aches, bikes, and cuddles

So I finally went to a neurologist for my headaches.  I was told I have "normal everyday headaches" (ummm...no duh...good thing I went in...) and "cluster migraines".  So I tried a new treatment for the migraines.  And I won't go into any details about what it was, except to say that I couldn't close my left eye for a couple of hours.  I never knew before just how ANNOYING that could be.  I now feel I understand something about my brother Dave that I never did before.  He has alot more of my sympathy.  I also have more pain in my jaw and the back of my neck than before I went in.  I'm not giving up on this treatment yet...maybe it's just slow to really start working and this is something I have to go through before it really starts working.  Not sure if I'm happy that I've started going to see doctors again....didn't work out so well for me last time.

The kids and I went on a bike ride today.  Well, they rode bikes, and I followed pushing Russell in the stroller.  They're doing so great.  It's still just a miracle to me how quickly they learned.  And it's really hard to get them off of their bikes...ever.  I'm loving it.

Russell and I love snuggling.  I love love love my "squishy" baby, to quote my s-i-l Heidi.  He seems to have missed the snuggling as much as I did, because he melts into me too, giving me lots of hugs and cuddles.  Aaaahhh, so wonderful to have this surprising time, right in the middle of what was supposed to be straight casting.

Shriner's called today to schedule Russell's next casting date.  Still not sure when it will be, because of some scheduling conflicts, but I have mixed emotions about this.  Relieved that we're continuing his treatment, but sad that this time has to end.

Memorial day bikes!!!

On Saturday, we happened to find bikes that were just the right size for Tyler and Emalyn and we bought them.  We'd been planning on getting Emalyn a bike, she'd been asking for one for a while and we'd been looking, but Tyler had been saying that he didn't want a bike, and he really didn't want to learn.  So we had no intention of getting him one, but then he was with Scott when they found a bike just the right size, and he got excited and said he wanted to learn how to ride it.  So we got Tyler and Emalyn each a bike, and then Scott put training wheels on a bike we already owned for Krysta, and we changed our Memorial Day plans to include learning to ride bikes!

We were really excited.  We didn't think they'd learn in one day, but we were excited to see how far they'd get today.  We went over to the church parking lot, and Tyler's friend Isaac came too.

 

Tyler was amazing.  He taught HIMSELF in about 5 minutes.  Incredible.  He then just rode all around the parking lot the rest of the time we were there.

Emalyn was awesome.  We'd gotten this "balance buddy" that you hook on to the back of the bike, so you don't kill your back helping your child learning to ride their bike.  Not sure why we bothered now, since Emalyn had bicycling down after about 15 min of us running with her.

 

Success!!

Krysta was nervous at first to ride this "big girl" bike, but forgot that fear after about 5 seconds and rode all over.

And this little guy was just happy to be along for the ride.

Now to get a bike for me...:)

Russell's 2nd cast...or not...

I'd forgotten to mention the rigmarole involved in giving Russell a blessing Monday night.  We hadn't originally planned to go to UT separately (kids and I in the van going Monday morning, Scott in the truck Monday night) but we decided to at the last minute, since that would help us get the oven from my parents house to our house sooner.  But this meant that Scott couldn't give Russell a blessing, since he was already in bed Sun night, and Scott wouldn't get to UT until late Monday night, and we would have to get up at 5am to leave for SLC Tues morning.  We tried several people, all of whom would have loved to come but we couldn't reach them, then we found my mom's uncle, Uncle Bud and his son who could come over and give him a blessing.  It just felt really important that we give him a blessing.  I'm so grateful to my great-uncle Bud and his son for coming over and doing that.

So May 22 Tuesday morning dawned bright and early for us...Russell was scheduled to check in to Shriner's at 6:30 am.  I was happy about this because it meant that he was the first surgery of the day, so we wouldn't get bumped back like last time.  We got there, got checked in really fast, and everything seemed great and ready to go.  Russell didn't even really have a runny nose anymore.  I did tell Shriner's about it though, Sunday and Monday when they called us, but they said as long as he didn't have a cough or a fever he should be fine to have the surgery.  But when he didn't have any symptoms of a cold that day, I thought everything would go great. 

About 1 hour after they took him back, Dr D-- came and told us that Russell was wheezing, and they could hear a rattle with every breath he took.  They'd given him albuterol to open up his airways, they gave him oxygen, but nothing would help.  He said the wheezing just got worse.  So they'd pulled him out, and decided not to cast him.  The risks were just too great.  They were going to wait for him to wake up, and then they'd bring him back to us.  Imagine my shock.  I was completely not expecting that to happen.  Scott wasn't with me, because he'd gone to get our lunch, so I called him to tell him the news.  Honestly, my first thought, along with the surprise, was, "We get another month without a cast? Another month to snuggle together? Yippee!!"  Scott sounded about like that too.  Just an unexpected blessing. 

It was still hard though, that day.  It was hard to absorb that we'd come all that way for a cast, to continue treatment, and suddenly not to go home with it was a huge letdown.  Not like it felt like it was wrong, or that something bad would come of it, it was just frustrating to have done all that for nothing.  To go home without a cast.

But still, so wonderful to have him without a cast.  To cuddle, to be able to bathe him, to let him get dirty, to be able to go swimming, for him to weigh about 10 lbs less (it felt that way anyway), to not worry about leaky diapers, it was a wonderful thought. 

It was hard to take in both emotions at the same time.  Exhausting.  Plus we'd gotten up early, traveled the day before, and it's just so exhausting to have a child go through surgery anyway. 

When Russell was brought back (it took him two hours to wake up!), he wasn't very happy.  The Versed they'd given him before surgery had not worn off yet, and they said it causes hallucinations as it wears off (wierd!! Scary...).  The Albuterol gave him a fever and made his heart rate accelerate.  He was still hooked up to all the machines, so we could see that his heart rate went up to 180 bts/min a lot.  He was a very sad boy.  And he really was wheezing.  That was scary.  We'd sent him off to surgery looking and sounding relatively healthy, and he came back sounding like he had croup, and crying, and hot-and they didn't do anything besides give him anesthesia and briefly intubate him.  Other than the wheezing and fever, he did a lot better than when he got his first cast, so it wasn't that bad.  He wanted to eat lots of jello and drink juice, so we got to leave about an hour and a half after he woke up.

We realized that since we'd driven separately, Scott could drive back to Idaho that day and go to work on Wednesday (instead of  taking it off as we'd planned).  So after we checked out of the hospital, we went back to my mom's house and I took a nap.  Scott took all the kids to his parents' house (I was so jealous and wished I could be there, but I was in no shape to do anything besides sleep and try to take in everything that happened).   They had a great time seeing everyone that day in Payson.  When they got back, Scott immediately left for Idaho.

I was so glad we'd gotten that Priesthood blessing.  It helped me to remember and know that Heavenly Father is really in control here, and what happened is for our good, especially for Russell's good.  People have asked us if we're worried about his back regressing, and honestly, I'm not.  I'm not worried about it.  It might happen, it might not.  We don't really know.  But I'm not worried about it.  I know that whatever's in Russell's best interest will happen, and it will be OK.  I know Russell's going to get better, one way or another, and I'm just enjoying this brief reprieve from the cast.  I know we'll be back in the trenches soon enough.

It's always fun at Grandma's house

 On Monday, I drove down with the kids to my parents house in Orem for the new cast we'd be getting the next day at Shriner's in SLC.  The drive went well, the kids were very good, which is always nice when Daddy's not there in the car with us.  Scott drove down that night after work. 

Tyler and Russell had so much fun on the giant bean bag chair in the basement.  Russell adores his big brother Tyler.

 Russell is still trying very hard to not walk.  So as you can see below, he reverted back to crawling now that his cast is off.

We had so much fun with Grandma Linda.  Grandpa Roger was in Europe, and he was very missed! It seems like our trips always are at the same time-mine to their house, and his to somewhere else!

So we had swimming, a picnic on the deck, and FHE with Grandma Monday night.

 And here, I look as tired as I was feeling...nice.

 The kids loved this kiddie pool in the backyard.  First swimming of the year for us!  And what (I thought) might be Russell's only chance this summer

 I love the looks of complete enjoyment on these faces.

 Emalyn, sporting a rockin' hairstyle.

We played games for FHE.  Emalyn and I finally won the last round we all played.  Tyler also won, and so did Grandma-twice!

And then Scott came, and we went to bed...not knowing how the next day would turn out...

End of cast #1...

In anticipation of getting cast #2 on Tuesday, Scott and I cut off Russell's cast on Sunday.  We watched some Youtube videos and decided we were ready to go.  At first we tried wire cutters, which definitely cut through the first 3/4 of the cast, but it was a really bad idea.  The friction made the saw get crazy hot, burned my hand, and almost got Russell too.  And then it broke.  Bad saw, bad saw! So then we switched to wire cutters, which worked beautifully!

 Boy was he a happy boy when that cast came off!!!

 He tried to lift his cast, but he couldn't.  Scott and I were amazed once again at how heavy it was!

Very, very happy boy!
(And happy Daddy too!)

Emalyn's dance recital

I'm getting behind in my blogging!  That's because 1) I got a cold last Thursday that I still haven't got rid of, 2) We started re-roofing on Thursday and Scott and some guys from our ward kept at it until they finished on Saturday 3) Emalyn had a dance recital on Saturday 4) We cut off Russell's cast on Sunday and 5) We packed for our trip to UT for Russell's 2nd cast on Sunday too.

So, yes, we now have a beautiful newly shingled roof.  Aaaahhhh...not so worried about wind storms or rain leaking into our house.  Wonderful feeling.  Mainly due to my amazing re-roofing hubby.  Scott says it took 25 man-hours to do our roof, and of that he spent 15 all by himself (out of choice, crazy hard-working man.)  But it looks great, and he's very proud. :)

Emalyn had her dance recital on Saturday.  They wouldn't allow flash photography, so I have no pics of the actual recital.  Her class did a fish ballet dance, as part of a Neverland theme they had going this year.  She did so great!  She's becoming a beautiful dancer.

The BEAR

Tyler received his Bear award at Pack meeting this last Wednesday. We're so proud of him for earning it only 6 months after becoming a Bear!

 Tyler pinning the Bear pin on me.

 Congratulatory handshake with the Cubmaster, Sister Dennert.

 This is all of us doing Tyler's favorite cheer-the "Benjamin Franklin Cheer".  For those of you who don't know what that is: first you fly your kite, then you get zapped by lightening.  Extremely entertaining, as are all cubscout cheers.

 I love how proud Tyler is in this picture.

And then, completely unrelated, here is a picture of one of the throwing knives Scott MADE by himself for his scouts.

And lastly, also unrelated, for an update, Russell still has a slight cold.  Still just a runny nose so far.  We still aren't sure what we're going to do.  Thanks for all of your prayers guys~!

Sick?!!

Sooo...Russell woke up today with a cold.  Technically, we're not supposed to do the cast on Tuesday if he's had a cold recently or currently has a cold (or anything that interferes with lung function).  So far, it's just a runny nose.  Not serious, so I think we'd still cast him.  If it gets worse, then we can't go in on Tuesday.  So, I'm trying to trust in Heavenly Father, that if he gets worse, then we won't go in for the cast because it isn't the right timing.  Timing is always in Heavenly Father's hands. 

The reason lung function is so important is because during the surgery (or the casting procedure) Russell is put to sleep with a gas mask (obviously the lungs would need to be working well for this to go right), and because he will be intubated and on a ventilator the whole time.  When they are ready to set the cast around his thoracic area, they will apply positive pressure through the ventilator, inflating his lungs to their full capacity, so that the cast is not inhibiting respiratory function.  If his lungs can't inflate properly during this procedure, then the cast will be too tight.  So, you can see, it's pretty important.

So we could really use your prayers right now.  That whatever is in Russell's best interest is what will happen.

...And we're WALKING!?

I hope I'm not publishing this too soon...but Russell seems to have finally decided to walk.  Yesterday, right before FHE, he took about 7 steps unassisted, and then today, he's done that about 3 times so far.  He gets sooo proud of himself.  I'll try to take a movie of it, if he keeps it up.

So we're one week away from a new cast.  I'm nervous/stressed/excited/sad/worried.  Just pick a minute during the day, and it could be anyone of the above.  I'm excited that he's getting OUT of this cast (I'm excited to give him a bath!!!), and I wonder what he'll think of that.  I"m excited also because this cast is getting a bit tight.  Sunday he was so sad.  He screamed and cried all day long.  At first I couldn't decide if he was teething or if the cast was getting too tight (because they both have similar symptoms: irritability, crying, not eating, not napping, etc), but then he decided he was only happy if we were holding him horizontally by the hole in his cast on his back or on his tummy.  That says tight cast to me, since he usually only wants to be upright.  Scott finally cracked a part of it in the front to loosen it up.  We even considered cutting it off Sunday night.  But we didn't feel that would be a good idea.  The longer he goes without a cast, before getting the new one on, the more his back will revert to where it was before the cast was put on.  Shriner's says that we can cut off his cast up to a week early (yes, we're going to cut it off here at our house :0), but the longer we wait the better.  We're thinking we'll try to wait until Friday or Saturday to cut it off.  He's been doing a lot better ever since we cracked it.  Hopefully that did the trick and it'll wait that long. 
I'm sad/worried about the new cast because getting the last one on was so hard on all of us.  I really hope he starts walking again soon after he gets this next cast on.  Being immobile was really hard on him/me.  I think it's going to go a lot better than last time, because his muscles are already strong enough for him to get around in the cast, he's used to the feel of the cast, and because we probably won't get much more correction this time.  That's pretty normal with a second cast, for it to stay the same as the first cast.  So things won't move around as much this time maybe.  It's hard to know what to hope for, because on the other hand, it would be really awesome if we did get even more correction with this cast.
Anyway, just wanted to record where we're at.  Have a good day!

Mother's Day

Just wanted to express gratitude here for my wonderful mother, and my mother-in-law.  I am so lucky to have two such amazing role models to look up to.  Nobody could have two greater ladies in their life than they.

My kids and my husband treated me to a WONDERFUL Mother's Day. I thought last year was great, but this year they beat that. They gave me cards, sweet notes, presents, and did a treasure hunt and pin the tail on the zebra game to celebrate the day with me.

The notes they wrote were so cute, I had to scan them in so that I would always be able to keep them and remember.

Emalyn wrote these first two.

It's kind of hard to read that poem in the one above, so here's what it says:

While the moonbeam is glowing,
and the flowers are blooming,
You are shining,
and so am I.

 Tyler wrote this next one:

Krysta colored this last one for me.  She says it's a flower in space.

Sometimes (well, lately, alot) I feel like I'm not doing a very good job at being a parent.  I make a lot of mistakes.  Lately, it feels to me like my kids think I'm out to get them, and that I enjoy making them suffer.  I was talking to my mom about this, and she opened my eyes.  She helped me get a better perspective on things.  That things aren't really that bad.  That just because my kids act like they feel that way, doesn't necessarily mean that they really feel that way or that things really are that way.  And today, I just felt so loved.  Mother's Day can be a hard day, for a variety of reasons.  For one of the first times in my life (sad to say) I"m really and truly grateful for mother's day.  It was a BLAST today.

balls, balls and more balls!!

This fun toy arrived in the mail a few days ago.  We got it out for the first time yesterday.  They had a lot of fun in it.  I liked it because they can throw the balls at eachothers faces and it doesn't hurt.  Not that that ever happens around here.  Throwing balls at faces I mean.

Mo-om time

If you don't get the title, see yesterday's post. 

I know this might seem a little premature (given the holiday in two days' time), but it's what's on my mind today. 

Today I"m just happy to have a mom who is amazing.  And full of great advice.  I've been struggling with discipline issues with some of my kids.  I talked to my mom about it and I'm feeling a lot better about it.  I have more confidence to deal with these particular issues. Just talking on the phone to my mom makes me feel better.  I still have to face life, it just feels better. 

Mom's are awesome.

Russell's moments

Russell has perfected the word "Mo-om!" or maybe over-perfected it.  Yea. So far it means:

Look at me!
I'm hungry!
I don't want a nap!
I don't want my diaper changed!
I want you to hold me!
I don't want you to put me down!
I'm awake!
I'm unhappy about something/anything!
Dad!
I don't know what to say!

I'm frustrated! This is me (Amy) talking again.  Am I ready for him to learn another word? yes.  Have I considered changing my name? sometimes.  And is it funny sometimes? yes.  I know this is just a stage.  I 've been through it with all of my kids.  But there's always THAT DAY  that I just get tired of it, and wish we could communicate better.

In an unrelated story:
Last night, was a typical experience of "family prayer."  Everyone wanted to be kneeling by someone else (a different place), different members were poking each other, still asking random non-prayer related questions, and someone else was crying.  Russell knelt down, folded his arms, and then put his pointer finger to his lips and then pointed it at each member of the family, with a sharp "Ssss!".  And we all stopped, and started laughing.  Sooooo funny.  A great moment of comic relief.

And then I think.  Is that what I look like to him before prayer?  Probably!  And it's not cute. Trust me.

Infinite

Today I came across this scripture while studying,

 "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us." - Romans 8:18

I know so many people who are struggling right now.  Trials are mandatory in this life.  Although that's true, it doesn't make anything easier.    I just love that phrase, "are not worthy".  It speaks to me.  It says that our trials are not what we should be dwelling on, spending all our time and thought on.  We need to look higher, remember who we are, that we are spiritual beings, sons and daughters of God.  These trials are mortal.  They cannot last.  They are not WHO WE ARE.  We are eternal beings, trials are finite. 

Innovative

At church this week, we brought stuff for the kids to color with (i.e. crayons, coloring books, etc).  Russell really wanted to color, but since he can't bend at the waist and he has short arms, it's very difficult for him to reach down and color a paper on the floor.  All the chairs were taken (it was crowded!), so he couldn't color on a chair. 

He tried laying flat on his tummy, but again the cast makes it hard for him to hold his head up or to put his arms out in front of him to hold himself up. 

Scott and I were watching him, feeling bad for him because he was getting frustrated with this, and wondering what we could do to help him, when I started feeling a tickling on my legs. 

 I glanced down and he was coloring on my legs.  I was wearing a knee length skirt and white nylons, and I didn't think crayons worked on nylons, so I didn't worry about it. 

However, I started doubting this thought when he kept coloring, and was no longer frustrated.  I looked closer. 

Crayons do indeed work on nylons. LOL. 

my poor poor head

Horrible migraine for the last few days...which means I haven't done very much, so not much motivation to write today.  Anyone got tips for how to get over a migraine?

Neighbors bearing gifts

I think I mentioned a while ago that my neighbor offered to sew something for us to help Russell's cast stay dry.  So we all brainstormed (she, Scott, and I) ideas, but I couldn't figure anything out that would work, and still not be more complicated than what we were already doing.  However, my sweet sweet neighbor is not only very giving, but very creative and smart too.  She had a great, simple idea to sew us a liner and absorbent padding to protect Russell's cast from diapers leaking during the night.  She brought the first two she made over yesterday, and last night was the first time we used one.  So we didn't put any maxi pads on, we just used what she gave us (a waterprooof liner and the absorbent padding) a disposable diaper, and a cloth diaper waterproof shell.  And NO LEAKING!!   It's only one night of course, but still, it's so nice.  Two maxi pads a day (at least) can get pricey.  The things that she sewed us are washable in the washing machine.  Awesome.  I really hope it keeps working.

And...my brother- and sister- in- law sent us a "cast cooler" that they used for their little daughter while she had a spica cast on.  She was able to get her cast off about 2 weeks ago (yea for her!!!), so they didn't need one anymore.  It's this really cool thing that you put over the cast, and it hooks up to a vacuum cleaner to move air around inside the cast.  It's supposed to help prevent sweating and itching, and drying a wet cast. 

We are so blessed to have so many people who want to help us and Russell.  Thank you thank you!!

Finally got that video to post...

This is the video I wanted to post a couple of days ago, but blogger wasn't cooperating.  So I uploaded it to YouTube and then posted it here.  (Just ignore the loud music and arguing in the background)

Plans

Yesterday was my last day to teach preschool this year.  Mixed emotions about it, yes, but mostly just relief.  Teaching five 3&4 years olds for two hours  = super craziness.  And I think they've all got spring fever because none of them wanted to sit, or color, or draw, or write.  And one of them wouldn't even come in for the snack!!  (That last one is really just wierd)  Of course, I might have myself and my handy hubby to blame for that...no one wanted to get off the fort outside to come in and play. LOL.  So I understand.  But missing the snack? Seriously?

They do, however, all love storytime and singing time.  Which are my favorites too.  I think I'd like to just read and read to them and sing and sing with them.  And because 4 of the 5 kids are girls, singing usually leads to dancing, which is just a blast at that age.  The little boy can sure get into it too though.


I'm going to be brave this summer.  I'm going to try to teach my kids piano and singing.  I hope I'm not taking on too much-this really has me nervous.  I taught piano lessons back in high school, and then again when Scott and I were first married.  I love to teach kids to play the piano.  However, my own kids are a different story.  I tried a few years ago, but it led to fights with Tyler and Emalyn about practicing.  They had a hard time seeing me as any kind of authority on the piano, and I had a hard time being patient.  So they've been taking from a neighbor around here for a couple of years.  They still learn to play the piano, and we don't fight about it.  However, for the last few months they've been begging me to teach them.  I'm not really sure why...maybe they think I'll go easier on them than their current teacher.  She's really good with them, Tyler and Emalyn have learned a lot and they like piano.  Which is more than I think I would have accomplished.  They say they like her too.  So I really don't know why they want to switch, but since it would save us some money too, I'm going to attempt it this summer.  Mostly, I just want us all to still be friends at the end of the summer.  Any advice?

I'm also going to try to teach my kids to sing this summer.  I love to sing, it brings a lot of joy to my heart to sing, play the piano, and listen to music.  I would love to instill that in my children too.  I've been researching how to teach children to sing, and I actually feel alot more confident about this than the piano playing.  Not sure why.  Probably it's just because I don't know what I'm getting into.

I'm telling all of you this because, aside from the fact that I know your life revolves around my blog, I want to be accountable.  So if you see me this summer, ask me how it's going.  If you dare.  ha ha.

Proof

Can you believe that he decided to do this?  I'm happy that I remembered to get out the camera.  I forget to do that all to often in those moments.  But when I saw him doing this, it felt like the proof I needed to know that he will walk (without holding on to anything).  The cast has really affected his balance, so I think it's just a confidence thing.  This just made me so happy!