Surgery scheduled and house update

The ENT appointment went very well and they scheduled his surgery for Feb 10th. Jack had a hearing test done which showed mild hearing loss. I can't wait to see how much he talks after the tubes are put in!

In house news, it's looking pretty much like a done deal. We still have MORE paperwork from the bank to sign, but anticipate being in contract on Monday. Because the house is owned by the federal government, there are a lot more hoops to jump through to get it. Here's a picture:



Thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers. If you posted your blog, I'll add it to the sidebar this weekend. Summy's fever has finally broken after 4 days and we found out he has a double ear infection yesterday. He is still on the mend but hopefully should be back to his old self in a day or so after the antibiotics kick in.

Snow day!!!

We got at least 8 inches of snow here, and so we got to enjoy a much needed snow day today! Summy's been sick the last two days with a very high fever (cross your fingers, I think the fever broke this evening) so I was glad I didn't have to take a sick day (that I didn't have!)

Therapy on Monday night was good. We talked about some of the fallout from the first session. I had been grinding my teeth in my sleep last week which the therapist thinks is probably related to my mind reliving the delivery as it is now fresh in my mind after retelling it to her. We will begin some of the work next week to start making the new connections dealing with the trauma event and "rewiring" my response to prevent my flashbacks. We discussed that my predominant delivery flashback is being on the delivery table, arms pinned and the anesthesiologist on top of me, pushing on my throat, (so I wouldn't aspirate my food) the doctor cutting me open, (before I was unconscious) and the nurse trying to get the medicine in my arm. I flash back and remember the lights in the room, the viewpoint of looking up, the cutting sensation, but not the pain...this is what we will delve into next week. So far so good.

I took some darling pics of the boys with their elmo dolls this morning...





I have been engrossed in the Twilight novels, which I devoured in the last 5 days. I was so sad to finish the fourth and final book today because I really got into them. One of my students was kind enough to let me borrow them.

As always, if you aren't listed in the sidebar, please post a link to your blog so I can add you!

23 months, as always, late

Life has been crazy for us. Without getting into too many details, we've been offering and counter-offering on a new house. Here they are, 23 months old. Sumner's teary because he wasn't willing to let go of his bus for his picture. Jack, of course, wasn't willing to part with his phone either.

Second therapy session is tonight.

Theraputic

Last night was happy. Happy and sad. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be reliving the delivery moment by moment. I cried a lot, but it was wonderful to say it and put it out there. We went over a brief history of my family, physical history, and then I told her how it (the delivery) happened. She agreed that she strongly feels I have post traumatic stress disorder and thinks that she'll be able to teach me coping strategies and "change my point of view" on the delivery. She was very kind and really listened to me.

The therapist specializes in a particular method of treating PTSD called EMDR. From the website:

"Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)1 is a comprehensive, integrative psychotherapy approach. It contains elements of many effective psychotherapies in structured protocols that are designed to maximize treatment effects. These include psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, experiential, and body-centered therapies2.

EMDR is an information processing therapy and uses an eight phase approach to address the experiential contributors of a wide range of pathologies. It attends to the past experiences that have set the groundwork for pathology, the current situations that trigger dysfunctional emotions, beliefs and sensations, and the positive experience needed to enhance future adaptive behaviors and mental health.

During treatment various procedures and protocols are used to address the entire clinical picture. One of the procedural elements is "dual stimulation" using either bilateral eye movements, tones or taps. During the reprocessing phases the client attends momentarily to past memories, present triggers, or anticipated future experiences while simultaneously focusing on a set of external stimulus. During that time, clients generally experience the emergence of insight, changes in memories, or new associations. The clinician assists the client to focus on appropriate material before initiation of each subsequent set."

I find this to be extremely interesting and she said this process would be used further down the road of treatment. Overall I left feeling like a big weight had been lifted from me. It was almost the relaxation your body feels after a really good massage. Our next session is on Monday.

Busy busy day!

It was a rough day today! The rundown:

Jack had his allergist appointment this morning. They ran the pinprick testing on his back and the good news is that he has no food allergies. The bad news is that the doctor ordered a blood panel to check for penicillin allergy.

The pipes froze in the garage and burst

I spent approximately eleventy billion minutes on the phone taking care of a ton of stuff

Jack's ENT appointment was scheduled a week from Thursday

Our car needs repaired

and Jack had to have blood drawn this evening. One of the saddest things I've had to go through since the NICU. He inherited my tiny veins so it took a very long time to get the blood. I had to try really hard not to cry.

Tonight I go for my first therapy session to deal with the labor and delivery and placental abruption. Please wish me luck, I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Experimenting...

What are your thoughts now? Still planning to upload pics soon...

More prayers needed

Sorry to have been so MIA, our statewide music teacher convention is this week/weekend so I have been very busy it seems.

D took Jack to the pedi today on our hunch, and he has his 5th ear infection in a row. We found out on ear infection #4 we think he is allergic to penicillin, so we will see an allergist on Monday. After today, she referred us to an ENT so Jack can have the surgery to have tubes put in his ears.

While the surgery has advanced a lot and is not nearly as bad as when David and I had it as children, please say a little prayer. We should know more on Monday, and the pedi thinks surgery might accelerate his talking/vocabulary gains.

As of yesterday, the boys are 23 months! One month till two! I'll post pics tomorrow!

Prayers needed

I learned heartbreaking news that my sister in law (and brother in law) are experiencing a miscarriage. Please take a moment to stop by her blog and offer her support. She needs it very much, and I really appreciate it.

Alana-isms

New header/color

What do you think? I am still unsure...leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts!

Also, leave me a comment and tell me...can you see my counter still?

Fun at COSI

On New Years Eve morning we went to COSI for the morning with Mimi. Unfortunately, 30 minutes after arriving, Jack fell and started limping, and 30 minutes later we were on our way to the pedi for an appointment. He ended up getting x-ray at Children's Hospital and thankfully everything was OK. Hopefully we can make a trip back soon to play again and spend more time.

I was really lucky to snap some awesome shots that I had to post. The light was great. A few of Jack's are blurry because he was just moving so fast. I just got so many good shots!















This week has been so far so good. It's been rough being back at work...child abuse training made this week really long because I was stuck at school until 8:15 last night. It's been hard being away from the boys. They continue to amaze me. Summy can sing the first two verses of twinkle twinkle, they can both recognize circles, ovals, triangles, stars, hearts and Jack can name a square. Both are talking up a storm. Both love Elmo and Sesame Street.

I can't believe that 2 is approaching. It makes me so happy that they are doing so well, but so sad that they are growing so quickly. Where has the time gone?

The government is preventing us from reselling baby stuff?!?

This has to be the craziest thing I have ever heard..from the article:

I want to be clearer and more specific about the effect the CPSIA (Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act) will have on reselling when it goes into effect on February 10. As clear as I can be, that is, since it seems there's an awful lot of confusion.

You will no longer be able to place used children's clothes or toys into the "stream of commerce" unless you can prove that they've been tested for lead and pthalates. Items manufactured after Feb. 10 will boast a permanent tracking label which will do just that. As I and others understand it, that means no selling items without such proof on ebay, Craigslist, yard sales, and church/organization consignment sales (See if your favorite sales are still scheduled). Of course, that means no buying kids' clothes and toys without the label from these sources either.

The link is here.

edited to add: That will this mean for parents? What will this mean for small, local businesses? I have started a new etsy addiction. What will happen to those people?

What are your thoughts on this? I was looking forward to eventually selling the boys' things after our next (and probably last, if we are graced to get PG again,) child.

2008 in picture review

Amazing to think how much our little guys have changed in one year!

January


February



March


April


May


June


July


August


September


October


November


December



I still have a little more to share of 2008...a little more of our Christmas celebration, and some awesome pictures from our trip to COSI yesterday which ended quickly when we had to leave to go have Jack's leg x-rayed after a fall. Thankfully, everything's AOK!