Weekend Wrap Up

What a fun weekend.  Darrin's birthday was Saturday, but his assistant coach & some players got the date wrong and decorated his office on Thursday night for him to see on Friday.  I got a few texts on Friday morning saying "please tell me today is coach's birthday" with the following picture.  It was funny that they decorated his office and even funnier that they got the day wrong.

Friday night we had a home volleyball game.  My mom, Darrin's parents, & Darrin's sister all came to the game and then spent the night.  We've never had a house big enough to accommodate everyone and it was so fun to have a house full.  I hope there are many more weekends like this to come.  There's no way I'd rather spend a Friday night than at a volleyball game, especially when we play well & win...

Our Sunday School class came to support.  What good friends we have.

Saturday we hung out around the house before the game in the afternoon...

Miles wanted to ride in Aunt Crystal's convertible.  He got nervous as I was buckling him in b/c he said he didn't know "how fast it goes".  I assured him is was just like a regular car.  He must have been ok with it b/c he rode home with her too...

At the game, I passed out party hats to the crowd.  We were wearing them when Darrin came out. The parents were such good sports & some even wore them during the whole game.  I'm sure it had nothing to do with them tailgating before the game :)

 After the game on Saturday, we celebrated Darrin's 37th birthday.  

Photo bomb...

After everyone left, we watched football for the rest of the day and then went to bed when we couldn't keep our eyes open anymore.  I looked at my phone as I crawled into bed and it was 9:45pm.  I would have guessed it was close to midnight.  We slept until 8:30 this morning which has probably happened less than 15 times in our entire marriage.  We are both early risers.  I guess we needed it.

Today was an ideal Sunday afternoon.  Church...home...Pizza Hut delivered...left over birthday cake...pouring rain....and football all.day.long.

By now you've figured out that I love TV....and I really have no shame in it.  It's my escape.  Some people read, I watch TV.  Tonight is another exciting premiere...hands down, my favorite show on TV.  This is my plug b/c I really need everyone to watch it so it doesn't get cancelled. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  I'm looking forward to the week ahead.  We are still in the 15 day stretch of being at home, with no traveling, so I'm happy! 

4 Year Check Up

Miles had his four year check up today.  Darrin & I have always made a practice of being honest with him and preparing in advance for things like doctors' appointments.  Today I decided not to.  He has become such a worrier that I was afraid he would think about it all day.

I picked him up from school around 3:30pm.  As always, he asked what we were doing tonight.  I told him that we had to go see Dr. Bates.  Immediately he started fretting and asking if he was going to get a shot.  Once again going against what we typically do, I lied and told him I didn't know.

He did pretty well during the appointment.  He did not want Stephanie to feel his stomach or look in his ears during his exam but we got through it relatively easy.  Not so much when it came to the shot.  I had to pick him up, put him on the table, and Donya & I both had to hold him down.  I don't think he even knew when it went in b/c he didn't flinch at all.  It was over very quickly and he calmed down within minutes.  On the way home he was perfectly fine...as if nothing had happened, which made me happy that he had not worried unnecessarily all day.

Miles snapped this one while I was talking to Stephanie without either of us knowing.  He knows how important pics are for the blog...

He weighs 37lbs (56th percentile) and is 41.5" tall (72nd percentile).  Other than the shot, it was an easy visit.

After the doctor, we went grocery shopping.  Darrin came and rescued Miles about 10 minutes in and took him to get ice cream as promised at the doctor.  I loaded up this and headed home...

We've been busy around here preparing for company.  I have a couple more things to do around here and then.....the highlight of my day will occur.  Ahhhhh.

Finally

So often I find myself saying things like, after "this" things will slow down, or after "that" I'll be able to relax.  Sadly, while things may slow down for a little while, it never seems to last.  Nonetheless, I've been waiting on today for weeks. 

After two & a half weeks of resting and recouping, Miles went back to school.  He was ecstatic.  He was mobbed when he walked in the door by all of his friends.  It was really cute.  He was happy to see them and vice versa.

I've been very busy at work for the last month including a two day management retreat, a trip to San Antonio for a marketing conference, and just a heavier work load than usual.  I'm not sure things will slow down at work, but at least I will be in the office instead of traveling.

Darrin has been out of town for the last four weekends.  He's been all the way from University of Alabama to Butler.  He's home now until mid October.

Miles also spent a night with his Uncle Dave, Aunt Emily, & Sarah...

I feel like we've been all over the place for the last month.  Oh and the tonsils added a whole other level of stress.  It was hard.  Very hard.  I'm so glad that my pitiful little boy has gone from this...

....to this...

So, I've waited for this day for over a month b/c we are all home and in our routine for the next 15 days, which feels like an eternity.  Darrin's team starts conference play this weekend.  I am so excited for four straight home games.  And don't even get me started on Darrin's birthday, my birthday, our anniversary, UTM Homecoming, cooler weather....bring it!  I have waited and now it's time to soak it all up. 

Weekend Wrap Up

This post actually covers more than our weekend but my days are running together.  I worked two half days last week and was home the rest of the time.  At the risk of sounding like a terrible mom, I just couldn't be a stay at home mom.  I don't think Miles could handle it either.  He misses his friends at school and I really think a lot of his whining is attributed to boredom.  I've tried to keep him busy but he still needs to take it easy.  We've done our share of puzzles, Legos, computer games, and books.

Nights are still rough.  It's a little like having a newborn in the house again.  He wakes up around midnight crying every night.  I think his throat must get dry.  He won't drink or take medicine so I basically have to let him cry it out.  Once he settles down, he will let me put chewable Tylenol or Motrin in his mouth and then he falls back asleep. 

Days are much better.  He's watches a lot of TV which kills my soul, but we just have to make it through these couple of weeks and then we can get back to normal life....which includes far less TV and junk food.  We went out for pizza the other night and ran into friends.  It was much needed for both of us.

Miles' Aunt Lynda gave him a dollar the other night at the volleyball game, so we went to the Dollar Tree so he could spend it.  When I let him shop with his money in Walmart, he's always disappointed b/c he might have $5 and he'll pick out something that costs $50.  He was thrilled to find out that he could pick out anything in the store. 

He shopped & shopped and ended up with these binoculars.  He immediately had buyer's remorse when we got in the car and said he wanted to "take them back in".  I explained that we could go back another time and he could get something else.  He was fine with that, especially when I threatened to give them to a little boy that doesn't have any toys.

It's been cooler that last two days so we've visited two different parks.  I only let him stay around 10-15 minutes, but it makes him very happy to be outside for a little while.

Darrin has been out of town since Thursday.  That has definitely added to our boredom.  He's on his way home now.  My mom is also coming today to stay with Miles this week so I can go back to work.  I'm sure Miles will welcome the change of scenery around here.

Units of Measurement

Miles has a long way to go on understanding units of measurement.  He loves to try to explain how much he loves us using as many units and adjectives as he can.  Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn't come across exactly how he intends.  He just walked in the kitchen and said, "Mom, do you know how much I love you?"  I said, "No, how much?"  He said, and I quote, "30, 50, 100.  I love you that much b/c you are so big and you're a big momma."  Thanks???  The other day he told me I was the biggest momma ever.  I'm hoping biggest = best in his mind.

Another favorite of mine is when he told me he loved me, "2,000, million, 50, in God's life, in this whole world, with liberty and justice for all."  He frequently loves us "more than chicken nuggets" also.

On another note, he's still recovering from his surgery.  He does fine except during the night and first thing in the morning, when his throat is dry and he hasn't had any pain medicine in a while.  He really struggled last night around midnight.  He kept trying to take a drink and then he would spit it out b/c he was scared of it hurting his throat.  I finally let him get in bed with us to try to help him calm down.  When he calmed down, he took his medicine and went right to sleep. 

Other than his sore throat, life is good right now with popsicles for breakfast, endless amounts of TV & the iPad, sleeping with us, and me waiting on him hand and foot. 

Wordless Wednesday

Photo bomb...

As If Nothing Happened

Miles is rocking the tonsillectomy.  With the exception of one hour during the night, you wouldn't know he had anything done.  He woke up at 12:30am this morning and was inconsolable for an hour.  He just screamed and cried nonstop.  He wouldn't do anything....no water, no popsicle, no medicine.  Dr. Resser said that the longer you go without anything to eat or drink, the harder it is the next time.  That was the longest he had gone.  He finally wore himself out and gave into taking 3 chewable Tylenol.  He was out within a few minutes and slept until 8:30am.

He has been spoiled rotten by friends and family....gift cards for Sonic & Daydream Yogurt, toys, stuffed animals, movies, cards, and lots of ice cream...thanks friends!  Granny & Pa came down tonight and brought Granny's famous chicken & dumplings, which is a personal favorite of Miles.  He gobbled it up after not eating that much all day.  It's been a good day with no problems.  I'm hopeful tonight will go more smoothly than last night.  Now, if we could just find some pjs that fit...

And They're Out

After months of waiting and dreading this day, Miles tonsils & adenoids are gone.  He had them removed b/c they were enlarged and obstructing his airway, not for sore throats.  Actually he's never had a sore throat.  We debated & discussed with the doctor a lot (since the beginning of the year), and finally decided to have them removed.  We waited until he was four so it would be outpatient.

He looks calm here before surgery but he was very nervous.  Waiting for the surgery to begin seemed to be the hardest part...

They only let one parent back initially and Miles wanted Darrin.  They went back and got situated.  I got back there when it was time to put on his hospital gown.  He lost it.  After much discussion, he said that the hospital gown was embarrassing.  Leaving his pants on and allowing him to play on my phone did the trick. What 4 year old thinks a hospital gown is embarrassing???  Our child.

When they wheeled him off and he screamed "Momma" at the top of his lungs, that was even harder then waiting for surgery.  It was pitiful.  I held it together by a thread.

Dr. Resser came out very quickly to tell us that he was finished and that he did fine.  He said that his tonsils were huge and that his adenoids were enlarged also.  He reassured us that it was a good move to have them taken out.  He said that we would be able to see him soon.

We waited and waited.  Then, I could hear a kid crying and I felt pretty certain that it was Miles.  It because clear that they were trying to calm him down before we went back there.  Finally the nurse came out.  I asked if that was Miles and she nodded.  She said that they like to get them calmed down before they bring the parents back but they couldn't and needed our help.  It took a LONG time, but he finally calmed down.  This was hands down the worst part of the day.  He kept screaming and the nurses were scared that he was going to start bleeding.  Stressful! He wanted his IV out, so the nurse made a deal that she would take it out if he ate a popsicle.  He did & they took the IV out.  After that, he was fine.

Around this point, he asked if his tonsils were out and then said that he had fun getting them out.  I'm pretty sure that was the pain meds talking.

He will not take his pain meds, so Tylenol & Motrin will have to suffice.  So far, he's had 8 popsicles, a milk shake from Sonic, a bowl of ice cream, an Italian Ice, potato soup, gummy worms, apple juice & chocolate milk with marshmallows.  Everyone says eating and drinking are the most important parts of recovery so I'm really hoping this continues. Thanks for all the prayers, gifts, texts & FB messages.  We have the best friends and family.  Love you all.

Weekend Wrap Up

My mom & I planned earlier in the year to take Miles to Chattanooga to the aquarium & to spend the night in a train car at the Choo Choo Hotel.  Darrin's team was scheduled to play in a preseason tournament at UT Chattanooga so we coordinated our trip with his tournament.  My nephew lives in Chattanooga, and my brother, Dave, his wife, Emily, and my niece, Sarah, all spent the weekend with him.  Darrin's mom spent the last two week with Darrin's brother in South Carolina and they met Darrin's dad in Chattanooga this weekend to bring her back.  It's crazy how we all ended up in Chattanooga for somewhat unrelated visits.  Probably not interesting to anyone but me but nonetheless it explains the pictures.

I had doctor's appointments on Friday in middle Tennessee with my Lyme doctor.  I'll try to blog about that later in the week.  After I finished my visits around 3:30pm, we got on the road.  They are an hour ahead so we didn't arrive until around 7pm.  The first thing we did was check in the hotel and go see our train car.

The Choo Choo Hotel has regular rooms and train car rooms.  I thought the train car would be a neat experience and a good memory for Miles.

 

He loved it and didn't want to leave the room that night for dinner or the next day for anything.  He kept saying, "I don't want to leave this place."

My mom & I, on the other hand, were more than ready to leave.  It wasn't terrible, but it just wasn't what I'm used to staying in.  The decor was appropriate for a train car, but seemed old and therefore not as clean as a Hampton let's say.  

No regrets b/c Miles loved it so much...

After we checked out our digs, we grabbed dinner and met up with Dave, Emily, Caleb & Sarah...

We walked to a yummy ice cream shop...

Caleb & Uncle Dave had the fun task of swinging Miles on the way there...

Saturday morning, we went to watch Darrin's team play UT Knoxville.  It was the only game they lost all weekend but they still played well. Miles got to hang out with Granny & Pa...

....and his cousin, Jayci.  They don't get to see each other much, but they always seem to pick up where they left off.  

After the game, we went to the aquarium.  I was a little bummed about having to miss Darrin's game, but it was all worth it when I saw how excited Miles was to walk around the aquarium.

You could pet the stingrays.  Miles acted brave, but when they would come close, he always jerked his hand out.

The penguins were one of his favorite parts. How could you not love the penguins??

Everyone obliged when I suggested that we act scared in the shark tank.  I used the self timer and a lady had to stop and watch so she didn't walk in front of our camera.  She actually doubled over laughing at us.  Not bad for one take with a self timer...

A scuba diver came to the bottom and interacted with Miles through the glass.  Very neat...

We enjoyed the salt water building a lot but the fresh water building wasn't quite as impressive.  We made our way through it quickly.....and Darrin's game was delayed an hour.  Awesome.  When I was sure everyone was satisfied with their aquarium experience, we got the heck out of there and back to the gym in time to see most of the match.   

Miles is having his tonsils & adenoids removed in the morning and he is not a happy camper.  I let him pick out a stuffed animal at the aquarium gift shop to take with him tomorrow.  He named it Little Penguin McClure.  Here's hoping Little Penguin McClure helps settle his nerves tomorrow.