at the airport and paying the airport taxes. 
We have booked our Vegas hotel and have a hotel picked out near Jeff’s parents.  We are still narrowing down hotels in San Diego.  I am so excited about this vacation…can you tell??

 

Update needed…

It has been a couple of weeks since I updated, so here goes, in no particular order.

Joshua walks everywhere.  Today, he held my hand and we walked two houses (really one house) down to check the mail together.  I don’t like our joint mailboxes, but it is nice that they are all uniform.  He will keep his shoes on as long as he is walking, but the moment he sits, off they come.  Wonder where he gets that from???  He discovered this past weekend, that his walk behind ‘Mater that has a seat to ride on…well, the seat lifts up so you can put small toys in it….or feet!!  He can stand in ‘Mater holding on the bar for steadiness.  I told him that wasn’t allowed and he just grinned.  I got him out put him in the middle of the floor and he stood up walked back over and did it again….and once again, then I distracted him with a walk to his room.  He also again this weekend attempted to climb onto the fireplace hearth.  That is not allowed either. 

We went to see his pediatric urologist on Friday and they have scheduled him for Aug 18 to fix his….issue.  The doctor said he would be at the hospital for about 2 hours and in the operating room for about 15 minutes.  I am glad that this issue will soon be fixed!! 

I went to the doctor today and she is starting me on progesterone.  The first step in getting to regulation.  I go back in about a month for more blood work.  They confirmed that I am not pregnant, duh!!, I told them I wasn’t, but they wanted to make sure.  I was so sick all the time the first time around, I think I would know the second time around.  Now that Jeff and I thought we were ready, I feel like Jeff is having second thoughts.  It will all work out somehow.  And many, many people do it on a lot less than we have.  I think the second time around must be more scary, because you really know how much things cost.  It is excitingly scary. 

On Joshua’s walking, he has learned the speed walk, nearly running thing.  He gets so excited and his feet can’t seem to go fast enough.  After an eating slump, he has geared back up.  This weekend at Sweet Tomatoes, he ate really good.  They have good fresh ingredients for him, he loves peas (like his Mommy) and they have fresh ones.  My mother went and got him his very own ice cream cone.  He did really good with it.  It was so tasty that he didn’t drop any of it on him.  His sugar didn’t kick in quite fast enough, 10 minutes later in the car, he was fast asleep. 

Joshua has also learned a new trick.  Take a mouth full of drink and make that farting/raspberry sound with your mouth.  Your drink goes everywhere….he thinks it is so funny.   I do not.  It is on the list of not allowed things!

I didn’t post for Father’s Day.  I think about my Dad everyday.  And often wonder what advice he would offer on life events.  I really miss the way he would look over his glasses at me and say “Susan, we need to talk”.  I miss sitting on his green swing and talking.  I miss the stories that he always told.  With our upcoming trip to San Diego, I remember a story Dad told me about when he was stationed there.  He was working with a group that took care of the petty cash and inventory.  And how there was one guy that no one liked to work with.  He told me how he would go out with his buddies for drinks.  And how of all the places he was stationed, he liked San Diego the best.  I wonder what he would say about Joshua.  About my wedding, about our home, and about everything that has happened in the last nearly 4 years that he has been gone.  I remember the ride to Haskell, to the reunion, one year when my sister was pregnant.  That was the year that I realized that I was just like my father in so many different ways.  I see my father when I look at my hands, at my long fingers and nail beds.  I see my father when I look at my feet, they are his feet, only smaller (slightly smaller).  I took flowers over to him a month or so ago.  It was the first time I had been in a long while.  His old flowers were gone, and his stone looked so bare.  The vase wasn’t even standing up.  I didn’t take a flag, but I will remember next time to take one with me.  I still see old blue pickups like him, and turn to see if it’s his…or even if the driver looks like him.  I didn’t have a great relationship with my father until I became an adult.  And even then, we never fully seen eye to eye.  I can remember taking his Whataburger when he was in the hospital.  He would take a cheeseburger kid’s meal, but wouldn’t eat the fries.  The fries didn’t agree with him.  Most days, he wouldn’t finish the cheeseburger.  I remember him not wanting me to leave, and I would call work crying and spend the afternoon at the hospital.  I remember the time we spent at the Hospice House….the setting was so lovely.  Our this big windows, you could see the fireflies and rabbits.  I remember getting Dad a banana popsicle, he barely ate 1/3 of it, before he needed a nap.  I can remember summer vacations, and going to the old missions/forts is Central Texas.  Dad was so fascinated with history.  I remember them as being boring and having a creepy haunted feel to them.  I can remember going to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo as a kid and Dad was so excited about it all.  The rodeo, the food and especially the midway.  That part was his favorite hands down, he would ride just about anything.  I with Joshua could have had the chance to get to know his Papa.  I will do my best to create my father with my memories for Joshua to know.  I miss him.

Oh yea….tomatoes are starting to show up at the grocery and restaurants again!!!! 

Our California trip plans are starting to come along.  We are making reservations and getting things to do lined up.  I haven’t taken a real vacation like this since I was in high school, so I am getting so excited.  I have taken weekend trips here or there, but those are not a week long vacation!!