Baby Rachel's wild ride

A couple of months ago Rachel got her wisdom teeth out...

Carly was pretty quiet when she came out of the anesthesia.  She was a little worried about her puffy cheeks but was overall pretty quiet and sensible.

Not this girl.......

 She was VERY emotional when it was over.  She alternated between Laughing and crying all the way home. As we started up the car to leave she pointed to a girl running down the street and started crying hysterically.  I asked what was wrong "that girl, that girl" what's wrong with that girl?  "sob… her pink shorts"  is there something wrong with her shorts???   "I WANT SOME!!!!!!" 

Then we drove a couple minutes down the road. She looks at the wadded up tissue in her hand and asks hysterically in a frightened sobbing voice "what is that??? what is that??" i answered it's just a tissue baby to which she cried "BUT how did it get there????"  

As we drove down the road, she sobbed until she caught sight of herself in the outside mirror and started laughing loudly exclaiming "I look funny" and then more crying as she saw a boy riding a bike on a bike path next to the road exclaiming "that's scary".  

She is taking sign language at school this year and she kept signing things to me.  I asked her if she wanted a jamba juice and she said yes but NO BANANAS and then started making the sign for bananas and then spelling it out alphabetically in sign.  Then  she pointed to a truck and proclaimed in a disgusted voice " THat is stupid"  what" "THAT! factory parts express (she read off the truck) that's stupid!", then more crying as she touched her face and said it was fat and she didn't want to be fat. I told her it was just numb and she said no, she could feel it, and it was fat.  

Then more laughing as she saw a liscence plate "LANALE" saying Lana, Lana, Lana Lee  over and over and laughing. THen it was pointing at the spinning golden arches at Center street stoplight saying "that's cool! can you see it spinning mom? I want to ride on that thing and go around and around and …… that's stupid" what? (pointing across the street at the burger king sign) "BURGER KING!!! it's stupid" why? "Cause it's just sitting there"   Then more sign language spelling out jamba juice as we turned in to get her a smoothie.  

There was more crying at the pharmacy when she couldn't get the mirror to open, more crying and screaming when we pulled out onto the street and she was sure that a car almost hit us that was not anywhere close to hitting us and she cried and said "it was that (pinching her fingers) close, we're gonna die, I don't want to die"  I don't want to die either Rachel, your eyes are just playing tricks on you, I'm driving carefully.  I have lots of things I still want to do.  

More crying  and "I don't want to die, I have stuff I want to do too like go to dances and stuff!"  

Finally we were home. Phew! 

Her fears were alleviated later that night when she was 

asked to Prom by a very tall, handsome runner....

Her friend McKay came over and knelt in front of her on one knee holding out a jamba juice and said 

"now that you've lost a little wisdom... will you go to prom with me?"

She said YES and if she coulda smiled bigger.... 

she woulda!

"My life is Over"

moaned the man with no gall bladder,

after eating a Cafe Rio Steak burrito, enchilada style, w/ the HOT sauce.

It's a sad, sad day for the Big Cheese-

He's not sure where to go from here because well.....

Life without Hot wings, enchilada sauce, El scorcho, jalepenos, Habeneros, El pato, A-1 Bold & Spicy, cayenne, Frank's, Valentina's, Tobasco.... Is that really living?????

He was not born to be mild.

Home and doing great

So the Big Cheese is home. He's feeling pretty good, all things considering.

Surgery was quick. It went well. When the Dr. came to see me after surgery he said "that was a very sick gall bladder!"

Mark asked them if he could bring his gall bladder home. (gross!) That request was denied. He asked to at least see it. They were fairly evasive with lots of "well it would be hard, you see it has to go to pathology, you'll have to talk to the O.R. nurse and your post-op nurse about it and if this and that go right ... maybe..

Mark was persistent. Finally as he was groggily recovering they brought it in a ziploc bag. It was smaller than I thought it would be for all the trouble we've been through over it. It was also very ugly. uggh. Our nurse told him it should be soft and squishy and said she could feel lots of stones. Mark said it was hard throughout. I chose not to touch.

We checked in at 8:30, they wheeled him off at 9:30, the Dr. came to tell me it was all over at 10:30 and at 11:00 I was with him in recovery. We were home by 3:00 and I couldn't' believe it. Mark tends to do things in a big way. With his same day hernia surgery a few years ago he ended up being admitted for 3 days. In an unfortunate fall during a young men's soccer match, he had to break both elbows, one just wasn't good enough. He passed out and ended up in the hospital all night giving blood at an elder's quorum activity the first year we were married. See the pattern? Do you understand my surprise? I packed a BIG backpack full of reading material, snacks, a notebook, my ipod. I was planning a long day. I couldn't believe it only lasted a few hours. I think I only got through one chapter of my new library book. I am very grateful.

Thank you for all your prayers and good wishes.

They worked.

My Husband went to the ER and all I got was this dumb bracelet

One more time.

An early morning trip to the Emergency room.

Kidney Stones.

Once again, I hope it will be the last time.

We didn't have to wait this time. I'm telling you- 3am is the time to hit the ER. No wait.

I came home with a doped up Hubby and a cute red bracelet.

Of course we had a youth BBQ scheduled at our house tonight. Of course!

It's going on now and Mark is out there, smiling, talking, putting on a good show.

He was supposed to make dutch oven desserts. He still planned to do it all morning until I sent him to the kitchen to make a shopping list. I asked him if he could think straight enough to figure it all out as I was doing laundry. He said he thought he could. He came back in a few minutes later with a change of heart. "I'm not making the desserts. I just don't have the energy." I was glad. I felt like he was pushing himself too hard.

The kids were good and weeded hard this morning. Thank heaven for a breezy overcast day. Then they came in, got cleaned up and helped me clean the house. They're good kids.

This kidney stone seems to be smaller than the last one. Mark was uncomfortable for days and was pumped full of extreme amounts of morphine and then Dilautid when that didn't work last May. We spent several hours in the ER last time. We were only there an hour and a half this time. We didn't need any tests, he knew exactly what was going on. We knew which medication to request that works for him. He really is doing better but has a raging headache once again from the Dilautid. We requested NO MORPHINE. He has some back pain today but it hasn't been as bad as last time.

Mason has been impressed that kidney stones are not fun. He has been drinking lots of water all summer and will randomly state things like "see mom, see how I'm drinking lots of water?! I do NOT want to get kidney stones." or "It would be even badder for kids to get kidney stones than dads. That's what I think. I will drink lots of water so I don't get kidney stones!!!"

He then proceeds to look very serious while guzzling great glasses of water. It's very cute and it's good to be hydrated so I just tell him "good job buddy!"

We're all glad we have 1pm church. We'll enjoy sleeping in tomorrow.

I wish you all a chocolate covered, sleep-filled, kidney stone free saturday night.

Inundated by (imagined?) Illness

inundate |ˈinənˌdāt|verb [ trans. ] (usu. be inundated)flood : the islands may be the first to be inundated as sea levels rise.• figurative overwhelm (someone) with things or people to be dealt with :we've been inundated with complaints from listeners.

Yes! That's how I feel!!!  Overwhelmed! Flooded! Inundated with complaints!!!!

I don't know what's going on over here but it's cool to be under the weather... apparently.....

You may recall in my 2nd to the last post...Last week Rachel had a stomach bug Monday and Tuesday.  Mark came down with a fever and chills and aching joints Wednesday-Thursday.  Those were real but the rest I believe are of the imagined variety.

It's mainly my #3 &#4  vying for "sickest child" of the day.  WHAT? Am I not attentive enough? Do we need to play more Uno Attack or Phase 10? 

In the past week we've had these complaints:

6:30am Tuesday Morning:

SAMANTHA: I'm so tired.  I don't feel good.  

MOM:Do you think you can go to school?  

SAMANTHA:  Noooo...

MOM: Okay, go back to sleep.  

9am Jacob leaves for school.

9:15 School starts and Samantha appears in the kitchen announcing she is ready to go to school now.  I will have to drive her because the crossing guard will be gone by the time she gets there.  Mom unhappy. She couldn't have figured out she was fine just 10 minutes earlier and saved me a trip.

6:30am Wednesday morning

JACOB I'm so sick.  I don't think I can go to school.  Ohhhh.... I'm just so tired.  

MOM: I bought it.  He seemed awfully tired.  He's never tired. I said okay, go back to sleep.  I shut off the light.  I shut the door.  20 min. later he's asking me in a very groany, tired voice...

JACOB: Can I watch August Rush because the music really helps me fall asleep and I think I need to get to sleep.

MOM: (very unsympathetically)  Here's the soundtrack.  That should do the trick! 

9am; Samantha leaves for school.  At 9:03 Jacob appears in the kitchen announcing he's pretty sure he can go to school.  Of course he has an "all about me" poster due that day which he worked on with his dad the night before (Because I was feeling sick, REALLY, and retired to my bed about 8:30pm) but we were supposed to finish that morning.  Mark and he had printed some photos off the computer and they had cropped them and glued them on.  Jacob had written captions for them so I got out my sticker book and we embellished by finding stickers that showed foods he liked and foods he didn't like encapsulated in a circle with a slash over them and a caption of   "Ugg!  Never!" and stickers that showed activities he enjoyed: roasting marshmallows over a fire, a Cd player and music notes, a bicycle, etc.

9:20 I kick him out the door 5 minutes late for school toting his poster.  He's capable of crossing the street on his own at the crosswalk.

Wednesday after school:

SAMANTHA:  My toes really hurt when I walk.  Can we wrap them with an ace bandage.

MOM: sure, let's wrap it.  (Easier to wrap than argue)

The wrap is off an hour later and she is cured..... Until later when they hurt again and require additional wrapping.  This toe infirmity reappears several times over the course of the next few days and by saturday has affected her heel but the toes are better.  Wrapping always does the trick.

Wednesday 7:pm:

Mason has a sore wrist that requires wrapping as well.  We have Tragically weak joints at this house.  They need support.

Thursday morning:

SAMANTHA: My armpit hurts.  

MOM: I can't even pretend to buy this one... Really?  the armpit? Give me something I can work with? something I can wrap with an ace bandage....

Thursday 11:30am:

phone call from school:  

JACOB: very weak, pitiful voice.  (He's really good at sick voices.  He's pretty much got the sick voice mastered. He's suckered this cynical, suspicious mother more than once with a good sick voice.  )

Uuumm.  Mom?  I'm in the office.  Could you come get me.  I don't feel good at all.  My heart is beating really fast and feels like it's jumping out of my chest and I feel sick and I need to come home.

I'm supposed to be at work at the school at 12:30.  I go pick him up.  I give him an Advil for his headache.  I give him a Rolaid in case this heart condition is related to heartburn.  I am highly suspicious however as it sounds remarkably like a condition Carly actually has called Supraventricular tachycardia; where her heart really does beat very very fast and makes her weak and dizzy.  hmmmm.

I ask him if he's hungry.  Hah! when is he not hungry???? give him some lunch. Have him rest on the couch and announce at 12:20 that we're going back to school.  He's fine with that and has improved very much although he gives me a nice wan face to show me he's not quite perfect yet.  He's doing this for me.

Thursday Night:

midnight: Mark is puking.  He felt fine all day but went to bed a little early for a Friday night with an uneasy stomach.  I had stayed up to get some projects done while watching "Little Women". The old version with a very young Elizabeth Taylor playing Amy. I loved it.  (Have I mentioned how much I am enjoying the Tuner Classic Movie channel?) 

After getting Mark a bowl  in case there was a reoccurrence and some pepto bismal I turned in for the night. I have to add here that Mark did NOT leave a mess for me to clean up.  I must say that I appreciate that about him. I go to bed soon after. It's about 12:30.  About 1am I hear a child wailing.  I hit the ground running afraid I have another puker in the house.  No. It's Mason with an earache, headache and sore throat.  We go downstairs and get my miracle eardrops and some children's Ibuprofen.  He won't take the ibuprofen (liquid)  After begging and cajoling  I have to bluff him with the old "well, If you won't let me help you then I'll just have to go to bed. You come get me when you want me to help you feel better."  He relented and drank his medicine.  We put the drops in his ear, set him up on the couch with pillow and blanket and hot packs for his cold toes and put on Kung Fu Panda (Thank you Auntie Christy)  I reclined in Mark's recliner so I could hold his hand and try to rest.  Halfway through the movie I went to the long couch and dozed.  He woke me up when the movie was over and we were both ready to go to our real beds.  It was now 3am.  

Friday: Mark and Mason stay home and convalesce together.

Friday: I try not to fall asleep while at work.  I think during a long blink I missed a whole page my 3rd grader was reading.  

Saturday:  All seems well.  The littler ones are in bed asleep. Mark is asleep.   I'm waiting for my two big girls who are out babysititng and I've finally found a few minutes to post after getting our computer back. Nothing is wrapped with an Ace bandage and I don't think I've heard a health complaint all day.  It's a Miracle!!!!