Prom

This past weekend TJ took me on a date...to prom.

He had never gone to prom before (as a teacher) and wanted to give it a try.  I wanted to get all dressed up and get out just the two of us.

We even went out to dinner before the dance.

It was actually a nice evening despite the fact I was attending prom at the age of 28!  We got dressed up, had a nice dinner, enjoyed some adult conversation, and even met up with some friends after for our own little "after prom party".

I'd go to prom again if it means good food and a night out alone...

By the way, I curled my hair four times before we left and it still ended up that straight!!

Surgery is over!

The surgery went really well this morning.  We arrived at the hospital around 8:00 a.m. but they didn't call us back until around 9:00 a.m.

Once we got back to pre-op, Cody started to get a little nervous.  I think the worst part for him was having to wear the hospital gown.  He was not comfortable with his underwear showing.  He kept asking the nurse if he could please put his pants back on.

She brought him out a blanket to cover up with and that seemed to make him feel a little more comfortable.

He started acting pretty silly after that

He didn't care much for the hospital gown, but for some reason he loved the little socks they had him wear.

Cody went with the nurse without any problems.  He waved bye to us and walked away with her without even hesitating.  I know it's better that he went with her so well, but I just hate that he didn't need us!  Is that selfish??

The surgery only lasted about 30 min.  When he woke up, they came and got us and Cody was pretty out of it.  He was crying, not knowing what had happened.  He did settle down as soon as T.J. picked him up and he fell back to sleep on his shoulder.

The doctor who performed the surgery came by and told us his adenoids were "ginormous".  He said they were so big they were growing inside his nostrils at the back of his nose.  The doctor said Cody should be a totally different child when he recovers.  He will be able to smell, breathe and even talk better (Cody has started talking real nasally lately).

We have already started to see a difference.  A difference we're going to have to figure out how to correct.  You see, they gave Cody apple juice when he started waking up and once Cody drank it, it started coming out his nose.  It's pretty gross, but kind of funny!  I would rather it coming out his nose than him puking it all over my car.  Lucky for me, I got to witness both!

He is now watching Boomerang on the couch, just hanging out.  The only thing he says hurts is his hand where the IV was.  Let's hope that is the only pain he will feel!

notice the hospital socks, the kid really likes them.

Cody's surgery

Cody has had his last bite to eat, his last drink of water, and now he's in bed.  He is not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight tonight.  We are leaving the house at 7:00 a.m. to drop off the baby boys at a friend's house and then we're off to the surgery center.  If you get a chance, say a prayer or just think of my little man.  

I have kind of let him know what will happen.  All he understands is they are doing this to make him better.  He is in high spirits because the little guy is tired of being sick all the time.

I will let you all know how it went...

Picture Update

I know I have been bad about posting pictures so here they are...

Cole on Easter Sunday

He loved his new bunny rabbit

The weather was nice today so we met some friends at the park...

Cody

Cade

After the park we headed to Panera Bread for some lunch

Cade loves tomato soup

Cody had a baseball game tonight...

He was catcher the first inning

Pitcher the next

but since they don't actually pitch the ball, he was getting a little bored

They didn't win tonight but they had fun.  

Tomorrow I hope to have another busy day for Cody since his surgery is Wednesday and he'll be out of it for a few days.

Recovery

On Tuesday I took Cade to his ENT appointment.  They told us he had so much fluid in his ears it had to be causing him a lot of pain.  They wanted to schedule an appointment to get tubes put in as soon as possible.

This morning (Thursday) was the earliest they had.  Cade and I arrived at his appointment a little early so we were able to just hang out and get Cade used to being in a new doctor's office.  He was in such a good mood and I was feeling a little guilty because any second they were going to come and take him away.

It was a fast procedure and he went with the nurse without any fuss (I did tell him she was just taking him to get a sticker, I might go to hell for lying but at least he didn't cry).  He did, however, come out of it screaming.  

The nurse said his ears were "nasty" and we have to put drops and other stuff the next few days to make sure they drain properly.  She said he shouldn't be in any pain though.

I don't know what she meant by "shouldn't be in any pain" because the poor kid has been grabbing both ears and screaming the entire day.  I don't even want to get into the amount of fluid and blood that is draining out of them at the moment.  They said that will be normal and he is only screaming because it feels different and sounds different.  I don't buy it but hey, they're the ones with the medical degrees.

He is finally taking a nap so hopefully when he wakes up, he'll start feeling like himself again.  We have to keep a close eye on him though because of the amount of fluid.  Hopefully he'll be fully recovered before next Wednesday when Cody has his surgery because that will be a little bit more extensive.

On a happier note, it's my brother's birthday today!

Happy 22nd Birthday, Jon!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good:  I am starting to look forward to Cody's surgery.  He is just miserable and he his starting to mumble when he talks because of all the swelling and build up.  A little graphic, I know...but true.

The Bad:  Our insurance sucks!!  We have never had anything majorly wrong with us so we have never realized just how bad the teacher's insurance is!  It's great for regular check ups and the occasional sickness, but when you actually really need them...they screw you!

The Ugly:  Cody's surgery is going to cost us big time!

I will do anything to make this little guy feel better, even if I'll be paying medical bills for a very long time!

Gluten Results...good and bad news!

The test results came back on Cade...

Celiac Disease = Negative

Gluten Sensitivity = Positive

What all that means is we are still going on a gluten free diet.  However, if he has a little gluten from time to time, it wont hurt him.  He has a reaction to gluten that makes him sick.  There are more tests we will have to run, but for now we at least know what we have to do.  Since we started this new diet, he has not once told me "tummy hot", which means his stomach hurts.  That used to be a phrase we heard numerous times a day.

I have done a lot of research on gluten and the more I read, the more I want to cut back on it.  However, my bank account will not allow me to be gluten free as well.  Today I went to the health food store to pick Cade up a few things and I spent 30 dollars on two loaves of bread, a box of crackers, a box of cookies, and pancake mix!

Luckily, a few people have been e-mailing me recipes that I have started to try.  I just make a bunch at one time and freeze it.  Thanks for all the help by the way, and if any of you have more recipes, please send them my way!

We have been testing out a lot of fruits and veggies to see which ones he likes more.  We have had quite a few hits and quite a few misses.  However, we did learned that just because he might not like eating some of the foods, doesn't mean he doesn't like playing with them...

I just gave him a bowl full of dried beans, a few pans, and a spoon and the little guy was entertained for over an hour.  We have done this a few times since and he plays just as long every time.  Oh, and he's not the only one who likes playing with the dried beans...

McKinly had just as much fun!  Now, I wonder if she would have fun helping me make all the gluten free meals for Cade??  I'll have to test that out this weekend!

Doctors, Doctors and more Doctors

To start off, we still haven't gotten the blood work back on Cade yet.  I have called and left them a message but I have not received a call back.  We have started trying to feed him gluten free foods to see what happens but there are still some foods we end up giving him that aren't.  We're working on it, trying to get to the point where he is only eating foods that do not contain gluten.  It's hard, but we'll get there.

However, Cade did wake up Sunday morning with swollen eyes and a bad attitude.  He was extremely cranky and his eyes had a nasty green gunk coming out of them.  His eye lids were so red and swollen it hurt my eyes just looking at him.  So, Monday morning we went back to his doctor to get everything checked out.

Diagnosis:  conjunctivitis in both eyes and ear infection still in his left ear.

This will be the fifth antibiotic we are on for Cade so we have won a trip to the ENT for him as well!  That appointment is next Tuesday.

If you recall, Cody had an appointment with the same ENT last week.  Well, after the doctor reviewed Cody's films of his adenoids, he decided they needed to come out.  So on April 22nd Cody will have surgery to remove his adenoids and have tubes put in his ears.

I am just hoping it will help with this...

The poor kid is always so sick with chronic sinus infections he can't enjoy himself.  This picture was taken last weekend at an Easter Egg Hunt party.  

It isn't any better than how he felt at his birthday party a few months back...

Cody has been so sick this year, there a numerous basketball games he missed because his fever was too high to even function...

I hate the idea of my son having surgery, even outpatient surgery, but we have got to do something.  I am just praying this does the trick.

Doctors, Doctors, and more doctors...that's our life these days!

Cade

I didn't mean to scare anyone yesterday when I wrote about Cade.  I received a few phone calls today so I thought I would clear things up.

First of all, we still haven't received the results of his blood work but what we do know for sure is he hasn't gained any weight since his first birthday.  If he has gained any, he lost it.  What he weighed in the doctors office yesterday is actually less than what he weighed at a year.  Up until around 10 months old, Cade was growing just fine.  Shortly after that, he just stopped growing.  He has gotten a little taller, but not much (if it weren't for the length, Cade could wear 6-12 month bottoms just fine).

What this all tells us is he stopped growing when he started eating.  He is an excellent eater so there should be no excuse for him not growing.  Except there is...

They believe Cade has what they call celiac disease.  It is not life threatening as long as we follow a very strict diet for him.  You can click on the link to learn more about it.  Pretty much, he is going to have to be an all natural boy.  No more cookies, no more hotdogs, no more poptarts, no more pizza, no more candy, no more of Cade's favorite foods.

Luckily, health stores do make gluten free breads and doughs so I can make him some of his favorite foods without hurting him.  The only problem...it's not cheap!

It is going to be difficult if this is what it turns out to be, but it could be worse.  We will just have to wait and see.  We were told to go ahead and start him on this diet to see what happens.  So far we're doing alright as long as the other kids don't eat the stuff Cade can't have in front of him.  We were able to find him some snacks that are gluten free so we're working on it.  It is just something we'll have to get used to. 

He is just such a sweet little guy, when he wants to be :)

  

I'm horrible, I know!

I know I promised lots of pictures and then I never posted them.  I also promised I'd mail out the other half of the Valentine's Day cards and they're still sitting next to me...without stamps.  I also had this great idea to get the boys Easter clothes, take pictures, turn those into cards, and get them mailed out.  I've gotten as far as getting the clothes but that's about it.

Needless to say, we've been busy.  We have had doctors appointments, sickness, doctors appointments, family, doctors appointments, more family, and more doctors appointments.  Cody had to go to the ENT and although his ears look great, we're waiting on the results of his adenoids.  Cade had his appointment with his GI doctor and I'm not quite ready to talk about those results.  I think I need to wait until his blood work comes back to tell more about the life changes that will have to be made around here.

I promise I will update more as soon as I get a chance.  I have tons of pictures to post and stories to tell, but for now I'll leave you with this...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME ON FRIDAY!!!