Sick Week!

Well, it's been tons of fun at my house this past weekend and week.
Ema had to go for her 6 month check-up where she was found to be almost 16 pounds. That's right! My 6 month old daughter weighs more than half of what my two year old sons weigh! FATTY!!! Anyways, she had diarrhea when we went to the doctor that day, but she seemed to think that Ema was looking ok, so she just told me to keep fluids in her and make sure that she was essentially getting the BRAT diet. Ema got 5 (that's right FIVE) shots that day. So, when I woke up the next morning and found her to have a fever with beet red legs, it was not great. We had a time of it over the next day or so. I had to give her Tylenol every four hours for a couple of days. She DID manage to continue to have the diarrhea for days! Actually, she still has it as I am writing this!
Unfortunately, she gave me the diarrhea. Cooper had a little bit of it, too. Good side of this, again, as I am writing this blog, Ethan and Hunter feel fine! I worry about Ema getting sick more than anything. I'm not sure what I can do, but I hate to think that it could be anything that could affect her shunt. I know that sounds crazy, and rationally, I know it won't worsen things. I just worry! I had to miss two days of work which stinks, but sometimes, there's absolutely nothing you can do about missing work or things that you really need to do.
Well, I'm going to go hang out with my hubby for the few minutes we get at night!

Thanksgiving was so crazy, I'm just getting to blog about it...

Well, my first annual Thanksgiving dinner was a success! We spent all day the day before getting the house cleaned for the 19th time. Then we managed to entertain two house guests (AKA - My niece and her boyfriend who were a HUGE help). Then we had dinner guest on Wednesday night b/c Hunter's brother and our sister-in-law came over to visit with us and see the kiddos! It was hectic, but I still managed to get my 23 (that's right I said TWENTY-THREE) pound turkey ready and in the fridge to be cooked Thursday am!

I got up at 6:30 to feed Ema and put the Turkey in the oven. It cooked for 6 hours! When we went to move it from the roasting pan to the platter, it fell apart. It was so moist and juicy!! YUMMY! Everyone started arriving around 3 or later. We ate at 5 and it was a wonderful dinner. I've never seen so much food in my life!!! It was crazy. We had to clear off a counter in the kitchen just for the desserts there were so many. Maybe I over-planned...oh well, it was great!
I spent all day Black Friday at the mall. It was crazy. I managed to shop for 13 hours. I got a lot of Christmas shopping done.
We took the kids to my in-laws on Saturday and spent the whole day decorating the house for Christmas.
All and all it was a great holiday! We managed to have a successful Turkey day with 25 people in our house and spend good quality family time together!
I love our family and we are so blessed with how much love and caring we have in our lives. I'm not sure what we'd do without them sometimes!

What a Call Weekend

Well, I guess I've come to the point where I don't have time to stop and blog until the weekend is over.
I was on call this weekend and since I was off to take Ema to the Doctor on Monday, so I worked Friday (BLAH!!). Over the course of the three day call weekend, I had 18 patients in the hospital. Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness! (A little Annie reference for ya!) I had a Silpada jewelry party in the middle of rounding, so I ended up going to the hospital twice on Saturday and worked 7 1/2 hours!! ARGH!!! Anyways, I've never been so excited to see a Monday in my entire life! I miss my kids so much more when I don't get to spend the weekend with them!!
I'm soooooo excited about Thanksgiving! Only a few short days and way too much to do! Then there's BLACK FRIDAY!!!
There will be tons to blog about this week...

Ema's Dr. Appt

Well, we went to Nashville yesterday. This time it was only Hunter, Ema and me. (Me IS grammatically correct here!!! - Inside joke!) After waiting a little over an hour, we saw Dr. Tulipan. He felt like Ema looked good and that she was doing well. He gave us some examples of things to look for to know if the shunt is malfunctioning and is planning to see us in three months. We only have to see him two more times until she turns 1, then we go to seeing him once a year unless something happens to the shunt.
What amazing news!!! It was a long trip to get the news, but it was worth it.
Hunter and I came home and went to his Referee banquet last night. I've actually got an entire Thanksgiving Menu prepared (ahead of time!!!). I'm so excited about it this year. It collectively will be organized chaos...What fun!

More Weekend

Well, I got to spend the day with the fam on Saturday. Hunter went to watch the horrible UT/Ole Miss disaster with some friends and I hung out with the kiddos. 2 1/2 year olds...that's all I know to say. They are a handful!!! We have so much fun, though. I got to spend a lot of quality time with Ema, too. It seems like all I get to do with her is feed her and put her to bed, so getting to put her in the floor and play with her was awesome.
My family is so blessed! Hunter and I talked about what this time in Ethan and Cooper's lives means. It's crazy for me to understand that it's all about shaping them into the people that they will be. Even at 2 1/2. It's so hard for me to discipline them sometimes. I told Hunter that I feel like I am constantly punishing them when I only see them for a couple of hours a day. He's right though...this is when they learn manners and appropriate behavior. It's just really hard to discipline and have them get upset with me when I don't see them much.
So, anyways, we got to go out with one of my really good friends and her boyfriend on Saturday night without the kids. That seems like I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth, but if you have kids, you totally understand. While I do enjoy spending my free time with them, it is also important that Hunter and I have some no kid time with adult contact. We had a ball, and who knows, Hunter may have a job lead.......
Sunday was busy, busy as usual. After Sunday School, we met with all of the youth leaders. It's a really amazing group of adults that work with our youth at church, and I am so proud to go to church there and be a part of this awesome youth group.

Early Black Friday

So, Friday, we had an absolutely amazing time. My boss takes the entire office on a shopping trip to the outlet mall in Pigeon Forge. Ron and I (if you don't know who he is...Nurse Practitioner that is my counterpart at work), left Ooltewah super early and headed up to the hospital to get the piddly work stuff taken care of and then met everyone at the office. We loaded everyone up in a rental van, a huge Yukon XL and a Honda. The van included my boss, Ron, me and 3 others. We had a great time, just on the ride up. We ate lunch at the Apple Barn....YUMMY veggies! Then we headed to the shops. I, of course, shopped til I dropped. I had an absolute ball. I found this great place on line for coupons. I googled "Retail Coupons" and found printable-coupons.blogspot.com. It was great!! (20% off at Coach, 30% off at BR, Gap, Old Navy). Needless to say the website was great. I saved over $100 at Gap. I got tons of deals. I actually didn't buy anything for myself and got lots of Christmas shopping done. (If you know me, you know that I am huge into Black Friday and getting everything I can for Christmas done on that day; therefore, getting stuff done before then is AWESOME!)
We ended up shopping from 12 - 6 at the outlets and I didn't even get to some of the places I wanted to go. I shopped with two of the girls from work who now think I am a mad woman!! AKA: Shopaholic/Saleaholic!!! We also did a Scavenger Hunt during our shopping. TOO FUN!!
We left Pigeon Forge and headed to Knoxville where we had a super nice sit-down Steak dinner at Ye Ole' Steak House. It was great.
We ended up hopping in the car on the way home with "Christmas" on our minds after the long day of Christmas shopping. We ended up singing Christmas Carols all the way from Knoxville to Cleveland.
What a great day! My boss is a great, compassionate, giving person that ANYONE could take lessons from!!!

Another Great Weekend with the Family

I had a really busy week at work this week, so our plans for the weekend were not really etched in stone. It seems like they just kinda fell into our laps. We ended up having great family time!

We decided to take the kids to see their great-grandmothers this weekend and next. This Friday we went to see my granny. She lives in the retirement center where my mom works, so me and the kids (Hunter was reffing) surprised my mom and my granny. Granny was really excited to see the kids. The family jokes b/c she is always asking me, "What do you do with three of em?" My answer of course is always, "Um, Granny, the same thing you did!!" (My mom has a brother and a sister and they are all within three years of age!) We ate lunch with my mom afterwards, and I just can't describe how good the kids were at lunch. They have been acting so good lately when we've gone out to eat. {SIDE BAR: My mom took the boys by herself on Wednesday to pick out some shoes at Stride Rite at the mall. They were perfect little gentlemen. They tried on shoes. Rode the train. Played on the playground (Ugh, gross!) Ate lunch and even got a cookie b/c they were so good.} I got my hair done, then we ended our Friday with dinner at home.

OF NOTE...we tried the new Gigi's cupcakes for dessert. Well, just so everyone knows, when I was pregnant with the boys, I dreamed of cupcakes. All I wanted was there to be a specialty cupcake store in Chattanooga, but of course, we didn't have one. Well, NOW we do and it is amazing!!!!!!!! TRY IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN!

Saturday, we got up early and took the kids to the RiverPark. We played, ate lunch, played some more and headed home. We took the boys down on one of the piers and watched the water. It's so cool to watch little kids be so amazed with things that we take for granted. The water and the boats were the coolest thing to them. Wouldn't you just love to be sweet and innocent like that!
They have had colds for about two weeks and haven't quite been able to shake them. I guess taking them out to play near the water where the air was cooler kinda sparked the cold, again. It's really probably just allergies. We all have snotty noses these days. (HUNTER COOKED DINNER!!! It was really good, yay Hunter! The gumbo was great!)
So, Ema woke up Sunday morning with a pretty yucky cold. It's the first time she's had any type of sickness since her surgery. It's a little nerve-racking to watch over her and make sure that it doesn't turn into something worse. Just pray for her! Needless to say, I didn't take the three sick children to church yesterday. We went to Sunday School and had to miss out on church so that we could stay home with the kids.
Hunter has been asked to go to Brazil on a mission trip, so he went to a meeting about that after church and me and the kids hung out again. Hunter and all of his old fart friends are playing soccer, again! So, he got home for dinner and we just hung out. We've got so much planning to do with the holidays coming up. I'm going to be way stressed. Oh well, it's a good stressed...

Hunter's Day in the Media

n the midst of making plans for the weekend, my awesome husband was blessed with being picked to referee the girls' state soccer tournament. It's a huge honor to be asked to referee the state tourneys! Refs from all over the state of Tennessee come to referee the tournament, and you have to be asked to do it! Hot stuff, that Hunter is!! I'm so proud of him.
Soooooooo, he was written about in the newspaper. Unfortunately, it wasn't what you would call a good article. There wasn't actual mention of his name, but we knew who it was about, so that's all that mattered. It boiled down to the fact that a coach was actually bad-mouthing the refs (which means Hunter and his refs b/c he was the center ref in the game). Who does that at the high school level? It's inappropriate at any level, but high school??? Coach needs to grow up. It was quite disrespectful, but of course, my humble husband just blows it off and says that there's nothing he can do about it. What a man!!! I love him, but boy did it make his immature wife mad!!! We joked that Lane Kiffen was recently fined for the same thing. Even better than that...Urban Meyer was fined $30,000 for the same thing! Tehehe! The inventor of football himself got in trouble for it. Still waiting for that apology to come to my sweet husband.

Upcoming holidays

Wow, I cannot believe that the holidays are here. Thanksgiving is in three weeks. It's going to be, for a lack of any better term, a doozy this year.
We are having both mine and Hunter's family at our house this year. That's right, just go ahead and pray for us now. So far I have counted 23 people!!!!!
I don't think I'm totally ready to deal with that, so I'm going to change subjects.
Things are going well in our house. Ema is doing great. She goes back to Vanderbilt on the 16th. Keep her in your prayers.
There will be more to come with planning the holidays...

Fun-Filled (Read: Busy) Halloween Weekend

Our Halloween started earlier in the week. My mom and I took the kids to a Mother of Multiples Club event at a Retirement Center. We dressed the boys up in their costumes...Ethan = Cookie Monster; Cooper = Elmo; Ema = Pumpkin. They absolutely hated getting their costumes on. It was all a fabulous idea until it came to actually putting them on. My mom and I had to basically drag them in kicking and screaming until they saw all of the other kids dressed up and realized they weren't the only ones and were ok. Thursday, we dressed up at my office. It's a big deal at our office b/c my boss loves Halloween. I was Marilyn Monroe. What's funny is the winner of the costume contest was someone who dressed as....ME! It was freaky! Two of the nurses dressed as me and my friend Ron who is our Nurse Practitioner at work. It was great, but it was really weird to look at her!

Hunter and I took the kiddos up to the Mayfield Dairy Farm in Athens on Friday. We were gone all day, and it was a lot of fun. The boys got to play in the "Corn Box" (aka Sand Box replaced with corn). They jumped on Hay Bales. They got to take their first Hay Ride. I was amazed at how well they did. They weren't scared at all. The tractor pulled the wagon full of hay to the Pumpkin Patch where they got to pick out their own pumpkin out of the real patch. Ethan managed to pick out what we thought was the largest pumpkin there. It's huge!

We came home and headed out to meet our niece Lindsey and her boyfriend, Joey for dinner. They came in town for the weekend to go to the UT/South Carolina game. She recently graduated from South Carolina. He plays Pro-Baseball for one of the teams in the Kansas City Royals system. They spent the night with us through the weekend.

On Halloween, I wasn't able to take the kids out b/c I was by myself (Hunter reffed), so we just handed out candy. Let me tell you how that went...JUST WONDERFUL! Cooper insisted on screaming at everyone who rang our doorbell, "No, go home, this is my trick-or-treat!" We had forgotten to get candy, so I had to give theirs away until Hunter got home with candy. That went over like a ton of lead balloons!

The boys had started to get sick on Friday and Saturday. Their coughs were terrible, so on Sunday, we didn't actually get to take the kids to the church Pumpkin Patch. Probably a good thing seeing as how busy we had been over the weekend.

I swear I'm going to get back to blogging more regularly so everyone doesn't have to read a book. More to come...

Sorry it's been so long!

Well, it's come to my attention (throat clearing...JANE!!!), that I haven't updated our blog lately. I have been absolutely insane for the last week. I was on call last weekend and had to rummage around for babysitters every day b/c Hunter was reffing all weekend.
Then it hit...Hunter got the swine flu!!!!! It was fabulous. He couldn't get out of bed for days. I was coming into work late and waiting on babysitters. Our normal helpers, Hunter's parents, were out of town all weekend until the middle of the week. READ: No babysitters! So, anyways, we managed. Hunter is still not 100%, but we are pressing on!
Emalinn is doing great. She went to see her regular pediatrician on Friday. All is good. She felt like she was looking wonderful. I talked to her about getting Tennessee Early Intervention involved with Ema's care. They are a state-funded organization that offer PT/OT/Speech Therapy and anything you can think of. They come to your house and everything that your insurance doesn't cover, they do! It's a great thing. Although Ema is doing well, I just wanted to get ahead of the game. Our pediatrician gave us some good news though! She felt like they would come to our house and say why are we here. She's perfectly normal! That was really great to hear. So, for now, we just keep on trucking. We go back to Nashville in three weeks!
That's pretty much all the update I have time to give now. I'll do better this week.

Back to Work

Well, I came back to work yesterday. Things were a little slow-going, but I guess I'm back in the swing of things. I really miss being with the kids though. When I have to leave them again after getting to be home with them, I'm secretly super jealous of Hunter...guess it's not a secret anymore!!

Just an update, Ema is doing well. The coolest thing that Hunter and I noticed after surgery is that she almost immediately had what Hunter calls a "panic button." She had never had a real "soft spot," but after surgery, it was one of the first changes we noticed in her. That's a good thing!!!

I'm only making this blog super short to let everyone know that Ema is doing well, so I won't go off on the tangent that I want to, but I will say that difficult times really do bring out the "true" in your true friends. I really do appreciate all of the prayers, support and help that we had from our family and friends...More on "true" friends later.

New Day, New Stress

Well, we got home Thursday evening after staying for 4 extra hours in the hospital. We were "discharged" at 7 am, but the doctors didn't actually write the orders until 11:30 am. The boys were with Hunter's parents, so we sent them on their way instead of making them wait for us. We got to see Hunter's brother one more time before he headed out to meet his wife for a vacation with her family to Vegas...
Side Note: We are so proud of Heath (Hunter's Brother). He applied and has been
accepted into seminary and is going this fall. It's such an amazing thing to be
called to the ministry and it's so cool to actually know someone who has been
called to serve the Lord through his work!!!
So, we got home after Ema slept the entire way! I couldn't believe it. She did so well and even slept through the night. Of course, I did make Hunter sleep on the couch so that she could have plenty of room to sleep with me!!
We have been spending the last couple of days getting adjusted. The boys came home this evening. I knew I had missed them, but I was so excited to see them!!! Our family will now try to get back to normal. Things will probably not ever be 100 % normal, but we are going to make every effort to try! More to come........

It's Over...So, Now it begins

Monday...we found out our van's transmission has something wrong with it. It had to be taken to Honda for an official "diagnosis." We of course only had one car which I have to drive to work, leaving Hunter with no car. The next day did not get any better.
Tuesday...I had a terribly rough day at work. It was actually pretty horrible for only a 1/2 day. We didn't get much sleep Monday night, so of course, I was tired and overslept Tuesday morning. On my way to work I was pretty tearful just stressing about Ema. My boss managed to get irritated with me about something first thing Tuesday morning. I became even more tearful. Hunter and I are extremely stressed; therefore, we are short with each other. (Read: Something else to make me cry!!) SO...I left work around 12:45 and made a couple of stops on the way home. The boys went down for nap and we packed our things. We headed to Nashville with both sets of grandparents following. We are lucky to have such a good family support system. We basically put the boys in the car w/ Hunter's parents and Ema rode with us. This way we didn't have to rent a car to take.
After a sleepless night...we got up around 4 am and headed out to the hospital around 6 am. We signed in and were called back around 7:00.
It was actually a really unique experience. The worst thing we had to see Ema go through was taking her vitals. She fell asleep in my mom's arms while we waited on the doctors to come back. We talked to the anesthesiologists, surgeons and that was it. She was actually taken from me at 8:30 (the scheduled surgery time). She was put to sleep with gas before an IV was placed, so she never felt anything. Within about an hour and 15 minutes we were sitting in a conference room talking to the surgeon. All went well and we could see her soon. Within a few seconds of leaving him, we were called back to recovery because she was awake and hungry.
The sight of her was truly as exciting as seeing her for the first time. She was awake and fussy. That was a welcome sound!!!
I really cannot describe what it is like to have your child go through something like this. When they took her from us, it was the most helpless feeling in the world, but seeing her again was the most welcome feeling in the world.
We have a long road ahead of us, but she's actually crying to eat right now, so I'll leave you and catch up again tomorrow.
Thank you, God, for being so good to us!

Friends

Sometimes you never know what good friends you have until you need them.
Some good news that I got from a wonderful friend was what a good experience she had at Vanderbilt when her daughter had to have a fairly emergent surgery. She also dealt with Vanderbilt when her daughter later had to go through a battery of testing. She is one of the most calm and collected people I know. We went through 2 1/2 years together in PA school and I'm not sure anything ever rattled her. I, on the other hand, am not wired that way! (This is for those of you reading this that don't know this already!) Just hearing her be so calm about all of the things that her daughter went through and is still going through is truly an inspiration. She is an awesome Christian and I have to thank God that she is in my life.
It's just amazing to see why and when God puts certain people into our lives. I would have never made it through PA school without her. I also probably wouldn't make it through this trial in our lives without her!!!
Actually, we have really good friends these days. We were just talking about it before we even found out that Emalinn was going to have surgery. Friends that we know we can count on no matter what or when we need them. There have been people in both of our lives that have come and gone...it's kind of like we've loved and lost. That's always ok, ya know!
Anyways, just continue to keep us in your prayers. I just got over what we think was the H1N1 flu...That was lots of fun. Pray that no one else in our house gets it!!
More to come...

Trip to Vanderbilt

Well, we went to Vanderbilt yesterday. Unfortunately, our news was not any better than what we were told at UAB.

The new doctor was pretty nice. He actually had a much better personality and a lot more patience with us than the other doctor did. That was a good thing. I had two pages of questions to ask, and he sat through and answered all of them.

He reviewed Emalinn's CT scans and was optimistic about them until he compared them and realized that even though the fluid in her ventricles is in excess, it is only in the mild to moderate range. The problem is that the fluid has increased quite a bit in the three months since she was born. He, Dr. Tulipan, also said that he would not wait the three months that Dr. Oakes in Birmingham was willing to wait. He did tell us that the surgery (shunt placement) will "fix the problem." We found out that, while it is a good sign that she is meeting all of her developmental milestones, we will not be able to see what disabilities she may or may not have until she's around a year old. Our pediatrician (whom we love, by the way!) said she was extremely optimistic about how she is developing right now. (She had her four month well-baby check-up on Friday and is doing all that she should be and some. She's been rolling over since she was a little over three months old, and it's not a milestone until their six month check-ups).

So, we got a phone call from Dr. Tulipan's surgery scheduler while we were on our way home from Vanderbilt and she gave us a date to be thinking about for surgery. Hunter and I talked for a long time on Monday evening. We feel that it is going to be in her best interest, before she does start to develop significant side effects from this abnormality, to have the surgery. It is so unimaginable to have your tiny little baby to have surgery, but I want her to live as normal a life as possible. It seems that surgery is the only way for her to do this. She will actually be able to do all of the things that her little body will allow her to do when she gets older, after having the shunt placed (i.e. cheerleading or softball - bet you can't tell which parent asked about which "sport).
I say all of this to tell everyone...Emalinn, unfortunately, is having surgery at Vanderbilt on October 7. We have to be there at 6:30 that morning and the surgery will be at 8:30. It's a 30 minute procedure (so routine to everyone except those of us who are enduring that 30 minutes). We will be in the hospital overnight and as long as there are no complications, we will go home on the 8th. Thankfully, she will only be put to sleep for a very short period of time. That's about all I can say about that. I don't want her to have to be put to sleep at all!
Our pediatrician explained to us that the first 6 months are the most crucial when a baby has a shunt. The risk for infection is extremely high. She will likely have to have scheduled revisions approximately twice in her childhood. That is as long as there are no problems with the shunt. She explained that we will have a very low threshold for any problems.
It's going to be a really long road. I just ask that everyone will pray for Emalinn. She has so many people praying for her now, and every single person that is praying matters. We truly appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness and prayers during this really hard time in our family's lives.

Emalinn's Dedication

For those of you that were there....THANK YOU!!
Emalinn was dedicated at church yesterday, and it was such a special day for us. We now have all of the prayers and support of the entire church which means so much.
We were so busy this weekend...Friday was lunch with friends and I cooked dinner for our friends. Saturday was Touch a Truck at the Riverpark, which our boys absolutely loved, then a birthday/swimming party.
Yesterday was awesome! First we had the actual dedication at church. Our family came for that! We then headed home to a house full of people. All total, I counted 52 people that I could remember being there...WOW! I never knew I'd have enough room for that many people in my house, but apparently I do! There were a lot of children there which I love to see. Our kids played really well with everyone. Really well enough that they took a four hour nap! The last visitor finally left around 9:30 last night!
It was a wonderful day. Again for any of you that read this and were there...Thank you for making Emalinn's day so special!

What a Weekend!!

We spent the holiday weekend with Hunter's family. (By we I mean, me, Ethan, Cooper & Ema). If you didn't catch that, there was no Hunter in that. He had to referee all weekend. I have to give him a hard time when really, we had a great time.
I love to hang out with his brother and sister-in-law. God love her for spoiling our children!! She held Emalinn basically the entire weekend! That's right, she held her from Friday until Sunday. Trust me it's not an exageration...Ema had to be held Sunday when we got home until she fell asleep and she's never done that, so when Jane reads this she'll be sure to know that she has spoiled my children!!!
Ema goes for her 4 month well-baby check-up next week. I can't believe that. She's continuing to do really well. Hunter and I have continued to do fairly well, too. I finally had my meltdown after we got all of her records from UAB. It's really tough to actually see all of the stuff in print about your child. The Dr. seemed to be worried about her developing trouble with upgaze. Problem #1 with that...He didn't bother telling us that when we were there for her check-up. I had to read it in her progress notes. We haven't really noticed anything about her that seems different, so maybe since the man has never actually laid hands on my daughter, just thought he was noticing something.
I've never in my short 5 years of practicing been told it's ok not to actually touch the patient when your doing an exam on them. Maybe he's just so smart he doesn't have to! OK, I've vented and am moving on.
I'll update you all soon!

My babies are growing up

Well, it finally happened. I couldn't understand why I didn't cry last week when the boys went to preschool. Orientation kinda got me, but the first day of school they did so well. I guess that's why it didn't bother me too bad to leave them somewhere they didn't mind being.

So, today, I didn't get to go with them to school. I think I cried the entire way to school. All I can say is...At least I'm not the mom in their classroom that can't leave her daughter. Hunter told me she kept saying I'm not sure why she's not doing well. This is all while she is not actually leaving her daughter in the room when she is perfectly content. I'm thinking there is some letting go issues there!!!
The boys fell asleep last night around 8:40 and stayed in their own big boy beds until 7:30 when Hunter and I went to wake them up this morning! Hallelujah!
I'm so excited that Ema's dedication is coming up soon. More prayers is what we need for her!

Finally

Well, we finally heard from Vanderbilt. We will be seeing the Doctor that we were hoping to get in with. That's a plus.
We are headed to see him on September 21. Please continue to keep Ema in your prayers.
Side bar...Keep Hunter in your prayers. He is attempting to get the boys to sleep in their own Big Boy beds at night. Let me tell you what fun it is! We get to take turns sleeping on the floor with them at night until they fall asleep. Our backs are loving it!!! Just pray that they will be Big Boys really soon!!!
On a good note, we are having Ema dedicated at church soon. I'm really excited about that!

Cleaning & Keeping Busy

You know how there are certain things that you just can't control no matter how much you'd like to be able to (please read blog UAB Visit)??


I have found a way to control something in our newly, more chaotic world...I have become a maniac cleaner. Hunter and I are not the neatest people you have ever met, but I have decided to become the neatest person I can possibly be. For the love of Pete...I cleaned the grout in my shower for an hour!


Random thought for the day: My sister-in-law and brother-in-law are really good people. Hunter & I really hate that we don't live close to each other, and we don't get to see them very often. That was all to say that Jane shared something with me the other day that was awesome, and I just want to share it with anyone that reads this...

"Stay calmly conscious of Me today...no matter what. Remember that I go before you as well as with you into the day. Nothing takes Me by surprise. I will not allow circumstances to overwhelm you, so long as you look to Me. I will help you cope with whatever the moment presents. Collaborating with Me brings blessings that far outweigh all your troubles. Awareness of my presence contains joy that can endure all eventualities." Jude 24-25, II Corinthians 4:16-17.

Thanks, Jane!

UAB Visit

Well, we didn't really get the news we were hoping to hear from UAB. I've just been trying to take it all in right now, so it's taken me a little while to post anything.

Basically, her head circumference went from the 50th percentile to the 90th percentile in 2 months. While her head stayed within the range that the Doctor had given us, it still grew quite a bit. The CT Scan was apparently much more telling than her head circumference. Dr. Oakes had originally told us that she does not have hydrocephalus unless the fluid leaves the ventricles in her brain and goes to other places. From what I gathered (trust me, even with a degree IN medicine, this guys is a little hard to follow and his answers require translation), the fluid amount was only large in the fourth ventricle prior to this visit. Her CT scan showed increased fluid now in the first and second ventricles.
Saying all of this...he told us that we are at decision time. His recommendation was to return in three months with an MRI, and from what I could translate, plan on surgery soon after if her the fluid continues to increase. Our issue now...we have to change doctors. He was very kind in telling us which physician he would chose out of our options. He seemed to be confident in the other doctor's ability and experience. Unfortunately, this doctor may not be comfortable with waiting the three months, and he may tell us that she needs to have surgery now.

I am officially in shut-down mode. For now, it's the only way I know to keep myself together. Hunter is one amazing man who just keeps on trucking as well. God will get us through this and we both know that. We just had such hope after our last visit that she may never need a shunt. I know it may seem routine to all of these doctors, and everyone around us seems to blow it off since "the doctors know what they are doing." I just can't quite fathom my daughter being put to sleep much less having surgery. Sedating her for the MRI is scary enough!

Right now, we are waiting on our pediatrician to call with an appointment at Vanderbilt. More to come.

Preschool Orientation...Are you kidding me?

Well, this week has begun! I left work today to go to school with Hunter and the boys for preschool orientation. That's right, PRESCHOOL.
I hid my tears from Hunter b/c I knew he'd think I'm insane. Poor guy...all he wants to do is get away for a few hours once a week and get big boy things done and all I want is to make sure my kids are at home 24/7. But, since I hid my tears from him and was grumpy today, he just thinks I'm in a bad mood. They just can't possibly be old enough to go to school. During orientation the Director was talking about their syllabus for the year...Are you kidding me? I don't think I knew what a syllabus was until I was in undergrad!

Now that today is mostly behind us...we are heading to Birmingham tomorrow. Please keep us in your prayers. We try not to think of Ema having anything wrong with her, but when this day approaches, you just can't forget.

Two of the THREE namesakes in her life are going with us. It will be Hunter, my mom, Uncle Mitch, Ema & Me. So, I'll keep you informed as soon as I know anything. It's going to be a long day.

Unbelievable

I will preface this story with...I am a nervous wreck. Next week is getting to me extremely early. I know crying and stressing and worrying, etc is not what will help us get through this, but I just can't seem to help it.

OK. I know I am a little stubborn and hard to deal with occasionally. Seriously though, today I experienced the most unbelievable 5 hours of my life.
I had 5 seperate tests run today. That was a little overwhelming in itself. I apprently made the mistake of being courteous and totally messed things up. The people that call and tell you what to do for prep told me not to eat or drink anything for 6 hours prior to coming. They didn't bother to tell me that for one of the tests I had to have a full bladder. Hmmmm...doesn't take rocket scientists to figure out that this cannot actually work. In my doctors' infinite wisdom, I had 4 tests scheduled at one facility and then two hours later had the fifth test scheduled at another facility which is about 20 minutes away. Not the best of ideas, but I guess they thought it would work. I decided when I was supposed to be there in 20 minutes, and I still had two tests to go, that I should call the second place and let them know. Fine. I did. They didn't let the radiology department know; therefore, my doctor accused me of rescheduling and told me they couldn't help me. Wow...I don't know what else there was for the day to get much worse. It took a lot longer to get better. Ultimately, my doctor ending up calling ME and asking me to talk to a hospital liason about how I was treated. I guess that makes me fell better???

So, maybe I am way too emotional right now.

4 more days.

Soccer Season

Well, soccer season is upon us! For those of you who follow me on here and aren't sure what that means...
Hunter is a referee AND he plays; SOOoooooo that means a whole lot less Hunter around the house past 4:30 or 5 pm. He refs middle school, high school, college and rec soccer. Yeah, I know, it overwhelms me thinking about all of that, too!
It's really awesome for him though, b/c it's his job outside of the house, and well, he really enjoys it. We miss him tons around the house, but it's only seasonal....so, we'll get through it.

Oh, by the way, my doctors have decided to work up the chest pain I had in the hospital after I had Ema b/c it happened in the middle of the night Monday night again. No one seems to have a clue, so I'm going tomorrow for a battery of test. Totally don't want to go, but Hunter said he would drag me down there if I tried to not go.

COUNTDOWN: 5 days until we go to UAB. Keep Emalinn in your prayers!

Back at it!

Well, I didn't get to finish doing any blogging while I was on vacation b/c my computer pooped out on us. We had internet service for just a few days and then we couldn't use it at all. Oh well...I guess it wasn't meant for us to be on the computer during VACATION.

An update on the vacation...the kids enjoyed it, but I think they are still too young to really like playing in the sand. Little Miss Ema just slept on the beach a lot. We made it through just fine, though!
We went out to eat a couple of times after my parents came down for dinner and it was really good. I had probably one of the best meals I have ever had at the Red Bar in Grayton Beach. Go there if you are ever near Seaside/Destin area.
We shopped at the outlets when it was raining. Coach was having an awesome sale!!!

Unfortunately, right in the middle of our vacation, United HealthCare managed to upset us. We were basically only approved to see Dr. Oakes (Ema's Neurosurgeon) one more time for what they call a "Closure visit." Please explain to me why. That's all I know to say! We are basically left to find someone else to take care of her after we've already established with him. Isn't that just awesome!
I'm filing an appeal with UHC, but I was informed by our pediatrician that appeal process is usually pretty dismal. How encouraging is that!??!!!
We'll see him next week and see what happens from there...
Keep us and this ridiculous insurance situation in your prayers.
If it doesn't work out, God has another plan for us.

Just an aside...42 1/2 cm (before 8/25/09) is the maximum we were not aiming to surpass on Emalinn's head circumference...the final measurement before we see him was 41 cm! THANK YOU, GOD!!!!

Good Morning, God!

Well, this blog should actuallly be dated for two days ago. I tried to send it from my cell phone multiple times and it didn't work...
So, I finally talked Hunter into leaving Sunday afternoon. It was a littly iffy whether or not the boys were going to do well or not. They were sooo good. We were really proud of them. Ema literally slept the entire time except when we stopped to feed her. We don't let the boys watch any TV except for one hour of Sesame Street, normally. On the way down though, we would have never made it without the DVD player.
8 hours and 6 or more stops later, we got here at midnight. Everyone was in bed by midnight and up and at 'em at like 6 am (Eastern time - We're really struggling with the time change. It's only one hour, but my cell phone won't change over for some reason, so I've been arguing with everyone about what time it actually is!).
The boys are having a blast at the beach. They didn't like the sand at first and mainly just sat on their chairs under the tent and ate their lunch taking it all in. They loved the ocean though!
Yesterday was a much more adventurous day for them. They played in the sand for a few hours; they wore their rings and floties and stayed in the ocean for quite a while.
It's absolutely beautiful here! I just can't describe how amazing God's creation is as I type this sitting on the back patio looking out over the beach and the grand ocean.
What a blessing it is to be enjoying such a wonderful part of it all!

SEEEEAAAASIIIIDDDDE

Well, I'm taking a break from packing for the kiddos and me. It sure is tough to get packed for 4 people. I don't mind it because I know we're heading off to the beach, but again, it doesn't make it any easier. Our friends, Kary & Ben, are already on their way down today.
My boss said I should be prepared to not have them as friends after we come back from this trip. I asked, don't you mean be prepared for them not to invite us again...she corrected me and said no, for them not to talk to us again. You see, they have no children. We are all staying in one house. Again, I repeat, they have no children. Kary did make me feel better and said they knew what they were getting into when they invited us. I'm still not so sure about that.
My parents are coming down in the middle of the week to join us and our friends. ALL IN ONE HOUSE!! Need I remind anyone that we have three children ages 2 and under!!!
Oh well, the rooms are all on opposite sides of the house. So, everyone can get away from us.
I'm so excited for the boys. They are really going to enjoy this! They've been talking about the beach for weeks now. They both proceeded to tell my parents that they have to stay here. What two year olds will say!!!!!!!
My next few updates will be from the beach. For those of you that don't know anything about it...Seaside is near Destin, but it's private. No hotels, motels or any chain restaurants. It's the quaint little town where The Truman Show was filmed. It really looks exactly like that. The house we stay in is 3 bedrooms w/ sunroom, patio and oh yeah, the backyard...THE BEACH! Please keep the jealousy to a minimum.

Last Day Until Vacation

I wish I had something profound to say on my blog today. I'm not a very profound writer anyways, but all that is on my mind is the fact that I'm leaving for Florida in a few days.
We have SOOOOO much packing to do. I'm not sure where to begin.
Even though I just got back to work from maternity leave, it just isn't a vacation, ya know?!
I'm so excited that I don't have to work for 10 days. We're going with friends to Florida. I'm not totally sure how welcome we will be after this year. We've done this trip three other times and have never had children...so here we go!
I wonder what the boys will think about the beach...hmmm??? I'll be sure and blog and post pictures while we're gone so that everyone can see my sweet babies at the beach.

Ok...I've set up blogging from my cell phone & am trying to make sure it works. Here goes!

Long time no blog!

We have been so busy, I haven't had enough time to blog. I've so missed it.



I was on call all weekend. Saturday we spent the day at the pool.



Sunday, Hunter and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We were so pumped for sushi at Hiroshi's. Babysitter in place, headed downtown, Chef's course here we come...............HIROSHI'S IS CLOSED ON SUNDAYS!!
So disappointed. We headed to Sushi Nabe. While the food was excellent, no one really knew what a Chef's course was and it was twice the price for half the food. (Reminder, I said the food was excellent)
We made the best of it even though we were disappointed. We got away, which was really nice. We honestly still enjoy being alone with each other. It's so cool to still be in love after 10 1/2 years of being together.

Sidebar...We measure Ema's head circumference every Tuesday. We are 2 cm away from the upper limit that Dr. Oakes gave us. Please pray that it doesn't grow super fast over the next 2 1/2 weeks. We see him on the 25th and I don't want to have to make it any earlier!

The Weekend

It's Friday again for me. I'm looking forward to the weekend b/c it just means we're one less weekend away from Florida. Even being on call this weekend isn't going to bother me.

We teach our last class with our current SS classes this Sunday. I think Hunter and I are both pretty bummed to be changing classes only b/c we have awesome classes. My girls are great. They are always there and I've gotten to see them grow a little bit their first year in high school. I can remember being quite different from my Freshman to Sophomore year. I know, I know 14 to 15...big deal. It was for me. I think I grew up a lot after being a silly little freshman! These girls are great! I like Hunter's class too. I know he's going to miss having the triplets! That's right, I said triplets. He has these three guys in his class and they are a hoot. They give him such a hard time and it is too funny. I hope this group of kids' parents know just what great kids they have. I can only hope that our kiddos are as fun and well-behaved as they are.

Pray for us...we know we were spoiled with such good classes. We will need strength this next year!

Oops

So, yesterday I used the blog to vent for 1.2 seconds. I didn't really want to do that, but I did. So, now I'm apologizing. I really just want to talk about my family and keep our friends and family updated on Emalinn.

My entire household has been sick. It started with Ethan then Cooper then Hunter then me then Ema. Now my mom is super sick and my dad started yesterday. It's just a "summer cold" but it won't go away. It's time to Lysol our house! In case you were wondering, it is SOOOOO pitiful to see a 2 month old sick. She is snorting to breathe and has this pitiful little cough. It makes me so sad.

In other news, right when I came back to work there was a possibility that my friend that works here (the nurse practitioner) was going to leave and take another job. I have been so excited to be back here and at the same time...so stinking sad that he might leave. I told my boss that I just couldn't fathom it being only me and her working here. This place is a zoo and there has too be more than just one doctor and a mid-level provider. We would be sharing call EVERY OTHER WEEKEND and I wouldn't be able to do the job she brought me back to do.
NEWS FLASH...He's staying. We get to remain our little happy family for now. I'm really pumped.

It's awesome to see how blessed we all are by God when things are good in our lives. I really have to remember this when things aren't always perfect. I wish I was better at doing that. God is always good and there's a reason for everything that happens to us all. Everyone please remind me of that when we head to UAB on August 25!!!

Good friends? Just not sure...

Sometimes I wonder what my friends are thinking.
I have really great friends that sometimes manage to really hurt my feelings. I just don't understand..........................

New, old job

So, I've had people ask about my job.



I used to work in Cleveland at an oncologists' (the only oncologist in Cleveland) office, but I left for what I thought was going to be an amazing opportunity about a year ago.



I went to work for a Gyn-Oncologist who is a friend of mine. We had worked together in the past, but never just me and him. He finally needed someone, so it was going to be awesome and like old times only better b/c we wouldn't have my old boss (a complete tyrant) making us insane...it was only so I thought that it would be better...

I left Cleveland on good terms. My boss was so understanding about the fact that I was being offerred the opportunity of a lifetime. She even called me a couple of times after I left to see if I would come back. A friend and I were her Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner. We all were a great team, but again at the time, it was what I thought was "an opportunity of a lifetime."


As we all unfortunately learn throughout life...some things are just not what they are cracked up to be. I'd love to blog all day about how I was treated when ultimately, I'd just be griping about other people and their 'tudes! I can't change people or the way they feel about someone or something. I can just come to terms with the fact that I did nothing wrong other than think I was going to be welcome in a new place and have some sort of authority. (When really all I got was a lot of hatred aimed at me for no reason and tons of nothing jobs put on my plate).

I can honestly say that I've never been disrespected by my peers or underlings (yeah, I just wanted to say that word), if you will, more than I was over the past year. In my almost 5 years of practicing medicine, I have never said that I was too good to do ANY job. I've earned my keep at all three jobs I've been at. I've worked partner hours and been paid measly salary. I've tried to do everything I could to please a boss that was absolutely unpleaseable. I feel like I've paid my dues at those two jobs. I'm only 30 and feel that I've had a boss that had me pay my dues the first two years I practiced. In all of this time, I've never said that I was too good or "I didn't go to school for that." BUT..............I was finally driven to break out that quote. One would think that I would feel guilty about it, but all in all, I don't!


Boy, have I learned A LOT!!! It's amazing what you CAN learn in one little, bitty year!

One thing I did good before I switched jobs...I didn't spit in the well I drink out of. I'm back in Cleveland working great hours with great people who completely respect me and my position in the office. No more piddly little chores to keep me busy.

So, maybe one day I'll talk all about everything that went on, but in a long drawn out way, this is a summary of what happened.

I do know that there are good people in the world though. If not, I wouldn't be where I am today. I don't dread going to work every day. As a matter of fact, I enjoy it when I'm there. What a concept!!!!

Family Fun

Today has been an awesome day. Yesterday we spent the day at the pool with the boys on my first Friday off. Soon I'm going to be greedy and want Thursdays off too. It was awesome spending time with my kiddos and hubby!

Back to my point...Today we spent the day w/ the kids, Nana, Meredith and Landon at the pool. Then we went to a cookout with Hunter's family. It's so funny...we had plans w/ friends and a babysitter. While I don't need that all of the time, we were looking forward to it. I was so upset when our friends ditched us for what I guess was better plans. We ended up going to a cookout w/ our mixed up families. My mom came, and Hunter's fam was there. I forget just how great it is to spend time with family that you don't see all of the time.

I love our families and feel like we are so blessed to have so many people around that we love and that love us! Our kids will be the most blessed children with so much love given to them. God is good!

Thursday is my Friday

OK...today's post is going to be short and sweet. I have to work and get off of the computer b/c once today is over, I'm off for three days. I'm loving the idea of Thursdays being my Friday!

Work is like I was never gone (for over a year)...more on that another day!

One of my best friends, Kary, emailed me yesterday and told me she was dreaming of our trip to the beach...Now I can't quit thinking about it. 16 days is the official countdown.

Have any of you ever been to Seaside, Florida. It's beautiful and awesome and peaceful and relaxing...Cannot wait!

I'm going to post some family pics this weekend on here.

Emalinn

I had a few people ask me why Emalinn is going to UAB and why she is having a CT scan. I have tried to make sure that everyone knows what is going on, but since the blog is new....I will update everyone.

When I was 36 weeks pregnant, we were told that Ema had excess fluid on her brain which is referred to as Dandy-Walker malformation. She had a cyst that formed in the back of her brain near the 4th ventricle which caused her to not have room to develop all of her cerebellum. The potential for birth defects was anywhere from no signs of the malformation (The genetic variant) to possibly not living past her birth (full blown malformation). Of course, there was a lot of possibilities in between as well. They did not move up my delivery date for fear of causing any more complications for her health. It was a LONG three weeks to wait for little Miss Ema to come. We had tons of support from our family and friends.

(Just a side note...The cerebellum is responsible for your balance, gait and gross motor skills)

On May 26, 2009 at 7:53 am, Emalinn Ann Mitchell McLaughen was born without any physical signs of the malformation. She went straight to the newborn nursery. During our hospital stay, we had some extreme highs and lows. She had an ultrasound, CT scan and MRI of the brain in a three day period. There was varying schools of thought from different doctors regarding the scans. We were told at one point that she would for sure need a shunt in her brain. Ultimately, we saw Dr. Boehm (neurosurgeon in Chattanooga) who assured us that she was doing well and could potentially not need surgery.
(For those of you non-medical people, surgery would mean a shunt.
A shunt is a "drain" that is placed in the brain and goes into
the abdomen to redirect the fluid that can cause pressure on the brain.)

Next, we then went to her two week check-up with her pediatrician and found that her head size had increased. We were sent directly to the hospital for an ultrasound where they diagnosed her with increased fluid. That pretty much was a one-way ticket to UAB.

At UAB there is a Pediatric Neurosurgeon, Dr. Jerry Oakes. While he pretty much lacks a personality, I feel that we are blessed to get to see him. He is well-known nationally for his work with children. He gave us a lot of good news. He told us that Ema would likely never be a tight-rope walker, but she could very well be a perfectly normal child. He also told us that while he cannot guarantee that she will not need surgery, he could say she for sure doesn't need a shunt right now. He was also hopeful that she will never need it. We will go see him on a 2 - 3 month basis with CT scans done at UAB.

So.............that is our story about our little miracle baby! Right now we are waiting to go to UAB. We go on August 25 and have a scan that morning and see the doctor that afternoon. It will be pretty stressful, but for now she is doing great! She's a little fatty compared to her big brothers. That's a good thing though!!

Oh, I have to work EVERY DAY!!

So, I'm in the full swing of things at work now. I was really sad when I went home yesterday. It was good to get home early enough that the boys weren't up from nap though!

Hunter has been hit in the face with the Stay-at-home dad of three thing! It's a lot of work. I'd love to be able to do it, but right now this is the best thing for our family!!

For those of you that don't know why we are going to UAB, I'll post a detailed blog tomorrow about what is going on with Ema.

As far as the boys being in Preschool...I really want them to get a chance to socialize with kids other than each other, ya know??? They are only going one 1/2 day a week. I think it will be really good for them. Plus, it's going to make taking them to school some day, slowly easier for me. I don't do well with them being something other than my little, bitty babies forever!!

Back to Work

Today is my first day back to work after being on maternity leave with Emalinn for 8 weeks. I can't believe she is 8 weeks old. It was so hard to leave this morning (especially after she projectile vomited all over me, her and the bedroom carpet). Hunter is at home for the first time all day with all three of them. While I enjoy things like this...not so sure he's going to be jumping up and down with joy when I get home. (Jumping up and down that I'm home...maybe!).

After I'm back at work for a few weeks we are planning on taking a vacation to Seaside, FL with our friends, Ben & Kary, as well as my parents. I'm not sure everyone (besides Hunter and me) know what they are getting themselves into with 3 kiddos at the beach (in one house!!).

Just an update on little Miss Ema (the boys' favorite nickname for their sister), we are heading back to UAB on August 25th. She will have a CT scan that morning and then we will see Dr. Oakes (the pediatric neurosurgeon). What a stressful week that will be for our family! The boys will be going to Preschool orientation on Monday, Tuesday is UAB and Wednesday the boys will start Preschool. I'm going to be a basket case.....