Didn't see this one coming

Well, I took Holland to Dallas this morning for what I thought would be one of our last 3 or 4 visits. I'm SO looking forward to getting these trips over with. It may not sound like a big deal, but it is mentally and physically wearing me and Holland out. I usually wake up around 4am and make some coffee, take a quick shower, and have a little breakfast before I wake Holland up 45 minutes later. I nurse her, then get us both dressed and out the door by 5:30 and try really hard not to forget anything...like diapers...or the helmet because that would be VERY bad! We check in at the airport ticket counter where they have to print out a boarding pass for her. She's known as the "Thursday Baby" and no matter how much she's yawning or rubbing her eyes, she generously doles out huge smiles for everyone.
If you've never travelled with a baby by yourself let me just tell you it is NOT glamorous. I need about 6 extra arms to hold my boarding passes while taking off my shoes, getting her out of her carseat to go through security (even if she's asleep mind you), and fold up the stroller to put through the little x-ray thingy. Then we have to do the whole process in reverse on the other side of the metal detector. And that's only phase one! We then proceed to the gate to get her stroller tagged and all the while I'm praying that it's not a full flight so I can take the car seat on. Because you see, the downside to having a "babywise" baby is that she very rarely will go to sleep in my arms. Unless I'm nursing her of course, in which case it never fails that some creepy old man sits next to me and wants to chat it up. So, I like to have the car seat in the seat next to me. She fusses (or screams) about it until we start down the runway, and once the jets get to going it's usually lights out. Until the loud ass flight attendant or pilot comes on jabbering about tray tables and altitude and she pretty much bolts awake. I mean, does anyone even listen to them?! Thankfully the flight is only 55 minutes and she does relatively well with the 20 minute cat nap. As we make our decent into Love Field, which usually feels like it takes 30 minutes, I go ahead and nurse her again so she stays happy. We land, I put her back in the carseat, she cries until it's finally my turn to disembark, we wait another 10 minutes for them to bring the stroller up, and we make our way to my Dad or his wife who are picking us up. At this point I begin to sweat. Literally. Because in Amarillo the humidity is normally around 10%. And in Dallas it's around 100%. As soon as we get Holland buckled in and the stroller loaded, I crank up the AC and freeze my driver out. My stepmother told me today that she wears warm clothes when she's going to be picking me up.
And off to the clinic. It's not very far from the airport, but then we have to wait anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes to be seen. We go back to the room, our therapist takes some measurements, they shave a little off the inside of the helmet, and we are on our way again.
Well, today was a bit different. For one thing, our PT Sue went with us. What a blessing! Not only did I have an extra pair of hands, but she stayed with Holland while I went to the bathroom! And I actually had some company. But on a sad note, our therapist in Dallas is leaving. She's moving to California. And on an even sadder note (and now I finally come to the point), she told me today that she thinks Holland may need a second helmet. What??? Not only would that mean shelling out another 3600 bucks, but as I just described, this traveling thing has been no picnic! But she thinks the most we could get out of the current helmet is 4 weeks. And she doesn't think that is going to give her head enough time to fully correct. So, we've got some praying and thinking to do.
On the one hand, her head is SOOO much better. I really don't think that it will be very noticeable when her hair grows out. Her face is almost totally symmetrical, and as I mentioned before her ears are much more aligned. But this wasn't all about cosmetics from the beginning. Kids with plagio can turn into adults with TMJ, migraines, and ear problems because of the jaw and ear misalignment. So, while it is a million times better, that may not be enough. And though the thought of stretching this journey out even further makes my stomach turn, I ultimately want to do the absolute right thing for my baby girl. So, pray for us if you think about it that we would have wisdom and provision. I'll keep you posted.

The Usual

Well I don't really have anything interesting to post. I just wanted my "Swine Flu" blog to drop off everyone's page :) We've just been up to the usual. That's all about to change of course in 3, no wait 2 and a half, weeks when school is out. I must admit, I'm slightly frightened. I've never had 3 kids at home ALL day long before for more than a week! But hooray for the pool, snow cone stands, and VBS!

Holland is doing super fantastic in her helmet. The difference it has made not only in her head shape, but also her facial features and ear alignment is amazing. And she has just been such a little champ through all of this. Last week was our first week off from going to Dallas in 2 months. It was a MUCH needed break! Back on for this Thursday though. And good news from our physical therapist, who after the last 4 months has practically become a part of our family. She said today that if Holland's neck keeps improving at the rate it is then she will "graduate" soon! Yea!!! Our good friend Lezlie is taking some pics of her next week, so maybe she will be sweet and let me post some.

Boaz is ornery as ever. I picked him up from "school" today and the director said, "I think he was actually pretty sweet today. I didn't even see him in time out at all." So, that's him in a nut shell. Except any bad report is usually followed by something along the lines of, "But he's soooo cute!" Bronwyn is just awesome. I'm nervous that she's going to be really bored this summer. She absolutely loves school and is definitley going to miss her friends. And I cannot believe that I will have a first grader next year!

Anyway here are some pics of our "usual".

Swine Flu

My dad just called me. He said he wanted me to go to Walgreens or somewhere to buy some surgical masks for me and Holland for our flight tomorrow (a side note, I guess he forgot I work in the surgery department at the hospital!). I was like, "do you really think it's that bad?" Because to be honest with you, I've been rolling my eyes at this whole media wolf cry. But then he told me that one of his customers came down with it, and I read the headline about the little girl who became the first death in the US from it...in Houston...not very far away at all. My dad and his wife even cancelled a trip they have been planning for months to South Padre Island next weekend. He said they're not going anywhere near Mexico.

So, I called Kev and asked him what he thought. He said there was no harm in taking precautions. I told him I thought I'd look like an idiot with a mask on and one taped to my baby. He said I probably won't be the only one.

And then, as I got off the phone with him, I felt fear starting to well up in me. What if Bronwyn is exposed at school? Are some of our dear friends who live in Houston safe? What if , what if, what if???? And I feel the Lord very strongly saying to me, "...a thousand may fall at your right hand, and ten thousand at your left, but it will not come near you..." That, of course, is from Psalm 91, where we are given promises of protection for those who "dwell in the secret place of the Most High...under the shadow of His wings..."

So I just encourage you believers, let's not fear. Let's pray. Pray for the sick, pray for the lost, pray for the scared. But do not fear.

Better late than never...right???

Okay, I have been determined to post this before May. I mean, her birthday was April 3rd so a whole month should be enough time!

My baby is 6! Make that 6 going on 26. If you don't know Bronwyn, you are truly missing out. She is seriously one of the coolest chicks I know. Not only is she extremely beautiful (like sometimes she comes up to me outside to ask a question and the sun hits her eyes just right, and my breath is literally taken away for a second!), but she is hilarious, brilliant, compassionate, curious, thoughtful, well spoken, athletic, adventurous....the absolute total package. Of course, you are also left with an independent free thinker who can already weild a pretty fearsome and argumentative tounge, but life with her is certainly never dull! Because with Bronwyn, you'd just as soon get the girl who is digging up her daddy's flower bed in search of worms to dissect as you would get the girl who is searching for the perfect flowers to braid into her hair for dress up time. And she is just so interesting to talk to. She loves to hear all our stories from our childhoods, but there have been so many nights that she and Kevin have stayed up late discussing the mysteries of the universe and the depths of God's love. And I'm not even close to exaggerating!

Anyway, she wanted to have a "football cheerleader party at the same place she had it last year, which was a cheerleader school that Kev built. It's got bouncy floors, lots of trampolines, and a big foam pit. It's basically just the perfect place to get kids good and worn out!

The rope swing.

The big foam pit you drop into from the swing.

He looks like he's up to something.

Yep, that's me on the big rope swing! They send the grown ups almost all the way to the ceiling. It's half the reason I let her have her party there!

A rousing game of Duck, Duck, Goose has just been interrupted by the birthday girl's crazy daddy!

Cake!

Presents!

After the cheerleader school, we headed back home for her "family" party and pizza.

More cake!

More presents!

We even had half naked boys!

It's About Freaking Time!

I was just watching the LOTR trilogy on cable for like the millioneth time. Okay, "watching" might be too strong of a word, but it's been on for awhile as I've been doing Saturday chores (a side note here: Bronwyn and Boaz haven't been home for 24 hours! They went to the circus with Kev's folks last night and have been there all day!).

Anyway, a commercial came on for a new "drama" starring Jada Pinkett Smith...a medical drama. I was rolling my eyes thinking, oh no...not another one! (just so you know, my hospital is absolutely nothing like Grey's Anatomy) I'm so sick of doctor shows! You've got ones in the hospital, out of the hospital, medical school, medical jerks...it's endless!

But this one is called Hawthorne, and at the last second of the commercial I caught the emphasis on RN in the title. What??? They are actually going to try this from the nurse's perspective?!! I am so excited! I wrote a paper in nursing school about how nurses are portrayed in the media. Now, granted this was like 8 years ago, but I had started out writing about another topic and when I did an "internet search" (this was before the days of Google people!), almost every single topic returned was porn! I thought, is this really how I'm going to be represented in the world?

Do you remember when ER started? Way back when I mean. The nurse, Julianna something or other, was a very strong, smart woman. Who was a nurse. Who ended up going to medical school to become a doctor. That's great and all, but why couldn't they have just left the character a nurse? What was wrong with her that way? It certainly made the show a bit more "authentic" (I use that term loosely), because I don't know when the last time you were in an emergency room, but the doctors do NOT outnumber the nurses 25 to 1!

Or what about "Meet the Parents". Such I funny movie, but half the time they were making fun of Ben Stiller's character being a "male nurse". And the only time he was given legitmacy for making the choice to be a nurse was when everyone learned that his MCAT scores were good, and he really could have been a doctor if he'd wanted to.

Well, all that to say, I'm really excited about this new show. I'm sure it won't be completely realistic, and I hope that it will not be a total soap opera where nurses are making out with patients in the bathrooms or something. I will actually be surprised if I even have time to watch it on any kind of regular basis. But I hope that it helps the rest of the world to see that nurses are not merely women who decided they couldn't cut medical school and ended up emptying bedpans. I hope that RN's are portrayed the way they should be: female or male, smart, strong, caring, willing and able to be the voice for many people who cannot speak up for themselves.

Happy Half Birthday Holland!

I can't believe it...Holland was 6 months old yesterday! Cliche I know, but it's crazy how time flies. To celebrate, we gave her a cake! Okay not really. But she did have her first solid food, rice cereal mixed with mama milk...mmm. The big kids had ice cream and sang "Go Holland go!" in unison the whole time I was trying to feed her. Despite their enthusiastic encouragement, she was not impressed. Here's the big event!


Had to include these. What could be better to a little boy that jumping in the mud with his cowboy boots on? Not to mention a diaper hanging to his knees!


And Bronwyn's birthday is tomorrow. I'll post pics from party central!

Bargains Baby!

This is just an FYI for those of you with kiddos, especially baby girls. Gymboree is having a sale, up to 60% off and it's actually really cute stuff. Sometimes they only put the not cute stuff on sale, but not this time! The start of a new season is always expensive for me. I have to get everybody outfitted in weather appropriate attire because they have all outgrown everything from the previous year. So I love a bargain!

Oh, and thanks to my good friend Amy, my new obsession is Etsy. Certainly not always a bargain, but so stinkin cute it doesn't even matter!

Okay, that's all I got. I'm off to shower :)