Johnsons' Journey

I can’t believe it’s August already! … This is our last month of summer vacation. … The summer just FLEW by, faster than they normally do. Probably because we were busier this summer, than we normally are. I will be so sad to see the summer turn into a wet, Oregon fall, filled with school work and rain. *lol*

I measured and weighed the kids yesterday. I try to do it a couple times a year, but it seems I haven’t done it since last December. Ooops! … But I also noticed that I had done it last August too, almost to the day. So it was fun to be able to see exactly what they’ve grown in the last year.

Jared is now 4 ‘ 10.5″ and weighs 70.4 lbs. In the last year he has gained 3.25 inches and 8.6 pounds.
Josh is now 4′ 9.5″ and weighs 82.8 lbs. In the last year he has gained 2.5 inches and 11.2 pounds.
Alicia is now 4′ 7″ and weighs 70 lbs. In the last year she has gained 3 inches and 12 pounds.
Amanda is now 3′ 10″ and weighs 38.8 lbs. In the last year she has gained 2 inches and 2.6 pounds.

Jared is now only 1 1/2 inches shorter than I am, and is LOVING the fact that he is almost as tall as I am. Of course, he also loves the fact that he is a full inch taller than Josh, for a change… But Josh wasn’t impressed with that. He wants to be taller than Jared. (At least he still outweighs Jared by a good 12 pounds! )

On Saturday, I planned on doing some work in the classroom. I was hoping to get some work done in there, and then asking Joe if we could hit Kmart in the evening… So I got a lazy start to my morning, and didn’t really start my morning chores until 10:30, figuring I had lots of time.

Not so much.

Joe calls me from work at 11 o’clock, saying that his sister had invited us over to their house for a BBQ at 2:00, and that after that we would be going bowling.

So much for my plans.

So I finished cleaning the kitchen, did my workout (45  minutes), and took a shower… At around 1:45 we left to go to the Mewings.

I was thinking that we would be eating at 2:00… But they wanted to watch some Brooks and Dunn special that they had recorded off TV. I usually eat lunch at 1:00, as my little bowl of instant oatmeal from breakfast is long gone by then. So I was pretty much starving when we got there, and Scott didn’t even start BBQing until 4 o’clock. *sigh* If I had known they were going to wait so long, I would have eaten lunch as soon as I was out of the shower.

By the time we got to the bowling alley, I pretty much just wanted to go home. I was tired, and my feet were complaining about the shoes. I was glad when it was time to come home. *lol*

We had to be up early on Sunday, so we could get to church on time. I’ve started getting the kids up at 7:30, instead of 8:00, and we’ve managed not to be late the last 3 weeks. Yay! *lol*

It was communion Sunday, and since we had already talked about the meaning behind communion, and Jared’s been born again since he was 5, Jared took his first communion. I was so proud! He is growing up to be such a wonderful young man, and it makes my heart happy that he’s made the decision to follow Christ. … After the service was over, we went up front and I took a couple pictures. They didn’t turn out the greatest, as both Jared and I felt weird doing it, but I am still glad that I got what I did. I needed a picture to commemorate the day.

After church, Joe took us to Pizza Hut, in Oregon City, for lunch. (Yum!) Then we went to Kmart, since we weren’t able to go on Saturday… I thought it was sweet that Joe would give up his Sunday afternoon, which is his only lazy day, so we could hit Kmart.

We needed to get the kids fall/winter clothes on layaway, and Alicia has been dying to go get her first training bra. *lol*

And boy, is she happy with those bras! … At first she went to look at the ones with the A cups, and I had to tell her that she is not ready for those yet. So I found her a 2-pack of simple, cotton training bras. I wasn’t to get another set, but it was the only one in her size, in every brand… Anyway, they sure make them a lot softer and more comfy looking than my first bra! … And thankfully, the set came with a white one and a pink one. She had really wanted a pink one! … We’ll have to look at Walmart this weekend and see if we can find her a couple more, since Kmart didn’t have anymore in stock.

By the time we got back to Molalla it was 3:30, but we didn’t have to be at the bowling alley (for the kids’ league) until 5 o’clock. Joe didn’t want to go all the way home (we live 7 miles outside of town), so we just stopped by the small park in town to kill some time. The girls played on the playground, and the boys tried to learn how to play with their hacky-sack… without much luck. *lol*

At around 4:30-ish we headed to the bowling alley… The league doesn’t start until 6:00, but we figured that the kids could bowl their two free games before the league started. Normally we get two lanes, but this time we had Alicia and the boys share one lane, just to drag things out a little. *lol*

By the time they were done with the league, Joe and I were more than ready to go home. *lol* … I was thankful that Joe works late on Mondays, and I knew I wouldn’t have to go anywhere!

As for Monday, besides doing some housework and laundry, I decided to get some work done in the classroom. I had finally bought some banker boxes, so I packed up last year’s work and put that in our closet. Then I got the new workbooks put away in the kids’ cubbies, and I also put all the 7th grade stuff on the shelf. I also got the 7th grade teacher binder ready to go.

All that’s left, to get ready for school, is to finish the lesson plans and get the kids’ binders done… I have ordered those from Walmart.com (as they never seem to have enough at Walmart when we go), so I will finish that as soon as they get here.

Joe ended up working late yesterday, and he was feeling too tired to drive, so he ended up crashing at his sister’s house, which is a LOT closer to his work than we are (he has about an hour commute, one way). I was teasing him about having a sleep-over with Gene, since his sister is spending the summer at the farm, working for the Toepfers. *lol* … Turns out that Joe didn’t get much sleep at all, and while he was glad that he didn’t have the extra driving, he would have gotten more sleep at home… So he’ll be home tonight.

Well… Guess that’s all… It’s been nice boring you, but I should run! … See ya on the flip side!

Joe and I went to Walmart yesterday, to do the grocery thing. We left the kids at home because we wanted to get the last two stocking stuffers we need for the boys… While we were there, we bought a pointsettia for our neighbor, Thelma… She’s the one who’s always sending over goodies for the kids… Anyway, when we got home we let the kids each pick out a Christmas card from a box set we bought, and then Joe and the kids went to take it to Thelma (while I put all the groceries away).

They didn’t come back empty handed.

Read the rest of this entry »

I measured and weighed the kids on the 20th, and I keep forgetting to post about it. (I like to blog about it, so that I won’t lose the info. *lol*) … Anyway, Jared has grown 3/4 of an inch, since the last time I measured them, and the rest have grown a full inch… But the one who’s grown the most is Josh… I don’t know if it’s puberty starting to hit or what, but he’s really starting to pack on the pounds… What’s funny is that he used to be the one that Dr. Gyerko was always worried about, because he was underweight… Well, that’s no longer the case! *lol*

It’s strange though, because he really doesn’t eat that much more than the other kids. We don’t do between meal snacks or anything… I guess he just has a lower metabolism like I do… poor kid!

Read the rest of this entry »

Today I feel  Still under the weather
Reading: “Blessing in Disguise” By Lauraine Snelling
It is currently raining and 46º

I got the picture of the quilt finally. Just in time too, since I would like to get it mailed out tomorrow. Anyway, here it is… (Remember, they went with a tropical fish theme.)

Hope Baby Daniel likes it!

Jared sure is funny. As soon as he got out of bed this morning he says, “Mommy! Can you pull up my blog? I want to write in it!!” I had to laugh… The kid is becoming addicted! It’s funny though. He’ll go on and on about what he wants to write about, but it takes him so long to type it, he barely gets the basics of what he was thinking in. I’m just wondering that as he gets used to the keyboard, and quickens up, will his posts become a little more interesting? (and longer)

I actually approve of him doing this. With the way technology is going, they need computer time. I won’t let them play any type of video games, and they only get educational computer games, but those only give them mouse skills. As he gets older, and more adept at typing, I will slowly introduce other computer skills to him. (as well as his siblings.)

Amanda took a couple more steps today. But it’s funny, she seems to only want to step with her left leg. It’s probably the stronger of the two, or maybe the left leg isn’t quite strong enough to support her weight by itself??? Anyway, she looked funny. She took 3 steps in a row, but only with the left foot, so she was kind of going in a circle. It was too cute!

She is learning a new thing. She is learning NOT to share. This is a recent thing, and it only includes her Tigger and her ride-on toy. If Alicia gets either of them, Amanda will scream in anger and point to them. At first Alicia was giving them to Amanda, but I want Amanda to learn that she has to share her things, so I told Alicia to keep playing with them, since she got them first. Then I will say Amanda’s name in the “Mommy tone” and tell her to share. I don’t think Amanda is impressed, but she’ll get over it!

I updated Amanda’s second year page today. If you want to see it (and have the passwords) just click on her name bracelet on the left, and it will take you to her section. Then just click on “second year”.

Measured and weighed the kids today:

Jared – 7.2 years – 3′ 9″ (45 inches) – 39.4 pounds
Josh – 5.4 years – 3′ 7 1/2″ (43 1/2 inches) – 36 pounds
Alicia – 3.5 years – 3′ 3 1/2″ (39 1/2 inches) – 32.6 pounds
Amanda – 19 months – 2′ 6 1/2″ (30 1/2 inches) – 21.4 pounds

Well, I think I feel like reading… our nephew LeRoy loaned me some books, but I want to finish the series I am reading now first. The one I am reading now is a 9 book series, and I am on #6… So I better get booking, if I want to read the other set!… Have a great night!

Today I feel Better
Reading: “An Untamed Land” By Lauraine Snelling
Today it was sunny, windy and currently 46º
 

Today Amanda had her 18 month check-up. She was 18 months yesterday. She is 32 inches (laying down) and weighed 19 pounds 14 ounces… She has lost weight in the last week, while she was so sick. Because on January 2nd she weight 20 pounds, 2 ounces. I can’t believe she isn’t quite 20 pounds. Alicia hit 20 pounds at 12 months. She needs to put on some weight, because her height was between the 50th and 75th %, while her weight was minus 5%.

Dr. Gyerko said she looked great. Her social skills are well above average, as is her talking. Her fine motor skills are doing great, and he went on and on about how happy she is, and was quite impressed with how well she has her “Please” and “Thank yous” down. But… Yes, there is a but… If she isn’t walking within two months, she has to go see a specialist. But I don’t think that we will need to do that. Now that she is feeling better, she is back to cruising around the furniture. Before she got sick she had started letting go of things while standing up, so she’ll probably be doing that again soon too. I give her a month, and I’m sure she’ll be there.

We’ve got to stop leaving this house though. It’s been very windy, and every time we go out in it, I start feeling icky again. I am back on the meds, and am not impressed in the least. Sad thing is, Joe has already made plans to visit his parent’s tomorrow, so it’s back out we go. *sighs*

We did hit Kmart today, after Amanda’s check-up. While finishing up getting all the size 4 boys clothes packed up, I started going through the boy’s shoes. Since they both went up a size, we needed to get Jared a new pair of Sunday shoes (gave his old ones to Josh) and Josh needed a pair of summer sandals. Also, we forgot to buy Jared a new light jacket, since the one he had, went to Josh. We found all but the Sunday shoes at Kmart. They just didn’t have any at all. So we’ll have to checkout Payless Shoes tomorrow while we are out, as he’ll need them before Sunday.

I also want to go to Christian Supply tomorrow and pick up one subject that we’ll need for next year’s homeschool. I’ll probably get Science. We want to start buying a subject (or at least half of what we need for the subject) with every one of Joe’s Target checks. That way we don’t go broke, trying to buy it all at once. (Would never be able to afford that anyway… Homeschooling can get very expensive, but it’s worth it!)

Well, I am really not feeling well, so I think I’ll go snuggle under a quilt and watch my new movie again. Have a great night!

Today I feel Content
Reading: “On the Banks of the Bayou” By Roger Lea MacBride
Today it is cloudy, windy and 32º
 

They are predicting snow and/or freezing rain tonight, after midnight…
 

Jared’s check-up went well. I didn’t have any concerns, and Dr. Gyerko said he looks great, and that’s always good news. He’s now 44 1/4 inches (3? 8 1/4?) and weighs 39.4 pounds…. My word, he’s almost about to hit the 40 pound mark… Finally! He’s 7 years old, and not even 40 pounds yet! … He is so tiny. The doctor used to predict that if we go by mine and Joe’s heights (5? 11? and 5? 0?) and by following the the growth chart, he’d hit about 5? 7? for adult hood… Now he’s saying 5? 5? or 5? 6?. Poor kid! But then Joe wasn’t even 5 feet yet when he entered high school, and he ended up at 5? 11?… So there’s still hope for him.

After Jared’s appointment we had lunch/dinner at Wendy’s then headed to Wal*Mart. Jared’s birthday money was burning a hole in his pocket. He found his Spiderman scooter, and then bought a “Justice League” DVD. Joe gave Josh and Alicia a few dollars too, and let them pick something out. They all got to pay for it themselves at the register, and were very thrilled. Josh got a new dinosaur, and Alicia picked out one of those recorder/flute things. It was on the peg toy aisle for only 88 cents, Joe was happy about that! We even got Amanda a tiny little 99 cent baby doll, which she loves. She hugs it tight and says, “Baby!”… Very cute.

Then we went to Target to get Amanda some diapers (I like Targets diapers better than Wal*Marts, because Targets have the tape tabs, over the velcro… Don’t like the velcro tabs because they come undone too easy…). We found Alicia some clothes off the clearance rack, and a pair of pants that were on sale. Jared needs pants too, but I couldn’t find any prices there that beat the price of jeans at Wal*Mart, so we’ll buy some there next time…. They both need clothes very badly.

Joe also bought a sled… Just in case! If it snows tonight, he wants to play in it with the kids tomorrow. He said that if he didn’t buy it, and it does indeed snow, he’d regret not buying it. It’s long enough for the 3 older kids, so that Joe can pull them all around the yard in it at the same time.

Amanda seems to be feeing a bit better. She is still a little warm, and is sneezing a lot. But she is eating now, and not as clingy. She is also playing again, which is a good sign. I am still giving her the medicine though.

Well, think I’m going to pop some popcorn and watch a movie. It’s a snuggle under a blanket night, because it’s so cold!!!!

Today I feel Content
Reading: “Little House on Rocky Ridge” By Roger Lea MacBride
15 days until  Christmas!!!
Today it is currently raining lightly and 57º

Josh and Alicia both had doctor’s appointments today. Alicia’s 3 year checkup should have been in October, and Josh’s 5 year checkup should have been last month, but Dr. Gyerko was out of the office for 6 weeks, due to having surgery. We go to church with someone who works with Dr. Gyerko and she told us that he has arthritis in his knees. I guess he had surgery on one a while back, and needed to do the other one. When we saw him in September, he was limping so badly, that he could barely walk… But to be honest, he didn’t seem much better today. He is still limping.

Anyway, Josh is 42 1/4 inches tall, and weighs 35 pounds. That puts him in the 50% for height, and the 10% for weight. His blood pressure was 84/40 and he passed the hearing test with flying colors. They checked his vision too, and got 20/20 in his right eye, and 20/30 in his left eye. They said that was great for his age. Alicia is 38 inches tall and weighs 30 pounds. That puts her in the 55% for height and the 40% for weight. Her blood pressure was 82/36, and she didn’t have a hearing or vision test.

Alicia looked great, but Dr. Gyerko did mention something weird… He pointed out a small dimple on her lower chest, and said something about it being almost like an extra breast… Huh?…. I didn’t quite catch it all, but he said that in a small percentage of cases like this, when the girl reaches puberty, she might actually grow some extra tissue there (like a 3rd breast) that would have to be removed…. I have NEVER heard of such a thing… He did make it sound like it was VERY rare…. Whatever it is, let’s hope that doesn’t happen to Alicia!!! To be honest, I had never even noticed the dimple before. (And I just realized that I forgot to mention it to Joe, so I hope I remember tomorrow.)… (Josh didn’t want Joe, Jared and Amanda in the room, as he was embarrassed that the doctor was going to have to look at his little manhood. In fact, he didn’t even want myself and Alicia in there, but Alicia had to get checked out too, and I wasn’t about to leave them in there without me!!!!)

I talked to Dr. Gyerko about how Josh complains about his legs hurting, and how they seem to tire quickly. As you know, he has always had low muscle tone (though not as badly as Amanda). Dr. Gyerko ran him through some walking/hopping/jumping tests, and then had him run up and down the hall. (Now if you have ever seen Josh run, you would know what a hoot it is. His run is VERY slow, and he holds his arms funny. It’s very funny to watch…. I say that in love! *grins*) Anyway, when Josh and Dr. Gyerko came back in from his run, you could tell that Dr. Gyerko was holding back a laugh, and he said, “Well, that was different, wasn’t it?” He said that the low muscle tone was in his arms too, he could tell that by the way that he held them. Anyway, just like he mentioned with Amanda, he said we should think about getting Josh into physical therapy. He mentioned Early Intervention again, but I don’t want to go there. (Which is the main reason that we never called for Amanda) Josh was tested by them at 18 months, and they never did any kind of follow up, so I assume he didn’t qualify. I told that to Dr. Gyerko, and he agreed. This time he gave me a name and number for one…. I am thinking that if we have to do it with Josh, we might as well get Amanda in as well…

He also said that we should get Josh into some kind of sport, where he can work to gain some strength. He said that swimming would be excellent. Joe and I have always wanted to get the kids into swimming lessons, so now might be the opportune time to do it. Joe really brightened at that thought, as he has always wanted to do that.

We had two different people ask us if the boys were twins today. That always amuses me. Everyone thinks that they look so much alike, but I just don’t see it. They have the same hair cut, but it really ends there. Their hair even feels different. Jared’s stands straight up, and is soft. While Josh’s lie’s down flat, and feels a little on the dry side. Josh’s face is more narrow than Jared’s… Jared just takes more after my side of the family, while Josh looks like the Johnson side. Hmm… Weird…. Anyway, the second lady that asked was very nice. We were about to eat dinner at Wal*Mart. I was sitting with the kids, while Joe was getting the food. This lady came up, and just jabbered on to me forever. She was really very nice…. Of course, the fact that she kept saying how beautiful the kids were helped! I could tell she was a Christian, because she had a pin on that said, “Jesus is the reason for the season”. When she and her husband left, they even gave the kids some popcorn that they had just bought. (Wal*Mart sells these big bags for $1.00, and her husband said he didn’t want that much, and poured some out for us into this empty bucket, that Wal*Mart uses to fill with cotton candy.)

Amanda said a new word today! She said “Baby”! Isn’t that cute!?!? She is so scrumptiously cute and adorable!

While at Wal*Mart Joe broke down and bought the kids “Spiderman 2?. It was on sale for $12.99 for a DVD (normally $20.00) and Joe couldn’t pass up the deal. (We just bought Spiderman 1 from Target last week, to put away for Jared’s birthday. It was $10.00 for the DVD) Anyway, when we got home they were watching it, while Joe was lying in bed watching TV, and I sat in the dining room working on Christmas cards. After a while I heard Amanda start to cry, so I went in there to get her. She was lying, face down on the floor, so I went to her says, “Oh, what happened?” (In my “you poor thing” mommy tone) Well, Jared answered me by telling me what was going on in the movie! I wasn’t interested in what was happening in the movie, and I’m wondering if he even noticed his sister was crying! Kids, I tell ya!

Cuddles seems to be getting a little more used to the cone on her head. She is no longer walking backwards. For the first 24+ hours, every time she moved, she walked backwards, trying to back out of that cone. It was kind of amusing to watch…. But now we have to keep an eye on her. She did manage to get out of the cone twice today. I tightened it a little more, each time I put it back on. I’m hoping it’s tight enough now, that she won’t be able to get it off again. She sure wasn’t very happy when I put it back on, and she would hang her head and sulk! It’s very funny to see a cat sulk. My other cat, Brooks, did that when he had his cone on. But his problem was that he wanted to go outside, and I wouldn’t let him. Every time I told him no when he asked to go out, he would lie on the arm of the couch and sulk. He would refuse to even look at me. If I looked him in the face, he would turn away. Quite amusing. Like I said, sulking cats are funny.

She gets her drainage tubes out tomorrow, but she might have to keep the cone on until the stitches come out, you think?

Today at Alicia and Josh’s doctor appointment with Dr. Gyerko, while talking about the fact that Alicia was potty trained, Dr. Gyerko said, “No more in diapers, are you going though baby withdrawals?”… I then reminded him that Amanda is still in diapers…. I didn’t mention the fact that I won’t be going through baby withdrawals any time soon. I figured that if we aren’t telling the family about the baby yet, that Dr. Gyerko could wait as well. We’ll be seeing him for Jared’s appointment in January (if the insurance covers it), or at least for Amanda’s 18 month checkup in February…. We can tell him then that he will be getting one more patient.

I’ve been feeling pretty decently, physically speaking. I’m a little on the tired side, and my breasts hurt, but that’s pretty much it. No real nausea yet. I have been feeling slight cramping now and again, but that’s just the uterus stretching. I’ve felt those cramps before. It’s amazing how early it is doing it though…. I’ve already gained a couple inches in the abdomen!!!! That seems WAY TOO EARLY! (Let’s hope it’s not fat) I’m not quite 6 weeks yet. The baby is not even a quarter of an inch long yet. It can’t be taking up that much space. I keep hoping that maybe it means that there is more than one in there, but that’s just wishful thinking…. I know it’s because the more babies you have, the earlier you show each time. With Jared I wasn’t wearing maternity clothes until I was about 5 months along. Not so with any of the others!!!

Well, I think I might go work on addressing the Christmas cards. Hope you have a great night!

Today I feel Dandy
Reading: “The Far Side of the Loch” by Melissa Wiley
It poured down rain today, and was in the upper 50s

I made Amanda’s costume today. It was fun, and I got it done in no time. She looks so adorable in it!!!

Alicia was quite impressed by it, and wanted to wear it too. I had to convince her that she was too big, and that there was no way the costume was going to fit. Silly girl!

Amanda now says “Pee-Boo”, for “Peek-A-Boo”… Very cute! We are always playing peek-a-boo while I get her dressed on the changing table. I usually say, “Where’s Amanda? Peek-a-boo!” or “Where’s Amanda? There she is!” It’s a game I played with the other kids too, and they all loved it. In fact, Alicia still gets a kick out of it.

As of today, Amanda also says, “Oh!”… She was saying it all day. Maybe it will replace the “Uh Oh!”, that is her usual. She says that CONSTANTLY! She also is still saying “Thank you!” almost every time I give her something. Such nice manners!

I weighed and measured all the kids on Friday… They are getting so big! Jared is now 44 inches tall (3? 8?) and weighs 36 pounds… Which, now that I think about it, isn’t really all that big for a kid who’ll be 7 in less than 3 months… Joshy is 42.5 inches (3? 6.5?) and weighs 33 pounds, 11 ounces… He’s almost as big as Jared, no wonder EVERYONE thinks they are twins!!!… Alicia is 37.5 inches (3? 1.5?) and weighs 28 pounds, 12 ounces… At this age, she is bigger than both the boys were… And Amanda is 29 inches (Standing up) and weighs 18 pounds, 12 ounces… She is exactly 10 pounds less than Alicia.

Didn’t do too much else today. Such a boring life we lead!!! Hope you have a great week!

Today I feel Happy
Reading: “Little House in the Highlands” by Melissa Wiley
It is currently partially cloudy and 82º

Amanda @ 1 day shy of 1 year

Can you believe my little Amanda is a year old today…. I am so depressed! … I am so not ready for my baby to leave babyhood behind forever. Like her brothers and sister, she has been a pure joy to me since the moment of conception, and I thank the good Lord for her every day. I can’t imagine life without my little ray of sunshine. Happy Birthday, my precious little Pixie. I love you with all my heart.

To celebrate her big day, she got a new tooth today! Now she has a grand total of 5 teeth, and I can see #6 under the gums, so it should be out soon.

Tonight I am going to do some final updates on her “First Year” pages, and get a start on her “Second Year” pages, and on her “1st Birthday” pages…. We’ll be having her birthday party this Friday, while camping with Joe’s family at Champoeg State Park… The Johnson Family reunion is Saturday.

I measured and weighed her this morning. She is 30 inches long… Which shocked me! She’s tall like Josh was, and skinny too. She only weighed 17 pounds even. That seems too small for 12 months. Josh was 18 pounds 9 ounces, Jared was 19 pounds, 9 ounces, and Alicia was 20 pounds. I guess Amanda is going to be my light weight.

Since Saturday I’ve been really trying to focus on getting Alicia potty trained. I’ve been more than a little lazy about it. So I sucked it up, and have been putting her in underwear during the day (and keeping her in pull-ups at night). Yesterday she was pretty funny. She was on the potty, watching herself tinkle, when she said, “Ewww! I don’t want to eat that!”… Oh my goodness, I almost bust a gut laughing!

She did have a couple accidents both Saturday and Sunday, and so far she’s had one today. I had called her out of the bedroom and asked her if she was dry and clean. She told me that she was poopy. Well, it was only a little bit, so when I was done cleaning her up, I told her to sit on the potty and try to go some more, and low and behold, she went poo-poo in the potty chair!!!! I was psyched! So I made a big deal about it, and gave her a tootsie-roll. She seemed very pleased with herself.

Jared is just doing amazing. Other than seeing the bandage on his back (the steri-strips have to stay on for a total of 10 days), you would never know he had surgery less than a week ago. He is up and playing, and has been since Friday afternoon. He doesn’t even walk funny anymore. He does have a little swelling where the incision is, but they said that was normal and could last up to 6 weeks.

His toilet issues are almost completely gone. It’s amazing how quickly he’s recovering. The paperwork we got said that any symptoms he had prior to surgery could take months to resolve completely, so we are very happy with the progress he’s made so far. We still have to give him a suppository every day, which he hates. But soon we should be able to go to one every other day. He has an appointment with Dr. Wehby’s assistant on Thursday, so we’ll discuss it with her then. (Her name is Jenny Hume)… But to me, his stool still looks a tad bit on the hard side, and he only goes once he’s had the suppository. Hopefully within a month or two, hell be able to go on his own, with no constipation issues. (The tethered cord caused the severe constipation)

I ordered the last of Josh’s homeschool curriculum today. We only needed the math home teacher packet, but we couldn’t find it at Christian Supply. So I finally broke down and ordered it on-line…. Just didn’t want to pay shipping costs! … I am getting a little excited, and a little scared at the same time, over the up and coming school year. I am excited about using a new curriculum, and seeing the kids learn new things. But I am scared about there being three of them to teach!!! At least Alicia will only be in her 1st year of Preschool, and will only be doing it two or three times a week.

I’ve got my scrapbooking caught up through the end of the year! Whoo-Hoo!!! So now I can start to work on January pictures. There is only one problem though…. I just ran out of my base paper (the 12 X 12 size). So until I can get some more, I am at a stand still…. *sighs*

I was so busy this morning, that I didn’t get my shower in during Amanda’s first nap. So now that she’s down again, maybe I should go jump in the shower… That way Joe won’t have to come home to a smelly wife!!! Hope you have a great day!

Today I feel concerned about Jared
Reading: “Mercies So Tender” by Elaine Schulte
It is currently raining and 69º

Quote of the day:
Jared: “I want to buy a present for Ashley too, but I need some money. But first I have to lose a tooth!”
(We had been telling him how you get money when you lose a tooth.)

Today we had Jared’s pre-admit appointment at the hospital. We got there at close to 10 a.m., and went to the Diagnostic Center as we were told. Not long after getting there, they asked me to go back into a room with a nurse (named Bernadette), and she asked me a bunch of questions about Jared, and his medical history. After getting everything typed into the computer, she brought Jared in to weigh and measure him. She also got his oxygen count, took his blood pressure and listened to his heart. (at 6 1/2 he weighs 35 pounds, and is 43 1/2 inches tall)

Not long after that a nurse named Peggy came to get us all for the tour. She took us to the main entrance area, and took us to all the places where we would be going next Wednesday, for Jared’s surgery…. Here is a map of the 3rd floor of Legacy Emanuel Children’s Hospital:

We will start out in the “Short Stay” area, where we will be for about an hour. I’m not sure what all we’ll be doing there… The surgery isn’t scheduled until 9 a.m., but we have to be there at 7 a.m…. After that, we head down to the basement, where the operating rooms are. Jared will be in his bed already, and will be wheeled into a room that is right off the operating room area. I’m not sure how long we’ll be there, but there are toys and stuff for the kids to play with. Then Jared will be taken into surgery, and we’ll have to go to the waiting room…. After the surgery he’ll be taken to a recovery room, and then brought out into the hallway once he’s awake. That’s when we’ll get to see him again, as we’re taken to his regular room. We won’t know until then which section we’ll be in. There is the infant/toddler section, where they take kids up to age 6, or the school age/adolescent section. I guess it depends on how busy they are, as to where Jared will end up.

They have lots of things there to occupy the kids, but as Jared has to be lying flat for 24 hours, I don’t see us using many of them. They have a few playrooms with lots of toys, (One of the rooms have toys, videos and books you can take back to your room) a fancy “video” room with computers, nintendo, a movie playing, etc…. But like I said, we’re just in overnight, so I don’t see us taking advantage of many of these things.

The Doll Kit

Near the end of the tour we went to the Family consultation room (I think) where the kids were given these bags with all sorts of goodies in them.

They had this rag doll with a hospital gown on, that they could make the face themselves. Jared’s cousin Leann got one, which they had people sign as they came to visit her, but Jared doesn’t want his written on. (So I bought an inexpensive little journal, for people to sign and leave him little messages in. I can also write about his stay while there, while it’s fresh in my mind. I think it will be a nice keepsake for him.) Since she gave Amanda a bag too, and she’s not old enough to give a hoot about it, I am saving that bag as is, in his keepsake box.

Explaining the Surgery

Then Peggy (the nurse) brought out this big rag doll thing, which had flaps on it. (The doll had on hospital pajamas) She showed Jared where the doctor would be operating on the doll, and she opened the flap on the back of the doll, and it had these paintings that looked like the spine, bladder, kidneys, etc. She explained to Jared that is spinal cord was caught and twisted, and that Dr. Wehby would have to snip it to get it un-caught.

Then she proceeded to tell him that after he woke up he would “have things” that he didn’t have before he went to sleep. She told him about how he’ll have a tube coming out if his penis to pee out of…. As she was telling him this, his eyes were getting bigger and bigger… Then she told him about the IV. She actually showed him the needle, then demonstrated on the doll how it would be put under the skin, etc. Well, that was too much for Jared and he burst into tears and asked Joe to pick him up (I was holding Amanda). I felt so bad for him… He is now terrified of getting the IV, though he will be getting it after he is put to sleep.

We ended up being at the hospital for 2 hours. Jared kept thinking that today was the day they were doing the surgery, and we kept having to reassure him that it wasn’t until next Wednesday.

Picking out Library Books

After leaving the hospital we went to the library, where we checked out a couple books on going to the hospital. I read them both to him tonight, and he asked a few questions. I think he is feeling better about the whole thing… Except for the IV thing.

This evening we put the faces on the dolls. Since all we have are washable markers (and I want the faces to be permanent, in case the doll has to be washed) I got out my fabric paint, and had the boys strip their clothes off. I painted Alicia’s doll, and let the boys have at it with theirs. Josh’s turned out more than a little interesting, and the doll has green hair… And it’s face doesn’t resemble a face at all! … Jared was upset when he messed the face up on his, and I’ve been recruited to “fix” it. He also wants me to paint a spine on the back of the doll, and has named it “Spiney”… Thought that was cute.

As soon as we got home today, they had those bags open, and their doctor stuff brought out. (For his 3rd birthday Jared received a Fisher-Price doctor kit from my brother and his family. My SIL also made him a doctor coat, and Josh a patients gown) They played “doctor” for a couple hours, and the doll had the surgery preformed on it, and ended up with a band-aid at the base of it’s back.

Well, I think I want to unwind with a movie and some popcorn. I hope ya’ll have a great day!