Cacophony

Now I have to brag a little about my kids, after all this is a blog ;)

Aleana and Trent are complete opposites in just about every way. From how they whine and fight, to how they share, to how they learn, they are VERY different. School is no exception. They are both bright. They are above grade level on just about everything. I must say it is not to my credit. I feel that sometimes as a society, we put too much pressure for our kids to be the smartest and greatest, and forget to let them be kids. So I intentionally let them set the pace on what they want to learn. No pressure. Aleana taught herself how to read before kindergarten and Trent didn't even know the whole alphabet when he started school. Aleana loves to read, and Trent could take apart my sewing machine and put it back together before he was three (sigh...only one screw was left over). One is like a sponge, she just soaks it up and one learns by hands on and asks a whole bunch of "why's" until he is satisfied with the answers. For the most part, they seem to figure it out in their own little way.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that they had BOTH qualified in their classrooms to compete in the school spelling bee. Honestly, I wasn't shocked that Aleana did (with all the reading she does) but I figured Trent could have cared less about about some silly spelling bee (where's the fun in spelling words...aloud?!?). They had a week to prepare themselves. I loved listening to Aleana and Trent practicing their list of words. Aleana would go on and on and on...and Trent would lose interest after about 5 minutes. What I thought was really neat, is for a small moment (five minutes max.) after school they shared a common ground and they had FUN studying...to-geth-er. No fighting, yelling or crying. A spelling bee brought peace to my house...who knew?!?

At the school level (Neither Tracy or I were able to go because of his new job and me just having had the baby - which really bummed me out and no pictures...) Anyway, they both did really well. Trent made it three rounds and then got out. I am so proud of him. When I asked him which word he got out on, he said, "I don't know. It was just some hard one." A very Trent response. :)

Aleana made it to the top two students and qualified for the district competition. It was held in the evening, so Tracy was able to go. Aleana did a super job! She lasted eight agonizing rounds. She was so nervous, her legs were moving and swinging and tapping the entire time she was on stage. She placed third overall, which is awesome if I do say so myself :)

Aleana - nervous just before they started.

Spelling bee underway...

After all is said and done...the look of relief on her face says it all.

The word she got out on was cacophony - I am ashamed to admit - I had to look it up to know the meaning. Defintion: ca-coph-o-ny n.pl. 1. loud, jarring, disagreeable sounds. Hmmm - that's exactly what my house sounds like when there are not any spelling bees buzzing around.

Blessings part 2

Bonus

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I should say that I am a self-described mama bear who is not afraid to bare her claws or teeth for that matter, when her babies require protection. However, this mama also has a tendency to melt like honey...especially when her cubs are just starting out. My heart melts when Luke flashes his toothless grin with those baby blues sparkling my way, or when I pick him up and all I see and feel is roll after roll, and don't even get me started on the hunk-a-chunk cheeks that I can't seem to quit kissing... Puddle of honey I am. What a sweet, sweet baby he is. A blessing like no other.

Luke "hanging" out in his RESQ Wedge (click here) - the most awesome invention for babies like him who suffer from severe reflux and for mommies like me who are desperate for sleep. It's expensive, but our insurance covers it (honestly would've paid for it even if the insurance didn't cover because it is that awesome). It's better than anything else I have found - other wedges don't have the 30% incline needed, inclining the crib mattress doesn't work because he just slides down when he squirms, and car seats don't work because the bent legs adds pressure on the tummy and the neck isn't straight enough which can be a problem if there is any aspiration episodes. Instead of sleeping 20 min at a time (waking up crying in pain), Luke actually naps 2-3 hours each time during the day, and sleeps at least 7 hours at night. He wakes up happy. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Of course, the first 5 weeks or so of life has been super rough for Luke with his reflux and swallowing issues. He is such a patient little guy who is a little fighter on the inside. There has been a couple of hospital stays, trial and error in the meds department, and lots and LOTS of sleepless nights for mom and baby. I listed all the times we had to see the Dr. in the first month of Luke's life (at the bottom of the post) as a personal reminder just for me. I want to remember what I have learned about strength and it's source. Heaven knows that this isn't the only time when I will have sleepless nights full of worry and angst, knowing I am not the one in control. (4 kids in their teenage years, need I say more? Frightening.) I need to remember times like these, when I find myself collapsing to my knees completely spent, unable to move. What I really, really need to remember is what I have found in doing so, because I seem to keep forgetting that part. I have found that the Lord loves me, he hears and answers my prayers (even if He has to sometimes decipher blubbered words due to waterworks on my part). He knows what is needed before I do. There are so many things that could have gone wrong with Luke, so many concerns from the doctors and us. But there are so many things that have gone right, without explanation - except through the power of prayer. We are blessed. It boggles my mind. I am grateful.

"Blue Light Special" - Luke under the bili-light. He loved it in there. It was nice and warm...maybe he felt like he was back in the womb. It was interesting to watch him move and squirm, because I was actually seeing what I felt for so many months. Kind of cool.

Doctors, hospitals, and medicine, oh my!

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2/3 Luke arrived!

2/4 Aspirated his vomit into his lungs, put on O2 - Dr. suspected reflux. Did EKG, and x-rays to rule out other complications. We were really scared. So far, it's just reflux.

2/6 Jaundice - had to use the bili-light

2/7 Finally got him weaned off the O2, and was released from the hospital with some prevacid and instructions to keep Luke upright for 20-30 min after feedings and lay him down in his crib with his mattress inclined. (At this point he was still eating every 2 hours. When it takes 35 min to feed, 15 min to burp, then add the diaper/clothes changes and the upright for 30 min after eating - I had a 30 min break to eat, sleep, and shower. Yep, was a walking zombie.)

2/8 Had to go back to the Doctor to check bili-levels and his O2 sat. rate. Everything looked good.

2/9 Dr.'s appt for weight check and O2 levels again. Both were good.

2/11 Dr.'s appt - reflux issues (choking, coughing with reflux episodes) - Dr. ordered a videofloroscopic swallow study.

2/12 Dr.'s appt - clogged tear ducts, that turned into infection. Got some antibiotics.

2/16 Dr.'s appt - still having reflux issues, cyanosis (turning blue due to lack of O2), and a persistent cough.

2/16 Dr. concerned with reflux/cyanosis issues and cough, admitted Luke to hospital again.

2/16 Luke tested positive for RSV.

2/18 After much fasting and prayers from family/friends and a priesthood blessing, Luke was released from the hospital. Still having reflux episodes, but not with cyanosis. Dr. upped the dose of prevacid and added reglan to the regiment. RSV was running it's course and the worst was over.

2/19 Dr. appt - Follow up. Everything looked good, had some fluid behind his ears. Dr. said it was clear and was normal due to the RSV. Reglan seems to be helping with the reflux.

2/20 Took Luke to the ER (As Dr.'s office is closed on Sat. evenings). His appetite has diminished and he's fussy. Had double ear infection. Got some antibiotics.

2/26 Dr. appt - Follow up on the ear infections. Ears looking better, but needed to stay on antibiotics longer.

3/05 Dr. appt - 1 month well-child check. Weight looks great. He's in the 96% for height, 94% for weight, 88% for head - awesome considering everything. Also had to get circumcised - I felt so bad for the little guy (couldn't do it at the hospital because of everything - dr. wanted to be sure he was thriving first).

3/23 Finally had the videofloroscopic swallow study (x-ray/barium swallow to see how he is swallowing) done. Test revealed he is having problems swallowing - tires easily, and is aspirating more than we thought. Need to see specialist, waiting for Dr. referral.

Blessings part 1

Between nursing, burping, rocking, consoling, and rocking some more - I have had a lot of time to think - to ponder, reflect, troubleshoot, whatever you want to call it. So many things have happened in the last two months, it's kind of hard to grasp. And it's good things, welcome things, answers to prayers, resolution. At the same time, it has been a whirlwind of craziness that I am still trying to wrap my head around (hence the pondering). Which brings me to ask, is it possible to be overwhelmed by blessings? So I decided in the next few posts that I am going to write about all the wonderful things that have been going on in our life. I want my family to know we are truly blessed.

A New Job (finally!)

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About two weeks after I found out that I was pregnant (surprise!) with Luke, Tracy called me while I was at work. He knew I was already starting to feel the dreaded "morning" sickness and was really stressed out (which wasn't anything new - being a working mom about did me in, let me tell ya - a whole new respect for you working moms out there!).

Now, at this point, we hadn't even discussed my working situation and the pregnancy. So what he said when I answered the phone sent me reeling for a bit. He told me he felt strongly that I needed to put in my two week notice. My reaction? I was speechless (hard to imagine, I know). So many thoughts were going through my head, the first and foremost was Well that's not a smart move, how are we going to buy food?... Being at work, I felt like it wasn't the place for me to discuss it with my hubby, over the phone, where everyone can eavesdrop and know my business. But he was persistent (and I really shouldn't be surprised about that one either).

I gave in and asked him if he had a job lined up so I could quit. He told me that he did not, but he promised he would and that everything would work out. I have to admit, I was NOT on the same page. My thoughts went something like this: Work out?!? WORK OUT! Really?!? 'Cause things are working out sooooo well right now. First we move to Boise, now I am working full-time so you can study and be Mr. Mom, we are living in an apartment with 3 kids AND a dog and WE. ARE. BARELY. SCRAPING. BY....Really?!? Now how is that considered "working out" so far?!?

Obviously, I did not feel the same (oh me of little faith) and I told him so, as polite as I could (hmmm - maybe that is why he called me at work so I had to speak nicely). I told him I wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do, you know, a back up plan is nice - you don't quit a job unless you have another one lined up (especially in this economy). He told me to just think about it. As soon as I hung up the phone, a quiet sense of relief came over me. It was the "finally, I can quit, I've done my part so now I can stay at home with the kids...no more guilt...no more getting pulled in one too many directions" kind of relief. That feeling was enough for me. I marched straight over to the boss and put my two weeks notice in. (Now after I told the boss, a sense of panic immediately set in...but it WILL work out, right? I did have to remind myself of that...several times, I might add.)

Sure enough, Tracy did some research and found out that he could do TDY's through the Air National Guard, and a TDY just opened up at Mountain Home. He called, it hadn't been filled yet, and they said he could take it. His orders were cut for a 60 day TDY - which meant it was a temporary fix, but at least we would have income coming in. After 60 days, we'd have to figure something out, however this bought us some time. Long story short, the 60 days TDY turned into 7 months and an opportunity to apply for the same position on the civilian side. He applied for it, and out of 70 applicants, 2 interviews and some fierce competition - they offered him the job. He accepted it, just before Luke was born. He started in March.

Had we not followed our hearts to move to Boise, and had I not gotten pregnant, Tracy would not have been looking for a public affairs job. Had he not taken the TDY, he would not have had the knowledge to apply for the civilian job. So 20 months (since he lost his job in CO) later, we were led to a job that would allow me to stay home with the kids and allow us to put some roots down, which is the whole reason why we got out of the military in the first place. One big circle, so to speak.

This blessing was a long time in the making and it came at just when we needed it. The Lord knew there were some lessons that we (especially me) needed to learn. Lessons of humility, faith, patience, endurance, hope, heartache, hard work, and sacrifice. Truth be told, it was tough. Really tough. But I wouldn't have it any other way. And the added bonus? A beautiful baby boy :)

Come to think of it, I should clarify what I mean by "overwhelmed". I don't mean it's too much, or too hard. I mean I am mystified as to how everything has worked out, for the best, at just the right time - so mystified that I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I am grateful.