Watch Out!

Caroline is potty training!  This week has been full of interesting surprises.

Monday:  We start potty training. We went to Wal-Mart on Sunday and got Caroline some fun panties, stickers, and M&M's.  She was somewhat excited.  The child is ready to potty train.  She will tell you when she has gone; she can take her diaper off; and she can easily get her clothes off/on.  I have a timeframe before I go back to school and would really like to make some progress then.  So we waited until this week to give me a bit of time in my recovery and to get back from a trip.  I still can't lift the kids, but she can pretty well manuever on the big potty and definitely her little potty.  Okay, so back to Monday.  First thing in the morning, excitement of putting on panties, sticker chart, etc,etc.  The excitement was one-sided...she could careless.  Force the panties on and 8 accidents later, she waits until I run an errand and pee-pees on the potty for Tommy that evening.  Fun day.

Tuesday:  After much conversation Monday evening, we started to wonder if we were trying too hard, too soon, etc.  Tuesday morning, Caroline gets up and pee-pees in the potty first thing.  Mid-morning, she TELLS me she needs to potty again.  This continues all day and even poops on the potty as well!  Only one accident all day.

Wednesday:  Same thing.  Telling me she needs to potty and pottying.  We have a small potty that sits on the ground that she pee-pees in.  When she tells me she needs the big potty, I know what to expect.  No accidents all day.  She has even been napping in panties.  She wears a pullup at night, but is still dry in the morning.

Thursday:  So far...as I was typing this, I heard a loud sound.  Caroline had woken up, gone to the bathroom and pottied in the little potty.  She decided to try to empty the little potty in the big potty....now, imagine the loud noise. Yep, nice early morning of cleaning the bathroom floors.  Oh well!  Just thrilled she's catching on.

Here's our proud little girl in BIG girl panties!

  
And yesterday we had adventures too.  Caroline was mad...oh she was mad.  Jack apparently got too close and got his face too close.  She poked him in the eye.   After watching it a few hours, his eye didn't get better and was bothering him.  We headed to the pediatrician where they did a dye test and used a blacklight to show the nice scratch right on the front of the pupil of his eye, a corneal abrasion.  So now we have our own Captain Jack.  He'll have to wear the patch until this afternoon and hopefully, that will be enough.

And since Jack was posing, Caroline posed too.  Check out the chocolate ring around her mouth.  Yes, she gets some chocolate after pottying.  Maybe that's why the success!  I'll take it though!

What a Heart

We've had many a conversations about Jack's heart in this house over the last almost 5 years.  I knew this little boy, who was diagnosed with an ASD/VSD at 2 weeks old, would be a fighter.  I clung to Jeremiah 29:11- "I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  And Jack continues to amaze us!  Who would have thought that this little boy:

would become this big boy?

And look at that scar!  It looks amazing.  Jack notices it now.  He knows that is where the doctors fixed his heart when he was a baby.  Speaking of those doctors.  We saw Jack's WONDERFUL cardiologist, Dr. Hirsch this week.  I can't say enough wonderful things about him.  I hope that no one else has to see a pediatric cardiologist, but if ever you do, this man is great.  He has shared some dark days with us and seen us at some rough times, but now, it is so wonderful to be able to share all the great things that are going on for Jack.  This checkup was the first that we have had in 2.5 years.  And, since all is great, we don't have to return for 3 more years!

But besides just growing up and getting physically bigger and stronger, Jack's heart is growing another way.  He's becoming so caring and compassionate.  He helps Caroline and is concerned about her.  He is thoughtful and tries to help out.  But I really saw a glimpse of this sweet heart this week.  Jack is going back to school 2 days a week while I continue to recover (it is good for all of us...he's loving it!).  His teacher asked Jack how I was doing after my surgery.  Jack looked at her and told her with tearful eyes "My mommy, she just hurts so bad."  He was really upset and concerned about me.  I hate that he sees me in pain, but it is so sweet that is he concerned and sensitive.  I know Tommy loves how Jack's a bit of a momma's boy.  I'll take it a few more years, right?

2 weeks

I am now 2 weeks post-op from my hysterectomy.  It's been a rougher and slower recovery than I would have liked.  Even though the doctor told me I would have restrictions, especially with lifting, I just assumed that I would be "not the norm" and be able to do things sooner.  Well, at 2 weeks out, I still can't lift more than a gallon of milk for fear of ripping things and setting myself further back in my recovery process.  That restriction will stay in place at least until my next checkup at the end of next week.  For anyone that knows me well knows that this sitting back approach and not being able to just do things is driving me up the wall.

Even though I kept my ovaries and still have my own hormones, my emotions have kind of gone crazy.  So, poor Tommy has seen more tears from me in these 2 weeks than probably during our entire 6 years of marriage.  A joke taken the wrong way, frustration with not being able to help, my mom leaving town, pain that makes me actually stop, etc, etc, etc might (and probably does) make me cry.

This week the kids and I have been on our own.  So far things are going pretty well.  Jack keeps asking how many more days until he goes back to school.  I think he likes the pace and activities and friends at school over Caroline and me...ha!  I'm not sure I blame him right now.  I keep reassuring him that we WILL get back to our zoo trips, aquarium fun, and playtimes before he knows it.  I just hope it is soon!  I have to kind of alternate days.  Like yesterday, we had outside water playtime, a short walk and then I was sore and bleeding by the evening.  That means, today is a lazy day.  Yes, it's naptime and we are all still in pjs.  A sonic happy hour run might be our excitement for the day.  Daddy coming home is always a fun time.  There's always outside time after dinner.  Like last night, building a new worm box, running through the sprinkler in underwear (Jack, not Tommy..oh, and we are THOSE neighbors that Caroline run through the sprinklers completed nekkid!), and planting some herbs from the farmers market in the garden.  Tommy has been wonderful through it all.

I have to rest though.  I have to heal.  I'm learning through this, but I'm struggling through some of it as well.

Enough about that....some pictures from the last 2 weeks...

Memorial Day Florence Parade...can't wait for it to start!

Caroline was content to watch in the shade and eat goldfish.

Jack did all the candy gathering.  This year he got picky and would only pick up the ones he liked.

Enjoying his hard work.

Look at those red cheeks!

Yes I made it to the parade.  At 6 days post-op, I was ready to get some air!

One of the new things for Caroline after this surgery was the change to a big girl bed.  I can't lift her in and out, so we had to set up her bed as a toddler bed.  A few nights her whole body, arms or legs have been on the floor when we go to check on her!

Fun with the water table.  I missed sunscreen just a bit around the tatoo and now that we took it off, he has a nice tan outline of it!

Yes, we do feed him

So fun!

Here's a few photos from my recovery days.  Tommy took Jack to the movies this weekend and what did they come home with?  Tattoos!  Both kids were so excited to put them on.  This was Caroline's first experience with a tattoo and she is NOT shy to share with you.  Her school teachers got a good chuckle out of seeing her on Tuesday as she whipped her dress up to show them.

Grammy came to help out this week.  Oh how wonderful!  She cooked and she cleaned and she changed diapers and everything!  Something about your mom that just knows what needs to be done without anything being said.  The kids loved it.  We made my first post-surgery trip to Target the other day.  Here are some pictures of what Caroline and her new baby doll.  She is SO selective with her babies!  It is so sweet to watch her put it on her shoulder and pat the baby's back.  She'll rock it and carry it around in the box we bought it in.  Isn't is something how those maternal instincts are there so early?  Jack didn't so much want a picture with his new car!

Surgery update: I saw the doctor yesterday and everything is healing as supposed to.  I still can't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk until my next appointment in 3 weeks.  I'm going crazy not being able to carry my share around the house.  We have been so blessed to have such wonderful help here with me.  My dad is here for another day.  Next week it is just me and the kids.  I'm thinking lots of movie days!  I still have yet to drive anywhere.  Hopefully that will be soon!

Making it

That's been the motto the last few days.  This week has flown by for me.  I guess given the fact that almost 2 of the days I don't remember, it's not that big of a surprise.

We'll go back to Tuesday.  Everything went well with surgery...even the fact that I had to have 2, yes 2 IV's, put in while I was awake.  Really!  Something about the robotic process and the fact that I'm basically standing on my head for the procedure meant I needed 2 IVs for extra fluids.  I have a lot of allergies...aspirin and all that family of meds, morpheine and some certain types of sutures that were needed in the procedure.  Since I couldn't have morpheine, I was given a SUPER strong IV pain med and a little clicker button to keep dosing myself.  Hence the fact that I don't remember much of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Another side effect of the pain med was that I couldn't see upclose.  I kept getting text, but couldn't respond back b/c I couldn't see!  I think Tommy got quite tickled seeing my holding things close and then at arm's length to try to read things.  Once we got my pain under control, we were able to head home on Wednesday night.

We were so blessed to have Beverlee come up before surgery and hold down the fort with the kids.  She got them to school and had all kinds of food cooked for us.  I think the kids favorite was the dirt cake with worms in it.  I think we've all enjoyed having that one!  It was nice to be able to rest at the hospital knowing that all was fine and the kids were great at home.

On Wednesday, Bev headed home and my brother Mark came in.  He's heading home today and has been so much help.  The kids love "Uncle Mark."  I think it's a bit of a system shock to Mark while he's here.  He is used to his own apartment and own space and comes here and has none of that!  We sure do love him though!  It's neat to see the relationships between my brother and sister and me now that we are all older.  My mom always told us while we were growing up that we didn't have to like each other but we did have to love each other.  I think we all finally reached the point of willingly LIKING each other and it's really nice to enjoy our siblings!

Tommy's holding down the fort this holiday weekend before my parents come help out next week.  I'm feeling a good bit better finally.  The swolleness, soreness, tenderness are more than I really expected.  I didn't think walking would be so labored!  I guess I kept thinking that this really wasn't going to be too bad.  I guess that's what I get for listening to too many opinions.  I know this procedure is definitely better than the traditional hysterectomy, but at the current time, I still think it's pretty bad.  Ask me again next week.

It's been very hard not being able to fully interact with the kids as usual.  I can't pick up more than 10 pounds and can't drive until after my checkup.  I'm not used to the dependency!  Last night, Caroline was trying to love on me and accidentally head-butted me right in my stomach and incision sites...oh man!  The pain was bad, but I think my reaction really scared her.  It's been hard for them to understand what's really wrong.  Jack asks to see my "boo boos" everyday to kind of remind him what's wrong!

I guess time and patience are what I really need.  I guess that's a lesson I'm learning from this all.

Tuesday

Tuesday is kind of a big day in our world at this time.  At 8am, I'll be having a hysterectomy.  I found out in early April that this was the necessary treatment for my problems.  Needless to say, this past month has been an emotional one.  Not that we had really PLANNED to have more children, but it was always nice to have that option open.  Now there won't be a chance.  I know, I know, we are so fortunate to have the two wonderful kiddos we have.  And I remember all the health issues with Jack and the worry that went along with the pregnancy of Caroline.  But still, it's just kind of hard to swallow the finality of it all.

Today I had to go for my pre-surgery appointment.  Yes, I've known about the surgery for a while now and tried to prepare for as much as I can.  I've got my sub, my classes, my finals, etc, etc at school all ready to go.  I've tried to cook/freeze as many meals as I can.  I've got wonderful family coming in to help with the kids.  But today, everything was real.  The feelings were a bit intense waiting for the nurse to come and draw blood.  Man, I wish I had more of snack before she took the 4 viles of blood!  I guess the emotions and hunger kind of made me feel sluggish the rest of the afternoon, not to mention the sore arm from the nurse pulling all over it to get the blood flowing better!

Some prayers for peace of mind would be great.  I'm a good sleeper, but this has been messing with me!  This is the first major surgery I've had in quite some time.  I'm not a good patient.  I don't sit still very long.  The sewing projects, magazines, and knitting projects are stacking up to try to get me to sit and rest.  Fortunately, the surgery is laproscopic using the DaVinci robot.  The recovery is better and hospital stay less (should just be one night), but I still have to keep from picking up the kids for about a month.  That's hard when you have a clingy 2 year old!

So if you don't mind, keep us in your prayers: a smooth procedure, quick recovery, and uneventful healing time.  I'm sure I'll be posting more in the future as I will have more time on my hands!

Congrats Tommy!

In August 2005, Tommy started his educational journey towards a bachelor's degree at Thomas More.  Since then, there have been some obstacles that have slowed town the journey a bit (Jack's heart surgery, change of jobs, loss of grandparents, etc).  None the less, he stuck with it and his hard work has paid off.  Yesterday we got to celebrate his journey and see him graduate.  We are so proud of him!  Of course being the woman that I am, I figured this was a great time to celebrate.  I planned a surprise party (which of course didn't stay a complete surprise) and we had a wonderful time visiting with friends and family that made the trip to celebrate with us. Special thanks to Aunt Beverlee (and of course we forgot to get a picture!) who was such a HUGE help getting everything ready.  Here are some fun pictures of the day!

Waiting for the ceremony to start.  Jack was a little sleepy!

Walking in at the beginning of the ceremony

Getting hooded

Heading up to have his name announced

Announcing Tommy Bowman as a new graduate with a Bachelor's of Business Administration

Heading out as a graduate

Jack was SOOO good during the ceremony.  Afterwards, he was a wee bit wound up!

Checking out the program and reading to us

This was one of the sweetest moments of the day.  Jack was so proud of Tommy

Only missing Caroline.  Something about a 2 hour ceremony and a 2 year old didn't sound so good!

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Good friends.  It was so special to see all those that made the trip to celebrate on this special day!

The kids had a blast.  We had so many little ones running around!

Here are 4 of the 9 kids here.  We should have attempted a group photo, but again, it did take ALOT of pictures to get this good one!