Life just never seems to slow down. sometimes I get to the end of the week and even after doing all kinds of things, I feel like I’ve accomplished nothing.
The last two weeks have been really messed up for me. I took Thursday and Friday off last week for Ella’s surgery. The week before that I took Thursday and Friday off for what I thought would be my son’s graduation and Ella’s dance recital. Honestly, I still don’t know what day it is…
A week out, and Ella is recovering quite well from her tonsil surgery. I think the hardest part about surgery days for me is having to be the one to go back to put the mask for anesthesia on my child. Granted, Ella did really well this time. But there were a couple times when I was back with Andrew that just broke my heart to see how scared he was
She thought it was great that we both had matching hats. I will tell you this, though, that little bunny suit that they make the parent get in before going to the ER that is supposed to fit everybody… It don’t. I know I’m a big guy, but that thing makes me feel like I’m extra large trying to get into a small.
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As I said earlier, my daughter had her dance recital about 2 weeks ago. The one thing that they all have to have for the recital is their hair up in a bun. To do that her hair has to be long.
Towards the end of school she was saying how her hair was bugging her and that she wanted to get a haircut. We told her that she had to wait until after the recital to get it done.
So after the recital and just before her surgery, she was able to get her haircut the way she wanted it. I think it looks cute, Even though it makes her look older than she is.
I’m really not sure what my son is angry about behind her in that picture, but it makes me laugh.
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Last weekend was the final weekend of soccer for my son. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier about that. You may remember I got suckered into coaching.
I don’t know diddly squat about soccer. I told them that when I was asked to coach. I had another guy who was coaching with me who was in the same boat. Luckily, we had a coach who was able to work with the two of us so that the kids at least learned something. I have to tell you though, I really felt pretty useless out on the soccer field.
The team that he played on wasn’t really playing games against another team. It was a lot of basic stuff like kicking the ball, rolling the ball back, passing the ball to another player, and throwing the ball in for play. Those things were accomplished with games like Simon says and stuff like that.
The coolest thing for all of the kids was that they each got a medal with their names engraved on it. He couldn’t have been more proud.
I was pretty proud of him, too.
As for next year, I’m hanging up my coach’s whistle!
I apologize for not giving an update sooner. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes for our daughter. Ella’s surgery went well and she came home Thursday evening.
They wound up not taking the tonsils out completely. They basically shave them down, which leads to an easier recovery. I’m not sure it’s been easy for her though.
It’s important for her to keep drinking throughout the day. She is allowed to eat popsicles and ice cream and other soft, cold things. The hard part is getting her to drink or eat.
Obviously, it hurts to swallow anything, so she’s being very stubborn about eating and drinking. What makes it even more difficult is that she doesn’t want to take Tylenol or Motrin when she has to. It’s a fight to make that happen.
Over all, she has been resting. She did want to go outside yesterday because it was nice. She wound up sitting on the porch most of the time. She did ride the Big Wheel for a little bit, probably because she doesn’t like to sit still.
They say days 3-5 are the most painful. That’s today, tomorrow and Monday. I’m hoping that it isn’t too bad for her. I hate seeing her hurt.
Sam signed her up for summer dance classes. I know she wants to feel better ASAP because she is excited to dance.
Thank you again for thinking about and praying for her. I will keep you posted on her progress.
My wife and I will be warming seats in the surgical waiting room today. A few months back, our doctor took out my daughter’s adenoids. After the surgery the doc came out to tell us that the tonsils didn’t need to come out. On the way home, I told my wife, “If we end up back here for tonsils, I’m gonna be ticked.”
Well, here we are again – for tonsils. After the first surgery, her snoring became very loud. She was also waking up a lot. A trip back to the doc and ta da – tonsillectomy.
Please keep our girl in your thoughts and prayers today. Thanks!
I just wanted to inform you that the next couple weeks are going to be busy for me. My wife is having some surgery this week. I will be home helping her get around and taking care of the kids.
I hope to have all of my weekly features ready to go for the next two weeks. Hopefully, you won’t notice I’m gone. I am going to try to watch comments and interact, but I can’t promise anything.
In the meantime, I ask that you keep Sam in your thoughts as she has her surgery and recovers. Thank you in advance!
It seems like it’s been a while since I posted a non-music/personal blog. Believe me, it is not because of a lack of things going on! It seems like my wife and I have been on the go constantly with the craziness of every day life. So here is a brief update:
Happy Anniversary!
It certainly does not feel like it has been seven years, but who am I to question WordPress? Today marks 7 years of blogging on this platform for me.
This blog has been such an important part of my life the last 7 years. Those who have been with me from the beginning know that it started as my place to vent. Then I began sharing memories that I wanted to document before I couldn’t remember them anymore. Then I began to sprinkle in music, movies and entertainment themed pieces. Over time, I added features and that sort of brings us to where this blog is today.
This blog began shortly before I got remarried. The story of our courtship, proposal and wedding are chronicled here. The roads that led to the excitement and wonder of the birth of our two children are also well documented. Highlights from the last 7 years are here for future reference. The blogs here hold answers to questions my kids might have. These are for the future, just in case I am not around to share them.
I am so grateful to have this place in the Blog-o-verse/Blog-o-sphere to share things. I am happy to have connected with wonderful people – LIKE YOU – who interact with me, share your stories and offer encouragement. Thank you!
Kid Stuff
The entire country is experiencing the cold weather and many places are seeing snow for the first time in ages. I was surprised to see the snow on Pensacola Beach! There were plenty of snowy photos from my friends in the southern states on Facebook.
The cold temperatures canceled the entire week of school for my daughter. She loves school, so she was sad to miss. However, it did allow her and my son to join my wife and her mom at the local Children’s Museum. They had a blast spending the day there. She told me all about it when I got home.
They had a dress up area and a “carriage” that she got to ride in. All princesses need a carriage, right?
We have been waiting to get my son in for his CPAP sleep study. Our lab has been so busy that their first available appointment was in February. The problem is, we wanted it done before his appointment with the sleep neurologist next week. Thankfully, I heard that we had a couple cancellations this week. I called my wife and asked if she could come in that night with him. She was at Dance rehearsal with my daughter. So we made some arrangements and were able to get him in.
He wore CPAP for a short while when he was about 2 years old. He has since had adenoids removed and tonsils shaved. There is still apnea, so we thought it best to try the PAP route again.
Side Note: As a sleep technologist, I can tell you that there are plenty of adults who have trouble with CPAP. When people hear that my son (or any child) is on CPAP, they wonder how they do it! I think my son is a bit more prepared as I wear CPAP and my mask every night. He thinks he’s gonna be cool like dad with his mask.
This time around it was a bit more difficult for him. He was waking up WAY more than he did before. It was strange, because he has done it before. This time, however, he comes in with a diagnosis of Restless Leg Syndrome/Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. His arms and legs seem to move constantly!
Midway through the study, the tech asked my wife if this was what he did at home. In conversation, she happened to mention that his breathing looked shallow and wanted to know about any respiratory weakness. My wife said that he was working on core muscles in physical therapy. That was all the tech needed to know.
She returned to the tech room and adjusted the settings to ones we use for people with neuromuscular weakness. With a couple tweaks of the setting, my son settled and slept! Now all we have to do is wait for the doc to finalize the results. When finished, they will send over the script for the new machine. With that, my wife and I may actually sleep at night!
He was SO tired here!
Numb
You may recall that I have been suffering with numbness in my hands since the weekend after Christmas. At one point there was swelling, too. After a visit to my PCP, I was given a referral to another doctor in hopes of getting answers. This might include getting an EMG done.
I scheduled that appointment and it is finally happening next week. The problem I am having is that the numbness in my right hand is almost gone. Now there is just pain in the finger tips. My left had still has numbness mainly in the fingers. The pain and numbness is worse when I get up for the day. As much as I wish it would go away completely, I hope it is still there when I visit the doctor.
Favorite Childhood Book
I will begin posting the contributions from other bloggers for Share Your Nostalgia Part 2 the first week of February. It isn’t too late if you want to take part. The topic is to write about your favorite book from your childhood. It could be one your parents read you or the first book you checked out of the library. It could be one that you read to your children as they grew up. If interested, drop me a note at: nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com
Time Off – But Not For Fun
I am hoping to work ahead on the blog. At the end of February and early March I am taking time off work. My wife is having some surgery and I will need to be home with her. She’s not going to be able to do much, and I will have to play referee to the kids. She’ll be in a lot of pain, and so I need to be there with her. I’d appreciate if you would keep her in your thoughts.
I will try to post updates as I am able during that time.
With 4 days left until Christmas, I thought I would share a little update.
Despite the many Christmas posts, I am not really feeling “Christmassy” this year. It seems like our family is focused on one event and once that is done, we’re on to the next one. Point A to Point B, then on to Point C. We haven’t had two minutes to really appreciate the season, even though we are decked out and have done some holiday activities.
Once Ella’s dance recital was over, the focus shifted to her surgery. She had an ear tube that was stuck. She also was set to have tonsils and adenoids taken out, if they needed to be. The surgery was on Thursday and she did really well! The tonsils got to stay, but the adenoids came out.
If you do “Elf on the Shelf,” you know the kids are not supposed to touch the elf. If they do, it loses its magic and cannot fly back to the North Pole. The morning of her surgery, there was a note from “Santa’ that said that he gave Twinkles (the elf) special powers for that day. She could hold her and take her to the hospital with her. She was thrilled!!
We arrived at 6am and were on our way home by 9:30! It’s crazy how they shove you out of there after surgery! When we got home, we all took a nap, and there was a special surprise that awaited.
You may remember this from last year. One of our neighbors puts out a mailbox for kids in the neighborhood to mail letters to Santa. Each child receives a response. The kids love to go there and drop the letter in the mailbox.
The neighbor messaged me on Facebook and asked if there was a good time to drop off a letter. I told her about the surgery and she said she would drop it off then. After our nap, we woke up and I told the kids, “You will never guess who just texted me!”
They asked who it was and I said “I’m not sure, but it says it is a North Pole number!” I said that there were photos attached. So I opened them in front of them.
Santa himself delivered their letter!!! When they saw the pictures, they both ran to the front door. I opened it and we looked around. He must have got back in the sleigh and went home! They wanted me to look in the mailbox and sure enough, there was his letter. Talk about two giddy kids!!
It looks like they both made the nice list and will be getting what they asked for this year. Thanks, Santa!!
Christmas Rock
This was too cool not to share. In Flint, MI, there is a big square rock. It has been there as long as I have lived in mid-Michigan. I’ve seen a lot of things on it. People have spray painted memorials to loved ones who have passed away. Sometimes it is in honor of the anniversary of their passing. There have been marriage proposals in it. There have been patriotic tributes for events like 9/11. There have been funny paintings and sad paintings.
For Christmas, a local mural artist named Johnny Fletcher did his part to get folks in the Christmas season. The first mural, which was featured on many websites, featured the mean one – the Grinch.
This mural became the talk of the town. A week or so later, he did yet another one. This time it was of a couple of misfits!
The quality of his work is truly amazing. It didn’t take long for folks to ask if they could buy a print of these. I hear he was selling them through his Facebook and personal site. Those would look pretty cool on a wall. However, they look downright amazing on this HUGE rock.
The countdown to Christmas continues … Have a great weekend.
It was a long day yesterday. We were on the road by 5am to be at the hospital by 7am. Andrew’s surgery was at 9am.
They repaired the cleft in his throat without harming the vocal chords it was between. They removed adenoids and shaved the tonsils. It all went very well.
Waking up from anesthesia was very difficult. They wanted him to drink something, but he wasn’t having any of that. Even popsicles and ice cream didn’t phase him. He just wanted to snuggle with mom.
We planned on staying the night, but once we got to the room he began drinking and eating. He drank water, juice and ate popsicles. After a few hours, he wanted to walk the halls. He wanted to go home soon after that.
His nurses said that the doctors had said if he did well, he wouldn’t have to spend the night. He was discharged about 5pm. He did sleep some in the car, which was probably good for him. The rush hour traffic allowed for a good nap.
Thankfully, despite a sore throat, he was talking a lot. There was some concern that the surgery would hinder his speech, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
The next couple days will be the hardest as far as pain and such. We’ll continue alternating Tylenol and Motrin and hopefully stay ahead of the pain.
We thank you for your good wishes, your prayers, and support. We hope this will be the last surgery for quite a while.
It’s Monday and there is finally a bit of normalcy back in our life. It was a crazy weekend for us.
Thursday, Andrew had his surgery. It went better than expected and we were grateful that many of the “possible” surgeries were not needed. This time the recovery went a bit better than the last time. When he woke up from his last surgery he had what they called post op “delirium” and he began pulling the IV out and was just a bear! This time, they gave him something that let him sleep a bit more and he woke up much more calm.
On Friday we were home. He seemed to be doing well. He was eating a lot of soft foods and popsicles. He seemed a bit more like himself, but we knew he wasn’t 100%. On Saturday, we had a scare as he just didn’t want to eat or drink. We even took him out for ice cream in hopes that would work. Naturally, a trip back to the ER and what does he do? Drinks and eats.
Not sure why he felt the need to grab a winter hat for ice cream, but he did.
That night my wife caught a very cool picture. Let me set this up for you. When I put him to bed, I will lay him in his bed and turn out the lights. I will say prayers with him, cover him up, and turn on his sound machine/night light. Then I’ll put on my reading glasses, grab my mini-flashlight and read my book where he can see me. He will eventually close his eye, knowing that dad is right by him, and go to sleep.
While in our bed that night, he grabbed his sunglasses and put them on. He grabbed his Paw Patrol flashlight and one of the books my wife and I plan on reading. He said, “Wook, Mommy! I Daddy!!”
Little by little – he is acting like himself.
We were home just in time to watch the sunset yesterday. Before the rain, the kids saw fire flies lighting up the back yard. So they ran around trying to catch them. Both were successful!
It’s been years since I’ve chased fireflies, but I have vivid memories of doing so. I hope they will never forget doing it.
I wanted to thank each of my readers who said a prayer or sent positive thoughts our way for Andrew’s surgery. All went well and he is home recovering.
We will need to follow up with ENT in about 6 weeks. We also will follow up with sleep/neurology in the weeks ahead.
He was such a trooper. We’re happy he is home. The plan is to take it slow and easy this weekend.
Andrew’s surgery was schedule to happen in late September. Sam woke up this afternoon saying that the ENT office had called and wanted us to call back as soon as we got the message. They had mentioned a while back that they may want to move the surgery up a little.
They hadn’t called back by the time I left for work today. Sam called me as I pulled in to tell me that they indeed had moved it up … a lot. She posted this earlier today:
Got a phone call today from Andrew’s surgeon that he went over recent testing Based on that, plus the increase in choking and aspiration, it was no longer safe to wait for surgery. So Thursday this sweet boy will go in for yet another surgery. This surgery is a big one, with a whole bunch of scary things. But we are going in with faith that this will be the surgery to fix his little throat completely!
We have no idea how long he will need to stay in the hospital. They informed us of the many possibilities that he/we could be facing. Very scary possibilities, indeed. However, we will be praying that all goes well and that he heals up quickly. This weekend will be very stressful.
If you wouldn’t mind sending some positive vibes, good wishes, or prayers our way, I’d appreciate it.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 